Capital Punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example The History of Capital Punishment The history of capital punishment is complex and diverse. The capital part of the nomenclature comes from the Latin word capitalis, which regards anything involving the head, and indeed early capital punishment often involved decapitation. Even prior to this, capital punishment was widely used and examples of capital punishment can be found in the past (or present, in 58 countries) of almost every culture. Nearly every law regarding capital punishment in the past two millennia regard capital punishment as only appropriate for serious crimes, such as murder, treason or political dissent, although there are some examples where the punishment can be used for military crimes such as desertion or refusing national service. The first recorded case of capital punishment in the United States was in 1608 on a Mexican immigrant who was accused of spying for the Spanish government (Goldberg, 1974). Since this initial incident, the history of capital punishment in the USA has been mixed throughout various states and areas. It is reported in the Espy files that over 15,000 people have been executed in the United States (or colonies before the formation of the States) since 1608 (Henderson, 2000). This suggests that the punishment is rare and, as previously mentioned, only considered in serious breaches of law. One incident stands out among the rest if only because of the nature – a mass execution of 38 people in Dakota who were convicted of rape and murder during the Dakota war of 1862 (Kronenwetter, 2001). Again, this incident stands out due to its rarity – examples of mass capital punishment are even rarer than their singular counterparts. The 20th century brought with it a more compassionate culture and thus a different attitude towards capital punishment. It is proudly announced by citizens of Michigan that the state was the first English-speaking government in the world to ban all capital punishment for crimes other than treason (Henderson, 2000). Michigan itself can also be proud of the fact that it has not carried out a capital punishment since it joined the Union. It has now been joined by 14 other states that explicitly ban the use of capital punishment, although 35 states still currently have a law sanctioning the penalty (Banner, 2002). Several other countries now ban the death penalty, including every member state of the European Union and many South American countries including Venezuela. Capital Punishment in the United States Taking into account the potted history of capital punishment, it is no surprise that it causes such a debate, particularly in the United States. The United States is often championed as being a free and liberal nation, the jewel in the crown of the Western world, but still carries out capital punishment year after year with a spike in the early 2000s to pre-1950s levels of execution (Banner, 2002). Over 40 death penalties were acted upon in the year 2010 in the United States. The US government did, however, have a brief period in the 1970s where capital punishment was completely banned, and it was expected that many states would keep this ban. However, after the ban was lifted in 1977, 37 states reinstated the death penalty. Why does this champion of modernity still hold what could be seen as archaic views on this extremely harsh (and arguably archaic) punishment? To understand this further, it would be wise to investigate the statistics in context. Since 1977, over 500 people have been executed in the United Sta

Cystic Fibrosis Transplantaton Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cystic Fibrosis Transplantaton - Research Paper Example CF is inheritable and live threatening genetic disorder mostly experienced at the Northern European parts .To develop the disorder, one must inherit faulty gene from both of your parents this is by inheriting one set defective CFTR gene from the mother and the other from the father The disease is transmitted in a recessive way with chromosome 7. (Bush, 2006 ) It is caused due to anomaly in the cells producing mucus. A defect in CFTR gene causes the cystic fibrous, that alters the core function of the protein responsible of movement of salt and water in and out of body cells. (Komaroff, 2005)Through the scientific discovery transmembrane conductance regulator, called cystic fibrosis has greatly improved the understanding of the disorder and its diagnosis also showing the disease’s complexity. The study of the diseases started in 1946 but a fulgurating progress has been discovered in the recent years. (Hopkin, 2010). Cystic Fibrous is common inheritable genetic disease within the Caucasian people in the U.S.A. From the research done the disease affects mostly the Northern European ancestry, although it too experienced at the parts of Hispanics, Native Americans. and some African-American the genetically inheritable diseases is affecting about 1 person in 17,000 African American,1 in 31,000 Asian American and large population affected being 1 in 2,000 to 3,5000. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes severe damages to the lungs, liver, sex organs, sinuses, pancreases, intestines, and sinuses. The disease is characterized by the buildup of sticky, thick mucus. (Moss, 1991) Cystic Fibrosis is inherited diseases of the sweat glands and mucus. The mucus clogs the lungs as a result the breathing systems is affected and the mucus catalyze the growth of bacteria .Respiratory problem signs include breathlessness a stuffy nose, wheezing, a persistence in coughing and a decreased exercising ability

Unitarism in the Workplace

Unitarism in the Workplace Generally speaking, Unitarism means that every workplace should be integrated as well as harmonious entity which exists for common goal. In unitarism the managements role is critical and main aim of management is to provide powerful leadership and good way of communiation.In unitarisized organization, Employees should be loyal to their organization as well as their management to meet up their common goals. Most of the unions in the world are existed for loyalty as well as commitment for their employees; however this is the main reason thats why they are not welcomed by Employers. Sometimes Employees became too familiar with management and sometimes this situation creates conflict between each other.( Morris, R., Mortimer, D. and Leece, P. (Eds). (1999) In Pluralism , Management supposed to make not only powerful and different sub-groups but also they has to powered these groups with its own legal loyalties and with their own set of objectives as well as leaders. From this discussion, there are mainly two major sub-groups arises Management and trade unions. In pluralism it is impossible for management to avoid conflict because Management only cares about achieving its objectives and goals and proper attention on Employees are not given, they just provide usual training to their employees to achieve goals. So in Pluralism, Management is totally focused on achieving goals rather then view employees on personal relationships.( Mortimer, D., Leece, P. and Morris, R. (Eds.), (1998)) What is Unitarisim? Well in simple sentence unitarism can be called as theory of ordinary purpose as well as mutual goals with no basic conflict of attention between labour and wealth (capital) As a result of this, Managements role diversify, less diversify towards enforcing and more powerful towards persuasion and Co-ordination. Mainly Trade unions are legal Council of employees, they are mainly dealt with conflict at workplace and it is not considers as a bad thing if management able to manage trade unions, this can lead management towards progress as well as positive change. (Wiesner, R. and Millett, B. (Eds.), (2001)) Conflict is a deviation, the outcome of Conflict may be: Poor communications in organizations between management and employees Poor management style as management may not be able to handle employees. HRM mainly strategic and logical approach for the management, it is also considered as organisations most precious assets People working in organisation donate for organisations success of the business. Human Resource Management had replaced the term Personnel Management as HRM involves the process of managing people in organisation. By simple mean, HRM is the process of employing people , developing their assets, utilizing, caring and compensating their services in terms of the job and managerial necessity.( Wood, J., Wallace, J., Zeffane, R., Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, (2001)) There are mainly two approaches in HRM i.e. Soft HRM it relates with growth of humanism, Management gives proper training to their employees as if they are their personal. Hard HRM it relates with active combination of employees into firm objectives , Management seems to be hard with their employees , mostly they are focused on achieving goals. In Employment relationship, Neo-institutionalism is the term which is an expanded view of pluralist philosophy which is all about the function of rule-making. In management employee relationship, there are mainly two types rules Formal rules Substantive rules Neo-institutionalism also consists some other features such as Neo-intuitionalism is not only open but also endedness in terms of employee relationship Neo-Intuitionalism helps to understand the present in relationship with past Neo-Intuitionalism also describes and helps employees to understand the real world.( Wooden, M. (2000) , page no . 221) From recent Australian studies and world, it is shown that, Most of the work currently following unitarism tool of HRM ,because its been considered as soft HRM and in this Soft HRM, there are several criteria that fulfils todays dynamic worlds needs and wants , such as Soft HRM mainly focused on individuals own performance and its also focuses on individuals own development and in Unitarism , all of the employees and management of organization doing team-based work , so it is more favourable for employers. Where as in hard HRM , Management is mostly oriented towards result achieving , so Hard HRM is not very favourable for To achieve long term financial goals, most of the employers focused on development of employees because this can be proved positively for them in long term. References: Web references: Unitarism VS Pluralism http://forums.vogue.com.au/archive/index.php/t-122217.html Date assessed on 22-08-2009 Unitarily perspective from www.industrialrelations.naukrihub.com/unitary-perspective.html Date assessed on 22-08-2009 Book references: Teicher, Holland and Gough (2006) text book page no 42 to 46 Braverman, H. (1974) Labor and Monopoly Capital: the Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century, New York: Monthly Review Press (331.0904 B739 1 c.1) Bray, M., Deery, S., Walsh, J., and Waring, P. (2005) Industrial Relations: A Contemporary Analysis, Sydney: McGraw-Hill. Cole, Kris, (2001) Supervision: The Theory and Practice of First Line Management, Frenchs Forest, NSW: Prentice-Hall. Colvin, J. and Watson, G. (1998) The Workplace Relations Handbook: A Guide to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, Melbourne: Butterworth.

