Race in Turn of the Century America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Race in Turn of the Century America - Essay Example The racial discrimination has been in the society and continues to be the main problem in the society. Racial discrimination is still prevalent in the American society as witnessed by some of the comments aired after the re-election of president Obama. Discrimination may not be at a high magnitude as it as in the 1900s, but still exists in the society in a minimal form (University, US Immigration). Discrimination and immigrants The slavery and colonial era led to the development of the legally sanctioned racism which impacted negatively in the society especially on the African American, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Latin American. The law offered the privilege to the Europeans Americans in issues of education, immigration, citizenship and voting rights. Additionally, the ownership rights were also a privilege for the European Americans. The legal protection led to increased discrimination of population based on race. The criminal procedures over the 17th century to the 20th century treated the Anglo European American better while discriminating other races. Many races suffered xenophobic exclusion and segregation in the American society. The laws encourage the discrimination based on the race by treating the white or Anglo European immigrants as better citizens than the natives. These laws made it impossible for immigrant of other descend to obtain the necessary services that they require, leading to a serious problem in the process especially when handling issues of equity in the population. The failure to address the various issues was spearheaded by the discriminatory laws developed to protect the right of the Anglo European Americans (University, Imperialism, 2010). The role of the bill of rights The bill of rights was initially applied to the federal government, but has been held to apply to the other states. The change was achieved through the fourteenth amendment. 10 amendments of the constitution that is collective referred to the bill of right s occurred in December 15th 1791. The amendments captured issues of freedom of speech religion and association, rights to keep and bear arms, and conditions for quarters among of the soldiers. Rights of search and seizure was also regulated (Burgan, 2006). The unnecessary searches by police and arrests were regulated by the amendments of the bill of rights. Additionally, the amendments were influential in the defining the bill of rights of the citizens. Initially, the bill protected only the American white farmers, by offering protection to their land and property until amended by James Madison and the United States Congress. The ten amendments helped in the development of the new way of protecting citizens rights (Patterson, 2004). An amendment to be evaluated is the provisions concerning prosecution, right to a speedy trial, right to trial by a jury, excessive bail and cruel punishment, rule of construction of the constitution and Rights of states under the constitution. The role of unions in equity development The formation of workers union and the relationship with the employers has changed significantly. During the 1900s, when the book was written, employers would shut down their plan if workers chose to unionize. Employers could make it difficult for those individuals to get work or even get hours during the work. Had Wagner Act existed, the problem could have been solved through empowering the unions

Nutrition and Junk Food Essay Example for Free

Nutrition and Junk Food Essay Tired, crabby, or unfocused in class? It could be the food you are eating. The lack of Introduction hooks the reader with a question. Thesis presented as last sentence of introductory paragraph. healthy and tasty school lunch selections has recently become a problem in almost every elementary, middle and high school across the nation. Most schools sell junk food to students and I think this is wrong. There are many good reasons to remove junk food from school lunch menus, and creating a healthier student body is number one. Junk foods should be taken out of school lunch menus because they affect your body and mind in negative ways. Junk food is a major cause of childhood obesity. 32% of youth are overweight and nearly 74% are unfit. The bad food offered in public schools contributes to this unacceptable Writer takes a clear position Authoritative position supported by citing research and using statistics. Details and facts support position. problem. A single 12-ounce can of soda has as Many of these sodas much as 13 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. are available to kids in school at low prices as well as many other completely unhealthy foods like chips and cookies. School lunches have a very high fat content and the USDA supplies schools with the same commodity foods as prisons. Due to the lack of fresh and flavorful food, many students will choose to buy the cheap junk food offered instead. If we could stock vending machines and cafeterias Language is precise and lively. Sentence structures are varied. with healthier foods, it would definitely make a dent in the childhood obesity rate. Another reason cafeterias should start serving healthier food is that junk food does Second body paragraph present another fully developed reason for position. ot give kids the energy needed to stay focused in school or the power to participate in sports. Lunch is right in the middle of the day; if you eat fatty or sugary foods, it could cause you to get tired and not pay attention in your afternoon classes. In addition, junk food zaps your energy, which affects your physical activity. You cannot perform your best if you don’t have any energy. practice. Many people on my swim team used to snack on chips and soda before When some of us complained about Appropriate anecdote used to support argument. etting tired and not being able to make it through practice, our coach asked us what we were eating beforehand. When he heard about our diet, he told us that we shouldn’t be consuming fried, fatty foods before we exercise. We should be eating healthy, natural foods because these give us energy and are good for our bodies. Many people may argue that banning junk food in schools is not a good idea. Concession and thorough response to counterargument. Students Sentence styles and structures are varied. say that junk food just tastes better than healthy food and they prefer it. There is no rule that says healthy food can’t taste good! Many junk foods can be replaced by similar tasting, healthier substitutes. Instead of fried chips, provide baked. Instead of soda, offer carbonated fruit juice. If substituting all of the unhealthy foods does not work, what about reducing the amount that we serve? Have a healthy main portion for lunch and a small dessert; sweets are not bad as long as they are consumed in moderation. There are multiple ways to solve the problem of people’s taste buds craving tasty foods. We just have to enforce this change. Providing junk food in school cafeterias is just an all-around bad idea. academic and physical potential. We need to eat The food we Call to action concludes essay. healthy food so we can reach our fullest eat affects our body and mind and we need to take advantage of that! Now that we understand the problem, it’s time to fix it by banning the sale of junk food in schools. Writing demonstrates proficient use of standard and academic English. Commentary This essay is an example of 7th grade advanced persuasive essay writing. The essay presents a clear position and does so in an original and engaging fashion. Support for the position is developed well with facts and anecdotes. Though insufficient research is cited to support some assertions, overall, this 7th grader has presented a compelling and convincing argument and used an authoritative tone and strategic language to convince readers of her position. The writer uses lively and specific language, which also helps to persuade readers. There is significant sentence variety in the essay along with clear control of writing conventions and spelling.

The Minimum Wage Should Be Increased :: Argumentative Essay, Minimum Wage Essays

Since its inception, the minimum wage has been a hotbed for debate. If today’s leaders could manage to increase minimum wage, millions of families would benefit. A person working at minimum wage will only make about $10,700 a year. When rent, groceries, bills and gas are all added up, it appears to be a nearly impossible task to keep a family afloat. But working 40 hours a week at $5.15 an hour, one makes less than $206 a week after taxes. Making $206/week, one brings home about $824/month. Adding 17 gallons of gas at $2.20 a gallon in a car; the cost ends up to be about $38 a week, $152/month. The gas and electricity bill about $120, $50 for cable, $147 for property taxes, $45 for the telephone bill, $25 for water, and $42 for house insurance. All this totals about $580 (Abrams, H). Making it difficult to afford cable, and make the smallest payment possible on all the bills causing one to slip into debt. This is reality for many of the people in the United States. At the current minimum wage level, a full time, year round minimum wage worker in 2005 will earn $5,378 less than the $16,090 needed to lift a family of three out of poverty (Min imum). Today the federal minimum wage is $5.15, but should be about $8.50 if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $5.15 may not seen that bad, when factoring in such variables as sky rocketing gas prices, budgets can get pretty tight. David Shepard, a sophomore at Wayne State University, worked at a Meijer Retail and Grocery Superstore for over two years while in high school. At the time Shepard lived with his parents and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, all that he had to pay for was filling up his gas tank and paying for his car insurance. Shepard recalled, â€Å"It was all I could do to pay for the basics like gas and bill’s, I barely had any money to have fun on the weekends†. This is only an example of a high school student that can nearly slip by on minimum wage with only a few expenses. There are 1.8 million people in America with children under the age of 18 that would benefit from an increase in m inimum wage (Minimum).

