US-Iran Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

US-Iran Conflict - Essay Example Accordingly, the following discussion will provide a detailed overview and step-by-step analysis of the chronological progression of Iran’s nuclear program and the means by which its relations with the United States and other global powers has become strained as a result. The first internationally reported news concerning Iran’s nuclear program came from a dissident group known as the national Council of resistance of Iran. Accordingly, this particular group revealed the fact that they were in fact to nuclear sites that were under construction within a run at the current time; one uranium enrichment facility and one heavy water facility. It is been speculated by many individuals that these facilities and their existence had been leaked to this particular group by powerful intelligence agencies that had long known of their existence (Ezeozue, 2013). As a direct result of this admission, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) demanded that Iran provide access to these sites so that monitoring could be conducted. Iran initially noted that such a request was irrelevant as the international treaties that were established concerning monitoring of nuclear facilities stipulated that they should only be monitored six months prior to coming online; something that Iran noted was not yet a reality for the facilities in question (Aghazadeh, 2013). Regardless of this the human denial, Iran eventually gave way and provided the IAEA inspectors access anyway. In May 2003, and â€Å"grand bargain† was suggested. This grand bargain was one in which full and transparent access to the nuclear program of Iran would be provided in exchange for security guarantees and the normalization of diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States. The underlying reason for this offer had to do with the fact that Iran was

Visual Techniques Essay Example for Free

Visual Techniques Essay Contemporary television nowadays is leaning towards the â€Å"reality† aspect of what’s being shown to the audience. Because of this, they adapt visual techniques which makes it easier for the audience to relate to what’s on today’s TV. One specific technique is the subjective perspective or view point. This is when the television shows encourage its viewers to follow a certain character or adopt a certain stance through the direction of the shots. High angled shots usually give power to viewers while low angled shots leave them powerless. Another visual technique is the social distance. This enables the audience to see how close or how intimate characters are to a certain cause or idea. Personal distances are judged through the types of shots, like when its about far social distance, long shots are used, and for close personal distance medium to close-up shots are used. 2. On the other hand, television visual techniques are now being used in contemporary films. One good example is the use of lighting. Before, one can immediately distinguish a film from a television show because television shows usually have more lighting, as compared to darker, dimmer lighting on films. Nowadays, in the advent of High-Definition, films give a more life-like feel just like television because of lighting. Another one television visual technique used in contemporary films is the documentary style or approach. Instead of the usual plot, films follow different sequence of events that could make the viewers feel like they’re watching a made-for-TV documentary. 3. Film and television clearly have influenced each other throughout their shared history. Now, film visual techniques are not anymore limited to films, just like with television techniques being used in films. Also, both of these benefited from better production because of the advanced tools and techniques used in making them (CinemaRoll, 2008). Computer-generated images are not that costly now, making it available even to low-budget films. On the other hand, viewers are tired of the usual plot twists and turns in movies that’s why they enjoy odd, radical approaches in film making, including the incorporation of television techniques in its production (Cohen, 2006). References: CinemaRoll. (2008). Television and Film. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://cinemaroll. com/cinemarolling/television-and-film/ Cohen, D. S. (2006). New techniques make visual effects more actor-friendly. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://www. variety. com/awardcentral_article/VR1117955526. html? nav=visualfx07

Industrial Revolution Essay -- essays papers

Industrial Revolution â€Å"Industrial Revolution†, in my opinion, is not a correct term. It makes it sound as though the whole thing happened at once, which it did not. It was rather an industrial evolution, or better yet an industrial chain reaction. One event impacted others and these changes impacted yet others. There were many important inventions during this time period. These inventions all made life a little easier for the people living during this time. There was an increasing demand for new material for clothing. The invention of the spinning jenny and powered loom made this possible. Steam engines provided power for machines. The cotton gin was another important invention. The Cotton gin made it possible to make clothes out of cotton, instead of the scratchy wool that clothes had always been made out of. Railroads were a very important invention during this century. Before the railroad was invented, people who lived away from their families never saw them. There simply was no easy way for them to visit. By 1869, railroads could go coast to coast in six and a half days. This is one way that the Industrial Revolution impacted social aspects of people’s lives. The Industrial Revolution did not only provide positive changes. There were also many negative changes. However, when you’re dealing with something that is going to change people’s lives to this degree, some downfalls can be expected. The industrial r...

Excel Igcse Computer Studies Glossary Essay

Actuator – It is a device that can be operated by signals from a computer or control system causing physical movement. (E.g. devices for opening windows in a computer controlled ventilation system) Algorithm – It is a sequence of instructions designed to perform a particular task and it is independent of any programming language. It includes precise details about the operations to be performed and in what order. (E.g. pseudo-code or program flow chart) Batch processing – It is a processing that doesn’t start until all the data are collected without any needs of human interaction. It uses computer during overnight. (E.g. payroll system, billing, cheque processing) CAD (Computer Aided Design) – It is the use of computer system that allows engineers and architects to design new projects by producing drawings. (E.g. designing new cars) Command-line interface – It is a set of commands instructed by the user in order to communicate with the computer and get the requirements sorted out. Compiler – It is a program that converts high-level language into machine language and converts whole program before execution. Cookies – It is a text which the user receives when in access to the internet website and gets automatically downloaded onto the user’s computer and further develops to infect a computer. (E.g. it can be blocked when the user rejects it by setting its restriction on the web page) Data integrity – It refers to the accuracy of data. Data-logging – It is an automatic capturing and storing of data readings from sensors over a period of time. (E.g. weather forecasting) De-skilling – It is replacing a semi-skilled labour with a micro-processing control system. Dry run – It is working through a program or a section of a program manually. This is useful for locating errors, particularly run time errors. E-commerce – It is an electronic commerce that allows buying and selling goods and services through the internet/computer networks. Either B2B or B2C, they still serve their products. (E.g. on-line shopping, Internet/online banking) H.J.Hong Encryption – It is a way of preventing data files that contain sensitive  information from being used if they’re stolen. Expert system – It is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) to a particular area of activity where traditional human expert knowledge and experience are made available through a computer package. (E.g. medical diagnosis) Generic software – It is a type of software that can perform many different related tasks. Intranet – It is a communication system, providing similar services to the internet solely within a particular company or organization. It makes it possible to share documents, databases and applications, using the same protocol as the internet. (E.g. more secure data) Logic gates – They are the components used in making logic circuits. Each gate has 1 or more inputs and produces a single output that depends upon the input(s). Simulation – It is a study of the behaviour of a system by using a model. (E.g. flight simulator) Structure diagram – It is a means of representing the design of a program or system and it demonstrates what happens at a program level Top-down design – It is the technic of breaking down a problem into subtasks that are sufficiently simple enough to be written as a self-contained module or procedure. (E.g. allows several programmers to work on the same large task, each module can be tested/debugged separately) Validation – It is a check on the data input and detects any data that is unreasonable and unacceptable. Video-conferencing – It is a form of an electronic communication through Internet for people who are geographically separated to transmit audio and video data. (E.g. meetings held at different locations) Virtual reality – It is a computer simulation that uses special interactive devices such as data gloves to create an artificial environment. (E.g. viewing newly constructed houses/pilot training) Virus – It is a program which replicates itself and damages files or data. (E.g. it alters the data on the infected computer without the user knowing it)

American Democracy Essay

Democracy had its origin in Rome, primeval Greece and both South and North America and has gained roots nearly all over the entire world and states become efficient and effective in there responsibilities if they utilize this concept. I will therefore discuss in this paper the aspect of democracy in America and the types of democracy that is direct and indirect types and point out the one used in this country particularly in California State. I will also proceed to highlight both democratic and undemocratic issues in America. Definition of democracy Democracy is simply defined as government by the people for the people. Essentially it illustrates small units of interrelated structures of administration. Research indicates that the primary characteristics of democracy comprise of administrations founded on popular rule, open and just elections, safeguarding political/opinionated minorities, high opinion of fundamental human privileges/rights, and impartiality before rule of law, and opinionated pluralism. (Anthony, 1957) Direct Democracy This is the practice of democracy which provides an opportunity to the citizens of a particular country to be involved in decision making process directly without depending on legislative bodies who act as there representatives. Many scholars argue that this kind of democracy is a feeble structure commonly practiced by comparatively small societies. This type of democracy is not only about the issue of voting but also includes referendum. According to the research I conducted, California state practices this direct democracy as witnessed through the making of decisions using referendum style, for example in the year 1998 the citizens of California who numbered twenty million engaged in referendum. (Markoff, 1996) Indirect democracy Unlike direct democracy representatives or intermediaries of the citizens of a state or nation play a key role in decision making process. These intermediaries are usually elected by the citizens and they have the duty to protect the interest of the electorate because they have the mandate to do so. This kind of democracy has led to the practice of what is termed as representative democracy whereby the citizens elect administration executives who formulate decisions that will represent the interest of those citizens. Representative democratic system is a type of indirect parliamentary government whereby such officials or intermediaries are democratically elected and typically complicated to recall them if they do not carry their duties as required. This form is usually based on a principle called Edmund Burkes which declares that the intermediaries selected should carry their duties based on the sense of what is right and wrong. (Joseph, 1950) Views of various scholars on American democracy There are many people who expressed different views about democracy and include the following: Robert A. Dahl who looked at the fundamental suppositions of democratic hypothesis, experiment them in opposition to the enquiries put forward by it opponents and build the concept of democratic system in to fresh and rational whole. Dahl deduces that there are various directions that democratic system has to move if superior autonomous countries are to subsist. (Dahl, 1989) Alexis de Tocqueville also had reflective outcomes regarding the theory of democratic organization. Alexi’s ideas emphasized on the issue of equality being an important ingredient to democracy; he further argues that without equality crime cases will rise. He also emphasizes on sovereignty or autonomy of states and also points out the importance of public opinion as the other key ingredients to achieving democracy. Another contributor is Jane Mansbridge who believed on democratic process and she dedicated her political opinions on democracy and equality in America. She argues that equality must prevail in order to achieve justice and only through democratic means that this equality can be realized. Thomas Marshall contributed to democracy in America by working to changing the existing laws then to that rules which embraced democracy for example he worked on voting rights among others. He also emphasized the issue of equality and he said that it propelled the country in the direct direction that is being democratic. He also worked tirelessly in reinforcing substantive egalitarianism in America by guaranteeing that sparkling method of checks and equilibriums among the three divisions of administration put forward in the American constitution was functioning. On his part Richard Hofstadter proposed that both anti-intellectualism and utilitarianism are outcomes experienced faced on the road to democratization of information or knowledge. Hofstadter preliminary worry of function of the institution of higher education and the scholars in the community developed into an influential appraisal of the current principle of learning and the position of civic education in America. (Johansen, 1996)

Writers Paradise essays

Writers Paradise essays In Sarah Gillers article, Graffiti: Inscribing Transgression on the urban landscape, she asserts her views on the topic of graffiti. Giller believes that graffiti is an art of letters that beautifies the urban landscape, even though others argue graffiti is a society defacing crime that needs to be stopped immediately. Graffiti is an arrangement of illicit marks attempting to establish some sort of coherent composition. Such marks are made by an individual or individuals (not generally professional artists) upon a wall or other surface that is usually visually accessible to the public. There are three different styles of graffiti, tags, throw-ups, and, pieces. Tags are names quickly composed on practically any surface and hold the least amount of credibility. Throw-ups are names that can be quickly done in bubble letters overlapping each other and hold a higher amount of credibility than tags. Lastly, pieces, are the most elaborate and involved style of graffiti, combining words with figures over a great amount of space to create the most admired type of graffiti. Giller explains that the motive of the teens is to establish a name which sets them apart form other writers. The name of a writer is a self-choosen name or term fixed on how the writer wants to be noticed by his peers. By bombing (writing on) as many sites as possible an individual gains the recognition and respect of other writers. Despite the overwhelming popularity of graffiti amongst teens, the general public views graffiti as a disrespectful sign of vandalism. Giller illustrates in her article that government officials have made unbelievable efforts to obliterate this problem; however, the effort exerted by city officials to assail against graffiti has been pitifully ineffective. Giller views graffiti as an art of letters and beautification of the landscape, I only partially agree with Giller; I believe some graffiti is an ...

