A Problem In the Field of Finance Annotated Bibliography - 1

A Problem In the Field of Finance - Annotated Bibliography Example She describes the major elements and features of sovereign debt crisis, its implications and impact in the general sense and provides a critical case review of the US sovereign debt crisis. Sovereign debt crisis is a situation where a countrys government is unable to pay its bills (Amadeo para 1). This occurs when the government spends more money than it has. In such a case, the government will not be able to get money from its normal funding sources. Rather, it will need to find ways and means of getting money to fulfill its payment obligation and the most common method is to borrow. In explaining the cycle of sovereign debt crisis, Amadeo identifies that where a government enters a situation where honoring its sovereign debt is an issue, lenders see risks and begin to panic. In other words, the government cannot guarantee a low interest rate for lenders, thus, the lenders become concerned that the country cannot pay its bonds. In such a situation, the lenders will begin to demand higher yields to compensation for the speculation and anxiety that comes with the threat of sovereign debts. They therefore begin to panic and the economy gets into chaos. One of the obvious solutions that most governments employ is quantitative easing which involves the printing of more money to ease the issues with the sovereign debt threats (Amadeo para 7). This causes inflation and affects the value of the nations currency. Thomas Reuters provides statistical information and facts about the US Sovereign debt criss. As of October 2013, the United States governments borrowing was over $16.7 trillion (Thomson para 4). This was at par to the actual size of the US economy. Thus, as part of a trend, the Fitch rating system sought to downgrade the United States from its AAA rating to a lower rating. Prior to the events of October 2013, notable rating agencies like Standard & Poors had downgraded the USs rating to an AA rating. This occurred in August

The Imposing Of Goods And Services Tax Economics Essay

The Imposing Of Goods And Services Tax Economics Essay The imposing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) will replace the Malaysian service and sales tax. GST has been implemented in US, Singapore, Thailand and Japan where Malaysias GST will be charged four percent for buying and selling transactions. The basic necessities like sugar, flour, and oil are free from GST in Malaysia. GST is a consumption tax where everyone can be charged of all the supplies of goods and services. For example, if the total price of a good is RM10, then consumers will have to pay an extra 40 cents after GST is charged. However, GST will affect the middle and low income group in Malaysia who use their income for basic necessities. Government impose taxes on the buyers and sellers. When there is a tax on buyers, they will buy less and this discourages consumptions of goods and services. Tax on buyers will increase the cost of buying and hence demand decreases. The demand curve will shifts to left by the tax. Buyers will need more money to buy the goods produced and services performed. When there is a tax on sellers, they will sell less and discourages production of goods and services. Tax on sellers will increase the cost of production and hence decrease the supply of goods and services. As a result, the quantity of the goods sold will decline. The supply curve will shifts to left by the amount of the tax. Buyers and sellers both will have to bear with the tax. The buyers will have to pay more for the goods while the sellers receive less profit. The sellers will earn less if the tax is imposed. The government use the revenue from taxes to subsidy the items which needed by the citizens. Rice, petrol, oil, sugar and chicken are examples that government subsidies for the people. These items are very crucial in their daily life. In my opinion, taxes should be imposing on the selling of cigarettes and alcohols. If the government impose tax on these two items, the demand of cigarettes and alcohols will reduce. This is because cigarettes and alcohols have negative impact in our body. The people slowly realise the importance of having a healthy lifestyle. If the price of cigarettes and alcohols increases, people will consume less. This is because the population of the country mainly consist of lower income group. This group of people do not have enough money to buy when the price goes up. The diagrams below show the illustrations of tax on buyers and tax on sellers. P S Psellers P without tax Pbuyers Tax D1 D0 Tax on buyers 0 Q S1 P S0 Pwithout tax Pbuyers Tax Psellers D Q 0 (b) Tax on sellers Besides tax, price control also regulates the market when the markets fail. Price control consists of two acts which is the ceiling price, the maximum price charged to the consumers and floor price, the minimum price producers sell. Ceiling price is the maximum limit set by the government for goods and services. This is to help the buyers which are the lower income group in Malaysia. The ceiling price is set based on basic necessities like sugar, oil and rice. Ceiling price increases the quantity demanded of a good for consumers and decreases the quantity supplied by the producers or sellers. Sellers cannot sell goods and services above the ceiling price. As a result, they will leave the market. When the quantity demanded is more than quantity supplied, this will incur shortages for goods and services. Producers will not have the incentive to produce more while the consumers will demand more than normal condition. The producers would likely to produce low quality products. Price ceiling have been impose on the sugar market and rice market in Malaysia recently. The producers of sugar will not want to sell their products at ceiling price. Then, the sugar producers will supply less sugar in the market. Hence, the consumers will be facing panic-buying where the consumers scared that they will not have enough sugars to make cakes and drinks especially during festive celebrations. Consumers will be healthier if they have less consumption of sugar. This policy will cause hardship to Malaysians. In contrast, consumers will enjoy the benefit of having a low price for goods and services. Consumers would like to pay less than more on goods and services and save more for their futures. However, the shortage caused by the suppliers or producers creates a black market. This is where the goods and services are bought and sold illegally. Black market creates problem for the poor people. The poor people will not get the goods if they do not have enough money. In a black market, people who bid and willing to pay the highest will get the goods. If the ceiling price of a good in Malaysia is lower than the price in worldwide, the producers will sell the good to other country other than Malaysia. The main reason is they can earn extra profit if they sell overseas through smuggling. Black market always associated with criminal activities like selling firearms, tobacco and drugs. The diagram below shows the illustration of the ceiling price. Price Equilibrium price Supply Equilibrium point Price ceiling (binding) Pe Pn Shortage Demand Qe 0 Quantity demanded (c) Ceiling price The objective of floor price is to raise the revenue of producers. Government set the minimum price for the goods and services that offered by the producers. For example, when the price of petrol increases, the quantity demanded by the consumers decreases. When the quantity demanded reduces, there will be more supply in the market, then surplus of goods and services incur. When surplus occurs, producers will produce too much and consumers demand too little. The surplus bought by the government can be used when there is shortage of goods and services at ceiling price. Consumers would have to pay a higher price for goods and services. The suppliers or producers are guaranteed to a higher price and hence they increase production. However, the producers are guaranteed temporarily as there are more competitions in their own industry. The diagram below shows the illustration of floor price. Surplus P Floor price (binding) Pn S Equilibrium price D Equilibrium quantity 0 Q (d) Floor price In conclusion, the Goods and Services Tax and price control increase the efficiency of the market and have some positive and negative impacts in different public policies. The GST has to be fair with either to suppliers or consumers. Besides public policies, the distribution policy can also increase the efficiency of a market. Ceiling price and floor price are affecting the consumers demand and the suppliers supply curve. The government has to care for the lower income group in order to decrease the cost of basic goods and services in their daily life.

