Film History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Film History - Term Paper Example The movie is composed of mostly two hours of the North Vietnamese soldiers charging towards the American troops, mortar rounds that were meant to disseminate the American lines, as well as the American jets mowing down the fields of the Vietnamese soldiers. One of the things that have been effectively portrayed in the movie is to stage all the actions that took place in away that understandable and comprehensible. The larger part of the film adheres to the actual events that took place during the historical battle. In the movie, it can be seen that the battles were taking place in several open fields. Even though the battles historically took place within the rough terrain of the Vietnam, the scenes of the battle were in denser bushes. The terrain in Vietnam is naturally dense. A larger part of the Vietnam is covered with dense hence making the visibility limited and consequently leaving limited bald spots within the Vietnam terrain. The film shows several scenes that were shot in the open fields that had little vegetation and whenever there is appearance of vegetation, it is the wrong type when compared with that in Vietnam. Indeed, the film shows vegetations that resembles those in Tahoe or to some extent some of the deciduous forest and not Vietnam. Nonetheless, a critical look at the movie indicates that the only thing that could have been more accurate regarding its setting was the hilly terrain (Schwarzbaum Web). Overall it should be noted that the movie did not perform well in the portrayal of the terrain with accuracy it deserved. The fighting that is portrayed in the movie is mainly composed of the bombs and firearms. This portraying is pretty much the reality of what took place at the ground that has slightly differed from how it actually took place. This can be partly attributed to the mistake witnessed in the scenery but understandably this could have been difficult to shoot in case

African american essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

African american - Essay Example However, even though blacks had to go such conditions, the diverse African culture was still embroidered in their emotional state which remained apart of them as observed by Margaret Walker in her quotes, i.e. they still practice and held their norms from the past centuries to the present, avoiding the white culture despite the humiliating actions they were put through. This happened in the 1700 era where there was massive slave trade in the West African region. Millions of African descend were sold to the America and European countries. It was carried out in three parts hence the name Middle Passage. First, the Europeans carried goods such as firearms, iron, clothes and many more to the West African countries. On arrival, millions of people were captured and taken by force inform of slaves for exchange of goods. In fact, one of the slave narrates how her mother was forcefully taken and the only message she left that he be a good boy. The slaves were then shipped to America where the Europeans exchanged them for commodities such as sugar and cotton which were shipped to European countries. Captives were then left in America. Here they were exposed to various oppressions by the whites. First, whites had big tracks of land which were to be cultivated. The slaves were forced to work on those plantations producing crops while suffering severe tortures. Indeed they worked tirelessly on the plantations, with almost no food offered to them, while any complain would result into ruthless agony which caused them physical pain, castrating many deaths among the captives. This is shown from the slave narrative video where the slaves were subjected to thrashing while they were naked. The slaves were also made to bear inhuman housing conditions. Many people were put into small rooms. They had to excrete in containers provided to them in the rooms if not cubes, it was irritating and pathetic (Inikori and Stanley,

Shoplifting is a crime born of poverty Essay Example for Free

Shoplifting is a crime born of poverty Essay Shoplifting means someone involve stealing from the shop during business hour. Shoplifting is an old problem for merchants. There are lots of reasons to shoplift, range from very poverty and satisfy the desires or mental illness. Although there are lots of anti-shoplifting devices in place and the increase in police patrols and offers the retailers guidance on preventive measures, the rate of shoplifting in the world is still increasing. According to the Home Office crime statistics, there was a 10 percent increase in shoplifting in United Kingdom in the year of 2009. According to the Global Retail Theft Barometer research (2009), total global shoplifting in 41 participating countries costs economic lost for around $114,823 billion. Therefore, shoplifting is a serious problem not just in the United Kingdom. The statistics from the Home Office and the research form the Centre for Retail Research showed that the shoplifting is being a serious problem in contemporary society, and this essay is going to discuss, is shoplifting is a crime born of poverty. If not, then what is the reason for people to shoplift? For the issue of shoplifting is a crime born of poverty, there are several factors that may related to the increase of shoplifting and the argument of shoplifting is a crime born of poverty, such as high unemployment rate, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, underclass and the relationship between capitalism and crime. Against the issue of shoplifting is a crime born of poverty, there are several factors against the argument, such as peer pressure in adolescent, drug addict, psychological elements or other adolescent psychological factors. The rest of the essay is going to analysis all the factors either for or against. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, this is a theory in psychology and proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. Figure1: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs His theories parallel many other theories of human development psychology and focuses on describing the stages growth in humans. He presented his theory in a pyramid and defined the stages with Physiological, Safety, Love/belonging, Esteem and Self-actualization needs to explain the pattern that human motivations pass through. The base floor of the hierarchy  represented basic human need, which are breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis and excretion. These are necessary for human to survive in order to achieve the upper level of human wants. Moving on to the next part, which is safety needs and it included security of body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health and property. This part represents a civilization of human beings, which they are chasing for a better living standard. Then next part is Love or belonging needs, which are friendship, family and sexual intimacy. After that, Esteem needs included self-esteem confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others. The last part is self-actualization needs, which included morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts. This is the ethical and spiritual level that Maslow believed. Taking Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as an accurate portrayal of individual evolution, we could apply that to the evolution of human society, which included economically, socially and politically. Therefore the argument of this essay can be clearly explained. If a person lives without food, water and homeostasis, he may not be able to reach the upper levels of the pyramid, which included morality, safety and self-actualization. Therefore, he will commit crime like shoplifting or theft to get what he needs to survive. Most of the humans’ lacks of physiological needs are in poverty. Thus shoplifting can be said as a crime born of poverty in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory. Secondly, the relationship between capitalism and crime is a factor that makes shoplifting a crime born of poverty. Capitalism is an economic system that favours private ownership. In other words, capitalism is a system of economics under which ownership of and investment in the means of exchange, distribution and production. Therefore, most capitalism countries have the problem of inequality, which mean the gap between the rich and the poor. According to urban dictionary, capitalism is an imbalanced mechanism for distributing power where the rich and powerful get richer and more powerful, the poor get poorer. According to BBC News (2009), United Kingdom is a capitalism country, the gap between the rich and poor is very serious in UK, and the richest fifth of the population had an income 16 times greater than the poorest fifth. According to the National Equality Panel (NEP) report (2008), United States and United Kingdom are in the top 10 of inequality countries, which mean the gap between rich and poor  is very big. The rate of shoplifting in United State and United Kingdom are increasing, which means inequality will make poor people committed crime. In capitalism countries, when the gap between rich and poor become wider, the rate of crime will increase. Because capitalism is an idea that rich peoples use money to buy goods then sell to gain money but poor people don’t have money to buy goods in order to sell to gain money, so they committed shoplifting and sell the things that they stole in order to survive. Thirdly, Murray (1990) explained that there are three main characteris tics of underclass, which are illegitimacy, violent crime and economic inactivity. Shoplifting is an activity, which is economic inactive. Murray (1990) has also explained that the morally weak underclass that is unemployed is usually involved in crime and drug addiction. By analysis, the Murray research, the crime committed in shoplifting which is unemployed. According to The New York Times (2012), a single mother committed shoplifting and sells the goods in order to survive because the government had passed the 1996 welfare reform law. This case showed that there are people shoplifting because of poverty. Then, some people committed shoplifting because lack of clear purpose in life. These kinds of people often under unemployment, therefore, they live below poverty level. According to the research done by Mcshane, Lawless and Noonan (1991), 70 