Literary Elements in the Scarlet Ibis Essay Example for Free

Literary Elements in the Scarlet Ibis Essay In â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis,† James Hurst uses the aspect of nature in the settings to reflect when the tone transposes from a sorrowful and regretful tone to a more hopeful and joyous tone. Brother reminisces of a summer that has long since passed, as he sits in the house he was raised in: â€Å"It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead, but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. The flower garden was strained with rotting brown magnolia petals andiron weeds grew rank amid the purple phlox. The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead. † With this, the author uses the natural scenery of a dying garden in the transition of seasons to set a tone of sadness. He illustrates a garden with rotting flowers, a graveyard’s last flowers blossoming and their smell being carried to where Brother is, reminding him of the dead. Hurst uses the natural elements in the setting to paint a gloomy and dismal setting, he could have expressed what he saw and smelled from his garden in many ways, yet he chose to depict this garden dying. Furthermore, this was done to indicate the tone in this memory, which is one of sadness. Moreover, just as the author uses dying settings to reflect a sorrowful and dreary tone, he also uses beautiful settings to reflect a joyous and hopeful tone. Brother describes his and Doodle’s time shared in Old Women Swamp, a place he refers to as the only beauty he knows: â€Å"I would gather wildflowers, wild violets, honeysuckle, yellow jasmine, snakeflowers, and waterlilies, and with wire grass we’d weave them into necklaces and crowns. We’d bedeck ourselves with our handiwork and loll about thus beautified, beyond the touch of the everyday world. † Furthermore, Old Women Swamp is a place found beautiful to both Doodle and Brother, a place where they go to play and relax. Almost all of the joyous and hopeful times that Doodle and Brother share happen in Old Women Swamp: the first time Doodle stood where they go to lay and tell stories, and where they imagine they will build a house and live in together. The author once again uses the setting to reflect the tone; Hurst uses the abundance of beauty found within Old Women Swamp to show the hope and joy Doddle and Brother sometimes shared. Furthermore, as Brother remembers these times he does so in a joyous and hopeful tone. To them Old women swamp signified beauty and a world of never-ending possibilities. Moreover, all the scenes that take place in Old Women swamp are of happiness and hope, its portrayed as this beautiful place because that’s the way Brother remembers it and that might be because of all the happy moments he shared there with Doodle. Brother remembers all of theses events with a hopeful and joyous tone and all take place in serene, beautiful, and beloved Old Women Swamp. In conclusion, the natural elements of the setting indicate the change in the tone from a sorrowful tone to a joyous tone.

Londons urban transport from the Victorian era

Londons urban transport from the Victorian era Over the past 200 years the geography of London has changed dramatically. No better has this change been reflected than in Londons urban transport systems. The Victorian era saw mass migration to the capital as industrial progress both at home and abroad, and by 1800 London was the grandest city in the West and probably the world, with almost a million inhabitants. By 1881 the population has soared to 4.5 million and by 1911 to over 7 million [Porter 1994, pp 220]. To deal with these patterns of population growth London has seen large changes within its urban transport systems, on both land and water, and some have even attributed the growth of London itself to increased migration promoted by changes to public transport [Roberts, 1996 pp 322]. London is a scattered city, its past not attributed to coherent Government led development (as with other global cities such as New York or Paris). Instead, the most significant technical development which affected the size and functioning of London was the development of mass public transport, which was dictated not only by technological advances, but also the ways in which firms invested in the new forms of conveyance and competed with each other and alternative forms of travel [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 227]. When looking at urban transport, it is important to consider that, during the 19th Century the most common form of travel remained on foot. A traffic survey of the city in 1854 showed that almost 70 per cent of people travelling in and out of the City daily were doing so on foot. Even as late as 1897, when extensive public transport systems had been developed, less than a quarter of South London trade unionists were regular users of these systems as prices remained fairly high for other forms of commuter transport [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 228]. In a scattered and geographically condensed city (in 1825 the built up area of London still only stretched for four miles north to south and six miles east to west) it remained the best way to get quickly and efficiently from a to b. As today, traffic congestion was a problem for London during the Victorian era, and walking was often the most rapid form of travel. Pedestrian travel was also aided by new technologies that improved road safety for those travelling on foot. Road conditions began to show improvements (with drainage improved), street lighting was introduced through the 1830s, and the extension of the police force made travelling alone safer. The development of Londons road systems throughout the century also reduced journey times [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 229]. Changes in Water Transport: At the start of the Victorian era, the River Thames provided a faster and often more desirable way to travel across the city with Watermen offering to taxi people in small rowing