Arbitrage in the Government Bond Market Case study Coursework

Essays on Arbitrage in the Government Bond Market Case study Coursework Full of 18 March Case Study: Arbitrage in the Government Bond Market Part A. Creation of Synthetic BondsThe cash flows of the callable bond which is valued at $4.2 billion in shown in Table 1 in the Appendix. The information in the table indicates that after the initial investment of $4.2 billion, interest payments of 4.125 which equates to $173.25 million is payable semi-annually. The net cash flow which is the interest over the five year period equates to a total of $1,732.5 million. The present value of these amounts is shown in the last row which indicates the present value cash flow (PVFCF). In order to capitalize on the mispricing in the bond market Ms Thompson discussed two options. One option involves creating a synthetic bond with the $4.2 million callable bond. This bond would pay the same interest as the May’00-05’callable bond. The amount of 12% May05’ bonds required to match the coupon payments of the callable bond are as follows: X Ãâ€" 12% Ãâ€" 100 = 8.25% Ãâ€" 100 X Ãâ€" 12 = 8.25 Dividing both sides by 12 yields: X = 8.25/12 Therefore, X= 0.6875 The fraction of 12% May 05’ treasury bonds required is 0.6875. Therefore, the fraction of treasury STRIP required to pay the principal amount at maturity is 0.3125 (1 – 0.6875). The ask price and bid price of the May 05’ synthetic bond is therefore calculated as follows: Ask price = 0.6875 Ãâ€" 129.901 + 0.3125 Ãâ€" 30.312 = 98.78 Bid price = 0.6875 Ãâ€" 129.7188 + 0.3125 Ãâ€" 29.91 = 98.53 The alternative option would involve the 8.875% May 00’. A similar calculation as that used in the previous option. The following calculations provides information on the fraction of 8.875% May 00’ noncallable treasury bonds and May 00’ Treasury STRIPS required to match the 8.25% May 05’ interest payments and principal payment at maturity. X Ãâ€" 8.875% Ãâ€" 100 = 8.25% Ãâ€" 100 X Ãâ€" 8.785 = 8.25 Dividing both sides by 8.875 yields: X = 8.25/8.875 Therefore, X= 0.9296 The fraction of 8.875% May 00’ treasury bonds required is 0.9296. Therefore, the fraction of treasury STRIP required to pay the principal amount at maturity is 0.0704 (1 – 0.9296). The ask price and bid price of the May 00’ synthetic bond is therefore calculated as follows: Ask price = 0.9296 Ãâ€" 104.5 + 0.0704 Ãâ€" 46.656 = 100.43 Bid price = 0.9296 Ãâ€" 104.375 + 0.0704 Ãâ€" 46.25 = 100.28 Part 2 – Case for Mispriced Callable Bonds The May ’00 – ’05 callable Treasury bond is overpriced. The information in Table 2 in the Appendix indicates this. Investors can sell the May ’00 – ’05 callable Treasury bond at the bid price of $101.125 and buy the cheaper priced synthetic bond at the bid ask price of 98.78. The profit on the transaction would be worth 2.2345 per share or $98.49 million. If the both the callable and the synthetic bond had the same price the investor should prefer to buy the synthetic bond. The reason is that when the interest rate on a callable bond falls the government is likely to call the bond since they will be able to refinance it at a lower rate of interest. The May ’05 bond should therefore be worth more because it is a noncallable Treasury bond and therefore provides the government with an option. The May ’00 synthetic bond is also worth more than the May’00 – ’05 callable bond because when the level of interest rate rise the government will not call the callable bond since it is at a lower rate. Part 3 – The Case of a Bond Trader Who Does Not Currently Own the Callable Bond Part 4 – Varying Scenarios Part 5 Fall in the Price of Callable Bond by 150bps in One Year If the price of the callable bond falls by 150 basis points below that of the synthetic bond with corresponding maturity then the (asked) yield-to-maturity of the synthetic bond which was constructed using the May ’05 non callable bond and the May ’05 STRIP would be as follows: Yield–to-Maturity (YTM) is the rate of return on the bond if it is held until it matures. It is found using the equation for value of the bond Vb, in which rd is the return. Vb = 98.78 = (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)1 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)2 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)3+ (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)4 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)5 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)6 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)7+(8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)8 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)9 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)10 YTM = rd= 4.595% YTM (ask) synthetic May’05 is 4.595% The YTM (bid) on the synthetic May ’05 bond is Vb = 98.53 = (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)1 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)2 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)3+ (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)4 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)5 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)6 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)7+(8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)8 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)9 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)10 YTM = rd = 4.627% If the callable bond one year from now is 150bps below that of the synthetic bond with corresponding maturity the expected asked price of the synthetic bond and the bid price of the callable bond one year from now is as follows: Asked price of synthetic bond one year from now: Vb = 98.78 = (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)1 + (8.875/2)/(1+ rd/2)2 YTM = rd= 5.097% Bid price of the callable bond one year from now using the bond valuation formula is: Vb = 99.61 = (8.25/2)/(1+ rd/2)1 + (8.25/2)/(1+ rd/2)2 YTM = rd= 4.338% A higher the rate means that the returns are better. Even as the price of the callable bond falls below par value the yield is less than that of the synthetic May ’05 synthetic bond because it is still overpriced. Use of $10 million Loan Assuming no securities are owned and $10 million is borrowed on the repo market to perform the transaction in order to exploit the arbitrage opportunity and assuming other securities can be posted as collateral. Since I own no securities then I would borrow some and collateralize it using the $10 million loan. I would then sell the security in a short sale. I would therefore have to pay the interest of 4.125 semi-annually until I am ready to return the bond. When that time comes I would enter the market and purchase the bond if it is not overpriced or I would enter into a similar borrowing arrangement with another bond holder. Buy-and-Hold Strategy If I use a buy-and-hold strategy for one year, my arbitrage profit would be calculated as follows: Repurchase Arrangements Description    $mn Interest Repo Market Loan 10 (527000) Borrow 8.25 May 00 - 05 10 (825000) Sell short 8.25 May 00 -05 Callable bond 10.04 828300 Net Profit/loss       (523700) Figure 1 Much of the information in Figure 1 would result in a profit if I had investments of my own. The difference between long-term borrowing and short sales indicate that borrowing bonds and selling them short has major benefits but the cost of the funds used to so may outweigh the benefits which is the case in Figure 1, the result been a loss of $523,700. Attribution Analysis Most of the profit under section (a) can be attributed to directional value trading as it is assumed that the callable bonds are overvalued when compared with the synthetic bonds. This mispricing is expected to be corrected in the future. Works cited Edleson, M.E and Tufano, P. Arbitrage in the Government Bond Market? Boston: Harvard Business School. 1995. Print. Appendix Cash Flow Table for 8.25% May 00- 05 Callable bond Date/ Period 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Net Cash Flow Cash flow (4200) 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 173.25 4373.25 1732.5 PV 1 1.0413 1.0842 1.1289 1.17549 1.22398 1.2745 1.327 1.3818 1.4388 1.49813    PVFCF (4200) 166 160 153 147 142 136 131 125 120 2919 0 Table 1 Calculation Showing that Callable May 00 - 05 Bonds are Mispriced Description    Millions Price Value ($mn) Callable Bonds    42 101.125 4247.25 Synthetic Bonds:             May 05 TB    42 98.78 4148.76                Profit       2.345 98.49 Table 2

Examplification essay sample Free Essays

In fact, most students in US often take the online courses for each semester. The classes can be taken where It Is convenient for students: at home, office, on a military base or the other places. Students have the opportunity on choosing from various schools and courses which might be taught in another city or states. We will write a custom essay sample on Examplification essay sample or any similar topic only for you Order Now Classrooms are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week so students can take the announcements, discuss a topic, and review their homework at any time they want. However, students who first attend in online courses can get the trouble because of differences between online courses and on campus courses. There are some tips for students to achieve success in online college courses. First, students have to have some basic skills about computing. It Is the most Important material which Is required for online courses. Every students should have a computer if not they can study at library or internet coffee restaurant but they must know about computer acknowledge In fact, students in online course work through the computer all the time. For example, students have to log in to the web page of heir school to see the activities of the course. They have to email their professor to communicate, ask questions, and chat with follow classmates. In addition, some courses may require students to install software needed to study and download file which professors provide. Students can contact to students service to find the answers about the courses resource, or technical support to resolve problem Is related to learning system. Students need these skills to study, to communicate and to resolve the problem could have during the courses. In online course self-works plays a main role in it. Students have to manage time, make It suitable for their study schedule and work schedule. There are no one will remind students about homework and tests. students should suck to the syllabus, read it and use it as a tool to remind because it includes the calendar about the assignments, the test. Students need to keep track the due of them in the courses. Students also need to set up a place for study online which needs concentration, quiet so they can focus on their work without distraction. Students can choose to study in library where all the material they need as computers, books, have and there s quiet. Students can ask the librarians about technical issues and it will be resolved Immediately. Studying at home also Is a good idea. Students control all their rules at home that make them easier to set time for study when their family go out, or study at midnight then students are set free out of interferences. They will feel more comfortable to focus on studying. Next, students should study actively, they cannot wait for help when they got a trouble, they need ask for help as soon as possible. When they get a different subject or the professors explain something Is not bviously, students could be confused, lost. Students need to type, email, and find the answers they need. This is not a time to be scare or embarrassing to show their opinion. In addition, practice is a key for student to succeed, the more they practice the better result they gain. Most think online course are easier than normal courses. It Is big difference. Times for students to study are reduced and the courses go 1 OF2 where students face to face instruction. They have to practice more from the internet resource or from the text book by themselves to reinforce their knowledge and study well in the online courses. Finally, students should be optimistic. During the course, getting a low grade is one thing they might not prevent. Professor could consider them to taking a full course because their grade, their trouble but before the end students don not give up. Sticking with purposes, goals were set when taking the course. They need to learn from the errors to get better. If students made a mistake, do not ignore or avoid it, they should try to fix it by themselves, ask somebody like classmates, professors and if they cannot help, try to do a research in the internet, try the best they can to find the answers. Taking time and thinking positive to practice and improve will help students are successful. Online courses open more the opportunity for students to attend in school. They can succeed their goals like to improve their skills, reinforce knowledge, and get a degree. Online courses provide advantages for students such as flexible in doing assignment, no sitting in class, balance a Job and class. However, it also challenges students who first attend in the online course. Basic computing skills, create a schedule time, and study optimistically will help students improve the chances to achieve success in online college courses. How to cite Examplification essay sample, Essays

