The Necessity of Violence in Native Son by Richard Wright Essay

In Native Son, Richard Wright uses characterization and symbolism to underscore his theme of how American institutionalized oppression of blacks creates human tragedy for those oppressed. Yet, the novel is not an attempt to merit our sympathy or empathy for the condition of repressed blacks, it is to illustrate how the nihilistic attitude of blacks like Bigger Thomas is the direct result of white repression of differences in non-white cultures. In other words, Bigger's only option is death because the society which has created him has given him nothing else to care about, nothing he can call his own, no chance to explore any of his potential. Thus, he turns to violence as an expression of identity which is what his reaction to reading the newspaper expresses. When he reads the article in the paper, he exclaims to his mother, "No! Jan didn't help me! He didn't have a damned thing to do with it! I - I did it!" (Wright 283). His act of violence is his only affirmation of sel f in a society that represses any other form of self-affirmation and he desperately clings to it. Even the alarm clock that rings in the beginning of the novel is a symbol. It is a symbol Wright uses as a "wake up" call to a society that remains locked in illusions regarding its creation of race relations that makes Bigger always someone who is "following a strange path in a strange land" (Wright 127). This is why Bigger's communist lawyer tells the court that Bigger is incapable of killing because he is already dead as he is forced to exist in a society that refuses him any affirmation of life. Bigger is a displaced person because the society into which he is born allows him no place. He is Ellison's "invisible man" who is destined to fall be... ... of modern American society's institutionalized oppression. WORKS CITED "Richard Wright." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 113-114. "Richard Wright Biography." http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/wright/wright_bio.html March 20, 1999: 1-5. "Richard Wright; Homegrown: Bigger Thomas as a Product of His Environment." http://www.loras.edu/~ENG/faculty/fretz/Page12.html March 20, 1999: 1-2. "'Without the Consolation of Tears': Richard Wright, France, and the Ambivalence of Community." Gilroy, P. (ed.) The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Mass., Harvard Univ. Press, 1993: 146-186. Wright, R. "How Bigger Was Born." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 538-563. Wright, R. Native Son. New York, HarperCollins, 1993.

high academic standards :: essays research papers

An Avenue to High Academic Standards   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In her article â€Å"An Avenue to High Academic Standards,† Lynn Olson argues that â€Å"A prominent misconception surrounding school-to-work is that it downplays intellectual achievement,† and that â€Å"school-to-work can encourage young people to pursue education and training beyond high school.† A school-to-work program enables a student to go to a regular school and attend classes just like any other regular high school student, but they are also required to attend additional training in a â€Å"real world† work environment. School-to-work programs are achievable and attractive to students whose schools are participating and Lynn Olson does a good job of arguing her point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"High-quality school-to-work programs combine learning in school and in the workplace.† This makes sense, without efficient entrusted employers who are willing to participate in the school-to-work program, the support of the school would be undermined and the system would most likely fail. The school-to-work program enables students to get hands on experience within the workplace while at the same time giving them a reprieve from their textbooks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lynn Olson argues that there have been studies that suggest â€Å"school-to-work can help address one of the greatest problems in education: motivation.† This makes sense and I believe this to be a very accurate and significant argument. Without motivation students will find it very difficult to get things started and to complete their tasks. This not only happens with academics but in life general. Lynn Olson argues, â€Å"A majority of American teenagers in national surveys describe their education as â€Å"boring.† I can attest to that. Both in high school, and in college I have had to learn about subjects that I can careless about and because of this the motivation factor was extremely low. â€Å"Although they think it’s important to graduate, they don’t think that doing well in school matters.† I tend to agree with this. I believe that graduation is the key factor, and this is the reason why kids go to school. School-to-wor k programs can alleviate some of the boredom that studying out of textbooks can have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"School-to-work can help young people answer the question, â€Å"Why do I have to learn this?† Lynn Olson claims that research from various corporations, and research companies argue that â€Å"school-to-work activities can slash boredom and re-engage students in schooling.† Once again this makes sense. Give students the option to get out of the classroom and into the workforce as interns, gives them the opportunity to have a better understanding of the â€Å"real world† outside of the textbook and classroom environment.