Alvin Ailey

Gerald L. Archard November 22, 2010 2nd block dance 2 Dance Pioneers, Companies, and Choreographers Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an African American modern dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ailey was a gifted creator of dance expressing the African American cultural experience and history. His choreographic works live on in performances by the company he founded. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater toured extensively and regularly in Europe and Asia during Ailey's lifetime, making Ailey a familiar name worldwide.His works continue to inspire, uplift, educate, and communicate brilliance to all who witness them. One of his best known works, the choreographic masterpiece, Revelations, based on Ailey's experience growing up as an African American in the South, consistently brings audiences to their feet in enthusiastic, spontaneous ovation. Ailey was born to his 17-year-old mother, Lula Cooper, in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was only a few months old. Ailey's mother was determined to make a better life for herself and child. She moved numerous times in Ailey's early years.One of the constants in Alvin's childhood was attendance at the True Vine Baptist Church. His mother sang in the choir. Ailey's immersion in the experience of charismatic and enthusiastic worship filled with gospel music and traditional spiritual songs had a lasting affect. Later in life, he choreographed dances to some of the music he first heard as a churchgoing youngster. In 1943, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, California. Alvin was fourteen years old then. His mother worked often. The teen used his freedom after school to explore the city.Ailey was drawn to the music from the big band jazz clubs while the musicians practiced for their evening shows. He was also drawn to the theater marquees announcing upcoming shows like Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, and others. One day he spotted a hand bill with a photo of Katherine Dunham, a dancer costumed in layers and layers of ruffles. At the time, Dunham's dance troupe was the only group of dancers touring and performing dances from Africa, Haiti, and Latin America. Ailey's curiosity was so intense that he found himself peeking in the stage door to catch sight of the performance of Dunham's Tropical Revue.This was the beginning of Ailey's lifelong passion for dance. Alvin began hanging around the stage door of the theater during the run of Dunham's show. He was there so often that one of the dancers invited him backstage and into the auditorium to watch. This introduction led him to study dance. Initially, Alvin took dance classes in the style and method of choreographer and dancer Katherine Dunham, from a student of hers. However, he was not really comfortable with this style that involved abandoning oneself to sensuous full body movement.Later, he was introduced to dance teacher Lester Horton. Horton had a dance school in nearby in Hollywood and his style was more straightforward. After seeing the school performance of fellow Jefferson High School student and Horton protege, Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin signed on with Horton. Lavallade was to be a lifelong friend and colleague of Ailey's. While studying with Horton, Ailey pursued college courses in the Romance languages. At various times Ailey was enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles City College, and the University of California, Berkeley.He studied the writings of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Carson McCullers. His scholarly pursuits led him away from Lester Horton's school. In late summer of 1951, Ailey left for San Francisco to work and go to school. He soon befriended a young singer and dancer by the name of Margareurite Angelos (Maya Angelou). The two worked up a nightclub act called â€Å"Al and Rita. † They performed occasionally, and Ailey earned a living waiting tables and dancing at the New Orleans Champagne Supper Club. It was here that he first began choreographing acts of his own.This experience also marked the end of his college pursuits. Ailey started his own dance company in 1958, featuring primarily African American dancers. The company was invited back to Ted Shawn's summer dance festival in Massachusetts, in the summer of 1959. Following the stint, Susan Pimsleur, a concert manager offered to add the Ailey dancers to her roster. She laid out a plan for tours and concerts and designed a brochure, calling the company the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. A third concert at the 92nd Street YMCA was planned for January 31, 1960.It was during this performance that Ailey first staged his signature work, Revelations. The piece came from a very deep place within Ailey's psyche. The performance was an intense expression of heavenly faith, earthly despair, and unquenchable humanity. From its very first performance that January day, the audience jumped to their feet with a res ounding ovation. The producer of the dance program at the YMCA finally went on to the stage to silence the audience and announce that due to the overwhelming response of the audience, a second performance would be scheduled, an unprecedented fro that venue.In 1961, the United States Department of State approached Ailey, and invited him to travel in Southeast Asiaa for a thirteen week tour produced by the President's Special International Program for Cultural Presentations. Ailey accepted the invitation. He gathered dancers including some from his Horton days, including de Lavallade, Truitte and others. This was the first of many successful tours by the company. In a three years, Ailey had created a company and a body of work that communicated powerfully and conveyed to the world the beauty and universality of art and its rightful place in American culture.Alvin wrote in program notes for one of the tours, â€Å"The cultural heritage of the American Negro is one of America's richest treasures. â€Å"Ailey integrated his dance company in 1963. He also did some acting and directing. One notable production he directed was Langston Hughes’s Jericho-Jim Crow (1964). In summer of 1965, Ailey spotted Judith Jamison, a strikingly tall dancer with a strong foundation in ballet, at an audition he was attending. Ailey saw something special in her and tracked her down to invite her to join the company. She accepted, and today it is Jamison who runs the AAADT.Presented around the world by the Ailey's dance theater, the choreographic masterpiece Revelations, which is based on Ailey's experience growing up as an African American in the South, is among the best known and most frequently seen of modern dance performances. This piece ‘speaks' to audiences of all stripes in such a profound and inspiring way that audiences often leap to their feet in ovation at the close of the performance. It is a timeless portrayal of the experience of the American south of the fi rst half of the twentieth century.Ailey has been memorialized by the renaming of West 61st Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues in New York City as â€Å"Alvin Ailey Way;† the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was located on that block at 211 West 61st Street from 1989 until 2005, when it moved to a new, bigger facility at the corner of West 55th Street and Ninth Avenue. In 1987, Ailey received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. The citation on the award read, â€Å"To Alvin Ailey, dancer teacher and choreographer, whose work is generated from the heart and powered by passion; he stands as a model of artistic integrity.An American, informed by the Black experience, Mr. Ailey's choreography presses through cultural lines and speaks a universal language. His dances, whether sassy, sad, witty or lyrical, have brought joy and a sense of purpose to people throughout the world. Alvin Ailey's consistent artistic achievements have insured him a place as a giant in the history of American modern dance. † His longtime friend, Harry Belafonte presented the award. Ailey was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988. Alvin Ailey Gerald L. Archard November 22, 2010 2nd block dance 2 Dance Pioneers, Companies, and Choreographers Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an African American modern dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ailey was a gifted creator of dance expressing the African American cultural experience and history. His choreographic works live on in performances by the company he founded. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater toured extensively and regularly in Europe and Asia during Ailey's lifetime, making Ailey a familiar name worldwide.His works continue to inspire, uplift, educate, and communicate brilliance to all who witness them. One of his best known works, the choreographic masterpiece, Revelations, based on Ailey's experience growing up as an African American in the South, consistently brings audiences to their feet in enthusiastic, spontaneous ovation. Ailey was born to his 17-year-old mother, Lula Cooper, in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was only a few months old. Ailey's mother was determined to make a better life for herself and child. She moved numerous times in Ailey's early years.One of the constants in Alvin's childhood was attendance at the True Vine Baptist Church. His mother sang in the choir. Ailey's immersion in the experience of charismatic and enthusiastic worship filled with gospel music and traditional spiritual songs had a lasting affect. Later in life, he choreographed dances to some of the music he first heard as a churchgoing youngster. In 1943, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, California. Alvin was fourteen years old then. His mother worked often. The teen used his freedom after school to explore the city.Ailey was drawn to the music from the big band jazz clubs while the musicians practiced for their evening shows. He was also drawn to the theater marquees announcing upcoming shows like Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, and others. One day he spotted a hand bill with a photo of Katherine Dunham, a dancer costumed in layers and layers of ruffles. At the time, Dunham's dance troupe was the only group of dancers touring and performing dances from Africa, Haiti, and Latin America. Ailey's curiosity was so intense that he found himself peeking in the stage door to catch sight of the performance of Dunham's Tropical Revue.This was the beginning of Ailey's lifelong passion for dance. Alvin began hanging around the stage door of the theater during the run of Dunham's show. He was there so often that one of the dancers invited him backstage and into the auditorium to watch. This introduction led him to study dance. Initially, Alvin took dance classes in the style and method of choreographer and dancer Katherine Dunham, from a student of hers. However, he was not really comfortable with this style that involved abandoning oneself to sensuous full body movement.Later, he was introduced to dance teacher Lester Horton. Horton had a dance school in nearby in Hollywood and his style was more straightforward. After seeing the school performance of fellow Jefferson High School student and Horton protege, Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin signed on with Horton. Lavallade was to be a lifelong friend and colleague of Ailey's. While studying with Horton, Ailey pursued college courses in the Romance languages. At various times Ailey was enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles City College, and the University of California, Berkeley.He studied the writings of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Carson McCullers. His scholarly pursuits led him away from Lester Horton's school. In late summer of 1951, Ailey left for San Francisco to work and go to school. He soon befriended a young singer and dancer by the name of Margareurite Angelos (Maya Angelou). The two worked up a nightclub act called â€Å"Al and Rita. † They performed occasionally, and Ailey earned a living waiting tables and dancing at the New Orleans Champagne Supper Club. It was here that he first began choreographing acts of his own.This experience also marked the end of his college pursuits. Ailey started his own dance company in 1958, featuring primarily African American dancers. The company was invited back to Ted Shawn's summer dance festival in Massachusetts, in the summer of 1959. Following the stint, Susan Pimsleur, a concert manager offered to add the Ailey dancers to her roster. She laid out a plan for tours and concerts and designed a brochure, calling the company the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. A third concert at the 92nd Street YMCA was planned for January 31, 1960.It was during this performance that Ailey first staged his signature work, Revelations. The piece came from a very deep place within Ailey's psyche. The performance was an intense expression of heavenly faith, earthly despair, and unquenchable humanity. From its very first performance that January day, the audience jumped to their feet with a res ounding ovation. The producer of the dance program at the YMCA finally went on to the stage to silence the audience and announce that due to the overwhelming response of the audience, a second performance would be scheduled, an unprecedented fro that venue.In 1961, the United States Department of State approached Ailey, and invited him to travel in Southeast Asiaa for a thirteen week tour produced by the President's Special International Program for Cultural Presentations. Ailey accepted the invitation. He gathered dancers including some from his Horton days, including de Lavallade, Truitte and others. This was the first of many successful tours by the company. In a three years, Ailey had created a company and a body of work that communicated powerfully and conveyed to the world the beauty and universality of art and its rightful place in American culture.Alvin wrote in program notes for one of the tours, â€Å"The cultural heritage of the American Negro is one of America's richest treasures. â€Å"Ailey integrated his dance company in 1963. He also did some acting and directing. One notable production he directed was Langston Hughes’s Jericho-Jim Crow (1964). In summer of 1965, Ailey spotted Judith Jamison, a strikingly tall dancer with a strong foundation in ballet, at an audition he was attending. Ailey saw something special in her and tracked her down to invite her to join the company. She accepted, and today it is Jamison who runs the AAADT.Presented around the world by the Ailey's dance theater, the choreographic masterpiece Revelations, which is based on Ailey's experience growing up as an African American in the South, is among the best known and most frequently seen of modern dance performances. This piece ‘speaks' to audiences of all stripes in such a profound and inspiring way that audiences often leap to their feet in ovation at the close of the performance. It is a timeless portrayal of the experience of the American south of the fi rst half of the twentieth century.Ailey has been memorialized by the renaming of West 61st Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues in New York City as â€Å"Alvin Ailey Way;† the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was located on that block at 211 West 61st Street from 1989 until 2005, when it moved to a new, bigger facility at the corner of West 55th Street and Ninth Avenue. In 1987, Ailey received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. The citation on the award read, â€Å"To Alvin Ailey, dancer teacher and choreographer, whose work is generated from the heart and powered by passion; he stands as a model of artistic integrity.An American, informed by the Black experience, Mr. Ailey's choreography presses through cultural lines and speaks a universal language. His dances, whether sassy, sad, witty or lyrical, have brought joy and a sense of purpose to people throughout the world. Alvin Ailey's consistent artistic achievements have insured him a place as a giant in the history of American modern dance. † His longtime friend, Harry Belafonte presented the award. Ailey was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988.