Double Negatives to Avoid

Double Negatives to Avoid Double Negatives to Avoid Double Negatives to Avoid By Maeve Maddox A French speaker who says â€Å"Je ne sais rien† raises no eyebrows among the educated, but an English speaker who says â€Å"I don’t know nothing† is immediately marked as semi-literate. (French ne corresponds to English not and rien to nothing.) Some languages, like French and Spanish, have what is called â€Å"negative concord,† usage that allows two negatives to express a single negation without being considered incorrect. Double negatives in English came to be seen as ungrammatical after the Middle Ages. Considering the wide use of double negatives in nonstandard English dialects of English, one might wonder why the double negative is disdained in the standard dialects. In 1762 a very learned English bishop named Robert Lowth (1710-1787) published A Short Introduction to English Grammar. The bishop stated this rule: Two Negatives in English destroy one another, or are equivalent to an Affirmative. Lowth was a scholar of Latin and Hebrew. Both those ancient languages lack negative concord. Bishop Lowth’s opinion has become our rule. Never use not in the same sentence as the following: hardly scarcely only (in some contexts; does not apply to not onlybut also) neither never no one nobody nothing no none Here are some examples of sentences that rarely cause confusion in nonstandard dialects, but which are incorrect in standard English: Note: the asterisk indicates that the sentence is nonstandard. *She was so weak she couldn’t hardly sit up. *Scarcely nobody came to my party. *I can’t stay only a few minutes. *I didn’t know neither her telephone number nor her address. *I never saw no one I thought prettier. *I don’t know nothing about building a compost pile. *We don’t need no education *I don’t want none of those escargots. Here are the same thoughts expressed in standard English: She was so weak she could hardly sit up. Scarcely anybody came to my party. I can stay only a few minutes. I knew neither her telephone number nor her address. I never saw anyone I thought prettier. I don’t know anything about building a compost pile. We don’t need an education I don’t want any of those escargots. Note: Not all double negatives in English earn an F from grammarians. The â€Å"not un-† construction popular in the 17th century is still acceptable in standard English. For example, here’s a comment from a travel article: â€Å"the flavor was unusual, but not unappealing.† Both not and unappealing are negatives. The idea is that the flavor is too strange to actually be â€Å"appealing,† but is nevertheless palatable. To state the thought otherwise would alter the writer’s intended meaning. 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†8 Types of Parenthetical PhrasesTypes of Plots

ESL Newscast Lesson Plan

ESL Newscast Lesson Plan Media is an ever-present reality and one that students are intimately familiar with. As such, diving into the media landscape offers multiple avenues for interesting lessons that will hold students attention. You can start by studying media-related words so that students are familiar with the basics. From there, lesson plans can revolve around anything from watching news videos on YouTube to publishing a class newspaper. One activity that helps students cover a variety of media related themes is to have students create and act out a newscast. The larger the class, the more roles students can take on. Perhaps your class might even put up the final version online. ESL Newscast Lesson Plan Breakdown Aim: Develop a working knowledge of vocabulary related to mediaActivity: Creating a newscastLevel: Intermediate to advanced Lesson Activities Study media-related vocabulary covering the basics of printed and broadcast video.Discuss different roles on news broadcasts including anchorpersons, meteorologists, and sports reporters.  Compare and contrast printed and broadcast media and how they are currently used in our daily lives.Watch a video on YouTube or on TV of a typical newscast together as a class. Its not necessary to watch an entire broadcast. However, students should have a chance to become familiar with a range of reports.Watch the newscast a second time and ask students to take note of typical phrases used to introduce various reports and reporters, as well as make transitions.Review transition phrases in small groups with students matching language functions to appropriate phrases.Ask students to write out two alternate phrases for each language function.  As a class, review possible phrases. Write phrases on the whiteboard, or take note in a document to print out for students.Ask groups to read a transcript of a typical broadcast. Ive included an easy version below, but advanced classes should be able to handle actual broadcast transcripts. Next, students  script out a short newscast in groups of four to six. One student should take on the role of anchorperson, one as the weatherperson, another as a sports reporter. For larger groups, add various reporters as required. For example, one group might have a gossip reporter from Hollywood, another group might have a reporter on assignment in China, etc.  Ask students to work together to write a short newscast with each student responsible for his or her own role / report.Review students scripts as needed and help out with transitional language.Have students practice the newscast until they can deliver the news  comfortably with little reference to the script.  Enjoy the newscasts as a class. If its really good, share the newscast online.  Afterwards, repeat the fun with this lesson on writing dramatic scripts as a class. Newscaster Language Match the following purpose to the jargon phrases that follow. Once youve matched the phrases, come up with two additional phrases that might be used to accomplish the same function: Opening the newscastAnnouncing the headlinesIntroducing the weatherCutting to a commercialTransitioning to a new storyIntroducing live coverageIntroducing the sports segmentInterrupting the newscast for breaking newsUsing pleasant small talk to finish the newsSigning off from the broadcast Broadcast Journalism Jargon Excuse me, we have a developing situation ...Good evening and here is tonights important news.Hi Steve, were on the ground here in downtown ...How about that game last night!Its pretty wet out there, isnt it?Lets get out there and enjoy some of the good weather.Lets turn to a story about ...Stay tuned, well be right back.Thank you for tuning in. Well be back at eleven with important updates.Tonights stories include ...(Answer Key Below) Example News Transcript Read this transcript and take note how transitional phrases are used during a news broadcast. Once you have finished, plan your own newscast with classmates. Anchor: Good evening and welcome to the local news. Tonights stories include the story of a boy and his dog, a look at improving employment figures, and a clip of the Timbers win at home last night. But first, lets check in on the weather. Tom, hows the weather looking?Meteorologist: Thank you Linda. Its been a beautiful day today, hasnt it? We had a high of 93 and a low of 74. The day started off with a few clouds, but weve had sunny skies since two oclock. We can expect more of the same tomorrow. Over to you Linda.Anchor: Thank you Tom, yes its a wonderful time of the year. Were so lucky with our weather.Meteorologist: Thats right!Anchor: Lets turn to a sweet story of a boy and his dog. Last night a dog was left in the parking lot sixty miles away from its home. The dogs owner, a boy of eight, tried everything to find Cindy. Yesterday, Cindy came home and scratched on the front door. John Smithers has more. John?Reporter: Thank you Linda. Yes, little Tom Anders is a happy boy tonig ht. Cindy, as you can see, is now playing in the backyard. She arrived home after having come more than sixty miles to reunite with Tom! As you can see, theyre overjoyed to be reunited.Anchor: Thank you John. Thats good news indeed! Now, lets check in with Anna for a look at last nights Timbers victory.Sports reporter: Timbers hit it big last night. Beating the Sounders 3-1. Alessandro Vespucci scored the first two goals, followed by Kevin Browns incredible header in the last minute.Anchor: Wow, that sounds exciting! Well, thank you everyone. This has been the evening news. Newscaster Language Answer Key Interrupting the newscast for breaking newsOpening the newscastIntroducing live coverageIntroducing the sports segmentIntroducing the weatherUsing pleasant small talk to finish the newsTransitioning to a new storyCutting to a commercialSigning off from the broadcastAnnouncing the headlines

Ethics In The Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics In The Workplace - Essay Example The worst thing about Bob’s act in cheating the old man is lowering the belief in the basic nature of a fellow human being. Part C: Yes, it is very important to keep a word of promise, irrespective of whether the promisee is known or not or whether we see that person again or not. Failure to keep a promise is an act of cheating that is violating the other person’s right not to be abused. For the person indulging in cheating, it also involves living with that guilt feeling forever and consequently suffering a loss of self-esteem. While deciding on the policy with its ethical implications, I would be guided by not sentimental or political considerations but by the consequential results of my action. The larger question would then be: Will doing business in China, albeit with censored version of services, lead to opening a window of opportunity, however small an opening it may be, for the people of China? Most certainly it does. According to Google’s policy, politically unacceptable information would be blocked out and the viewer informed of the same. This act by itself and the frequency with which such blockades take place are most likely to be a source of embarrassment to the authorities who can be expected to slacken the controls – in other words, open the window a little more. Thus, Google’s policy, while being Utilitarian morally, also has the desirable objective of contributing to the common good of the customers in the longer run. iii). ‘Ends do not always justify means’ is my new perception, after the lessons. In personal life or professional life, even when difficult decisions are to be taken, I would act in as transparent a manner as possible to make my objective clear and ethically

Analisis Of The Article Is Facebook Making Us Lonely Essay

Analisis Of The Article Is Facebook Making Us Lonely - Essay Example He takes the time to reflect back to the 1950s and traces the changes that have happened in human interaction. Through the integration of various sources from divergent authors, including Moira Burke, John Cacioppo, and Robert Putnam; people with different ideas and perceptions, the author presents both sides in an enthralling manner and imperiously attests his supposition. The facts presented are expressed in an appealing language that undoubtedly sinks into the audience’s intellect. Marche industriously presents an outstanding fact that remains profound throughout the article; â€Å"The idea that a Website could deliver a more friendly, interconnected world is bogus† (Marche 1). The depth of an individual's interaction within Facebook is fully determined by their social network outside of Facebook. However, in various instances, Marche presents arguments and statements but lacks statistical evidence or experimental results that validate it. â€Å"Facebook †¦ puts the pursuit of happiness front and center in our digital life. Its capacity to redefine our very concepts of identity and personal fulfillment is much more worrisome than the data-mining and privacy practices that have aroused anxieties.† (Marche 1). Apparently, the article lacks substantial data or information to endorse the presented assertions, a factor that makes its arguments relatively fragile. It is specified that among 18-34 years old, nearly 50% update their Facebook status immediately after getting out of bed while 28% do so while still on the bed.

Jobs and Career Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jobs and Career Goals - Essay Example This begs the question, when is it right for an individual to focus on financial progress and when should the family be given time? This question has arisen as more and more families find themselves in a state of disconnection with one another as a result of spending a decreasing amount of time with each other (Latshaw, 2011). The argument can be made that the time taken away from the family is placed in providing for their needs but it can also be stated that the physical presence of an individual in a relationship can be one of those needs. The economic downturn has also affected those yet without families but looking to start one as well (Gerson, 2011). This is because the increase in hours that an individual has to work in order to make ends meet has in turn decreased the amount of time that they have to go out and socialize with people thus denying them the opportunity to meet potential partners. There are a number of ways in which working long hours can have an impact on an ind ividual’s lifestyle (Rampell, 2013). Some of these include the fact that the longer hours will mean that by the time an individual gets through the day they are too tired to do any socializing. This decreases the chances they have of meeting potential partners. ... a person goes without socializing the more awkward they are likely to be when given the opportunity so it can be said that a long term result of the long hours is that an individual is left a little â€Å"rusty† in their social skills especially with jobs that based in solitary environments. The marriage of an individual is also affected by long working hours and they are number of considerations that should be taken into account for couples that find themselves in such a situation. The first is always finding time for your spouse despite the busy schedule one may have (Estes, 2011). This will make an individual feel loved and appreciated as they can see the individual making an effort to make time for them despite the other responsibilities that they may have. Communication is also another very important tool that should be used in the battle against long working hours versus marriages (Rampell, 2013). Keeping in touch with one’s spouse on a fairly regular basis allows both sides to sync up their plans for the day and if possible find a time of the day where both parties are free to meet up (Gerson, 2011). In today’s society the financial turmoil has made it so that in most households both parents have to work and as such it is essential that both spouses respect each other’s jobs so as to avoid any form of tension that may arise from doing otherwise. The most important thing to remember is that a successful marriage requires time and effort from both sides and thus it is essential that both parties find time to be together. There is also a third party that may be potentially involved when dealing with matters of family and that is the children. The children in a family can be seen as the binding thread that ties a relationship together in some instances and it

Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Midterm - Essay Example The right or the freedom of speech and expression demands that one should be allowed to freely express their views as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of other people by expressing their views. By sacking teachers for something legal that they do in their private time, the school districts deny teachers the freedom to freely and legally express their views. For instance, in Turley’s article, we learn that a Philadelphia high school teacher was sacked because of a posting to her blog in which the teacher had complained of the lazy and careless behaviour of her students. Given the fact that teacher’s blog post was general and was not targeted at any particular student, the teacher had not violated any rights of her students. For this reason, therefore, by sacking the teacher, the school district acted improperly and denied the teacher the freedom to freely express her views. The second reason why I believe school districts should not sack teachers because of something they do in personal time is that sacking teachers for something they do in their private time is an infringement on the teachers’ privacy. In the Turley’s article, for instance, we learn that in the year 2010, unidentified teacher in Pennsylvania was suspended after a third party posted a picture on Facebook showing her with a male stripper at a bridal shower. By suspending the teacher because of the picture that she had been taken with a male stripper at a party, the school district infringed upon the privacy of the teacher. This is because the teacher has the right to live her private life in whichever way she wishes as long as she does not violate the rights of other people. The third reason why I believe that school district should not sack teachers for the legal things that they do in their private life is that human beings change

Unit 3 Proposal designs Assignmnet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 3 Proposal designs Assignmnet - Essay Example The organization has offices in 19 countries across the world, and this includes Africa, Asia and the Americas. For purposes of achieving efficiency in fighting hunger, this organization developed a multi-purpose food product. This food product is rich in proteins, and is always used a relief food substance. The organization also developed the applied nutrition programs, aimed at improving the health condition of mothers and their children (Karsh and Fox, 2009). The motivating factor that made the organization to tackle problems of hunger and poverty is based on the notion that hunger and poverty limit an individual desire to achieve his or her goals (Freedom From Hunger, 2014). To achieve this objective of fighting hunger and poverty, the organization has introduced five main programs which it believes are useful in fulfilling its mission and objectives. These programs are, saving for change, the malaria initiative, reach initiative, credit with education, and health protection and micro-finance initiative (Freedom From Hunger, 2014). Under Malaria initiative, the organization provides anti-malaria drugs to poor women and their children. It also treats them for free and educates them on how to prevent the emergence of the disease. Under Credit with education, the institution offers small loans to women for purposes of starting small businesses that can make them self-sufficient (Gregory, 2013). Saving for change on the other hand is an initiative aimed at providing financial services to areas where micro-finance institutions cannot reach. The reach initiative on the other hand promotes the development of innovative ideas that can help to fight poverty, while the health and micro-finance protective initiative helps to create health policies that can help improve the health status of the vulnerable (Zunz, 2012). In conclusion, my interest in this foundation stems from the fact that it is concerned with improving the

Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Midterm - Essay Example The right or the freedom of speech and expression demands that one should be allowed to freely express their views as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of other people by expressing their views. By sacking teachers for something legal that they do in their private time, the school districts deny teachers the freedom to freely and legally express their views. For instance, in Turley’s article, we learn that a Philadelphia high school teacher was sacked because of a posting to her blog in which the teacher had complained of the lazy and careless behaviour of her students. Given the fact that teacher’s blog post was general and was not targeted at any particular student, the teacher had not violated any rights of her students. For this reason, therefore, by sacking the teacher, the school district acted improperly and denied the teacher the freedom to freely express her views. The second reason why I believe school districts should not sack teachers because of something they do in personal time is that sacking teachers for something they do in their private time is an infringement on the teachers’ privacy. In the Turley’s article, for instance, we learn that in the year 2010, unidentified teacher in Pennsylvania was suspended after a third party posted a picture on Facebook showing her with a male stripper at a bridal shower. By suspending the teacher because of the picture that she had been taken with a male stripper at a party, the school district infringed upon the privacy of the teacher. This is because the teacher has the right to live her private life in whichever way she wishes as long as she does not violate the rights of other people. The third reason why I believe that school district should not sack teachers for the legal things that they do in their private life is that human beings change

In The Pursuit of Public Value Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

In The Pursuit of Public Value - Term Paper Example Public administration is charged with the responsibility of implementing policies that facilitate the effective functioning of governments. The general public derives value from effective public administration. Public administration is not static because it is a process that keeps evolving. Value created by the government and valued by the citizens can be said to be public value due to acceptance by the majority. This paper focuses on the evolving trends of public administration in America and the value derived by the public from it. At the same time, it discusses the trends with the aid of several concepts such as; total quality management, Woodrow Wilson Public Administration Dichotomy, New public Administration and Scientific Management. America is believed to be the world’s super power; this is due to its financial stability coupled with political and administrative effectiveness. Moreover, administration in America has been evolving over the years. It is evident that the administration method and approaches applied by the United States in the past years have been abandoned and new, but more effective methods adopted. Essentially, the main aim or reason for the evolving of the public administration methods or approaches is to create value to the public. The concept of public value may be useful in explaining why the American public administration has been evolving over the years. According to the concept of public value, governments opt to evolve their administration in order to address what can add most value to the public and not what the public values most (Ladurantey, 2010). The American public administration has been evolving over the years and provided essential services to the public in the most effective way. The administration has been able to achieve this through different ways and for various reasons; for instance, there has been increased desire by the citizens for quality services among other reasons. This has compelled the

Catcher in the Rye Essay Example for Free

Catcher in the Rye Essay The word ‘morals’ is concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction of right and wrong. Themes such as innocence, isolation and youth reside in the novel, the audience is made aware of Caulfield’s view on children’s innocence, the isolation he feels and how he perceives adults as ‘phony’. Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old adolescent boy that becomes infatuated with protecting the ‘innocence’ of younger children. Caulfield feels mentally, socially and personally isolated from everyone else. He desires the need to be not alienated. He attempts to reach out to someone but this desire for a connection is mitigated by hesitation. â€Å"The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz, but as soon as I was inside, I couldnt think of anybody to call up. So I ended up not calling anybody. I came out of the booth, after about twenty minutes or so. The short sentence structure emphasises Caulfield’s hesitation of trying to contact someone but not being able to commit to it, this then positions the reader to feel sorrow for the isolation that Caulfield feels. Caulfield’s hesitation to immerse himself in a connection with another person, explores the idea that whilst Caulfield was progressing with his coming of age, this isolation is a step back for the development of himself. Salinger captures an adolescences bias perception of adults being phony and that they only think of themselves. Salinger explores the perspective of children being a complete world apart from the adults through Caulfield. ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ examines the theme of youth in conjunction with the process of becoming an adult. Caulfield has an idealized perception of what children are like, he has a fantasy of what children are like, and he hastily makes assumptions of adults, predominately on how they treat children. â€Å"There was a lady sitting next to me that cried all through the goddam picture. The phonier it got, the more she cried. Youd have thought she did it because she was kind-hearted as hell. But she had this little kid with her that had to go to the bathroom, but she wouldnt take him. She kept telling him to sit still and behave himself. She was about as kind-hearted as a goddam wolf. † The simile ‘She was about as kind-hearted as a goddam wolf’ emphasises the similarities between the lady and a wolf, this then positions the reader to become aware of Caulfield’s feelings towards adults and the lack of ‘respect’. This sense of him having no ‘respect’ for adults’ challenges society’s moral of respecting your elders is explored throughout the novel and represented through Caulfield’s character. In conclusion, J. D Salinger explores ideas and concepts of what it is like to become of age and how society’s morals are challenged by adolescents and children. He uses themes such as the innocence of children, the isolation of Caulfield and how the youth perceive adults to represent these ideas. I believe that Salinger effectively explores the ideas of coming of age and challenging society’s morals within his novel by using these themes and allows myself as an individual to understand the novel on a deeper level.