apprehended shoplifter aged between 18 and 88 compared to 70 undergraduate non-shoplifters, they found that shoplifters were most likely to live in poverty, to be socially isolated and not to aware psychological stressors th an those who do not shoplift. This research showed that people who live long-term under the poverty level lacks the purpose in life. Therefore, the research done by Mcshane, Lawless and Noonan (1991) proven shoplifting is a crime born of poverty. Finally, according to the UK Office For National Statistics (2012), the unemployment rate in United Kingdom was last reported at 8.3 per cent and it rose steadily. The unemployment rate has explained that the reason people shoplift is because of economic. Although the government have unemployment benefit, there are lots of people who are unemployed but do not meet the requirement to get the unemployment benefit. Therefore, shoplifting in United Kingdom still increases. The study of Ray and Briar (1988) included 200 court records and 382 self-reports and showed that shoplifters were more likely to have lower family income, be unemployed  believe that economic need causes shoplifting. However, there are lots of people who shoplift to satisfy their desires and some of them might pursue excitiement by shoplifting. Shoplifting is a psychological issue for a group of people. According to the articles National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (2006), the single largest psychological factors in around one-third of shoplifters are experiencing depression. Geyer (2001) also explained that most of the shoplifting offender is due to psychological factions. Therefore, most of the shoplifters committed shoplifting because of psychological issues more than because they are poor. Besides, according to Tonglet (2002), the decision to shoplift is influenced by social factors, pro-shoplifting attitudes, opportunities for shoplifting and perceptions of low risks in being caught. He described that shoplifting is consumer misbehaviour. BBC News Magazine (2012) also described that there is a new wave of middle-class shoplifter is targeting some high-end delicacies from stores and supermarket to have a lifestyle that they could no longer afford. The society believed that this development is caused by the ec onomic recession. On the other hand, teen’s problem is also a very important factor of shoplifting. According to the National Crime Prevention Council (2006), there are 25% of people committed shoplifting between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. The following essay is going to analysis and explain the reason that people shoplifting apart from poverty. Adolescent shoplifting is a nationwide rising problem. According to Moschis, Dena and Anthony (1990) experiment, they have surveyed 1692 teenagers from age 10 to 17 investigating shoplifting behaviour, family occupational status, rule breaking behaviour and perceived reasons for adolescent shoplifting. The result showed that shoplifting rate between the age 10 and 15 rose steadily and declined between the age 15 and 17. Moschis, Dena and Anthony (1990) concluded that there are few reasons explained that why teens shoplifting, such as chasing for excitement, peer pressure and attracting attention. For the reason of chasing for excitement, most of the teens got lots of time when they were bored and didn’t have anything better to do, they will pretend shoplifting to gain excitement. For the reason of peer pressure, it is playing a very important role on adolescent shoplifting. When their peers get a pair of expensive name brands shoes or clothes, the others will try to keep up with their peers and wear the latest. Other than that, electronics  also very popular, such as mp3 player, console, phone and other small expensive items. Most teens want to get the best and the latest leisure fashion and electronics to compete with their peers so they are faced with the lack of money to satisfy their desires, they may turn to shoplifting. Steven Gerrard said, â€Å"Being a young lad it’s hard not to give into peer pressure. I stole to fit in. I grabbed a few pens paper from Woolworths made a dash for the door but the security guy grabbed me.† Steven Gerrard is an England soccer hero, he confessed that he stole pens and nabbed by cops when he was in his early teens. This case strongly influenced that shoplifting isn’t a crime born of poverty. At last, the parent attention, many parents were very busy in their work in contemporary society so they will lack of care of their children. The child will do something in order to attract their parents’ attention. The second component that people committed shoplifting is drug users. According a study of Arrestees (2005), the study confirmed that shoplifting was the most frequent crime amongst drug users. This group of people shoplifting showed that they need to shoplift in order to fund their drug habit. Drug users usually resell the things that they steal or attempt a cash refund. The study also showed that alcohol is also a main component in shoplifting. According to BBC News (2012), most cases of shoplifting by what psychologists describe as â€Å" non-professional shoplifter â€Å", and most of them shoplifting to feed their alcohol