Effects of Television Violence on Children and Teenagers :: essays research papers fc

Effects of Television Violence on Children and Teenagers Does violence on television have a negative effect on children and teenagers? The violence shown on television has a surprisingly negative effect. Television violence causes children and teenagers to become less caring, to lose their inhibitions, to become less sensitive, and also may cause violent and aggressive behavior. Television violence causes children and teenagers to be less caring, to lose their inhibitions, and to be less sensitive. In a study on the connection between violence and television done with 1,565 teenage boys over a six-year period in London, William Belson, a British psychologist, found that every time a child saw someone being shot or killed on television they became less caring towards other people (Kinnear 26). William Belson also discovered that every time a child viewed this violence on television, they lost a fragment of their inhibitions towards others (Kinnear 26). In addition to William Belson’s study, studies done by many scientists and doctors show that seeing violence on television causes viewers to become less sensitive to the pain of others (Mudore 1). Furthermore, television violence causes aggressive behavior in children. Many people believe that children who watch violent television programs exhibit more aggressive behavior than that exhibited by children who do not (Kinnear 23). According to the results of many studies and reports, violence on television can lead to aggressive behavior in children (Langone 50). Also, when television was introduced into a community of children for the first time, researchers observed a rise in the level of physical and verbal aggression among these children (Langone 51). The more television violence viewed by a child, the more aggressive the child is (â€Å"Children† 1). Television violence is also a cause of both violent and aggressive behavior in teenage boys. According to the evidence in a study done by Turner, Hesse, and Peterson-Lewis, it was concluded that watching television violence had a long-term increase in aggression in boys (Hough 1). In addition to this study, Dr. William A. Belson evaluated fifteen hundred boys, aged thirteen to sixteen years, and he determined that boys with heavy television exposure are more likely to commit violent acts than other boys (Langone 51). In Belson’s study, he discovered that the effect of each violent act on television was collective, and over time, Belson discovered that the boys engaged in many aggressive acts, including painting graffiti, breaking windows, aggressive play, swearing, and threatening other boys with violence (Kinnear 26).

Foundation of Christian Thought Applied Essay

If I were to sum up what I have learned from this course it would be focused on Faith and a new understanding of the Bible. Faith is not just part of religion but every aspect of our everyday lives, and is fascinatingly carried through the Bible from the beginning to the end. It began with the Creation, and continued throughout the Fall, Redemption, and Consummation of Christ. It is the foundation of the Christian perspective and what leads God’s people to salvation and good works. Our modern world is so corrosive to faith that Jesus Christ asked, â€Å"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He is there to give his people the gift of faith and to help them to grow in living faith that will last forever. â€Å"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. † (Genesis 1:1) In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? No one can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are not the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation. God was very pleased with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, God stops, observes his handiwork and says, â€Å"It was very good. † This is a great example of being a part of God’s creation. Even when I feel unworthy of his pleasure, I have to remember that God made me and is pleased with me. In verse 26, God says, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness †¦ † On the seventh day, God rested. I often wondered if God needed to put in a day of rest for us to follow. I could not imagine God, who can do anything, being tired, but apparently he considered it important. Rest is often an unfamiliar concept in today’s busy, fast-paced world. It seems to have become socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest, yet God knew that there would need to be a time of reenergizing. I thought a good example of this could be when Jesus, spent time alone away from the crowds. This shows that as human beings we need to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits. The Creation story clearly shows that God truly enjoyed himself as he created his masterpiece. As noted previously, he stopped six times to enjoy his accomplishments. If God can stop to enjoy his handiwork, why is it so hard in today’s society to stop and truly take time to feel good about our achievements? Whether it is a job, hobby, or ministry service, if the work is pleasing to God then it should also bring pleasure to the person. When God created man and woman, Adam and Eve, he gave them many beautiful plants and trees to enjoy for food. But He also gave them one tree from which they were not to eat. This was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s command to them was that if they ate from that tree they would die. In The Fall of Adam and Eve The Bible says that the Devil entered into a serpent and tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1). He got Eve to doubt God’s Word. Satan told her that God knew that Eve would become enlightened and possess the same knowledge as God had if she ate from the fruit of the tree. This is much like Satan’s temptation within society today. There is constant temptation lurking over peoples whispering that there is no need for God. This is proven by all the violence, lying, murder, war, hatred, and disobedience of the 10 Commandments. The fruit was beautiful and Satan was cunning. Eve fell to the temptation and took the fruit from the forbidden tree. Finding it delicious she took it to Adam. As soon as Adam tasted the forbidden fruit, their lives, and that of all future humanity, changed. They immediately knew they had done wrong. They disobeyed God and would be punished. I can completely relate to this feeling of conscience. It is amazing when I do something wrong, and know that it is wrong, how it sits in the pit of my stomach and eats away at me until I make it right. I believe that that is how it is for people with conscience. That is the soul’s way of notifying an individual that what they are about to do, are doing, or have done is not right in the eyes of God. When God came to visit Adam and Eve in Eden, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Their nakedness was something they had never even noticed before. When they heard God coming they tried to hide from Him. Of course God is all knowing. He was not looking for them because He didn’t know where they were, but because he wanted to give Adam and Eve a chance to return to Him and acknowledge their sin. God spoke with Adam, Eve and the serpent. Each one had a specific punishment from God. Adam was told that his work would be hard and become toilsome (Genesis 3:17-19). The woman would bear children with great pain (Genesis 3:16). The serpent was given the punishment of crawling on the ground and that he would be cursed more than any other creature (Genesis 3:14). God told Adam and Eve in the beginning that they would die on the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One death was immediate; this was that they were spiritually separated from God. However, their physical bodies continued to live, but they would not live forever as God apparently intended. They would become old, sick and die. All three (Adam, Eve and the serpent) were put out of the guard and the curse came not only on them but on the whole world. They no longer had a personal communion with God. This is where faith really has to come into play for me. It is hard to take this all in with no proof, and yet part of me says is that not what faith is, giving one’s total self to God in body, mind, and spirit. I have to be able to trust in Him wholly. This is where I need to truly work on â€Å"letting go and letting God†. After the Fall there was Redemption. â€Å"Redemption is being set free from slavery to one’s own sinful nature, slavery to the pressures of the culture which is under the spirit of this present evil age, and slavery to principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in the high places. † When Cain became angry that the offering he had brought to the Lord did not have the same response as the offering of his brother Abel, God spoke directly to him warning him (Gen 4:6-7) that †¦ sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it’ What I feel this is saying is that sin is almost like a wild animal, waiting at the door of Cain’s life, and that it needs to be tamed and mastered. In comparison to society for all generation, this is something that is yet to be mastered. The same is true today as it was all those years ago; when an individual finds them self in a situation where they get angry because one person has more than they do, the normal reaction is to plot to ‘put down’ the other. On some occasions this even leads to murder. There is a freedom of choice in every sin committed. Even though human beings have the resources to take authority over sin; we often choose to submit our will to it and become its slave. ‘If you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness’ (Rom 6:16). As Christians, we have a belief system and a life that is based upon even some laws and regulations that are Biblical. Even people who have never read the Bible and do not therefore know what God has said; have a ‘morality’ that they like to think that they live up to, but often fall short. I feel that Paul says it best in Romans 3:23 ‘†¦ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and that in Rom 3:9‘†¦ we are all under the power of sin. ’ As a human being, our greatest problem is not that we are living in captivity but that we will not accept that we are in captivity. Human beings need to face up to the reality of their dilemma and not to rely upon any false hopes or ideals. Some people rely on doing good in hopes that somehow their good deeds may outweigh the evil they do, but all such arguments are lacking in a recognition of individual human responsibility, and lacking in a dependence upon the work of Christ. The dilemma, then, is not just that we subject to the bondage of sin, but that it is necessary to acknowledge it before Christ who is able to minister redemption. Jesus died on the cross for us. The penalty of sin, under the Law, is both spiritual and physical death. Jesus took that death upon Himself, paying the price for our freedom. Jesus gave His life. Mark 10:45 says ‘†¦ the Son of man came†¦ to give His life as a ransom for many’. Jesus had nothing else to give us but Himself. He is both our ransom and our Redeemer and, more than this, redemption is only found in Him even though we may try and find it elsewhere and in different people who now exist or who have existed throughout history (Rom 3:23-24, Acts 4:12). Because Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the Law by taking the penalty upon Himself, we can be free to look forward to the day of our death because our sin has been dealt with. Although Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for his people, it is still an ongoing task trying to figure out why individuals still behave as they do. The early chapters of Genesis helps to explain why individuals behave as they do, and to understand how we should act so as to please God. The subject of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Paul’s instructions here create a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture. Paul’s instructions are written off as the ranting of an ancient male chauvinist. It is one thing for the unbelieving world to reject Paul’s instructions; it is quite another for Christians to do so. Many Christians refuse to take Paul’s words seriously; even some of those who profess to take the Scriptures at face value, try to â€Å"tip toe† past certain passages in order to avoid the stigma of professing and practicing its teaching. Some individuals claim that they have not taken Paul’s words seriously out of ignorance. Unknowingly, they believe Paul’s teaching to be a mere reflection of his culture, and not a timeless teaching, independent of the culture of that day, and of our own. I believe most Christians fail to understand the responsibilities of Christian husbands and wives in the light of the biblical basis which underlies and necessitates them. For example, The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances our Lord has given to His church in this age. As Christians we are to regularly remember the Lord’s death at communion and the New Testament church devoted itself to a regular observance of it. What if someone were to suggest that this was merely an ancient celebration, applicable and meaningful only to the saints of days gone by, instead of preserving this ancient ceremony, they tell us, let us do something more meaningful, more enjoyable, and more relevant to our culture. What if they suggest having an ice cream and pie supper? Would our unsaved friends be more likely to attend? Would people find it more beneficial? As Christians we must be able to stand up for our faith and explain that we cannot set aside that which our Lord has instituted and which His church has continued to practice, from New Testament days onward. We should also point out that the bread and the wine of communion are symbols, symbols of our Lord’s sacrificial death for sinners. If we were to change these symbols radically, we could not do so without modifying the symbolism. Chocolate syrup might taste delicious on vanilla ice cream, but it would hardly replace the wine as the symbol for Christ’s shed blood. Like communion, marriage is a divine institution. Christian marriage has certain commitments, obligations and duties which are symbolic. The roles which God has given to a Christian husband and his wife are intended to symbolize and represent a greater, more fundamental reality. While marriage is temporal, the reality which is symbolizes is eternal; and thus we cannot understand the importance of the duties of the husband or the wife without grasping the reality which Christian marriage is to symbolically communicate. This fundamental reality which underlies and explains the attitudes and conduct of a man and his wife in marriage is the relationship of Jesus Christ to His church. This relationship was not understood clearly in Old Testament times; even Paul found it to be a mystery. The symbolism of marriage can only be understood in the light of the substance on which a Christian marriage is based: the mystery of Christ’s relationship to His church. Out of all the messages in the Bible, the view of consummation and marriage is what I struggle with the most. In Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam. Adam was given the task of naming all of the animals God had made. As they passed by two by two it became apparent that every male animal had its female counterpart. Adam was conspicuous as the only creature without a corresponding mate. I believe that by this means God created a yearning in Adam for a mate of his own. God provided her, but she was not like any other creature, in that she was not made from the dust of the earth; she was created instead from Adam’s flesh and bones. God created the woman as Adam’s partner, fashioning her to correspond to him in every way. God then brought the woman to Adam, and presented her to him as his wife. Adam joyfully responded, â€Å"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man† (Genesis 2:23). As creation’s first husband and wife, Adam and Eve symbolized by the marriage the unity of Christ and His church which would be achieved at the cross of Calvary, centuries later. While reading Ephesians, Paul says â€Å"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. † As I read on Paul explains in verse 23 how our Lord is the Head of His church, He is the â€Å"Savior of the body†. I understood this to mean that, the headship of Christ is evident in the salvation which He accomplished at Calvary. (Ephesians 5:21-33) In the early chapters of Ephesians, Paul spoke much more about our salvation in Christ, but he laid the foundation for Christ as the head of His church as its Consummation by teaching that all of history is being divinely directed toward the goal of â€Å"summing up all things in Christ† (Ephesians 1:10). In Genesis 2:24 Moses instructs us that when a man and a woman come together in marriage, the man is to leave his mother and father and to unite his wife, to become one flesh. While there may be practical benefits to a man leaving his parents and bonding to his wife, Moses does not bother to mention them. His words indicate that there is one fundamental reason. The Bible says that the fundamental and primary union evident in the marriage of Adam and Eve is to be reflected in every subsequent marriage, to symbolize the union of Christ and His church. Because God created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from Adam’s flesh and bone; they began as one flesh through the creation of Eve. This union was also to become evident in their sexual union and in the bearing of children, but the first marriage on earth began with only one relationship, a man and his wife. This husband-wife relationship, Moses indicated, is the primary one, and the parent-child relationship is secondary. When President Obama announced he now supports same-sex marriage, he cited his Christian faith. â€Å"The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know; treat others the way you would want to be treated,† he said in his interview with ABC News. I think when Christians at large talk about gay marriage, they are missing the point. The point is not that gay people want to take away other people’s right to get married. The whole struggle is really centered around the desire to be allowed in, to be able to participate in this ritualistic display of how much love the human heart can hold. It is about the basic right to choose who you want to spend forever with, and to have that celebrated by family and friends. Freedom of religion is a great thing, but since when did our ability to choose how or what we worship translate into our ability to dictate to others that they must conform to our chosen lifestyle, and that they must obey the rules of our personal faith? I find it rather alarming just how many laws are drifting to the top of legislation, laws that propose the outright imposition of one section of one religion’s believers on the entirety of the population. What is even more alarming to me is how many Christians seem completely okay with this blatant show of force. It is true that we are allowed to believe whatever we want to believe in. It is also true that we are able to express those beliefs freely. Just as the human heart has the capacity to hold so much love, it seems to have the ability to brim full of just as much hate. When we disregard the claims of others to rights do we fully enjoy ourselves, simply because we adopt a â€Å"normative† sexual preference? That is when we find that we are no better than all the people we have learned about in history classes in school who denied the rights they enjoyed to those who were not in the majority with them. It is not about whether or not it is right or wrong to be gay. What matters is when Christians begin to be okay with forcing someone else to follow the scripture, when it may not be something they are ready for or interested in. If Christians want to claim the freedom to speak our religion, and to choose our opinions, we cannot do so while denying others that same right. Christians come out in droves to protest whenever they feel their right to be a Christian is being threatened. I believe that if the Christian community were at large to have one of their basic civil rights legislated against, voted against by non-Christians, there would be a wave of outrage like this country has never seen. With a marriage license comes so many other benefits such as; taxes, home ownership, joint bank accounts, insurance policies, the decision to take a partner off life support, and being allowed in their hospital room after surgery. These are the kind of things that piece of paper can grant, and they are the kinds of things we take for granted. I believe that everyone deserves to be with someone who will cherish them as much as God cherishes us. God made man and woman in his image. We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, and sometimes in the words of John Lennon, maybe â€Å"All you need is Love†.

