History of Trigonometry

Running Head: History of Trigonometry History of Trigonometry Rome Fiedler History of Mathematics 501 University of Akron April 29, 2012 History of Trigonometry: An Introduction Trigonometry is useful in our world. By exploring where these concepts come from provides an understanding in putting this mathematics to use. The term Trigonometry comes from the Greek word trigon, meaning triangle and the Greek word meatria meaning measurement. However it is not native to Greek in origin. The mathematics comes from multiple people over a span of thousands of years and has touched over every major civilization.It is a combination of geometry, and astronomy and has many practical applications over history. Trigonometry is a branch of math first created by 2nd century BC by the Greek mathematician Hipparchus. The history of trigonometry and of trigonometric functions sticks to the general lines of the history of math. Early research of triangles could be found in the 2nd millennium BC, in Egyp tian and Babylonian math. Methodical research of trigonometric functions started in Greek math, and it reached India as part of Greek astronomy.In Indian astronomy, the research of trigonometric functions flourished in the Gupta dynasty, particularly as a result of Aryabhata. Throughout the Middle Ages, the research of trigonometry continued in Islamic math, while it was implemented as a discrete subject in the Latin West beginning in the Renaissance with Regiomontanus. The growth of contemporary trigonometry shifted in the western Age of Enlightenment, starting with 17th-century math and reaching its contemporary type with Leonhard Euler (1748) Etymology The word â€Å"trigonometry† originates from the Greek â€Å"trigonometria†, implying â€Å"triangle measuring†, from triangle + to measure.The name developed from the study of right triangles by applying the relation ships between the measures of its sides and angles to the study of similar triangles (Gullberg , 1996). The word was introduced by Barthoolomus ptiticus in the title of his work Trigonometria sice de solutione triangularumtractus brevis et perspicius†¦ in 1595. The contemporary word â€Å"sine†, is originated from the Latin word sinus, which implied â€Å"bay†, â€Å"bosom† or â€Å"fold†, translation from Arabic word jayb. The Arabic word is in origin of version of Sanskrit jiva â€Å"chord†.Sanskrit jiva in learned used was a synonym of jya â€Å"chord†, primarily the word for â€Å"bow-string†. Sanskrit jiva was taken into Arabic as jiba (Boyer, 1991). This word was then changed into the real Arabic word jayb, implying â€Å"bosom, fold, bay†, either by the Arabs or erroneously of the European translators such as Robert of Chester, who translated jayb into Latin as sinus. In particular Fibonacci's sinus rectus arcus was significant in creating the word sinus. Early Beginnings The origin of the subject has rich di versity. Trigonometry is not the work of one particular person or place but rather a development over time.The primitive Egyptians and Babylonians had known of theorems on the ratios of the sides of analogous triangles for many centuries. However pre-Greek societies were deficient of the concept of an angle measure and as a result, the sides of triangles were analyzed rather, a field that would be better known as â€Å"trilaterometry†(Boyer, 1991). The Babylonian astronomers kept comprehensive records on the rising and setting of stars, the movement of the planets, and the solar and lunar eclipses, all of which needed knowledge with angular distances measured on the celestial sphere.Founded on one explanation of the Plimpton 322 cuneiform tablet, some have even claimed that the primitive Babylonians had a table of secants. There was, on the other hand, much discussion as to whether it is a table of Pythagorean triples, a solution of quadratic equations, or a trigonometric tab le. The Egyptians, in contrast, applied an ancient kind of trigonometry for construction of pyramids and surveying the land in the 2nd millennium BC. The early beginnings of trigonometry ar thought to be the first numerical sequences correlating shadow lengths to time of day.Shadow tables were simple sequences of numbers which applied the shadow of a vertical stick, called a gnomon, is long in the morning and shortens to a minimum at noon. Then becomes longer and longer as the afternoon progresses (Kennedy, 1969). The shadow tables would correlate a particular hour to a particular length and were used as early as 1500 BC by the Egyptians. Similar tables were developed by other civilizations such as the Indians and Greeks. Greek mathematics Shadow tables were the primary development in creation of trigonometry however the Greeks really developed Trigonometry into an ordered science.The Greeks continued as the Babylonians astronomers did and studied the relation between angles and cir cles in lengths of chords to develop their theories on planetary position and motion (Mankiewicz, 2001). [pic] The chord of an angle subtends the arc of the angle. Ancient Greek mathematicians used the chord. Given a circle and an arc on the circle, the chord is the line that subtends the arc. A chord's perpendicular bisector traverses the center of the circle and bisects the angle. One half of the bisected chord is the sine of the bisected angle, that is, [pic] nd consequently the sine function is also known as the â€Å"half-chord†. As a result of this relationship, several trigonometric identities and theorems that are known at present were also known to Greek mathematicians, however in their equivalent chord form. Though there is no trigonometry in the works of Euclid and Archimedes, there are theorems presented in a geometric method that are similar to particular trigonometric laws or rules. Theorems on the lengths of chords are applications of the law of sines. In addit ion Archimedes' theorem on broken chords is similar to rules for sines of sums and differences of angles.From the primitive landmarks of shadow tables and the Greeks’ gain and expansion of astronomical knowledge from the Babylonians, there was a gap in the improvement of trigonometry until the time of Hipparchus. Hipparchus The first trigonometric table was in fact compiled by Hipparchus of, who is known as an as â€Å"the father of trigonometry†(Boyer, 1991). Hipparchus was the first to put into a table the corresponding values of arc and chord for a series of angles. He did this by considering every triangle was inscribed in a circle of fixed radius. Each side of the triangle became a chord, a straight line drawn between two points on a circle.To find the parts of the triangle he needed to find the length of the chord as a function of the central angle. [pic] For Example, in the diagram triangle ACB is? inscribed in circle O. So the sides of the triangle become chord ? AC, chord CB and chord AB. Hipparchus would have sought to? find the length of the chord, AC, as a function of the central? angle. He deduced a trigonometric formula for the? length of a chord sketched from one point on the circumference of? a circle to another (Motz, 1993). This could therefore be used to help understand the positioning of the planets on the sphere.Though it is not known when the methodical use of the 360 ° circle came into math, it is known that the methodical introduction of the 360 ° circle introduced a little after Aristarchus of Samos comprised of On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon, since he measured an angle a part of a quadrant. It seemed that the systematic used of the 360 ° circle was mainly as a result of Hipparchus and his table of chords. Hipparchus might have taken the idea of that division from Hypsicles who had previously divided the day into 360 parts, a division of the day that might have been recommended by Babylonian astronomy .In primeval astronomy, the zodiac had been divided into twelve â€Å"signs† or thirty-six â€Å"decans†. A recurring cycle of approximately 360 days could have corresponded to the signs and decans of the zodiac by dividing each sign into 30 parts and each decan into 10 parts. It was as a result of the Babylonian sexagesimal numeral system that each degree was divided into 60 minutes and each minute was divided into 60 seconds. Though Hipparchus is attributed as the father of trigonometry all of his work is lost except one but we gain knowledge of his work through Ptolemy. [pic] http://www. ies. co. p/math/java/vector/menela/menela. html Menelaus Menelaus of Alexandria wrote in three books his Sphaerica. In Book I, he created a basis for spherical triangles analogous to the Euclidean basis for plane triangles. He established a theorem that is without Euclidean analogue, that two spherical triangles were similar if corresponding angles are equal, however he did not diff erentiate between congruent and symmetric spherical triangles. Another theorem that he established was that the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle is more than 180 °. Book II of Sphaerica applied spherical geometry to astronomy.In addition Book III contained the â€Å"theorem of Menelaus†(Boyer, 1991). He further gave his well-known â€Å"rule of six quantities†(Needham, 1986). This theorem came to paly a major role in spherical trigonometry and astronomy. It was also believed that Melaus mya have developed a second table of chords based on Hipparchus works, however these were lost (Smith, 1958). Ptolemy Afterwards, Claudius Ptolemy developed upon Hipparchus' Chords in a Circle in his Almagest, or the Mathematical Syntaxis. The Almagest was mainly a work on astronomy, and astronomy relied on trigonometry.The 13 books of the Almagest were the most prominent and important trigonometric work of ancient times. This book was a composition of both astronomy and trig onometry and was derived from the work of Hipparchus and Menelaus. Almagest contains a table of lengths of chords in a circle and a detailed set of instructions on how to construct the table. These instructions contain some of the earliest derivtions of trigonometry. Ptolemy distinguished that Menelaus started by dividing a circle into 360o, and the diameter into 120 parts. He did this because 3 x 120 = 360, using the previous application of 3 for pi.Then each part is divided into sixty parts, each of these again into sixty parts, and so on. This system of parts was based on the Babylonian sexagesimal or base 60-numeration system, which was the only system available at the time for handling fractions (Maor, 1998). This system was based on 60 so that the number of degrees corresponding to the circumference of a circle would be the same as the number of days in a year, which the Babylonians believed to be 360 days (Ball 1960). From Menlaus Ptolemy developed the concept that the sine i s half of a chord.Ptolemy took Menelaus’ construction _ crd  · 2_ and said that the complement angle could be written as _ crd  · (180 o -2_), since 180o was half the circumference of the circle. Since today, cos_ = sin(90 o -_), it can be shown that cos_ = _ crd  · (180 o -2_), using a similar argument as the one shown above (van Brummelen, 2009). From these two expressions, one of the greatest identities known today was created. That is, (_ crd  · 2_) 2 + {_ crd  · (180 o -2_)} 2 = 1 which is exactly sin2_ + cos2_ = 1 (van Brummelen, 2009). [pic]http://nrich. maths. org/6853 [pic] http://en. ikipedia. org/wiki/Ptolemy's_table_of_chords Using his table, Ptolemy believed that one could solve any planar triangle, if given at least one side of the triangle (Maor, 1998). A theorem that was fundamental to Ptolemy's calculation of chords was what was still known at present as Ptolemy's theorem, that the sum of the products of the opposite sides of a recurring quadrilater al was equivalent to the product of the diagonals. Ptolemy used these results to develop his trigonometric tables; however whether these tables were originated from Hipparchus' work could not be proved.Neither the tables of Hipparchus nor those of Ptolemy had survived to the present day, though descriptions by other ancient authors exhibits they existed. In his work, Ptolemy founded formulas for the chord of? difference and an equivalent for our modern day half-angle? formulas. Because of Ptolemy’s discoveries, given a chord of? an arc in a circle, the chord of half an arc can be determined as? well. Ptolemy also discovered chords of sum and difference, chords of half an arc, and chords of half degree, from which he then built up his tables to the nearest second of chords of arcs from half degree.In the Almagest, a true distinction was made between plane and spherical trigonometry. Plane trigonometry is the branch of trigonometry which applies its principles to plane triangle s; Spherical trigonometry, on the other hand, is the branch of trigonometry in which its principles are applied to spherical triangles, which are triangles on the surface of the sphere. Ptolemy began with spherical trigonometry, for he worked with spherical triangles in many of his theorems and proofs. However, when calculating the chords of arcs, he unintentionally developed a theory for plane trigonometry. Trigonometry was created for use in astronomy; and because spherical trigonometry was for this purpose the more useful tool, it was the first to be developed. The use of plane trigonometry†¦ is foreign to Greek mathematicians† (Kline, 1972). Spherical trigonometry was developed out of necessity for the interest and application of astronomers. In fact, spherical trigonometry was the most prevalent branch of trigonometry until the 1450s, even though Ptolemy did introduce a basis for plane trigonometry in the Almagest in 150 A. D. IndiaThe next major contribution to trig onometry came from India. The trigonometry of Ptolemy was based on the functional relationship between chords of a circle and central angles they subtend. The Siddhantas, a book thought to be written by Hindu scholars in late fourth century, early fifth century A. D. , changed Ptolemy’s trigonometry to the study of the relationship between half of a chord of a circle and half of the angle subtended at he center by the whole chord (Kennedy, 1969). This came from the basis for the modern trigonometric function known as the sine.The Siddhantas introduction to the sine function is the chief contribution from India and marks a transformation in trigonometry. Indian mathematicians also contributed by creating their own sine table. Arya-Bhata, born in 476, was a great Indian mathematician and astronomer (Ball, 1960). He composed a book called Aryabhathiya, which contained most of the essential ideas we associate with sine and cosine. His most outstanding contribution to the topic, w hich distinguishes him from the other mathematicians of this time, was his work on sine differences (van Brummelen, 2009).His definition of sine was literally â€Å"half chord† and was abbreviated jya or jiva, which simply meant, â€Å"chord† (Smith 615). Sines were given in minutes, at intervals of 225 minutes. This measurement was not of the sines themselves, but instead, it was the measurement of the differences between the sines. His method of calculating them was as follows. The first sine was equal to 225. The second sine was defined as any particular sine being worked with in order to calculate the sine that directly follows (Clark 29).It was found using the following pattern: (225 – the previous sine) + (225 + the previous sine) 225 this total was then subtracted from 225 to obtain the sine table. Second sine: 225 – 225 = 0 225 / 225 = 1 0 + 1= 1 225 – 1 = 224 Third sine:? 