addiction. Both drug addict and alcoholic people committed shoplifting in order to feed their drug and alcohol addiction not because of they are poverty. Thirdly, Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or bipolar disorder. Although there are very few of shoplifters fall into this category, this type of shoplifters has a psychological compulsion to shoplifting to satisfy their desires. They will commit shoplifting whenever the urge hits. According to Tasman (2011), he explained that people with Kleptomania often report the shoplifting act and they feel of pleasure after committed shoplifting. This kind of people shoplifting is because of mental illness, most of them did not think themselves as a crime after committed shoplifting. But in contemporary society, the law enforcement agencies treated them as normal crime. As a conclusion, to discuss whether or not shoplifting is a crime born of poverty, as it has countless factors causing  people to shoplift and lots of factor proved that shoplifting is born of poverty. Almost all of the reasons that support the argument are around economic and policy, such as the unemployment rate, the unemployment welfare, capitalism and the economic depression. In another word, if the government are to carry out well policy, the shoplifting rate will decrease. Therefore, the government plays a very important role in decreasing the rate of shoplifting. On the other hand, most of the shoplifters committed shoplifting not because of poverty, there are several factors that makes people shoplift, such as Kleptomania, psychological factors, peer pressure, teens’ problem and drug users. All of the academic researches and government reports showed that most shoplifting cases are influenced by the shoplifter’s psychological factors more than poverty, such as the Steven Gerrard’s case, the reason for him committing shoplift was not due to poverty. This is why it may seem fair to say, shoplifting is not a crime born of poverty, it is a crime born of psychological factors and government policy. After all, the study of crime has been the core subject matter in criminology. There are no definite answers as to why people commit certain crimes neither has the causation been found for criminal activities. Different schools of criminology proves that there are no definite answers in the understanding of crime. References Appelbaum, A. and Klemmer, H. (2012) Shoplifting. Menninger Perspective, 5 (3), p.16-19. Bbc.co.uk (2012) BBC News Why do well-off people shoplift?. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16469928 [Accessed: 1 May 2012]. Bbc.co.uk (2010) BBC Mark Eastons UK: Is inequality iniquitous?. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2010/01/is_inequality_iniquitous.html [Accessed: 1 May 2012]. City-journal.org (2008) The New York Timess Welfare Myopia by Heather Mac Donald City Journal. [online] Available at: http://www.city-journal.org/2012/eon0416hm.html [Accessed: 1 May 2012]. Cox, D. et al. (1990) When Consumer Behavior Goes Bad: An Investigation of Adolescent Shoplifting.. Journal of Consumer Research, 17

The Importance Of Maintaining Individuality Over Communality Politics Essay

The Importance Of Maintaining Individuality Over Communality Politics Essay Maintaining your individuality is more important than being part of a group because group identities and the groups differences tend to be the basis for decisions a person might make as a citizen. Groups who focus on a specific ideology have distinctive arguments and address a particular audience. Most of the members of liberation ideologies, such as black liberation, womens liberation, gay liberation, native peoples liberation, animal liberation and liberation theology focus on ones self interest taking on too narrow a view rather than promoting the viewpoint that is for the greater good. People in these groups would make their decisions regarding who might best lead the country or what laws should be enacted or voted down based on a candidates gender, religious beliefs, race or sexual preference, and not as a citizen thinking of the best scenario for the majority. These groups make their decisions because on their groups self-interests and exclude the individual viewpoint. If these specific groups want equality, then they should think as individual citizens because in the United States, citizens are equal before the law. As stated in our text book pg. 252, our courts of justice and other institutions should be blind to race, ethnicity, and other forms of group identification. No one should be given special treatment because of his or her race or ancestry or ethnic affiliation. The self interest characteristic of special groups is also seen in the fascist and Nazism ideologies. Both of these groups are against individualism and class divisions. They were only in favor of one nation or one supreme race, in other words, one group. Hitler believed that his Nazi philosophy about the German people (the supreme group) was more important then the 6 million Jews who did nothing to him, yet he had them killed. The fascists belief of everything for the good of the nation state, a single leader and single party can be seen in the modern day Moammar Gadhafi regime in Libya. The Gadhafi