Isopod Behavior Lab Report Essay

Background Information: In our lab we were working with isopods, also known as pill bugs or rollie pollies. The isopods that we worked with were land isopods. They like to live in moist places under untouched objects such as boards, bricks, rotting logs and or rocks. Basically, they will live anywhere! If you are lucky enough, you can even find them next to buildings where it is moist and if there is food. All living organisms like certain things and don’t like certain things, for example; most animals will try to eat something sugary or sweet, like a piece of candy. While the same animal my not wanting to eat something that is not sugary or sweet like peas. Every organism acts different, especially when a stimulus is affecting them. While other times the organism can do something for no reason, well at least to our knowledge. Relationships also can be a factor on how organisms act, most likely being aggressive or submissive. For example, male crocodiles will fight each other for a mate; this is showing their aggressive side. After one of the crocs has won the fight, the female croc will be submissive towards him to show dominance. This shows how they can act because of a relationship. Another example is people and the weather, which is a stimulus. People who like mild to hot temperatures will most likely go outside to do things. While people who don’t like the cold temperatures will do things inside, just so they don’t go outside. This shows how a stimulus can affect an organism’s behavior and what they do. Hypothesis: For my hypothesis I wrote, â€Å"If the pill bugs are in the petri dish with the other chemicals then they will go to the filter paper where the sugar is more so then the other filter paper that has chemicals on it†. I choose this hypothesis for many reasons. First off, I know that most organisms, bugs, insects, etc†¦ like sweet and sugary tasting things. I know this because I always see ants in my kitchen trying to get to the sugar rather then anything else. I know the pill bugs will not like the vinegar because most bugs will not go for vinegar. This goes the same with salt. I also thought about the water, this would be my second choice for my hypothesis. As I was writing my hypothesis, I also tried to tie it to me as well. I personally favor sugar over the others, next would be water, then salt, and last but not least vinegar. Using my personal taste, I was better able to make my decision on my hypothesis. Procedures: Procedure 1: 1 petri dish was placed on top of table. A dry piece of filter paper was centered into petri dish. Four pill bugs were placed into the petri dish; the petri dish was covered with an index card then a stack of post-it notes was placed on top of the index cards. The pill bug’s behavior was observed for 5 minutes, data was gathered and written on the paper. No human influence had any affect on the pill bugs behavior. Procedure 2: One piece of circular filter paper was taken and cut into 4 equal sections. The 4 sections of filter paper were then assigned and labeled with a letter from A – D. The chemicals were collected, which were water, salt solution, sugar solution and vinegar. Using a dropper, 5 – 10 drops of each solution were placed on a separate piece of filter paper. Then the filter paper with the solutions on it was placed in the petri dish, 4 pill bugs were then added into the petri dish. The pill bugs behavior was observed and recorded over th e course of 5 minutes by recording how many pill bugs would go on each piece of filter paper in 30-second intervals. After that the pill bugs were returned to their home, the filter paper and the lab station were cleaned. Over the course of our lab, our group collected lots of data from the pill bugs behavior. At the beginning of our lab we had placed the pill bugs in the petri dish with dry filter paper and we observed their behavior. The pill bugs were going around the inside rim of petri in circles following each other, almost as if it were a game of tag. The pill bugs never seemed to stop moving, flipping over and were constantly climbing. Some of the pill  bugs even tried to escape from the petri dish, but our group was quick to make that didn’t happen. As our lab went on, we placed the 4 different pieces of filter paper with solutions on them and then added 4 pill bugs to it. We collected lots of information during this procedure. This table represents how many pill bugs were on each slice of filter paper, that had a different solution on each of them, over 30 second intervals lasting 5 minutes. This is what were recorded our data on for this part of the lab. Conclusions: The purpose of our experiment was to observe the behavior of the pill bugs. We were trying to find exactly whether the pill bugs would be attracted or repelled by the chemicals. The chemicals used were vinegar, water, salt solution and a sugar solution. By placing strips of filter paper with the solutions on it into a petri dish and then adding the pill bugs did attract and repel the pill bugs. This experiment would show whether the pill bugs would be attracted to one or some of the 4 chemicals in petri dish. This experiment was relevant to the topic because the pill bugs would show some kind of different behavior, which is what the topic was related to because the topic was that some animals behave in different ways, especially to a stimulus. From the experiment I learned that the pill bugs behavior did change when the chemicals were added to the petri dish. From the data that we recorded in the chart it showed that the pill bugs like to go to the sugar solution the most. This does not surprise me because I thought the pill bugs would be most likely to go to the sugar solution. I thought this because most animals would chose something that is sugary and sweet, so I tied this into the experiment and this is also how I formed my hypothesis. Next came the water solution that the pill bugs liked. Then, came the salt solution. Then, came the in between filter. Finally, came the vinegar solution. This does not surprise me that the pill bugs like the vinegar solution because I know ants don’t like vinegar, so I thought the pill bugs would be the same. These  results fully support my hypothesis about the experiment. Through this experiment my hypothesis was proven correct. My original hypothesis was, â€Å"If the pill bugs are introduced to the chemicals, then the pill bugs will most likely go to the sugar solution rather then go to the others†. I then looked at the results of my experiment and it showed that the pill bugs liked the sugar solution the most. This alone proves that my hypothesis is correct. I believe the accuracy and precision in my results is 100% correct. I believe this to be valid because I ensured there were no errors made during the experiment. Even though there was a lot of room for error I made sure that it didn’t happen. This experiment could have been revised, as there should have been a bigger petri dish or something larger to hold the pill bugs in. This way more solutions could have been used like the same 4 chemicals just more slides of them. This would show more accurately that they really did like the sugar; this would eliminate any one saying that it was a fluke, that the pill bugs liked the sugar. I also think more pill bugs should have been added. I think that this would allow for more room for accuracy and precision in the experiment. From the experiment I learned that pill bugs are very interesting organisms. I had a lot of fun doing the experiment. I learned that out of a sugar solution, a salt solution, vinegar and water, that the pill bugs will choose the sugar solution the most. I also learned from this experiment that an experiment can always be redone and that it will show more accurate results. Before this experiment I always thought that one experiment could be good enough for 100% accuracy. Then, I thought about this experiment and I realized that this experiment could be better done. I also learned that pill bugs also like to climb on top of each other. This was interesting to me because I never thought they would do that because, you don’t see people or elephants climbing top of each other. These are some facts that I learned from the lab. In conclusion, the experiment showed the behavior of the pill bugs when chemicals were introduced. When the sugar solution, salt solution, vinegar and water were added and the pill bugs behavior was changed by whether they  were attracted to it or not. Through my results from the experiment the pill bugs liked the sugar solution the most and that supported my hypothesis. The experiment had no errors, but could have been done better. Finally, through the experiment I learned many new things, I had a lot of fun and I realized that not every experiment is not always the best one done. I also learned that an organism’s behavior could be affected by a stimulus even though we may not see it.