Greek Life Under Attack :: essays papers

Greek Life Under Attack According to an article written by Jay Reeves, administrators at the University of Alabama are getting involved in integrating sororities and fraternities by imposing rules and punishments for those organizations that do not comply. Since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960?s, Americans like to think that segregation does not exist in the United States. However, sororities and fraternities across the country are being viewed as segregated. Many people in society feel that it is the administrators job to enforce integration among fraternities and sororities, but others feel that it should be up to the students to integrate themselves and that the faculty should stop interfering. Many of those who feel that integration should be left untouched by the administrations of the school know that historically Greek organizations have been segregated. For almost a century the groups have remained segregated naturally, or by choice. Since this has never been an issue before administrators should not even bother to integrate sororities and fraternities. Furthermore, what happens of no members of the opposite race want to join a traditional race oriented frat or sorority? How can administrators justify punishing Greek organizations if members of the opposite race truly have no interest in joining? However, over the years this segregation has blindly detained people from limited backgrounds to be able to engage themselves with people of other backgrounds. This is the case for the family in Rodriguez?s ?Aria.? The family?s background limits them to having interactions with people of other backgrounds. Rodriguez says, ?it never occurred to my parents that they couldn?t live wherever they chose?despite their accomplishments the confidence of ?belonging? in public was withheld from them? (658). Richard cannot interact with the other children at first because his background uses a different language, which prohibits this interaction. These examples show that segregation causes barriers to be built, and once constructed are very hard to overcome if interaction takes place at a later time. Forcing integration reverses this problem by giving a chance for various backgrounds to interact with each other. This forced integration can also bring many more options to those students who are interested in joining a sorority or fraternity thus increasing the overall memberships of the Greek community.

The Wall of Friendship

â€Å"Mending Wall† by Robert Frost is a poem that talks about the relationship of two farmer neighbors as they maintained a wall between their respective areas. The persona is narrating how the wall that they have maintained has been destroyed by time, not to mention the sun and the hunters. He is also calling the attention of the neighbor for their mending time which they do every spring time. The other farmer in the poem believes that the wall serves him and his neighbor good. Good fences make good neighbors† according to him suggests that the wall symbolizes nothing else but â€Å"something† that does only serve as a barrier but also as a common wall for them to celebrate friendship and companionship. The symbolism of the wall as mentioned in the earlier paragraph is that of barrier and common wall. These two comprise factors in every person’s relationships with each other, in the poem; it is the relationship and friendship of two neighbor farmers. In e very relationship that people have, a wall is needed to as to make it harmonious. As the other farmer has said, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors. † It is only through maintaining the wall, repairing it in case of ruin, and putting it in the right place that make relationships between people work out smoothly. In the assertion that the wall serves as a barrier in the maintenance of relationships between and among people, the persona has said that â€Å"Before I built a wall I’d ask to know/ What I was walling in or walling out,/ And to whom I was like to give offense. This line suggests that in maintaining friendship or any other relationship with people around you; you have to set boundaries and limitations. For instance, if you are neighbors, then you should recognize that the wall separates your respective houses, front yards, and backyards. In this case, each one of you needed to respect each other space as the narrator has said â€Å"He is all pine and I am apple orchard. / My apple trees will never get across/ And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. † Finally, in the last assertion that the wall serves as a â€Å"common wall† in the maintenance of friendship, the wall refers to the common and shared experiences that the neighbors have while mending the wall. These shared and common experiences make them cultivate their relationships even more. The same thing as in any other relationship, time with each other is really necessary. The neighbors’ shared experiences make them respect each other’s part of the wall. Moreover, it made them good neighbors. â€Å"and set the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. / and some are loaves and some so nearly balls/ We have to use a spell to make them balance:/ Stay where you are until our backs are turned! / We wear our fingers rough with handling them. / Oh, just another kind of out-door game. † As a conclusion, the wall symbolizes the nice and good factors in the maintenance of every relationship every person has. The wall suggests that the important things in every relationship are barrier and commonalities as observed by the two neighbors in the poem.