Human nature Essay

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a classic work that weaves intolerance, religion, hysteria and vested interests to paint one of the serious human pitfalls in history. At the heart of the Crucible is conflict fueled by personal interests – meaning, evil is more difficult to handle if it manifest itself in groups of people, but that these groups are formed because of a few people’s vested interests. The Crucible shows this clearly, which makes it a relevant work of literature today even if it made its debut more than fifty years ago. After all, the problems we are facing today are, in their most basic forms, the same – fight for resources, struggle for survival, battle for honor. The story begins when the daughter of the local preacher Reverend Parris, Betty has fallen ill. Parris has seen his daughter dancing in the woods with his niece, Abigail Williams, and his slave, Tituba, and a group of girls. He thinks that the girls must have been dabbling in witchcraft. Parris is worried about his reputation in the community – Salem being a Puritanical village, with its strict observance of rules and religion. Parris wants to make sure that his reputation stays intact, his name clean. There are those who are interested with his position being the reverend. He asks his niece if he has nothing to worry about, Abigail denies the charges. Parris asks her if her name has been soiled, since there are rumors going around that Elizabeth Proctor would not sit close next to a soiled woman, and that Elizabeth has stopped attending Church religiously. And then no one wanted to hire her. Abigail comes back at him telling him that he thinks she is a burden because of the upkeep of having her. Abigail actually calls the girls and tells them not to admit anything when John Proctor comes in and talks to her. Apparently, they have had an affair a year ago when she worked for him, that is why his wife Elizabeth fired her. Abigail still wants John, but he does not want her anymore, and is concerned with his public reputation. Betty wakes up and begins screaming, and talks of her being bewitched ensues. Parris has called in Reverend Hale, a supposed expert on witchcraft, to look at his daughter, and investigate what is going on. Hale suspects something is amiss with Abigail’s actions, and calls on Tituba who confesses to communicating with the devil. Abigail joins Tituba, and Betty also joins them in their accusing certain people of witchcraft. After a week, Elizabeth talks to her husband and asks him to expose Abigail as a fraud but John does not want to have anything to do with the whole issue. Elizabeth is hurt, thinks that John still has feelings for Abigail. They fight over John’s infidelity. Their maid Mary comes home and informs them that Elizabeth has been named as a witch. They continue fighting until some villagers drop by and say that their wives have been arrested, and shortly after officers come and arrest Elizabeth. John is aghast and pressures Mary to expose Abigail and the other girls as frauds. Proctor takes Mary to court so she could testify against the girls, the judge Danforth tells him that Elizabeth is pregnant and will be spared for some time. Proctor insists, and Mary tells the court that the girls are lying. The girls are called in and instead accuse Mary of bewitching them. Proctor then confesses he had an affair with Abigail and that she wants to get back at them, wanted to get rid of his wife. To test this claim, Danforth calls Elizabeth, but instead she lies to save her husband’s reputation. Danforth calls Proctor a liar, and Mary breaks down and accuses Proctor of being a witch. Proctor is consumed by rage and the court has him arrested. Hale sees all of these and quits. The season change, autumn has arrived. Abigail took Parris’ money and ran away. Neighboring towns are in unrest because of the witch trials in Salem. Danforth is anxious over these developments. Hale works with the accused witches and tries to convince them to yield and confess to save their lives. They refuse. Danforth talks to Elizabeth to ask John to confess. John tells her that he is not holding out because of religion, rather he wanted the men responsible to feel guilty because they know he is innocent. After a while he agrees to the confession, but he would not name other people as witches and tears up the confession. John is sent to the gallows with others. Hale and Parris ask Elizabeth to talk to John again, but Elizabeth refuses because her husband is finally standing up for goodness. The protagonist is John Proctor, the main character who undergoes a character change and wins the respect and sympathy of viewers. He starts off as a worldly man who is consumed by his lust which led him to have an affair with Abigail, and then even knowing about her lies he refuses to do anything because he is concerned about his name. Yet, he attempts to do something about it, by badgering Mary, without revealing his secret, his affair. When that does not work, he makes known his affair to convince the court that Abigail and the girl are lying, but Elizabeth lies for him. He was a weak character, he even considered signing a confession just to make it alive, but his transformation is complete when he would not falsely name others as witches. He reaches his point and realizes that he has lost his public reputation and all he has left is his conscience. The other character which went through a huge change is Hale, who begins as someone who feels important because he believes he specializes in a subject – witchcraft. But even when he started as haughty and acted as though he could determine the fate of others by determining if they are witches or not, he later sees the truth and the injustice of it all, sees through the hysteria. But he loses his sense of power, and instead advises the accused to surrender and confess even if the allegations are not true, just so their lives will be spared. He then becomes not a