Lkdsa

Philosophy Gung If Panda tells the story about Pop, who was chosen as the dragon warrior by the wise old turtle, Master Agway, to defeat the enemies and save China from evil. Unfortunately, Pop was an unlikely character for he was fat and clumsy. He thinks he is not strong enough for the Job as much as others think of him the same way. But as the movie keeps going, Pop decided to finally strip off his fears and insecurities.He learned that inner peace is what he need to realize that life is not about who we are, UT who can we can be. I also eventually found the passion and courage on Pop. He was always optimistic and brave to conquer any difficult problems. And I like the way he did when he faced the tough training from Master Shift, because he used his ability â€Å"eating†, to transform and be better warrior. His unsophisticated mind made complicated things more simple and easy.From this predicable plot, we can find one very important lesson in life, especially for us teens who hold the future: Trust ourselves. No one can ever tell you that you can't, especially when you know with all your heart that you are on the right path. One must not give up and continue to believe to achieve dreams so that you would not regret. Achieving Inner peace Is also achieving inner strength. Gung If Panda also teaches the shy ones who lack confidence in their abilities and capacities. The movie tells that falling Is not the basis to continue dreaming and aiming.One must not be afraid to fall, because failure and stake helps an Individual to be better and stronger and will motivate you to keep trying. Life may not be perfect and we may have Insecurities or a traumatic childhood. We may not be the best of the world and not have everything that we want. But it shouldn't stop us from reaching our full potential. Gung If Panda shows that we Just have to look deep within ourselves and find Inner peace, so we can choose where we want to be. Skids By Deanne Unfortunately, Pop wa s an unlikely character for he was fat and clumsy.He thinks he is believe to achieve dreams so that you would not regret. Achieving inner peace is also confidence in their abilities and capacities. The movie tells that failing is not the basis to continue dreaming and aiming. One must not be afraid to fail, because failure and mistake helps an individual to be better and stronger and will motivate you to keep trying. Life may not be perfect and we may have insecurities or a traumatic that we Just have to look deep within ourselves and find inner peace, so we can

Hume skeptical doubts essays

Hume skeptical doubts essays It is said that wisdom is a product of experience. The human consciousness uses experience to identify situations and formulate connections between action and consequence. When observing a young child it is obvious that they lack the experience necessary to predict the outcome of their actions. They are novice to the world and have yet to undergo the experiences necessary to develop the ability to connect consequence to action. The philosopher David Hume in his book, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, addresses these skeptical doubts. In the text Hume sets out to establish what the reasoning concerning matters of fact are founded on the relation of cause and effect, we are able to use the experiences of past events in order to make inferences that allow us to predict future events. In the section Skeptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of Understanding, Hume doubts the role that reason plays in this process. Hume thinks all ideas are derived from previous experiences. He says, This proposition, that causes and effects are discoverable not by reason, but by experience. (338) If a person has never experienced a certain impression, they cannot have an idea concerning it. If they never tasted anything bitter before, then they cannot conceive the idea of bitterness. Any idea must be traceable back to an original impression, otherwise we cant understand what is meant by the idea. Hume suggests that without prior knowledge, it would be impossible to predict the future. No object ever discovers, by the qualities which appear to the senses, either the causes which produced it or the effects which will arise from it; nor can our reason, unassisted by experience, ever draw any inference concerning real existence and matter of fact. (338). Hume proves that knowledge based on cause and effect relies only on experience and cann ...