Problems of Democracy in Pakistan Essay

After years of military dictatorships followed by sham democracy, the situation in Pakistan has reached such a point that the masses are yearning for radical change. Their suffering is immense as the people at the top continue to enrich themselves at the expensive of the workers and peasants, collaborating with imperialism as it rides rough-shod over the people of Pakistan. Everything is moving to an inevitable revolutionary explosion. Pakistan’s Supreme Court in its verdict of 16 December, 2009 declared the notorious NRO null and void ab initio. The National Reconciliation Ordinance of October 2007 was promulgated by the then President of Pakistan General Parvaiz Musharraf. It was the outcome of a deal he had struck with Benazir Bhutto, life Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party in a covert meeting in Abu Dhabi. The deal was brokered by the United States and Britain. The aim was to create a new setup that could facilitate the imperialist war and other interests in this turbulent region. According to this ordinance all cases of politicians including corruption, murder, extortion, kidnappings and other heinous crimes would be withdrawn. Some of the major beneficiaries are now in power including Benazir’s widower Zardari, now the President of Pakistan and some of his most sinister ministers. The other main beneficiary is the Muteheda Qaumi Movement, MQM, whose leader, an absconder resident in London for several years, and its other leading figures were facing charges of murder and other crimes. The MQM is a mafia-type organisation with neo-fascist tendencies and its main ideological baggage is based on ethnic conflict. The present democratic dispensation is the product of such a nefarious design. After Benazir’s assassination in December 2007 Musharraf’s fate was sealed. The plan B came into action and Zardari having a long standing relationship with US officials was catapulted into the presidency with his firm assurance that he would be more subservient to the Americans than Musharraf or Benazir could ever have been. The Electoral College for this election are comprised of members of the National and provincial assemblies who were elected in the February 2008 elections, the results of which were tailor-made in Washington to serve the imperialist strategies. Ironically this unanimity, or â€Å"reconciliation†, between all the parties in Parliament was prompted by a collective fear on the part of these representatives of the ruling class in the wake of the beginnings of a mass movement that they witnessed on the arrival of Benazir from exile in Karachi on October 18, 2007 and later after the explosion of the wrath of the workers, peasants and youth at the news of her assassination on December 27, 2007. After a long period of suffering, the oppressed in Pakistan had risen up in the hope that the leader of their traditional party, the PPP under Benazir Bhutto, would be a beacon of change and free them from the unrelenting misery and distress. The Americans had already done their homework with the PPP leaders, who mainly come from the moneyed classes, to divert this outburst into a democratic election and facade of â€Å"democracy†. These leaders drowned the mass anger and revolt in sorrow and despair. They refused to call for a general strike for the elections to be held on the scheduled date of January 8, 2008 and blocked the movement. This gave an opportunity to the Pakistani state and its imperialist masters to regroup their forces and stave off the threat of a revolutionary upheaval. The Military in Pakistan has ruled directly for more than half of the country’s 62 years of chequered history. All the military regimes were supported and propped up by US imperialism. During the â€Å"democratic† intermissions the plight of the masses continued to deteriorate. After the first decade (1947-58) of democratic regimes, such was the crisis that when Martial Law was imposed by Field Martial Ayub Khan there was even a sense of relief amongst several sections of society. Ayub Khan had the impertinence to say in one of his initial statements â€Å"we must understand that democracy cannot work in a hot climate. To have democracy we must have a cold climate like Britain. † General Ayub told the first meeting of his cabinet, â€Å"As far as you are concerned there is only one embassy that matters in this country: the American Embassy. † The Ayub dictatorship embarked upon an ambitious economic, agrarian and industrial programme in the 1960s, mainly sponsored by â€Å"US Aid† and the World Bank. Although Pakistan achieved its highest growth rates under Ayub, Keynesian economic policies failed to improve the lot of the masses. The aggravated social contradictions exploded into the revolution of 1968-69 that was fundamentally of a socialist character. See Pakistan’s Other Story-The 1968-69 Revolution]. The failure of the existing left leadership to give a clear revolutionary programme and perspective to the movement resulted in the rise of the Populism of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Due to the absence of a Bolshevik-Leninist revolutionary party the revolution was lost. But it did shake the whole of South Asia. The ruling classes initially tried to impose Martial Law again. However, its failure to curb the tide resulted in the first elections based on the adult franchise in 1970 where the PPP became the largest party in West Pakistan. Having failed to curtail the revolutionary wave that pierced through the ballot, ultimately the ruling classes resorted to a war with India, which led to the break-up of Pakistan and then Bhutto was given power who, forced by the pressure of the masses, initiated radical reforms from above, but only to exhaust the revolution brewing below. Bhutto’s elected left reformist government was subsequently overthrown by a military coup led by General Zia ul Haq in July 1977, who later hanged Bhutto at the behest of US imperialism. The eleven-year brutal dictatorship of Zia was perhaps the most traumatic period for the working masses in Pakistan. In connivance with the Americans, Zia propped up and unleashed the beast of Islamic fundamentalism to crush the left. The continuance of that grotesque monstrosity is what produced the present day fundamentalist terror that is ripping apart the social fabric of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Zia Dictatorship began to crumble after another upheaval on the return from exile of Bhutto’s daughter Benazir in April 1986. The contradictions in the already weakened dictatorship were thus sharpened. General Zia’s plane was conveniently blown up in mid air in August 1988 – some have speculated that this may have been done at the request of the Americans, whom the megalomaniac and insane general had begun to â€Å"disobey† seeking his own personal agenda. From 1988 to 1999 there was another democratic interlude, where Benazir and Nawaz Sharif alternated in short stints of rulerships. This period was marred by an orgy of corruption, incompetence, spiralling economic decline and chaos. General Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup by overthrowing Sharif. Musharraf then introduced a â€Å"quasi-democracy† in 2002 but the 9/11 episode in the USA once again made another dictator another main American collaborator. This time the facade was not against communists but we had the so-called â€Å"war against terror†. Musharraf’s demise and the regime that ensued once again brought unprecedented agony and pain for the people of Pakistan. History has turned full circle. This vicious cycle of Pakistan’s political superstructure – dictatorship to democracy and back to dictatorship – has brought no respite to society. Only the suffering has intensified. In reality this is a reflection of the ongoing social and economic crisis built into the foundations of this tragic country. The Pakistani ruling class after its independence from direct British rule came onto the scene of history too late and with this came an inability to develop the economy. It was a weak class even at its inception. It could not produce enough surpluses for its profits and capital needed to tap the resources of the country and carry out its historical role of the national revolution that its pioneers had envisaged. It adjusted itself accordingly, and its survival depended on the one hand by being subservient to imperialism and on the other allying itself and compromising with the landed aristocracy created under the Raj. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as early as November 1947, less than three months after the formation of Pakistan, had sent his emissary to Washington asking for a $2bn loan. The response he got was a mere $10million of loose change. The failure of Pakistan’s ruling elite is evident 62 years later. None of the national democratic tasks have been completed. Several agrarian reforms have failed to abolish feudalism. Pakistan came into existence not as a nation but as a state comprising different nationalities. National oppression continues and the national question has become a festering wound on the body politic of this country. The task of the formation of a modern nation state is far from being achieved and will in fact further deteriorate with the impending crisis. This state of incompleteness of the tasks has wrought havoc on the social and economic life of Pakistani society. The social and political infrastructure is in a state of collapse. â€Å"National sovereignty† is a farce and hardly anybody believes in the state’s independence. Imperialist intervention and domination is on a greater scale today than it was in 1947, the year of Pakistan’s creation. Except for a few years under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, all the finance ministers have been employees of the World Bank or other imperialist financial institutions. Now the US is even trying to control sections of Pakistan’s armed forces and intruding its military corporate contractors to take over â€Å"security† in several vital parts of the country. These include former Blackwater now XE securities, DynCorp and others. An embittered general described the strategic relationship as Americans using Pakistan as a â€Å"condom†. The conflicts within the army are also the result of this aggressive hegemony being thrust into the Military’s domain. This is already giving rise to bloody conflicts among different agencies and sections of the armed forces representing black money and other sections of finance capital. This conflict is being waged covertly at the present time. But if a desperate imperialism faces an impending defeat in Afghanistan and tries a partial US occupation of NWFP (Pushtoonkhwa), it could even trigger a severe crisis in the army already under strain from carrying out the CENTCOM instructions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The fallout could have catastrophic consequences. Similarly the severe crisis of Pakistani capitalism has failed to develop a parliamentary democracy. The Pakistani ruling class, in the wake of its economic failures turned to plunder of the state at an early stage. They pay less than 10% of total taxation revenues. The real burden falls on the working class who are forced to pay more than 80% of the revenues through indirect taxation. The capitalist class steals electricity and gas, while billions of dollars of bank loans have been written off. According to the figures presented before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, a small section of these leeches’ annual corruption exceeds Rs. 500 billion (US$6. 2bn). Most of this money is stashed away in western banking havens. As this process started to become more and more evident, the army, the most powerful instrument of the state, started to become part of this evil nexus of plunderers and usurpers. The drug-funded and US/Saudi sponsored Afghan Jihad brought even greater loot to the coffers of the generals. Other institutions of the state and society including the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the media joined in this orgy of corruption. Hence, whenever there was a political crisis (conflict of the civilian plunderers) the military moved in to quell the rot. The dictatorships bred more corruption and as they began to lose their grip democracy was introduced – the main reason being the growing danger of a mass revolt that is provoked by these repressive regimes. Although even a bourgeois democracy is a progressive step forward as compared to military dictatorships, the exploitative system that the military rulers intervene to salvage remains intact. In Pakistan this crisis-ridden system again creates a political instability that reflects the burning economic turmoil. The army and state are not a class, but in the last analysis the economic and social conditions determine the nature of the regime that is needed by the ruling class to preserve the system of exploitation of labour. Comrade Ted Grant elaborated on this in 1949 â€Å"The state by its very nature is composed of a bureaucracy, officers, generals, heads of police etc. But those do not constitute a class; they are the instrument of a class even if they may be in antagonism to that class. They cannot themselves be a class. † (The unbroken thread, pp. 235). In Pakistan the irony is that time and again the masses have risen up against the dictatorship, fundamentally to overthrow the yoke of exploitation and misery inflicted upon them by this vicious system of class rule. When they were allowed even to make half a choice through the ballot-box they propelled the PPP to power. Yet their hopes have been dashed time and again by the PPP in government in the short span of less than 40 years. The toiling masses have been loyal to their tradition for generations. The ruling class only allowed the PPP into the corridors of power to dissipate the mass upsurge. Above all the ruling class, the state and the imperialists have used the capitulating leaders of the PPP to carry through cuts, privatisations and other drastic anti-working class measures. They could not have achieved so much with the right-wing governments of Sharif, etc. , but even under the dictatorships they combined caution with repression. However, at least in the 1970s the PPP government did carry through some reforms for the betterment of the impoverished masses. In the later PPP governments since 1988 such was the crisis of Pakistani capitalism that there was no room for even minimal reforms.