regime was not beneficial to the whole nation because there were inequalities among the citizens of Libya who have now revolted and are striving for democracy and individual freedoms. I feel that democracy is built on the assumption that things are beneficial to the community as a whole, and coming to a consensus is possible, but it fails if the special group is only looking out for #1 a nd doesnt care about anything else. So if each individual would take on the liberal ideology viewpoint which is to believe that the individual is the best judge of what is in his or her interest, so each person ought to be free to live as he or she wants so long as they do not choose to interfere with others freedom to live as they want to live. The ideology of liberalism promotes individual liberty by attempting to guarantee equal opportunity to all people within a tolerant society. With the opportunity of equality, an equal footing, the discrimination based on race, religion, or gender would be removed and people would have the ability to achieve their own success, if they adopt a liberal viewpoint. So why then would it be necessary to join a group to achieve the same opportunities as you could have maintaining your individuality? 3. Fascism is a political ideology which exalts a nation above the individual and is headed by a single leader of a centralized government which thru regimented force suppresses any opposition and controls the state economy and social conditions. Fascism is a good form of government because the nation is more powerful and sustainable through generations who are bound together by their common traditions and their commitment to build a better life. Fascism which is founded on the citizens duty and an individuals self sacrifice possibly even death is able to achieve the true value of a man as a member of his family, social group and nation, because the individual has no significance outside of their nation. Fascism enforces discipline and uses authority to mold mens characters and faith. Fascism affirms traditional values such as family values, religious faith, patriotism, social structure, honor, and traditional hard work. Fascism is an ideology of order and obedience where people fall in line with the single leadership, and do not question or criticize the State which makes sure the country runs smoothly, through the use of state spending and regulation of corporations. A fascist government institutes public works programs to build bridges, canals and roads, hospitals and schools all for the good of the nation state. A fascist government is organized on the theory that government should be run by representatives of the various centers of power in the state, such as Mussolinis policy of corporativism. What fascism is all about in an economic sense is the protection and regulation of capitalism through private ownership as the means of production for the nation. Fascism uses the power of the nation to protect and to stabilize the economy by bringing the major capitalists into a system of cooperation with each other so that economic conflict is reduced and through their cooperation stability is achieved. An example would be for a ruling council to be developed and include industrial leaders, union representatives, religious leaders, and military personnel. Having these leaders of power incorporated into the government, achieves a rapid consensus on matters more rapidly when a country needs to organize for a war or disaster relief. The nation can also become self-sufficient if the government has control over production and their profits. Fascism controls companies from manufacturing their products in foreign countries for a lower cost and then selling that product in their own country for a higher price and making a profit. Also keeping manufacturing jobs at home will provide employment to the nations people, reducing welfare and creating a strong economy. Under fascism, ownership of businesses is left in private hands, but the government regulates all businesses confiscating much of their profits and using them as the government decides, such as new roads, hospitals and schools, all for the good of the nation-state. The fascist system will also subsidize and regulate agriculture in order to achieve national self sufficiency. Another advantage of a fascist government is in the fight against terrorism. The nation controls the military under one leader and when needed, it is easy to have the leader decide that the military will control and operate everything and everyone that enters the country. Also crime in the nation can be greatly reduced, because the military can be used to patrol the streets and enforce obedience. True freedom for fascists is in serving the state and doing ones part to promote the states power and glory. One way of doing this is to create self sufficiency of the nation thru a strong military. To create a strong military, the nation promotes science, mathematics, and engineering in schools in order to develop better scientists who will be employed to build better weapons for the military. These corporations are given funding from the State. Consequently, the State will produce the most advanced technologies in the world, having the most advanced weapons and acting as a boom to the economy by providing a large number of jobs, making people happy and bolstering the support for their leader. Because the State plays an important role in the economy, the State protects and promotes industries which are vital to State interests. Also because a fascist government controls the economy, unemployment is reduced and social welfare programs can be instituted such as social health insurance . So to create a great Fascist state, it is simple; believe, obey and fight, against the enemies of the nation and this will bring glory to ones people as a leading power in the world. 