225 – 224 = 1 (225 + 224) / 225 ? 2 225 – 2 = 222 (van Brummelen, 2009). Arya-Bhata concluded that dividing a quarter of the circumference of a circle (essentially one quadrant of the unit circle) into as many equal parts, with the resulting triangles and quadrilaterals would have, on the radius, the same amount of sines of equal arcs.Doing this, he was able to form a table of natural sines corresponding to the angles in the first quadrant (van Brummelen, 2009). Although much of his work had the right idea, many of Arya-Bhata’s calculations were inaccurate. Later, in 1150AD, an Indian mathematician known as Bhaskara gave a more accurate method of constructing a table of sines, which considered sines in every degree (van Brummelen, 2009). Although the Indian mathematicians made attempts at creating a table to help with astronomy, their table of sines was not as accurate as that of the Greeks. Islamic mathematicsThe ancient works were translated and developed in the medieval Islamic world by Muslim mathematicians of mostly Persian and Arab descent, who explained a large number of theorems which freed the subject of trigonometry from reliance upon the complete quadrilateral, as was the case in Greek mathematics as a result of the application of Menelaus' theorem. In accordance with E. S. Kennedy, it was following that development in Islamic math that â€Å"the first real trigonometry appeared, in the sense that only then did the object of study become the spherical or plane triangle, its sides and angles† (Kennedy, 1969).E. S. Kennedy pointed out that whilst it was possible in pre-Islamic math to calculate the magnitudes of a spherical figure, in theory, by use of the table of chords and Menelaus' theorem, the application of the theorem to spherical problems was very complex actually (Kennedy, 1969). With the aim of observing holy days on the Islamic calendar in which timings were established by phases of the moon, astronomers at first used Menalaus' method to compute the place of the moon and stars, a lthough that method proved to be ungainly and complex.It engaged creation of two intersecting right triangles; by applying Menelaus' theorem it was possible to solve one of the 6 sides, however only if the other 5 sides were known. To tell the time from the sun's elevation, for example, repeated applications of Menelaus' theorem were needed. For medieval Islamic astronomers, there was a clear challenge to find a simpler trigonometric rule (Gingerich, 1986). In the early 9th century, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi c a Persian Mathematician, was an early pioneer in spherical trigonometry and wrote a treatise on the subject creating accurate sine and cosine tables.By the 10th century, in the work of Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani, another Persian Mathematician established the angle addition formulas, e. g. , sin(a + b), and discovered the sine formula for spherical trigonometry. Abu’l-Wafa is believed to have helped introduced the concept of the tangent function. He also may have had s omething to do with the development of secant and cosecant. His trigonometry took on a more systematic form in which he proved theorems for double and half angle formulas. The law of sines, is also attributed to Abu’l-Wafa, even? hough it was first introduced by Ptolemy. This is in part? due to the fact that Abu’l-Wafa presented a? straightforward formulation of the law of sines for? spherical triangles, which states [pic] where A, B, and C are surface angles of the spherical? triangle and a, b, and c are the central angles of the? spherical triangle. In 830, Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi created the first table of cotangents. Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Harrani al-Battani found the reciprocal functions of secant and cosecant, and created the first table of cosecants for each degree from 1 ° to 90 °.By 1151 AD, the ideas of the six trigonometric functions existed, they were just not named as we know them today. Europe It is from the Arabic influence that trigonometry reache d Europe. Western Europe favored Arabic mathematics over Greek geometry. Arabic arithmetic and algebra were on a more elementary level than Greek geometry had been during the time of the Roman Empire. Romans did not display much interest in Greek trigonometry or any facets of Greek math. Therefore, Arabic math appealed to them since it was easier for them to comprehend.Leonardo Fibonacci was one mathematician who became acquainted with trigonometry during his extensive travels in Arab countries. He then presented the knowledge he gained in Practica geometriae in 1220 AD (Gullberg, 1996). The first distinction of trigonometry as a science separate from astronomy is credited to the Persian, Nasir Eddin. He helped to differentiate plane trigonometry and spherical trigonometry. Other than that, little development occurred from the time of the 1200’s to the 1500’s, aside for the developments of the Germans in the late 15th and early 16th century.Germany was becoming a prosp erous nation at the time and was engaged in much trade. Their interests also developed in navigation, calendar formation, and astronomy. This interest in astronomy precipitated a general interest and need for trigonometry (Kline, 1972). Included in this movement around the time of 1464, the German astronomer and mathematician, Regiomontanus (also known as Iohannes Molitoris) formulated a work known as De Triangulis Omnimodis, a compilation of the trigonometry of that time.When it was finally printed in 1533, it became an important medium of spreading the knowledge of trigonometry throughout Europe (Gullberg, 1996). The first book began with fifty propositions on the solutions of triangles using the properties of right triangles. Although the word â€Å"sine† was derived from the Arabs, Regiomontanus read the term in an Arabic manuscript in Vienna and was the first to use it in Europe. The second book began with a proof of the law of sines and then included problems involving how to determine sides, angles, and areas of plane triangles.The third book contained theorems found on Greek spherics before the use of trigonometry, and the fourth was based on spherical trigonometry. In the sixteenth century, Nicholas Copernicus was a revolutionary astronomer who could also be deemed as a trigonometer. He studied law, medicine and astronomy. He completed a treatise, known as De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, the year he died in 1543. This work-contained information on trigonometry and it was similar to that of Regiomontanus, although it is not clear if they were connected or not.While this was a great achievement, Copernicus’ student, Rheticus, an Indian mathematician, who lived during the years 1514-1576, went further and combined the work of both these men and published a two-volume work, Opus palatinum de triangulus. Trigonometry really began to expand and formalize at this point as the functions with respect to arcs of circles were disregarded. Fran cois Viete who practiced law and spent his leisure time devoted to mathematics also . contributed trigonometry around this time. He came to be known as â€Å"the father of the generalized analytic approach to trigonometry† (Boyer, 1991).He thought of trigonometry as? an independent branch of mathematics, and he worked? without direct reference to chords in a circle. He made? tables for all six trigonometric functions for angles to the? nearest minute. Viete was also one of the first to use the? formula for the law of tangents, which states the following: [pic] Viete was one of the first mathematicians to focus on analytical trigonometry, the branch of trigonometry which focuses on the relations and properties of the trigonometric functions.This form of trigonometry became more prevalent around the time of 1635 with the work of Roberval and Torricelli. They developed the first sketch of half an arch of a sine curve. This important development assisted in the progression of tri gonometry from a computational emphasis to a functional approach. This formed the basis of the European contribution of trigonometry. From the influence of oriental scientists, the Europeans focused on the computation of tables and the discovery of functional relations between parts of triangles.Europe developed appropriate symbols, which replaced the verbal rules and ordinary language in which the subject was usually presented. Previously, trigonometry was expressed in lengthy passages of confusing words, but the Europeans introduced such symbols as sin, cos, tan, etc. to simplify the subject and make it more concise. Prior to the analytic approach, the main usage of trigonometry was to measure geometric figures, but the transition of its influence from geometry to calculus began with the discovery of infinite series representations for the trigonometric functions.Trigonometric series became useful in the theory of astronomy, around the time of the eighteenth century. Since astrono mical phenomena are periodic, it was useful to have trigonometric series because they are periodic functions as well. The use of trigonometric series was introduced to determine the positions of the planets and interpolation, which is a mathematical procedure that estimates the values of a function at positions between given values (Kline, 1972). Many continued to make contributions to Trigonometry looking for more accurate tables to determine the six functions.These works continued up until the invention of the Scientific Calculator in 1968. In society today, trigonometry is used in physics to aide in the understanding of space, engineering and chemistry. Within mathematics it is typically seen in mainly in calculus, but also in linear algebra and statistics. Despite the minimal information available on the history of Trigonometry it is still a vital part of mathematics. The History shows progression from astronomy and geometry and the movement from spherical to plane geometry.Toda y, Trigonometry is used to understand space, engineering, chemistry as well as mathematics. By exploring the history of trigonometry we see the importance of it in our world. References Boyer, Carl B. (1991), A History of Mathematics (Second ed. ). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 3 Bressoud, D. M. (2010). Historical Refelctions on Teaching Trigonometry. Mathematics Teacher, 104 (2), 106-112. Brummelen, G. V. (2009). The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Gingerich, Owen (1986), â€Å"Islamic astronomy†. Scientific American 254 (10): 74.Gullberg, Jan. (1996)Mathematics from the Birth Of Numbers. New York:W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. Joyce, D. E. (n. d. ). History of Trigonometry Outline. Retrieved 3 21, 2012, from History of Trigonometry Outline: http://aleph0. clarku. edu/~djoyce/ma105/trighist. html Kennedy, E. S. (1969), â€Å"The History of Trigonometry†. 31st Yearbook (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Washingt on DC) (cf. Haq, Syed Nomanul. The Indian and Persian background. pp. 60–3, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Oliver Leaman (1996). History of Islamic Philosophy. Routledge. pp. 52–70.Kline, Morris. (1972) Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times. New York: Oxford University Press. Kluemper, A. (2010, 3 24). History of Trigonometry. Retrieved 3 5, 2012, from www. xtimeline. com: http://www. xtimeline. com/timeline/History-of-Trigonometry Mankiewicz, Richard. (2001)The Story of Mathematics. New Jersy:Princetion University Press. Maor, E. (1998). Trigonometric Delights. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Miller, S. (2001). Understanding Transformations of Periodic Functions through Art. Mathematics Teacher , 94 (8), 632-635.Moussa, Ali (2011), â€Å"Mathematical Methods in Abu al-Wafa's Almagest and the Qibla Determinations†. Arabic Sciences and Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. 21 (1): 1–56. Needham, Joseph (1986), Science and Civilization in Chi na: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Rogers, L. (n. d. ). The History of Trigonometry- Part 1. Retrieved 3 1, 2012, from Enriching Mathematics: http://nrich. maths. org/6843/index Suzuki, J. (2009). Mathematics in Historical Context. Washington D. C. : The Mathematical Association of America.Smith, D. E. (1958)History of Mathematics. New York:Dover Publications, Inc. Toomer, G. J. (1998), Ptolemy's Almagest, Princeton University Press. Weber, K. (2005). Students Understanding of Trigonometric Functions. Mathematics Education Research Journal , 17 (3), 91-112. www. cartage. org. (n. d. ). Trigonometry History. Retrieved 3 5, 2012, from Trigonometry History: http://www. cartage. org. lb/en/themes/sciences/Mathematics/Trigonometry/history/History%20. html van Brummelen, G. (2009)The Mathematics of the Heavens and Earth. Princeton University Press. Princeton and Oxford.