Defining And Analysing Astral Projection Philosophy Essay

Defining And Analysing Astral Projection Philosophy Essay Astral Projection is a conscious attempt to experience being outside of ones physical human body, while being both alive and preferably awake at the time.   It is an attempt to have a controlled OOBE or (out of body experience).   It is not linked in any way to ritualistic magic and does not rely on any particular religious or belief system.   There are techniques for achieving an OOBE.   As yet I havent heard of it being at all dangerous.   However attempting to leave ones physical body under the influence of medication or hallucinogenic drugs is seriously not recommended! What happens when people Astral Project? They have what is commonly referred to as an OOBE or out of body experience where a part of them, be it the soul or consciousness, rises up from their physical body and either travels on the physical plane or on the astral plane. What is the astral plane? A topic of debate: The astral plane however can be likened to the Akasha, namely a place where all the thoughts, memories, fantasies and dreams of everyone in the world exist. The astral plane is thought to be a fantastic place to travel in, with many different travellers, entities and levels to it.   It is said to operate at a much higher frequency than the physical plane we inhabit. It is thought that the etheric body, spirit or mind can travel on the astral plane, which is said to appear more solid than the physical plane we all inhabit, this is because in order to travel it, the etheric body has to be existing and operating at the same higher frequency.   According to some the astral plane is far more mutable than the physical and can be changed and altered simply by the power of thought. Can people learn to Astral Project at will? Yes there are techniques that can be learned but what degree of success is achieved depends solely upon the individual. Why would anyone want to have an Astral Projection?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people find it reassuring.   If it is possible for your consciousness to exist outside of your body, then it is also possible that your consciousness may be able to survive physical death.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to use the technique for spiritual reasons, maybe wanting to be at one with the universe or for some religious reason.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to try it, simply to prove that it cant be done a negative approach.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to use it for their own ends.   They use it as a tool for clairvoyance to leave their bodies and go and seek out information or even spy.   The CIA set up experiments to see if people could leave their bodies to glean information from the enemy.   The CIA did it because they were convinced that the Russians were doing it.   There term for this kind of Astral Projection is called Remote Viewing.   After mixed success and possibly a lack of funding the project was eventually abandoned.   We dont know how the Russians fared.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people want to try it just because they can try it and they just want to see what it feels like. Who first discovered Astral Projection?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ancient Egyptians were possibly one of the first cultures to record beliefs about the soul.   Hieroglyphics in tombs recorded hundreds of prayers that were to be said over the body of the deceased to guide the spirit on its way.   They believed that the soul ba was housed in a spirit body the Ka an exact replica of the physical body.   This on death gave way to the sahu the true spirit body that would house the ba forever.   In life the Ka and sahu were one of the same but the ka slowly diminished until only the sahu housed the ba.   However the Egyptians also believed that the Ka could leave the body during life and drew pictures of people sleeping with their Kas or souls floating above them.   This is very similar to the modern day descriptions of NDEs (Near Death Experiences).   Here the soul leaves the body at the point of death only to return again if the person is resuscitated.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tibetans believe in the bardo body, which can leave the physical body while still alive and can also pass through physical matter because it is made of psychic material.   The bardo body can be directed wherever by will.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ancient Greeks believed in a double body, which housed the soul.   Plato believed that the soul was freed on death but could also leave the body during life and when it did it perceived the physical world as dimly lit.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dean Sheils, in research published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 1978   A Cross-cultural Study of Beliefs in Out of Body Experiences, compared the believe systems of over 60 different cultures and found that fifty four of them had some concept of astral projection or astral travel and that half of them had also believed that it is possible for this to happen consciously and while alive.   Almost half claimed that certain members of their cultures could do this at will.   Only three cultures seemed to have no concepts or beliefs about this subject.   Those that did seemed to accept it as a normal and natural part of human existence. Source: (A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection by Richard Craze Hodder Stoughton 1999 ISBN: 0340 737557 What does modern science make of it? A man called Raymond A. Moody PhD. M.D. is often thought as the father of NDEs and has written a very popular book Life after Life on the subject. According to Richard Craze in his book A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection over the last 45 years there has been a more scientific approach taken.   The first major study was done in 1951 was by someone called Muldoon and Carrington.   They collected and collated over 100 cases of OOBEs.   They found that their research did indicate a double that could live consciously outside the physical body and that could also survive the death of the individual.   Richard Crookhall has also written many books on astral projection, and he states a number of recurrent themes. What are these recurrent themes?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some form of double.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A white light or illumination.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ability to travel at will.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inability to move or use physical objects.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feelings of tranquility and detachment.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A clear consciousness of what is happening.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A sense of realness. How is an OOBE most likely to be brought about?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By a NDE due to illness or exhaustion.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By an NDE due to accident.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliberately by people trying to leave their physical bodies.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the application of drugs such as anesthetics.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By trauma or shock. What do the sceptics think?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is purely a mental state explained by complex chemical reaction.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An autoscopic hallucination.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cerebral anoxia or lack of oxygen to the brain. How common is the phenomena?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Possibly between 5 and 10% of the population, which suggests around 6 million in the U.K or as much as 30 million in the United States. Have there been reports of people seeing OOBE people while they were out?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yes, which increases the likelihood that OOBEs are not purely tricks of the mind. How many types of OOBE are there?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Two voluntary and involuntary, one involves a conscious effort to leave ones body where the double is rarely or only faintly seen; and involuntary, say through an accident or trauma where the double is usually seen. What is a typical OOBE?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A typical OOBE only usually happens once in a lifetime.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most often occurs lying down either resting or just before sleeping.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a feeling of floating or soaring, usually upwards.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is mostly adult women who experience the phenomenon although if you are a student you are even more likely to do so.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A typical case suggests some form of connection to the physical body, possibly by way of a silver cord.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are few reported cases of leaving the room, but there is a sense of realness and viewing the normal world.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feelings of pleasantness, detachment and calmness often accompany an OOBE.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The person feels that the experience is real and although they feel the ability to go anywhere they rarely wish to do so.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No ability or desire to change or move physical objects in their vicinity. Who has OOBEs?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many women and more often than not students probably due to their lifestyle and interests.   They are more likely to have heard about OOBEs and possibly more keen to try it. Are OOBEs simply a form of dreaming?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Definitely not because the sense of reality experienced is far too strong.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scientific results show that people undergoing OOBEs are not dreaming and they are not experiencing REM. Briefly, alpha waves decrease indicating a calm state and beta waves increase indicating that the volunteer is awake.   There is an increase in heart and respiration rates suggesting the presence of some stimulus or activity. Are OOBEs like NDEs?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An NDE or Near Death Experience is really just a different form of OOBE that is brought about when a person is at the point of death or just died.   It is more akin to passing over to the other side, seeing ones life flash before them and traveling down a dark or light tunnel towards the light, God or whatever you wish to call it. What is a typical NDE?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People who are seriously ill hear themselves being declared dead, upon which a series of events are triggered, such as moving quickly down a tunnel and hearing unfamiliar noises.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They find themselves at the end of the tunnel and can usually see their own bodies being worked on by medical staff.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They sense that they have a form of body somewhat different to the one that they left behind and also become aware of deceased friends and relatives coming to help them cross to the other side.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They report an entity or being of light that plays their life review and every second that they have lived, but not judgmentally.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The beings of light are always described as full of love.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are often told to return to their bodies and that their time on earth is not yet over.   Often there is a reluctance to return.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On their return they find words difficult to express the magnitude of the experience that they felt.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There views on life after death, tend to be radically altered and fear of death tends to diminish. How many types of NDE are there?    ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two PNDEs (perceived NDEs, where the person has a suspicion that they are about to die) and UNDEs (unexpected NDEs, where the person is quite shocked to find themselves in a near death situation). Is the experience the same for both?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No PNDEs tend to be associated with an accompanied journey with deceased loved ones to another world with another body replacing the one left behind. UNDEs are associated more with near fatal falls, electric shocks or drowning to elicit a response.   From here the person usually has a flashback of their life accompanied by feelings of happiness or peace.   There are not usually reports of a body instead feelings of just being that the person becomes pure thought or mind.   There is often a sudden return to their physical body. Is Astral Projection a popular topic on your website? Yes my monitoring software suggests that it is very popular. Do you have any good reference sources? Yes please visit my website and view astral projection alternatively see below. Sources: Any excerpts for this FAQ section taken from a book by >Richard Craze A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection by Hodder Stoughton 1999 ISBN: 0340 737557 Afterlife Knowledge   College of Psychic Studies International Association for Near Death Studies Life After Life Raymond A. Moody PhD. M.D.   Near Death Experiences HYPERLINK http://www.near-death.com/HYPERLINK http://www.near-death.com/ The Afterlife    Society for Psychical Research  

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown Essay example -- Angels Demons Dan Brow

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 1.) The main setting takes place in the beautiful, elegant, religious, Vatican City. The story pretty spread out throughout the Vatican in churches, especially St. Peter’s Basilica, museums, the pope’s hidden passageways, offices, and a lot of other interesting places. Vatican City is a beautiful city where an abundant amount of faithful living Catholics are located. This city is also where Christianity originated. In the middle of the entire city lies the most famous church in the entire world, St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peters is where a lot of important plot factors happen, so it is an important part of the novel. Also, there are an abundant amount of sculptures and artistic works of art across the Vatican, which are important to the story also. The atmosphere of the story is like a wave. The mood rises until it falls, then retreats back, and right as you think the novel is over, the mood rises again and finally drops. The novel is basically a suspense novel be cause of the different effects of the mood. 2.) The setting was a perfect match for the novel because of the topic choice for the plot. It is about the Illuminati brotherhood, an anti-christian group, coming back by making a big entrance by killing four cardinals and the whole Vatican City. In the old days, the Illuminati had used symbology to recruit new members to prevent them from being caught by the Vatican. They guided them to four churches and called it the Path of Illumination. These four churches were used again as a location to kill the four cardinals. The characters used symbology from sculptures, old written documents from scientists, churches, and old sayings to go from church to church. The setting helps the characters become closer to stopping the cardinals from being massacred by giving artistic works of art for symbology. The novel gains interesting factors from this setting because all the sculptures and churches fit exactly into the characters thoughts and beliefs of where to go next. 3.) The novel â€Å"Angels and Demons† is told in the third person. The narrator gives the reader the feeling of being near the characters or even next to them from details and thoughts. It makes them an invisible ghost following the characters through their journey. Telling the novel in third person gives the advantage of a more flexible storyline. The author can ... ... the cardinal hanging from above. Vittoria gets kidnaped and Olvetta dies. Now Langdon is trapped inside with the Illuminatus, who has a gun, and he starts crawling around the pues trying to escape. This action creates suspense because the reader wants to know what will happen. As the scene progresses more suspense is developed in the reader because of the desire to know what will happen next. 11.) A) The title â€Å"Angels and Demons† basically relates to the church as angels and the Illuminati as demons. The church is considered the angels part of the title because of Christianity and the Illuminati are the demons part of the title because of the fact that they were anti-christians. It is a perfect title for the book because it is the shortest way to describe the conflict between the rivaling church and Illuminati. C) The part of the story which I think I will probably remember next year are the parts where the cardinals are branded with the Illuminati brands. Dan Brown describes it so vividly and even shows a picture of what it looks like. The brands being ambigrams is what fascinated me the most because of the fact that you can still read it when you turn you book upside down.

Qualitative Data Essay

VOCABULARY – I consider vocabulary as the easiest because with the use of context clues, I can easily understand the meaning of the word. – 7 respondents have the same reason. – I consider vocabulary as the easiest because you only have to be familiar with words. – 2 respondents have the same reason. – I consider vocabulary as the easiest because I’m a wide reader at a young age. – 2 respondents have the same reason SENTENCE/SYNTAX – I consider Sentence/Syntax as the easiest because you just have to familiarize grammatical rules. – 2 respondents have the same reason GETTING THE MAIN IDEA – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the easiest because by understanding the passage, you can get the whole idea. – 9 respondents have the same reason – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the easiest because there are no rules on understanding the passage – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the easiest because it is mainly asking what the text is all about. – 2 respondents have the same reason – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the easiest because it is mostly found at the beginning of the paragraph. COMPREHENSION – I consider Comprehension as the easiest because by simply reading. I can comprehend what the paragraph is all about. DIFFICULT: VOCABULARY – I consider vocabulary as the hardest because I have limited words stocks. – 4 respondents have the same reason. – I consider vocabulary as the hardest because I still need to consult the dictionary to know the meaning of the. – 2 respondents have the same reason. – I consider vocabulary as the hardest because I have a poor memory to retain word meanings. – I consider vocabulary as the hardest because I’m not a wide reader. SENTENCE/SYNTAX – I consider Sentence/Syntax as the hardest because it’s hard to analyze sentence structures and grammatical rules. – 2 respondents have the same reason GETTING THE MAIN IDEA – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the hardest because it’s hard to deal with the writing styles of the author and confused if I have to dwell with my own understanding. – 2 respondents have the same reason – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the hardest because words are confusing. – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the hardest because it is requires comprehension and focus. – 2 respondents have the same reason – I consider Getting the Main Idea as the hardest you have to identify the specific details of the story. COMPREHENSION – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because there are articles that are difficult to understand. – 3 respondents have the same reason – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because you have to check the deeper meaning of the text. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because you have to consider everything (sentence structure, grammatical rules, vocabulary etc.) to get the meaning. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because it’s difficult to retain everything I’ve read. – 2 respondents have the same reason – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because of the unfamiliar words. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because it requires prior knowledge. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because of the author’s ambiguous ideas. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because it needs fast digestion of the contexts. 3. What possible intervention could have been done to help you develop your reading skills at the point of your education? The following are recommended reading interventions: to become a wide reader – 19 respondents have the same suggestion study more vocabulary words – 6 respondents have the same suggestion involve in more reading activities – 12 respondents have the same suggestion watch more films – 2 respondents have the same suggestion teachers should stimulate motivation – 3 respondents have the same suggestion teachers should conduct more tutorial – 3 respondents have the same suggestion teachers should unlock difficulties before starting the lesson proper practice reflective reading COMPREHENSION – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because I’m having a hard time to understand texts heard. – 2 respondents have the same reason – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because I consider myself as a visual learner. – I consider Comprehension as the hardest because I easily lose focus 3. What possible intervention could have been done to help you develop your listening skills at the point of your education? The following are recommended reading interventions: get acquainted with correct pronunciation through practice – 3 respondents have the same suggestion learn different kinds of accents watch more films 3R’s- Read, Read or Read stay focused and listen keenly – 6 respondents have the same suggestion engage in more listening activities– 14 respondents have the same suggestion tele-conferencing with someone who has a different accent educators should encourage developing listening skills