Compare and contrast the Demographic Transition of one MEDC and one LEDC Essays

Compare and contrast the Demographic Transition of one MEDC and one LEDC Essays Compare and contrast the Demographic Transition of one MEDC and one LEDC Paper Compare and contrast the Demographic Transition of one MEDC and one LEDC Paper Essay Topic: Zone One The two countries that Im going to compare and contrast their Demographic Transitions with each other are England and Wales, being the MECD, and Sri Lanka, being the LECD. Differences The main difference between the two demographic transitions is that the demographic transition for Sri Lanka is entirely a twentieth century occurrence. The data starts at 1911 1920 where the demographic transition for England and Wales starts at 1651 1680. This is a lot earlier. The CDR in England and Wales started to fall a long time before the CDR started to fall in Sri Lanka, it was about 1810 when England and Wales crude death rates started to fall and although you cant be sure exactly when Sri Lankas started to fall it was nearly 100 yrs after. There is also a difference with when the CBR started to decline. With England and Wales it started in about 1891, whereas in Sri Lanka it didnt start to drop until the 1950s. One more difference is that at the present time, England and Wales are in stage 4 of the Demographic Transition, where Sri Lanka is still in stage 3. I think that the further along in the demographic transition a country is, is a sign to show how developed that certain country is. Another difference is that the time that it has taken for both these countries to go through stage 2 and 3 of the demographic transition is different. England and Wales started stage 2 in 1770 and finished stage 3 in about 1950, just under 200 years, whereas Sri Lanka only took about 100 years. Similarities The first similarities that I spotted are that even though they are both in different stages, the stages are very similar. This is shown in stage 2 of both countries where the CBR stays high and the CDR is falling. This is also true of stage 3 in each where the CBR is falling and the CDR is levelling off. Due to the decline in death rate and the birth rate staying as it is, then both countries will find an increase in population. Although this happens at different times. Reasons for Differences and similarities The reason that England and Wales CDR fell a lot earlier than Sri Lanka is because a number of reasons, theses are: Improved sanitation and hygiene brought into all urban areas by the government. This included thing such as covered sewers, water closets and means of sanitary water supply. Public health acts in 1872 and 1875 also helped, inspectors were also brought in for hygiene. Improved food supply brought about by major innovations such as crop rotation, land draining and new farm machinery. With the improvements of communications it also became easier to transport the food to areas of shortage. Reduced impact of infectious disease also helped to lower the CDR. There were many medical advances that made a difference practically in the late 19th century after the national heath service was started in 1946. Whereas in Sri Lanka the CDR fell because of some different reasons, these are: There was control of Malaria brought in which contributed 25-40% of all mortality declines. This wasnt started until 1947 when a DDT scheme got under way. There was better health care brought in, between 1938-48 the number of hospitals doubled from 115 to 246. There was an increase in foreign aid, which also boosted the health care in the country. Growth in the economy took place between1947-52 due to a rise in price for plantation products, which resulted in a higher budget for health care. Once that malaria had been brought under control, zones that once couldnt be farmed due to the malaria before could now be used and this provided more nutrition, thus decreasing CDR in the country. The reason why England and Wales CBR fell before Sri Lankas can once again be split up into smaller reasons, theses are: In 1842 all women and children were excluded from the mines and by 1906 no children under the age of 11 were working. This combined with the compulsory education act of 1867 meant that children were no longer seen as an economic asset. Economic changes such as more women entering work and thus not having children. The growth of ideas such as the publishing of leaflets about contraception also contributed to the decline in CBR. Also the availability of the contraception made a difference. The decline in mortality had an effect also. As more children survived, women needed to have fewer births to achieve the same family size. This is just some of the main similarities and differences between a MEDC and a LEDC, there are many more smaller ones as well as what Ive already put.

Free Essays on History Of Guitar Outline

The guitar’s history can be traced back in time through monuments, pictures, poems and sculptors. The name of the guitar can be derived from a modification of the Greek word cithara. It is a musical instrument strung with gut or nylon strings played by the fingers having a body with flat back and slight curves. Its history can be traced back over 4000 years. The oldest evidence of the existence of the guitar dates back to 1900-1800 B.C. It was found in Babylonia on clay plaques, which portray nude figures playing instruments that bear a general resemblance to the guitar. There are many cultures that take claim to inventing the guitar, but many accounts report the Egyptians had a fine example of the guitar with ribs and incurvations and a long neck identified on a monument in Cappadocia, Syria in 1000 B.C. There still seems to be great disagreement in those who claim the guitar originated in Europe or those who state it came from the Arabs. The guitar originally had two courses of strings, two double, the top course single, that ran from a violin-like peg box to a tension bridge glued to the soundboard, or belly; the bridge thus sustained the direct pull of the strings. In the belly was a circular sound hole, often ornamented with a carved wooden rose. In past decades the guitars were made from a solid piece of oak because of the availability of the wood. With many guitar makers experimenting in the renaissance they found that cedar was an easier during the construction and also better for sound quality. Previous the guitars had no soundboard because they were constructed out of a solid piece of wood. Constructors found that with the sound of the hollow guitar did not have the sound quality they wanted. They experimented with pieces of wood inside, and found that making the inside out of pine would increase the overall sound quality of the instrument. The first of the guitars was represented in Western Europe in 1180 A.D. but... Free Essays on History Of Guitar Outline Free Essays on History Of Guitar Outline The guitar’s history can be traced back in time through monuments, pictures, poems and sculptors. The name of the guitar can be derived from a modification of the Greek word cithara. It is a musical instrument strung with gut or nylon strings played by the fingers having a body with flat back and slight curves. Its history can be traced back over 4000 years. The oldest evidence of the existence of the guitar dates back to 1900-1800 B.C. It was found in Babylonia on clay plaques, which portray nude figures playing instruments that bear a general resemblance to the guitar. There are many cultures that take claim to inventing the guitar, but many accounts report the Egyptians had a fine example of the guitar with ribs and incurvations and a long neck identified on a monument in Cappadocia, Syria in 1000 B.C. There still seems to be great disagreement in those who claim the guitar originated in Europe or those who state it came from the Arabs. The guitar originally had two courses of strings, two double, the top course single, that ran from a violin-like peg box to a tension bridge glued to the soundboard, or belly; the bridge thus sustained the direct pull of the strings. In the belly was a circular sound hole, often ornamented with a carved wooden rose. In past decades the guitars were made from a solid piece of oak because of the availability of the wood. With many guitar makers experimenting in the renaissance they found that cedar was an easier during the construction and also better for sound quality. Previous the guitars had no soundboard because they were constructed out of a solid piece of wood. Constructors found that with the sound of the hollow guitar did not have the sound quality they wanted. They experimented with pieces of wood inside, and found that making the inside out of pine would increase the overall sound quality of the instrument. The first of the guitars was represented in Western Europe in 1180 A.D. but...

Data and Information

Data and Information Data and Information Data and Information By Maeve Maddox A reader suggests addressing the difference between data and information. Both information and data are types of knowledge, a concept for which English has numerous words. The various words are used in different ways, according to context, but heres an effort to differentiate some of them. information knowledge obtained from investigation or communication. Detectives and journalists gather information. Just the facts, Mam. data [dÄ tÉ™, dÄÆ'tÉ™, dtÉ™] reliable information based on observation and record-keeping. Scientists, marketing specialists, and government agencies gather data. For a discussion of datum and data, see this DWT post on Latin plurals. fact something known to be true, or something that can be proved to be true. knowledge the condition of knowing. Knowledge is the whole package of what we have learned from the experience of living. It may or may not be factual. To my knowledge, the world is flat. Learning and erudition both indicate knowledge obtained from academic inquiry. An English professor who knows the language and literature of English and can also read Latin and a couple of modern languages can be said to have learning. The professor is learned [là »rnÄ ­d]. If the professor can also read Hebrew and ancient Greek and is well-read in several other academic disciplines, the word erudition [Ä•ryÉ™-dÄ ­shÉ™n, Ä•rÉ™-] applies. A person so steeped in learning is erudite [Ä•ryÉ™-dÄ «t, Ä•rÉ™-]. While its ok for a professor to be erudite, its not such a good thing for a poet. Many of T. S. Eliots poems are so erudite as to be pedantic. The general reader needs explanatory notes to understand them. Scholarship is often used to indicate all the learning, data, and informed opinion that exists in a certain area of study. Ex. Civil War scholarship, George Washington scholarship, motion picture scholarship. Lore is specialized knowledge above and beyond what most people know about a subject. Ex. movie lore, sports lore, computer lore. The word often suggests arcane learning. Ex. Gandalf is steeped in magical lore. Science is systematized knowledge Ex. the science of light, the science of photosynthesis. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Taser or Tazer? Tazing or Tasering?Starting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.

The United States on the World Stage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The United States on the World Stage - Essay Example Successful as these programs were for America during its time, one cannot help but wonder as to whether things would have turned out for the better or worst for America if these programs had not been successfully implemented. Let's start with a look at the era of â€Å"Reaganomics† and what America might have been like had it not been implemented at all. Reaganomics was based on the program of governance that balance the national budget and created savings for the country by implementing 4 basic steps: â€Å"(1) Cut tax rates to restore incentives for economic growth , (2) Spending reductions , (3), Anti-inflation monetary policy restraining money supply growth compared to demand, to maintain a stronger, more stable dollar value. (4) Deregulation, which saved consumers an estimated $100 billion per year in lower prices. â€Å" (Ferrera,2011) The system worked in the 80's for the American population and the budget cuts resulted in a surplus of treasury savings which the Clint on administration inherited. It prevented the downward spiral of the economy and allowed the treasury time to recover and earn the taxes needed to cover the national debts (â€Å"The Second American Revolution: Reaganomics†). ... Life became harder for everyone under Reaganomics while before it was implemented, life was alright for most American families. There are those who believe that if Reaganomics had not been implemented, the United States would have gone one of two ways, died economically due to the cost of inflation and the eventual inability of the United States to pay its debts or, continued on its â€Å"life is still affordable† trend that the typical American family was experiencing. Maybe the time of single income families sending their kids off to affordable colleges and universities would still be norm these days instead of student loans and a generation of high school graduates who can't afford college. That is if the taxes were continuing to become higher in rates would eventually stop rising and increasing the costs of basic goods. So maybe, just maybe, the country is somehow better off than if Reaganomics did not exist. Otherwise, the public would not know that there is another way o f cutting the debt and balancing the national budget than the constantly increasing government revenue collections that the Obama administration strongly advocates. Then we have the â€Å"End of the Cold War† to consider. The end of the cold war marked a sort of unification in Europe that allowed tensions between the democratic and socialist European countries to find a platform of peace and camaraderie with one another (Mearshimer, 1990). However, it would seem that the unification of Europe under the Euro, which would not have happened had the cold war not ended, has resulted in more problems for the united European economy that expected. Pres. Ronald Reagan is viewed by the Americans as the man who brought peace to Europe and ended the cold war.