5. As a conservative, I feel our rights come from God and not the government. So consequently, government should be limited as to what it does to solve a nations problems and the real emphasis should be placed on the individual to solve the problems through traditional American values, personal responsibility, individual liberty and free markets. So with that premise in place, I would like to explore some of the following issues from a conservative ideological perspective vs. a liberal ideological perspective. Liberals believe a woman has the right to decide what happens to her own body, including aborting a pregnancy. Liberals also believe that the government has the duty to protect human rights. I, as a conservative, believe human life begins at conception and that abortion is murder of a human being. An unborn baby is a living human being and has separate rights from those of their mother, thus the government should not use taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, as desired by liberals because that would not be protecting the human rights of the unborn, very hypocritical of liberals. Along those same lines, liberals want to legalize euthanasia. Neither abortion nor euthanasia should be legalized as it is immoral and unethical to deliberately end the life of a terminally ill person or an unborn human being. Taking an innocent life or that of a dying individual is murder, a capital offense in the United States, is punishable by death. Dont the liberals get it? Where is the moral code that is necessary to sustain a free society? If, liberals can justify using lethal force ending an innocent unborn life or a helpless elderly citizen. This does not seem to coincide with true Liberalism. Liberals support blanket amnesty for those who enter the United States illegally and want the undocumented immigrants to have the right to educational and health benefits that citizens receive. As a conservative, I dont want to stop people who immigrate to our country for a better life and benefits, because life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are God-given rights for every individual however, they should do so legally, otherwise they are placing an huge economic hardship on the United States by receiving benefits that legal citizens receive such as financial aid, welfare, and Medicaid because they are not of legal status. It is unfair to provide these services to illegal undocumented immigrants and make the true citizens support them through unfair taxation for these governmental programs. The United States borders should be secured and the immigration laws should be enforced for our countrys protection, security and economic survival. Liberals, in the best interest to citizens, want the government to regulate the economy as a protection against big business. However, having competition and a free market system creates the largest opportunity for a higher standard of living for everyone. When governments encourage individual efforts for entrepreneurial success and not oppose personal wealth, there is more economic growth, more jobs and a higher standard of living for all citizens then when government tries to regulate the economic system. Putting numerous controls in place to artificially direct the economy can create serious problems. Along these same lines, liberals think because people are getting wealthier, they should be taxed more to enable the government to help and care for the poor and needy using tax dollars from the rich to create jobs and welfare programs. However, the traditional American value of hard work allows the economy to grow and prosper, leaving the money in the hands of the people and by lowe ring taxes and a smaller government allows Americans to save more, invest and spend their money to help those that they want to aid and not at the direction of the government. Government programs to the needy should be opportunities to make them become self-reliant encouraging work and independence rather then encourage laziness and continued dependence on government funding. Liberals dont see terrorism as a great threat to the United States and feel the best way to deal with terrorism is good diplomacy and that using military force against terrorists only causes hatred and more terrorism. However, as can be seen by the radical Islamism ideology being anti-liberal and anti-individual and rejecting individual rights and rights against the larger society as in the U.S. Bill of Rights, as stated in our text book, pg. 291, seems to be a very strong division between the militant Islamists goal of establishing Islamic states that govern according to Islamic law and the destruction of Israel and an existing peaceful Western world. It seems that to ensure individual liberties, a strong military force to provide security for society and intelligence-gathering methods are the best way to defeat terrorism in the United States and around the world. I dont believe you can bargain with tyrants or terrorists. The conservative ideological perspective is best because it stands up for what is right, and exhibits the principles that have made America great such as the love of God, love of family, the work ethic, patriotism, and individual freedom. 