boats known as wherries. The development of paddle steamers would displace these wherries, and by 1850 they were carrying several million passengers a year. These steamboats began offering services down the River Thames in 1815, unburdened by mileage duty and able to carry hundreds of passengers at a time in 1830 a regular service operated between London and Gravesend, Woolwich and Richmond [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 234]. Despite this, they remained unable to operate in bad light or weather, difficult and dangerous to board and leave and were involved in regular collisions. Water transport thrived during this time, dependent on the influence of the powerful river-using industries, which had restricted river bridges. During the early part of the 19th Century, however, their influence began to decrease, and new bridge crossings were. Vauxhall (1816), Waterloo (1817), Southwark (1819) and London (1824-31) all reduced the need for river transport on a commuter level, and also stimulated further road constru ctions south of the river through the latter half of the century [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 229]. By 1890, the development of the road and railway networks had all but decimated the steamboat trade. The Horse and Carriage The Horse and Carriage as a means of transport was indelible throughout the Victorian era, and despite growing congestion throughout the 19th Century (along with the escalating costs of keeping and feeding horses in London) there were still 23,000 private carriages travelling through the city in 1891 [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 229]. Road network developments and improvements were implemented throughout the Victorian era, all of which had to take into account the very particular needs of horse and carriage transport. The avoidance of steep gradients and limitations in the manoeuvrability of the carriages may have contributed to the levels of congestion seen throughout London throughout the Victorian era, and perhaps even up to today (with the maintenance of many of the road networks from the past century). This reliance on forms of horse drawn transport, not only encouraged walking in the lower classes (who couldnt afford the maintenance of a horse and carriage), but was also perhaps responsible for maintaining the compactness of London and restraining the outward movement of industry. Though gradually replaced by other means of public transport up to the First World War, the horse and carriage has remained the dominant means of road transport for a very long time. The upper classes had their own carriages, hackney carriages The rich had their own carriages, hackneys were available, and hansom cabs were introduced in 1834. Some got to work by short-stage coaches (four or six passengers inside and a handful outside). Horse and Carriage also remained the main form of transport in the movement of good around London (on the eve of the First World War most of Londons good vechicles were still horse drawn) [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 229]. The Omnibus and Commuter Transport One thing that has defined patterns of social change within a transport context in London over the past two centuries has been the establishment and growth of the commuter and associated public transport. The very term commuter came into being during the 1850s as more and more people were able to travel to work from greater distances, and the average Londoners journeys on public transport increased from 20 in the late 1860s to almost 140 in 1902 [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 230]. In the early 18th Century, short-distance stagecoaches, known as short-stagers appeared throughout Londons streets. These coaches carried four to six passengers inside and up to seven outside on the roof, and were used to provide regular services from the centre of London to the outskirts. This means of transport was introduced to serve the better-off when they moved out to the then desirable suburbs. By 1825, stagers had become commonplace, with probably around 600 such vehicles making around 1,800 journey s a day [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 233]. These most popular of these coaches was the Hackney Carriage, which had a monopoly on the central areas of London up to 1832. Another idea developing at the time was the idea of the omnibus, which many believe single handed began the commuter revolution. The service was first established in July 1829 by George Shillibeer, running from the Stingo public house, Paddington, to the Bank, along to the New Road. Shillibeers omnibuses were long three-horse vehicles with benches for twenty passengers [Porter 1994, pp 237]. The idea was to increase the numbers of passengers that were able to travel by stage-coach, thus lowering the fares for the daily commuter. Because of the Hackney carriage monopoly of the central areas of London, however, the venture failed by 1831. This stimulated the Stage Carriages Act of 1832 which allowed the omnibuses and all other types of vehicle into the central areas, freely plying the streets for trade. The Stage Carriages Act also stimulated the advent of the omnibus back into the world of commuter travel as they could now access the central areas. The cheaper fares (they were nearly half the price of the Hackney Carriages) and their increased speed made them more convenient for the middle class commuter. There were also considerable negative impacts associated with the development of Londons public transport during this period. A paradox quickly arose as thousands of extra vehicles took to the streets improving public transport, whilst simultaneously exacerbating congestion issues in the city. It should also be noted that despite this rise in use of these services, the fares of public transport remained fairly high and prohibitive for most working-class people until the introduction of subsidised services towards the end of the century [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 