Consider David Starkeys and Francis Pryors respective versions Essays

Consider David Starkeys and Francis Pryors respective versions Essays Consider David Starkeys and Francis Pryors respective versions Essay Consider David Starkeys and Francis Pryors respective versions Essay Essay Topic: Burial Rites There is considerable speculation over the events of this period depending on the background of the Historian or Archaeologist and on the sources they depend upon. Therefore it comes as no surprise that there is such a stark contrast between the interpretations of Starkey and Pryor regarding the events following the fall of Roman administration in 410. Starkey argues a full blown invasion by Germanic tribes as described by Bede and Gildas. This was ethnic cleansing at its most savagely effective. Pryor on the other hand believes in continuity, that life went on just as it had during and even before the Romans. He argues that rather than the invasion force there were a few economic migrants. In this scenario, life went on as it did during Roman times and the only change was this cultural exchange.When one looks beyond Starkey and Pryor and at other historians (and archaeologists) you find that there seem to be four distinct possibilities for what happened after Romans left Britain. Th e first is migration; under this interpretation the country was flooded by economic migrants from the Germanic tribes who had been displaced by pressure from the Huns who were rapidly advancing through Germany. After a couple of generations the different ethnicities would have mixed significantly to cr4eate a single culture which would have been predominately Anglo Saxon due to the lack of any clearly defined culture left after the falling Roman Empire. The second theory is invasion again by Germanic tribes. In this interpretation there would be masses of Angles and Saxons who arrived by boat and started a violent conquest of the new lands. Initially they might have been invited in by the Britons as mercenaries, and these then sent back for more men before uprising against their masters, or they could have arrived independent of the locals knowledge.The third theory is that Britain was conquered by a small Germanic Elite. This would not be the massive invasion army which is suggest ed by the invasion theory but rather a group of nobles with the aid of their War bands. With their noble ranking they would not just subjugate the country through the use of their war bands but also by manipulating the political scene and playing an active part in politics within the rapidly declining towns. The last theory is simply cultural exchange. Under this theory, there was little migration; but rather the Romano British with a limited cultural exposure left after the departure of the Romans in 410 imported different elements of Germanic culture while forming new trading partners (with Germanic tribes).When one looks generally at the way in which different people approach the problem of determining what happened in this period you can usually split it into two camps. The historians tend to rely amuch more on the written evidence (which in this period is nearly non existent except for Gildas and there are serious questions about the reliability of all written documents in thi s period), while the Archaeologists looks at the archaeology and the other modern investigative techniques. However, while these might be much more reliable, they can only suggest possibilities for what happened. What few have failed to grasp in that the only way to approach this problem is to use both and see where they compliment and contradict each other and try and build a picture from then onwards.There are a number of different interpretations of the Roman to Anglo Saxon transition. The establishment view is that Roman Britain wound down slowly between 400 and 500. Roman culture is in decline from c.360 and has no presence after 450. Anglo Saxons dominate the country during the 5th Century having migrated from Holland, Northern Germany and Denmark and colonise eastern parts of England. Tradition suggests that Hengest and Horsa were invited over by Vortigen to fight against the Picts. The Britons and returned to a Celtic Iron Age way of life similar to the Anglo Saxons. They l ived in warring tribal Kingdoms and around 550 they start to make progress through the west. Richard Reece based his interpretations from excavations in Cirencester. His view was that Roman Britain was in decline during the 3rd Century and by 400 most of the Roman institutions had disappeared and that the towns were merely administrative centres. He argues that there were no mass migrations of Anglo Saxons but Anglo Saxon fashion became popular in 5th Century eastern England.The Discontinuity view suggests that Roman Britain flourished until c. AD 400, but then dramatically collapsed and nothing was left of the old Roman system after 430. Pagan Anglo Saxons then migrated into Eastern England, but in lesser numbers than thought previously. Both Britons and Anglo Saxons were ruled by Kings who were in a knock out competition for tribal dominance. Anglo Saxons eventually prevailed and gradually spread their culture and language throughout the rest of the country. Nicholas Highams view is similar to this view. However; the Britons survive using Roman institutions into the 5th Century. Britain is divided into two zones: 1) the highly Romanized Christian elite in the east and 2) A pagan, un Romanized upper class in the west. During the early 5th Century, defence of the east depended upon the use of Anglo Saxon mercenaries. These rebelled and the Western kingdoms became subordinate to the Anglo Saxons before AD 500. Anglo Saxon culture was adopted by the Britons and the Anglo Saxons retained elements of the Roman Administration.There is evidence for Anglo Saxon pressure on the Islands before 400, with a major raid (or even an invasion attempt) around 367. This is known as the Barbarian conspiracy as during this time, Britain came under attack from all sides the Saxons from the East, the Picts from the North and the Irish from the West. Around 383 a group of fortifications were built along the Yorkshire coast. All this continues to demonstrate the pressures and at least the reality of the threat of invasion by Anglo Saxon. Zosimus writes that in 410 there was a major Barbarian invasion of Gaul and says The Barbarians from beyond the Rhine, ravaging everything at pleasure, compelled both the inhabitants of the British Isle and some of the peoples of Gaul to secede from the Empire of the Romans and to live independent of them, no longer obeying the Roman Laws. This fits in with the discontinuity interpretation.It also continues to agree with the war like nature of the Germanic tribes as written about by Caesar and Tacitus. It is a matter of the greatest glory to the tribes to lay waste, as widely as possible, the lands bordering their territory, thus making them uninhabitable. They regard it as the best proof of their valour that their neighbours are forced to withdraw from those lands and hardly anyone dares set foot there1 Tacitus echoes these sentiments. Therefore one would expect if any migration were to take place then it would have a l argely violent nature to it, rather than the peaceful migration which post revisionist historians have suggested.Due to the fact that Gildas is one of the few sources in this period any mistakes in this source are likely to be replicated or even exaggerated in further sources, as is suspected in Bede and the Anglo Saxon Chronicle (A.S.C) (although there were other sources used for the Chronicle than Gildas). However, using these sources can give us a rough framework for what might have happened during this period, and thus we can identify a number of key stages. By looking at these alongside the modern techniques and the archaeology we can get a fairly accurate picture of what could have happened. Henson has done a good start with this book The origins of the Anglo Saxons in which he has collated all the data from Gildas, Bede and the A.S.C. This information is used below to lay out a rough idea of what happened during that period.In 410, Roman Soldiers left Britain due to pressure s affecting Rome itself. After several Saxon raids and increasing pressure from the Picts and the Scots (and with the refusal of any help from Rome) it was decided to hire Germanic mercenaries in 