Why We Write

Have you ever stopped in the middle of what you were doing and just asked yourself: â€Å"What am I doing?† This isn't a philosophical or existential question. While trying to write this essay, I find myself asking â€Å"What exactly am I doing?† The obvious answer would be writing, or struggling to. But as my mind, like an insatiably curious child, started asking an endless stream of â€Å"Whys† and â€Å"Hows† I became more aware of this act that seems to be taken for granted. Writing is so ingrained in our human society and our lives that we barely even notice it or care to think about its significance. Yet it would be almost impossible for us to live without it. That is because writing is a physical and visual representation of language; it is a form of communication. Writing is a practical necessity that allows us to connect with each other and share our thoughts, and it is also a means for cultural and artistic expression. Through writing we can pass down and communicate knowledge from one generation to the next, which is a fundamental factor in the progress of human society. How did it all start? Oral language developed tens of thousands of years ago when our early ancestors began living in communities and the need for coordination and communication arose. Written language, however, was created much later in the cradle of human civilization known as Mesopotamia. The existence of civilization entails the appearance of cities and long-distance trade, and finding a way to communicate over great distance became necessary for humans. As evidenced by discovered pieces of clay with pictographs on them, the traders and merchants of the city-states of Sumer discovered writing to coordinate their trade. As with oral language, written language may have developed out of a practical necessity, and has since proven to be useful and important in our human society. Even in our contemporary times we still use writing for pragmatic purposes when we want to communicate information to others. We have been doing it for the greater part of our lives, and even something as simple as texting a friend constitutes writing. Texting is an example which shows that through a visual manifestation of language we can communicate with others and overcome the limitations of time and space. But we don't communicate through writing for practical reasons alone. We also communicate to share the unique inner workings of our creativity. Literature is a prime example of that. It can reflect our innermost passions, ideas and values as well as those of a particular culture. Through literature, writing is intricately woven into our lives as a form of personal, artistic and cultural expression which has the capacity to change and influence society. We read and analyze written works created hundreds of years ago to observe the impact that they've had on societies of different times and places. Take for example the writings of the ancient Greek poet Homer, the author of the now classic epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. It does not take an in-depth literary analysis to understand that the cultural values of the ancient Greeks were high reverence to their gods and the divine laws. In both works it is repeatedly shown what befalls those who disrespect and disobey any of the gods. For instance, when King Agamemnon refuses to release the captured Chrysies, the daughter of a priest of Apollo, the sun god descends from Mount Olympus to rain pestilence on the Greek army. It is thanks to writing that these epic poems, formerly passed down through oral tradition, have reached us and allowed us to better understand the society and values of the ancient Greek civilization. However, there is no rule that an author's writing should necessarily reflect their culture. There are works of writing that are the personal expression of the author and can serve as critiques of the current societal values and as innovations in literature. Many writers are actually pioneers in this sense, inventing new genres or challenging the status quo. Mary Shelley, at just 19 years of age, had created one of the world's first science fiction novels, Frankenstein, and pioneered a genre. Emily Brontà «, on the other hand, challenged the social norms of her time with Wuthering Heights. These examples illustrate that writing is not only a means of cultural or self-expression but an act of constant innovation. The authors' works do not only show the beliefs of their society during those times, but also criticize those beliefs and serve as a push during the transition between time periods. And even today these are relevant and popular works of art which allow us to analyze the values and norms of the past and to see how the ideas of these writers have influenced and changed our world. These cultural and personal expressions have withstood the test of time and reached all the way to our present day world. It is thanks to the development of writing that we now have a practical way to communicate our thoughts and our creative ideas to each other. And as we saw with the literary examples, communication through writing transcends the boundaries of space and time. Innovations and discoveries that were made hundreds of years ago and far away from us are now within our reach because writing has been an essential factor in the preservation and communication of human knowledge over the centuries. Writing has been crucial for the accumulation and innovation of human knowledge. By preserving and communicating information over the generations we learn from the discoveries and inventions made in the past and strive to improve upon them to better our world and future. We enjoy the luxuries of today thanks to the pioneering and innovating work of the great minds that came before us. Our world is shaped by the ideas and discoveries of the past which are woven into our society thanks to the development of writing. As I draw to the end of this essay, I find writing even more fascinating than ever before. In essence, writing is like a river that carries human experience, knowledge and wisdom forward in time, but it also allows us to look back to our past. Thanks to it we have experienced and learned about ideas, sciences and arts which have existed hundreds of years ago and far away from us. Writing has allowed us to express ourselves and share our beliefs about the world. It has given us the opportunity to gaze upon the reflection of our world, and to strive to make it better than what it was. Right now we stand in the middle of a vast infinity. What the generations of the future will learn about us and our legacy will greatly depend on our writing now.