228]. As a result of this, combined with the service hours (they generally ran from eight in the morning when the majority of the working class workers were in work), the service remained, like the stagers before them, a largely middle class service. They proved effective, however, in permitting suburban living among tradesmen and clerks, and gave the inner suburbs a crucial boost during the 1830s and 1840s [Porter 1994, pp 240]. The success of the omnibus continued and was encouraged by low taxation (taxes on public transport were cut by up to a half in 1839) and competition and 1851, the year of the great exhibition, omnibuses carried around 20,000 passengers daily [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 236]. The closure of this however brought rapid growth to an end and fares plummeted as many firms went bankrupt. One success story however was the London General Omnibus Company, which, by 1900 owned nearly half of the 3,000 horse-drawn buses and trams, carrying some 500 million passengers a year [Porter 1994, pp 240] stimulated by rising incomes and a suburban migration during the late 1800s. The loss of monopoly during the 1832 Act had also led to a doubling of the number of hackneys and investment in new equipment and innovations, with the hansom cab eventually becoming the norm [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 234]. Eventually competition from other means of transport put an end to the days of horse drawn public tr ansport with the last known service in 1914. Railways The great material transformations of the 1800s, combined with the physical and social geographies of the city led to a major transformation in the railways of London. From the 1830s the cuttings ploughed into the northern suburban areas on their routes into Euston, then Kings Cross and St Pancreas [Porter 1994, pp 230]. These developments reinforced east/west social divides, devastating some areas while bettering others, however Londons traffic problems were becoming ominous, as a result of the vast increase of traffic and the absence of any policy. For these reasons, the coming of rail transport, overground and underground was critical in keeping the metropolis moving and in permitting the city to expand. But if the railways brought benefits these were purchased at a high cost. The downwards shift of some of these neighbourhoods is mainly attributable to later railway building that destroyed many inner-urban neighbourhood environments and made it possible for their more prosperous residents to move further out [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 233]. Underground Road Improvements In 1800 Londons road infrastructure was generally main thoroughfares running from east to west above the River Thames. These were often narrow, poorly maintained and blocked by street markets and other local activity, and little inner city road improvement was undertaken before the Commercial Road development in 1810 which sped transport to the dockland areas [Porter, 1994, pp 235], which seemed to stimulate a spurt of road networks. Major developments in the central area included Regent Street (1817-23) and Moorgate, cutting north-south thoroughfares through the traditional east- west pattern, and the major trunk routes constructed to the north of the built-up area including New North Road (1812), Archway Road (1813), Caledonian Road (1826) and Finchley Road (1826-35) [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 231]. There were also a number of new river crossings introduced during this period including Vauxhall (1816), Waterloo (1817), Southwark (1819) and London (1824-31). This period also saw road conditions beginning to be improved via increased expenditure on widening, paving and drainage, and on new routes [Ball and Sunderland, 2001, pp 240]. Cycling Cars and Buses As previously discussed, the horse and carriage remained the dominant form of road transport throughout the Victorian era. Despite the many drawbacks of motorised transport, it has been rightly quipped that the invention of the motor car saved large cities in the nick of time from being engulfed in mountains of horse dung [Ball and Sunderland, 2001 pp 229]. Hackney motor cabs were first introduced in 1903 and proved immensely popular, particularly after the 1907 introduction of the taximeter. Ball pp 233. The growth of the bus use amongst the middle classes preceded the major change in motive power, from the horse to the petrol engine and the emergence of underground and electrified tram services and it was the petrol-driven motor buses that were to revolutionise public transport from their first introduction in 1899. The first bus service was operated by Motor Traction Co, who, for a short while ran two double-deckers between Kensington and Victoria. Cumberson, uncomfortable and generally unreliable they were initially unsuccessful. However, their advantages quickly became apparent they had greater carrying capacity than their horse-driven counterparts and travelled at somewhat higher speeds (though these were restricted by legislation), enabling routes to be longer. Running costs were lower and less variable and their success encouraged further investment in 1905 with the establishment of the London Motor Omnibus Company and Vanguard [Ball and Sunderland 2001, pp 239]. In the 1900s competition grew (from 1906 to 1907 the number of buses nearly quadrupled from 242 to 808) and many services saw a period of consolidation as congestion grew. New regulations lead to the development of the B-type bus in 1910 and by 1914 the public had taken the new motorised bus to heart with 757 million passengers. Today cities are designed on the premise of the car, on an autologic which underlines policy and planning in large parts of the world [Brudett, 2008]. Overview of Victorian Era: After centuries that had brought little alteration in ways of getting about, the Victorians created a transport revolution that changed not just the face of the town but the status map of the metropolis [Porter 1994, pp 235].