The Singular Possessive Apostrophe

The Singular Possessive Apostrophe The Singular Possessive Apostrophe The Singular Possessive Apostrophe By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, Could you please do a post on possessives versus plurals? Im seeing this mistake more and more, to the point where I saw someone use an apostrophe for a plural on a billboard. That wretched, wretched apostrophe! Why can’t we get it straight? The answer is complicated. In this post I’ll explain why the apostrophe is used to form the singular possessive. Its use with plurals will have to wait for another post. The apostrophe came into English from French in the 16th century. The French used the apostrophe to indicate elision: the dropping of a vowel letter. For example, in French l’heure, (â€Å"the hour†), the apostrophe stands in place of the a of the article la. English writers use the apostrophe in the same way, to replace letters in contractions like don’t for â€Å"do not,† and I’ll for â€Å"I will† or â€Å"I shall.† The use of the apostrophe in English would have been straightforward and not at all confusing if it hadn’t been for a complication already existing in the language: the breakdown of noun inflections. In Old English, nouns were spelled with different endings to indicate possession and number (singular or plural). Where modern English uses the apostrophe to show possession, OE used inflections. Here’s a rough idea; king’s horse = mearh cyninges (horse of king) king’s horses = mearas cyninges (horses of king) The -es inflection on cyninges is the equivalent of modern ’s. kings’ horses = mearas cyninga (horses of kings) Cyniga is plural; the inflection -a is the equivalent of putting an apostrophe on the plural kings. The loss of noun inflections has simplified English grammar, but it has also lumbered us with apostrophes to show possession. As early at the 13th century–long before the arrival of the apostrophe–English speakers had become confused about the possessive. Spoken, the possessive ending sounded like â€Å"is.† For example, â€Å"the kinges horse† sounded like â€Å"the king is horse.† Because the pronoun his was pronounced â€Å"is† in unstressed positions, the mistaken idea grew up that the possessive was formed of a noun plus his. In time, this notion enabled Shakespeare and his contemporaries to write constructions like this: [against] the count his galleys I did some service –Othello When the apostrophe was introduced into English orthography in the 16th century, constructions like â€Å"the count his galleys,† â€Å"James his throne,† and â€Å"the king his horse† gave way to â€Å"the count’s galleys,† â€Å"James’s throne,† and â€Å"the king’s horse.† In the mistaken notion that the apostrophe was replacing the word his, the singular possessive was born. The French sagely managed to avoid getting the apostrophe mixed up with the possessive by sticking with the â€Å"of the† construction, as in â€Å"la plume de ma tante†: â€Å"the pen of my aunt† (i.e., my aunt’s pen). We could save ourselves a lot of apostrophe grief by going back to â€Å"the horse of the king† and â€Å"the horses of the kings.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly Words26 Feel-Good Words8 Great Podcasts for Writers and Book Authors

Definition and Examples of Prewriting Strategies

Definition and Examples of Prewriting Strategies In composition, the term prewriting refers to  any activity that helps a writer think about a topic, determine a purpose, analyze an audience, and prepare to write. Prewriting is closely related to the art of invention in classical rhetoric. The objective of  prewriting, according to Roger Caswell and Brenda Mahler, is  to prepare students for writing by allowing them to discover what they know and what else they need to know. Prewriting invites exploration and promotes the motivation to write (Strategies for Teaching Writing, 2004). Because various kinds of writing (such as note-taking,  listing, and freewriting) usually occur during this stage of the writing process, the term  prewriting  is somewhat misleading. A number of teachers and researchers prefer the term exploratory writing. See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: Writing ProcessComposingDiscovery Strategies (Heuristics)FocusingGeorge Carlin on Finding Something to Write AboutYour Writing: Private and Public Types of Prewriting Activities BrainstormingClusteringFreewriting Journalists QuestionsJournal WritingListingOutlinePentadReading Examples and Observations Prewriting is  the getting ready to write stage. The traditional notion that writers have a topic completely thought out and ready to flow onto the page is ridiculous. Writers begin tentatively- talking, reading, brainstorming- to see what they know and in what direction they want to go. -Gail Tompkins, Rod Campbell, and David Green,  Literacy for the 21st Century. Pearson Australia, 2010Prewriting involves anything you do to help yourself decide what your central idea is or what details, examples, reasons, or content you will include. Freewriting, brainstorming, and clustering . . . are types of prewriting. Thinking, talking to other people, reading related material, outlining or organizing ideas- all are forms of prewriting. Obviously, you can prewrite at any time in the writing process. Whenever you want to think up new material, simply stop what you are doing and start using one of [these] techniques... -Stephen McDonald and William Salomone, The Writers Response, 5th ed. Wad sworth, 2012 The Aims of PrewritingUsually, the prewriting activities help you find a good topic, narrow topics that are too broad, and look at purpose. You should finish the prewriting activities with at least a sentence and a list. Or you may have something as formal as a three-part thesis sentence and a fully developed outline. Either way, youll have laid the groundwork. -Sharon Sorenson, Websters New World Student Writing Handbook. Wiley, 2010 Prewriting as a Method of DiscoveryJeannette Harris stresses prewriting while stating that discovery occurs throughout the composing process, even in revision, when the writer is still retrieving additional information, making further connections, recognizing emerging patterns [Expressive Discourse, 15]. In prewriting as well as free-writing and keeping journals, ideas and forms are discovered by provoking memory. In addition, the personal nature of much prewriting and freewriting serve as an affirmation that the memory of the student writer has a valid place in the writing classroom. -Janine Rider, The Writers Book of Memory: An Interdisciplinary Study for Writing Teachers. Routledge, 1995 Prewriting and Revising[P]rewriting plans are not carved in stone; they are simply tools for generating and organizing ideas. Writers frequently change their minds as they write, eliminating some details, adding and changing others. Thats why some writers say that prewriting is a misnomer; they return to their plans over and over during all stages of the writing process, often revising and adjusting the plans as they go. -Lori Jamison Rog,  Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing. International Reading Association, 2011

Crime scene analysis - Witness Statement Assignment

Crime scene analysis - Witness Statement - Assignment Example Each member of the group had been directed to recover and package at least two exhibits. In addition, every member of the team was to prepare a sketch with measurements as well as to complete a scene book recording the entire details. I along with a team, comprising three other detectives, left our station at 0400 hrs and reached the location at 0415 hrs. On reaching the location I briefed the other team members on the procedure to be followed and told them that I will do the video recording of the entire area as well as the main items we recover. However, they were told to take any specific items that they may recover and retrieve as evidence. As soon as the briefing process was over, we did the initial assessment of the crime scene and I proceeded to record the scene and the recording on CD is submitted as Exhibit MAS-001. A copy of the same has been kept in Police HQ on thumb drive. During my initial assessment, I estimated that the actual crime scene would be around 50 metres fro m the sidewalk and about 10 metres from a footpath inside the park, by the side of the hedge. I could identify the area distinctly because of the flattened grass turf in the scene and, additionally, there were also a few small clumps of grass in the area, which suggested of a person trying to grab the grass while fighting. Besides, I could also see the finger marks on the ground as if someone was trying to clutch the ground for balancing or crawling away to ward of an attacking person. Similarly, I could also see elongated marks on the ground as a result of someone attempting to hold ground while pushing another person away. There were also telltale marks of shoe toes on the ground suggesting that someone was balancing the feet on ground to hold another person down. Subsequently, I recorded the other items that were lying on the crime scene. At first I retrieved the condom and its wrap, which have been produced as exhibit MAS-002. The condom had some semen in it and there were dropl ets on the ground nearby. I recorded these in close up as well as the area from where it was recovered. The first was a woman’s underwear hanging from a tree and I recorded it from the position we were standing. I went closer to record it from below. After retrieving it, I again recorded it from close range. It was a black coloured, laced panties and its elastic band had become loose. It had torn in two places clearly suggesting that someone had pried it off rather than the person wearing it removed it. It was a Calvin Klein brand I also recorded label and the areas where it had been torn. It is produced as Exhibit MAS-003. Next, I recorded a beer bottle that was lying on the ground. Initially, I recorded it from a distance and then went closer to record a close up view. I also turned the bottle on to its other side to record its label. It was Heineken and there was some beer still left in the bottle. I have produced this as Exhibit MAS-004. I also recorded the black shoe, wh ich was of Lee Cooper brand and 9 inches in size. There were mud stains on the shoe and on the toe it had mud sticking to it with small particles of grass sticking to it. I recorded it in close up and it has been produced as exhibit NBW-001. The next item was a knife, which I recorded, following the same procedure as in the other

Evaluating Evidence for Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluating Evidence for Practice - Essay Example Continuous check on the skin- If risk factors for pressure ulcers have been known, its imperative for one to check the skin daily for any signs of pressure ulcers, i.e. discolored parts of the skin. This is mainly important if one has an underlying condition, such as diabetes or nerve damage, which may numb or dampen feelings of pain in some parts of the body. Changing already established the behavior of any kind is not easy. It is mainly challenging especially in healthcare as a result of the complex relationships between a varied range of professionals, patients, organizations, and careers. In order to evaluate the anticipated change in practice, one has to understand the barriers to change within an organization. To develop a successful change strategy, one has to understand the types of barriers faced by the healthcare sector. With this knowledge, one can consider which levers and barriers may be operational in the organization and which may be applicable to a particular problem. As a result of this, it is likely to come up with a tailored approach to overcoming the anticipated barriers, encourage behavior change and eventually implement the guidance. Baccalaureate-prepared nurse act as the direct and care providers where they are patient educators and advocates. They emphasize partnership with the patients i.e. whether families, individuals, groups, population or communities so as to support and foster the active participation during the collection and analysis of practice change. Baccalaureate Nurses also bring an exceptional blend of knowledge, skills, judgment and caring for the evaluation of practice changes Once a change program is created, of course, it must be implemented. Though there are various ways of disseminating out plans for change, the following general approach is recommended, which is flexible to various situations, and which has proved to be successful in various health care settings. 2. Targeting the message to