scion of light and strength, but an agent embodying submission, by giving importance to survival over than upholding and fighting for what is right and just. The other interesting character is Abigail, the young woman who plays villain in this story. She has a low status in Salem village being unmarried and orphan, and she uses the opportunity to get back not only at Elizabeth to win over John Proctor, but also at the privileged people in society. Thus she leads the girls to getting back at the judgment society has passed over them. Lastly, Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, showed resilience and love for the protagonist. In a way, her love for him helped in transforming him. She was hurt with his infidelity, but she still thought of him and how important his name and reputation over her own judgments. In the end, she understood that John finally found goodness, one that is more true than the public reputation he so wanted to protect. All these events came about because of the characters in Salem – the village was puritanical, and quick to point the finger to wash themselves of suspicions. Abigail dabbled in witchcraft because she wanted Elizabeth dead and John for herself. John did not want to expose the truth because doing so would expose his secret affair and ruin his reputation as well. Even when there was no real reason for the deaths, it came to be because of the hysteria that Abigail whipped, her and the girls’ accusations of witchcraft. And because the people in village did not believe in tolerance, they wanted to see people get punished. But beneath these reasons lie deeper motivations. The people in Salem were not really spiritual – they may claim to be religious in the sense of following the rites of their religions strictly, of merging rule and religion as one. But in terms of the values taught, they were selfish and wanted only what would benefit the, what is in their interest. In the end, their actions were motivated by something rational – they wanted revenge, they wanted survival, they wanted resources. And this is human nature. The Crucible shows us what human nature is capable of going into unchecked, and must serve as reminder that we are not only creatures of survival, but that there is hope – we could rise above it and stand for what is good and just.

Use the Slept Framework to Analyse the Current External Business

A. Written Report (25%) You are required to analyse the business environment of a UK based manufacturer of a luxury product of your choice. Please note that: * The actual company is hypothetical. * It is assumed to supply to the upmarket department stores and boutiques around the world but its main market is the UK. * You must agree your specific product with your tutor. * By luxury product, we mean an expensive product that is not a basic necessity. To complete this assessment task, you must: a. Use the SLEPT framework to analyse the current external business environment for issues that may affect your company.Attach this in the Appendix. No word limit for this section. b. Drawing on your analysis of the external business environment, explain and justify the three most important issues currently facing your company. Word limit is 2000 words for this section. Word Limit The word limit is 2000 words (excluding any items in the appendix**). Students are advised to stick to the word lim it – if you exceed the word limit, it should be within the 10% rule. Work submitted that exceeds the word limit may be penalised on the basis of failure to demonstrate academic discipline. *The Appendix should only be used to support your discussion (which is what is being marked) with reference materials e. g. diagrams, scanned images, Internet printouts, articles etc. It should not be used to supplement your essay so that more words can be squeezed into your assignment! In other words, a poorly written essay with a fantastic appendix is not going to achieve a good grade. Referencing To get a good grade, your discussion must be underpinned by a wide selection of secondary sources and academic materials (e. g. books and journal articles) throughout your work or where appropriate.All work must be fully referenced (preferably using the Harvard Referencing System) to acknowledge sources used or consulted for the production of your report otherwise it would be considered as plagi arism. Correct referencing is a vital skill you will need to master for any academic writing. Please DO NOT USE references taken from Wikipedia, MarketingTeacher. Com, QuickMBA. Com or similar websites that allow students to do a quick ‘copy and paste’ quotations of academic concepts. These websites may be useful for initial research and/or reading but they should not end up in any part of your work as they are not legitimate academic sources.This kind of practice does not encourage deep learning. Deep learning can only come about if you invest time and effort into in-depth reading in original sources. A) Use the SLEPT framework to analyse the current external business environment for issues that may affect your company. Attach this in the Appendix. No word limit for this section. I will be using SLEPT in order to analyze the external business environment for key issues that may affect my hi-fi firm. ‘Rich Sounds' is a luxury selling Hi-fi Company based in the Uni ted Kingdom. The company does compete internationally, however its main trade mainly takes place within the UK.The market is estimated to be worth ? 2 billion in 2007 compared with a peak value of ? 2. 