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology The molecule we know today as deoxyribonucleic acid was first observed in 1869 by Swiss biologist Friedrich Miescher, who stumbled upon a substance which was resistant to protein digestion. At the time he referred to the molecule as nuclein (Pray, 2008). Though Miescher remained in obscurity, Russian biochemist Phoebus Levene continued work with this substance and in 1919 discovered the three major components of a nucleotide: phosphate, sugar, and base. He noted that the sugar component was ribose for RNA and deoxyribose for DNA, and he proposed that nucleotides were made up of a chain of nucleic acids (Levene, 1919). He was largely correct, and in 1950 Erwin Chargaff, after reading a paper by Oswald Avery in which Avery identified the gene as the unit of hereditary material (Avery, 1944), set out to discover whether the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule differed among species. He found that although, in contrast to Levenes proposal that nucleotides are always repeated in the same order , nucleotides appear in different orders in different organisms, these molecules maintained certain characteristics. This led him to develop a set of rules (known as Chargaffs Rules) in which he states that the total number of purines (Adenine and Guanine) and the total number of pyrimidines (Cytosine and Thymine) are almost always equal in an organisms genetic material. In 1952 Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins used X-ray crystallography to capture the first image of the molecules shape, and in 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick finally proposed the three dimensional model for DNA (Watson, 1953). The four main tenants of their discovery still hold true today: 1) DNA is a double-stranded helix, 2) the majority of these helices are right-handed, 3) the helices are anti-parallel, and 4) the DNA base pairs within the helix are joined by hydrogen bonding, and the bases can hydrogen bond with other molecules such as proteins. The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, first proposed by Francis Crick (Crick, 1958), describes the directional processes of conversion from DNA to RNA and from RNA to protein. This gene expression process starts with DNA, a double-stranded molecule consisting of base-paired nucleic acids adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) on a sugar-phosphate backbone. This genetic material serves as the information storage  for life, a dictionary of sorts that provides all of the necessary tools for an organism to create the components of itself. During the process of transcription, the DNA molecule is used to make messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries a specific instance  of the DNA instructions to the machinery that will make protein. Proteins are synthesized during translation  using the mRNA molecule as a guide. Gene expression is a deterministic process during which each molecule is manufactured using the product of the previous step. The end result is a conversion fr om the genetic code into a functional unit which can be used to perform the work of the cell. As you can imagine, this process must be controlled by an organism in order to make efficient use of resources, respond to environmental changes, and differentiate cells within the body. Gene regulation, as it is sometimes called, occurs at all stages along the way from DNA to protein. Regulation falls into four categories: 1) epigenetic (methylation of DNA or protein, acetylation), 2) transcriptional (involves proteins called transcription factors), 3) post-transcriptional (sequestration of RNA, alternative splicing of mRNA, microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA)), and 4) post-translational modification (phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, etc. of protein products). Epigenetic regulation of DNA involves a reversible, heritable change that does not alter the sequence itself. DNA methylation occurs on the nucleic acid cytosine. Arginine and lysine are the most commonly methylated amino acids. When proteins called histones) contain certain methylated residues, these proteins can repress or activate gene expression. Often this occurs on the transcriptional level, and thus prevents the cell from manufacturing messenger RNA (mRNA), the precursor to proteins. Proteins are often referred to as the workhorse of the cell and are responsibl e for everything from catalyzing chemical reactions to providing the building blocks for skeletal muscles. Some proteins, called transcription factors), help to up- or down-regulate gene expression levels. These proteins can act alone or in conjunction with other transcription factors and bind to DNA bases near gene coding regions. This is a general schema for gene expression. DNA is a double-stranded molecule consisting of base-paired nucleic acids A, C, G, and T on a sugar-phosphate backbone and is used as information storage. mRNA is made during transcription and carries a specific instance of the DNA instructions to the machinery that will make the protein. Proteins are synthesized during translation using the information in mRNA as a template. This is a deterministic process during which each molecule is manufactured using the product of the previous step. mRNA requires a 5 cap and a 3 poly(A) tail in order to be exported out of the nucleus. The cap is critical for recognition by the ribosome and protection from enzymes called RNases that will break down the molecule. The poly(A) tail and the protein bound to it aid in protecting mRNA from degradation by other enzymes called exonucleases. What can be gained by studying gene regulation? In general, it allows us to understand how an organism evolves and develops, both on a local scale (Choe, 2006,Wilson, 2008), and on a more global network level. There are, however, more specific reasons to investigate this process more closely. Failure in gene regulation has been shown to be a key factor in disease (Stranger, 2007). Additionally, learning how to interrupt gene regulation may lead to the development of drugs to fight