Official Function of Emperor Akihito of Japan

Official Function of Emperor Akihito of Japan From the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the Japanese surrender that ended World War II, the Emperor of Japan was an all-powerful god/king. The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces spent the first half of the twentieth century conquering vast swathes of Asia, fighting the Russians and the Americans, and menacing even Australia and New Zealand. With the countrys defeat in 1945, however, Emperor Hirohito was forced to renounce his divine status, as well as all direct political power. Nonetheless, the Chrysanthemum Throne endures. So, what does the current emperor of Japan actually do? Today, Hirohitos son, Emperor Akihito, sits on the Chrysanthemum Throne. According to the Constitution of Japan, Akihito is a symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power. The current emperor of Japan has official duties that include receiving foreign dignitaries, awarding decorations to Japanese citizens, convening the Diet, and officially appointing the Prime Minister as selected by the Diet. This narrow scope leaves Akihito with a lot of free time to pursue hobbies and other interests. The Emperors Schedule How does Emperor Akihito while away the hours? He gets up at 6:30 each morning, watches the news on television, and then goes for a walk with Empress Michiko around the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo. If the weather is inclement, Akihito drives in his 15-year-old Honda Integra. Reportedly, he obeys all traffic laws even though the roads in the Imperial Compound are closed to other vehicles, and the Emperor is exempt. The mid-day is filled with official business: greeting foreign ambassadors and royalty, handing out imperial awards, or performing his duties as a Shinto priest. If he has time, the Emperor works on his biological studies. He is a world-class expert on goby fish  and has published 38 peer-reviewed scientific papers on the topic. Most evenings include official receptions and banquets. When the Imperial Couple retires at night, they enjoy watching nature programs on TV and reading Japanese magazines. Like most royals, the Japanese Emperor and his family live an oddly isolated lifestyle. They have no need for cash, they never answer the telephone, and the Emperor and his wife eschew the internet. All of their houses, furnishings, etc. belong to the state, so the Imperial Couple does not have any personal belongings. Some Japanese citizens feel that the Imperial Family has outlived its usefulness. Most, however, are still devoted to this shadowy remnant of the former god/kings. The true role of the current emperor of Japan seems to be two-fold: to provide continuity and reassurance to the Japanese people, and to apologize to the citizens of neighboring countries for past Japanese atrocities. Emperor Akihitos mild manner, distinct lack of hauteur, and express contriteness for the past have gone some way toward repairing relations with such neighbors like China, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Food Shortages Due to Global Warming, Study Warns