1 billion in 2005. The growth of the market for portable music players and, more recently, for home docking stations has offset a decline in home hi-fi system sales. The arrival of the iPod marked a sea change in the audio equipment market. Sales of MP3 players have grown dramatically at the expense of other portable music players, especially CD players. In the home, CDs remain the dominant format but are increasingly played on PCs and laptops – this change has adversely impacted the sale of conventional home audio equipment (Mintel. Rich Sounds does compete at the higher end of the hi-fi market with brands such as ‘Sony’ and ‘Panasonic’. SLEPT framework is used to analyze the current external business environment for issues affecting a business such a s Rich Sounds. The luxury hi-fi market has many external influences which can affect it. Technology is one of the main external influences from the SLEPT analysis. Development in technology has meant that smaller and sleeker devices such as iPods are selling instead of traditional hi-fi systems. Advances in technology, for example advertising has hugely helped the growing sales in the hi-fi market.Many electronics companies tend to have huge celebrity endorsements which in return boost their sales as people nowadays tend to favour electronics which are advertised by celebrities and follow the trend. It is said that companies such as Rich Sounds need to spend at least ? 1million on advertising in order to compete at the top level. (Mintel) Also more and more people tend to download their music nowadays and this means an increase in competition for Rich Sounds as more people would buy computers and laptops rather than hi-fis.Ownership of PCs has now reached high levels and the majorit y of consumers are accessing the Internet at least once a week at home. Another issue in SLEPT is economic factors. The current ‘credit crunch' has resulted in more and more people having less disposable income and this knock on effect means electronic sales could suffer. It is thought that due to this, people are less likely to buy hi-fi's, but instead buy necessities. The credit crunch has also reduced the amount of affluent people and this means it could reduce the market size and this means Rich Sounds could become more competitive.It could be said that spending on repairs has fallen dramatically over the last five years, as lower product prices mean it is often more cost-efficient to replace than repair. The final issue linked to economic factors is society. Hi-fi's are associated as being a seasonal product especially at Christmas time when people are buying them for presents so this is when Rich sounds would expect a huge increase in sales. Also people that work long ho urs and work further away from home can help boost Rich Sounds sales. Nowadays, commuting to work is tedious to a lot of people and so they can listen to audio equipment at this point.The final issue in SLEPT is political issues. Although there is not much to say for this point, I can briefly say that tax issues affect my firm. B) Drawing on your analysis of the external business environment, explain and justify the three most important issues currently facing your company. Word limit is 2000 words for this section. I will now discuss the three most important issues from the SLEPT analysis and these are the technological, social and economical issues. Trends are an important aspect of the economic environment.Nowadays it is becoming increasingly more fashionable to follow celebrity trends and those celebrities who advertise electronics such as hi-fis tend to sell the most. An example of this is when Sony used Justin Timberlake dancing on their adverts to help promote their goods and this saw a huge increase in sales. Research suggests that the two most popular hi-fi companies are Panasonic and Sony and these spend millions and millions on advertising. This means Rich Sounds could advertise new equipment with different celebrities to help promote it hugely. Another economic factor is the ‘credit crunch'.It has resulted in people having a lot less disposable income and so therefore hi-fi sales will fall dramatically. Due to this people will not splash out on luxury goods like hi-fis, however they will buy necessities instead. This provides a knock on effect and therefore Rich Sounds sales may fall. Also the credit crunch has seen a reduction in the amount of wealthy people and this can reduce the size of the market and therefore make Rich Sounds more competitive. http://academic. mintel. com. lcproxy. shu. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=271602/display/id=299002#hit1

European Environment Essay

Introduction Turkey’s entry into the European Union has been a matter of controversy for years. Although the nation is applying great effort to breaking the entry barrier, so far its efforts have been futile. Why? It seems too big, too poor and too different from Europe. The little piece of Turkish territory that is situated in Europe cannot persuade the European policy-makers that the nation is part of the European civilization. However, Turkey keeps pushing and at one point the nation might succeed in attaining its goals. In this paper, we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of joining the EU for the largely Asian country and for the EU itself. After all, the almost forty-year struggle for EU membership waged by Turkey should be motivated by the perceived advantages of the membership in the union. For the EU, the acceptance of such an unusual member can also bring some distinct advantages as well as disadvantages. EU perspective 1.1. Cons for Europe Unlike pros, the cons of accepting Turkey into what has previously been a group of white, Christian and affluent nations are apparent at first glance. Former European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein’s â€Å"too big, to poor, too different† is a perfect designation for what Turkey appears to be to the Europeans and what it bring them in the not-so-remote future, changing the landscape of Europe forever. Turkey is indeed too big in proportion to population. At the moment, it numbers about 70 million, but considering the rapid growth rates, it may soon become the largest European nation (Lamb 2004). As the EU often determines how much power to give the nations in accordance with their population size, Turkey may grab more power in the EU than European policy-makers are