bacteria and viruses (McCauley, 2008). A clearer understanding of this process in microorganisms may lead to possible solutions to the problem of antimicrobial resistance (Courvalin, 2005). There are two major factors that motivate the studies herein. Firstly, the size and quality of biological data sets has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is due to high-throughput experimental techniques and technology, both of which have provided large amounts of interaction data, along with X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments which have given us the solved three-dimensional structure of proteins. Secondly, machine learning has become an increasingly popular tool in bioinformatics research because it allows for more sound gene and protein annotation without relying solely on sequence similarity. If a collection of attributes which distinguish between two classes of proteins can be assembled, function can be predicted. In this work we focus mainly on regulation at the transcriptional level and the components which play a commanding role in this operation. So-called nucleic acid-binding (NA-binding) proteins, which includes transcription factors, are involved in this and many other cellular processes. Disruption or malfunction of transcriptional regulation may result in disease. We identify these proteins from representative data sets which include many categories of proteins. Additionally, in order to understand the underlying mechanisms, we predict the specific residues involved in nucleic acid binding using machine learning algorithms. Identification of these residues can provide practical assistance in the functional annotation of NA-binding proteins. These predictions can also be used to expedite mutagenesis experiments, guiding researchers to the correct binding residues in these proteins. Toward the ultimate goal of attaining a deeper understanding of how nucleic acid-binding proteins facilitate the regulation of gene expression within the cell, the research described here focuses on three particular aspects of this problem. We begin by examining the nucleic acid-binding proteins themselves, both on the protein and residue levels. Next, we turn our attention toward protein binding sites on DNA molecules and a particular type of modification of DNA that can affect protein binding. We then take a global perspective and study human molecular networks in the context of disease, focusing on regulatory and protein-protein interaction networks. We examine the number of partnership interactions between transcription factors and how it scales with the number of target genes regulated. In several model organisms, we find that the distribution of the number of partners vs. the number of target genes appears to follow an exponential saturation curve. We also find that our generat ive transcriptional network model follows a similar distribution in this comparison. We show that cancer- and other disease-related genes preferentially occupy particular positions in conserved motifs and find that more ubiquitously expressed disease genes have more disease associations. We also predict disease genes in the protein-protein interaction network with 79% area under the ROC curve (AUC) using ADTree, which identifies important attributes for prediction such as degree and disease neighbor ratio. Finally, we create a co-occurrence matrix for 1854 diseases based on shared gene uniqueness and find both previously known and potentially undiscovered disease relationships. The goal for this project is to predict nucleic acid-binding on both the protein and residue levels using machine learning. Both sequence- and structure-based features are used to distinguish nucleic acid-binding proteins from non-binding proteins, and nucleic acid-binding residues from non-binding residues. A novel application of a costing algorithm is used for residue-level binding prediction in order to achieve high, balanced accuracy when working with imbalanced data sets. During the past few decades, the amount of biological data available for analysis has grown exponentially. Along with this vast amount of information comes the challenge to make sense of it all. One subject of immediate concern to us as humans is health and disease. Why do we get sick, and how? Where do our bodies fail on a molecular level in order for this to happen? How are diseases related to each other, and do they have similar modes of action? These questions will require many researchers from multiple disciplines to answer, but where do we start? We take a bioinformatics approach and examine disease genes in a network context. In this chapter we analyze human disease and its relationship to two molecular networks. First, we find conserved motifs in the human transcription factor network and identify the location of disease- and cancer-related genes within these structures. We find that both cancer and disease genes occupy certain positions more frequently. Next, we examine the human protein-protein interaction (PPI) network as it relates to disease. We find that we are able to predict disease genes with 79% AUC using ADTree with 10 topological features. Additionally, we find that a combination of several network characteristics including degree centrality and disease neighbor ratio help distinguish between these two classes. Furthermore, an alternating decision tree (ADTree) classifier allows us to see which combinations of strongly predictive attributes contribute most to protein-disease classification. Finally, we build a matrix of diseases based on shared genes. Instead of using the raw count of genes, we use a uniqueness) score for each disease gene that relates to the number of diseases with which a gene is involved. We show several interesting examples of disease relationships for which there is some clinical evidence and some for which the information is lacking. We believe this matrix will be useful in finding relationships between diseases with v ery different phenotypes, or for those disease connections which may not be obvious. It could also be helpful in identifying new potential drug targets through drug repositioning.