6. According to Thomas Hobbes in his major work the Leviathan, the state of nature is a condition of perfect freedom in which no one had any authority over them and all individuals are equal-no one is born to hold a higher rank or status than anyone else -and have a natural right to do as they wish as per our text book on pg. 52. If this was how mankind existed before government, I believe life in this state of nature would be every man for himself and against each other, the survival of the fittest. Man would live but not the life as we know it; it would be very animalistic and primeval. Man would resolve disputes through violence and war would run rampart around the world. Disease would be prevalent, and technology would be non existent. Man is competitive and contentious, so he would be an enemy to every other man, there would be no industry, no culture, no knowledge, and no society and man would live in continual fear and danger of constant death. Because of the violence and uncertainty of life in the state of nature it would motivate people to form tribal leaders or governments. People would realize the need for peace and stability consequently they would seek a ruler or leader to govern them and in return the governing body would provide the peace and stability the people wanted as long as the laws of the government were abided, the people would then be free to pursue happiness without fear. Government is needed to provide stability and order, and protect the rights and liberties of the people. The purpose of government is to provide enough protection of life, liberty and property that individuals could enjoy these rights. Government creates order out of chaos, and punishes bad behavior but encourages moral behavior and tradition. Also governments provide needs for the community when these needs cannot be met by individuals. A government can play a major role in economic security by managing and regulating a countrys economy and stabilizing it for the benefit of its citizens. A government defines laws which establish equality and justice in a society. The government of a nation can provide basic health and education services for its citizens. Thus, government is like an umbrella that shields the citizens of a nation, while binding them together and helping them live in harmony. Governments are established with intent to increase the peoples potential for survival.

Visions and Dreams in James Welch’s Fools Crow :: James Welch Fools Crow Essays

Visions and Dreams in James Welch’s Fools Crow In the novel Fools Crow, by James Welch, several characters have visions and dreams. The dreams are so realistic that they are a vision of what's to come in the future. A lot of the visions and dreams become a message or some type of warning to the people so that they are aware of thing that are going to happen. Many of these dreams that the characters have affect them positively or in a disastrous way leading to misfortune. The first dream is a dream that White-Man's Dog known as "Fools Crow," has while he is on the first raid against the Crows. He dreamt of a lodge within an enemy camp containing young naked girls. As one of the girls approached him, he began to awake. After his awaking, he felt that in his dream he wanted to approach the girl but knew that there was danger in her direction. He kept thinking that he should tell Yellow Kidney, their leader, of this dream but his father had told him that it was not wise to speak of your dreams to others. After the raid, Yellow Kidney did not return with the others. Several months later he returned to their homestead and began to tell of what had happened to him. He had entered the enemy camp and discovered the lodge of young naked girls. The girls were infected with the white scabs disease; he had sexual contact with one of them and almost died. White Man's Dog felt horrible and blamed himself for what happened to Yellow Kidney. He thought to himself "Wh y hadn't he told Yellow Kidney of his dream? Such a dream would have been a sign of bad medicine and they might have turned back" (76). The second dream is a dream that Mik-api, the medicine man, has about the raven. The raven was a bird that had heard a cry of a four-legged creature named the wolverine. The wolverine had crossed through one of the Crow's caged traps and could not escape. When the raven tried to free the wolverine, he was not of strength to succeed. He told Mik-api in his dream that he knew of White Man's Dog and the strength he pertained. "It will take such a man to release our four-legged brother" (52). Mik-api told White Man's Dog of this dream and he agreed to find the wolverine and set him free.