428. In 430, Hengest returned to Britain with his Son Octa and more mercenaries to defend the north from the Picts. Hengest married his Daughter off to Vortigern in return for Kent. Around 433, Diplomacy breaks down between the Britons and Hengest, resulting in a war. In 435 0 all German mercenaries under Hengest were expelled and returned to Germany. Around 444 Amrbosius takes over the leadership of the fight against the Saxons.Aurelianus became leader for 32 years. After his death, his brother Uther succeeded him and fought a further war with Octa and defeats him at Verulamium between 488 and 491. In 495 Arthur (The mythical status of Arthur is disputed however it appears that there was some sort of successful leader around this time who is referred to as Arthur) succeeded his father and continued the fight leading to a decisive victory over the Saxons at Badon Hill around 499. This led to a stop in the Anglo Saxon advance, and was the last country wide native poltical ruler. After Arthurs death, the Anglo Saxons began to return in around 527 (possibly invited by some of the British Tribes) and began winning battles against the British (who were suffering more from plagues than the Anglo Saxons were). For the next 100 years there is continued fighting between the British and the Anglo Saxons, with the Saxons gradually creeping west through the country. According to the A.S.C this expansion began in around 550.Although a general picture, we can identify four main stages. The first is from 400 to 440, 446 being around the time when the rebellion against the Britons began by German Mercenaries (Henson places this 13 years earlier due to the difference between the calendars in use by Gildas). The continuing fight is the second stage spanning from the start of the rebell ion in 440 to the Battle of Badon in around 500. The third stage is that of British rule up to around 550 when the Anglo Saxons begin to expand throughout the country. The last stage is continued expansion throughout the country. There were regional variations as one would expect considering the size of the country and the variety of society in this area.The fundamental different traditions in burial between Anglo Saxons and Britons mean that it is very easy to identify the differences and with the use of Radio Carbon Dating one can plot the changing fashions around the country. Taylor states New burial customs are a highly visible element in the early history of Anglo Saxon England, the change from late Roman graves being as distinctive as any of the upheavals brought about by the ending of the Roman Empire.2 It can be seen that as time goes on, burial rites change.Initially we see the introduction of Anglo Saxon tradition as seen by the presence of grave goods or cremation (which would not be present in Christian Romano British graves) and the gradual spreading of these tradition westwards following the Saxons as they spread throughout the country. Heinrich Harke suggests that many Britons survived the initial entry of the Anglo Saxons and instead were integrated into Anglo Saxon society. In his article Finding Britons in Anglo Saxon graves he gives evidence to suggest that the reason that many archaeologists cant find British graves, is because they are actually buried in Anglo Saxon settlements and cemeteries. This could suggest that the Anglo Saxons effectively subdued these areas with quicker speed than suggested and the Britons then served as slaves or workers.However, it could also suggest peaceful co existence between the two races. As time goes on, Anglo Saxon style burials become more frequent until the time of the Anglo Saxon conversion to Christianity. When one compares Anglo Saxon pottery from eastern England and from Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony, there are striking similarities in style, shape and size. These indicate at the very least cultural exchange and some sort of trading. However when one looks at the data collated on the number of finds of such pottery and on products such as amber (which is native to the areas where Anglo Saxons and Jutes would have resided before coming to Britain), the scale of the area and the number of finds suggest much more than mere trading but rather a movement in people into Eastern England and then further a field. Settlement evidence suggests a complete break in building traditions.Some use of pre-existing Roman foundations has been found like in Wroxeter but on the whole settlements were of a completely different style to anything seen in Britain previously. This again reaffirms the suggestion that Anglo Saxons migrated into England but not entirely in what fashion. West Heslerton is very suggestive of the nature of the relationship between Anglo Saxons and the locals. The fact that there do not appear to be any form of defence around the settlement can either show that the Britons were not considered a threat (and the Anglo Saxons had subjugated them) or that the Anglo Saxons were there with the Britons permission and this suggests a more peaceful co existence interpretation of the data.DNA evidence shows that the lack of presence of a gene in most areas of Britain which is prevalent in most areas of Frisia and Schleswig is suggestive of a cultural assimilation.3 However, considering that since the arrival of the Anglo Saxons, Britain has had a large number of different genes introduced by other migrating people. The Vikings and the Normans are also likely to give different genes to the native country. More recently with the levels of immigration the genes are considerably more mixed up than one would expect. Oxygen isotope analysis shows similar problems with finding individuals from the Anglo Saxon homelands showing most of the teeth found at Wes t Heslerton were native to Britain. 4 This clearly contradicts other theories, however one has no idea about the make up of society at that point, and there can potentially be a large number of unfound Anglo Saxon settlements which might prove otherwise.A better interpretation suggests that mercenaries were initially invited into the country to provide protection. In concordance with their war like nature they start their rebellion (Hensons date). However, at this stage they are not strong enough and are forced out of the country. Roger of Wendover suggests that this occurs in around 435. In around 440 the Saxons return in greater numbers and begin to make advances through the country. For the next fifty years there is a constant battle for control of the island, with Ambrosius taking control of the fight in 444. The advance of the Saxons is stopped in around 500 with the Battle of Badon hill (which has been attributed to this Arthur figure Arthur in this case is used as a front fo r the real successful British ruler around this time).Following this there is a time of peace where Arthur rules the island and is the last point of native rule. After Arthurs death, the resistance to the Anglo Saxons starts failing when tribal politics begin to become an issue and at the least co operation begins to stop. Not surprisingly, the Anglo Saxons start to make large advances through the country. By 575 the east is secure and movement through the west is still progressing. Using the Settlement evidence found at West Heslerton which like many other Anglo Saxon settlements does not have any form of defence of palisade suggests that the Anglo Saxons felt secure in this area. The warriors are followed by a large number of economic migrants which set up large trade routes between Britain and their former native countries. This accounts for the density in material which is found. The Anglo Saxons have control of Britain until 1066.In conclusion, it can be seen that the picture concerning Britain during this time is much more complex than merely invasion or migration. It is a case of tribal politics, a falling Empire and a vacuous people who have little culture and even less ability of defence. The inviting of Anglo Saxons to act as mercenaries spells the end of Romano Britain. However, even with all modern technology, techniques and expertise, there is still a lot more myth and speculation concerning this time period than fact, and that is probably going to be the case forever. Kemble in 1849 said in despair from what has preceded it will be inferred that I look upon the details of the German conquests in England as irrevocably lost to us.5