Analyzing the legalization of drugs

Introduction The increase in the drug cases during the years has lead several propositions from various individuals, one of which is the legalization of drugs. Since the widespread use of illegal drugs has eventually persisted throughout the expanse of time, and with the failure to contain the issue of illegal drug use, one suggested solution is to amend the law by legalizing the use of drugs or by putting it finally under the control and mandate of the law. However, the judicial system has had to cope with the situation. The need to reexamine the existing methods of managing and handling these drug cases proportionally rose with the persistence of illegal drugs amidst existing legal sanctions. This had led to the processing of drug cases not only in court but even outside the court. This is to cope with the great number of drug offenders of varying levels getting apprehended everyday. There were several judicial strategies conceived in order to deal with the massive amount of drug cases. These judicial strategies include the creation of specialized divisions of a drug court in some trial courts, sped-up case processing procedures, deferred prosecution programs requiring court-supervised treatment and counseling and more. There are also combinations of these strategies, all to speed-up the processing of these cases. These cases are screened beforehand in order to know what degree and what level of judicial supervisions would be applicable for the case. This is also essential for early treatment intervention and rehabilitation of the offenders, so as to stop the continued drug abuse and the likelihood of crimes. On the other hand, arguments for the legalization of drugs are constantly being hurled forward in order to finally resolve the existing contentions against the ill-effects of drugs as well as for the perceived benefits both the government and the individuals can actually obtain from legalizing these substances. Arguments for the legalization of drugs One of the most common drugs in the society today is Marijuana. It is known scientifically as the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, where the leaves are being dried up, rolled into sheets of paper and be smoked just like cigarette or tobacco. It is the most often used illegal drug in the world, known in various names all over, like â€Å"pot,† â€Å"herb,† and â€Å"Mary Jane.† Some users can make use of marijuana by mixing it into food substances or drink it by brewing it with tea. The addictive element of marijuana is its Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC content. The effect of marijuana would depend on how strong or how potent is its Tetrahydrocannabinol content, thus also giving various effects on the marijuana users (Dell and Snyder 630). One of the reasons for finally legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is founded on the historical context of the â€Å"illegal† substance. In America, for instance, those who lived in the area of Jamestown back in 1611 raised marijuana under the order of King James I for the purpose of crafting rope for the naval force of the British. The â€Å"herb†, as it has been called, also served as a medicinal substance specifically for George Washington who planted marijuana within the premises of Mount Vernon and that the plant was categorized as a prescription medicine until 1937 (Smith 101). Marijuana also has positive sides which can be used as an argument for its eventual legalization. One of the beneficial effects of the use of marijuana rests on its utility for the control of symptoms, especially in chemotherapy procedures, as an â€Å"effective antiemetic† among patients with health profiles such as cancer and â€Å"AIDS patients with wasting syndrome† which led to â€Å"a greater ability to cope emotionally with disabling or life-threatening illness (Gorman 23). Moreover, under the rule of Emperor Chen Nung of ancient China five centuries ago, marijuana has been declared as well as a plant that has medicinal value in terms of curing malaria, rheumatism, constipation, â€Å"absentmindedness† as well as the claims for mental and bodily disorders suffered by women (Grinspoon and Bakalar 3). There is also the contention for the prospect of establishing a regulated drug market which can be a profitable source of government tax. This idea illustrates the observation that the widespread use of illegal drugs and its potential to be a market commodity can overcome the legal restrictions ascribed unto it.   A controlled degree of the regulation of marijuana, for example, creates, instead, an increase in government revenues that may outweigh or, at least, come close to the actual government payments on law enforcement against the production, distribution and consumption of marijuana (Caputo and Ostrom 475). Refutations Drug Abuse is one of the most common criminal cases in the society today. It is a form of substance abuse, just like alcoholism, since these illicit drugs are actually addictive in nature. Because of this, many people who are hooked on drugs cannot easily let go of the addiction, and would often lead to drug-related crimes like robbery, physical assault, or even murder. Not only does these drugs dangerous to others, but it is also harmful in the drug users’ body, causing the body to take into negative turns, like deterioration and organ failures. When a person smokes or inhales marijuana smoke, he would usually feel rapid heart beats, loss of coordination and decreased sense of balance, slow reaction rate and a dry mouth. These are already signs of marijuana intoxication, along with the expansion of blood vessels in the eye, that’s why marijuana users usually have red eyes. The effects of marijuana would usually last two to three hours, where the marijuana user would usually tend to be sleepy. The negative effects of using marijuana would be hindering the user’s short term memory, wherein it would be difficult for him to remember recent events. This would usually lead to car crashes and other accidents, since their sense of coordination is greatly affected. Another dangerous drug would be cocaine. This drug’s effect on the body is really damaging, where addiction to cocaine could bring about permanent damages in one’s body or even death. Cocaine has both short term and long term effects. The short term effects are immediately noticeable, but not that damaging as compared to the long term ones. The common short term effects are a feeling of boosted energy, a decrease in a person’s appetite, and a rather hyped heart rate and blood pressure. There are still many other types of illegal drugs and similar forms of substances that create ill-effects to the overall health of individuals, oftentimes resulting for them to commit crimes that they could not have possibly committed had they not taken these illegal substances. Conclusion Although several illegal substances can actually bring forth benefits for individuals, the negative consequences outweigh these positive sides. Further, not all of these substances have positive effects when used, and that the negative consequences of illegal drug use oftentimes lead to crimes and violence. For these reasons along with the refutations against the legalization of drugs, it can be asserted that the legalization of drugs should not be taken as the ultimate measure for solving illegal drug issues. Rather, the reasons behind the legalization of drugs should be taken as a means in finding the deeper refutations against it. References Caputo, M. R., and B. J. Ostrom. â€Å"Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source.† American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.4 (1994): 475-90. Cocaine-Effects.com. â€Å"Cocaine Effects.† 2001. Dell, D. D., and J. A. Snyder. â€Å"Marijuana: Pro and Con.† The American Journal of Nursing 77.4 (1977): 630. Gorman, M. â€Å"Substance Abuse.† The American Journal of Nursing 97.11 (1997): 23. Grinspoon, L., and J. B. Bakalar. â€Å"The History of Cannabis.†Ã‚   Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine. London: Yale University Press, 1997. 3. Smith, G. R. W. â€Å"Possession of Marijuana in San Mateo County: Some Social Costs of Criminalization.† Stanford Law Review 22.1 (1969): 101.   

Practicality over Aestheticism In Alice Walkers Everyday Use Essay

Practicality over Aestheticism In Alice Walkers Everyday Use - Essay Example This is due not only because Maggie has remained at home with her mother, but because Maggie has learned the skills necessary to their normal existence, skills passed down from preceding generations. Dee shows an interest in family heritage as well, but her exposure to academic and social movements has shifted her priorities to the African connection rather than the African-American roots of her immediate family. This paper will examine how Walker displays a partiality for practical applications of heritage rather than abstract academic curiosity. Dee's degree of distance from her family becomes apparent as soon as she arrives at the house. Her first action is to take a series of photographs to document her family and the domicile, and " never takes a shot without making sure that the house is included." Dee then explains to her family that her name is now Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, citing that her old name was decreed by her 'oppressors' presumably she and her companion are recent members of the Muslim movement, given that the man greets the mother with the phrase "Asalamalakim." Dee claims the churn top and dasher from the dairy churn - not noticing that they are still needed - to incorporate into some type of artistic table. Dee then wants to claim hand-stitched patchwork quilts semn together by several generations of the family, with the intent to display them at her house by hanging them behind glass. The mother, as narrator, not only shows a knowledge of the family heritage, but still lives in accordance with it. In the very first scene, she expresses an appreciation for her swept yard, saying "It is like an extended living room. When the hard clay is swept clean" The churn top that Dee wants is described as having "the milk in it clabber by now," implying that the churn is an appliance that still gets frequent use in the household. Her slight favoritism for Maggie is revealed in her defending Maggie's claim on the quilts. In the past, Dee was offered a quilt and disdained to take it; the future of the quilts has since been assigned as a sort of dowry for Maggie's eventual marriage to a boy named John Thomas. When Dee left to go to college in Augusta, Maggie remained at home and has become saturated with family culture. She has encyclopedic knowledge of family history: when Maggie recalls Aunt Dee's first husband Henry, called stash, whittled the churn dash, Dee observes that "Maggie's brain is like an elephant's." Maggie herself is a walking connection to the family history, for her burn scars came from the destruction of the girls' childhood house. Most importantly, Maggie remained with her family and learned the skills of her preceding matriarchs. Not only has Maggie communed with both her grandmother and her aunt in the actual making of these quilts, she has acquired the skill of sewing them and is now able to pass the knowledge down to following generations. Opponents of this interpretation would argue that the narrator's perceptions are not only slanted, but hypocritical. They perhaps would argue that the mother's fantasy about meeting her daughter on television indicates a merging of history and progress, with a secret yearning for progress. Another argument could be made that the