willing to give it. Anyway, â€Å"that would immediately shift the balance of EU power to the East† (Lamb 2004). At the same time, Turkey will bring the borders of the EU closer to the unstable Middle Eastern region. Iraq, Syria, Iran – all these explosive neighbors would come one step closer with the entry of Turkey. Those who oppose its entry point to the fact that it is already a member of NATO and so it is unlikely that joining the EU would help to broaden the cooperation in any meaningful way. Besides, Turkey is too poor to be admitted into the alliance that enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world. The completion of the integration process between Turkey and the EU would require opening the borders between the two nations to admit free flow of capital, goods and people. This could immediately flood the European Union with a massive stream of immigrants from Turkey willing to work for larger EU salaries. The probability of this unwelcome scenario is corroborated by the fact that â€Å"in a recent poll by the Turkish Gallup Institute, 23 percent of Turkish workers asked said they would move to Western Europe countries if part of the EU† (Lamb 2004). This would surely oversaturate the European labor market and increase unemployment. A constant concern is the clash between Muslim and Christian values. Although Turkey is already a borderline state between the two civilizations, it still remains a Muslim nation that retains much of the ethical concerns of this world. The clash of two very different civilizations is therefore a matter of concern. The cost of admitting Turkey can be overwhelming for the EU budget that has already aroused considerable controversies. The opponents of admitting Turkey insist that â€Å"Turkey’s membership will cost more than all ten of the countries admitted in May combined† (Lamb 2004). This is impossible to check since all the expenses cannot be quantified at this point. Surely, with a large agricultural sector, Turkey will be able to claim a large portion of EU agricultural subsidies, and the ‘old European’ nations like France and the UK may not like it, claiming those subsidies themselves. 1.2. Are there any pros? Although not all Europeans may want to admit it, accepting Turkey into the EU has not just cons, but pros as well. The nation, being big in the size of the population, can not only drag the block down with its sheer size, but also increase its weight on the international arena. The EU and the prospects of entering it are already a major factor in the politics of the nations situated in the geographic proximity of Europe. At the same time, the entry of Turkey will expand the boundaries of Europe and put more nations in the orbit of European influence. It will, effectively, enlarge the boundaries of European influence into Asia and provide a new vehicle for European impact on Asia. The very things that are believed to be the cons can be turned into pros. Thus, despite the calls of those envisaging the clash of cultural values between Muslims and Europeans, there is another counterclaim. Thus, Turkey as part of the EU can turn into â€Å"a bridge between the two cultures, and a proof that Europe isn’t a club just for Christians† (Lamb 2004). Turkey’s membership can prove a way toward achieving a workable compromise between the Christians and Muslims. The economic part of the cons, namely, Turkey’s alleged poverty can also be seen from the other side. Even if Turkey’s per capita income is behind that of most European nations, â€Å"Turkey’s economy — in contrast, incidentally, to many of the more established EU states — is growing rapidly† (Lamb 2004). This turns the nation into an excellent investment opportunity and makes it a desirable EU member since Turkey’s growth can last for years and decades after the entry to the EU and propel the region’s economic growth. Anyway, Turkey’s economic situation is not worse than that of poorer EU members like Portugal, and the subsequent fate of those states has demonstrated how much advances they have made. In comparison to the next candidates for EU membership, Bulgaria and Romania, Turkey has a higher capita income. Another area which has gives Turkey extra points is the geopolitical position of Turkey and its prospective role in strengthening the EU’s security. Thus, the proponents of Turkey’s membership say that it â€Å"could be a model for a modern Islamic democracy — one which could influence other Muslim states into moving towards Western ideals† (Lamb 2004). This, on its own, will urge the Muslim nations to abandon their anti-Western stance, if any, and focus on peaceful integration with the West. In addition, â€Å"Turkey has a large and powerful military presence and would offer the EU a stronger presence in a geo-politically vital region† (Lamb 2004). The opponents object, however, that Turkey has a negative image in much of the Muslim world and thus cannot be reasonably considered as having the power to break its negative perception to influence the West. The Turkish Perspectives 2.1. The Political Situation For Turkey itself, its membership in the European Union would mean a total shift of geopolitical direction. Although seen as advantageous by many, it is by no means certain that the majority or even all of the population support this move, perceived by many as too dramatic a shift from the previous political course. However, there are many distinct pros for Turkey in joining the EU. To realize how the EU accession will spearhead reforms and progress in Turkey, one needs to look closer at the history of this nation that became the first modern and secular Islamic state ever. The remains of the destroyed Ottoman Empire were turned by Mustafa Kemal, alternatively known as â€Å"Ataturk†, or â€Å"the father of all Turks†, into a secular republic. This was a breakthrough movement in the history of the Muslim world, offering an alternative to the previously monarchial structures. Kemal â€Å"abolished the caliphate, secularized