To what extent does disparity exist with the legalization of the birth Essay

To what extent does disparity exist with the legalization of the birth control movement in regards to poor and minority women in the United States - Essay Example But both prevented the spread of birth control by changing from a popular, participatory cause to a professional operation (Gordon, 1975). The most prominent activist is Margaret Sanger. She is known the founder of the birth-control movement in the United States was Margaret Sanger. She has witnessed the results of uncontrolled fertility, self-induced abortions, and high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Her experiences as a nurse and midwife led her to focus all her energy on the single cause of reproductive autonomy for women. She was convinced that there is a need for extensive information on contraception. She established information and advice centers that help women in safe, effective and female controlled contraceptive. She founded the American Birth Control League which later became Planned Parenthood Federation of America. That time issues regarding birth control and contraception was considered obscene and this results to continuous government harassment and closure of her shops. The Comstock Act which was passed in 1873 states that it is illegal to convey any information or devices that could be used f or preventing conception and defined it as obscene was used against Sanger in her advocacy (Battaglia, 1998). It was the government that controlled the access of poor women to birth control, sterilization and abortion for the most part of the 20th century. Primarily concerned about the maternal and infant mortality, the officials began to offer access to birth control centers but women have limited access. Birth control has difficulty in finding legislative support mainly because of the eugenic rhetoric and arguments used by supporters to promote them. There are four main groups that influenced the nature and delivery of the policies. First are the medical and social scientists that offer theories about the origins and characteristics of poverty and proposed solutions that involved the control of reproduction. Second are the leading health and welfare professionals that shaped public policy and influenced the nature of reproductive services. Third, the state and county officials who implemented public health and welfare policies shaped the delivery of reproductive services. Finally, the poor and minority women targeted by the programs responded to them. Factors such as sexuality, class and racial conflicts shaped the negotiations over reproductive control. The ability of women to control their sexuality in terms and conditions of motherhood are the center of debates about birth control. Class and racial background determines whether women will have access to reproductive health care. It was assumed by Policy makers and health and welfare professionals that poor single mothers in particular if they are African American, Hispanic, or Native American-lacked the ability to function properly as mothers and that they should be discouraged from further childbearing.

IMPACT OF CHRONIC CONDITION ON SOCIETY Case Study

IMPACT OF CHRONIC CONDITION ON SOCIETY - Case Study Example Moreover, they must agree or make arrangements on to take care and supporting Joe while he is in a different physical location and state of health. These adjustments shall strain the family financially considering that Joe and the wife had retired two years ago. The autonomy needed for this case shall call for strong advocacy from all the involved parties so that both Joe and the family shall be accorded both emotional and final support they needed during this period. Chronic diseases are becoming part of the contemporary society; therefore, the society has introduced chronic care management. The chronic care management involves numerous education and oversight activities (Livius and Weichberger, 1932). These activities have been initiated within the health care professions to help improve the lives of persons suffering from chronic diseases and conditions. Some of the initiatives aim at motivating patients especially by directing them to seek necessary interventions and therapies towards achieving reasonable life or improve lifestyle as they wait to die. In most cases, multiple chronic diseases often coexist; thus, it is advisable for a chronic patient never to seek for fragment health care. Moreover, a patient, as Joe suspected for given chronic condition or illness must seek a proper and elaborate therapies and interventions for such medical conditions (Livius and Weichberger, 1932). Despite the introduction of medical care systems and policies of handling chronic diseases, such services are still too expensive for everyone to afford. However, the political leaderships are introducing health care laws that aim at making such treatment to all citizens. With these bills in place, people like Joe who have financial constrain will have some financial relief towards managing their medical

Analzye a topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analzye a topic - Assignment Example The artifacts depict the river of life as its prevalent theme. Through this representation, the artist intended to show the world the significance of environmental conservation. Moreover, the artwork shows that no matter how minute our contribution to the planet might be we are capable of transforming the universe. The painting is also utilitarian since it shows the spirit of restoration. On the other hand, the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by Alexander McQueen illustrate utilitarian themes (Alexander web). The artwork creates or utilizes space, which was a major theme in the 20th century. Through the creation, the artist demonstrates our ability to use minimal space through thoughtful designs. Due to economic and social demands, women were expected to undertake roles or duties that were performed by men. The black coat initially designed for women, also shows social changes that accompanied the 19th century revolutions. It was a utilitarian belief that economic and social prosp erities could only be achieved if women changed their thinking. The coat makes its wearer to appear huge. Indeed, the coat inspires its wearer, making them have a sense of pride and a conquering

Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Identity - Essay Example Therefore, our identity is then defined by how we think we fit in to the world around us, and how we feel we stand out (positively/ negatively). Our culture, beliefs and they way our parents have provided us upbringing shapes our thoughts and perception of the situation and hence the world around us. We are a part of the culture that is followed in a country to which we belong, the language we speak the religion we follow the beliefs we acquire through ancestry. This together culminates to a civilization, our ethnicity and no culture can influence it. The way we are presented in the society ascertain and formulate our identity. Our behavior, our communication skills become our tools that enable us to survive and prosper. Our customs and traditions which we follow define our integrity and values we have in our lives. They are the aids of social interaction and do provide an individual a distinctive identity. Therefore identity is personal, social and ethnic and the personality that is shaped out of this is an amalgamation of all these convictions. Thus, establishing one's identity can be both a liberating and an oppressive occurrence as separation from any one of these parameters directly influences the identity and personality of the individual. For e.g. 1. Children who have been separated from their family or country of origin due to migration may become perplexed about their personal and social identities. They experience a number of moves, been cared for by different people in different places, lost important contacts and relationships from their past, been separated from family, friends and their ethnic and cultural networks. 2. Adopted child has some different personality especially those who are from diverse cultural backgrounds or have some kind of disability. Feeling or being made to feel different is a major issue for children who have been adopted. For the adopted child, the stigma of not living with their birth family, living as a cultural or ethnic minority and becoming accustomed to what it means to be adopted are lifelong adjustments. 3. Similar kind of stigma is felt by the children of the prisoners and those who commit punishable offence. Parent's deed affects the individuality of the child and provides a social aloofness, this make the child unique and shapes the personality of a child in a different perspective. The child may start hating the family/ society or parents or cultivate some kind of criminal psyche within the premature mind. 4. Children of the broken marriage also face identity crisis and are confused. They feel ashamed to talk about the disputes their parents have undergone resulting in unsuccessful marriage. It inculcates the seeds of insecurity in the child's mind and changes the psychology of the child. The child does not gain trust on any one and any kind of relationship throughout the life. This is the way personality is changed and shaped. 5. Parents undergoing the phase of mourning after divorce establishes a new sense of self and hence a new sense of identity. It is established that in a long-term marriage, each individual's sense of self-identity becomes tied to the other person and indeed to the marriage itself. Following a broken marriage, each person must reach back into his or her early experience and find other images and

Analzye a topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analzye a topic - Assignment Example The artifacts depict the river of life as its prevalent theme. Through this representation, the artist intended to show the world the significance of environmental conservation. Moreover, the artwork shows that no matter how minute our contribution to the planet might be we are capable of transforming the universe. The painting is also utilitarian since it shows the spirit of restoration. On the other hand, the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by Alexander McQueen illustrate utilitarian themes (Alexander web). The artwork creates or utilizes space, which was a major theme in the 20th century. Through the creation, the artist demonstrates our ability to use minimal space through thoughtful designs. Due to economic and social demands, women were expected to undertake roles or duties that were performed by men. The black coat initially designed for women, also shows social changes that accompanied the 19th century revolutions. It was a utilitarian belief that economic and social prosp erities could only be achieved if women changed their thinking. The coat makes its wearer to appear huge. Indeed, the coat inspires its wearer, making them have a sense of pride and a conquering