Project of Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project of Activity - Essay Example S to maintain her confidentiality. Mrs. S is an elderly lady aged 60; she has undergone a total right hip replacement for neck of femur fracture. My patient is being diagnosed with seizure activity (ITU-HDU), Thyrotoxicosis, R THR, early onset dementia. She is under normal diet and fluids which she is being supervised. Mrs. S only requires minimal assistance as she can use the Zimmer to support herself as stated in the doctor’s assessment. I conducted my activity, bed bath with Mrs. S on the 29th March 2012. I did this activity in the presence of a nurse who has been monitoring Mrs. S’s health condition. The main objectives of conducting this activity, bed bath was to ensure my patient’s hygiene is maintained, ensure that the activity is documented, and ensure that my patient operates within a clean and health environment and to report any signs of possibility of deterioration of my patient’s heath. Making the patient more comfortable is imperative by ensu ring that patient centered approach is upheld. It is my responsibility to ensure that my patient stays safe from any risks which may come as a result of her condition. It is an obligation to ensure that the legal and ethical code of conduct is adhered to while conducting my activity with my patient, for example, maintaining confidentiality and respecting the views and suggestions of the patient. As part of ensuring that individual centered approach is applied, providing Mrs. S with a favorable environment makes her more comfortable and encouraged. My activity ensures that all dirt and soiled hospital dressing are dumped in a safe place; the incinerator which ensures that all is burnt without emitting gases into the atmosphere which could pollute the air, therefore, air pollution related health problems are reduced. According to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, Mrs. S requires emotional, physical and psychological needs in order for her health to improve. Mrs. S has a daughter who frequently visits her to provide emotional support as well as physical support. Her daughter is very charming which while she is around; Mrs. S is seen to be very happy and seems to have forgotten anything about her illness. Sutcliffe states that it is the role of the family to ensure patients, particularly the elderly, are shown love, care and support (2011 p.36). Physically, Mrs. S is willing be supported to stand using the Zimmer frames which are readily available within the hospital although it is quite challenging. The nurses are in a position to assist Mrs. S through guidance and counseling because she is ready to listen and develop a positive attitude. Murphy, Gretebeck and Alexander (2007, p.1068) illustrate that communicating with the patient is a fundamental need while taking care of elderly patients. My ability to communicate with Mrs. S made it easy for me to know how she wanted to be handled. The fact that Mrs. S could not stand on her own needed proper communicati on when she wants support. Mrs. S, is a strong woman since she does not let her condition affect her feelings, she is very open to share with the nurses about her experiences and is very wiling to immediately report any developing pain. Documentation of any activity done with a patient is mandatory, which is part of my aim in doing the bed bath. Cooney, et al. explains that the Roper-Logan-Tierney model of nursing requires that nurses keep records of care given

Analyzing Texas Health Care vs New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyzing Texas Health Care vs New York - Essay Example A comparative look at the two states' programs can help reveal how the states differ in their goal of providing health care while trying to contain health care costs. Health care costs are covered through a variety of different sources such as employer provided insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and individual insurance plans. In Texas, 47 percent of the population is insured through their employer, while the number is 52 percent in New York (Kaiser Family Foundation 1). In addition, New York has 19 percent of its population insured through Medicaid compared to only 12 percent in Texas (Kaiser Family Foundation 1). Medicaid is jointly funded through the states and matching federal funds, which is dependent upon the income level of the state. The matching rate varies between 50 percent and 72.29 percent, with the poorer states getting the larger amount (Flowers 3). While New York receives equal matching funding, Texas gets $1.50 for every $1.00 they contribute (Kaiser Family Foundation 2). Because the eligibility is income dependent and is based on a rate set by the states, the differences in total spending can be significant. Texas's total Medicaid s pending for 2006 was $18.1 billion, while New York spent $44.7 billion on the program (Kaiser Family Foundation 2). ... For example, the annual income eligibility level for working parents is $4824 in Texas, but is $25,755 in New York (Kaiser Family Foundation 2). This results is a significantly higher number of enrollees in New York than in Texas. In addition, Texas, "has forfeited more than $900 million in federal money under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during the past six years because it wouldn't put up 28 cents for each 72 cents in federal aid" (Wolf). When these statistics are coupled with the lower rate of employer provided insurance in Texas, the result is that 25 percent of Texans have no health insurance as compared with 14 percent of the citizens of New York (Kaiser Family Foundation 1). This difference is largely the result of the total dollars spent between the two states on Medicaid. The Medicaid program was initially designed as a means to provide health care for parents and children that had low incomes and few material resources. While Medicare was designed to primarily cover the health care needs of the elderly and disabled, Medicaid is a means tested program where the eligibility is set by number of children and the family income. However, Texas Medicaid has expanded in recent years to include the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Texas STAR Managed Care, and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) (Texas Medicaid Program Information). In fact, "Texas is the only state that takes advantage of Medicaid's 1929(b) program, which provides community attendant services that help lower-income elderly clients live at home instead of moving into a nursing facility. Texas has roughly 47,000 Medicaid clients who benefit from this

Spiritual care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Spiritual care - Assignment Example isasters like earthquake, floods and droughts are usually blamed on supernatural causes whereby â€Å"God† has been â€Å"blamed† for the cause, as a punishment to a community. At this point, the spiritual aspect of an individual or a community should be taken into consideration during therapy to recover from the disaster aftermath (Jose, 2010). Community health nurse has a role to play in assisting the spiritual care of an individual, community or colleagues after a disaster has strike. The nurse should listen carefully to the accounts of different people in relation to the event and draw a well spiritual plan of care. The nurse can incorporate various religious leaders to come and provide a spiritual encouragement to individuals or community members. By doing this, the community members may feel spiritually healed since they believe that their prayers have been sent and received, and such a disaster will not reoccur. The nurse should be empathetic, offer prayers, listen actively without judging and share the emotions appropriately. Such methods make an individual to have peace in heart and accelerate the recovery from the disaster. Organizing community memorial services, anniversary dates and retreat opportunities to colleagues as such, interventions offer long-term recovery (Van Leeuwen & Cusveller,

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury Literature review

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury brands in the UK - Literature review Example In spite of having such a strong presence and considerable purchasing power, this ethnic minority has not been studied as much as it deserves. Through this research we should be able to establish: Impact of Western Values on Chinese Traditions. The reasons and perception behind making such purchasing decisions. Chinese perception of brands and role a brand name plays Brand Image Journey towards brand management starts with the development of brand identity and concept and determining the way the public should perceive the brand by communicating a distinct brand image and personality (Okonkwo, 2007). According to Scholz (2012), luxury brands focus on the top two tiers of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid: Self-esteem and self-actualization. A luxury brand as opposed to a mass brand has fewer versions and products so that the brand can retain its superiority and uniqueness (Fich, 2011). Furthermore, in most cases the luxury brands are manufactured by hand or have a certain element of customization, making it one-of-a-kind product. However, on key feature of luxury brand is the fact that they are always very high-priced and are not affordable by the masses (Schloz, 2012). This fact alone retains the exclusiveness of a luxury brand as it is unreachable by masses and can be afforded by the very few with the purchasing power. In spite of what may be perceived, luxury brands are seldom bought spontaneously. Thus the majority of consumers of luxury brands put significant effort in the buying decision. In other words, the spontaneous buyers of luxury brands represents a small percentage as opposed to 70% of luxury consumers that plan in advance for buying a luxury product (Scholz, 2012). Thus luxury goods cannot be exclusively restricted to price, where the consumer is seeking bargains for convenience goods but is willing to pay a significant sum for luxury product. This is where the concept of Brand Image comes in; brand image involves the marketer to brea the life into an inanimate product, thus creating a perception of human characteristics and distinct personality in the eyes of the consumers (McLoughlin, Aaker & McLoughlin, 2012). Brand image is on the receiver’s side. Image research focuses on the way in which certain groups perceive a product, a brand, a politician, a company or a country. The image refers to the way in which these groups decode all of the signals emanating from the products, services and communication covered by the brand (Kapfere, 2004). Brand image plays a positive role in boosting the product choice when the consumer forms a congruency between their self-image and the brand personality. The marketer’s aim is to create a clear positioning of their brand in the minds of the consumer by means of brand image, thus the brand image is the most powerful tool that can be used by the luxury brand. Luxury Brand Consumers Nicole Fich (2011) in her book Brand Management for luxury goods distinguishes clear ly between a â€Å"product† and a â€Å"brand†, the product can be a car but a brand would be BMW. It is the brand name that makes a huge difference in terms of price that the consumer is willing to pay and the key feature that distinguishes the brand from competition. China and the Europe have a very rich and old civilization, and so is their long relationship. Presently this relationship is strengthened by the

Applicable Laws on Bill of Lading Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Applicable Laws on Bill of Lading - Dissertation Example This writer proposes to examine the current status of the liability of the carrier pursuant to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, including relevant laws which may affect its application and for this purpose, the draft Table of Contents is reproduced: Chapter I. Introduction Scope Statement of the Problem Chapter II. Review of Literatures Applicable Lawson Bill of Lading The Bill of Lading Act 1855 Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 and 1992 Relevant United Nations Conventions Case Laws Chapter III. Impact of Other Lawson UK’s Carriage of Goods by Sea Act Sales of Goods Act 1893 and 1979 E-Commerce Law Chapter IV. Historical Background Evolution of the Bill of Lading Infirmities of the Bill of Lading Act 1855 Relevance of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 on E-commerce and Sales of Goods Chapter V. ... Judicial, Arbitration, and other Remedial Processes Court Jurisdiction Forum Selection Choice of Law Conflict of Laws Arbitration Chapter VII. Conclusion II. The central issue for resolution is—may a carrier’s liability be expanded or limited considering that the contract of carriage is characterized as a contract of adhesion as the shipper has no other recourse but to accede to the terms and conditions contained in the contract? This dissertation aims to determine whether a waiver executed by a shipper shall absolve a carrier from liability. Stated differently, if the shipper executes a waiver, any violation which accrues thereafter is likewise deemed waived. If not, what remedies are available to the consignee or transferee, if any? It shall likewise be determined if the aggrieved party may be able to recover the actual cost of damage or loss incurred from the carrier. This dissertation will answer if the bill of lading automatically confers an absolute right to the h older, endorsee or consignee over the goods covered by the contract including the right to dispose of, sell or transfer and more importantly, the right to sue and indemnity in case of damage or loss. It equally aspires to resolve which courts shall have jurisdiction over disputes arising from the possession, title or right over the consigned goods and parenthetically, may it be subject to arbitration proceedings? It is aimed to ascertain whether arbitration is a justifiable alternative to judicial adjudication.  