Main Factors of Lesson Plan Papers Essay

Main Factors of Lesson Plan PapersWhen addressing a classroom without goals, objectives, and a clear path is an obvious mistake that any teacher could make. The greatest idea will fall flat without understanding what to consider when lesson planning, and as we know all lessons require knowing how to reach specific students and how to respond to their needs as a student. Outlined in this paper is the Framework for Teaching, Core propositions, comparison of framework and propositions, main factors to consider when lesson planning, and how to identify the difference between goals and objectives, as well as observable and measurable objectives. Charlotte Danielson’s Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching (2007), Danielson used the Praxis III assessment and created organized responsibilities for teachers. Within this, there are four domains that were covered in The Framework for Teaching; planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and, professio nal responsibilities. She outlines what each of the four domains is and clearly states the key concept and thesis. In 1987, The National Board of Certified Teachers (NBCTs) created a policy of the vision of accomplished teaching that they had. NBCTs also created The Five Core Propositions to â€Å"form the foundation and frame the rich amalgam of knowledge, skills, dispositions, and beliefs.† The Five Core Propositions are: teachers are committed to their students and their learning, teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to the students, teachers are responsible for monitoring and managing student learning, teachers should think systematically about their practice and learn from experience, and teachers are members of a learning community. All five of these propositions outline what every teacher should know and be able to do. Here is a visual organizer comparing the framework of lesson planning to the propositions of teaching by using different colors to categorize it. It is clear to see how the framework for lesson planning comes across in the propositions for effective teachers. Teachers should be able to create plans of goals and activities to help promote learning and implement instruction into their everyday lessons. A detailed lesson plan should consider how to organize and achieve the goals  and objectives of the lesson that is being taught. When a teacher is planning a lesson, they should start with the end in mind. Including several instruction methods to ensure, various learning types are being addressed. To have an effective lesson it has to focus on time allowances to be able to ensure productivity and completion of the extra activities. Once the initial lesson is complete, revisions, adaptations, and sometimes, re-teaching the lesson may be crucial in order to make sure that every student fully understands. Goals and objectives, as well as observable and measurable objectives, are important to have in the lesson plan as well. Goals for a lesson are an outline for students to understand the direction that they are intended to go in. Goals are not measurable. Objectives clearly define the goal, including measurable and observable behaviors. A method if setting clear objectives in lesson planning is to use S.M.A.R.T., which is an acronym for (S) Specific, (M) Measurable, (A) Attainable, (R) Realistic or relevant, and (T) Time Limited. For Example teaching students how to draw a triangle is the goal. The objective is that students will show their understanding by (a) identifying the correct and incorrect triangle, (b) correctly draw a triangle. This behavior is observable of the triangle identified correctly and drawn correctly. The measurable objective is to have 80% of the class showing they can do both of these things without help. Teaching to a captive audience is a huge responsibility. To be able to honor this responsibility it is our duty as a teacher to create engaging and nourishing lessons for every student. As well as being able to understand the logic, method, and clear process of lesson planning that will allow observable and measurable success in the classroom. References National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2014). The Five Core Propositions. Retrieved on October 17, 2014 from www.nbpts.org Methods for Effective Teaching: Meeting the Needs of All Students, Sixth Edition, by Paul R. Burden and David M. Byrd. Published by Pearson. Copyright 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc. http://www.madison.k12.al.us/personnel/NBCT/TchrInfo.htm. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

Homosexuality: Disorder or Innate

Is homosexuality an innate, normal sexual orientation or something one becomes through life’s trials? Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Francis Bacon, Herman Melville and Fredrick the Great all had one thing common, other than their famous personas. Every one of these men were homosexuals. In today’s society, homosexuality has grown to be labeled as a â€Å"sin† and/or something that one chooses to be rather born with.From religious leaders to medical doctors, homosexuality is thought to be a â€Å"disease† in society. Many even believe that homosexuality is a sexual orientation caused by how one was raised. I, on the other hand, believe otherwise. I believe that sexual orientation, or more specifically homosexuality, is something one is born with and not a disorder or choice. Charles Socarides, M. D. founder of NARTH (National Association for Research & Therapy of homosexuality wrote: By declaring a condition [homosexuality] a ‘non-condition,' a group of practitioners had removed it from our list of serious psychosexual disorders. The action was all the more remarkable when one considers that it involved the out-of-hand and peremptory disregard and dismissal not only of hundreds of psychiatric and psychoanalytic research papers and reports, but also of a number of other serious studies by groups of psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators over the past seventy years†¦In essence, this movement within the American Psychiatric Association has accomplished what every other society, with rare exceptions, would have trembled to tamper with–a revision of a basic code and concept of life and biology; that men and women normally mate with the opposite sex and not with each other. (Socradies) More generally, Dr. Socarides believes that for the medical world to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders is astounding. He believes that there is something mentally wrong with humans that prefer same sex partner s.I, on the other hand, believe sexual orientation is something one is born with, or is innate. The APA, American Psychological Association, agrees that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and has made revisions in their way of thought and practices. The APA states on its website â€Å"Psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or an emotional problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that homosexuality, in and [of] itself, is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems.When researchers examined data about these people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue† (American Psychiatric Association). Ruling out the belief, that homosexuality is not a disorder can help by not having to seek â€Å"treatment† because it is curable. However, this leads some to think that if it homosexuality isn’t due to a disorder it must be the parents who raise them that way. The opposing viewpoint generally believes that children raised by lesbian co-parents should and do seem to grow up more open to homoerotic relationships.This may be partly due to genetic and family socialization processes. Judith Stacey, Ph. D. agrees with this notion. In a 2001 article Stacey stated, â€Å"The sexual orientation of parents appears to have a unique (although not large) effect on children in the politically sensitive domain of sexuality. The evidence, while scanty and under analyzed, hints that parental sexual orientation is positively associated with the possibility that children will be more likely to attain a similar orientation-and theory and common sense also support such a view† (Stacey PhD). I disagree with Ms. Stacey.The gender identity of preadolescent children raised by lesbian mothers has been found consistently to be in line with their biological gender. None of more than 500 children studied have shown evidence of gender-identity confusion, wished to be the other gender, or consistently engaged in cross-gender behavior. No differences have been found in the toy, game, activity, dress, or friendship preferences of boys or girls who had lesbian mothers, compared with those who had heterosexual mothers. James G. Pawelski, M. D. supports my viewpoint. Using data from a national sample of adolescents, Dr.Pawelski finds â€Å"no difference on the basis of whether the parents were the same or different genders in the proportion of adolescents who reported having had sexual intercourse, nor was a difference found in the number who reported having a ‘romantic relationship' within the past 18 months† [ (Pawelski MD) ]. Agreeing with this view and observation may bring less scrutiny about same-sex couples adopting and/or raising a child. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help with the people who believe homosexuality is a result of same-sex sexual abuse. There is no universal definition of child sexual abuse. However, a central haracteristic of any abuse is the dominant position of an adult that allows him or her to force or coerce a child into sexual activity. Child sexual abuse is not solely restricted to physical contact; such abuse could include non-contact abuse, such as exposure, voyeurism, and child pornography. Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D. , wrote that â€Å"[M]en who sexually molest boys all too often lead their victims into homosexuality and pedophilia. The evidence indicates that a high percentage of homosexuals and pedophiles were themselves sexually abused as children† [ (Dailey PhD) ]. This situation has been occurring in the Catholic Church lately.Many male priests are molesting young children, most of them being male themselves. To hold Dr. Dailey’s theory/assumption to be truth may add more controversy to this already intense situation. It also may cause people to further assume that just being raised by a male can â€Å"turn† someone gay. However, I do not agree with Dr. Dailey’s assumption and neither does the American Psychiatric Association who stated in a May 2000 website fact sheet that â€Å"[N]o specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse.Sexual abuse does not appear to be more prevalent in children who grow up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, than in children who identify as heterosexual† [ (American Psychiatric Association) ]. Just because some adults who were molested as children are gay, does not mean that the molestation was the cause of the sexual orientation. As, the American Psychiatric Association found, there are no more cases of children being gay after being molested by the same-sex then the cases of children who are heterosexual. It is incorrect to assume that homosexuality is something that life situations make o ccur.This brings us to the last major â€Å"excuse† for being homosexual which arises from various religious beliefs. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism are all religions that have negative views on homosexuality, but the one that speaks the loudest against it is Christianity, or more specifically the Catholic Church. Many Christians believe that homosexual activity is inherently sinful, irrespective of the relationship between the two persons. Many biblical passages condemn all forms of homosexual behaviors, using inclusive terms such as â€Å"sodomite† or â€Å"homosexual. â€Å". Same-sex practices are uniquely offensive to God.After all, God destroyed Sodom and its inhabitants because of their homosexual activity. All the men in the town wanted to have homosexual sex with the visiting angels. Homosexual behavior is one of a small group of behaviors that will prevent a person from attaining salvation and going to heaven. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says that â€Å"â € ¦ neither†¦ effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind†¦ shall inherit the kingdom of God. † Other English translators substitute the term â€Å"homosexuals† here. Christians believe and were taught to believe that homosexuality is something that is chosen; an act against God and his law.Where the Bible mentions homosexual behavior at all, it clearly condemns it. I freely grant that. The issue is precisely whether that Biblical judgment is correct. The Bible sanctioned slavery as well and nowhere attacked it as unjust. Are we prepared to argue today that slavery is biblically justified? If you are a heterosexual†¦ can you explain why you are attracted to the opposite sex? Being a heterosexual, I can say that the first thing that comes to mind when asked that question is that it is just a feeling. It is hard to explain but I just have a drive towards males.However, what if the social norm was different? What if the social norm was to be homosex ual and people were scolding you for â€Å"choosing† to be heterosexual? Do you think being heterosexual is something you just â€Å"decided† to be one day? Most, if not all, heterosexuals would answer â€Å"No, I was born straight†. Well, then why is it so hard to grasp that homosexuals are born with the drive to be homosexual innately? If we can be heterosexual at birth, why can they not be homosexual at birth? Society and Religion has branded our minds to think that homosexuality is a chosen path†¦ I disagree.I did not â€Å"choose† to be â€Å"straight†; therefore, I do not and cannot believe that homosexuals â€Å"choose† to be gay. To join my belief means that one agrees that they themselves were born with their own drive for the opposite or same sex. Homosexuality is not a â€Å"disorder†. Homosexuality is not the affect of a prior incident in life. Homosexuality is not a preference that one day someone woke up and said, à ¢â‚¬Å"Hey I feel like being different so I am going to be gay. † As funny as that sounds, it is how many heterosexuals think about homosexuality; that it was something one just chose to be one day to â€Å"rebel†, like getting a tattoo or a piercing.Society and Religion have made their own assumptions about homosexuality because it is not a norm. Today’s world is afraid of anything different. People hate change and fear it. Thus, many come up with wild stories and assumptions to explain things that are different and normally they are not good ones. Being â€Å"gay† or â€Å"lesbian† is different from what society tells us to be, but why does that mean that it is something we chose to be or just become? I was born with an attraction to the opposite-sex. Many, if not all, heterosexuals can and would claim the same thing.So why is it so hard to believe that statement if the word â€Å"homosexual† replaced â€Å"heterosexual†? Does it not make sense? Do not be afraid of difference. Do not be ignorant. Be open and accepting that some people’s sexual orientation is homosexual just as you may be open to the belief that there are people that are heterosexual.

It is essay about an event i have visited ( you have to chose the

It is about an event i have visited ( you have to chose the right topic for it - Essay Example The Ham was in the form of a long gown, a collar, and a wraps the right lapel over the left. During lunch hour, we ate delicious triangle shaped rice dumplings made from rice with fillings of nuts, dates, and beans. The staple food for Chinese is rice that helps in the economic growth of the society. I could not help but notice the American culture. The clothing style depends on the status an individual has in the society, occupation, climate, and religion. One of my American friend mentioned that their fashion is greatly influenced by the media and celebrities. She was dressed in cowboy hats and boots and a pair of jeans made her look fabulous. The Americans mostly eat junk food like the hamburgers, hotdogs, cheese, macaroni, and potato chips. In addition, they also eat dried meat as snacks. The amazing European food was distinct from the other foods. I was lucky to taste the Gelato that was sweet and tasty. The Europeans argued that the Gelato was different from ice cream. The gelato has more sugar, softer and creamier compared to ice cream. The European foods have different categories ranging from cereals, meat, fats, and sugar. The Europeans wear upscale and classy clothes. Their fashion entails clean and elegant simple lines that perfectly fit. They prefer wearing different set of colors in different seasons. I was able to interact with the African students and their foods and attire were completely different from the others. Their foods are rich in fiber and often organic. The most interesting meal was the ugali. It is prepared by mixing water and corn to form stiff porridge. It is served with stew and vegetables. Most of the African countries weave clothes from cotton that is grown locally. They also use the dyeing techniques like tie and die. Most of these clothes have a head wrap that is tied around the head and matches the African attire. The Indian Sari is the most common dress in India. Their way of dressing is marked with religion and

The Impacts of Human Resources on the Performance and Motivation of Literature review

The Impacts of Human Resources on the Performance and Motivation of the Employees - Literature review Example Employee turnover or dropout is one of the major problems facing by the current organizations. Many organizations measure the success and failures of their HRM based on the rate of employee dropouts. In other words, better HRM policies motivate the employees to continue in the organization whereas poor HRM policies force them to leave out. In the past, employees were more interested in getting decent salaries whereas at present they are not only interested in good salaries but also in getting a proper work environment. HRM is responsible for providing better work environments for the employees. In short, better HRM policies always motivate employees to improve their performances and to stick with the organization for longer periods. â€Å"It is a widely accepted premise that retention and productivity of workers is a function of how well the individual is motivated† (Lord, 2002, p.3). This literature review analyses various theories related to the importance of HRM in improvin g employee efficiencies and reducing employee turnover rates. Recent research has highlighted a so-called "prime building block" of HRM – the principle of "AMO". There must be sufficient employees with the necessary ABILITY to do the job; there must be adequate MOTIVATION for them to apply their abilities; and there must be the OPPORTUNITY for them to engage in "discretionary behaviour" – to make choices about how their job is done (Buchan, 2004, p.3). All human actions, irrespective of good or bad, are based on some kind of motivations. For example, a killer may have some motives or reasons for killing. The same way a student may study well to get a job or recognition in the society. In short, motivation is necessary for all human actions. The cases of the employees are also not an exception. Employees need some kind of motivation to perform better. In other words, in the absence of motivation employees may work as passive elements whereas motivation forces them to wo rk in an active manner. HRM is responsible for injecting motivation in the minds of the employees. In certain cases, rewards can motivate employees whereas in other cases, punishments could be a better option.