The Monetary Policy of Federal Reserve to Fight against Unemployment R

Question: Describe about the Monetary Policy of Federal Reserve to Fight against Unemployment Rate? Answer: Summary:- This assignment is based on the Houston Business Journal written by Kent Hoover on 17th Jun, 2015 (as given in the appendix portion). The title of the news journal is Fed wants to see more jobs before it raises interest rates. This newspaper journal is indicating the monetary policy of Federal Reserve regarding interest rate and employment. This relationship between interest rate and employment also represents the relationship between inflation and unemployment rate, as there is a deep relationship between interest rate and price-level. So, the following assignment has discussed about the current trend of inflation and unemployment rate of U.S. and its impact on the economy. It has also discussed the policy of Federal Reserve (the central bank of U.S.) regarding inflation and unemployment rate. Introduction:- U.S. is the most developed country in this world. But, the economy of U.S. was badly affected by the global financial crisis of 2000s. Due to this financial crisis many people lost their jobs which led to an increase in unemployment rate. Federal Reserve is trying to reduce this unemployment rate, by monitoring the interest rate policy (Beckworth 2012). Identifying the macroeconomic model:- According to the selected news paper journal, the Federal Reserve is monitoring the interest rate to increase more job rate. This monetary policy of Federal Reserve depends on the macroeconomic theory of Phillips curve. According to the Phillips curve, there is an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment rate. That is higher the inflation rate, lower the unemployment rate (or higher the employment rate) and lower the inflation rate, higher the unemployment rate (or lower the employment rate). Again there is a strong relationship between inflation rate and interest rate. At the high inflation rate, government always tries to increase the interest rate to reduce the money supply or cash flow in the hand of the common people. But in this high rate of inflation, the employment level is also high, as per the norms of Phillips curve (Krugman 2015). The relationship between inflation and unemployment can be shown by using the Phillips curve diagram, as in follows: - From the above figure, it can be shown that, in case of short-run Phillips curve, if Inflation rate is I1, then unemployment rate is U1. Now, if the inflation rate increases from I1 to I2, then the unemployment rate fall from U1 to U2. This decline in unemployment rate indicates the increase in employment rate .Hence, there is a positive relationship between inflation rate and employment. Therefore, to increase the employment rate, existence of inflation in some extent is necessary for any country (Mankiw 2012). That is why the Federal Reserve wants to see more jobs before it raising the interest rate. U.S. has just overcome from the financial crisis and the present rate of inflation of U.S. is -0.2%. This is a very low inflation rate and the Federal Reserve desires high inflation rate than that which can help in increasing the employment rate. At this moment, if Federal Reserve increases the interest rate, then the amount of cash flow in the economy will decline which will lead to a fall in inflation rate farther. And, a fall in inflation rate will result a fall in employment rate, which is not desirable for development of the U.S. economy. The present scenario of U.S. economy in terms of inflation and unemployment rate:- Year Annual GDP growth rate (%) Inflation Rate (%) Unemployment Rate (%) Interest Rate (%) 2005 3.3 3.5 5 2.9 2006 2.2 2.0 4.5 4.7 2007 2.3 2.5 4.7 5.2 2008 0.8 1.1 6.8 3.1 2009 -3.3 -0.2 9.9 2.4 2010 3.1 1.1 9.8 2.0 2011 1.2 3.4 8.7 1.2 2012 2.7 1.8 7.8 1.4 2013 2.3 1.2 7.0 1.7 2014 2.7 1.3 5.8 1.7 2015 2.9 -0.2 5.5 1.7 Hence, from the above chart and diagram, it can be shown that in last decade i.e. from 2005-2015, there is a fluctuation in economic growth rate. From 2005 to 2009 there is a continuous fall in GDP growth rate from 3.3% to -3.3%. But from 2010, it started to recover and reached at 3.1%. But after 2010, it again declined at 1.2% at 2011. After 2011, it again started to increase and has finally achieved the growth rate of 2.9% (Tradingeconomics.com 2015). Now, concentrating on the data of inflation rate of U.S. over the period 2005-2015, it can be seen that with the fluctuation of annual GDP growth rate, the rate of inflation has always fluctuated over the period. With the decline in GDP growth rate during the period of financial crisis (2005-09), the inflation rate has also declined and in 2009, when the GDP growth rate was negative (-3.3%), the inflation rate faced by the country was also negative (-0.2%). With the increase in GDP growth rate from 2010, the inflation rate also started to increase. But, in the present year, it again fall to the level of -0.2%, though there is a rise in the GDP growth rate (2.9%) compare to the previous year (2.7%). From the above data and chart, it can also be seen that with the fall in inflation rate, there is a rise in unemployment rate in U.S. economy all over the period of last ten years, which is following the principle of Phillips curve. But in 2015, when the inflation rate is lowest i.e. -0.2%, the unemployment rate has also declined at 5.5% from 5.8%. This is an exceptional case, when lower inflation leads to lower unemployment rate. This situation has occurred just for the lack of job opportunities (Data.worldbank.org 2015). During this period, the rate of real interest rate has also fluctuated over the period. From 2005 to 2007, the real interest rate of U.S. economy was increased by Federal Reserve to control the inflation rate. In 2009, the inflation rate was much lower and as a result, the Federal Reserve started to decline the interest rate to achieve a minimum level of inflation as increase in inflation leads to increase in employment rate (Houston Business Journal 2015). At present, where inflation rate is negative, Federal Reserve has decided not to increase its inflation rate further. That is why the real interest rate in U.S. is remain same at the level 1.7% during the past three years (i.e. from 2013-15). Reasons behind recession and decline in employment rate in U.S. GDP:- Though there was a sign of economic slowdown in 2006, the recessionary phase in U.S. started to begin from the end of 2007 and became clearly noticeable in 2008 (Cushman 2015). This recession caused a massive cut-off in the total employment level of U.S. The main reasons, behind this great recession are:- Shadow banking system: - In U.S., there was existence of Shadow banking system. This Shadow banking system includes the investment bank and other financial entities which are non-depositary. Though it was not subject to the same regulatory safeguards as the depository system, it had grown to rival the depository system. Housing Bubble:- Housing bubble was the most important characteristics of U.S. economy. There was a fall in private residential investment in housing construction nearly four percent, when this housing bubble burst. This led to a decline in GDP rate and consumption level and U.S. government was not willing to compensate the shortfall of private sector (Koutentakis 2014). Household debt:- In U.S., once the housing prices began falling in 2006, there were a record levels of household debt accumulated in the decades preceding the crisis which resulted a balance sheet recession. As a result, the consumers began paying down debt, which reduced their consumption and slowed down the economic growth rate during the period of 2006-2008 (Martin, Sunley and Tyler 2015). Government policy and financial turmoil:- The economic policies taken by the U.S. government towards the housing market was also a cause behind the recession faced by U.S. economy. There was also financial turmoil which led to a rise in money demand and a fall in commodity demand (Gosling and Eisner 2015). Conclusion and recommendation:- Hence, from the above discussion it can be said that to increase the employment rate, stabilization policy of Federal Reserve regarding the interest rate is not enough. Inflation may not increase even after taking that stabilization policy as seen in the year 2015. For declining the unemployment rate in U.S. economy, it is very essential for U.S. government to adopt some relevant policies for increasing the job opportunities in U.S. labor market. Seven types of policies may be discussed in this regard, such as, providing compensation to the consumers, providing unemployment insurance to the laborers, simplifying the tax for the small business, proving health-care facilities, implementing the regulatory reform etc. Appendix:- Houston Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/news-wire/2015/06/17/fed-wants-to-see-more-jobs-before-it-raises.html Fed wants to see more jobs before it raises interest rates (Video) Jun 17, 2015, 1:44pm CDT Kent HooverAs expected, the Federal Reserve decided against raising its federal funds rate this month from the near-zero levels its been since the financial crisis.In its statement, the Fed said it wont begin raising interest rates until it has seen further improvement in the labour market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium term. The Fed, however, sounded fairly confident in the economys progress since a dead-in-the-water first quarter. Since then economic activity has been expanding moderately, it noted. More jobs are being added, household spending has grown moderately, and the housing sector has shown some improvement, it noted. However, business fixed investment and net exports stayed soft, the Fed said. Inflation continued to run below the committee's longer-run objective, partly reflecting earlier declines in energy prices and decreasing prices of non-energy imports. Going forward, it expects the economy to grow at a moderate pace, with the labour market continuing to improve. So now the question is whether the Fed will start to raise interest rates in September, or wait until December. Fifteen out of 17 Fed members expect it will start to raise interest rates this year; the other two said that should wait until next year. References Beckworth, David M. 2012.Boom And Bust Banking. Chicago: Independent Institute. Cushman, Thomas. 2015. 'The Moral Economy Of The Great Recession'.Soc52 (1): 9-18. doi:10.1007/s12115-014-9852-4. Data.worldbank.org,. 2015. 'Data | The World Bank'. https://data.worldbank.org/. Gosling, James J, and Marc Allen Eisner. 2015.Economics, Politics, And American Public Policy. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Houston Business Journal,. 2015. 'Federal Reserve Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged; Waiting For Additional Jobs, Higher Inflation Before Increasing Federal Funds Rate (Video) - Houston Business Journal'. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/news-wire/2015/06/17/fed-wants-to-see-more-jobs-before-it-raises.html. Koutentakis, Franciscos. 2014. 'Gender Unemployment Dynamics: Evidence From Ten Advanced Economies'.LABOUR29 (1): 15-31. doi:10.1111/labr.12037. Krugman, Paul. 2015.Macroeconomics. [Place of publication not identified]: Worth Pub. Mankiw, N. Gregory. 2012.Macroeconomics. New York: Worth. Martin, R., P. Sunley, and P. Tyler. 2015. 'Local Growth Evolutions: Recession, Resilience And Recovery'.Cambridge Journal Of Regions, Economy And Society8 (2): 141-148. doi:10.1093/cjres/rsv012. Tradingeconomics.com,. 2015. 'TRADING ECONOMICS | 300.000 INDICATORS FROM 196 COUNTRIES'. https://www.tradingeconomics.com.