The Site Environmental Defense Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Site Environmental Defense - Case Study Example Our interactive organization focuses on the protection of our ecosystems such as rivers, forests, and wildlife. We are currently encouraging partnerships and expanding incentives for environmental conservation-related activities. (Source http://www.edf.org/ecosystems) Our organization has been fighting as a voice of change towards environmental conservation and adoption of environmentally friendly practices. Currently, most of our activities are funded by well-wishers and donors. We are also recruiting members and anybody is free to join us by signing up and the end of the page. There are several ways through which members and well-wishers can make their donations and become environmental defenders. Finally, we have initiated a number of campaigns that champion the adoption of a greener economy and protect the rights of individuals to openly speak about their environmental concerns. Links to other pages on the site News of our activities Campaigns Donate Blog About Us Since the early 1980s, Environmental Defense .com has always been a leader in inspiring environmental conservation by creating an opportunity for people to connect and share their concerns regarding environmental protection. Consequently, we have grown to become one of the greatest unbiased sources of information related to environmental protection on the internet. ...Environmental defense.com was begun by a small team of environmental conservationists who were concerned by the diminishing populations of aquatic organisms as a result of excessive use of fertilizers and harmful pesticides such as DTT in several parts of the world during the 1980s. It was discovered that these mostly agricultural chemicals often found their ways into the rivers, lakes, and oceans through run-offs and consequently build up to poison several aquatic species. The group of environmental conservation scientists also noted that as the residues of these harmful pesticides and chemicals continue to build up in these organis ms, they eventually found their way up the food chain thus endangering the lives of humans as well. As a result, the environmentalists teamed up together with a few lawyers and scientists to form Environment Defense.com as an organization that inspires environmental conservation by creating an opportunity for people to connect and share their environmental concerns. Over the years, Environmental defense.com has recruited thousands of members including small volunteer groups and is currently working towards organizing funds through donations to expand the organizations' services and activities globally. Finally, our mission is to defend the environment by inspiring change in corporate organizations, in governments as well as individuals to enable them to contribute towards a greener, healthier and sustainable environment for all. Useful Information on our Activities and Advocacy Throughout the last few decades of our existence, our impacts have been felt in many areas of environmenta l concerns such as health, ecosystems, climate, and oceans.

Microbiology tecniques Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microbiology tecniques - Research Paper Example Through this technique, the many instances of typhoid related deaths can be effectively minimized if not fully extinguished. Also, it can be projected that this method, being cheap, will minimize instances of mis- diagnosis and wrong drug use, a prospect that has often led to many deaths in Sub- Saharan Africa. For quite a long time, typhoid fever has been a great problem in the developing states of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Notably though, the number of deaths related to typhoid are minimal in developed states. According to reports by the CDC, typhoid fever has so far led to over 200,000 fatalities, with over two million people having been infected with the bacterium. Critical reviews have shown that the prevalence of Salmonella typhi is common in congested localities where there are instances of poor hygiene and sanitation. Therefore, there is need to develop ideal strategies to detect the bacterium in the blood of the victims, and to consequently mount quick response to prevent progression of the infection to full- blown states. The other problem experienced within these localities is the presence of the carriers for the Salmonella bacteria. Such cases of carriers allow the bacterial populations to exponentially multiply. Thereafter, the bacteria can be easily passed over to new p opulations thus further spreading the infection. Therefore, it is necessary to create proper strategies to manage the spread of the infection through critical analysis of the population of Salmonella typhi in people, especially careers to alleviate further spread of the disease. This study is aimed at developing ideal strategies to detect populations of Salmonella typhi in populations. Through such detection of host bacterial counts, it is possible to develop proper strategies to prevent further spread of the bacteria to other people. This, consequently, helps to curb the spread of the typhoid fever to new hosts and hence significantly helps to reduce

Discipline in Schools Essay Example for Free

Discipline in Schools Essay A majority of us have families with children various ages, and the title of this article caught my eye for the simple fact I have teenage kids in school that have previously been assigned in-school suspension for minor disciplinary acts such as being tardy or turning in incomplete assignments. Working adults and parents are the primary targets of this particular article which sparks my personal interest towards this issue. I felt the author of this article gave a somewhat neutral observation of this topic, giving both sides of the story in a calm yet quite informative tone. He listed infractions that resulted in suspensions as well as different types of suspension outcomes. It’s important to note that suspending a student for being disruptive in class and suspending a student for fighting should be handled differently however both instances should require the students to continue working on their curriculum. With references from other educators as well as reports from the US Department of Education I would have to say that the contents of this article appear to be creditable. Results from out of school suspensions prove to be doing more harm than good, leaving students at home unsupervised with a couple days off with no curriculum to work on verses the alternative of requiring students to attend on the weekends seems to be a better solution, however funding for weekend programs is a separate issue. The authors intend of this article is to inform and acknowledge new alternatives need to be explored when it comes to disciplinary actions such as suspensions. Additional resources will have to be implemented, academic and financial. Overall I thought this to be a particularly interesting and informative article.

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Following this significant act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to announce the text of the Declaration, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without difference based on the political status of countries or territories. So the question, if everyone is entitled to their own opinion could find ease answer in the article 19, in which is stated that Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.(David Weissbrodt and Connie de la Vega , p102) This universal declaration of human right set a worldwide standard of achievement for all people and all nations, to the end that every human being and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, and make every effort by teaching and encourage respect for these rights and freedoms , nationally and internationally, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the people of Member States themselves and among the people of territory under their influence. Definitely the recognition of equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the underpinning of freedom, peace and justice in the world. We can confirm that wherever, either in the past or in the present time or future there is the absence of such status we will always experience result of barbaric acts. Of course Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan declaration Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts., will change the opinion about opinions .So opinions can hold opposing views, but those opinions must be based on factual truths, and hold specific characteristics such as, prevent harm to others, avoid source of offence or be offensive and of course avoiding moral transgressions. (Tom Gorman, 2007 p.100-102) We can say that, dangerous opinions lead to dangerous actions or fact. And when they do, we need to stand up and strongly criticise those dangerous actions and be critical of the beliefs which lead to those actions. Now again, we are not talking about outlawing those dangerous opinions and beliefs, but we are talking about being critical of those opinions and beliefs. We could be supportive to the ACLU (American Civil Liberty Union) when they protected the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) for their right to march- demo peacefully. But if they wanted to march peacefully in our cities, maybe we would be on the sidelines being very critical of their beliefs and against those views. In our analysis however, no opinions should be above criticism. We believe in the marketplace of ideas and in that bazaar all opinions and beliefs are welcome and should be similarly open to criticism. We all, not only criticise other peoples opinions every day, but no one would argue that it was immoral to express opinion or to criticise them. No one has a difficulty criticising what Hitler did to the Jews. Nor do people have concern in criticising the KKK for their views, or that Tom Cruise is constantly criticised for his religious viewpoint and so for the majority of Christians, Jews and Muslims that usually are underlined with criticism for their opinion .Of course the moment anyone criticises opinion and beliefs, we will have attempt to over dramatise the criticism with claims of intolerance and/or hate. Insinuations are made that their free speech is being taken away; creating a big misunderstanding of what really is freedom of opinion. Then to avoid such misunderstanding we should analyse the ramification of the different aspect of opinion, to fully appreciate the importance of a word and knowledge and how we could make the best use out of it. We could start doing so by using a philosophical approach. Now if we think that Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, we know that opinion and supposition are inconsistent with logic. There is no hesitation in thinking, that philosophy provides the practice of scientific reasoning, and so the knowledge of things and their causes, through reason and dialogue. It is a way of comprehending what is factual and what is correct by focusing on rational understanding and analysis, or simply what makes sense. So once we establish this concept we can move on to the second approach, in which , principles travel the opposite way of the first approach ,but worthy to be taken under consideration .So we will look at the expression of opinion under intellectual point of view and, if it should be voiced freely by any individual . We can say that an Intelligent person whether his opinion is based on fact or not, will make the difference. Already, for someone to have his opinion makes the biggest difference. An educated person has an opinion on any matter; .and can give a plausible answer on any question. The reply does not have to be exact, or even precise, but an individual must have some opinion to discuss on the subject. Thus, it is not indispensable to know the facts in order to express an opinion; an opinion may even be entirely unsupported in an argument. So also examining the expression of opinion under academic view, we can confirm that any one is entitled to their own opinion, especially those individuals with a particular cultural preparation, since, we know that if an opinion is not founded on demonstrated and valid information, it is irrelevant. Of course we can argue that, on a certain extend, because if we do consider the examination of relativity of the opinion, we would find a different prospective. In the language of relativity, everyone is accurate. Possibly from their particular point of view, everyone is in the situation of believing that they have accurately determined the order of events. However, we know that it is not possible for everyone to be right. For example If everyone has a diverse opinion about which is the best classical painter of all time in the world it may not be possible to determine finally who is correct, and so we may be tempted to say that they are both entitled to their opinion or point of view. So entitled or not, the best painter is by designation only one , and the opinions of all but one admirer are wrong, even though its not possible to say whose opinion is correct .At this point it will be important to examine the understanding of true in believing the opinion. Everyone should have the independence to seize their own beliefs and the freedom to attempt convincing others of the truth of those beliefs and opinions. But as we know, not all beliefs can in fact be equally true. If you believe that a painting completed by Mr Jones is superior than the one done by Michelangelo, or that someone says that the summer in Egypt is warmer than the one in Italy and we believe it is wrongly the way around , we could both be wrong , but we can not both be right. If we believe the Mount Etna is an Active volcano, and you believe that it is not, we can not both be right. When it comes to the difference between an active volcano or not, we can not say everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Moderately, we look at the proofs and facts, and try to outline whose opinion is really right. Clearly before expressing opinion we should examine the possible evidence, and not dismiss the case without even looking at it. So it is important before believing in particular opinion the examination of evidence. So, trying to understand, how we could become different from the kind of person who would ignore the evidence, and still believe in his own opinion. And in doing so we may encounter the examination of the probable opinion, philosophically well illustrated by Bertrand Russell: What we strongly believe, if it is true, is called knowledge, provide d it is either intuitive or indirect (logically or psychologically) an intuitive knowledge from which it follows logically. What we firmly believe, if it is not true, is called error. What we firmly believe, if it is neither knowledge nor error, and also what we believe undecided, because it is, or is derived from, something which has not the main extent of self-evidence, may be called probable opinion. Thus the larger part of what would regularly pass as knowledge is more or less probable opinion. A body of individually probable opinions, if they are mutually rational, become more probable than any one of them would be individually. It is in this way that many scientific hypotheses obtain their probability. They fit into a coherent system of probable opinions, and thus become more probable than they would be in isolation. The same thing applies to general philosophical hypotheses. Often in a single case such hypotheses may appear extremely doubtful, while yet, when we consider the order and coherence which they introduce into a mass of probable opinion, they turn into almost certain. (Bertrand Russell, 2001 p.138-139-Probable Opinion By Bertrand Russell, Copyright 2001 (pg.138-139) Concluding we can say that opinions are not the problem , problems occur when people begin using opinion to segregate and insult .Is unquestionably true that everybody is entitled to their own opinion .It is a process that can neither be stopped nor guarded .So the last question is, Should every one be allowed to their own opinion ? The answer is that it is up to each individual to choose whether voicing their opinion on a topic, is valuable or not. We know that voicing opinion in certain circumstances may lead to dreadful consequences and if we would do so, we should be prepared to deal with those consequences.