Civic Argument Editorial or Letter to the Editor Essay

Civic Argument Editorial or Letter to the Editor - Essay Example The quoted constraints incorporate monetary setbacks, firm media rivalry, opposition and competition, enterprise marketing affairs and dogmatized prejudice (or bias) tied to particular media personnel. It is evident that these drawbacks contributed to blinded, superficial, and stereotyped pattern of news presentation in various cultures (Lifton 22). Do those individuals who ceaselessly hinder media from capturing fundamental societal aspects and often unleash untold torture to media professionals comprehend the nitty gritty (or role per se) the media plays in fostering equity, tranquility, and interactive reverence among vast ethnical, doctrinal, and general humankind fraternity both within federal and global ranges? Do those who maliciously opt to use advanced technology to dispense information to the masses simply to feed their ego ever realize how much trauma they inflict to the victims who end up affected by their baseless rumours? These queries remind us that personal responsibility in ensuring that the correct intended information that extends to the public (or any other target group) is an inevitable priority. Also, in a bid to sound the depths of the resources that the vast contemporaneous technologies can offer clear regulations, demarcations, bills and codes will have to be put in place to subdue information conglomeration, analysis and dissemination and dispensation to the general public (Lifton 25). It therefore means without doubt that when we sacrifice our ego and aim at rectifying the warped and biased standpoints concerning the general media at large, the entire media corporations globally will transcend to stardom and eventually transform into authentic and firm backbone of the entire global awareness and

Questionnaire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Questionnaire - Essay Example The support from Medea’s boyfriend Jason will benefit Medea a lot as is evident from the table. The average monthly cash inflow has increased by a significant amount and now she has sufficient amount of ready cash. This allows Medea to finance her bicycle as the bicycle will cost her  £400 to 600 while the cash available with her now is far exceeding the expected cost of that bicycle. This alternative has a very positive impact on the financial position of Medea. Her yearly income increases by almost three times while the monthly cash flow improves a little less than 5 times. Through this support from her boyfriend, she is now able to finance her bicycle that was desperately needed by her in order to save her commuting costs. Comparing the above table for incomes with and without Jason (and Argo), we can see that the gross income increases by almost double of Medea’s individual income. Despite this significant increase in the income, all the expenses could increase only by smaller amounts except food expenses which show an increase of double the amount that was when Medea was alone. This relatively less increase in total expenses compared to the increase in the total gross income results in a considerable increase in the net income for the year. Similarly, the cash flows conditions also get better considerably and now Medea has monthly cash almost 5 times of what she had before support from her boyfriend Jason. Without Jason’s support it was not possible for her to finance her bicycle and save commuting cost but now she has 1640 Euros on average after paying for all her expenses which enables her to buy the desired bicycle even if costs her the highest expected price of 600 Euros. Now, when we assume that Polly chooses for option A and also that the interest rate remains constant throughout the period of mortgage; using the saving and borrowing calculator, we arrive at the following results: b) It is quite obvious that if the mortgage period and

Systems and Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Systems and Operations Management - Essay Example The company has had steady and consistent growth over years with growing and expanding customer base to Perth, Sydney and Canberra. It is aligned to the path of progress, increasing market share and sustainability of the business. The company has come of age through trial and error, occasionally faced by challenges ranging from changing business practices and customer desires. The growth has been informed by good business acumen of the founder, Lachlan Atokowa. The vision was in wealth accumulation and running a professional enterprise. The company has been able to command a good market by leveraging on the market potential and customer friendly prices and products. The company capitalizes on good business thriftiness and radical process change to ensure customer requirements are met. The company is currently in the process of reviewing its growth potential and increasing customer satisfaction by addressing their needs effectively. In doing so, the company will inspect the ingredient s of production like the inputs, process and outputs. Customer satisfaction will be attained by the company through meeting their requirements. The company will conduct verification, audit and inspection of its processes by undertaking data collection which will involve getting the responses of the customers about the products, customer handling and the effectiveness of the delivery process. This study will advise on what best to the process can be done in order increase process efficiency and effectiveness which will consequently increase the market share, increase dividends to shareholders and improve on customer satisfaction. The results will be tremendous as company long term survival, assured employment, greater market share and sustainability. The recommendations made regarding the change of process will ultimately change the effectiveness of operations and efficiency of the product life cycle. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 6 2. ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS 6 i) Prod uct design and conceptualization 6 Fig. 1: Illustration of Atokowa product cycle 7 2.2 Listing objectives, likely risks and key controls areas in the process 8 2.3 Risks identified with Atokowa process and operations 8 Table 1: Risks identified with Atokowa process and operations 8 2.4 Atokowa process control 9 2.4.1 Process control tools 9 2.4.2Process Profile Work Sheet 10 Table 1: Atokowa process profile worksheet 10 2.4.3 Atokowa process analysis 11 2.5 Decision Hierarchy Models 11 2.5.1 Processes requiring improvement 12 Fig. 2: Atokowa process improvement tree 12 2.5.2 Atokowa process prioritization 13 Table 2: Atokowa process prioritization 13 2.5.3 Problem Identification 14 Figure 3: Atokowa decision process development 17 3.0 Conclusion 17 4.0 Recommendations 17 References 22 LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1: Atokowa product system life cycle 7 Fig. 2: Atokowa process improvement tree 12 Figure 3: Atokowa decision process development 17 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Risks identified with A tokowa process and operations 8 Table 1: Atokowa process profile worksheet 10 Table 2: Atokowa process prioritization 13 1. INTRODUCTION Atokowa Company has a commitment to review its production processes as a means to exploit new business opportunities and market advantage. It is engaged in carrying out an effective analysis of a business process that should take into consideration the business’