Personal Development Plan Essay Example for Free

Personal Development Plan Essay Personal Development Planning Made Easy! A guide to recording experience and learning from it What is Personal Development Planning? Studying at university is not just about learning a lot of things that are fascinating in themselves but — at least in the case of most Arts subjects — rather disconnected from ‘the real world’. At the same time as you develop your knowledge of your subject and the skills required to perform well in it, you’re actually developing a whole range of skills and intellectual abilities that can be transferred to other areas of life, including your future employment. Arts subjects don’t generally equip you for a specific job; they actually equip you to undertake almost any job that doesn’t required specialised scientific training. Moreover, university life is intended to present you with all kinds of chances to develop yourself as an individual with a range of interests and experiences, and not just as someone reading books, writing essays and taking exams. An Arts graduate should be versatile, imaginative, critical, flexible, incisive, confident and articulate, and so ready for any challenge or task — if only you can recognise these abilities in yourself. This is where Personal Development Planning (PDP) comes in. With an ever-increasing number of well-qualified graduates entering the labour market each year, it is crucial to your success after completing your studies that you know exactly what skills you have to offer — academic, work-related and personal — when you start applying for jobs, and that you can provide solid evidence of those skills. Your studies will have helped you develop crucial transferable skills and personal atributes, and so will many of your extra-curricular activities; you just have to be able to articulate these to prospective employers. PDP helps you to keep track of what you’ve learned, how you learned it, and what you might do with that learning later on; it can also help you to plan for the future and to identify what skills or attributes you may need to develop in order to achieve your goals. Getting involved with PDP should help you to: †¢Consider what you really want to do †¢Make the right academic, personal and professional decisions †¢Set personal goals and targets †¢Identify programmes and extra-curricular opportunities and training to help you develop your skills †¢Plan ahead to achieve your goals Evaluate your own progress †¢Record different kinds of achievement Personal Development Planning is one part of your university ‘progress file’. This is not an actual document but a combination of any personal development planning activities that you engage in and record, as well as the formal academic transcript of your marks that your university provides you wit h at the end of your studies. It offers a detailed, rounded account of everything that you have achieved at university. In recent years, universities have become more aware that their students need to be highly employable, and that means not just graduating with a good degree but being able to demonstrate a whole range of skills and abilities that will help you to gain and maintain the employment you want. Getting used to setting targets for yourself and evaluating your progress now will stand you in good stead for success in your future working life, and one of the key aims of an Arts education at Bristol is to help you realise that learning is a truly life-long activity, not something that stops when you leave university. We want, therefore, to encourage you to reflect regularly on your performance; we aim to provide useful guidance on how to go about this, for example through this guide, and to provide regular opportunities for reflection and discussion, above all through the personal tutor system. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility for your own personal development, but we’ll do our best to help and support this process. Do I need Personal Development Planning? Try this self-evaluation exercise. For each of the following statements, rate your responses: strongly agree = 0; agree = 1; sort of agree = 2; disagree = 3; strongly disagree = 4. 1. I am certain that I can keep myself motivated towards achieving my degree for the next few years 2. I am very clear what my goals are for the next five years 3. I am confident that I have planned sufficiently to enable me to achieve my goals 4. I am very clear how my degree fits into my life plans 5. I am clear which skills employers are looking for 6.