Food Shortages Due to Global Warming, Study Warns Half of the world’s population could face severe food shortages by the end of this century as rising temperatures shorten the growing season in the tropics and subtropics, increase the risk of drought, and reduce the harvests of dietary staples such as rice and maize by 20 percent to 40 percent, according to a study published in the journal Science. Global warming is expected to affect agriculture in every part of the world but it will have a greater impact in the tropics and subtropics, where crops are less able to adapt to climate change and food shortages are already starting to occur due to rapid population growth. High Highs Scientists at Stanford University and the University of Washington, who worked on the study, discovered that by 2100 there is a 90 percent chance that the coolest temperatures in the tropics during the growing season will be higher than the hottest temperatures recorded in those regions through 2006. Even more temperate parts of the world can expect to see previously record-high temperatures become the norm. Higher Demand With the world population expected to double by the end of the century, the need for food will become increasingly urgent as rising temperatures force nations to retool their approach to agriculture, create new climate-resistant crops, and develop additional strategies to ensure an adequate food supply for their people. All of that could take decades, according to Rosamond Naylor, who is director of food security and the environment at Stanford. Meanwhile, people will have fewer and fewer places to turn for food when their local supplies begin to run dry. When all the signs point in the same direction, and in this case its a bad direction, you pretty much know whats going to happen, said David Battisti, the University of Washington scientist who led the study. Youre talking about hundreds of millions of additional people looking for food because they wont be able to find it where they find it now. Member of the International Panel on Climate Change agree. In their latest review of the food security issue, they point out that its not just crops: fisheries, weed control, food processing and distribution will all be affected. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Conjugation of Entender, Perder, and Similar Spanish Verbs

Conjugation of Entender, Perder, and Similar Spanish Verbs Entender, which usually means to understand, is a common stem-changing verb. The only change from the regular conjugation is that when the -e- of the stem is stressed it becomes -ie-. Other verbs (and common definitions) following this pattern include ascender (to climb), atender (to attend to), defender (to defend or protect), descender (to go down), and perder (to lose). Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context. Infinitive of Entender entender (to understand) Gerund of Entender entendiendo (understanding) Participle of Entender entendido (understood) Present Indicative of Entender yo entiendo, tà º entiendes, usted/à ©l/ella entiende, nosotros/as entendemos, vosotros/as entendà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas entienden (I understand, you understand, he understands, etc.) Preterite of Entender yo entendà ­, tà º entendiste, usted/à ©l/ella entendià ³, nosotros/as entendimos, vosotros/as entendisteis, ustedes/ellos/ellas entendieron (I understood, you understood, she understood, etc.) Imperfect Indicative of Entender yo entendà ­a, tà º entendà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella entendà ­a, nosotros/as entendà ­amos, vosotros/as entendà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas entendà ­a (I used to understand, you used to understand, he used to understand, etc.) Future Indicative of Entender yo entenderà ©, tà º entenders, usted/à ©l/ella entender, nosotros/as entenderemos, vosotros/as entenderà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas entendern (I will understand, you will understand, he will understand, etc.) Conditional of Entender yo entenderà ­a, tà º entenderà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella entenderà ­a, nosotros/as entenderà ­amos, vosotros/as entenderà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas entenderà ­an (I would understand, you would understand, she would understand, etc.) Present Subjunctive of Entender que yo entienda, que tà º entiendas, que usted/à ©l/ella entienda, que nosotros/as entendamos, que vosotros/as entendis, que ustedes/ellos/ellas entiendan (that I understand, that you understand, that she understand, etc.) Imperfect Subjunctive of Entender que yo entendiera (entendiese), que tà º entendieras (entendieses), que usted/à ©l/ella entendiera (entendiese), que nosotros/as entendià ©ramos (entendià ©semos), que vosotros/as entendierais (entendieseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas entendieran (entendiesen) (that I understood, that you understood, that he understood, etc.) Imperative of Entender entiende (tà º), no entiendas (tà º), entienda (usted), entendamos (nosotros/as), entended (vosotros/as), no entendis (vosotros/as), entiendan (ustedes) (understand, dont understand, understand, lets understand, etc.) Compound Tenses of Entender The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, entendido. The progressive tenses use estar with the gerund, entendiendo. Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Entender and Similar Verbs Quiero entender lo que ests diciendo porque sà © que es importante. (I want to know what youre saying because I know its important. Infinitive.) Un 19% del bosque nativo ms diverso del paà ­s se ha perdido en los à ºltimos 40 aà ±os. (Some 19 percent of the most diverse old-growth forest in the country has been lost in the past 40 years. Present perfect.) Defiendo los derechos de los animales. (I defend the rights of animals. Present indicative.) El terreno sobre el cual estaban desciendo era muy à ©rido. The terrain they were descending was very dry. Past progressive.) El venezolano ascendià ³ al puesto 48 de la lista de jonroneros. (The Venezuelan climbed to No. 48 on the list of home run hitters. Preterite.) La produccià ³n continuaba creciendo mientras que los precios descendà ­an rpidamente. (Production kept on rising while prices fell rapidly. Imperfect.) Atenderà © mi cuerpo y su salud fà ­sica. (I will take care of my body and its physical health. Future.) A lo mejor lo entenderà ­a si me lo explicaras. (Maybe Id understand it if you explained it to me. Conditional.) Espero que no pierdas las ganas de cambiar las cosas. (I hope you dont lose the passion for changing things. Present subjunctive.) El evento tambià ©n sirvià ³ para educar a los atletas para que entendieran la situacià ³n. (The event also served to educate the athletes so they would understand the situation. Imperfect subjunctive.)  ¡Te pierde! (Get lost! Imperative.)