The US Liberal Criminological Tradition Critical Analysis Essay

The US Liberal Criminological Tradition Critical Analysis - Essay Example There are clear statistics that show that some ethnic minorities are more likely to be associated with crime and the punitive system within both the US1 and the UK2. There is further evidence that this may be a result of ethnic discrimination and social stratification3, leading some scholars and supporters of liberal criminology to suggest that there is racial bias within the criminal justice system. There are those that go further and suggest that the punitive system does not represent what could be seen as a ‘true definition of criminality’ but rather a skewed view based on these ethnic and economic differences that evidence themselves in the statistics. This liberal criminology has become somewhat of a tradition, particularly in the US4, meaning that it has influences on criminological research in the UK and further afield. Whilst the aim to find a definition of true crime free from the effects of social and political order is perhaps noble, it can be difficult for sc holars to move away from the shadow that the US liberal criminological tradition has cast. ... This will provide insight into crime politics and how criminological traditions and research find themselves part of the legal landscape, and the effects that this type of background can have on contemporary research and attitudes within the field. The US Liberal Criminological Tradition To fully understand the nature of the question, it is perhaps prudent to examine the US liberal criminological tradition in more detail. Liberal criminology can be said to be the ‘perennial search for a measure of actual or real criminality’5. This search is deemed necessary partly because of the thought that crime figures (and the resultant research) often fails to account for crimes that have gone unreported or criminals that have not been prosecuted or otherwise recorded by the punitive system6. Liberal criminologists often go so far as to suggest that this way of analysing crime means that it is not true scientific research as it does not represent the scientific method7. The purpose of finding this true definition of criminality is to reduce the effects of political and socioeconomic factors on the justice system8. It has also been suggested that liberal criminologists ‘tend to share the hope that once real crime has been isolated and measured, its causes can be identified and solutions devised’9. Evidently, it is incredibly difficult to separate a justice system which relies on human judgement from political and socioeconomic factors present within the culture. Liberal criminology acknowledges this factor, but insists that much of the data provided on crime and criminals is false; ‘they reflect the bias inherent in an economically, ethnically, and racially stratified society’10. The argument here is perhaps

Violence Against Women And Girls Research Paper

Violence Against Women And Girls - Research Paper Example Modern societies are still learning to know how to treat the modern sophisticated woman who is financially independent and also academically competitive. Even though these women are financially and economically as well as intellectually competitive at the same level with men, they still face a lot of issues which limit how much they can achieve in their societies. One of the most obvious results of women sexualization issues and how it is related to gender violence is the way in which women are treated in most Islamic societies. In Saudi Arabia, women are prohibited by law from participating in such activities which are only thought to be meant for men, such as driving an automobile. This is an issue which has led to a lot of controversy in the world. In the year 2013, women in Saudi Arabia demonstrated against a law passed prohibiting them from driving. In Indonesia, women demonstrated in the streets while wearing short skirts in the demonstration of the increasing rape cases in Ind onesia. In the east, women are forced to wear very heavily so that they hide her femininity while in the west social pressures may force a woman to wear revealing clothes because they are judged by how they look. Gender violence has remained to be a major challenge of the 21st century, mainly because it is supported by many traditions and attitudes in many societies. To be able to deal with this gender violence, it will be necessary to overcome these barriers and make sure that women are viewed in a different way.

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Article review - Essay Example The author also makes suggestions on how corporations can do something about this dissatisfaction. John Baldoni (2010) states that during his work presentations there was a time when he discovered eight out of ten workers were not content with their employment. Although the Great Recession made employees stick to their jobs, their dissatisfaction did not go away and new research manifested the fact. (Baldoni, 2010) Workers complained of being overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. The article continues with the research showing six out of ten workers wanting to leave the company. Baldoni goes on further to explain that managers must face the fact that their employees are not pleased. Also, as proven by research, quite a number do not trust upper management thinking that the ones in the higher up do not have as many sacrifices as those in the lower ranks. Ultimately, managers should remember that unhappy workers are unproductive ones and thus steps should be taken to make improve the workers’ disposition. There were three suggestions were made in the article for making work more tolerable for employees. The first one was to address the situation. Baldoni hints that most employers try to ignore the fact that the problem exists. This should not be the case. He encourages employers to try and find out why there is a problem. Asking employees outright is also not a good tactic, Baldoni states, as this would make employees be afraid to tell the truth. A private company resorted to conducting a survey after a number of its professional staff submitted their resignations. (Von Achen, 2010) The results showed that insufficient training and support, infrequent performance feedback and workload issues were the reasons the workers at this company wanted change. The next step Baldoni wrote is to encourage alternatives. He suggests to work together with the employees in making improvements to the

US and UK Political Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

US and UK Political Systems - Assignment Example Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence†-John Adams To start with, there are three parts of the UK; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each having a special status and local administration with a wide spectrum of responsibilities however England which represents the 84% of the total UK population does not have any regional government as compared to the US where every state has its own local government hence the British political system does not have anything equivalent to the federal system of the US. Secondly, the most important concept is that of separation of powers which clearly distinguishes between the US and UK government. In the US the constitution entails that three arms (the executive, the legislature and the judiciary) must be completely and strictly independent and indifferent from each other e.g. the president (head of the executive) cannot be the member of the Congress but in the UK it is the complete opposite. The British political system is pragmatic and flexible since the three arms of the government are easily dif fusible. The most striking contrast between the two systems is the absence of a written constitution in the UK. While in the US like other nations of the world, the constitution makes an integral part of the federal government while British political system relies heavily on the judgment of politicians, executive, judiciary and law arbitrators. The Britain parliament has a bicameral structure which consists of British House of Commons and the House of Lords; the latter is the upper chamber with far less authority than the former, it cannot veto a decision passed by the British House of Commons. This two-house law formulation and approval arrangement is a product of a thousand years long slowly evolved British Political system. Now when we compare it with the US, we notice that the US politics is dominated by two political parties; the democratic and the Republicans, (the British equivalent of these are the Labor and the Conservative parties).

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Article review - Essay Example The author also makes suggestions on how corporations can do something about this dissatisfaction. John Baldoni (2010) states that during his work presentations there was a time when he discovered eight out of ten workers were not content with their employment. Although the Great Recession made employees stick to their jobs, their dissatisfaction did not go away and new research manifested the fact. (Baldoni, 2010) Workers complained of being overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. The article continues with the research showing six out of ten workers wanting to leave the company. Baldoni goes on further to explain that managers must face the fact that their employees are not pleased. Also, as proven by research, quite a number do not trust upper management thinking that the ones in the higher up do not have as many sacrifices as those in the lower ranks. Ultimately, managers should remember that unhappy workers are unproductive ones and thus steps should be taken to make improve the workers’ disposition. There were three suggestions were made in the article for making work more tolerable for employees. The first one was to address the situation. Baldoni hints that most employers try to ignore the fact that the problem exists. This should not be the case. He encourages employers to try and find out why there is a problem. Asking employees outright is also not a good tactic, Baldoni states, as this would make employees be afraid to tell the truth. A private company resorted to conducting a survey after a number of its professional staff submitted their resignations. (Von Achen, 2010) The results showed that insufficient training and support, infrequent performance feedback and workload issues were the reasons the workers at this company wanted change. The next step Baldoni wrote is to encourage alternatives. He suggests to work together with the employees in making improvements to the

Industry review of retirement home industry Research Paper

Industry review of retirement home industry - Research Paper Example enture should aim at making profits to the investor, but it must also aim at the provision of quality services to the people in the immediate community (Scaffa and Reitz, 2014). There are two types of retirement industries available to individuals who have attained the age of retirement including the independent and the dependent communities. The independent communities consist of consist of the single family homes, condominiums, duplexes, or townhouses where these individuals live just on their own. This kind of industry may offer a number of services. These include provision of the recreation services, taking care of the lawn among other services. On the other hand, the dependent industry is bestowed with the responsibility of the provision of housing arrangements alongside other health care services. These constantly change with the change in the needs and the tastes of the community (Hillstrom and Hillstrom, 2002). In the retirement industry market, the communities are expected to increase especially in America to over 77 million in the next two years. The retirement group is expected to be shopping for the best option in the market regarding housing and health services in the next 2 decades. The venture into the retirement industry requires some capital to help run the facility in one way or the other. Therefore, this industry seems to be centered onto the senior citizens with some sizeable retirement incomes that are adequate to handle the expenses. For instance, in America, the most expensive retirement scheme requires a capital of between $ 100, 000 to $ 1 million (Scaffa & Reitz, 2014). There has been an escalating trend in the development and the expansion of the retirement industry in the American economy. However, in 2007, there was a recession in the US that spread up to the year 2013. This recession slowed down the growth in the retirement industry. This forced several individuals to delay the retirement due to the dwindling personal assets. There