Optimal Extraction Paths of Coal

Optimal Extraction Paths of Coal Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Motivation According to the World Energy Outlook (WEO 2007)[1], global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will increase by 1,8 % per year from 2005 to 2030, and 2 % per year for the period 2030-2050.[2] From 12.446 Mt of CO2 equivalent in 2002, emissions will reach 15.833 Mt in 2030 for OECD countries an average increase of 1,1 % per year. CO2 is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG), which is contributing to global warming. The primary source of the increased atmospheric concentration of CO2 since the pre-industrial period results from fossil fuel use, with land-use change providing another significant but smaller contribution.[3] Continued greenhouse gas emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming and induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century.[4] According to the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency the power generation sector will contribute to almost half the increase in global emissions between 2002 and 2030, and will remain the single biggest CO2-emitting sector in 2030. In OECD countries, its emissions will rise from 4.793 Mt of CO2 in 2002 to 6.191 Mt of CO2 in 2030, but the share will remain constant.[5] Today, power generation emits 65 % of industrial emissions of CO2 in OECD countries and is likely to become instrumental in countries strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[6] One of such instruments is the Kyoto Protocol. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more than 180 countries have recognised the need to stabilise the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere, which are causing climate change. The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, was adopted at the third session of the Conference of Parties in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. It entered into force on 16 February 2005 with 184 Parties of the Convention who have ratified to date.[7] The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries (including Germany) and the European Community for reducing GHG emissions. These amount to an average of five percent of the 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.[8] The Kyoto Protocol includes specific flexible mechanisms such as Emissions Trading, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) for the countries to be able to reach their mandatory emission limits. Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows countries that have emission units to spare emissions permitted to them but not used to sell this excess capacity to countries that exceed their targets. Thus, a new commodity was created in the form of emission reduction or removal assets. Since CO2 is the principal greenhouse gas, people speak simply of trading in carbon. Carbon is now tracked and traded like any other commodity. This is known as the carbon market.[9] In European countries the emissions trading system is the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the largest system nowadays. The CDM, defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction or emission limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement emission reduction projects in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction credits, each equivalent to one ton of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting the Kyoto targets. A CDM project activity might involve, for example, a rural electrification project using solar panels or the installation of more energy-efficient boilers.[10] The JI mechanism, defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to earn emission reduction units from an emission-reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one ton of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target. JI offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of fulfilling a part of their Kyoto commitments, while the host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer.[11] Germany is one of the worlds largest energy consumers and ranks third in total CO2 emissions within the G-7, after the USA and Japan.[12] Annually, Germany produces around 850 millions tons of CO2 equivalent gases, which is approximately 2,8 % of all worlds CO2 emissions.[13] On 31 May 2002, the Kyoto Protocol was ratified by Germany. After entering it into force Germany has played an active role in the European and world carbon markets. Electricity production in Germany is largely based on burning exhaustible resources, causing high CO2 emissions. That makes the issue of CO2 trade crucial for German power plants and the economy in whole. In 2008, the total amount of gross electricity supplied in Germany was around 639,1 TWh[14], that is slightly higher in comparison to the previous year. Nevertheless, during last years there is a tendency of increase in electricity supply (See Table 1). The electricity supply in Germany is based on several technologies and fuels. The distribution of net electricity supply in last years in Germany is shown in Table 1. Electricity production in 2008, as in previous years, was based mainly on coal-fired (hard coal and lignite) steam turbine (43,6 %) and nuclear (22,3 %) power plants.[15] Energy source Since the share of the coal based power plants in Germany is large and the amount of electricity produced is still growing, the impact of the CO2 emissions trade on the economy of these plants is very significant. According to data provided by the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency, the price for coal is rising during the economic lifetime of the coal-firing plants.[16] This rise partly can be caused by additional CO2 costs. The largest impact of the emissions trading on the electricity generation cost is felt by the lignite-fired power plants followed by the hard coal-fired power plants, since lignite while burning is producing more emissions than hard coal.[17] With an assumed emission price of 20 â‚ ¬/tCO2 the power generation costs of the lignite-fired power plant would increase by 63 % from 25,4 â‚ ¬/MWh to 41,4 â‚ ¬/MWh, whereas the generation costs with hard coal-fired would rise by 48 % from 30,2 â‚ ¬/MWh to 44,8 â‚ ¬/MWh.[18] The competitiveness of the coal-fired plants is also influenced by including the CO2 prices into the costs. 1 represents marginal cost curve based on the total installed capacity and facilities operating costs for Europe.[19] As can be seen, the addition of CO2 price to the production costs can make coal power plants less competitive. The sequence of most of electricity plants stays the same after addition of 20 â‚ ¬/tCO2 to the costs, though coal based power plants move to the side of less competitive plants. These facts and evident changes raise many questions such as following: how long will electricity from fossil fuels stay competitive, how the extraction of fossil fuels is influenced by CO2 prices. 1.2. Problem definition From all of the above it can clearly be seen that the CO2 price is influencing the value of coal and its extraction path.[20] Questions this thesis is dealing with are how the extraction path is affected by the CO2 price, and what the optimal path of using coal is. For many companies, i.e. in coal mining and coal utilizing, this question is essential, since they already face significant changes in profitability. The thesis is aimed at describing the optimal extraction path of exhaustible resource (coal) without and then with CO2 considerations. That will allow to compare and to see the changes in paths. Coal-related industries will be discussed here, but similarly the approaches can be used for other exhaustible fossil fuels. Since coal is an exhaustible resource, for describing its optimal extraction path we will use the exhaustible resource economic theory, to be more precise, Hotellings theory, which determines the optimal extraction path of exhaustible resource. Hotellings rule is one of the required conditions of optimality of the extraction path. The optimal extraction path means that the miner is maximising his profit if he follows this path. Besides that, we widen the scope of the work and change the condition of maximising the profit and look at the case when a miner aims to prolong the life-time of the mine as much as possible. We will also consider different markets types: competitive and monopoly. For modelling all the scenarios in the mentioned conditions, a single mine which is situated in Germany will be used, and we will assume that all coal is burned at the power plant for production of electricity which belongs to the same company as the mine. 1.3. Relevance We aim to determine how the EU ETS is influencing the extraction path of the coal and its value. This question is very important for the mine owner, as it allows him to choose the right strategy for production and exploitation, depending on the new market conditions with costs for CO2. That is essential for the economic survival of the miner. And for us, the task is therefore to determine the influence of CO2 price on the extraction path of a coal mine. First, we will construct the model without consideration of CO2 price in two different market conditions, and afterwards we include CO2 price considerations. As mentioned before, we will discuss the case when a miner wants to maximize the life-time of the mine. The reasons for that might be to save jobs or governmental directives. This case also will be studied in different markets. 1.4. Goals The goal of the work is to construct simplified models, on the base of Hotellings rule theory, which will determine the optimal extraction paths of coal and extraction paths leading to maximization of life-time, for one single mine situated in Germany in different market conditions without and with CO2 price consideration. Afterwards, on the base of models including into them numerical data, we aim to show the scale of the CO2 price affecting the extraction path. 1.5. Structure The current chapter, chapter one, gives an introduction into the topic, determines the goals of the paper, explains the motivation of the research done in the work, supports it with topical data. The second chapter contains the theoretical base for the further research. It describes Hotellings rule extraction of exhaustible resources, discusses the crucial points of the theory, and gives the basic model of optimal extraction of exhaustible resource. In the third chapter, models of optimal extraction of coal in different conditions are developed. At the beginning, the models represent the optimal extraction path of competitive market and then monopoly market. Next, cases are discussed in which the company is maximising the life-time of the mine also in two market types. Afterwards, the CO2 price is integrated into the models, and the change in extraction paths is described. At the end, two numerical examples are given, and calculated to find two optimal extraction paths without CO2 and then with it. The last chapter, chapter four, gives the summary of the whole master thesis and its results.  ­Ã‚ ­Chapter 2: The theory of exhaustible resources 2.1. Overview This chapter is dedicated to Hotellings theory itself, since we use it to determine extraction paths of coal. It contains the theoretical background for further models construction, and allows to understand the theory deeper. Next, Hotellings rule is discussed. Afterwards, we discuss different parameters which can influence the rule, since these considerations are necessary for construction of the models and making appropriate assumptions for them. At the end of this chapter the basic model of optimal extraction of exhaustible resource is given. On the basis of this model, in the following chapter, we will build models with considerations of different market conditions and CO2 price. The main questions of the economics of exhaustible resources are: what is the optimal rate of exploration of the resource by company, the price path of the exhaustible resource and how does it change through time? These are the questions which we are interested in. And since coal is exhaustible resource, this theory is applicable to our case. Exhaustible resources are those that are available in fixed quantities. They dont exhibit significant growth or renewal over the time. Coal is exhaustible resource; its amount in deposits is fixed and doesnt grow over time. Pindyck distinguishes between exhaustible and non-renewable resources[21] by noting that, while the latter do not exhibit growth or regeneration, new reserves can be acquired through exploratory effort and discovery.[22] Since the first one is more wide spread, in this work the term exhaustible resources will be used for indication of this type of resources. In 1914 L. C. Gray dealt with questions of natural resource economics. He examined the supply behaviour over time of an individual extractor who anticipates a sequence of real prices and attempts to maximize discounted profits.[23] Harold Hotelling extended Grays theory by predicting the sequence of market prices that Gray took as given in his work â€Å"The Economics of Exhaustible Resources† in 1931, which then became a seminal paper on the economics of exhaustible resources.[24] 2.1.1. Hotellings rule Hotellings rule, as described in his paper entitled â€Å"The Economics of Exhaustible Resources†, is an economic theory, pointing out how the prices should behave under a specified (and very restrictive) set of conditions.[25] It states that competitive mine owners, maximizing the present value of their initial reserves, should extract a quantity such that price of the exhaustible resource rise at the rate of interest.[26] In other words, if we assume that P0 is the initial price of the resource, Pt is the price of resource at some point of time, i is interest rate, then:[27] (1)Hotellings rule is based on the following assumptions:[28]  § the mine owners objective is to maximize the present value of his current and future profits. This requires that extraction takes place along an efficient path in a competitive industry equilibrium, which implies that all mines are identical in terms of costs and that they are all price takers in a perfect and instantaneous market of information.  § the mine is perfectly competitive and has no control over the price it receives for its production.  § mine production is not constrained by existing capacity; it may produce as much or as little as it likes at any time during the life of the mine.  § the ore deposit has a capitalized value. That is, a copper or gold deposit in the ground is a capital asset to its owner (and society) in the same way as any other production facility. Furthermore, he assumed that the richest and most accessible deposits would be mined first, and that increasing scarcity (after exhaustion of the best mines) would confer capitalized value on inferior deposits, which could then be mined.  § the resource stock is homogenous and consequently there is no uncertainty about the size, grade and tonnage of the ore deposit. Current and future prices and extraction costs are known. This implies that an ore body has uniform quality or grade throughout and that there is no change in grade of the ore as mining proceeds. Miners and grade control officers, who endeavour to supply the mill only with ore above a certain grade, recognize this fifth assumption to be major departure from reality. The topic of uncertain reserves is discussed in more details in section 2.1.5 of the thesis.  § The sixth assumption is that the costs of mining or extraction do not change as the orebody is depleted. Again, this assumption does not recognize that all mines face increasing costs as the ores are depleted. Underground mining costs increase as the mining face becomes longer and deeper and moves further away from the shaft system, while in open pit operations haul roads become longer and pits become progressively larger and deeper. A rider to Hotellings assumption that the marginal unit (standard mining unit) is accessible at the same constant cost, is the assumption that the marginal cost of extraction in this particular case is zero. In addition, it implies that the market price and the rate of extraction are connected by a stable, downward sloping demand curve for the resource.[29] In this constrained model the size of the remaining stock declines without ever being augmented by exploration discoveries. To the topic of cost of extraction is also dedicated the section 2.1.4 of the thesis.  § The final assumption is that there is no technological improvement during the life of the mine and that no new additions to the resource stock are contributed by exploration. Sections 2.1.7 and 2.1.8. are discussing technological progress and â€Å"backstop† resources, which are also connected to technological progress. Hotellings model predicts a general rise in commodity prices over time. The model has been used by numerous authors as a useful reference point in discussions on the various dimensions of mineral supply and availability. Among the factors that the model helps introduce are that:[30]  § Prices are a useful indicator of scarcity, if markets are functioning well (section 2.1.3 is discussing the question of resource scarcity)  § The effects of exploration and technological innovation significantly and importantly influence mineral availability over time  § Market structure matters (competition versus monopoly)  § Mineral resources are not homogeneous  § Backstop technologies limit the degree to which prices can increase  § Substitution is an important response to increased scarcity  § Changes in demand influence price and availability. In other words, the model provides a vehicle for introducing the various dimensions of mineral supply and scarcity.[31] But since Hotellings rule uses a number of assumptions, it might not coincide with reality completely. The next part discusses the empirical validation of Hotellings rule. 2.1.2. Empirical validation of Hotellings rule All the assumptions of the model mentioned before diminish the potential value of the application of the model for the miner in the real world. In an attempt to validate Hotellings rule, much research effort has been directed to empirical testing of that theory. But unfortunately, till now there is no consensus of opinion coming from empirical analysis.[32] One way of testing Hotellings rule seems to be clear: collect time-series data on the price of a resource, and see if the proportionate growth rate of the price is equal to r. This was done by Barnett and Morse. They found that resource prices including iron, copper, silver and timber fell over time, which was a most disconcerting result for proponents of the standard theory.[33] Other research came up with absolutely different results which could not assess whether the theory is right or wrong. But the problem is far more difficult than this to settle, and a direct examination of resource prices is not a reasonable way to proceed. The variable Pt in Hotellings rule is the net price (or rent, or royalty) of the resource, not its market price. Roughly speaking, these are related as follows: pt= Pt +b (2) where pt is the gross (or market) price of the extracted resource, Pt is net price of the resource (unextracted), and b the marginal extraction cost. According to the equation (2), if the marginal cost of extraction is falling, pt might be falling even though Pt is rising. So, evidence of falling market prices cannot, in itself, be regarded as invalidating the Hotelling principle.[34] This suggests that the right data to use is the resource net price, but this is an unobservable variable as well as i. So its possible to construct a proxy for it, by subtracting marginal costs from the gross market price to arrive at the net price. This difficult approach was pursued by a number of researchers. Slade made one the earliest studies of this type. She concluded that some resources have U-shaped quadratic price paths, having fallen in the past due to changes in demand or costs of extraction, but later rising.[35] The other study of this type is by Stollerys, which generally supported the Hotelling hypothesis with an example of the nickel market by calculating the resource rent per ton of nickel.[36] Thirdly, Halvorsen and Smith tested the theory and concluded, that â€Å"using data for the Canadian metal mining industry, the empirical implications of the theory of exhaustible resources are strongly rejected†.[37] If it can be shown that prices for exhaustible resource did not rise at the rate i, it does not necessarily mean that Hotellings rule is not right. There are several circumstances where the resource prices may fall over time even where Hotellings rule is being followed. For example, a sequence of new mineral discoveries could lead to a downward-sloping path of the resources net price. Pindyck first demonstrated that in his seminal paper. If the resource extraction takes place in non-competitive markets, the net price will also rise less quickly than the discount rate. And in the presence of technical progress continually reducing extraction costs, the market price may fall over time, thereby contradicting a simple Hotelling rule.[38] Named before facts show numerous contradictions which researchers face while dealing with Hotellings rule. But inspite of all these problems, the theory remains appealing. In their conclusion, Devarajan and Fisher state that Hotellings article is â€Å"the sole source of work in a vigorously growing branch of economics†.[39] Solow stated that, â€Å"Good theory is usually trying to tell you something, even if it is not the literal truth†.[40] So although the economics of exhaustible resources does not cover the real world of mining and mineral extraction to any large extent, it is still worthwhile to re-examine the theory. Also, many studies relaxed the assumptions of Hotelling, which introduced flexibility and widened the scope of the model applications.[41] Next some of the most important factors influencing the Hotelling model will be discussed. As can be clearly seen from formula 1, the main variable is the price of the resource. On what does it depend? Which parameters function is it? As in the thesis will be considered a single mine case, in the discussion we take into consideration mainly single mine factors, which are:  § scarcity rent ( see section 2.1.3)  § cost of extraction (see section 2.1.4)  § uncertain reserves the amount of the resource left in the mine, discovery of new reserves (see section 2.1.5)  § demand in the market (see section 2.1.6)  § technological progress (see section 2.1.7)  § â€Å"backstop† technologies (see section 2.1.8)  § market structure: competitive (see section 3.3.1) or monopoly (see section 3.3.2) Now we have a closer look at these parameters, since further description of the scenarios in different markets might require taking some of the facts into consideration. 2.1.3. Resource Scarcity Hotellings rule is determining the price of exhaustible resource and the extraction path of it. This price, along with other costs, covers resource scarcity, and a large part of the Hotellings theory is dedicated to resource scarcity. Since it may influence the price of the resource and the extraction path, we discuss it more in details. Worries about resource scarcity can be traced back to medieval times in Britain, and have surfaced periodically ever since. The scarcity of land was central to the theories of Malthus and other classical economists. What do we mean by resource scarcity? One use of the term to be called absolute scarcity holds that all resources are scarce, as the availab ­ility of resources is fixed and finite at any point in time, while the wants which resource use can satisfy are not limited.[42] But this is not the usual meaning of the term in general discussions about natural resource scarcity. In these cases, scarcity tends to be used to indicate that the natural resource is becoming harder to obtain, and requires more of other resources to obtain it. The relevant costs to include in measures of scarcity are both private and external costs. It is important to recognize that, if private extraction costs are not rising over time, social costs may rise if negative externalities such as environmental degrada ­tion or depletion of common property resources are increasing as a consequence of extraction of the natural resource. Thus, a rising opportunity cost of obtaining the resource is an indicator of scarcity let us call this use of the term relative scarcity.[43] There are several indicators that one might use to assess the degree of scarcity of particular natural resources, and natural resources in general including physical indicators (such as reserve quantities or reserve-to-consumption ratios), marginal resource extraction cost, marginal exploration and discovery costs, market prices, and resource rents. Scarcity is concerned with the real opportunity cost of acquiring additional quantit ­ies of the resource. This suggests that the marginal extraction cost of obtaining the resource from exist ­ing reserves would be an appropriate indicator of scarcity. Unfortunately, no clear inference about scarcity can be drawn from extraction cost data alone. Barnett and Morse, studying marginal resource extraction costs, found no evidence of increasing scarcity, except for forestry.[44] The most commonly used scarcity indicator is time-series data on real (that is, inflation-adjusted) market prices. It is here that the affinity between tests of scarcity and tests of the Hotelling principle is most apparent. Market price data are readily available, easy to use and, like all asset prices, are forward-looking, to some extent at least. Use of price data has three main problems. First, prices are often distorted as a consequence of taxes, subsidies, exchange con ­trols and other governmental interventions. Reliable measures need to be corrected for such distortions. Secondly, the real price index tends to be very sens ­itive to the choice of deflator. Should nominal prices be deflated by a retail or wholesale price index (and for which basket of goods), by the GDP deflator, or by some input price index such as manufacturing wages?[45] The third major problem with resource price data is that market prices do not in general measure the right thing. An ideal price measure would reflect the net price of the resource. Hotellings rule shows that it rises through time as the resource becomes progressively scarcer. But net resource prices are not directly observed variables, and so it is rather difficult to use them as a basis for empirical analysis.[46] Stern distinguishes two major concepts of scarcity: exchange scarcity and use scarcity. Rents and prices measure the private exchange scarcity of stocks and commodities, respectively, for those wishing to purchase them. They are not necessarily good measures of scarcity for society as a whole or for resource owners. Though originally intended as an indicator of the classical natural or real price, unit cost can be reinterpreted as an indicator of use scarcity. Unit cost or related measures are possible indicators of use scarcity but are not perfect either as a social scarcity indicator they do not reflect downstream technical improvements in resource use, availability of substitutes, or, as in the case of price, the impact of environmental damage associated with resource extraction and use on welfare. All individual indicators of scarcity have limitations. There is no â€Å"correct† way to measure resource scarcity.[47] 2.1.4. Cost of extraction The cost of extraction of an exhaustible resource is discussed in this section, since these costs, similarly to resource scarcity, are also included in the price of resource. Any changes in them can affect the resource price and the extraction path of it, and further we need to make appropriate assumptions. A number of researchers have attempted to provide deterministic explanations for deviations from the Hotelling price path based on the properties of the extraction cost function [Solow and Wan (1976), Hanson (1980), and Roumasset, Isaak, and Fesharaki (1983)]. They argue that, holding technology and knowledge of the stock of the resource constant, the most easily accessible sources of the resource will be exploited first. This suggests that extraction costs should rise over time, and this will affect the resource price path [Dasgupta and Heal (1974, 1979)]. However, extraction costs alone-unless changed unexpectedly-do not explain why prices have not risen.[48] 2.1.5. Uncertain Reserves The change in reserves may influence the resource scarcity value, the price of the resource and demand in the market, any of these changes affects the Hotellings rule. We discuss reserves change to have better understanding of it, as then we need to make an assumption about it to construct the model. Changes in extraction and exploration technology all affect the size of the stock of proven, or extractible, reserves. This uncertainty about the reserve base contrasts with another underlying assumption in the Hotelling model. Constant real appreciation in exhaustible resource prices is derived in this model because the reserve stock is known with certainty (as are the demand function and extraction costs). In practice, however, reserves are not known with certainty and have increased dramatically over time, often in large, discrete leaps.[49] The effect of uncertain reserves on the optimal depletion path has been examined in a number of studies. An unanticipated shock to reserves can cause a shift among optimal paths. A sudden, unanticipated increase in proven reserves causes the price trajectory to fall to assure full resource exhaustion. Observed prices in these models fall sharply when the discovery is made.[50] In addition to unanticipated shocks to the reserve base, a number of these models address the impact of endogenous exploration behaviour on the resource price path. As shown by Arrow and Chang, exploration tends to accelerate as the stock of known reserves declines and the price of the resource rises. With major new discoveries, exploration tends to slow until scarcity again becomes important.[51] The implied price path, therefore, is one that rises and falls, with little apparent trend. As pointed out by Pindyck, uncertainty about the stock of reserves is consistent with observed price behavior, although such uncertainty does not fully explain that behaviour.[52] Clearly, reserve shocks have played an important role in preventing the Limits to Growth scenario from occurring by consistently raising the size of the resource stock. The timing of reserve discoveries and shifts in price trajectories, however, do not coincide precisely as the theory would predict. Announcements of large new deposits have sometimes caused prices to move, but often there is little immediate response.[53] In any case, the frequency with which shocks to the reserve base have occurred either because of luck or because of the endogenous response of enhanced exploration activity raises an important issue regarding the degree to which these resources really are exhaustible. The steady rise in reserves, despite growing demand, which depict a steady upward trend in consumption), may argue for decreasing scarcity value of the resource over time.[54] D.B. R