Capital Punishment7 essays

Capital Punishment7 essays The issue of capital punishment has been an ongoing controversy for many centuries. Punishment by death has been in practice since its first appearance in Babylonian writings by Hammurabi dating to 2000 B.C. This form of punishment was later termed as "capital punishment." Abolitionists of capital punishment rely on the eighth amendment for support. Stating that the execution of an inmate regardless of its manner is cruel and unusual punishment. Abolitionists also believe that the punishment is unnecessary and is not cost effective for the American taxpayers. Finally, abolitionists depend on the moral issue of the death penalty to band capital punishment. Capital punishment advocates depend on religious sanctions to justify the death penalty. Those who are for capital punishment believes that it maximizes public safety through incapacitation and deterrence. In 1972, Furman v. Georgia, a case about the death penalty, was brought before the Supreme Court. The court held that the death penalty was given in an arbitrary way for a variety of crimes. At this time the court also held that the death penalty focused mainly on African Americans and the under privileged. This ruling stopped short of actually outlawing the use of the death penalty, but it gave the states fair warning that the death penalty was in dire need of modification. Later in 1976, in the case of Woodson v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory death penalties were unconstitutional. However, later in 1976 in the case of Gregg v. Georgia the Supreme Court ruled that under adequate guidelines, the death penalty was not considered cruel and unusual. Therefore was not protected under the eighth amendment right that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Studies have been done contradicting the Supreme Court's ruling stating that the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment. The process in which the body goes through during an exec...