The Advantures Of Huck. Fin Essay Example For Students

The Advantures Of Huck. Fin Essay Books are known for teaching lessons. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirically presents the situation of how people of different color were treated unjustly, while at the same time amusing his readers. Isnt it ironic that the character that grows on you most is Jim, the black runaway slave, who society looks down upon most during the time period of this book? Jim is treated poorly as a slave and as a person. For one, he is separated from his parents and children amongst different slave owners. On top of this, he is about to be sold for $800 to another owner even more far away from his family, which leads to his escape. Despite these situations, he remains a loyal, loving, father-like figure, and most importantly, he remains a great friend to Huckleberry. We will write a custom essay on The Advantures Of Huck. Fin specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Society, even today, often puts children down by saying that they do not contain values. Well, Huck closes the door to this statement. Whenever Huck is challenged to make a decision on impact concerning the safety of Jim, such as the incident when the men are looking for blacks, his heart always seems to pilot him to the direction of Jims benefit, even though almost all of the rest of society would object to his decisions during this period of time. You can also see Hucks distress and sorrow for the fact that Jim has to buy his family back in order to see them again. This absolutely breaks Hucks heart. Back in the 1800s, blacks were considered property, and whites were always the superior race. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain purposely makes Jim the best character in the book, in that he is the most compassionate, caring, and most appreciated by Huck, the main character in the book. At the same time he makes Pap, the white dead-beat father of Huck, the most detested, disrespected, low down character of this book. Twain causes his readers to contemplate of how foolish it is that a person can be judged on his outside appearance, rather than who the individual is on the inside. In conclusion, the lesson to be taught by Mark Twain is that people often pre-judge others based on their exterior and not what counts on the interior. He does this satirically by making Jim an irresistibly lovable character because of how deep his feelings are, making the reader feel these insights as well. This is a lesson that can unquestionably be applied in todays world as well.

YMCA by Village People as example of disco Essays

YMCA by Village People as example of disco Essays YMCA by Village People as example of disco Paper YMCA by Village People as example of disco Paper Essay Topic: Casablanca â€Å"YMCA†, released in the fall of 1978, has become one of the great survivors of the disco era not only because it followed to the letter the motto of disco: ‘anyone could dance to this song’, but also because the Village People, looking so vigorously American in their costumes, turned it into a crossover hit. The events that led to this success were varied: sociological, political and cultural. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the song â€Å"YMCA† reflects the events of the decade that nestled disco music and how it fits into this genre which has opened minds up to a new experience that has remained unimpaired to this day.OverviewIn order to understand the Village People phenomenon we must consider some of the relevant facts of the decade (70’s). Although disco was born to suit marginalized audiences (blacks, latinos and gays), it soon crossed over to the mainstream. The most diverse audiences accepted it and adopted its ideals of comm unal harmony. The Stonewall Riots of June 1969, which started with one more police raid into a Greenwich Village gay bar, developed into a series of violent protests that went on for weeks and finally marked the beginning of the gay rights movement in the United States (Kelly Boyer Sagert 31) As a consequence of the Stonewall Riots, the gay community won, among others, the right to dance and interact in their own bars and clubs away from police harassment. Discotheques became the main site of gay liberation. As Robert Walser points out, the music of the 70’s was, in many ways, an answer to the frustrated ideals of the 60’s. Punk and heavy metal took over the economic slump, the chronic social problems and the political distrust but â€Å"the new gender identities and communal ideals† were taken up by disco (â€Å"The Rock and Roll Era 374)As its primary aim was making people get together and dance, disco became in many ways, the studio-created ‘product of producers’, relegating performers to a state of near anonymity and making dancers the stars. In the case of Village People, this was the job of two French music producers: Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo who fell in love with disco and decided to move to the United States to be part of the great movement. They wrote and co-produced for the female trio The Ritchie Family. By the end of the seventies, Morali’s genius for the business spotted an American Indian who danced in a gay disco down in the Village, as they watched him dance they noticed a cowboy who was waiting for his turn to perform. Both producers had the same idea: mixing together in one disco band the male stereotypes of America that the gay community responded to. They placed an ad and eventually filled the roles of cowboy (Randy Jones), cop (Victor Willis), construction worker (David Hodo), soldier (Alex Briley), leather-clad biker (Glenn Hughes), and Indian (Felipe Rose).Description and analysisJacques M orali came up with the idea of writing a song about the â€Å"YMCA† after visiting Randy Jones who was staying there as he moved to New York in 1975. According to what the members of the Village People said in an interview for SPIN Magazine, Morali wrote the song in fifteen minutes during a lunch break without realizing it was to become a disco anthem (Jeff Pearlman 74)YMCA was the first of the five songs which formed part of the LP Cruisin released by Casablanca Records in 1978. As most disco songs, it was meant for dancing in a club. The song reflects the interaction and identification of the individuals with a community. Some authors suggest that such experiences are essential to the disco music: â€Å"To understand this music it is necessary to understand (and respect, and probably love) the sensation of being one among hundreds of others on a packed dance-floor, dancing because dancing is what we enjoy most, and because dance music (like sex) binds us intimately.† (Watney 9)â€Å"YMCA† is sung almost entirely as a set of recommendations to partners who have just arrived in New York with no money and nowhere to stay. In this song the group vocals can be understood as representing the community and the soloist, the individual. Every line of the song is in a call-and-response format. First all the members of the Village People sing a short word or phrase, then Victor Willis, with his broad-chested lead vocal, adds a longer line.The song consists mainly of six stanzas, each pair followed by the same chorus. The song tunes are closed, self-contained. This is achieved by an almost strict musical structure (AABB) and the word by word stress of the last verse in a stanza, punctuated by synthesizers. There is a modest textural crescendo after the first chorus, but the intensity level pattern remains basically the same throughout the song. All choruses are virtually identical not only lyrically but also in terms of instrumentation. The song star ts with a brass introduction which is immediately followed by the four-four pulse beat of disco as the band begins to sing.   Many different instruments are used: clavinet and electric piano (Nathanial Wilke), drums (Russell Drabney), lead guitar (Jimmy Lee), rhythm guitar (Rodger Lee), synthesizer (Richard Trifan) but brass instruments stand out. Before each of the choruses we can hear five bursts of brass which seem to announce the important message:It’s fun to stay at the YMCAThe rest of the stanzas are there to explain why it is so much fun:They have everything for you men to enjoy,You can hang out with all the boys You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal,You can do what about you feel Having taken off in gay discotheques, the Village People managed to make their songs’ associations with gay lifestyle obvious but somehow hardly noticeable. They simply chose not to say much about the topic and let everybody believe what they wanted.It was this strateg y, together with their charisma and the right social circumstances which made â€Å"YMCA† sell 12 million internationally and be constantly reissued and repackaged.ConclusionDisco sound was ultra-inclusive. Jazz, classical, calypso, rock, latin, soul, funk were mixed in a perfect recipe within a studio to create an innovative sound. It, in turn, influenced 1990’s and 2000’s rhythms like house, techno and hip-hop proving efficiently that disco is a really dignified link of the chain of music.Although in 1977 it might have been hard to believe, the Village People occupied an extreme place in the history of music. It was a brief, frenzied moment when the cultural principle was ‘if it feels good, then it’s ok’, but with their picturesque looks and their contagious rhythm, they became one of the disco decade most enduring phenomena. There is not a sporting event, wedding reception, biker meeting where â€Å"YMCA† is not played confirming it as one of the disco anthems of all times.As Richard Dryer wrote â€Å"disco can’t change the world or make the revolution† but it did open up experience and changed definitions (â€Å"In Defence of Disco† 151)

3 Examples of Expletives to Be Expunged

3 Examples of Expletives to Be Expunged 3 Examples of Expletives to Be Expunged 3 Examples of Expletives to Be Expunged By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, an expletive (a form of â€Å"there is† or â€Å"it is†) inhibits an active, concise sentence construction, and other wording is passive and/or more verbose than necessary. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and a revision demonstrates the solution. 1. There have been several immediate actions that the agency has taken. To produce a more concise sentence, find the buried subject (â€Å"the agency†) and move it to the head of the sentence, then omit the expletive and the attendant verb or verb phrase (and the now-superfluous that): â€Å"The agency has taken several immediate actions.† 2. For each initiative, there  will be a number of processes that need to change,  as well as new processes that may need to be created. Here, because of the modifying introductory phrase, the expletive is not so obtrusive, and in this case, the syntax is not doubly passive- the subject immediately follows the expletive, rather than being twice removed, as in the previous example. Nevertheless, the sentence is improved by beginning the main clause with the subject rather than the expletive; also, replace one â€Å"need to† or the other with must to avoid repetition: â€Å"For each initiative, a number of processes must change and new processes need to be created.† 3. While each bankruptcy case is unique, there are standard requirements that must be met by all creditors. Again, beginning the main clause with a substantial subject rather than an expletive will render the sentence more concise: â€Å"While each bankruptcy case is unique, standard requirements must be met by all creditors.† Additionally, however, note that passive sentence construction disguises the true subject: â€Å"While each bankruptcy case is unique, all creditors must meet standard requirements.† 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:50 Handy Expressions About HandsComma Before Butâ€Å"Least,† â€Å"Less,† â€Å"More,† and â€Å"Most†