academic curricula, †¦replaced Turkey’s Arabic script with a Latin one†, â€Å"disbanded religious courts, Westernized the legal system, and gave women suffrage and equal rights† (Philips 2004). Since then, the commitment to secularism and democracy, embodied in Turkey’s constitution, has been upheld by the Turkish military that have watched over the development of the country. This role given to the nation’s officers is established in Armed Forces Internal Service Law of 1961, the constitution of 1982, and the role of institutions such as the National Security Council (NSC). The Turkish military have with success fulfilled this role, batting off the inroads made by extremist and fundamentalist forces, preventing the threat of terrorism and separatism. Now, the admission of Turkey into the EU will provide further incentives to liberalize the state policies and give individuals freedom of expression. Thus, each nation that has a chance to be admitted into the EU must meet the so-called Copenhagen criteria that, among others, include â€Å"democratic questions concerning human rights, minority rights, prevention of torture and independent judiciary† (EMEP 2004). These requirements contain points that can contribute to the progress of human rights in Turkey. After all, the nation is said to have some after-effects of the Muslim rule in place that hamper the preservation of human rights. This concerns, for instance, the freedom of religion and the separation of religion and state. Thus, although Turkey is considered a secular state, it continues to give broad privileges to the mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam and sponsor imams in government employment, sometimes even sending them to areas of the EU where Turkish minorities reside (Wikipedia). At the same time, the Greek Orthodox Church has faced hurdles in its functioning in Turkey. Thus, the church has not been able to open the Theological School of Halki (Wikipedia). Proponents of Turkey’s membership insist that the nation could have been inspired to change this if given a reasonable chance to enter the European Union. Besides, many note that Turkey still preserves some Islamic traditions that are a concern in terms of their compatibility with global democratic standards. Thus, the continuing existence of polygamous marriages is at odds, many say, with the EU policies on women rights and gender equality. Turkey continues to oppress its Kurdish and Alevi minorities, although it recently recognized officially the Kurdish language. In addition, Turkey signed the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDRHI) that contains some controversial statements including norms unacceptable for a member of a democratic community that the European Union is. Thus, â€Å"that declaration has contradictory statements on the equality of and the non-discrimination between sexes as claiming in principle that legal systems should be defined in accordance with Shariah† that has long been recognized by the EU as incompatible with its democratic values. The accession into the EU and, more importantly, successful integration with the union would most probably make the chances of Islamic fundamentalists even slimmer. The reforms implemented at the urge of the EU would further lessen the chances that Turkey will embrace Shariah as a state law code. The rights of Turkish minorities would be at smaller risk, and Turkey would have an incentive to implement the freedom of speech and religion. All this would most probably improve the political situation in the country, making it more susceptible to democratic values. At the same time, the opponents of the EU membership point to the peculiar role of the Turkish military in safeguarding the nation from the impact of Islamic fundamentalists. The army â€Å"has overthrown three prime ministers since 1960, and in 1997 it engineered a soft coup to oust the Islamic Welfare Party (REFAH), after just one year at the helm of an improbable coalition† (Philips 2004). At each time, the power was soon transferred to the civilian secular authorities. In this way, the Turkish military has served as a guardian of the country. However, the Western-style democratic reforms, it is feared, giving broader rights to the political expression of minority views, would also open the way for fundamentalists and Islamic hard-liners. The power of the military to contain them would then be undoubtedly curtailed, and the nation would prove more vulnerable to their potentially negative impact. The very mechanisms through which the military has sought to purge the nation of the overly zealous religious fanatics would be destroyed, and the nation would be unprotected. Besides, it is by no means a certainty that Turkey will be able to ensure the separation of religion and the state in case of its accession. Thus, the question of whether democratization would increase is open to dispute. 2.2. Economic Consequences While democratization is, despite the limitations described above, seen as a benefit of EU membership by many Turks, the economic consequences of joining the union remain more disputable. Will Turkey really benefit from the accession to the union that places heavy demands on the economic policies of the members to ensure integration? Will its firms be able to survive the competition against the well-developed European companies? Turkey, in case of gaining entry, will have to abide by the economic policies set down in EU’s Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties that were established by the union long before Turkey’s plausible accession. EMEP, the Turkish Party of Labour, has long stated that the EU economic policies can be ruinous to certain sectors of the domestic economy. Thus, if the EU Council adopts a plan on the liberalization of the telecommunication industry, Turkey will be forced to sell its part of the PTT. The Turkish oil company, the Petrol Ofisi, also stands little chance, in the opinion of the EMEP, to