African American Culture Essay Example for Free

African American Culture Essay Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of Africans in America to practice their cultural traditions, many practices, values and beliefs survived and over time have incorporated elements of European American culture. There are even certain facets of African American culture that were brought into being or made more prominent as a result of slavery; an example of this is how drumming became used as a means of communication and establishing a community identity during that time. The result is a dynamic, creative culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on mainstream American culture and on world culture as well. After Emancipation, these uniquely African American traditions continued to grow. They developed into distinctive traditions in music, art, literature, religion, food, holidays, amongst others. While for some time sociologists, such as Gunnar Myrdal and Patrick Moynihan, believed that African Americans had lost most cultural ties with Africa, anthropological field research by Melville Hersovits and others demonstrated that there is a continuum of African traditions among Africans in the New World from the West Indies to the United States. The greatest influence of African cultural practices on European cultures is found below the Mason-Dixon in the southeastern United States, especially in the Carolinas among the Gullah people and in Louisiana. African American culture often developed separately from mainstream American culture because of African Americans desire to practice their own traditions, as well as the persistence of racial segregation in America. Consequently African American culture has become a significant part of American culture and yet, at the same time, remains a distinct culture apart from it. History From the earliest days of slavery, slave owners sought to exercise control over their slaves by attempting to strip them of their African culture. The physical isolation and societal marginalization of African slaves and, later, of their free progeny, however, actually facilitated the retention of significant elements of traditional culture among Africans in the New World generally, and in the U. S. in particular. Slave owners deliberately tried to repress political organization in order to deal with the many slave rebellions that took place in the southern United States, Brazil, Haiti, and the Dutch Guyanas. African cultures,slavery,slave rebellions,and the civil rights movements(circa 1800s-160s)have shaped African American religious, familial, political and economic behaviors. The imprint of Africa is evident in myriad ways, in politics, economics, language, music, hairstyles, fashion, dance, religion and worldview, and food preparation methods. In the United States, the very legislation that was designed to strip slaves of culture and deny them education served in many ways to strengthen it. In turn, African American culture has had a pervasive, transformative impact on myriad elements of mainstream American culture, among them language, music, dance, religion, cuisine, and agriculture. This process of mutual creative exchange is called creolization. Over time, the culture of African slaves and their descendants has been ubiquitous in its impact on not only the dominant American culture, but on world culture as well. Oral tradition Slaveholders limited or prohibited education of enslaved African Americans because they believed it might lead to revolts or escape plans. Hence, African-based oral traditions became the primary means of preserving history, morals, and other cultural information among the people. This was consistent with the griot practices of oral history in many African and other cultures that did not rely on the written word. Many of these cultural elements have been passed from generation to generation through storytelling. The folktales provided African Americans the opportunity to inspire and educate one another. Examples of African American folktales include trickster tales of Brer Rabbit and heroic tales such as that of John Henry. The Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris helped to bring African American folk tales into mainstream adoption. Harris did not appreciate the complexity of the stories nor their potential for a lasting impact on society. Characteristics of the African American oral tradition present themselves in a number of forms. African American preachers tend to perform rather than simply speak. The emotion of the subject is carried through the speakers tone, volume, and movement, which tend to mirror the rising action, climax, and descending action of the sermon. Often song, dance, verse and structured pauses are placed throughout the sermon. Techniques such as call-and-response are used to bring the audience into the presentation. In direct contrast to recent tradition in other American and Western cultures, it is an acceptable and common audience reaction to interrupt and affirm the speaker. Spoken word is another example of how the African American oral tradition influences modern American popular culture. Spoken word artists employ the same techniques as African American preachers including movement, rhythm, and audience participation. Rap music from the 1980s and beyond has been seen as an extension of oral culture. Harlem Renaissance [pic] Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent literary figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Main article: Harlem Renaissance The first major public recognition of African American culture occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1920s and 1930s, African American music, literature, and art gained wide notice. Authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen and poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen wrote works describing the African American experience. Jazz, swing, blues and other musical forms entered American popular music. African American artists such as William H. Johnson and Palmer Hayden created unique works of art featuring African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time of increased political involvement for African Americans. Among the notable African American political movements founded in the early 20th century are the United Negro Improvement Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Nation of Islam, a notable Islamic religious movement, also began in the early 1930s. African American cultural movement The Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s followed in the wake of the non-violent American Civil Rights Movement. The movement promoted racial pride and ethnic cohesion in contrast to the focus on integration of the Civil Rights Movement, and adopted a more militant posture in the face of racism. It also inspired a new renaissance in African American literary and artistic expression generally referred to as the African American or Black Arts Movement. The works of popular recording artists such as Nina Simone (Young, Gifted and Black) and The Impressions (Keep On Pushin), as well as the poetry, fine arts and literature of the time, shaped and reflected the growing racial and political consciousness. Among the most prominent writers of the African American Arts Movement were poet Nikki Giovanni; poet and publisher Don L. Lee, who later became known as Haki Madhubuti; poet and playwright Leroi Jones, later known as Amiri Baraka; and Sonia Sanchez. Other influential writers were Ed Bullins, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans, June Jordan, Larry Neal and Ahmos Zu-Bolton. Another major aspect of the African American Arts Movement was the infusion of the African aesthetic, a return to a collective cultural sensibility and ethnic pride that was much in evidence during the Harlem Renaissance and in the celebration of Negritude among the artistic and literary circles in the U. S. , Caribbean and the African continent nearly four decades earlier: the idea that black is beautiful. During this time, there was a resurgence of interest in, and an embrace of, elements of African culture within African American culture that had been suppressed or devalued to conform to Eurocentric America. Natural hairstyles, such as the afro, and African clothing, such as the dashiki, gained popularity. More importantly, the African American aesthetic encouraged personal pride and political awareness among African Americans. Music [pic] Men playing the djembe, a traditional West African drum adopted into African American and American culture. The bags and the clothing of the man on the right are printed with traditional kente cloth patterns. African American music is rooted in the typically polyrhythmic music of the ethnic groups of Africa, specifically those in the Western, Sahelean, and Sub-Saharan regions. African oral traditions, nurtured in slavery, encouraged the use of music to pass on history, teach lessons, ease suffering, and relay messages. The African pedigree of African American music is evident in some common elements: call and response, syncopation, percussion, improvisation, swung notes, blue notes, the use of falsetto, melisma, and complex multi-part harmony. During slavery, Africans in America blended traditional European hymns with African elements to create spirituals. Many African Americans sing Lift Evry Voice and Sing in addition to the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, or in lieu of it. Written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson in 1900 to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be, a popular way for African Americans to recall past struggles and express ethnic solidarity, faith and hope for the future. The song was adopted as the Negro National Anthem by the NAACP in 1919. African American children are taught the song at school, church or by their families. Lift Evry Voice and Sing traditionally is sung immediately following, or instead of, The Star-Spangled Banner at events hosted by African American churches, schools, and other organizations. In the 1800s, as the result of the blackface minstrel show, African American music entered mainstream American society. By the early twentieth century, several musical forms with origins in the African American community had transformed American popular music. Aided by the technological innovations of radio and phonograph records, ragtime, jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas, and the 1920s became known as the Jazz Age. The early 20th century also saw the creation of the first African American Broadway shows, films such as King Vidors Hallelujah! and operas such as George Gershwins Porgy and Bess. Rock and roll, doo wop, soul, and R;B developed in the mid 20th century. These genres became very popular in white audiences and were influences for other genres such as surf. The dozens, an urban African American tradition of using rhyming slang to put down your enemies (or friends) developed through the smart-ass street jive of the early Seventies into a new form of music. In the South Bronx, the half speaking, half singing rhythmic street talk of rapping grew into the hugely successful cultural force known as Hip Hop. Hip Hop would become a multicultural movement. However, it is still important to many African Americans. The African American Cultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s also fueled the growth of funk and later hip-hop forms such as rap, hip house, new jack swing and go go. African American music has experienced far more widespread acceptance in American popular music in the 21st century than ever before. In addition to continuing to develop newer musical forms, modern artists have also started a rebirth of older genres in the form of genres such as neo soul and modern funk-inspired groups. Dance [pic] The Cakewalk was the first African American dance to gain widespread popularity in the United States. [pic] African American dance, like other aspects of African American culture, finds its earliest roots in the dances of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that made up African slaves in the Americas as well as influences from European sources in the United States. Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves, was a part of both every day life and special occasions. Many of these traditions such as get down, ring shouts, and other elements of African body language survive as elements of modern dance. In the 1800s, African American dance began to appear in minstrel shows. These shows often presented African Americans as caricatures for ridicule to large audiences. The first African American dance to become popular with White dancers was the cakewalk in 1891. Later dances to follow in this tradition include the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and the Jitterbug. During the Harlem Renaissance, all African American Broadway shows such as Shuffle Along helped to establish and legitimize African American dancers. African American dance forms such as tap, a combination of African and European influences, gained widespread popularity thanks to dancers such as Bill Robinson and were used by leading White choreographers who often hired African American dancers. Contemporary African American dance is descended from these earlier forms and also draws influence from African and Caribbean dance forms. Groups such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have continued to contribute to the growth of this form. Modern popular dance in America is also greatly influenced by African American dance. American popular dance has also drawn many influences from African American dance most notably in the hip hop genre. Art [pic] Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859-1937 From its early origins in slave communities, through the end of the twentieth century, African-American art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. During the period between the 1600s and the early 1800s, art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa. In contrast, African American artisans like the New England–based engraver Scipio Moorhead and the Baltimore portrait painter Joshua Johnson created art that was conceived in a thoroughly western European fashion. During the 1800s, Harriet Powers made quilts in rural Georgia, United States that are now considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting. Later in the 20th century, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional African American quilts with a geometric simplicity that developed separately but was like that of Amish quilts and modern art. After the American Civil War, museums and galleries began more frequently to display the work of African American artists. Cultural expression in mainstream venues was still limited by the dominant European aesthetic and by racial prejudice. To increase the visibility of their work, many African American artists traveled to Europe where they had greater freedom. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance that more whites began to pay attention to African American art in America. [pic] Kara Walker, Cut, Cut paper and adhesive on wall, Brent Sikkema NYC. During the 1920s, artists such as Raymond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and photographer James Van Der Zee became well known for their work. During the Great Depression, new opportunities arose for these and other African American artists under the WPA. In later years, other programs and institutions, such as the New York City-based Harmon Foundation, helped to foster African American artistic talent. Augusta Savage, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and others exhibited in museums and juried art shows, and built reputations and followings for themselves. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were very few widely accepted African American artists. Despite this, The Highwaymen, a loose association of 27 African American artists from Ft. Pierce, Florida, created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida landscape and peddled some 50,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. They sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents, thus receiving the name The Highwaymen. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history. Their artwork is widely collected by enthusiasts and original pieces can easily fetch thousands of dollars in auctions and sales. The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was another period of resurgent interest in African American art. During this period, several African-American artists gained national prominence, among them Lou Stovall, Ed Love, Charles White, and Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson and a group of African-American artists formed the Afrocentric collective AFRICOBRA, which remains in existence today. The sculptor Martin Puryear, whose work has been acclaimed for years, is being honored with a 30-year retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York starting November 2007. Notable contemporary African American artists include David Hammons, Eugene J. Martin, Charles Tolliver, and Kara Walker. Literature [pic] Langston Hughes, a notable African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance. African American literature has its roots in the oral traditions of African slaves in America. The slaves used stories and fables in much the same way as they used music. These stories influenced the earliest African American writers and poets in the 18thcentury such as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano. These authors reached early high points by telling slave narratives. During the early 20th century Harlem Renaissance, numerous authors and poets, such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington, grappled with how to respond to discrimination in America. Authors during the Civil Rights era, such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of racial segregation, oppression and other aspects of African American life. This tradition continues today with authors who have been accepted as an integral part of American literature, with works such as Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beloved by Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison, and series by Octavia Butler and Walter Mosley that have achieved both best-selling and/or award-winning status. Museums The African American Museum Movement emerged during the 1950s and 1960s to preserve the heritage of the African American experience and to ensure its proper interpretation in American history. Museums devoted to African American history are found in many African American neighborhoods. Institutions such as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and The African American Museum in Cleveland were created by African Americans to teach and investigate cultural history that, until recent decades was primarily preserved trough oral traditions. Language Generations of hardships imposed on the African American community created distinctive language patterns. Slave owners often intentionally mixed people who spoke different African languages to discourage communication in any language other than English. This, combined with prohibitions against education, led to the development of pidgins, simplified mixtures of two or more languages that speakers of different languages could use to communicate. Examples of pidgins that became fully developed languages include Creole, common to Haiti,and Gullah, common to the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. African American Vernacular English is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language closely associated with the speech of but not exclusive to African Americans. While AAVE is academically considered a legitimate dialect because of its logical structure, some of both Caucasians and African Americans consider it slang or the result of a poor command of Standard American English. Inner city African American children who are isolated by speaking only AAVE have more difficulty with standardized testing and, after school, moving to the mainstream world for work. It is common for many speakers of AAVE to code switch between AAVE and Standard American English depending on the setting. Fashion and aesthetics [pic] A man weaving kente cloth in Ghana. Attire The cultural explosion of the 1960s saw the incorporation of surviving cultural dress with elements from modern fashion and West African traditional clothing to create a uniquely African American traditional style. Kente cloth is the best known African textile. These festive woven patterns, which exist in numerous varieties, were originally made by the Ashanti and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Kente fabric also appears in a number of Western style fashions ranging from casual t-shirts to formal bow ties and cummerbunds. Kente strips are often sewn into liturgical and cademic robes or worn as stoles. Since the Black Arts Movement, traditional African clothing has been popular amongst African Americans for both formal and informal occasions. Another common aspect of fashion in African American culture involves the appropriate dress for worship in the Black church. It is expected in most churches that an individual should present their best appearance for worship. African Americ an women in particular are known for wearing vibrant dresses and suits. An interpretation of a passage from the Christian Bible, very woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head , has led to the tradition of wearing elaborate Sunday hats, sometimes known as crowns. Hair Hair styling in African American