SERVICES MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SERVICES MARKETING - Essay Example At this time also, they have incorporated the business, and gave the store a name. They decided on the bee as it symbolizes a busy creature and added jolly because owner said they are always happy people. So the name Jollibee was born. The owner of the company, Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong, always believed in giving added value to their customers. He wanted to satisfy the customers always, so in serving ice cream, he saw to it that it was served in big bowls and that it should be overflowing with ice cream. Jollibee has been considered by the Far Eastern Review in 2003 as the Best Company in the Philippines. It has reached the system wide sales of P28.8 billion and a net income rising to 20.8 percent in 2003. Jollibee remained settled and was not threatened with the coming of MacDonalds in 1982. MacDonalds is known in the US, and it is an entirely new concept in the Philippines. The burger houses that they established were big and attractive. The introduction of new products and recipes were simple in the beginning. The members of the family just sat down and discuss. The Caktiong family members are good cooks, their father was a chef and their mother was a good cook. The spaghetti is a recipe of Tony’ s sister who experimented on it, and then started serving the dish on the store. The fried chicken recipe was likewise an experiment of mix that the family tried. There was no formal structure and yet customers came in with their families to line up in the store, whether it is for a sit-down or take out food. Filipinos have an inherent love for sweet tasting good food. According to Mr. Caktiong, a lot of their consultants were amazed with the sweet side food preference of Filipinos. Aside from taste, Filipinos are attracted to the smell of food. Filipinos believed that if it smells good – it will taste good. Jollibee today. The set up is different today, as

Compare and Contrast each of the diseases Essay

Compare and Contrast each of the diseases - Essay Example Both Parkinson’s (PD) and Alzheimer’s (AD) diseases are common neurodegenerative disorders (Beal, 2005). While the prevalence of AD increases with age, there is not much increase in case of PD. AD has a prevalence of about 1% among those between 65 to 69 years of age (Hy & Keller, 2000) while PD has a prevalence of 0.5 to 1% in this age group (Nussbaum & Ellis, 2003). However, the prevalence of AD is 40 to 50% among those 95 years of age and over (Hy & Keller, 2000) and that of PD is only 3% in those 80 years of age and older (Nussbaum & Ellis, 2003). Both these conditions result due to loss of neurons in parts of brain. AD particularly affects neurons in the cortex and the hippocampus (Mc Khann, Drachman, Folstein, Katzman, Price & Stadlan, 2003) while PD affects neurons in the substantia nigra (Nussbaum & Ellis, 2003). AD presents mainly with progressive impairment in memory. There is impairment of judgement, decision making, concentration, orientation and language. T he patient can present with agitation, psychosis, depression, apathy, disinhibition, anxiety, delusions, purposeless behavior, and disorders of sleep and appetite (Cummings & Back, 1998). Of all these, agitation is the most common symptom and psychosis is seen in 30-60% of the patients. The most common behavioural changes are personality alterations (Cumming & Back, 1998). The destruction of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain and the resulting deficit in central cholinergic transmission is the cause for characteristic cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms in AD (Cummings & Back, 1998). Another theory as far as the cause of symptoms in AD is concerned is Glutamate excitotoxicity. Excessive activation of NMDA receptors by glutamate is said to cause neuronal death in Alzheimers disease due to increases in intracellular Ca2+ (Bleich, Romer, Wiltfang & Kornhuber, 2003). PD

Fast Food Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Essay Most of people prefer to eat fast food such as hamburgers, fried chicken, shawarma or pizza and they dont know that this food will lead them to many health diseases. The main reason of eating fast food that many people are working long hours, shifts, or extended school hours and this will result in less time being available for cooking. The purpose of this essay is to discuss three effects of fast food eating which are the obesity, the loss of the family tradition of eating together and the cost of doing it. The first effect of fast food is that it causes obesity. People when they eat too much fast food will be more able to obtain fat; as a result, it will lead to more dangerous diseases, for example, high cholesterol, heart attack and high blood pressure. Also, teenagers who are suffer from overweight, they are mostly loss confident of themselves, like to be alone all the time and they are more obvious to have depression, Fatigue and Physical illnesses. The second effect of fast food eating is that it is making people isolated from the society. Sitting around the table with the family allows to share about their day and for parents to know more about their children. So, people when eating in the restaurant and spend most of their time outside; consequently, they are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarette and try marijuana. The third effect of eating fast food is that it will eventually result in kills our personal budget. Fast food restaurant make their food taste good by add sugary substances. This also makes you want to come back, spending more money on food than necessary. These are three out of many other effects that fast food can have; however, to any sensible person they are more than enough to realize that fast food is bad. People cannot proud of being fat. It is terrible for health as well as personal appearance. In the end, those people who eat fast food are tend to be overweight, less time with family and live in poverty. Therefore, you should reduce eating too much of fast food.