The objective of the marriage statutes and same sex marriage Essay

The objective of the marriage statutes and same sex marriage - Essay Example tural justice for those responsible for formulating the statutes were expected to have foreseen the problem and adequately address it even before it happened. There is no way the marriage statutes could forbid same sex marriage giving clear definitions of marriage and what society should take it to be in some clause and then intentionally give another contrary idea of what marriage is in its subsequent definitions of marriage without raising any debate (Eskridge, 2001, 853-881). The idea of the marriage licensing laws not prohibiting same sex marriage can be taken as an intention to undermine the inefficiency of grammar in those laws to completely substantiate the object of the encompassing or parent law which is the marriage statute, the object being protection of marriage between people of different sexes for purpose of procreation. This led to existence of a loophole where people of differing opinions could create grounds of making believe the constitutional law is ambiguous in it s intentions thereby creating a constitutional avenue through which same sex marriage thrive (Snyder, 2006, 35). By passing that law the intention of the law was subverted and ordinary and approved use of language principle of interpretation of law was misused to beat the very intention of the law. The intention of the marriage statute is clear; the marriage licensing laws are a mere branch through which the objectives of the marriage act are attained and implemented. The marriage statute does not have a provision to indicate that it might have any other differing opinion based on how it substance is interpreted in its subsequent implementation. The meaning of marriage in the laws of Massachusetts can be taken to be silent and its true intent can only be arrived at when subjected to... This essay analyzes that the court's solution to this case far exceeded its jurisdiction mandated by article 30. It amounted to statutory revision when the court interpreted the gender-specific language as gender neutral which resulted into a statutory revision that replaced the intent of the legislature with that of the court.  This essay analyzes that the court's solution to this case far exceeded its jurisdiction mandated by article 30. It amounted to statutory revision when the court interpreted the gender-specific language as gender neutral which resulted into a statutory revision that replaced the intent of the legislature with that of the court.   It is clear that same-sex marriage has always been forbidden under the marriage statutes and that the court of Massachusetts abrogated the purpose of the substantive due process which is to protect existing rights and not create new ones, to deter government intrusion and not invite it. The Court should not have sanctioned same-s ex marriages giving a rationale that denying such a right would be tantamount to denying other rights such as raising children that are accorded under marriage. The legislature needs to have had some rationale basis to conclude that family structures of such nature have not been sufficiently concluded to be an equivalent of marital family structure that has established itself as a successful one through out history. People have the right to raise children in any manner of family structure as long as they don’t pause any danger to them socially psychologically or otherwise.

Views on Gender Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Views on Gender Roles - Essay Example Much of what we learn about gender occurs during our formative years, and it is largely a product of our culture. Mothers and fathers tend to reinforce gender roles in developing children, such as rewarding a boy for achieving in sports, or praising a girl for helping around the house. Because an individual’s culture, background, and upbringing play such a critical role in the development of views on gender, it comes as no surprise that gender views vary greatly. Each individual’s view on gender is unique, but it is not difficult to see that some general statements can be made about an individual’s view on gender based on the characteristics of that individual. Perhaps this holds true because the individual’s view on gender is largely learned from those around him or her, and the people in an individual’s sphere of influence often tend to have similar characteristics. Based on the cross-tabulation provided with the Starks textbook, I used the 2000 General Social Survey data to compare views on the wife at home, presumably in the traditional â€Å"stay-at-home mom† sense, though the website does not give information as to the specific wording of the survey itself (which could have made a difference in the results). The question of whether the wife should be at home was compared by gender, age group, education, income of the family, political party, region, did the mother work when the respondent was a child, and the religion. The results give us insight into how groups of varying characteristics feel about gender. Surprisingly, and most likely a dramatic change over the last fifty years, when questioned, men and women responded very similarly to the question, with 60.1% of females and 58.1% of males disagreeing with the statement. Only a 2% difference is shown between genders, and this small difference becomes even less significant when taken in

Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Essay Example for Free

Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Essay A graphic organizer is a visual tool the helps students grasp the relationship between facts, terms and other ideas within a specific learning task (Hall Strangman, 2002). Graphic organizers are called by a variety of different names including knowledge maps, concept maps, story maps, cognitive organizers, advance organizers and concept diagrams (Hall Strangman, 2002). However, graphic organizers have a valuable place within classrooms because they have the potential to improve learning outcomes for all students (Hall Strangman, 2002). Graphic organizers are so useful for both students and teachers because they can take many forms and be used in a variety of different ways to meet the needs of each individual student. Graphic organizers can be used in a variety of different educational situations and can be modified to meet the learning objectives of specific lessons (Bellanca, 2007). Teachers can use a graphic organizer to make sense of classroom discussions among students. Students can use graphic organizers to gather information from a single lesson in order to find meaning. Students can also rely on graphic organizers to keep track of an ongoing lesson or theme that lasts throughout the entire school year (Bellanca, 2007). An analysis of graphic organizers is offered as they relate to overall learning achievement in the classroom. Graphic organizers have the potential to improve the learning outcomes of all students because they blend the linguistic mode of learning with the non linguistic mode of learning so that words and phrases work with symbols to form meaningful relationships (Marzano, Pickering Pollock, 2001). The use of graphic organizers is intended to meet six different learning objectives that regularly appear in classroom curriculum: descriptive patterns, time-sequence patterns, process/cause effect patterns, episode patterns, generalization/principle patterns and concept patterns (Marzano, et al, 2001). Descriptive patterns are used to represent facts about people, places, things and events (Marzano, et al, 2001). For example, if students were learning about the Underground Railroad, they could create a graphic organizer centered on the Underground Railroad by branching different facts about this historical event off, including important people, places, things and events associated with the Underground Railroad. Similarly, time-sequence patterns are used to form representations of the chronological sequence of events (Marzano, et al, 2001). This type of graphic organizer could take the form of a student created time line. The remaining four types of graphic organizers deal with more complex processes but are equally as useful for teachers and students. Process/cause effect patterns organize information in such a way that allows it to lead to a specific outcome (Marzano, et al, 2001). Using the Underground Railroad example, this graphic organizer could list all of the different events that led to the creation of the Underground Railroad. Episode patterns are similar in that they organize information about specific events including setting, people, duration, sequence of events and cause and effect (Marzano, et al, 2001). This type of graphic organizer allows students to form a clear and cohesive picture of what they are studying so that all of the necessary information is included in one place. Generalization/Principle patterns allow students to focus on one topic so they are able to collect a variety of different examples that support that topic (Marzano, et al, 2001). This type of graphic organizer is particularly useful in math because it allows students to show a multitude of examples that prove specific math concepts. Finally, concept patterns organize information around a word or phrase that represent people, places, things or events as entire categories (Marzano, et al, 2001). This type of organizer allows students to show many examples about one particular subject. The types of graphic organizers described above are highly useful in the classroom because students in modern society are very visual human beings (Sousa, 2007). Modern students are surrounded by visual technology including computers, television, video games, cellular telephones, movies and DVD players (Sousa, 2007). Graphic organizers build on the reliance that students have on visual technology by capturing their attention in order to provide them with authentic opportunities to improve their understanding, meaning and retention of specific subjects (Sousa, 2007). Teachers who incorporate the use of graphic organizers into the classroom are able to reach all students because they appeal to the highly visual children that make up society today. Further, the use of visual techniques such as graphic organizers have the potential to increase learning outcomes while also ensuring future recall. The national No Child Left Behind Act has increased educational focus onto assessment (Struble, 2007). Graphic organizers have a very valuable place in classrooms both as ongoing and formative assessment measures (Struble, 2007). Graphic organizers are powerful tools for analyzing and assessing the ongoing understanding and performance of students throughout the school year and across a wide range of subject material (Struble, 2007). The use of graphic organizers as part of an ongoing assessment measure allows teachers to modify instruction as necessary while also ensuring that all students are learning what they need to know (Struble, 2007). Further, the use of graphic organizers has been shown to increase overall meaning but also to increase future retention (Nesbit Adescope, 2006). Over the past several years, fifty-five studies have been conducted associated with the use of graphic organizers by 5818 student participants. Results from these studies using post tests measuring recall and transfer after the use of graphic organizers prove that they increase knowledge retention (Nesbit Adescope, 2006). Ultimately, graphic organizers have the potential to capture the interest of students so they are able to form a meaningful relationship between linguistic and non linguistic skills in order to increase the potential for future recall of curriculum material. Bellanca, James A. (2007). A guide to graphic organizers: helping students organize and process content for deeper learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Hall, Tracey Strangman, Nicole. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved on April 16, 2009 from http://www. cast. org/publications/ncac/ncac_go. html. Marzano, Robert J. ; Pickering, Debra J. Pollock, Jane E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: research based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision Curriculum Development. Nesbit, John C. Adescope, Olusola O. (2006). Learning with concept and knowledge maps: a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 76 (3): 413 – 448. Sousa, David A. (2007). How the brain learns mathematics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Struble, Janet. (2007). Using graphic organizers as a formative assessment. Science Scope, January 1.