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Resource Management - Essay Example The HR Portals generally tend to provide the employees with a chance for self service, i.e. all details of employees are available on the portal which permits them to keep a tab on their pay checks, benefits, and also the vacation benefits alongside with the various policies and procedures. This allows the employees to keep complete track of their own details without the need of the human resources team to interfere. The portals are also time savers as the various forms and applications can be put into the portal for the employees to use and download (Dessler, 2007). This reduced the number of employees coming to the HR teams for forms and also allows the human resources teams to use the time more effectively to do other important tasks. On the HR Portals tend to be very helpful to save time and money and help the human resources teams to use their time effectively to work on other important aspects of the company rather than simply providing ‘employee assistance’ (Dessler, 2007). On the whole the portals provide a chance for the workflow and process flow to become more effective and

College should be a equal opportunity for everyone Essay

College should be a equal opportunity for everyone - Essay Example Therefore, it is recommended that individuals are taught about the essence of taking loans. They should also be taught they ways they can be able to apply for loans and qualify easily. They should also understand that student loans are essential for them if they are in need of it especially those that are in need of attaining their degree within four years. It is for this reason that the government should establish ways in which the loans can be given equally and there should be no extra payments for students who are looking for loans independently. The first reason why this should be is due to the fact that the cost of college studies is expensive than it was anticipated some years back. This has been reported in public colleges whereby the tuition fees for the four years have increased with more than 10% above the annual inflation in the United States (Chandler and Michael 23). The same applies to the private colleges and the students who opt for two years studies. Secondly, it has been realized that a majority of parents do not have enough funds to take their children to colleges since the economic situation does not permit them. From the survey conducted in a majority of American homes in august 2012, there has been a reduction in the number of parents who can fund the college studies for their children. The numbers of parents who are also able to cover half of the college fees have decreased. In the same survey, the number of parents who could afford the amount needed for books and tuition was less than 30 percent (Chandle r and Michael 25). This shows that majority of parents need their children to able to access these funds. The other reason is applicable to the students themselves who imply that college life has turned out to be expensive. The people who find it easy to live in colleges are those who commute from their parents houses. The amount of money spent in colleges has been

Biology and gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Biology and gender - Essay Example The question of interest is given the sheer overpopulation of the sperms, it appears that the selection of the sperm is a chance phenomenon dictated by randomization. It is also important to note that depending on the type of the sperm and its genotype with respect to the sex chromosome, X or Y, the sex of the developing fetus will be determined. This means either a sperm with X chromosome will unite with the ovum with x chromosome or a sperm with y chromosome will do the same, thereby creating the zygote with either XX or XY sex chromosomal pattern. If it is XX, the fetus will eventually become female and if it is XY, the fetus will become a male (Wilson et al. 2007). To answer the questions, how a sperm is selected, there were many theories, speculations, and observations. Research has explored the nuances of this mechanism quite effectively, but much is still unknown. Therefore, there is a need to update the recent knowledge from recent research, so a consensus can be drawn to det ermine the role of different other factors in the sex determination of the developing fetus. Genes by themselves are not causally efficacious, as gene... There are two control mechanisms which are involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis: hormonal and genetic (Tobet, 2002. It has been known that environmental factors may alter the genetic determinants of gonadal sex, the hormonal determinants of phenotypic sex, fetal gametogenesis, reproductive tract differentiation, as well as postnatal integration of endocrine functions. These factors all together may affect the genetic expression leading to processes essential for the propagation of the species. Environmental factors have also been known to affect or modify sexual differentiation and thus development of reproductive capacity, may be through action on the endocrine synthesis and function. Although there are perceptions that these factors all have their secular roles to play in human fetal sexual differentiation, current research indicates that they are very much interrelated (Vidaeff et al. 2005) Literature Review: At this juncture it is important to have a review of scientific research articles including reviews in order to gather the recent evidence of environmental, endocrine, and genetic influences on sexual differentiation of the embryo. Fisher in his review article, "Environmental anti-androgens and male reproductive health: focus on phthalates and testicular dysgenesis syndrome" finds out evidence in favor of link between disruption of hormonal environment by environmental antiandrogens and their effects on development of testes and reproductive tract. The author presents evidence from an exhaustive review that endocrine disrupting chemicals from the environment can act as estrogens, anti-estrogens, antiandrogens, and steriodogenic enzyme inhibitors.

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion - Essay Example Therefore, when the army left the place, then the Roman-British people did not have anything except to use their own methods and weapons to protect themselves; later on they started relying on Saxon for their protection. The years after the down fall of the Roman government in Britain in the early years of the fifth century and the arrival of St Augustine at the end of the sixth were the period of momentous revolutionize. During that era, the material character of the nation and their language and institutions were completely altered. The Celtic British was replaced by the Germanic people and were able to become the majority of the lowland Britain. Celtic or Latin dialects and the more centrally governed Roman provinces were replaced by Germanic dialects and loose knit & feuding hereditary kingships respectively. This transition was not recorded properly as Germanic immigrants were neither literate nor religious. The Jutland is now called Denmark. Initially the people of the Jutland were farmers. The land of the Jutland was not feasible for farming purposes or fertile; therefore, they decided to find a new land where they could cultivate their grains. When they were searching for a new land, they reached a place called Anglo-Saxon England; they saw that this place is not only good for food purposes but also for other sources of income. They started raiding on this place by using the famous longboats. Therefore, we can say that the Vikings not only raid for food but for other valuables such as gold and expensive manuscripts. After the several years of their rule, the Vikings era came to an end when Earl Godwin pressured the Witan to select a new King from the old Anglo-Saxon Dynasty called Edward. This decision put the Vikings rule to the end but had opened the door for the final early medieval invasion of England. Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest took place right after the Viking invasions. William who wanted to be the King of the region attacked no the Harold's army and became the King of England on 25th December, 1066. Religious History Although the arrival of the Gregorian mission clearly marked a very important stage in the religious history of the Anglo-Saxons and in the production of written records, it is not an ideal point at which to begin an investigation into the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For it is evident that the majority of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were already in existence by 597 and that the complex political pattern of interrelationships and amalgamations which Bede reveals in his Ecclesiastical