The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Essay -- Education

1. Introduction With the passage of time and the spread of technology wider than ever, there is a vast amount of knowledge and information which require from individuals faster response to these developments around the globe. One of the most effective ways for individuals to be up-to-date with the world around is to read. Reading is a skill which any learner needs along with other skills. Reading, as defined by Macmillan Dictionary, is the process of recognizing written or printed words and understanding their meaning. For reading to be most effective, readers need to read in their area of interest and have prior knowledge of what is going to be read. For more clarification, prior knowledge is background knowledge about certain topics. In other words, what a reader already knows about the topic he is about to read. This prior knowledge has great impact on the reading and the reader. 2. Description 2. A. Terms Used for Background Knowledge Moreover, background knowledge is fundamental in reading comprehension. It is defined by The Free Online Dictionary as â€Å"Information that is essential to understanding a situation or a problem.† The terms background knowledge and prior knowledge are generally used interchangeably (Strangman and Hall, 2010). Background knowledge and prior knowledge are parent terms for many more terms such as: conceptual knowledge, metacognitive knowledge, subject matter knowledge, strategy knowledge, personal knowledge, and self-knowledge (Strangman et al., 2010). Though scholars’ definitions and names of prior knowledge are different, they typically describe the same concept. 2. B. Factors Shape Background Knowledge Furthermore, there are many factors that background knowledge could b... ...NHUAvgCy4-HuRIoUF7y2b07jddLKA&cad=rja Spires, H.A. & Donley, J. (1998). Prior knowledge activation: Inducing engagement with informational texts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 249-260. Strangman, N. & Hall, T. (2010). Background Knowledge. Curriculum Enhancement Report. U.S. Special Office of Education Program. National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved October 28, 2011 from : http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20role%20of%20background%20knowledge%20in%20reading&source=web&cd=7&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoar.wichita.edu%2Fdspace%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10057%2F256%2Ft06002.pdf&ei=O0WmTsvILdK2hAeU-pSeDg&usg=AFQjCNHearmwQCdk6JpPpDZEtGg7jiCG8Q The Free Online Dictionary. (2011). The entery â€Å" background knowledge†. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/background+knowledge

Lesson Plan Template Essay

The student will be able to solve an equation that contains two single digit numbers. The student will recognize the symbol for addition. The student will successfully set up the equation and put the numbers in the correct sequence. Anticipatory Set Teacher will introduce the lesson by calling two students to the front of the room. One student will write one number (1-9) and the other student will write another number (1-9) on the board Teach Lesson / Model The teacher will place an addition and equals sign on the board and then introduce the lesson topic. The teacher will then briefly re-teach how numbers represent quantities. The tens blocks will then be used to represent the numbers in the equations. The teacher will then complete several equations using both the tens blocks and the number line Guided Practice The teacher will then place several equations on the board and allow students the opportunity to help solve them. The teacher will use the mum ball (when the teacher or another student throws the mum ball to the student, they are allowed to speak) to call on students to participate. Students tend to like this and it allows for movement. The teacher will ensure that each student gets a chance to answer one question. Independent Practice Students that require extended time will be granted more time, and the same applies for students requiring separate settings. The students will be met on their level. The teacher will check the work of each student and will offer more practice during the next day’s morning work. Also will have each student time to do IXL Online Math Practices and test Closure The teacher will collect the activity sheets and ask the students their thoughts on the lesson. The teacher will ask why topics such as this are important and have students provide situations where this skill could be beneficial Evaluation *Assessment/Rubrics Students should be graded on participation and the accuracy of their counting and writing skills students will be assessed through the weekly skills test that is conducted each Thursday. If the student is determined to have not mastered the concept, re-teaching will occur on Friday. MATERIALS AND RESOURCES Instructional Materials (handouts, etc. ) The instructor will use the blackboard/dry erase board to begin the lesson. The students will be provided with a worksheet with ten addition problems as well as sets of nine blocks. The will be allowed to use a number line. Resources Internet IXL Online Math for practice and testing Review adding several 1-digits numbers in the vertical format, emphasizing that when the total is ten or greater you ‘carry’ the number to the top of the tens column. Then add the numbers in the tens column, which, at this point, is only the number that was carried. Review adding a 1-digit number to a 2-digit number in the vertical format, pointing out that when the units column is ten or greater you put the number from the tens place in the answer at the top of the tens column of the 2-digit number. Then you add those two numbers in the tens column and put the sum in the tens column of the answer. The K- Kindergarten will be able to add two single digit numbers, each being no greater than 10, when provided with an oral equation within a one minute time period. (This task analysis is for a child who is able to see, and hear, and has normal developmental abilities. Some addition or variant steps may be required for a child who has special needs).