withstand the liberalization policies. Finally, the agricultural sector of Turkey that is a significant part of the national economy, will not survive should the EU decide to give up subsidies for the producers of agricultural products such as beetroot, cotton, tobacco and other products. At the same time, for ordinary citizens accession to the EU continues to symbolize economic benefits that will hopefully be translated into higher life standards. To Turks, the entry has come to be associated with â€Å"a higher income, better healthcare and medical treatments, access to higher education, the freedom to travel, and a carefree retirement† (Zaptcioglu 2004). However, experts continue to worry about the realization of the Maastricht criteria for economic situation in a prospective member that, allegedly, will be harder for Turkey to meet than the Copenhagen ones. The nation now has a national debt of $270 billion. The Maastricht requirements mean that debts are no more than 60% of the national income (Zaptcioglu 2004). The skeptics’ plan to overcome this hurdle is â€Å"should pull out of the tariff union and at the same time apply to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for different and better terms for paying off its debts† (Zaptcioglu 2004). However, it is controversial whether Turkey should risk spoiling relations with the West in this fashion in order to gain entry to the EU. The current economic impact of integration with the EU is also debatable. Thus, Turkey currently has a tariff union with the block it hopes to enter some day. This union was established with entering the Customs Union Treaty in 1995. EMEP (2004) points that the union works to the disadvantage of Turkey, leading to increase in its trade gap with Europe to the amount of $10 billion. However, this is not the opinion of only one political party that may be exploiting facts to prove a point. Manisali and Sinan Aygà ¼n, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Ankara, also lament the deprivation inflicted on the economy by the union. Aygà ¼n says that â€Å"Turkey has become an import country for European industrial products, but, according to the tariff union regulations, is not permitted to export its agricultural products into the EU† (Zaptcioglu 2004). This means that the union is not equitable and gives EU broader advantages than Turkey. There is certainly fear that the policies implemented in case Turkey joins the EU will be similarly skewed in order to give the EU an advantage. Thus, the accession to the EU could adversely affect the Turkish economy, subjecting the domestic policies to the dictate of the Brussels power. It is not certain that Turkey will be able to maintain its growth if it is forced to adapt to the adverse EU decisions on economic policy. 2.3. Impact on Turkey’s Foreign Policy Since demands concerning the foreign policies of the this prospective member are among the most important demands on Turkey, it is highly probable that the nation will have to change its relationships with neighbors. Thus, Turkey will most probably have to recognize Cyprus, something it has been reluctant to do for years. The island that remains divided into two parts after the conflict of 1974 involving a Greek coup d’etat and a Turkish military intervention. The island, divided into two parts, the Republic of Cyprus that is part of the EU and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus recognized by Turkey, remains a matter of dispute for Turkey and Greece. The EU accession will most likely lead to the requirement for Turkey to recognize the Republic of Cyprus. In the same way, the Aegean dispute between Turkey and Greece as well as the relations with Armenia remain open to controversy. The boycott of Armenia including the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline outside of the Armenian territory was caused by Turkey’s perception of Nagorno-Karbakh area as unlawfully occupied by Armenia. Romano Prodi, ex-President of the European Commission, has made it one of the requirements to resolve the conflict with Armenia (Wikipedia). Thus, entering the EU, Turkey will have to abandon part of its sovereignty in decision-making and succumb to the EU demands. This will limit the ability of the nation to pursue independent policies that may differ from EU wishes. Conclusion Turkey’s accession to the European Union remains open to controversy. The union balks at letting in a state that due to its sheer size will exert influence on the EU environment and can make integration more difficult. The acceptance of a Muslim state is also a controversial subject because the ensuing clash between the Islamic and Western values is hard to avoid. From the perspective of Turkey itself, its membership in the EU is also fraught with positive and negative consequences. While it is certain that it will contribute to the democratization of the state and the improvement of the human rights situation, Turkey will also have to pay attention to the political stability. The unique role of the Turkish military in preserving the secular doctrine may be challenged, which will open the way for fundamentalists. On the economic side, the cons may outweigh the cons unless Turkey can count on substantial subsidies. Finally, accession to the powerful body of nations will mean greater security on the international arena. At the same time, Turkey will have to count on losing part of its sovereignty and the need to succumb to the EU authority on many important issues. Bibliography Accession of Turkey to the European Union. Wikipedia. 30 January 2006 . EMEP (The Party of Labour). Turkey and the European Union. October 2004. 30 January 2006 . Lamb, Scott. â€Å"TURKEY AND THE EU: The Pros and Cons.† Spiegel Online 14 December 2004. 23 January 2006 . Phillips, David L. â€Å"Turkey’s Dreams of Accession.† Foreign Affairs (September/October 2004). 30 January 2006 . Zaptcioglu, Dilek. â€Å"They Will Never Accept Us!† Quantara (2004). 30 January 2006 .   