Free Essays - The Character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride Prejudice Essays

The Character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice "Pride and Prejudice" the novel by Jane Austin has a main theme of romance, but many other sub themes are present. I intend to demonstrate that Elizabeth Bennet is an interesting character in the book. The man plot of the story revolves around Elizabeth (or Eliza) Bennet, who belongs to a family of five sisters, and her relationship with eligible bachelor Mr Darcy. However, "Pride and Prejudice" is a very complex novel, with many different subplots going on. One of these is the relationship between Eliza's older sister Jane, and Bingley, Darcy's friend. There are many misunderstandings within their courtship which have an important role in the plot. Elizabeth's father and mother play a part, as do her relations, friends and acquaintances. In the story, Eliza hates Darcy at first, thinking him proud, but overcomes her prejudice and comes round to loving him in the end, and the two marry, as do Jane and Bingley. Another marriage is between Lydia, Elizabeth's younger sister, and Wickham, a man who Eliza was initially interested in. However, his true character comes to light, and his marriage proves to be far from uneventful. One reason why Elizabeth proves to be a very interesting character is her close friendship with her older sister Jane. The pair know each other very well, and they both feel a need to confide in one another due to the less that charming personality traits of the rest of their family. They are the only sensible ones if the household. Due to their constant contact, that are able to tell each other's moods with great ease, Eliza especially. When Jane returns from seeing Bingley "Elizabeth instantly read her feelings", so we know that they spend a lot of time in each other's company. Elizabeth obviously cares deeply about Jane, because when the later becomes ill while at Netherfield, Darcy's home, Eliza takes it upon herself to walk three miles through the mud to visit her. This greatly surprises the Netherfield party, but Eliza appears unconcerned. She mostly stays by Jane's bedside during the visit, preferring her company to the superciliousness of Miss Bingley and Hurst.

Effects of Maternal Employment on Infant Development Essay

The topic of this paper is the debate of whether or not maternal employment has any effect on infant development. Research on this described topic has recently become popular due to the rise of working mothers over the past several decades. Their increasing numbers in the workplace and decreasing numbers as stay at home moms are creating a number of different issues to be studied. The effects of maternal employment are determined by a number of factors that include, the mother’s job satisfaction and drive, amount of work, and the mother’s opinion of quality versus quantity time with children. The main concept at hand here is the importance of an attachment in the first few years as being vital to a child’s later development. One side of the argument backs up this fact saying that it is important for a child to have their mother home with them during this period of development. The other side argues that they are finding that it may be more beneficial for the child to be placed in some form of nontraditional care environment. This paper will examine these different effects on infant development whether they are positive or negative. There are two sides to this argument as expected for any issue in debate. I will discuss these two sides by using the arguments of researchers that have studied this topic and written articles on their opposing feelings on maternal employment. I will summarize separately these two researchers’ different views along with their findings. After I have summarized some of their findings I will be presenting my own personal view on this topic. The authors arguing the yes side of this debate are, Jay Belsky and David Eggebeen. Their purpose in writing on this issue was to touch upon some of the issues involved in what has become known as the infant day care controversy. They reviewed previous studies of maternal employment and of the infants involved receiving various types of non-parental care and found that the children that received the type of non-parental care available in the United States for 20 or more hours a week during their first year of life are at a higher risk of developing insecure attachments to their mothers and have been known to misbehave with adults and act more aggressively toward their peers as 3 to 8 year olds. It was also found that the children that had received care for 20 or more hours per week during their first year and this care continued through their preschool years did poorly academically and socially than the children that had not received full-time care until sometime later. Sometime later referring to at least after the child’s second year of life; this is due to research that has also shown that children that began full-time care for 30 hours a week in their second year functioned just as poorly as these children whose care was initiated in their first year of life. These studies have been examined by many researchers, each of them varying and being put together a little better than the last after taking in to mind the criticism for each. After Belsky’s research was criticized another similar study was done but also took into account the background information of the child, mother and the family. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used for these studies which also lead to there being a more representative sample of children. Their research broke up the children, 4, 5 and 6 year olds, into three separate groups so they could be compared on the emotional and social functioning being studied. There were two groups differing by when their non-parental care started, either the first or second year of life, and a third for those children that had mothers that were employed less than 10 hours per week or not at all employed. The results were similar but they did distinguish that a shy child would be more likely to be affected by non-parental care, having trouble coping with their mothers away from them. Research has also been able to connect aggression toward peers with extensive and early maternal employment. In comparison to this, children whose mothers did not work during their first three years of life markedly more compliant than their peers whose mothers were employed full-time. The opposing side to this debate, written by K. Alison Clarke-Stewart, also brings up a good argument. It is obvious in our changing society that mothers bringing home their families’ only income or second income has become more common so that every year the number of their children being placed in different kinds of â€Å"nontraditional† child care atmospheres is constantly increasing. In doing her research she is looking for the marked advantages and disadvantages that these various child care environments for the involved children’s social and cognitive development. She seems to have only found advantages after coming to the conclusion, and her article’s title, that, â€Å"a home is not a school†. The research used studies involving 150 children that were 2 and 3 years old. These children belonged to one of six different child care situations, these being, care by parents, care by a sitter at home, day care, part-time nursery school, full time nursery or care in a center full-time and part-time by a sitter. It was found in these studies that children that were placed in the different day care centers and preschool programs are more likely to be socially skilled and intellectually advanced than children that stayed at home with their parents or sitters. This research also gave evidence that these children in the care of a center displayed more positive social qualities such as self-confidence, self-assurance, independence, etc. Research has shown that when the children were compared on different types of intellectual abilities, those that had been in center care scored better in eye-hand coordination, creative use of materials, memory, problem solving and reasoning, and basic knowledge about the physical world. These children also had better advanced language, showing that differences favor these children in both verbal and nonverbal skills. These differences are correlated with more physical stimulation, the amount of adult attention they receive and the opportunity for the children to interact with peers all available at these care centers. Many of the care givers in these centers have had education and training for their positions which makes them apt to be more helpful and explain things to the children. Another difference between homes and care centers is the authoritarian discipline that is usually present at home. This difference has been linked to children’s lower intellectual and social competence. All of these aspects lead to the care-center resembling a school-like environment that encourages intellectual and social development at an earlier age. As for my own personal view, this is a very tough issue as is any with convincing evidence on each side, but I have a more traditional view on mothering and feel that it is important for a child’s development to have that bond with and nurturing from their mother. This has of course become an issue because of our constantly increasing price of living; it seems that some kind of second income is now needed for most families. This issue makes it a tough call but I still feel the same. I do not think that it is easy to develop this kind of bond if the child is immediately placed into the care of someone else. My own personal experience was that my mother did not go back to work until her youngest child had started elementary school and even then she was sure that she only worked while we were in school and was usually home around the same time as us. I don’t think I could have established the bond that I have with my mother now if she had done anything different with us. I feel that it is important that a mother and father are financially ready enough to have a child without the mother having to work again right away. I do agree with setting up your child in some kind of pre-school program to help them to develop social skills and an interaction with their peer group is also important. I obviously used some of my own personal experience and feelings to make my decision. After reading the articles my mind was not changed on this debate, they just gave me more support for my position. In the articles, each side discusses how these children do academically; one side placing its emphasis on better adjustment to school and the other on more advanced skills when in school. It has been discussed that children that were not placed in non-traditional care and stayed at home with their mothers for their first three years do not take long to catch up academically with the kids that had been placed in different care environments. Children that have been able to stay at home with their mothers have also been found to be more compliance and less behavioral problems when placed into school. I think that the one-on-one relationship that they got to have with their mother right from the beginning help a great deal in creating these types of good behaviors. The children who have been placed in the care of others all their lives would not know this feeling because they have always been surrounded by other children receiving care from the same few center workers. I really feel that the best thing a mother can do for her children to ensure good development and a happy childhood is be a loving mother at home for at least the first three years of life. Once they have had this experience, and they are closer to 4 years old they will probably be ready for some kind of pre-school program.