Stoke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stoke - Essay Example nt clinical condition which requires proper management and intervention as it is the third leading reason associated with deaths in the United Kingdom. It is also the most important cause of disability in the country. Stroke has been defined by the World Health Organization in the year 1978 as a pathological condition in which signs are observed with regard to alterations in the cerebral activities which persist for a period of more than 24 hours and can even result in the death of the patient. The condition results due to reasons associated with the blood flow and are related to the vascular flow to the brain only (Mc Govern et al 2003).   Stroke is mainly divided into two forms with one resulting as a result of an infarct and is hence referred to as an ischemic stroke and it may also occur due to haemorrhage and it is then known as hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke that is prevalent with 85 percent of the cases presenting with this form of stroke. Ischemic stroke results due to the cardioembolic reasons which fibrillation of the atria or the formation of an embolus due to infective endocarditis. It can also result due to atheroembolic reasons which include carotid atheroma and occlusion of the cerebral artery. Diabetic vasculopathy as well as vasculitis is also associated with this condition. On the other hand hemorrhagic stroke may result due to aneurysm and hypertensive disease of the arteries. In at least 25 percent of the patients who report with stroke, atrial fibrillation is considered to be present which indicates the fact that the formation of the clot might have occurred i n the left atrium which then gets detached and obstructs the carotid arteries. In a patient with myocardial infarction, there is a tendency for the formation of clots which might also result in stroke. Atheromas are also associated with resultant stroke. Raised blood pressure, diabetes and high levels of cholesterol in the blood are associated with

The couses of increasing the crime in the UK (just in the UK) Essay

The couses of increasing the crime in the UK (just in the UK) - Essay Example It differs from simply citing poverty or racism as the cause of crime because it includes almost all social components including the family, social institutions such as school, the community, peer groups and home life. The concept of being "socially excluded" can also take into account economic and political exclusion, such as unemployment and immigration status, as well as lack of access to medical care, housing, policing and security. (Young, J, 'Crime and Social Exclusion'). The effect of social exclusion on crime is evident. Richard Garside (2008) reports in the Guardian that there were no homicides in 2007 in more prosperous areas of London, whereas other more impoverished areas accounted for 46 alone. The Londoners who are socially included are safer, whereas "those living in the capital's poorer neighbourhood's appear to be at much greater risk of homicide than those living in its leafier, richer suburbs." To look at the causes of crime this way makes it a social problem rather than an individual problem; in other words, it is viewed as a symptom of the society we live in rather than the situation of an isolated individual. But those who research crime in the U.K. differ in how they interpret the cause of social exclusion. Some assert that people are self-excluded; that is, the fault lies within themselves and their lack of motivation can be traced to their dependency on the welfare state. Under this scenario, even if there were jobs available, they wouldn't take them. Another theory is that the individual doesn't lose the motivation to work but doesn't have the capacity to look for work due to lack of positive role models. Then there's the third theory that may best explain the increase in crime: that economic decline over the last few decades has been so extreme and jarring that it thrust many in the category of social exclusion. It used to be that one could count on a lifetime employment with a good company and a sense of security. Now, due to downsizing, outsourcing and widespread unemployment, work is much more temporary and contractual. This adds a great deal of insecurity and creates a larger underclass of the stigmatized unemployed who are often paraded in the media as drug dealing criminals separate from those in the "leafier, richer suburbs". That dichotomy of exclusion/inclusion combined with media amplification led to one of the most famous and effective enunciation of crime policy by any politician, former Prime Minister Tony Blair's slogan, "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." (King 2008, p. 137). It ushered in the Labour Party after a string of defeats. It emulated that of the United States with its emphasis on enforcement as opposed to rehabilitation. The implication was that the government would take a two-pronged attack on crime: enforcement and prevention. The framework of social exclusion, prevention and enforcement led the Home Office department of the government to pursue sweeping solutions to a myriad of interrelated causes. When examining the problem of youth and crime, risk factors and causes include a troubled home life, including absent parents and volatility; truancy and failing at school; mental illness; drug and alcohol abuse; poor housing and homelessness; and peer group pressure. Because the government sees the causes of crime as multi-dimensional and social in nature, the solution it comes up with is similarly expansive and social. The youthful offender is like

Stoke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stoke - Essay Example nt clinical condition which requires proper management and intervention as it is the third leading reason associated with deaths in the United Kingdom. It is also the most important cause of disability in the country. Stroke has been defined by the World Health Organization in the year 1978 as a pathological condition in which signs are observed with regard to alterations in the cerebral activities which persist for a period of more than 24 hours and can even result in the death of the patient. The condition results due to reasons associated with the blood flow and are related to the vascular flow to the brain only (Mc Govern et al 2003).   Stroke is mainly divided into two forms with one resulting as a result of an infarct and is hence referred to as an ischemic stroke and it may also occur due to haemorrhage and it is then known as hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke that is prevalent with 85 percent of the cases presenting with this form of stroke. Ischemic stroke results due to the cardioembolic reasons which fibrillation of the atria or the formation of an embolus due to infective endocarditis. It can also result due to atheroembolic reasons which include carotid atheroma and occlusion of the cerebral artery. Diabetic vasculopathy as well as vasculitis is also associated with this condition. On the other hand hemorrhagic stroke may result due to aneurysm and hypertensive disease of the arteries. In at least 25 percent of the patients who report with stroke, atrial fibrillation is considered to be present which indicates the fact that the formation of the clot might have occurred i n the left atrium which then gets detached and obstructs the carotid arteries. In a patient with myocardial infarction, there is a tendency for the formation of clots which might also result in stroke. Atheromas are also associated with resultant stroke. Raised blood pressure, diabetes and high levels of cholesterol in the blood are associated with