Biology Post Lab on Osmosis and Diffusion

Brian Toohey Biology Mrs. Heimforth 12/06/10 Diffuse the Osmosis Section 2: Introduction Step 1: The scientific concept of this lab was to see how osmosis transferred the substance through the cells to reach equilibrium. Step 2: My hypothesis was that the bag with 60% sucrose then it would be heavier than the bag with tap water or 30% sucrose. I thought this because I thought that there would be more of a substance change in 60% sucrose. Section 3: Methods First get 3 pieces of the same length of tubing then get 6 pieces of string. Fold one half of the tube over and tie the end with string.Then add 5 ml of 30% sucrose solution in the tubes. Squeeze the bag gently to release air fold it over and tie it with another piece of string. Rinse bags under water then dry. Then weigh bags to nearest tenth of a gram and record. Then place one bag in each of the beakers. Then let them sit for 30 minutes do not touch. Remove bags quickly rinse and dry and reweigh. Then record results. Section 4: Results Step 1: | 60% sucrose | 30% sucrose | Tap Water | before | 6. 2 | 4. 6 | 5. 4 | after | 4. 3 | 4. 5 | 4. 8 | Step 2: As the sucrose decreases so does the weight.I have found that when you decrease the amount of sucrose it will cause the water to go outward making the bag weigh less. Section 5: Step 1: The lab experimentation did not support my hypothesis because the weight decreased more with the sucrose. Step 2: The specific data that made my hypothesis wrong is the fact that when we added less sucrose the after weight decreased as shown in my graph. Step 3: The results did not support my hypothesis because when the water was greater on the inside it went outside by using osmosis but when the water was greater on the outside it went inside making the bag heavier.Step 4: When we were conducting the experiment one bag might have sat in the cups to long. Step 5: I have learned that water is the only thing that can be sent through the cell without using energy. I also learned t hat through diffusion smell spreads. Step 6: I learned that it is very hard to keep track of things you don't label it takes a lot of memory. ;)Section 6: References Postlehwait, John H. , and Janet L. Hopson. Modern Biology. Austin: Holt, Rinehard, and Winston, 2006. 65-73. Print

Public Health in New Guinea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Health in New Guinea - Essay Example (Statistics from World Health Organization, 2009). Over the last 30 years very little has changed in New Guinea as far as increase in salary levels or a rise out of poverty. There are also many natural hazards to this country. Those include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, large-scale landslides, flooding, sporadic droughts, frosts in highland areas, the impact of climate variability and now rising sea levels. They have had almost every one of these occur over the last 5 years The state of the people's health is worse in New Guinea than any other Pacific region country. Communicable disease, including malaria and tuberculosis, remain the major cause of death. There is also a generalized epidemic of HIV/AIDs. Maternal and child morbidity rate are high I. It appears that the first thing that will need to happen is to set up a well run public health education system. I make this first due to the facts as presented above. New Guinea is very rural and travel is very limited so to assure that we are getting information to those that need it, we must educate groups in each area. In setting up this part of the plan, it is important to assure that we improve the literacy rate also. This will further our overall ability to improve health. II. Improve the rate of immunization. ... The problem here is getting the immunizations to the people but with the initial education of groups within areas, we would be able to improve this data. III. Hepatitis according to the WHO data runs in the thousands of patients. This problem is related to the conditions created by earthquakes and tsunamis to name a few. Of course we cannot decrease natural disasters but we can teach the people how to get and treat clean water as well as how to treat waste in such as way as to prevent some spread of these diseases. IV. Improve the availability of sterilizers. Much of the equipment that is needed, including surgery equipment is available now. The problem is that there are few and sometimes no sterilizers available in a given area. The people need to be taught to sterilize without the use of electricity as that is often not available in the rural areas. A campaign to get them sterilizers that operate on battery power would help tremendously here. V. National Policy regarding disposal. There is at present no national policy regarding the disposal of refuse, waste, medications, contaminated equipment or any other. This definitely needs to be part of the education process that takes place, as well as a policy developed and put into place. VI. HIV/AIDS education. 5% of the population has active aids at this point and that number is growing. There is an aids program that is active in the country but again, the country is so rural that most never get education or treatment. Set up district groups in this country seems to be the best way to handle this. VII. Drug Procurement-The country of New Guinea is a poor country. As stated before, they are listed as the most impoverished in the Pacific region. Treating disease is very difficult given the