culture is greatly varied. African American hair is typically composed of tightly coiled curls. The predominant styles for women involve the straightening of the hair through the application of heat or chemical processes. These treatments form the base for the most commonly socially acceptable hairstyles in the United States. Alternatively, the predominant and most socially acceptable practice for men is to leave ones hair natural. Often, as men age and begin to lose their hair, the hair is either closely cropped, or the head is shaved completely free of hair. However, since the 1960s, natural hairstyles, such as the afro, braids, and dreadlocks, have been growing in popularity. Although the association with radical political movements and their vast difference from mainstream Western hairstyles, the styles have not yet attained widespread social acceptance. Maintaining facial hair is more prevalent among African American men than in other male populations in the U. S. In fact, the soul patch is so named because African American men, particularly jazz musicians, popularized the style. The preference for facial hair among African American men is due partly to personal taste, but because they are more prone than other ethnic groups to develop a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly referred to as razor bumps, many prefer not to shave. Body image The European aesthetic and attendant mainstream concepts of beauty are often at odds with the African body form. Because of this, African American women often find themselves under pressure to conform to European standards of beauty. Still, there are individuals and groups who are working towards raising the standing of the African aesthetic among African Americans and internationally as well. This includes efforts toward promoting as models those with clearly defined African features; the mainstreaming of natural hairstyles; and, in women, fuller, more voluptuous body types. Religion While African Americans practice a number of religions, Protestant Christianity is by far the most popular. Additionally, 14% of Muslims in the United States and Canada are African American. Christianity [pic] A river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina near the turn of the 20th century. The religious institutions of African American Christians commonly are referred tocollectively as the black church. During slavery, many slaves were stripped of their African belief systems and typically denied free religious practice. Slaves managed, however, to hang on to some practices by integrating them into Christian worship in secret meetings. These practices, including dance, shouts, African rhythms, and enthusiastic singing, remain a large part of worship in the African American church. African American churches taught that all people were equal in Gods eyes and viewed the doctrine of obedience to ones master taught in white churches as hypocritical. Instead the African American church focused on the message of equality and hopes for a better future. Before and after emancipation, racial segregation in America prompted the development of organized African American denominations. The first of these was the AME Church founded by Richard Allen in 1787. An African American church is not necessarily a separate denomination. Several predominantly African American churches exist as members of predominantly white denominations. African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Like many Christians, African American Christians sometimes participate in or attend a Christmas play. Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a re-telling of the classic Nativity story with gospel music. Productions can be found a African American theaters and churches all over the country. Islam [pic] A member of the Nation of Islam selling merchandise on a city street corner. Despite the popular assumption that the Nation represents all or most African American Muslims, less than 2% are members. Generations before the advent of the Atlantic slave trade, Islam was a thriving religion in West Africa due to its peaceful introduction via the lucrative trans-Saharan trade between prominent tribes in the southern Sahara and the Berbers to the North. In his attesting to this fact the West African scholar Cheikh Anta Diop explained: The primary reason for the success of Islam in Black Africa onsequently stems from the fact that it was propagated peacefully at first by solitary Arabo-Berber travelers to certain Black kings and notables, who then spread it about them to those under their jurisdiction Many first-generation slaves were often able to retain their Muslim identity, their descendants were not. Slaves were either forcibly converted to Christianity as was the case in the Catholic lands or were besieged with gross inconviences to their religious practice su ch as in the case of the Protestant American mainland. In the decades after slavery and particularly during the depression era, Islam reemerged in the form of highly visible and sometimes controversial heterodox movements in the African American community. The first of these of note was the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Noble Drew Ali. Ali had a profound influence on Wallace Fard, who later founded the Black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1930. Elijah Muhammad became head of the organization in 1934. Much like Malcolm X, who left the Nation of Islam in 1964, many African American Muslims now follow traditional Islam. A survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows that 30% of Sunni Mosque attendees are African Americans. African American orthodox Muslims are often the victims of stereotypes, most notably the assumption that an African American Muslim is a member of the Nation of Islam. They are often viewed by the uneducated African-American community in general as less authentic than Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia while credibility is less of an issue with immigrant Muslims and Muslim world in general. Other religions Aside from Christianity and Islam, there are also African Americans who follow Judaism, Buddhism, and a number of other religions. The Black Hebrew Israelites are a collection of African American Jewish religious organizations. Among their varied teachings, they often include that African Americans are descended from the Biblical Hebrews (sometimes with the paradoxical claim that the Jewish people are not). There is a small but growing number of African Americans who participate in African traditional religions, such as Vodou and Santeria or Ifa and diasporic traditions like Rastafarianism. Many of them are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean and South America, where these are practiced. Because of religious practices, such as animal sacrifice, which are no longer common among American religions and are often legally prohibited, these groups may be viewed negatively and are sometimes the victims of harassment. Life events For most African Americans, the observance of life events follows the pattern of mainstream American culture. There are some traditions which are unique to African Americans. Some African Americans have created new rites of passage that are linked to African traditions. Pre-teen and teenage boys and girls take classes to prepare them for adulthood. They are typically taught spirituality, responsibility, and leadership. Most of these programs are modeled after traditional African ceremonies, with the focus largely on embracing African ideologies rather than specific rituals. To this day, some African American couples choose to jump the broom as a part of their wedding ceremony. Although the practice, which can be traced back to Ghana, fell out of favor in the African American community after the end of slavery, it has experienced a slight resurgence in recent years as some couples seek to reaffirm their African heritage. Funeral traditions tend to vary based on a number of factors, including religion and location, but there are a number of commonalities. Probably the most important part of death and dying in the African American culture is the gathering of family and friends. Either in the last days before death or shortly after death, typically any friends and family members that can be reached are notified. This gathering helps to provide spiritual and emotional support, as well as assistance in making decisions and accomplishing everyday tasks. The spirituality of death is very important in African American culture. A member of the clergy or members of the religious community, or both, are typically present with the family through the entire process. Death is often viewed as transitory rather than final. Many services are called homegoings, instead of funerals, based on the belief that the person is going home to the afterlife. The entire end of life process is generally treated as a celebration of life rather than a mourning of loss. This is most notably demonstrated in the New Orleans Jazz Funeral tradition where upbeat music, dancing, and food encourage those gathered to be happy and celebrate the homegoing of a beloved friend. Cuisine [pic] A traditional soul food dinner consisting of fried chicken, candied yams, collard greens, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the United States, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, sorghum, grits, watermelon, indigo dyes, and cotton, can be traced to African influences. African American foods reflect creative esponses to racial and economic oppression and poverty. Under slavery, African Americans were not allowed to eat better cuts of meat, and after emancipation many often were too poor to afford them. Soul food, a hearty cuisine commonly associated with African Americans in the South (but also common to African Americans nationwide), makes creative use of inexpensive products procured through farming and subsistence hunting and fishing. Pig intestines are boiled and sometimes battered and fried to make chitterlings, also known as chitlins. Ham hocks and neck bones provide seasoning to soups, beans and boiled greens (turnip greens, collard greens, and mustard greens). Other common foods, such as fried chicken and fish, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and hoppin john (black-eyed peas and rice) are prepared simply. When the African American population was considerably more rural than it generally is today, rabbit, possum, squirrel, and waterfowl were important additions to the diet. Many of these food traditions are especially predominant in many parts of the rural South. Traditionally prepared soul food is often high in fat, sodium and starch. Highly suited to the physically demanding lives of laborers, farmhands and rural lifestyles generally, it is now a contributing factor to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes in a population that has become increasingly more urban and sedentary. As a result, more health-conscious African-Americans are using alternative methods of preparation, eschewing trans fats in favor of natural vegetable oils and substituting smoked turkey for fatback and other, cured pork products; limiting the amount of refined sugar in desserts; and emphasizing the consumption of more fruits and vegetables than animal protein. There is some resistance to such changes, however, as they involve deviating from long culinary tradition. Holidays and observances [pic] A woman wearing traditional West African clothing lighting the candles on a kinara for a Kwanzaa celebration. As with other American racial and ethnic groups, African Americans observe ethnic holidays alongside traditional American holidays. Holidays observed in African American culture are not only observed by African Americans. The birthday of noted American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr has been observed nationally since 1983. It is one of three federal holidays named for an individual. Black History Month is another example of another African American observance that has been adopted nationally. Black History Month is an attempt to focus attention on previously neglected aspects of the African American experience. It is observed during the month of February to coincide with the founding of the NAACP and the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, a prominent African American abolitionist, and Abraham Lincoln, the United States president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Less widely observed outside of the African American community is Emancipation Day. The nature and timing of the celebration vary regionally. It is most widely observed as Juneteenth, in recognition of the official reading of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865 in Texas. Another holiday not widely observed outside of the African American community is the birthday of Malcolm X. The day is observed on May 19 in American cities with a significant African American population, including Washington, D. C.. One of the most noted African American holidays is Kwanzaa. Like Emancipation Day, it is not widely observed outside of the African American community, although it is growing in popularity within the community. African American scholar and activist Maulana Ron Karenga invented the festival of Kwanzaa in 1966, as an alternative to the increasing commercialization of Christmas. Derived from the harvest rituals of Africans, Kwanzaa is observed each year from December 26 through January 1. Participants in Kwanzaa celebrations affirm their African heritage and the importance of family and community by drinking from a unity cup; lighting red, black, and green candles; exchanging heritage symbols, such as African art; and recounting the lives of people who struggled for African and African American freedom. Names African American names are often drawn from the same language groups as other popular names found in the United States. The practice of adopting neo-African or Islamic names did not gain popularity until the late Civil Rights era. Efforts to recover African heritage inspired selection of names with deeper cultural significance. Prior to this, using African names was not practical for two reasons. First, many African Americans were several generations removed from the last ancestor to have an African name since slaves were often given European names. Second, a traditional American name helps an individual fit into American society. Another African American naming practice that predates the use of African names is the use of made-up names. In an attempt to create their own identity, growing numbers of African American parents, starting in the post-World War II era, began creating new names based on sounds they found pleasing such as Marquon, DaShawn, LaTasha, or Shandra. Family When slavery was practiced in the United States, it was common for families to be separated through sale. Even during slavery, however, African American families managed to maintain strong familial bonds. Free, African men and women, who managed to buy their own freedom by being hired out, who were emancipated, or who had escaped their masters, often worked long and hard to buy the members of their families who remained in bondage and send for them. Others, separated from blood kin, formed close bonds comprised of fictive kin; play relations, play aunts, cousins and the like. This practice, perhaps a holdover from African tradition, survived Emancipation, with non-blood family friends commonly accorded the status and titles of blood relations. This broader, more African concept of what constitutes family and community, and the deeply rooted respect for elders that is part of African traditional societies may be the genesis of the common use of the terms like aunt, uncle, brother, sister, Mother and Mama when addressing other African American people, some of whom may be complete strangers. Or, it could have arisen in the Christian church as a way of greeting fellow congregants and believers. Immediately after slavery, African American families struggled to reunite and rebuild what had been taken. As late as 1960, 78% of African American families were headed by married couples. This number steadily declined over the latter half of the 20th century. A number of factors, including attitudes towards education, gender roles, and poverty have created a situation where, for the first time since slavery, a majority of African American children live in a household with only one parent, typically the mother. These figures appear to indicate a weak African American nuclear family structure, especially within a large patriarchal society. This apparent weakness is balanced by mutual aid systems established by extended family members to provide emotional and economic support. Older family members pass on social and cultural traditions such as religion and manners to younger family members. In turn, the older family members are cared for by younger family members when they are unable to care for themselves. These relationships exist at all economic levels in the African American community, providing strength and support both to the African American family and the community. Politics and social issues Since the passing of the Voting Rights Act, African Americans are voting and being elected to public office in increasing numbers. As of January 2001 there were 9,101 African American elected officials in America. African Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic. Only 11% of African Americans voted for George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential Election. Social issues such as racial profiling, the racial disparity in sentencing, higher rates of poverty, institutional racism, and lower access to health care are important to the African American community. While the divide on racial and fiscal issues has remained consistently wide for decades, seemingly indicating a wide social divide, African Americans tend to hold the same optimism and concern for America as Whites. In the case of many moral issues such as religion, and family values, African Americans tend to be more conservative than Whites. Another area where African Americans outstrip Whites in their conservatism is on the issue of homosexuality. Prominent leaders in the Black church have demonstrated against gay rights issues such as gay marriage. There are those within the community who take a more inclusive position most notably, the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, and the Reverend Al Sharpton, who, when asked in 2003 whether he supported gay marriage, replied that he might as well have been asked if he supported black marriage or white marriage. Neighborhoods African American neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. The formation of African American neighborhoods is closely linked to the history of segregation in the United States, either through formal laws, or as a product of social norms. Despite this, African American neighborhoods have played an important role in the development of nearly all aspects of both African American culture and broader American culture. Due to segregated conditions and widespread poverty some African American neighborhoods in the United States have been called ghettos. The use of this term is controversial and, depending on the context, potentially offensive. Despite mainstream America’s use of the term ghetto to signify a poor urban area populated by ethnic minorities, those living in the area often used it to signify something positive. The African American ghettos did not always contain dilapidated houses and deteriorating projects, nor were all of its residents poverty-stricken. For many African Americans, the ghetto was home a place representing authentic blackness and a feeling, passion, or emotion derived from the rising above the struggle and suffering of being of African descent in America. Langston Hughes relays in the Negro Ghetto (1931) and The Heart of Harlem (1945): The buildings in Harlem are brick and stone/And the streets are long and wide,/But Harlem’s much more than these alone,/Harlem is what’s inside. Playwright August Wilson used the term ghetto in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) and Fences (1987), both of which draw upon the author’s experience growing up in the Hill district of Pittsburgh, an African American ghetto. Although African American neighborhoods may suffer from civic disinvestment, with lower quality schools, less effective policing and fire protection. Th ere are institutions such as churches and museums and political organizations that help to improve the physical and social capital of African American neighborhoods. In African American neighborhoods the churches may be important sources of social cohesion. For some African Americans the kind spirituality learned through these churches works as a protective factor against the corrosive forces of racism. Museums devoted to African American history are also found in many African American neighborhoods. Many African American neighborhoods are located in inner cities, These are the mostly residential neighborhoods located closest to the central business district. The built environment is often row houses or brownstones, mixed with older single family homes that may be converted to multi family homes. In some areas there are larger apartment buildings. Shotgun houses are an important part of the built environment of some southern African American neighborhoods. The houses consist of three to five rooms in a row with no hallways. This African American house design is found in both rural and urban southern areas, mainly in African-American communities and neighborhoods.