Restaurant Business Essay Example for Free

Restaurant Business Essay The popularity of fast food establishments came in the 1980’s, and over the last years, the industry has consistently posted double-digit growth rates. Supporting human resources include hotel and restaurant managers and assistant managers, housekeeping supervisors, security personnel, chefs, cooks, waiters, bartenders, and other related workers and professionals directly involved in hotel and restaurant services. Francis Villaluz a director for marketing of Gerry’s Grill was asked how’s the  restaurant industry  doing these days and what’s its greatest challenge? He said â€Å"It’s still doing well, were still getting crowds. There’s still a need for it. The restaurant industry does have seasonality like other businesses. Gerry’s Grill  has 17 branches. Growth depends on the area you are in. According to our survey, restaurants are location-driven. People who eat in a certain branch live or work a few kilometers away. † Villaluz also mentioned that in the course of business, if sales will slightly go down, it means businessman have to reinvent and repackage. Manilareview. com reported that like every other country, the food industry has flourished very well in Philippines. Filipinos love to eat and that’s the reason why you will see a lot of restaurants and fast foods restaurants scattered in the cities. These restaurants and fast foods can be local or international food chains. Filipino food and chefs are considered one of the best in the world. It is hardly surprising that Filipino food is often labeled as somewhat strange (like the â€Å"balut† for example) but in its own way, its food is a unique mixture of eastern and western cuisines and reflects the history of Philippines. The Filipino food includes dishes and cooking procedures from China, Spain, Mexico, United States, and more recently from further abroad. However, what makes them Filipino is the history and society that introduced and adapted them; the people who turned them to their tastes and accepted them into their homes and restaurants, and specially the harmonizing culture that combined them into modern Filipino fare. Some of the popular fast food chains of Philippines are Jollibee, McDonald, KFC, Chowking, etc. and popular restaurants being Abe, Chelsea, Friday’s, Chili’s and a lot more. Attracting a huge crowd to restaurants or fast foods require more than just good food. Though important, good food is only a part of the total dining experience. Equally important is believed to be the way people feel while in the restaurant. This physical and emotional response is a result of the atmosphere, the total environment to which customers are exposed. The proper atmosphere can make the food, service and whole dining experience seem better. For that reason a restaurant or a fast food must take care of the following to please its customers. This includes checking the cleanliness of the place and freshness of the food, guarded premises, parking area where people can park, ambiance and landscaping, building design, lighting, and even music. FOREIGN Even in a business based on flavor, theres no need to sugarcoat the truth: The restaurant industry is facing hard times. In December, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) released its 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast that predicted although 2009 restaurant industry sales will exceed $566 billiona 2. 5 percent increase from last yearthe numbers translate to an inflation-adjusted decline of at least 1 percent. And thats putting it kindly. Right now, credit is tight and investment capital is practically nonexistent. Inevitably, the consolidation of the banking industry will have a detrimental impact on restaurants nationwide.

Environmental Problems Derived From Modern Societies Environmental Sciences Essay

Environmental Problems Derived From Modern Societies Environmental Sciences Essay Global warming is probably one of the most talked issues of our generation and ironically it is probably one of the most misunderstood subjects. Everyone talks about it without truly understand what it means for our future or what its horrifying consequences are. The dictionary defines global warming as the rise in the average temperature of Earths atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation.  [1]   This essay will analyze with more depth this definition and also make the students understand how serious this subject is about to become and how it is in our hands to slow down this process before it is too late. Environmental problems derived from modern societies The comfort we have in our modern life is leading us to use up many natural resources. So, it is important to understand what controls the fragile and complex climate on Earth. The Earth temperature is controlled by the greenhouse effect. This effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases. Life on Earth is only possible because of the green house effect. Actually, if this effect did not exist, the temperature on the surface would be around 34 °C colder than it is in the present days. With the rise of gas emissions of the green house effect, as in the gases which absorb and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range, the fragile and complex system that controls Earth climate is affected and consequently, the surface becomes warmer. As Derek Markham states: The main greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other halocarbons, ozone (O3) and nitrous oxide (N2O). These gases are not only produced by human action but there are also natural causes aggravating the situation. Starting by stating the main ones, such as, our ever-increasing addiction to electricity from coal burning power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  [2]   Every day, more electric gadgets flood the market, and without alternative energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and commercial electrical supply. Other big issue is the demand for more cars and consumer goods, which increased the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing caused its growth at an alarming rate among the population. Other cause derived from the grown of the population is the enormous quantity of methane released into the atmosphere by the creation of animals in a large scale. The process of anaerobic decomposition that takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animal produced methane. Furthermore Markham says: The use of forests for fuel (both wood and for charcoal) is one cause of deforestation, but in the first world, our appetite for wood and paper products, our consumption of livestock grazed on former forest land, and the use of tropical forest lands for commodities like palm oil plantations contributes to the mass deforestation of our world. Forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this deforestation releases large amounts of carbon, as well as reducing the amount of carbon capture on the planet. Analyzing the consequences Although there are countless alarming consequences  [3]  there are a few that deserve more attention. For instant, with climate change, areas where precipitation was relatively constant now cease to be. With time, this situation generates a low irrigation of soil and consequently the desertification of soil. What happens it that the soil of these certain areas starts to become increasingly sterile and which means that the land does no longer have enough nutrients to grow new vegetation, both natural and planted by men. Without vegetation, less will rain, the soil becomes barren and lifeless and, of course, survival is very difficult. Also, as global warming is associated with the rise of the planets average temperature, this increase passes on the heat to water sources present on Earth and therefore it is a reason of alarm because it is believed to be the main cause for some Fauna and Flora extinction once present in the deep ocean. Also, Joe Romm says: It is predicted more intense monsoons with climate change. Warmer air can hold more water and puts more energy into weather systems, changing the dynamics of storms and where and how they hit.  [4]   Considering this scenario, what it is more likely to happen is that cities and towns will not be prepared for this impact in terms of infrastructures. Another issue, and that might be the scariest, is the general reduction in food production: Due to this Natures immoderate behaviour and climates conditions, the profits in average crop will vary depending on its geologic location. This effect on productivity will lead to a reduction in global food production, resulting on the increase of cases of malnutrition.footnote! http://www.carebadges.com/?p=15 This will also be followed by the fact that mosquitoes are extremely sensitive to climate variations and global warming will allow these species to travel to parts of the world that used to be too cold for them to survive, which means that tropical diseases will spread south from South East Asia and Africa to other places. Lastly is the fact that the polar ice (ice accumulated on top of the land on both poles) is melting at an increasingly fast pace, a process triggered by surface heating. The problem is that our Planet has about 38 million cubic kilometres of ice, of which 85% are in Antarctica. Because ice is less dense than water, around 33 million of cubic kilometres of water would obviously go to the ocean. Considering that the oceans surface is 360 million cubic kilometres and if this surface remains constant, it would mean an increase of 60 meters of the sea level. Of course this is an irrealistic and extremist point of view and we can only predict based on results of the UN Climate Panel an increase of the sea level about 18 to 60 centimetres in the next century, which is not a big problem. What have we been doing to minimise global warming? Up to date, there have been major worldwide congresses and Talks to discuss the Global Warming issue and spread the word. From all of them, there are two that deserve attention: The World Summit River in 1992 which took place in Rio de Janeiro, was the first major conference focused on this topic and to debate solutions to combat global warming. 117 representatives of countries around the world were present that day to sign the most important measure called Agenda 21, which committed these signatory nations to adopt the new methods of sustainable development, creating an economic background to serve as financial support in order to achieve the target set to cut carbon emissions by the year 2000, when carbon dioxide in atmosphere was 355 ppm. In the following years the involve countries did not accomplished the targets and in 1997, when the carbon emissions where 365 ppm at atmosphere according to IPCC, it was called the Kyoto summit. In the Kyoto summit there been established new targets to cut up 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels before 2012 and again the countries did no achieve this. So it is understandable that we have been doing climate change policy but failed over and over again. It is time to realize the current approach is broken and we have to think about other solutions. The solutions As consequences, solutions are countless and should be put into practice more actively. The solutions presented next are the most important ones: Starting by fossil fuels, probably the most difficult one to achieve because of its presence in society is to continually eliminate the burning of coal, oil and natural gas and replace them by other sources of energy such as solar energy, wind energy, water splitting, algae fuel, terra power, wave energy, urban cooling and geo- engineering Infrastructure Upgrade is another measure that needs attention, buildings in cities contribute to about one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, even though investing in thicker insulation  and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can save money in the long run. But energy-efficient buildings and improved cement-making processes could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world and prevent them in the developing world. Transportation is another major source of greenhouse gas emissions, so one action that could make all the difference for this situation is moving near to work or use other ways of transport such as walking, cycling or some other way that only requires human energy. Avoiding long-distance flights would be of great help too, for instant there are distances that can be achieved by train instead. Consuming less should be the number one rule in developed countries. Consuming less results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, less production and less shipping of products around the world. Following this thought, every citizen should do more with less and try not to waste our resources so easily, such as leaving the tap open or the lights turned on. The same applies to choose carefully what you buy, for instant choosing local food because it does not need to be transported. Following this thought, consuming less would have a big impact in cutting the trees and would help preserving the few existing forests because right now 33 million acres are cut down per year. One option is to set a global tax on carbon, which is applied consistently across the globe. This would mean the biggest polluters pay the appropriate cost for the damage they are doing to the environment. Proceeds of this tax could be reinvested in renewable energy solutions and energy efficiency schemes. Tax credits could also be given for research and development schemes focused on reducing energy use, conserving water and other energy efficiency initiatives. . What should we expect from the future? Is there still hope? As everyone heard before, the future is in our hands, especially in the leading governments. There is still no absolute idea about solutions probably there is no definite solution to solve global warming but there are solutions to gain time and make things last for longer. Countless organisations and scientists believe that every day. We are not yet saved or doomed, which should be more than a motivation for us, citizens of the world, to act more efficiently and start thinking about new ways of living. I believe that we are not yet prepared for the possibilities of having to adapt our livings standards and probably the need to survive rather than living comfortably in our cosy homes. But again it all depends on our governments and us all.