The American Revolution: Freedom for the White Man :: Essays on American Revolution

The American Revolution was a glorious war fought to free the American colonies from the British rule. Although we won that war, there were still many people who were not free from our rule. One group of people were the black slaves. The black people had many struggles to freedom which helped shape our American culture today. Three different periods characterized there struggles: the slaves before the Civil War, during Reconstruction, and during the civil rights movements. These three eras mark a pivotal point in the movement and advancement of the black race to social equality. During the time before the Civil War, it was not easy for slaves to organize and rebel against their slaveholders or whites in general. There were numerous laws that specifically took away slaves rights as men. Slaves also feared the whip and even death if they were to act out against their owners. The Declaration of Independence did not apply to many groups and the black race was one of those excluded groups. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"(Primus 295). Thomas Jefferson, having slaves himself, recognized the fact that he could not free the slaves himself in that document. It was difficult enough for him to get the Declaration approved by all of the colonies in itself. In fact the last man to sign the Declaration of Independence did not do so until the year 1778. The slaves were kept in ignorance of any knowledge which might have led to their freedom. Laws forbade reading and writing for slaves. They also forbade anyone to teach a slave to read. To keep the slaves obedient, slaveholders often made an example of a slave by beating him with the cow skin, or even killing him. "He[Gore] gave Denby but few stripes; the latter broke away from him and plunged into the creek, and, standing there to the depth of his neck in water, he refused to come out at the order of the overseer; whereupon, for this refusal, Gore shot him dead!"(My Bondage and My Freedom 122). This era was definitely a period were the black people had little voice in their future and society. Most people in the north felt differently however. These people were called the abolitionists, and they were dedicated to freeing the slaves. The southern states, strongly disagreed with their views and

Renoir and Mayo Art Comparative Analysis Essay

While both Renoir and Mayo’s art are similar in that they are both from earlier time periods, they are different in culture and where each scene from the painting takes place. Renoir’s painting is a French impressionism, while Mayo’s is contemporary American folk art. Renoir’s piece, Juenes filles au Piano, was painted in 1892, during the 19th century. In this piece, two girls are sitting at a piano. Renoir’s piece shows a wealthy like atmosphere because there are fancy curtains, a nice couch in the background, and the two girls are playing a piano meaning they are wealthy enough to have the privilege to play such an expensive object. The expression on both the girls’ faces look determined, as if they are practicing for a very important piano recital, but also look quite tired of practicing the same sheet of music for hours. Meanwhile Mayo’s piece is Contemporary American folk art instead of a French impressionism. Even though Mayo’s piece, Just Visiting, was painted in 1991, one can see it as an old vintage painting with a rural setting. The lighting in both pieces of art is very different, Renoir’s oil painting has dark, faint, smooth colors. Mayo’s lithograph has bright, light colors. Though Renoir and Mayo’s painting are very different in numerous ways, they are also very similar. Both pieces show the different culture and wealth of the pieces. The ways the people are dressed in both painting are also very similar. In both paintings, the characters are wearing long dresses, just like the one’s people wore back in the day when there was no electricity or motor vehicles. While both Juenes Filles au Piano and Just Visiting are similar in the time periods, they are different in meaning and culture.