Mariano Azuela’s novel “Los de Abajo” Essay

Mariano Azuela’s novel â€Å"Los de Abajo†, titled â€Å"The Underdogs† by Enrique Munguà ­a Jr., in his English translation, has been hailed as the novel of the Mexican revolution. In this novel Azuela creates characters representative of the two factions that are at variance, the revolutionaries and the federalists. The novel is divided into three parts and each part subdivided into chapters, the first part being the longest and the third being the shortest. Enrique Munguà ­a’s translation is about 140 pages in length and many have noted that this novel is one of Azuela’s shortest. The novel is, however, quite entertaining and it maintains the readers’ attention throughout. For anyone interested in a serious study of Mexican history, this is an essential novel to read as it gives a perspective into the social aspects of the revolution that few textbooks can capture. The book has historical significance because it gives a description of the Mexican revolution from the perspective of people who were directly affected by and involved in the revolutionary process. Literally the title of the novel in Spanish â€Å"Los de Abajo† translates to mean those from or at the bottom. This I believe is a very appropriate title and in itself captures Azuela’s primary argument that he maintains throughout the novel. The revolutionaries and the federalists are constantly juxtaposed against each other in the novel but Azuela, through the eyes of Luis Cervantes, allows the reader to see that the two groups are not that dissimilar. Both factions display distrust, treachery, moral decadence and kill so mercilessly that it is no wonder that the words of the title â€Å"Los de Abajo† is used in the novel to refer to both the rebels and the federalists. Early in Part I chapter three when Demetrio led his men into the first ambush of the government troops he instructs his men to â€Å"Get those coming up from under! Los de Abajo! Get the underdogs!† be screamed. Later on in chapter 6 the narrator reflects of Luis Cervantes, on the first night of his joining the revolutionaries, that â€Å"Did not the sufferings of the underdogs, of the disinherited masses, move him to the core?†¦ the subjugated, the beaten and baffled.† The events in the novel mirror the Mexican revolution of 1910. The main plot of the story is that of a peasant farmer, Demetrio Macias who, after having suffered at the hands of the federalists, decides to join Pancho Villa’s revolutionary army. A defector of the government army, Luis Cervantes – elite and educated, joins Demetrio’s troop because of his support of the ideals he believed the revolutionaries espoused. Azuela, however, uses this character as his mouthpiece and, in his disillusionment that the revolutionaries were not fighting based on ideologies; the reader gets an understanding of Azuela’s perspective. He, like Cervantes, abandoned the struggle and migrated to the United States after having worked along with Pancho Villa as a military doctor believing his ideals to have been betrayed. One of the main lessons that Azuela delivers here is relevant in so many areas of life. His major argument in presenting his novel is that without purpose, focus, planning and proper management, even the most worthwhile efforts will prove to be futile. The most positive aspect of Azuela’s novel is that it was written while the struggles in the revolution were still going on. Beginning in 1914 the novel began to be published as a series in a Texas newspaper in installments though it was not until 1925 that it began to gain worldwide attention. This novel details the battles in the Mexican revolution from the perspective of the author who himself was a witness of these very events. Prior to moving to Texas, Azuela supported the revolutionary movement by offering his medical services to Pancho Villa’s army. In such a position he was exposed to the ills of the revolutionary battle, more so from the perspective of the revolutionaries. Azuela was therefore in a fitting position to discuss the Mexican revolution because he too had been very intimately involved in the process. However, while this novel bears relevance to the themes that were facing the Mexicans at the time when they were most involved in the revolution, it fails to give a complete picture of the revolutionary process. The problem with the novel is precisely because it was written so close to the actual events. This prevents the reader from having a total picture of the ‘before’, the ‘during’ and the ‘after’ of the revolution. In the same way that Demetrio’s eyes remain ‘leveled in an eternal glance’ at the end of the novel, so does the battle between the revolutionaries and the federalists give the impression that it will last eternally without resolution or victory for either side. The tone of Azuela’s novel therefore comes off as being very pessimistic. Failure and doom is the only outcome of the revolutionary struggle and no one seems to be winning. Azuela’s conclusion here seems to be rather generalized. Authors who have written about the revolution subsequent to Azuela have had the benefit of seeing the long-term results of the struggle which revealed much more positive effects than what were immediately obvious while the struggles were still going on. REFERENCES Azuela, Mariano (1963). The Underdogs (Enrique Munguà ­a Jr. Trans.). The U.S.A.: Penguin Group. (Original work published 1916).

Book report James half brother of Jesus Essays

Book report James half brother of Jesus Essays Book report James half brother of Jesus Essay Book report James half brother of Jesus Essay Essay Topic: History O Brother Where James is seen to be the most practical and interesting books of the New Testament. My previous book report on Romans, Pauls message expounded salvation by faith, where James expresses this faith in the way the Christian should live his life. To the Reformers of the Reformation, they saw this as coming dangerously close to a works-based salvation, (Richards 1994:573). But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only (James 1:22, KJV). Author. Nelson accepts the view of most scholars that James the half brother of Jesus is the author, as the epistle is somewhat similar to a speech in Acts 15 by James the half brother of Jesus, (Nelsons 1996:453). Richards also subscribes the authorship to James the half brother of Jesus. He goes on to say that James was a prominent leader of the Jerusalem church, a position confirmed by the Apostle Paul in Gal 2:9. He earnt the nickname of the just by the early church, (Richards 1994:573). Hayford states that the author identifies himself as simply James, however, the name was very common in its day, and that there are at least five of them identified in the New Testament, two being disciples. Tradition ascribes the author to Jesus half brother and hence there has been no reason to question this view. (Hayford 1992:437). Elwell points out that the only other contender for authorship was James the son of Zebedee, however, his early martyrdom (A.D. 44; cf. Acts 12:2) probably removes him fro m consideration. Still others think that the good, almost literary Greek of the letter, along with the way the author handles the topic of justification (2:14-26), makes it likely that someone toward the end of the first century wrote the letter and ascribed it to James. But this theory is unnecessary and calls into question the honesty of the writer. There is every reason to accept the widespread opinion of the early church that James, the brother of the Lord, wrote this letter, (Elwell 1989 CDROM). Carson has some interesting contradictions, stating that it was written by an anonymous James, as the James of our Lord, would have mentioned his special relationship. Also, could a Galilean Jew, who never left Palestine, with concepts derived from Greek philosophy and religion, compose Greek with such sophisticated allusions? Many say no, (Carson 1992:411). However, I agree with Elwell as with tradition. I would tend to give much weight to the traditionally accepted views, as they are not given lightly. Date. Elwell concludes that the book was written in the early A.D. 40s, making it possibly the earliest New Testament book to be written. He goes on to say that the time frame is backed up by references in his writing, ie. the reference to the synagogue as the place of meeting (2:2), and the fact that the sharp debates over the place of the Law in Christianity, so prevalent from the latter 40s on, are not reflected in the letter, (Elwell 1989 CDROM). Hayford gives a broader estimate, between A.D. 48 and A.D. 62. This is based on the time of the church council (Acts 15), and the year he was stoned to death, respectively, (Hayford 1995:437). Nelson also believes it to be among the earliest writings of the New Testament, (A.D. 46-49), based on a number of factors; 1). No mention of Gentile believers. 2). Little verbal agreement with the Synoptic, therefore written before them. 3). He uses the word synagogue for the term church, patterned after the Jewish synagogues. 4). Lastly, James does not mention the issues involved in the Jerusalem council of Acts 15, A.D. 49, (Nelsons 1996:455). I would agree with Nelsons view, as it is based on sound reason and backed up by good evidences from the writings in light of what was happening historically. Theme. The characteristics of true faith. James directs his readers toward Godly living, through fifty-four exhortations over 108 verses. What results is a strong statement of Christian ethics, (Hayford 1995:437). James insistence that genuine Christian faith must become evident in works. He opposes strongly the all too common tendency among Christians to rest content, with a half hearted, compromising faith that seeks to have the best of this world and the next, (Carson 1992:418). Faith without works is dead, and faith without works cannot be called faith and is worse than having no faith at all. It must have good fruit as its by-product, (Nelson 1996:453). James new very well, like Paul did that true faith was expressed in obedience. That they are to lead lives that gives justice and credibility to the statement that Jesus is Lord, (Richards 1992:517). If Paul saw Christ in the heavens establishing our righteousness, James saw Him on earth telling us to be perfect, even as His Father in h eaven is perfect. Paul was saying, take the Gospel in, James is saying take it out, (Mears 1998:604). Structure. I. Address and Greeting (1:1) II. Trials and Temptation (1:2-18) III. Putting the Word into Practice (1:19-2:26) IV. Worldliness in the Church (3:1-4:12) V. Looking at Life from a Christian Perspective (4:13-5:11) VI. Concluding Exhortations (5:12-20) Application. James emphasises two areas of Christian life, personal growth in the spiritual life and sensitivity in personal relationships. He contends that any faith that does not contend with both these attitudes is a dead faith. It challenges those who tend to talk rather than walk their way to heaven, (Hayford 1995:437). James has concerns with libertines, has emphasised a justification before men by works, faith as a genuine fruitful product, thereby being justified in daily proof by behaving like Christ, (Nelson 1996:457). There is great concern that James and Paul are contradicting each other in regards to how a person is justified before God. This is not the case as there is an important difference in which Paul and James can be appropriately harmonised. James is using the verb dikaioo vindicate before people; therefore Paul is talking of the declaration of our righteousness and James the demonstration of our righteousness, (Carson 1992:419). James is much like proverbs. He gives many short pithy exhortations, touching on a variety of important subjects to the Christian life. A wonderful book in teaching our people how to live for the Lord, (Richards 1992:517). Ergo (work) relates to the doings of human beings in everyday life, which demonstrates itself to be obedient fulfillment of the divine will, of the law. It applies to every part of the believers life, ie. at work or acts of love, (Brown 1976:1148). Distinctive Pentecostal Beliefs. God continues to provide good gifts for His children. As James points out, He is unchanging, unlike the sun, moon, stars and planets who continually change their appearance. As an outstanding example of Gods good gifts, James cites the new, spiritual birth that Christians have experienced (v. 18). This new birth, or regeneration, is motivated solely by the will of God; accomplished through the instrument of the word of truth, the gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15), it has as its purpose the bringing into being of firstfruits, the first harvest of the fruits produced by Gods eternal plan of redemption, (Elwell 1989 CDROM). James calls himself a bondservant to the Lord Jesus or more to the point slave. This applies to all Christians who acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives. Jesus is the object of their faith (2:1), of whose name and by whose power we minister in (4:14-15). He is the divine glory, the presence of God on earth, (Hayford 1995:436). God makes our trials the instrument of blessing (1:3). Many times our trials bring impatience, but God will give grace so that all things work for His real purpose. Time is nothing with God, so we must remember that patience is more necessary than anything else in our faith life. Christs purpose for us is that we shall be perfect and entire, wanting nothing, (Mears 1998:606). There are three main uses of works in the bible. Works of God, works of Christ, and works of man as pertaining to faith. The believer demonstrates the divine character of Christ within him by his good works (Mt 5:16). Good works is therefore the evidence of living faith and appeals to those who think they are saved by faith alone without works, (Douglas 1988:1261).