How Could Religion Cause Violence Religion Essay

How Could Religion Cause Violence Religion Essay How could religion cause violence? Almost all religions around the world are based on love, peace and order. They all have certain rules and principles that hold love, peace, and order together within a society, but as the widely known saying states: Rules are meant to be broken; many people twist and misinterpret the sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, the Torah, etc. Even though religions around the world are considered to be peaceful and harmless, still every single religion in the world and its texts have been misunderstood or misinterpreted. The results of this are motivation and justification for violence. This essay will explore the various causes for violence in the religions around the world, and it will closely discuss that violence is, in fact, caused by the people who practice religion, instead of religion itself, influenced by other factors outside of it. Religion does posses a potential for extremism because it deals with extreme things. People can compromise with small disputes over borders and territory, but people cannot compromise with the will of God since it is absolute. However, religion should be based on love, but it can quickly be transformed into the opposite-hatred. It is the same as the passionate love between a man and a woman can be transformed into murderous jealousy. Often enough religion has been viewed as the prime suspect for violence between ethnic groups or within them. Religion can cause violence by misinterpretation of the messages that the sacred texts are supposed to send, and a lot of the sacred texts are, in fact, misinterpreted and because of that, extremists find inspiration and justification that it is in their religion that they have to exercise violence upon others (Hitchcock). A lot of the ancient and modern, major conflicts are considered to be connected to religion in some way. Any religion can be used as an excuse for violence. For example, The Crusade Wars resulted in a lot of bloodshed on both Christian and Muslim sides of the mass conflict. Jews have committed genocide over nations for the sole reason to fulfill their cause. The war in 1991 in Yugoslavia pitted Catholic, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims against each other in a very bloody war. Violence in religion even exceeds conflicts between different ethnic groups; it also happens within the same ethnic groups. In Burma, thousands of monks are being tortured and executed. Also during the Christian Reformation thousands of people were killed because of their religious beliefs. All of the followers of these religions believed that they were doing the right thing by going to war to protect their religion, eradicate the heretics or non believers, or to gain control over the holy land (Hopfe). On the contrary, every religion in the world is a peaceful one. In not one single religion that exists or existed, in both past and present, preaches violence to solutions of existential problems. In every single one of the sacred texts, the Torah, the Quran, the Bible, the Theravadas and all the others, there are principles and rules that require people to abide by them. These principles forbid murder, stealing, or doing any harm to any human, and sometimes any other being in the world. They are based on justice and impartiality, they dont tolerate terrorism or any other kind of extremism, in fact, they condemn it. In all of the examples that were stated above, it would seem that religious beliefs of people are the reason for major conflicts and various violent acts. That is not the case; in fact, the true reasons violence ever happens are economic, political, and even ethnic disputes. Even in the cultures that religion plays a vital part of everyday life there is nothing like a pure religious conflict. There is always some other outside factors involved. It could never be, and it never has been broad enough to cause terrorism or any kind of extreme violence. People only use religion as a justification for a violence rhetoric or behavior (Cline). For example, economics play a major role in conflicts that are attributed to religion. Many soldiers that fought in the crusades went for the wealth they would acquire from all the plundering they would do, aside from liberating the holy land from the Muslims. The Muslims, on the other hand, they can also be seen fighting for the economic perspective. They fought to preserve their recently conquered land, to protect and harvest the resources from it and collect taxes from the people that live there. So if the sole reason people go into these conflicts is their economic gain, than when the economic factor is taken out of the equation, people wont have anything to conflict about; the justification would be removed. So this same example should be considered for religion also. Even if religion is not the factor, it could still be called a religious conflict, if justifications are provided by religion. The existence of other factors means that the removal of religion might not end the conflict, but the removal of the primary justifications and explanations would have to make significant changes in how the conflict is understood and pursued, not to mention its ultimate goals (Cline). This means that religion is only the justification for a conflict, and when religion is removed from a conflict the real reasons are exposed; the reasons like hatred and greed for power and wealth. In fact, just because a lot of the people who engage in violence, like warfare and terrorism in the world happen to be religious, or claim any kind of religion and religious doctrines as their reasons for acting, doesnt necessarily mean that religion caused them to do those things. Indeed, for every violent religious extremist, there are many more people living peacefully aside from them who exercise their same beliefs but just choose to act in a different way. For example, for every violent Al Qaida Muslim terrorist in the world, there are many more innocent, Muslim people simply trying to go about their lives, and if they sympathize with Al Qaida, they are not agreeing with any violent extreme, which makes a huge difference in perspective. What about people that say that they act in accordance with their religion and wage holy wars? Even if the people believe that statement, the religious doctrine itself is not the cause of violence; ins tead, the person that acts with that justification is the cause of violence. People wage wars, religions do not. They simply use it as a tool to bring and unite others so they can achieve their personal, egoistic goals. In other words, religion is being used as an excuse by holy warriors that do not tolerate other religions. If they understand any kind of free will or the concept of human individualism, than they will realize that it is not the doctrine, rhetoric or the religion, but it is the individual that is responsible for his or her own actions (Newell). Although religion is still considered to preach peace and love, some of the messages religion sends are misinterpreted by individuals, which is the cause of violence. The biggest reason violence is connected to religion is because individuals that are driven by greed and hatred towards other religions, twist the views of a particular religion, and present their deferred standpoint to others, so by involving God or any other supreme being they would get more followers. It is not the religion or the belief itself, but it is the actions of the individual that cause mass damage and violence between people. If perhaps people actually lived the good principles and not the interpretations of the principles of religion like charity, forgiveness, and personal accountability, the world might, it just might be a better place (Newell).

The Political And Econimical C :: essays research papers

The Political and Economical Causes of the American Revolution The revolution began after many years of unrest between England and the American colonies. England's taxes, tariffs and new acts, imposed greatly upon the new American people. Large tariffs were placed on non British imports. British goods were more expensive, but they did not carry the high taxes that were imposed on foreign goods so they seemed economical. However British goods were of a lower quality than the foreign goods which made them difficult to sell. Unfortunately the American people depended on England and other nations for all modern commodities because they had not yet set up factories to manufacture their own. The English took advantage of this fact in every way possible. It was their thirst for political power and domination over the American economy that sealed their fate. England passed many acts to entice the Americans into buying their goods. One of the first to be passed was the Molasses Act of 1733. This act stated that molasses coming from the French or Dutch sugar islands was to have on it a six pence tariff per gallon. Instead of encouraging people to buy British molasses this act bred dishonesty. Merchants, who distilled the molasses to make rum, claimed that the British suppliers could not meet their needs. The merchants then began bribing the customs agents to wave the tariffs. Many agents pocketed extra money that way. A man by the name of Grenville observed this and created an act, The Revenue Act, which was successful with Parliament. This act stated that the tax on molasses would decrease to a mere three pence tariff per gallon of molasses. After the instatement of this act Grenville put an end to the bribes. The next act was the Currency Act of 1764. This act stopped the colonies from manufacturing their own money for trade with the British. This act was followed by the Quartering Act of 1765. The Quartering Act forced colonies to provide troupes stationed in their area with housing accommodations. This imposed greatly on the people, soldiers stayed for months and with an extra mouth to feed and little financial aid times became rough. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765 was one of the "straws that broke the camels back". This act required that such documents as college diplomas, dice, legal documents, customs papers, playing cards, almanacs, and newspapers had to have a special government stamp that showed that they had been properly taxed.