Has the Time Come to Legalize Drugs? Essay

Legalization of drugs — long an issue championed mainly by fringe groups — is rapidly moving to the mainstream in Latin America. Last week’s surprise statement by former Mexican President Vicente Fox in support of â€Å"legalizing production, sales and distribution† of drugs made big headlines around the world. Fox, a former close U.S. ally who belongs to the same center-right political party as President Felipe Calderà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n, rocked the boat at home by indirectly criticizing the very premise of Calderon’s all-out military offensive against Mexico’s drug cartels, which has cost 28,000 lives since 2006. Calderon immediately responded that he opposes legalization of drugs, although he has opened a dialogue with political parties about the future of his country’s anti-drug policies. The left-of-center Party of the Democratic Revolution announced that it supports â€Å"de facto legalization† of drugs. Fox’s statement, first published Saturday in his blog, went far beyond a 2009 joint declaration by former Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and Cesar Gaviria of Colombia. In that statement, the three former leaders questioned the effectiveness of the U.S. war on drugs and proposed de-criminalizing possession of marijuana for personal use. While the three centrist former presidents’ proposal amounted to not prosecuting people for consuming marijuana, Fox’s proposal calls for legalization of all major drugs — the whole enchilada. In an extended interview, Fox told me that he is making his proposal because drug-related violence in Mexico has reached intolerable levels, and because the experience of other countries such as the Netherlands has shown that allowing drug sales has not significantly driven up drug consumption. â€Å"Prohibitionist policies have hardly worked anywhere,† Fox told me. â€Å"Prohibition of alcohol in the United States [in the 1920’s] never worked, and it only helped trigger violence and crime.† Since possession of small amounts of marijuana has already been decriminalized in Mexico, what’s needed now are bolder steps, such as legalizing drug production and using the taxes it generates to fund anti-drug education programs, he said. â€Å"What I’m proposing is that, instead of allowing this business to continue being run by criminals, by cartels, that it be run by law-abiding business people who are registered with the Finance Ministry, pay taxes and create jobs,† Fox said. Fox called for a reversal of Calderà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n’s decision to send the army into the streets to fight the drug cartels because â€Å"the army is not prepared to do police work, and we are seeing day to day how the army’s image is losing ground in Mexico† as a result of this war. Why didn’t you come out with this proposal when you were president? I asked. Fox responded that legalization was often discussed in Cabinet meetings during his presidency, but that the urgency of such a measure has increased since â€Å"because of the extraordinary cost we are paying in a drop in tourism, a drop in investments and a lack of attention to education and health.† In a separate interview, White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske told me that drug legalization is a â€Å"non-starter† in the Obama administration. Kerlikowske disputed the idea that alcohol prohibition drove up crime in the United States in the 1920s, arguing that there were no reliable crime statistics at the time. And he rejected the notion that there has been no major increase in drug consumption in the Netherlands. â€Å"In the Netherlands, consumption did go up. In fact, the Netherlands has been in the process of closing down hundreds of the marijuana cafes that had been in existence because of the problems that are occurring,† he said. My opinion: I’m not convinced that a blanket legalization of drugs would work because government regulation of the cocaine and heroin businesses in countries that already have high corruption rates would result in greater official corruption. On the other hand, it’s clear that after four years of Calderà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n’s U.S.-backed war on drugs, the cartels are smuggling more drugs, killing more people and becoming richer. Perhaps the time has come to take a step-by-step approach and start a serious debate about passing laws that would regulate legal production of marijuana, alongside massive education campaigns to discourage people from using it. Then, we could see who is right and consider what to do next. (c) Miami Herald. Miami Herald content is the intellectual property of Miami Herald. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Miami Herald content is expressly prohibited by federal law. Miami Herald shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/12/1772336/has-the-time-come-to-legalize.html Commentary Number 1 The question raised in this article is a complex one. Mexican President Felipe Calderà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n’s hesitancy at enforcing drug-legalization policies is understandable, as the legalization of drugs in a drug-war-torn country such as Mexico can be beneficial or adverse from an economic point of view. One might argue that such measures would bring about a series of negative externalities on the public such as harmful health effects. A majority believes that the legalization of drugs will increase crime rates; most people under the influence of narcotics are prone to violent crimes. However, the reasons ex-President Vicente Fox has for de-criminalizing drugs appear to outweigh the adverse effects. The law of demand states that as price falls, the quantity demanded rises, and as prices rise, quantity demanded falls. This illustrates that legalization of drugs will reduce the profit criminals make. Every time the government takes hold of a drug dealer and the products he is selling, supply of the drug to the illegal drug market is reduced. If there is a reduced supply, there is an increase in price of the good. Drug-addicts are helpless, and thus they will buy the drug for the higher price, giving the criminal dealer more profit. Every time the government thinks it is winning its drug war, it is actually losing; the illegal state of these drugs aids the dealers, harming the government. Figure 2 Price elasticity of demand of a good is a measure of the extent to which the quantity demanded of a good changes when its price changes. As is illustrated on Figures 1 and 2, due to the fact that drugs are a necessity to drug-addicts, they are willing to buy pretty much the same quantity of the drug at any price, thus making the price elasticity of demand of drugs inelastic (when the quantity demanded remains similar as the price changes). If drugs are legalized, the government can benefit from its demand price inelasticity by taxing on drugs, and thus making more profit that can be allocated accordingly. Drug consumers will not care whether they are paying more than they should be and will buy the legal drug at the price it is sold legally. Other people will notice why the drug is inelastic, and will avoid them due to its addictive dangers. Thus, the absence of undercover drug dealing will show people the dangers of drugs and lead to consumers and producers providing less of the drug once the government starts taxing, thus leading to a smaller population using them. The most beneficial aspect of drug legalization in Mexico would be taxing on the drug. As demand for drugs is inelastic, the tax revenue raised will be large. Additionally, the deadweight loss (fall in total surplus consumers and producers make) will be smaller as the consumers will not consume less at first even though producers will produce at a less quantity. These are shown on Figure 3. The consumers will pay more taxes as they desperately need to buy the drug, and eventually will try and consume less when they become financially diminished. They will seek rehabilitation, and thus shrink the market for drugs. If the government correctly uses the revenues raised by taxing on drugs to promote healthcare and drug rehabilitation, the Mexican economy can cause a decline in overall drug sale and use. Figure 3 In conclusion, Mexico’s ex-President Vicente Fox should proceed with convincing the government to legalize drugs, as this measure will not only reduce consumption and production of these harmful products, but also promote society and the economy by raising revenue to enhance health and other aspects of the economy that need betterment.