What is Economics? :: Economic Systems Economy Scarcity Essays

Economics, in one aspect, is the study of how individuals, societies, and countries manage to deal with the problem of scarcity. Scarcity is a problem within economics because the wants of people are unlimited and the resources available to fulfil those wants are finite (Sloman, 2001). The answer to scarcity is efficiency which Gowland and Paterson (1993) described as the most benefit from a certain amount of scarce resources. Within the economic system, there are several types of economies, each generating a different level of efficiency. It is said that an economic system that has allocative efficiency, productive efficiency, and equity will be effective. Along with the latter mentioned, the division of labour and comparative advantage, when exploited also bring about the effectiveness of a system. Within an economic system there are two contrasting ideals: the market economy and the planned economy. A free-market or laissez-faire economy makes decisions on an individual level with minimal government intervention. On the other hand of the spectrum lies the planned economy where all economic decisions are made by the government (Sloman, 2001). Both economies have their advantages and disadvantages. In a free-market economy there is freedom of choice, high incentives, and the belief in consumer sovereignty, yet, there are problems such as inequality of income, macroeconomic instability, and the chance of market failure. Likewise, though a planned economy has advantages such as low levels of unemployment and equal distribution of income, there is a loss of personal freedom and lack of consumer choice. Many people feel that efficiency lies in the free-market economy where one can easily answer the questions what should be produced, how it should be produced, and for whom. However, the problem with this ‘capitalist’ economy is that poverty and boom and bust cycles reduce progress (Economic Systems: How Societies adapt to Problems, 2003). â€Å"If you care about economic efficiency, you should like free markets†¦But they would also believe the second one should be qualified, in addition to its stabilisation and distribution functions, governments will be needed to correct market imperfections†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Rhoads, 1999, p.66) Rhoads (1999) mentions how a market economy leans towards more efficiency but needs the government sporadically, a combination which makes the so-called mixed economy. A mixed economy which leans towards laissez-faire, as in the case with the U.S or the United Kingdom, is rather successful. On the contrary, countries, such as Burma or North Korea, which slant towards a planned economy, lack progress. Along with allocative efficiency, how resources should be allocated, productive efficiency, which production method should be utilised, and equity, â€Å"specialisation and exchange are both necessary to have an efficient economy† (Demmert, 1991 p.3). Specialisation comes in the

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy Essay -- Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK

In Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, America’s beloved President, John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed in Dealey Plaza. This event was the September 11 terrorist attacks of the time. The nation was in absolute mourning. Soon after the calamity, many began to speculate whether there was only a lone assassin involved. Now, five decades late, the debate over who pulled the trigger or influenced the murder, is still a controversy. On the day of the assassination, President Kennedy was riding in his motorcade around Dallas. By this point, Kennedy and his colleagues were preparing for the next presidential election in 1964. Sitting in the back of the presidential limousine with his wife Jacqueline, the President casually smiled and waved to citizens crowding to see him. Then, suddenly a metallic bang rang through the air and screams reverberated through the plaza. Bullets hit the President in the neck and head, and his body collapsed towards his horrified wife. The governor of Texas, who was also in the vehicle, was hit in the chest. The President was rushed to Parkland Hospital quickly after the initial shots at 12:30 P.M. on that November afternoon. Tragically, only half an hour later, President John F. Kennedy’s heart activity halted, and he was pronounced dead. Now, the question was: who killed the President? Who could have been so horrible to assassinate the President? This man was Lee Harvey Oswald, an ex-Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union. Many speculate that Oswald was not the only shooter located in Dealey Plaza during the shooting. Oswald was found and arrested from the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit of the Dallas police force, and his earlier assassination of the President. The multiple sho... ...n explored at Duquesne University.† Pittsburgh Tribune Review (PA). 18 Oct 2013: Newspaper Source. Web. 13 Nov 2014. Goldman, Russel. â€Å"The Top 5 John F. Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories.† ABC News. ABC News Network, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. Kiger, Patrick J. â€Å"Was Kennedy Tied to the Mob?† National Geographic Channel. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. McAuliffe, Carolyn. The Assassination of John F Kennedy. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. â€Å"November 22, 1963: Death of the President.† John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. Patterson, Thom, Ed Lavandera, and Jason Morris. â€Å"One JFK Conspiracy Theory That Could Be True.† CNN. Cable News Network, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. Rubinstein, William. â€Å"Oswald Shoots JFK.† History Today 49.10 (1999): 15. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov 2014.