Mozart In 1788 :: essays research papers

With over two pages of compositions finished in 1788 you would figure that this year was an extremely busy and prosperous one for Mozart, when in fact his "situation both publicly and privately became critical" (unknown). Up until this year the information revealed in Mozart's personal letters has provided great insight about his private life. A peculiar thing about letters from this year is that there appears to be none written after August (Keys 210). One possible reason for this could be that Mozart was again living at home and thus he was living with the person that he would normally be writing to. Of these letters only one of them is written to Nanarel; the rest are to a dear friend of Mozart's, Micheal Puchberg. Interestingly enough Mozart begins all of his letters to Micheal delicately and affectionately with "brother", "Brother of Order", or "beloved friend" which we know from the past is Mozart's way of getting on somebody's good side before asking for something. After the greeting, the body of all of these letters appears to follow a basic format: starting out with a high feeling of dignity or self-confidence, and ending with pleas for financial backing or help. The letters, amounting to twenty between 1788 and Mozart's death (Keys 206), only afforded Mozart an estimated 1415 florins. This can be compared to the near 3000 gulden that he had borrowed from many people by his death in 1791. Mozart met Micheal back in his freemason days; they worked together for the same company. Micheal became very wealthy when he inherited the textile manufacturing business that he was working for. Mozart's near constant pleas for money were sometimes granted, but not all of the time. Unfortunately, Mozart never made enough money before his death to be able to fully pay Micheal back for all of his help. However, as a small form of compensation, Mozart would occasionally send Micheal compositions and even dedicated one of his piano symphonies to him. Micheal was such a good friend of the family, that it has been said that he continued to help Costanze out with family and financial problems after Mozart's death. Eventually, it becomes rather obvious that Mozart can barely support his family, let alone pay back anyone who lends him money. Because of this, he loses nearly all of the financial credibility that he once had.

Encounter Part Ii– John Mcphee

Encounter Part II–John Mcphee An Island introduces Charles Fraser and David Brower, the two on a tour of Cumberland Island, Georgia. Charles Fraser, a real estate developer in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with David Brower, a conservationist, the leader of a conservation organization called Friends of the Earth, the most effective single person on the cutting edge of conservation in this country.Charles Fraser has obtained 3000 acres of undeveloped Cumberland Island and he has bent over backwards in previous developments to preserve as much of the original landscape as he could, but he considers all environmentalists to be â€Å"druids† who will sacrifice people to save trees. Fraser considers himself a true conservationist, and he will say that he thinks of most so-called conservationists as â€Å"preservationists† but that he prefers to call them â€Å"druid. † â€Å"Ancient druids used to sacrifice human beings under oak trees,† â€Å"Mode rn druids worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those tree.They want to save things they like, all for themselves. † Fraser's characterization of environmentalists as modern druids who â€Å"worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those trees† provides the charge against Brower that forms the title of the book. Brower came to Georgia in order to stop Fraser's plan to develop Cumberland Island. Actually, Brower agreed that it would be a better candidate if Fraser developed Cumberland Island with federal protection. I think that both of them have common sense.Even though Fraser is a businessman, but he cares about the environment. I agree with Brower and I believe everyone has their own responsibility to get involved with environmental issues. Developing and environmental issue are always conflicted in current. Maybe we will find out the best solution to solve this puzzle. According to environmental ethic, we have to protect our environment first. I agree with t hat it is priority to protect our Earth Planet. I think it might be human nature, we always realize our mistake after we actually have made the mistake.For example in China, compare to 20 years ago, China’s economy has been developing to a very higher level, but the environment condition is going down to the hell. China has been studying and learning economic developing from Western for a long while and realized that economy is the most important thing for the country. Most of Chinese think that America is the superpower state in the world because our super economy and technology. Previous Chinese President, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, after his economic reforms, the whole country’s living standard has been increased enormously.During developing, Chinese has realized that economic developing has destroyed the country’s environment. Now it is the payback time for Chinese, even they want to spend 10 times more it won’t get the nature environment back. I don’t think that all the Chinese realize how important environment it is. I agree with most of Brower s opinion and I like to protect our green earth, but I believe that developing is very important too. Some of Fraser’s thoughts are right to me. I would like to see the developing with good environmental protection. The best asset religion offers is the moral framework by which practitioners must abide. 3] Since many environmental problems have stemmed from human activity, it follows that religion might hold some solutions to mitigating destructive patterns. Buddhism idealizes and emphasizes interconnection,[4] thereby creating a mindset that creates a productive and cooperative relationship between humans and nature. That all actions are based on the premise of interconnection makes the Buddhist mindset affective in generating modesty, compassion, and balance among followers, which may ultimately mitigate the harm done to the environment.One benefit of the Buddhist interconnected mindset is the inevitable humility that ensues. Because humans are entwined with natural systems, damage done upon the Earth is also harm done to humans. [5] This realization is quite modifying to a human race that historically pillages the Earth for individual benefit. When rational humans minimize the split between humanity and nature and bridge the gaps,[3] only then will a mutual respect emerge in which all entities coexist rather than fight.Buddhism maintains that the reason for all suffering comes from attachment. [6] When release from the tight grasp humanity has on individuality and separateness occurs, then oneness and interconnection is realized. So rather than emphasizing winners and losers, humanity will understand its existence within others; this results in a modesty that ends egoic mind. Another benefit of Buddhist practice to the environment is the compassion that drives all thinking. [3] When humans realize that they are all onnected, harm done to another will neve r benefit the initiator. [5] Therefore, peaceful wishes for everyone and everything will ultimately benefit the initiator. Through accepting that the web of life is connected[4]—if one entity benefits, all benefit[5]—then the prevailing mindset encourages peaceful actions all the time. If everything depends on everything else, then only beneficial events will make life situations better. Acceptance of compassion takes training and practice, which is also encouraged by Buddhist moral conduct in the form of mediation.This habitual striving for harmony and friendship among all beings creates a more perfect relationship between humanity and nature. Lastly, Buddhist mindset relies on taking the middle road or striving for balance. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, spent his life searching for the outlet of human suffering, eventually concluding that a balance must be established between self-destruction and self-indulgence. [7] While modern, industrial humans emp hasize economic and social aspects of life and lastly environmental aspects, this view is lopsided. 5] When human preferences are leveled with environmental preferences—giving a voice to natural systems as well as human systems—then can balance and harmony be realized. Therefore, using this idealized and disciplined framework that Buddhism has to offer can create lasting solutions to amending the broken relationship between humanity and nature. What ensues is an ethic, rather than a short-term policy or technological fix. [5] When never-ending consumption patterns cease for the betterment of the world as a whole, then all systems will harmoniously interact in a non-abusive way. 5] Without needing to adopt a new religion, just recognizing and accepting this mindset can help to heal the environmental injuries of the past. Buddhists today are involved in spreading environmental awareness. In a meeting with the U. S Ambassador to the Republic of India Timothy J. Roemer, th e Dalai Lama urged the U. S to engage China on climate change in Tibet. [8] The Dalai Lama has also been part of a series on discussions organised by the Mind and Life Institute; a non profit organisation that specializes on the relationship between science and Buddhism.The talks were partly about ecology, ethics and interdependence and issues on global warming were brought up [9] According to some social science research, Christians and members of the Christian right are typically less concerned about issues of environmental responsibility than the general public. [1][2] Green Christianity is a broad field that encompasses Christian theological reflection on nature, Christian liturgical and spiritual practices centered on environmental issues, as well as Christian-based activism in the environmental movement. citation needed] Within the activism arena, green Christianity refers to a diverse group of Christians who emphasize the biblical or theological basis for protecting and celeb rating the environment. [citation needed] The term indicates not a particular denomination, but a shared territory of concern. [citation needed] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Religion_and_environmentalism#Religions_and_the_environment