To Fee or Not to Fee essays

To Fee or Not to Fee essays Like the old saying goes, "The best things in life are free." digital media is no exception. Digital media has lately been getting attention due to the legal accusations on a certain type of digital media, MP3s. MP3 stands for Mpeg (a common file compression format) audio layer 3 (which means it compresses any audio into 3 layers for about 1/15th the size). The lawsuits that have been springing up lately contain two arguments. In one corner, we have the argument that an artist should be able to put their music on the internet for everyone to retrieve freely. In the other corner we have the argument that musical artists are having their music "stolen" by ruthless, internet thieves hence the artist gets no "pay" for his work. Can you think of the last time you said to your friend, "you've got to read this book, it's so good!"? If your friend liked that book, he/she would probably go out and get the next book done by that author. This is the state that mp3s are in right now, except with mp3s, it's on a more convenient level. You download mp3s, through a program like napster, listen to them and if you like them, naturally, you'd keep them, if you don't, you simply press the delete key. The more songs you retrieve (download), the larger and more refined your library of songs gets. Then, another person sees your refined library of mp3s and adds their favorite songs to their refined list. Eventually you have every person on their computers listening and associating with their library of mp3s. This way only the best artists get spread across the internet, new artists are introduced instantly and of course your "friend" (in this case, whoever downloaded mp3s off of you), goes out and buys the next book by the esteemed author (in this case the next album released by the artist). This "natural selection" method is slowly revolutionizing the way that music is being spread and also bought. The antagonists point of view is ...

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights Hillary Clinton is a Democrat and the partys nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election. Clinton is also one of the most polarizing figures in modern American politics. She is a former first lady who launched her own political career after leaving the White House. Her primary opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described Democratic socialist who drew large crowds after building a solid following among young voters.   If elected, Clinton  would be the first woman president in history.   Many progressive Democrats, however, were lukewarm toward her candidacy because they believed her to be too tied to Wall Street. And Republican Party leaders cheered her candidacy because they believed their nominee would easily beat a scandal-plagued candidate in a general election in which trust would become a major issue.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve As Hillarys Vice President? Here are some key facts about Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clintons Campaigns for President Clinton has run for the Democratic presidential nomination twice, once in 2008 and again in 2016. She lost the primary race in 2008 to Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency that year by defeating the Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain. Clinton won 1,897 delegates in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, short of the 2,118 needed to win the nomination. Obama won 2,230 delegates. Related Story: Why the 2016 Democratic National Convention is Being Held in Philadelphia She was widely seen as the presumptive nominee even before the 2016 campaign began, and she lived up to those expectations in many of the early primaries, including her substantial victories on Super Tuesday of that year. Key Issues When she announcer her candidacy in April of 2015, Clinton made it clear that the biggest issue of her campaign would be the economy and helping the vanishing middle class. In a short video posted on the Internet by her campaign that month, Clinton said: Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong. Related Story: Hillary Clinton on the Issues At Clintons first campaign rally, held in June of 2015, she continued to focus heavily on the economy and the struggles of the middle class hit hard by the Great Recession of the late 2000s. We’re still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises. Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down to everyone else.What happened? Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up. Professional Career Clinton is an attorney by trade.  She served as counsel to the  House Judiciary Committee 1974. She worked as a staffer investigating the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon amid the Watergate scandal.   Political Career Clintons political career began before she was elected to any public office.   She served as: First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1993: She served in this capacity when her husband served as the 40th and 42nd governor of the state.First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001: She served in this capacity after her husband was elected president and served two terms.U.S. Senator from New York from  Jan. 3, 2001, to Jan. 21, 2009U.S. Secretary of State under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013 Major Controversies Clinton became a polarizing figure in American politics before even being elected. As first lady, she helped draft and propose sweeping changes to the nations health care system, earning the ire of congressional Republicans who believed she was unqualified to oversee the changes and a public that was skeptical of her involvement. The health-reform debacle was critical in framing Hillarys public image, and despite her years of accomplishment in her own right, she still carries the burdens of that failure, wrote The American Prospect. But the most serious scandals surrounding Clinton was her use  of a personal email address and server instead of a more secure government account as secretary of State, and her handling of the attacks in Benghazi.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve In Hillarys Cabinet? The email controversy, which first surfaced in 2015 after she had left the position, and lingering questions over her preparedness as secretary of State during the Benghazi attacks both plagued her 2016 presidential campaign. Critics alleged Clintons behavior in both cases raised questions about whether she could be trusted if elected to the most powerful position in the free world. In the email scandal, her political foes suggested her use of a private email served opened up classified information to hackers and foreign enemies. There was no evidence it had, however. In the Benghazi attacks, Clinton was accused of doing too little, too late to prevent the deaths of Americans at a U.S. diplomatic compound there, then covering up the administrations bungling of the attacks. Education Clinton attended  public schools in Park Ridge, Illinois. In 1969 she earned a bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College, where she wrote her  senior thesis on Saul Alinskys activism and writings. She earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1973. Personal Life Clinton is married to former President Bill Clinton, who served two terms in the White House. He is one of  only two presidents who have been impeached in U.S. history. Clinton was accused of  misleading a grand jury about his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and then persuading others to lie about it. Their permanent address is  Chappaqua, a wealthy suburb of New York.   The couple has one child, Chelsea Victoria. She appeared with Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2016. Hillary Clinton was born Oct. 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. She has two brothers,  Hugh Jr. and Anthony. She has written two books about her life:  Living History  in 2003, and  Hard Choices  in 2014. Net Worth The Clintons are worth  between $11 million and $53 million, according to financial disclosures.   The last time  Clinton filed financial disclosures as a member of the U.S. Senate, in 2007, she reported a net worth of between $10.4 and $51.2 million, making her the  12th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate at the time, according to the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics. She and her husband have earned at least $100 million since leaving the White House in 2001, according to published reports. Much of that money comes from speaking fees.  Hillary Clinton is said to have been paid $200,000 for each speech shes given since leaving the Obama administration. ___ Sources for this bio include: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Living History, [New York: Simon Schuster, 2003],  Center for Responsive Politics.