Money & Corruption Essay

It has been said that money is the root of all evil, but what kind of sin is man willing to commit in exchange for personal gain? The Visit by Friedreck Durenmmat and Mother Courage by Bertlot Brecht are two plays which portray how money and wealth corrupts the human mind and drive peoples to commit hanus crimes. Both stories have similarities and differences of the circumstances in the play but both of them lead to the same outcome. We can see the corruption in both stories present in individuals and in societies. In both plays the corruption is justified by preposterous reasoning presented by the characters. The blunt realization from the character about how they get corrupted is present in both stories, although we can clearly see that the characters aren’t uneasy for what they have become. In Friedreck Durenmmat’s The Visit, lead character Claire Zachanassian plays a filthy rich independent gold digger who demands justice in exchange for one million marks half for the township and the other half for the people. The harsh reality is openly exposed when Madam Claire Zachanassian says that she will only find justice with the execution of a simple townsman which had impregnated her and denied maternity in the past. What had happened to Madam Claire in her past drove her out of Guellen, the town in which the play is set in, and forced her to work in a brothel. She then met a rich man in the brothel and married him and when he died inherited his money, and she has been marrying rich men and divorcing them ever since. After she became rich, she came back to Guellen and ordered Ill’s death, the man who impregnated her. At first when the condition is set all the towns people object violently against her offer and refuse it completely, but this scene is filled dramatical irony as there is a detected scent by the reader of the want for that some of money. There is a sense of foreshadowing at the end of the speech where Claire Zachanasian replies to the townspeople after instantly rebelling against the offer with the two simple words â€Å"I’ll wait†. These two words give us in a way the certainty that he is going to be executed. The corruption of the society of Guellen is clear after the first day of Madam Claire’s proposal. This is evident when all the townspeople begin buying new shoes, wearing clean garments and are buying luxury products all on credit. Before Madam Claire came, the town of Guellen was described as being a very poor area with all of its inhabitants including the mayor living in very simple lifestyles. When the townspeople buy these luxury products we can clearly see that their minds have become corrupted, and that all of them are certain that Ill is going to be executed or murdered. When Ill goes to the mayor and the sheriff for help and demands the arrest of Madame Claire as she has posed a threat on his life, they deny his allegations and reassure that no one wants to execute him. Of course the reader knows that all the townspeople are planning to kill him but they don’t know who will do it and when. At this part of the story the people of Guellen are waiting. When Ill goes to the train station in an attempt to escape from, he finds all the townspeople waiting for him there and they stop him from boarding the train. We can also see the corruption of the higher ranking persons in society, such as the mayor and the church, where they change their decision for the abolishment of the death penalty. The mayor calls a towns meeting for the discussion over the issue of reimplementation of the death penalty. Of course in the end all vote for it except for the church and the schoolmaster which abstain rather than vote against although they are going against their beliefs. In this scene we can see to what extent does corruption extends to where the high ranking officials in the town are corrupted. The mayor which said â€Å"we would rather have poverty than blood on our hands† was actually contemplating executing Ill in exchange for money. The last straw of the corruption in the play is when the schoolmaster goes to Claire Zachanassian in despair and begs her to forget about the execution of Ill. The schoolmaster is a realist and can see through all of the townspeople. He knows that Ill is going to die in the end and can see how the townspeople are becoming corrupted and how they are being seduced by the large sum of money. The schoolmaster pleads to Madam Zachanasian to let her â€Å"feelings for humanity prevail†. Here we can see that the schoolmaster is trying to communicate with the soft side of madam Zachanasian as the power is clearly in her hands and in the money. Here we can conclude that power is in the hands of the wealthy. They can completely corrupt societies and individuals and make them commit horrific sins that no one in their right mind would think about doing. In the play The Visit money corrupted each and every individual in society after they heard that she will be donating one million marks for the township and the individuals. As soon as they hear the deal they start thinking about fulfilling the condition and actually killing Ill. We can see to what extent and how far people are willing to go in exchange for personal gain. In the play all this corruption is justified by justice. Many of