In the American Society Essays -- Gish Jen

Gish Jen’s In the American Society is, on the surface, an entertaining look into the workings of a Chinese American family making their way in America. The reader is introduced to the life of a Chinese American restaurant owner and his family through the eyes of his American-born daughter. When we examine the work in depth, however, we discover that Jen is addressing how traditional Chinese values work in American culture. She touches on the difference in gender roles, generation gaps between immigrants and their American-born children, and the hesitance of these immigrants to conform to the American way of life. To truly understand multicultural literature, one must first try to understand the cultural background of the author. In the case of this piece, we are examining the Chinese culture and Jen’s experiences which shaped her writing. Gish Jen is a second-generation American. Her parents immigrated separately in the 1940’s. Her mother came to America to go to graduate school and her father came as part of the war efforts during World War II. With the rise of Communism in China, both were forced to remain here and ended up building a life together and raising their 5 children as Americans. Because they came in the second of three â€Å"waves† of Chinese Immigration, their reasons for coming and the process of assimilating into the American way of life was very different than other Chinese immigrants. During the first wave, from 1849-1882, the reasons for immigrating were mainly economic. Thousands of poor young males came from China to labor in America. In 1882, however, the Chinese Exclusion act was passed, making it so the second wave of immigrants contained only diplomats, merchants, and students. Chinese immigrants were segregated from mainstream America and lived in Chinatowns with no diplomatic rights until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Along with this act came the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which allowed more Chinese to come to America to be with their families. This was also the time where equality was being demanded by many young Chinese Americans. We are currently in the third wave of Chinese immigration. At this point, most of the people coming over are either select well-educated Chinese or those looking to escape repression and political instability in their homeland. Chinese culture is rich with tradition and values, which pai... ...e water, Mr. Chang put that pride above his better judgment by throwing both the shirt and the suit coat in the water. This story is an allegory of life for many Chinese Americans. Many came to America for the opportunity to lead a better life. Entrepreneurship is a big part of that American dream. The Changs’ owning a pancake house represents so many of the Chinese people that own their own restaurants upon coming to America. Mr. Chang’s hesitance to Americanize and his idea that â€Å"to embrace what he embraced was love† also represents the views of many Chinese immigrants. Jen’s own parents maintained some of their own ideas of how she should live her life. They didn’t believe that writing was an honorable thing for a woman to do and didn’t support her in her decision until her picture and story was run on the front page of a Chinese newspaper and â€Å"their people† accepted it. Works Cited Chinese Immigration to the United States. Accessed 03/27/2005. Lauter, Paul. The Health Anthology of American Literature. Accessed 03/20/2005. Moyers, Bill. Public Affairs Television "Becoming American: Personal Journeys" Interview with Gish Jen. 2003. Accessed 03/23/2005.