Explore Shakespeare’s presentation Essay

‘The play was written in the 1600’s, at this time the role of women was vastly different than their role in today’s society. The woman was to be the dutiful housewife, being expected to run the house cook meals and look after the children. In wealthy families girls were subject to their fathers will. Marriage was a business contract, not about love, but to keep land and wealth within a family. Girls were raised to be obedient to their parents. Children in the 1600’s were to be seen and not heard a lot like later Victorian times. The girls were not to be formally educated they were to stay at and help their mothers with everyday jobs such as washing and cleaning. However this is no longer the case. Women are more and more frequently following the same career paths as men. They also have more rights. Both of these mean women are now equal to men. In the play, Juliet is fourteen, her father feels she should want to become a wife. † She hath not seen the change of fourteen years† However unlike other marriages at the time her father wants her to be happy and try to love a gentleman called Count Paris. Her father is aware of her feelings. However Lady Capulet seems to want Juliet to marry and does not consider her happiness, she uses the argument that † younger than you here in Verona ladies of esteem are made already mothers she reinforces this by telling her â€Å"I was your mother much upon these years† Juliet has a close and trusting relationship with the nurse who has looked after her since birth. She is Juliet’s mother figure. The nurse uses terms of affection for her such as † what lamb! † We first see Juliet in the scene between Lady Capulet and the Nurse. This is also the scene when we see Juliet talk to her mother for the first time in the play. † Madam I am here what is your will? † this is formal. Juliet trusts her parents and respects their wishes, by accepting marriage, however this is before she meets Romeo. Romeo and Juliet first encounter with each other is at the Capulet’s mansion during the ball, which Romeo and his friends should not be attending. They speak a sonnet together. â€Å"My lips like two blushing pilgrims, ready stand. † We see in this scene Juliet being quick witted and covering with the nurse, when she discovers Romeo’s identity. Juliet quickly loses her innocence in this scene. In the balcony scene, we are able to compare Romeo and Juliet. This scene is also important because we see the differences between the characters. Romeos language is full of romantic imagery. He is in a dream like state. â€Å"0’speak again bright angel. † He speaks about her comparing her to the â€Å"heaven and to the stars. † She is his â€Å"east. † This puts her in a higher place and shows she is above all mortals to him. Whereas Juliet seems to be more practical. Juliet is more meaningful and uses the questions wisely to find out more about Romeo. † are you a Montague? † â€Å"How did you get here? † These questions mean something whereas Romeo is more poetical, and tries to impress Juliet. Romeo’s responses are fantastical † with loves light wings did I O’erperch these walls. † In exchange Juliet never cunning, she is always sincere. While Romeo is rhapsodising over love, she realises how rash their avowals of love may be. â€Å"too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden. † Juliet responds to Romeo with generosity and infinite love. Romeo is lost in a happy dream, but Juliet looks ahead, it is she who suggests marriage. She is resourceful. She shows no fear of disobeying her parents, â€Å"what O’clock shall I send for thee tomorrow? † whilst Romeo is comparing silver sweet sounds, loves, loves tongue to the softest music. However Juliet too can be poetical, she is able to express her love for Romeo with intensity and feeling. † my county is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep† It is interesting that Juliet is the first one to mention marriage. † if that thy bat of love be honourable, thy purpose marriage. † Juliet trusts the nurse. She is the only person Juliet confides in. â€Å"to ask his name if he be married. † She trusts the nurse with such a message to take to Romeo. This shows the strength of their relationship. She can put on a good show to get her own way. She also trusts the nurse in telling Romeo to meet her for a night of passion. Juliet is as impulsive as Romeo and hurries off to meet him at Friar Lawrence’s cell. Juliet is open with Romeo, however she is happy to deceive her family in to thinking she is going to confession. Juliet later uses religion again to deceive her family. Once married, Juliet is forced to grow up very quickly as she needs to deal with a series of terrible events that happen in a short period of time. Romeo vanishes because he killed Tybalt, â€Å"murder’d her kinsman. † Romeo is then sentenced to death on the hour he is found. † when he is found, that hour shall be his last. † The pain of Romeo’s banishment is immediately succeeded by the horror of her father’s plans for another wedding, â€Å"marry, my child, early next Thursday mom! † Juliet and Romeo spend the night together at the Capulet mansion. We see the physical side of man and wife. She shows that she wants to be with Romeo all the while. However he has to go. Juliet begs him to stay. â€Å"it was the nightingale and not the lark. † She is stronger^ than Romeo when she hears about the wedding he goes to pieces. Sobbing and wailing, trying to kill himself, in the face calamity she does her best to cope. When Juliet refuses to obey her parents in marriage they are shocked her father is no longer indulgent, and he and her mother turn against her and are very cruel to her. † hang thee young baggage! Disobedient wretch! † Despite their insulting comment Juliet calm. In despair Juliet turns to the nurse for comfort, but is told to forget Romeo and marry Paris â€Å"marry, I will and this is wisely done. † She is hurt and feels betrayed by this comment from the nurse, she trusted the nurse and now that trust as gone. However she shows qualities of determination and courage, which enable her to hide her anguish, and chat wittily and apparently calm with Paris at the Friar’s cell. Juliet has no choice but to agree to the Friar’s desperate scheme, she has neither family, nurse nor husband to support her. † My dismal scene needs must act alone. † She agrees to take the potion this shows her courage and determination, with child like horror she goes through everything that could go wrong with taking the potion, finally realising she has no other option, drinks the potion with great courage. The potion heightens the drama of the scene as she is isolated from her family and friends. Juliet is true and faithful because when she awakes in the tomb the first thing she says with child like simplicity â€Å"where is my Romeo? † she is deserted once again, this lime however by the Friar. When she realises that Romeo is dead, she is ^courageous to the last minute she stabs her self. Her last act is immediate and determined and successful, it is expressive of her love for Romeo and is keeping with her character and everything she has done through out the play. However at the end of the play she is still a 14 year old girl with her whole life in front of her. She succumbs to an adolescent^ despair. At the end of the play Lord Montague says † I will raise her statue in pure gold. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet brings harmony and unison to the two families. Lord Montague at the end realises Juliet has been â€Å"true and faithful†.

A Critical analysis of The film “Platoon” Essay

The Vietnam War was on everyone’s mind in 1960s and 1970s in our country. It was the center of much of America’s troubles during this time, but only the soldier’s who fought in that war knew the true madness that was Vietnam. Oliver Stone began writing Platoon because the Vietnam War was â€Å"a pocket of our history nobody understands.† (Schuer t24) Platoon is a movie which should be viewed by everyone, not only for its cinematic qualities but for its historic insight as well. Platoon is an Orion Pictures production, filmed in 1986. Written and directed by Oliver Stone it tells the gruesome story of a Vietnam War not known by the American public. Tom Beringer, who plays the experienced Sergeant Barnes, was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category along with Willem Defoe who plays Sergeant Elias. Charlie Sheen plays Chris Taylor, an idealistic student who had dropped out of college, joined the army, and volunteered for Vietnam. His idealism and view of war in general rapidly change during the course of the film. The character is based off the director Oliver Stone, who dropped out of Yale to join the war effort. Chris and the rest of the soldiers are unaware of what they are getting into and are given little time to prepare. â€Å"Trapped in the cage of front-line life, living (if they’re luck) from moment to moment, values that apply elsewhere fade out for Barnes and others† (Kauffman 24). While serving his time Taylor experience the war in its full spectrum, from the homesickness and the comradery of the men to the nightmares of battle. Read Also:  Critical Evaluation Essay Topics The enemy is the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong but you rarely view them except as shadowy figures in the jungle or momentarily illuminated by the light of a flare. There are no defined battle lines and the combat scenes lead you to believe that the enemy is everywhere. The line between good and evil is blurred or nonexistent in this film. Sergeant Elias is portrayed as a caring, intelligent leader who escapes reality through the use of drugs. His nemesis, Sergeant Barnes, is portrayed as an efficient fighting machine who will stop at nothing to get the job done. You soon realize that he, too, is just doing everything to ensure his own survival. Platoon shows how the War affected the soldiers, and how none of them felt  that they were fighting for a reason. The film shows the Vietnam experience from the average soldier’s point of view. In the beginning Chris Taylor is very ignorant and his chances of survival are slim. The movie went beyond just showing battles, with the showing of the moral dilemmas that the soldiers faced. The film does not in any way glorify the war in Vietnam. It is a gritty look at what the soldiers endured while serving their country. The men in the platoon come from all walks of life and all over the country. However they all share the same desire to serve their time and get as far away from the fighting as possible. There is not one soldier in the jungle whose mind is not irrevocably warped by the ravages of war. Some critics complain that the character development in the story is weak and there is no plot. J.P. Stern of U S News and World Report states that â€Å"The Central Plot tension – the battle for a young private’s soul between a â€Å"good† sergeant who has retained humanity and a â€Å"bad† sergeant who has become a killing machine is not very tense.† However, the introduction of the entire cast in the film is what sets the film apart from others like it. There are no real heroes in this movie and no real villains. There is just a group of frightened men fighting for survival in their own ways and counting the days until they can leave the country. Nearly the entire film is set in a very thick jungle with tall grass and a beautiful landscape. All of the soldiers are forced to walk through thick jungle with biting insects, and hidden trip wires. The camera is always moving to give a sense of confusion and disorientation. Shots of wounded men screaming and constant gunfire makes you feel like you are in the middle of it all. The violence and paranoia that plagued the soldiers are constantly evident.†Complaints about the violent nature of his work elicit from Stone what might be called the journalist’s defense that’s just the way it is. (Ansen 56) In order to accurately tell the story Stone could pull no punches. Platoon was instantly acclaimed upon it’s release as the first truly authentic look at Vietnam since the end of the war. It was nominated for many academy awards including, best picture, best film editing, best sound, best director, best cinematography, best writing, and best supporting actor. The film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best film editing, best sound,  and best director. Richard Corliss of Time Magazine states that â€Å"Stone’s film is a document written in blood that after almost 20 years refuses to dry.† Yet behind all of the prestige and awards it was given, Platoon holds an underlining message. â€Å"Charlie Sheen is America in its innocence, and the jungle is the dark, confused mystery that the war remains for us twenty years later† (Evans 78). Platoon is more than just a gory war movie; it is a realistic look at world that we would never want to experience. Works Cited 1. Ansen, David. â€Å"A Ferocious Vietnam Frenzy† Newsweek 5 Jan. 1987: 57. 2. Corliss, Richard â€Å"Platoon† Time Magazine 26 Jan. 1987:54-61. 3. Kauffmann, Stanley. â€Å"An American Tragedy† The New Republic 19 Jan. 1987: 24-25. 4. Schuers, Fred. â€Å"Soldier’s Story† Rolling Stone 29 Jan. 1987: 22+. 5. Stern, J.P.. â€Å"Parable in the Jungle† U S News and World Report 2 March 1987: 78.