Aspirations

For as long as I can recall I had always been afraid of aspiring for more than I had the ability to attain. This summer I met my future wife, I Just didnt know it yet. Although that Is another story that was written on its own, but once we were in love and both accepted each other, we came to find that others did not agree with our decision. We thought our bond could overcome anything Including their reproach, but, sooner than later, it began to come between us. Soon my life became a struggle to keep our love a secret from society.We didnt want different treatment, because we were both till the same people we met and the same girls everyone else knew. I was afraid of losing her to the world. I began to consider my options. Let my love go and let society separate us or follow my Intuition and Just live my life the best way I knew how, I chose to live and love even though It was hard from the start. I began to love my girlfriend fearlessly. I began to fight for us and overcame my fear of the unknown and the contempt others may harbor towards us. Even though we had challenges to overcome and people to confront we both held fast to the opportunities that lay ahead.The glares and sly whispers from others only provided a reason to prove them wrong thus I grew more determined to be happy no matter what the circumstance. She gave me the confidence to not only pursue my goals but actually fulfill my potential academically and set ideals for my life. She allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be, without letting go of how I got there. She was the kind that let me embrace those internal contradictions that made up an entire oxymoron, complex and complete human being.

Profile, incorporate, and compare the health information Essay

Profile, incorporate, and compare the health information - Essay Example It allows the electronic sharing of health information between different health information systems while maintaining the integrity of the information being passed across. HIEs connect healthcare providers such as hospitals, pharmacies, labs, ER physicians to access patient information in a resourceful manner to improve the quality of care. HIE also refers to those organizations that facilitate the electronic sharing of health information across systems and organizations. HIE organizations manage and provide support for the commercial and legal issues that can arise during the exchange of information. These organizations come in several forms and may be private, national or state firms; information can thus be shared only with a single hospital network, across many hospitals in one region or across the state. Another difference between the different HIE organizations is seen in what information is shared e.g. some may share only lab results, or only emergency room records. HIE organi zations are key to facilitating the implementation of health information technology to provide quality patient care. In the United States, a number of such organizations exist that perform several important functions. In this discourse, we will examine the Indiana Health Information Exchange. By exploring the profile of this HIE organization; the author aims to show the core capabilities of this technology, the importance of electronic information systems and the necessity of understanding that technology. Indiana HIE The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) is one of the largest HIE in the United States, and also the oldest. It is a non-for-profit organization that connects more than 80 hospitals and over 19,000 doctors in Indiana, including long-term care facilities and rehabilitation centres to share health information on more than 10 million patients as and when needed (Finn, 2011; Biever, 2013). The organization administrates the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), w hich is a protected network that shares electronic health records to involved physicians and other healthcare providers. Launched by the Regenstrief Institute (which specializes in medical informatics research), local hospitals and other partners, IHIE provides useful health information technologies and tools to patients in Indiana as it aims to mitigate the high costs of quality healthcare. For instance, if a patient is admitted to a hospital, the INPC presents a clinical abstract of the patient’s medical history-provided the patient had ever visited a networked hospital- even if the patient has never received treatment from that hospital before. This saves time in treatment and avoids duplicate testing thus saving costs. The INPC contains records of more than 80% instances of medical care provided within participating hospitals. Additionally, it also holds radiology images, discharge summaries, operative notes, pathology reports and medication records. This wide range of in formation enables doctors to make informed and accurate medical decisions, especially during critical times. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 below show how IHIE improved information flow. Figure 1.1: Former system which fragmented patient information and created redundant, inefficient efforts Source: Indiana Health Information Exchange Figure 1.2: HIE system that consolidates information

The high salaries paid to CEOs are not justified. To what extent do Essay - 1

The high salaries paid to CEOs are not justified. To what extent do you agree with this statement - Essay Example To the contrary junior employees’ salaries have stagnated or dropped and where they are raised the increment in percentage is insignificant compared to the CEOs increment in percentage within the same period. The paper will aim to consider the various facets surrounding the issue and the evidences under each. The CEOs salaries are not necessarily the true reflection of their performance or skills and therefore not justified to be that high. Companies that have awarded hefty pay packages to their CEOs have not been necessarily the highest performers in the business. To some extents these companies’ performance has been dwindling over time. This phenomenon therefore has raised genuine concerns over the unreasonable salaries the CEOs take home. An example of this kind of a scenario is Eisner of Disney who pocketed 38 million US Dollars in 2004 (Stanford GSB, 2005). This was way above the average in the entertainment industry at the time. This amount was awarded not considering that under his 6 years tenure till then, the company’s performance was actually on the decline during half of that period. The CEOs pay when compared to that of the junior staff members has risen to a staggering 400 percent from around 90 percent a decade ago (Frydman 2008). Looking at these figures and disparity one cannot help but question the trend. The obvious conclusion a lay man would lay to this scenario is that the high pay is hooked to performance and level of skill that the new manager has. In looking at this assumption it is in almost all cases that other factors other than skills and performance contribute to the huge salaries. It has been seen that in big companies where the chance of having pay not related to performance, the CEOs end up getting more than their counterparts in the small firms. This situation is usually worse in cases where the pay has been in form of stocks and where the firm has a large shareholder. In this latter scenario there is a high likelihood

Homosexual Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Homosexual Love - Essay Example Of 70 groups, homosexuality was accounted for to be no attendant or extraordinary in recurrence in 41, and present or not exceptional in 29. In societies impacted by Abrahamic religions, the law and the congregation secured homosexuality as a transgression against heavenly law or a wrongdoing against nature. The judgment of butt-centric sex between guys, then again, originates before Christian conviction. It was incessant in old Greece; "unnatural" might be followed once more to Plato.clarification needed This is clearly the most widely recognized sexual introduction on the planet, because of science. (You can just get posterity if a male and female have intercourse) and likely because of religious and social components (it’s a wrongdoing in a few spots to not be hetero, and numerous religions denounce homosexuality/androgyny) Notwithstanding, simply on the grounds that it’s the most well-known, and "socially/organically/religiously" correct, doesnt fundamentally mean homosexuality and cross-sexuality arent right or "abnormal". Everybody ought to have the decision and right to be what he or she needs to be, including his or her sexual decision. It is in nobody spot to judge or censure individuals in light of their sexuality. Much the same as it is inappropriate to judge individuals dependent upon his/her race, sex or socio-financial class. Numerous recorded figures, including Socrates, Lord Byron, Edward II, and Hadrian, have had terms, for example, gay or promiscuous connected to them; a few researchers, for example, Michel Foucault, have viewed this as taking a chance with the chronologically erroneous presentation of a contemporary social develop of sexuality remote to their times, however others challenge this. An ongoing theme of constructionist contention is that nobody in classical times or the Middle Ages accomplished homosexuality as a selective, changeless, or characterizing mode of sexuality. John Boswell has