Monsoon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Monsoon - Essay Example Whereas buyers have a specific role in ensuring that there are productive relationships with suppliers besides negotiating on various important details that includes prices, exclusivity, and well as the distribution channels. On the other merchandisers are usually responsible for ensuring that an organization’s stock performs well within the market. Nonetheless, both merchandisers and buyers perform different functions in respect to organizations. The following discussion aims to develop a critical understanding of the various roles and responsibilities of buyers and merchandisers. The breath of activities that the buying & merchandising function undertake in delivering this requirement successfully is explored in this paper that comprises two parts (Jackson & Shaw, 2001). The paper also creates an understanding of development, creation, supply, and delivery of a fashion product range in respect to buyers and merchandisers (Goworek, 2007). Buyers and merchandisers play a significant roles and responsibilities towards ensuring that there is a fashion product range capable of meeting the demands, tastes, and preferences of consumers (Goworek, 2007). Firms involves in fashion development have to create effective product range that will definitely take care of all the existing and potential customers. The following are some of the functions of buyers and merchandisers in respect to fashion industry. A typical buyer has various roles and responsibilities in ensuring that there is a good fashion product range that meets the demand, tastes, preferences, and needs of the consumers (Goworek, 2007). One of the functions of buyers within buying and merchandizing involve monitoring and maintaining of the gross margin plans through engaging in controlling markups, shortages, stock levels, markdowns, and turnovers. A fashion buyer has the

Cognitive and language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cognitive and language development - Essay Example Like different species of this environment, animals rely on camouflage, feathers and fur coats, and speed may be some of the things that they use to adapt to the environment they live in. Human beings, on the other hand work upon adapting to their environment, with the help of thinking. Through this, they not only adapt to their environment but also transform it. Hence, we can say that among all the species that live in this environment, we as human beings stand apart because of our mental faculties. Children move from simple to complex tasks, while attaining their cognitive skills. They become more and more effective thinkers with their progressing age. It’s important to note that the mental faculties of a child are not incomplete or less effective than that of adults. But we can see that the child’s focus on a limited amount of information might be adaptive (Bjorklund and Blasi, 2011). Jean Piaget was a Swiss cognitive theorist who completed his education in zoology a nd gave a biological explanation to the things he saw happening in his environment in terms of cognitive development. He viewed cognitive development as an adaptive process in which thinking develops gradually from its less oriented form to something that is driven by logic. It slowly and steadily emerges out to be a fit with the external reality. Piaget’s had a constructivist approach towards the idea of cognitive development. He said that children develop their cognitive skills by progressing via four universal stages. The names of the stages are The Sensorimotor Stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete Operational Stage and The Formal Operational stage (Ginsberg and Opper, 1979). All these constructs that he gave, came under the purview of the theory he gave which he named as the Cognitive Developmental Theory. Vygotsky gave the Sociocultural Theory. In it he devised, that language is a very important determinant of cognitive development and it broadens the purview of cognition of children with the help engagement in dialogues and conversations with people around them, who provide them with new knowledge and reinforce them to master socially relevant and culturally important tasks driven by the norms and values prescribed by the environment they are residing in. According to him the important determinant of cognitive development as it occurs in the life of a child are the social experiences he/she goes through. There are many differences that we come across while trying to decipher the basic nature of both these theories. The very nature of both these theories is different. Piaget devised the theory in terms of the four stages a child progresses through but Vygotsky based his theory on the foundation of developing the basic ideas which are required for the construction of knowledge wherein the concepts of learning play a huge role in the development. According to him development cannot be separated from social contexts a child has to live in, wh ich also involves effective conversations with the significant others with the help of language. This tells us that the most evident difference between the two theories is that Piaget’s theory is hierarchical in nature but on the other hand, we don’t come to see any kind of stagewise progression in Vygotsky’s theory. This tells us that each of the Piaget’s preceding stages must be accomplished before the child moves on to the