Agriculture Industry Essay -- essays papers

Agriculture Industry There are various factors affecting the demand for John Deere's products. These factors can be categorized as Financial, Crops, Crop Prices, Line Stock Prices, Farm Equipment and the competition. Financial factors include interest rates, credit availability, currency exchange rates, monetary and fiscal policies set by the government, net farm income and government regulated price floors on the agriculture segment. Crops/Crop Prices include planed acreage, grain export and crop prices of wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton. Live Stock prices that affect the demand for the company's output are primarily the prices of Dairy, Beef and Hogs. Animal diseases like "mad cow", "foot and mouth" and crop pests and harvest yields play an important role in the live stock prices and in turn affect the demand. Farm equipment category consists of resale demand for used farm equipment, farmer's attitude towards farm equipment and new equipment prices which play an important role in the demand of the new equipment. John Deere faces a strong competition around the world, more in Europe than in US. The company realizes that demand for farm equipment is same in Europe as in the United States, but the current market share captured by John Deere in Europe is much less and hence there is a lot more room to grow there. Of these factors, the most important factor seems to be the ability of the farmer to buy the new equipment. This in turn... Agriculture Industry Essay -- essays papers Agriculture Industry There are various factors affecting the demand for John Deere's products. These factors can be categorized as Financial, Crops, Crop Prices, Line Stock Prices, Farm Equipment and the competition. Financial factors include interest rates, credit availability, currency exchange rates, monetary and fiscal policies set by the government, net farm income and government regulated price floors on the agriculture segment. Crops/Crop Prices include planed acreage, grain export and crop prices of wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton. Live Stock prices that affect the demand for the company's output are primarily the prices of Dairy, Beef and Hogs. Animal diseases like "mad cow", "foot and mouth" and crop pests and harvest yields play an important role in the live stock prices and in turn affect the demand. Farm equipment category consists of resale demand for used farm equipment, farmer's attitude towards farm equipment and new equipment prices which play an important role in the demand of the new equipment. John Deere faces a strong competition around the world, more in Europe than in US. The company realizes that demand for farm equipment is same in Europe as in the United States, but the current market share captured by John Deere in Europe is much less and hence there is a lot more room to grow there. Of these factors, the most important factor seems to be the ability of the farmer to buy the new equipment. This in turn...

Mind, Intelligence and Spirit :: Psychology Philosophy Papers

Mind, Intelligence and Spirit The mind is a collection of various classes of processes that can be studied empirically. To limit the field of mental processes we must follow the criteria of folk psychology. There are three kinds of mind: human, animal and mechanical. But the human mind is the paradigm or model of mind. The existence of mechanical minds is a serious challenge to the materialism or the mind-brain identity theory. Based on this existence we can put forward the antimaterialist argument of machines. Intelligence is a class of mental processes such that the mind is the genus and the intelligence is a species of this genus. The capacity to solve problems is a clear and definite criterion of intelligence. Again, like in the mind, the human intelligence is the paradigm of the intelligence. There are also three kinds of intelligence: human, animal and mechanical. Searle’s Chinese room argument is misleading because Searle believes that it is possible to maintain a sharp distinction between syntax an d semantics. The reasonable dualism in the brain-mind problem defends the existence of brain-mental processes, physical-mental processes, and non-physical-mental (spiritual) processes. Constitution of the personal project of life, self-consciousness and free volitions are examples of spiritual processes. Usually the intelligence has been considered the most important quality of human beings, but freedom, or the world of free volitions, is a more specific quality of human beings. I. The Concept of Mind Contrary to a long philosophical tradition, it is very important to emphasize that the mind is not a "substance" or res . If the mind were a substance its study would be beyond the empiricist domain of science and would belong to the extraempiricist domain of metaphysics. On other hand, if the mind were a substance it would be something individual. Nevertheless the mind is a collection of various classes of processes that can be studied empirically. These processes are just the so-called "mental processes", in such a way that we can suggest the apparently vicious circle statement: mind is the collection of the different mental processes. In order to avoid the circularity of this statement we have to describe the various classes of mental processes. Using concepts taken from the information theory we can distinguish, in the beginning, four main types of mental processes: 1) perceptions, i. e. organized reception of information, 2) memories or storage of information, 3) beliefs, that is, judgements about the received information, and 4) plans, namely, arrangements of information to act.

High School vs College Essay

Having a good education is the key to becoming successful in life. It is a proven fact. This achievement requires not only graduating from high school, but also from college. Moving from high school to college may be an exciting transition, but it is also a very difficult one. It is a challenge that the student will struggle with and eventually adjust to over time. Although there are many differences between high school and college, one should not think that they are tow completely different worlds. They have their similarities, too. Being a college student requires a lot of responsibility, lots more than is required in high school. In college you won’t have your teacher to remind you of a test coming up or to do your homework. They give you a syllabus with all the due dates on it and expect you to go by it. Also, you’re mom isn’t with you in college to make sure you are awake and ready for class in time either. All of this, my friend, is up to you. The first few weeks of college, I slept in and missed my 8 o’clock chemistry lab class. In high school my mom always made sure I was awake and ready for school. College also has fewer rules than high school does, but this freedom is not all that it’s cut out to be. If you get into a fight, don’t look to just be sent to the principal’s office for a lecture. Instead, you should be well prepared to put your hands behind your back and be escorted away in a car driven by a uniformed police officer. In high school there are rules for dress code. In college, expect to see anything, because there are no dress code rules. Most people in college are mature enough to wear what is appropriate. However, there are always those few exceptions to this generalization. The ratio of similarities between college and high school is almost equal to that of the differences. In the first few years of college, the type of classes is similar if you took the challenging ones offered in high school. You’ll always be taking math, english, science, and social studies. If you thought you were going to avoid these classes, then you thought wrong. I thought I was done with english and history. My high school guidance counselor pulled up VSU’s core curriculum and proved me wrong. Just like in high school, college students have to take a certain amount of classes from each subject in order to get a degree. In high school there are many cliques that form. The rich students bond together in the preppy clique. There are also cliques for those that are involved in sports. Cliques form in a wide variety and every student is in some way or another involved in at least one. College also has cliques that are very similar. As soon as you â€Å"warm up† to the college life, you will find yourself involved in one and there’s nothing wrong with that. It will help you meet new people and ease the transition from high school to college. These cliques help the school year pass quicker and make it more memorable when you are doing things with friends as compared to being alone the whole year. In college you will find the structure of classes to be the same as the one used in high school. Semester systems are used to divide up the year into at least two grading periods. In addition, everyone has classes to attend or else they wouldn’t be considered a student. Each student also has a certain grade requirement that they must meet in order to pass the course. In college if you don’t make a certain grade, you may lose your financial aid and end up paying for it out of your pocket and maybe even your parents. Among the many similarities and differences, the most significant is the difference between the institutional cultures, or how the school is run and the atmosphere that is created in it by the administrators. Many of you will agree that high school has the atmosphere of a prison. Everything is regimented. You have a strict schedule that fills your day from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon and there’s no way to get out of it. By the time you get home, you don’t want to study after being in school and doing school work all day. Also, even though you’re considered to be a young adult, you still get treated like a child. Teachers monitor everything the students do and act as if they need to be contained. Students are told what they can and cannot wear. Some high schools have even implemented uniforms. Basically your ways of expressing yourself is limited. Everything you do or say is restricted to the school’s Code of Conduct, which is so refined there will be no loop holes, I promise you that. Many of these rules even take away some of your Constitutional rights. You have no freedom of speech. And the only way you have a sense of freedom of opinion about something or someone you don’t like is if you keep that opinion to yourself. College is where all of that changes. You decide when your classes are and what subject they will be based upon your major. If you prefer to get your classes over with in the mornings, you can. You can even schedule classes for late in the evening. Many college students tend to space out their schedule to give them free time in between classes. You can even pick your professors. Furthermore, the atmosphere is more laid back and heterodox. There are hardly any rules and none of them violate your Constitutional rights. College consists of many different students from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Since college is so diverse, students are actually encouraged to express their point of views, whether it be by what they decide to wear or just by their actions and speech. If cussing is how you express yourself, then there are no rules opposing it like in high school. In addition, at the end of every semester you can even express your opinions on your professor(s), whether it’s negative or positive. No rules are in place that affects what you say about your professor. There are rules, don’t get me wrong, but the administrators or faculty members don’t stand by and watch your every move. If you violate a rule the majority of the time no one pays attention. However if a person reports it, rest assured that you will be notified of the consequences pretty soon. In a sense it is unfair to compare and contrast these two forms of education. There are so many different things that each person does to define their period in high school and college. These branches of life are what you make them. The similarities and differences that I have told you are the most basic ones. Each university and high school is different just as its students are. To find more of the similarities and differences, you must experience both yourself.