Gender differences when attending a mirror tracing task

Gender differences when attending a mirror tracing task The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses of speed and accuracy when practicing Mirror Tracing between men and women as well as the difference between genders with skill transferring when completing this task. The sample consisted of 243, 170 females and 73 males online and on campus university students who participated in the Mirror Tracing task for one week. Results indicated that as predicted, men were more accurate and faster than women when attending to the Mirror Tracing task. They also scored higher on skill transferring than women. It was concluded that men score higher on spatial tasks than women do, however the differences in spatial skills between men and women can be credited to learning. Each hemisphere of the brain specialise in different tasks, the left hemisphere is mostly responsible for linguistic functions while the right hemisphere is mainly responsible for complex visuo spatial analysis (OBoyle, Hoff Gill, 1995). The Mirror Tracing task has been studied for many years and is considered to be a study of trial and error (Ketterlinus, Sep31, Vol. 2 Issue 3, p200). Mirror Tracing has been used to study the differences between men and women, however as indicated by), the difference in spatial ability with genders can be attributed to learning (Halpern, 2000 Kimura, 1999). On average, females perform not as well as males in spatial abilities Spence et al. (2009), mirror tracing has become a very important and popular study to use when determining differences in abilities. Each spatial task focuses on different aspects of it, some focus on problem solving skills where others focus on mental orientation Spence et al. (2009). Mirror Tracing focuses on repetitive motions as participants are required to draw the same shape or shapes over a period of time by only looking in the mirror at it. Mirror Tracing has its limitations as it focus is mainly on a limited amount of shapes which with time and practice either gender can perform well. However it does measure the speed and accuracy of how the each gender (OBoyle, Hoff Gill, 1995). Past studies, such as O Boyle, Hoff Gill (1995), have come to a conclusion that males have excelled in spatial tasks more than females and determined that males are able to attend to this task with more accuracy than females. In this study the aim is to determine whether speed and accuracy differs between genders and to measure the differences in skill transferability of participants of different genders. It was predicted that males will be faster and more accurate when practising mirror tracing compared to females. It was also hypothesised that males will have a higher score with regards to skill transferability in terms of speed compared to females. Method Participants The sample consisted of 243, 170 females and 73 males online and on campus University students. The mean ages was 21.85 (SD = 5.8). All participants participated in the Mirror Tracing task for one week. Materials Mirror tracing skills transferability of this skill in males and females was determined using a Mirror Tracing exercise. Each participant was provided with instructions on how to complete the Mirror Tracing exercise and experimental material with star and face shapes in it. Each participant had to use a mirror, pen or pencil, cardboard or similar to block the view and a clock or stopwatch. Finally each participant was also provided a summary of results sheet to note down their individual results. To accurately score and record the results, participants had to count how many times they touched the line and count that as one error, each time they went over the line was counted as two errors and any breaks in the line were counted as one error. Procedure Before filling out the summary of results sheet, all participants were informed of the following: the purpose of the study, nature of the study, anonymity and provided with information of how to do the Mirror Tracing task. Participants completed the task either online or on a paper copy and returned it to the tutor. The experimental material used was star and face shapes to measure speed, accuracy and skill transferability between men and women. Each participant had to trace one star and one face with each hand on day 1. For the next five days each participant had to trace four star using each hand and on day 7 trace a final face and star with each hand. To complete this task, the participants had to place the sheet with the shape on it on a table with a mirror in front of it still being able to see their hand in it. They then had to hold the cardboard above the shape, check and record the time and start tracing it. This had to be done with both hands. The participants had to record the time it took them to complete the activity on the Summary of Results sheet and return it to the tutor once completed. Results There was very little mean difference in the mirror tracing exercise for day 2 day 6 between men and women in regards to speed and errors, however the results indicate that men tend to be quicker and more accurate than women in this spatial task. The results indicate that as predicted, men were slightly quicker and accurate than women when attempting the mirror tracing exercise as indicated in Table 1 and 2 below. Initially on day 2, women were quicker at the exercise than men and for both participants, the speed did increased and errors decreased as the days went on, however the results for males are somewhat higher than females. The Standard Deviation for both is also very similar as indicated in Table 1 and 2 below. Table 1 Means and Standard Deviation of the Mirror Tracing Task Day 2 Day 6 for speed between men and women Report Gender practice2_time practice3_time practice4_time practice5_time F Mean 112.8293 100.7399 91.6370 84.5834 N 167 167 167 167 Std. Deviation 75.29216 64.04660 58.79142 49.88509 M Mean 130.1631 107.9093 100.1247 86.8376 N 72 71 72 71 Std. Deviation 82.41461 76.36392 82.37136 54.71729 Total Mean 118.0512 102.8787 94.1940 85.2558 N 239 238 239 238 Std. Deviation 77.74119 67.86959 66.70926 51.26775 Notes: F = Females; M = Males Table 2 Means and Standard Deviation of the Mirror Tracing Task Day 2 Day 6 for accuracy between men and women Report Gender practice2_errors practice3_errors practice4_errors practice5_errors F Mean 30.4850 24.7425 20.7844 18.1138 N 167 167 167 167 Std. Deviation 19.70134 15.14626 14.24574 13.26624 M Mean 29.0833 25.1408 22.0000 20.2394 N 72 71 72 71 Std. Deviation 21.73512 19.37546 17.47916 15.56137 Total Mean 30.0628 24.8613 21.1506 18.7479 N 239 238 239 238 Std. Deviation 20.29945 16.48019 15.26442 13.99079 Notes: F = Females; M = Males The results for males for skill transferability in terms of speed when drawing the star shape were longer on day 1 however became shorter on day 7 compared to the females results. When drawing the face shape, males only have a slight difference in speed compared to women. The Standard Deviation and mean does not appear to have much of a difference in both results for both genders. The Tables below will demonstrate the results for both genders and both shapes. The results indicate that males score higher than females for skill transferability in terms of speed. Table 1 Means and Standard Deviation of the Mirror Tracing Task Day 1 Day 7 for speed between men and women Star Shape Report Gender Star_day1_time F Mean 155.9722 N 168 Std. Deviation 80.94931 M Mean 183.7635 N 72 Std. Deviation 94.60747 Total Mean 164.3096 N 240 Std. Deviation 86.02650 Notes: F = Females; M = Males Table 2 Means and Standard Deviation of the Mirror Tracing Task Day 1 Day 7 for speed between men and women Face Shape Report Gender day1_eyes_time DAY7_EYES_TIME day1_beard_time DAY7_BEARD_TIME day1_lips_time F Mean 68.9262 44.2241 50.1544 34.7455 39.1005 N 170 169 169 168 170 Std. Deviation 69.00433 33.65402 50.52303 35.44573 60.49047 M Mean 73.8775 43.9458 51.7029 32.9751 37.2300 N 72 72 73 73 72 Std. Deviation 38.01924 20.52175 28.36886 20.76469 24.18248 Total Mean 70.3993 44.1410 50.6215 34.2092 38.5440 N 242 241 242 241 242 Std. Deviation 61.40059 30.28893 44.94811 31.69008 52.33488 Notes: F = Females; M = Males Discussion The results of the study support both of the hypotheses for speed, accuracy and skill transferability between men and women. There are slight differences that are noticeable in mean and Standard Deviation in both men and women. The accuracy has improved over time for both genders however there was not a noticeable difference between them. Both genders also improved on their speed over the course of this task, however males did become faster than women when completing this task. As per Spence et al. (2009), the differences in spatial abilities between genders can be credited to learning. As identified by Voyer, Voyer and Bryden (1995), men tend to do better in performing some spatial tasks compared to women Spence et al. (2009), and according to this study men did perform better than women. Women tend to do better than men in tests of perceptual speed (Kimura 1992), verbal fluency and precision motor control, while males excel on some spatial tasks (OBoyle, Hoff Gill, 1995). The aim of this study was to determine whether speed and accuracy differs between genders and whether the difference in skill transferability of participants is different between genders. The results indicate that there is a difference in speed and accuracy between men and women when attending to spatial tasks. Men also tend to be able to score higher on skill transferability compared to women. These findings support the findings of O Boyle, Hoff and Gill (1995). There were some issues identified with this study that may have affected the results. The data was collected after a week with no guarantee that the off campus students have not falsified their results. There is no way of tracking who actually did the task accurately and who made up their results. Another issue that was identified was that the results were due on a certain date and were then extended, however the submission area was not changed and all results were to be sent to the Tutor. Some students were late with their submissions and the results were released late, which minimised the time other students got to write up the report. Overall, the results supported both hypotheses which indicated that men would generally be faster and more accurate than women when attending to the Mirror Tracing task as well as score higher on the skill transferability with spatial tasks. The aims of this report were also met as it has demonstrated the differences in gender with regards to speed and accuracy as well as the differences with skill transferability in genders.

Essay On Evolution -- essays research papers

Essay on Evolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many mechanisms that lead to evolutionary change. One of the most important mechanism in evolution is natural selection which is the differential success in the reproduction of different phenotypes resulting from the interaction of organisms with their environment. Natural selection occurs when a environment makes a individual adapt to that certain environment by variations that arise by mutation and genetic recombination. Also it favors certain traits in a individual than other traits so that these favored traits will be presented in the next generation. Another mechanism of evolution is genetic drift. Genetic drift is a random change in a small gene pool due to sampling errors in propagation of alleles or chance. Genetic drift depends greatly on the size of the gene pool. If the gene pool is large, the better it will represent the gene pool of the previous generation. If it is small, its gene pool may not be accurately represented in the next generation due to sampling error. Genetic drift usually occurs in small populations that contain less than 100 individuals, but in large populations drift may have no significant effect on the population. Another mechanism is gene flow which is when a population may gain or lose alleles by the migration of fertile individuals between populations. This may cause the allele frequencies in a gene pool to change and allow the organism to evolve. The most obvious mechanism would ...

A Medium of Spirituality?

In most cases of media-oriented or group worship traditions, there are many different factors to consider such as the rhetorical methods and its implications and the mode in which these worship practices are addressed in the different traditions. Thus, the formation of such religious and worship practices come into context with the prevailing method of communications, especially in our modern context – the media.There are numerous facets of media and communications today that even spirituality attempts to plant itself on these kind of communicative phenomena. As such, a specific worship experience, perhaps commonly prevalent today, is through the television. These religious shows are mostly based on the reading and interpretation of passages from the bible through some authoritative assumptions and conclusions.In his book, A History of Christian Spirituality, Urban Holmes categorizes the different modes of spirituality and worship traditions through a combination of four quadr ants of a ‘circle of sensibility.’ The north polar end of the diagram is categorized as the rational or cognitive pole.The south polar of the same line is the emotional or affective side. The east and west is categorized as kataphatic (for speech) and apophatic (against speech), respectively. Thus, through the combination of these four different areas, we may find some mode of spirituality categorized as kataphatic-cognitive, apophatic-affective, among others. As such, the different traditions of worship are categorized whether it appeals to the emotions, the intellect, or the preference for written/oral traditions or not.An example of these different modes of spirituality or worship is through television shows that provide an interpretation of the scripture.These bible-oriented interpretative shows are then categorized, according to Holmes, on the speculative-kataphatic or cognitive-kataphatic. Since most readings require interpretation during these sessions, then most spirituality expressed in these is through a interpretative method coupled with some consideration with an intellectual understanding. Also, the methods in which these lectures are addressed are also taken into consideration since varying methods of rhetorical delivery may also affect such theological understanding.For example, a bible show that presents an argument on the goodness of God then meticulously chooses passages from the bible to support the argument (intellectual), and the interpreter then presents his or her own views regarding the subject matter. There are of course a number of speech methods that ultimately affect the interpretation of the viewers themselves as it appeals to an emotional construct of the person.The method of inquiry through interpretation may be too diverse to explain whether such interpretations affect the intellectual or emotional aspect. In terms of spirituality, these newer methods of theological proclamation then posit two problems: first is the authenticity of the spirituality produced conveyed through a non-personal approach (e.g. television instead of live or ‘practical’ worship practices). Second is the affectivity of such methods compared to a more personal understanding of theological ideologies. We must first then consider the authenticity of such spirituality in the given circumstance.Through television, the information conveyed by the scripture(s) becomes somehow stratified through a selective process of theological topics instead of a diverse and explorative manner of topic discussion. These shows are not wholly aimed for the purpose of elevating spiritual consciousness but rather, just like any other television program, are much more concerned on viewer ratings and the advantages to other competitions similar to that of the program.Thus, authenticity of the spirituality espoused in these shows is in question. Can these shows provide the same level of spirituality as that of a normative worship pract ice? In some way, the affectivity of these may cause some further theological discussion involving the scriptural context that appeals the intellect. However, it cannot be said that these shows are a main tenet of producing spirituality in such a way that these kinds of discussions are carefully structured in order to gain more viewers instead of gaining more theological understanding.