the townspeople state that they only want to execute Ill so that justice can be served. This justification of course is false and they are only doing it for the money. In the play Mother Courage and her children the circumstances and the situations are different, but the outcome is similar. The play is set in medieval Europe where there are many wars and conflicts between different countries. In the play, there is evidence of individuals getting corrupted as well as peoples getting corrupted. We first feel a sense of corruption in the second scene when Eilef, the once known brave and courageous man, is recognized for raiding the local peasants and stealing their cattle so that he can feed his hungry men. Here we can see that Eilef is taking the opportunity of the war and his status in the army to go and raid local peasants so that he can steal cattle. In the following scene the Chaplain and the cook appear to be talking about politics and discussing the war. The cook ironically remarks that the king is lucky to justify his war by god, otherwise he would be accused of seeking profits only. Here we can see that see that the people have realized that it is all because of personal gain. In a way, the children of Mother Courage are killed for the motif of money. First Swiss Cheese is executed because he has hid a box which contains a sum of money which the protestants have accumulated from the war. Mother courage then tries then to bribe the soldiers that want to execute him thanking god there is corruption and man is corruptible saying † Thank God they’re corruptible. They’re humans and after money like the rest of us. They’re not wolves. As long as there’s corruption there’s hope. Bribes! They’re a man’s best chance. As long as judges go on taking money, then there’s some chance of justice. † Eilef, after being described as wearing luxurious clothes, is executed for the numerous raids on the local peasants were he stole the belongings of these pitiful peasants and became rich on the expense of their lives. Last but not least Kattrin dies as she is beating the drum warning the peasants that Catholic soldiers are coming to raid their town and steal their belongings. All of Mother Courage’s children had the same tragic fate and all of their deaths are connected to money. In this play, we can see how money can corrupt societies and countries on a large scale. We can see how different people were corrupted in different ways all for the same reason. War changes order into chaos, and man takes the opportunity of chaos so that he can make money on the expense of others, sometimes killing others. The play Mother Courage and her Children vividly describes how peoples and leaders can commit numerous crimes in order to get wealthy and how simple humans can change suddenly into immoral humans after being seduced by wealth. In conclusion, we have an answer to the question at hand. Man is willing to kill, declare war, torture others and steel for the sole purpose of getting money. Man always finds a way to get money on the expense of others without even thinking. Both plays bluntly discussed the issue of corruption, money and how there is no conscience or moral values when it comes to making money, which were major themes in both plays. Last but not least, it is clear to us that man is willing to do anything in exchange for money.

Persuasive Essay Essay

When you rummage through your refrigerator what do you seek? A bag of chips, a fruity flavored yogurt, some buttery popcorn? Whatever it is, it all fills you up. Whether it is with a junky treat or something partially healthy. Whatever you choose, it impacts you. It affects the way you sleep, the energy you have, and your blood sugar. So the little discussion of picking a chocolate bar and an apple impacts you greatly in the long run. This is why you should start making healthier choices now when you are still growing. I must admit it is easier for me to choose eating junk food. It may seem yummy and delicious, but its not. Almost every single piece of junk food is either full with fat or artificial flavorings. Did you know that the McDonalds fries contain 610 calories and 29 grams of fat? If you ate a Burger King, meal that contains 1,800 calories, it would take you nearly 6 hours of intense bicycle riding to burn away the calories. The average American kid eats at McDonalds at least one time each month. Teenagers drink around the average of 760 cans of soda per year. And not only does junk food just add fat and other unwanted substances to your body, it also harms you. Obesity is the second cause of death in America. The consumption of sodas has increased the risk of diabetes. Junk food is the major cause of most heart diseases or failures. Junk food causes high cholesterol, which causes long-term damage to your liver. Wow, pretty scary right? Ways to decrease junk food consumption would be the next time when you are rummaging through your refrigerator stop and choose the vegetable section. Pick a banana, or apple. Or leave junk food off-limits until special days or weekends. There are multiple ways, but the biggest way is the next time something sugary is about to go into your mouth, stop and think about all the negative sides. Because not only does junk food affect your weight, it affects your future.