What is the evidence of debate ideas to a critical period (CP) effect Essay

What is the evidence of debate ideas to a critical period (CP) effect and What are the flaws - Essay Example Various studies have been largely conducted with the basis of debating on this hypothesis and the ideas that affect the critical period. Subsequently, there have been studies conducted too with a view to assessing the flaws that have surrounded this hypothesis, particularly in relation to the selective overview of the theoretical issues and empirical findings that relate to the question of the second language acquisition and a person’s age (White, 2003). In this study, the concentration point shall be laid on the flaws that have been experienced with in relation to the ideas of the critical period effect. To achieve this, a degree of familiarity has been assumed on the familiarity of readers in connection to specific linguistic structures that relate to this hypothesis. Subsequently, it is assumed that the audience is well informed of the methodology in relation to the critical period effect. In discussing the critical period debate, publications that have been made on the same shall form the basis of the analysis taking into consideration the availability of the concepts that have been geared towards the support for the hypothesis. For instance, according to Birdsong (2006), an understanding into the debate of critical period effect requires that brain based data and the behavior of individuals be discussed in relation to the cognitive neuro-functioning and neurocognitive aging of persons. His first argument is that there is a demonstrably different outcome in the acquisition of a second language among adults in comparison to the acquisition of the first language among children. A departure from this basic observation is what has triggered the attempts by various researchers to seek for an understanding of the age-related effects of acquiring a second language based on the hypothesis of the critical period. According to Qingxin (2012), there is no existence of a critical/sensitive learning period for the second language. The argument

Monitoring System For Automatic Plant Irrigator

Monitoring System For Automatic Plant Irrigator Irrigation is of the method to watering the plant and to improve the quality of crops. Automatic irrigation is a modern method that used for watering vegetables, fruits and farm crops. This project paper will describe automatic plant irrigator designed by using microcontroller. The main purpose of this project is to design an automatic watering device by sensing the soil conditions. In addition, the project also aims to design a soil moisture sensor that can be easily integrated with a microcontroller. To achieve this objective, some research and studies has been done in some previous similar project. Based on the review, the methodology that used in this project are divide into two, which is hardware and software parts. Both development are involving design, experimentation, simulation and construction to get an expected result which meets the project objective. Data analysis for this project will proceed after the completion of the hardware and the software procedure. This is for t he purpose to ensure the project can achieve the objective and also to ensure the reliability of the system. C(iii) Detailed proposal of project: Cadangan maklumat projek secara terperinci: (a) Introduction Pengenalan When it comes to agricultural activities, irrigation in one of the vital process. Irrigation system is an essential important element for plant growth. It also one of major effect in any plant cultivation as it may affect on the growth of plant. Irrigation in agriculture term is defined as an artificial application of watering of the arable land or soil. Water is most important to our life and we cannot survive without it. Water also is essential ingredient of plant. Most of gardener usually uses manual technique to watering their plant. This technique system is inefficient. Sometime, the possibility to over watering is high when use this technique. In order to overcome this problem, Automatic plant irrigator is used. Automatic plant irrigator or better known as an automatic plant watering system is a system that is introduced not only provide a programmable watering system but also a continuous monitoring system. The main goal of this project is to design an automatic plant irrigator where the system is equipped with a reliable soil water level or moisture sensor. This system is applicable for small or medium agricultural-industry. This system will be divided into three main units which are sensing element, control element and final control element. Sensor such as soil moisture detector are use to control the watering system (b) Problem statement Pernyataan Masalah Nowadays, automatic plant irrigator system is commonly applied in agriculture such as domestic gardening. In this industry, automatic plant irrigator system usually used to supply water to maintain soil moisture so plants can grow well. Unfortunately, there are still gardeners or farmers who maintained use manually watering technique because not all of them afford to buy the system. Over-watering possibility would occur if this manual process is still practiced. It will caused the plants drown if supply too much water for them. Sometime this manual technique also make the process water late reaches or does not reach the roots of plants and this will cause the plant get dried. Lack of water can be harmful to the plant or even can render it withered. The effect of this lack of water can also slow down the process of plant growth and will also affect the light weight of the plants. In the conventional system, farmers also need monitor the irrigation timetable, as each plant has a different time in terms of watering time. An automatic plant irrigation monitoring system is the good solution to overcome this problem. This irrigation system is not only provides a good hydration system for plant but also provides the controller that allows the user to set their irrigation system operation. Users also can set the level of moisture that is allowed according to the specification in the soil so their crops will always have a maintained moisture level. (c) Objective (s) of the Project Objektif Projek To compare the sensitivity of two type of sensor probe that was made of stainless steel and copper To design reliable soil moisture sensor To design automatic plant irrigator monitoring system (c) Project Scope Skop Projek This project will be focus to design low cost automatic plant irrigation. The project involves the evolution of manually watering techniques to automatic watering techniques. The controlling of the automatic watering system in an agricultural. To complete this project in such systematic and organized manners, some scope and limitation should be set accordingly. Sensor used to control the watering system is soil moisture sensor. There are several software will be used, the software is livewire that been used to simulated the circuit. The second software that will be used in this project Visual Basic 6 that been used to implement the graphical user interface for PIC as the system controller. The communication between Visual Basic and automatic plant irrigator system will be determined by using an address to give or receive digital or analog signal. (e) Literature Review Keterangan latar belakang projek kajian literature Soil moisture sensor Sensor is a device which used to measure a physical quantity and convert this information into a signal that can be read by the observer or a tool. [1] The Sensor converts one form of energy into another form because the sensor is a transducer. For this reason, the sensor is categorized according to the type of energy transfer that they detected. Soil moisture measurement provides very useful information to agriculture, such as agriculture farm, soil stability, soil moisture and construction activities. [2] The probe selection for sensor is very important. This is because the material that used in the probe. Sensor sensitivity is depending on the material that used to construct the probe and also depends on how the sensor operates. Typically, soil moisture sensor is based on the resistance value of the soil. Water is a type of electric conductance. So generally, if the resistance is low, the soil is dry and vice versa. [3]. Gypsum block is a product of the low cost soil moisture monitoring. Their low cost and ease of interpretation make this block is particularly suitable for seasonal crops. There are two electrodes embedded in the gypsum block. When gypsum wet, it will conduct electric easily and when gypsum dry, it is a poor conductor. A pair of electrode within the block will measure the change in the resistance. It is possible directly using a pair of electrode measure the resistivity in the soil but the measurement will influence by changes in soil conductivity brought about by salt and other ingredients. The ion gypsum provided a buffer against the effects of salt and nutrients. It is very effective for prevention of salt ions from reaching the electrode and to ensure the sensor is only responding to moisture level. [4] PIC Microcontroller is a computer on- a- chip. It is a type of intelligence processor that can be programmed for collecting data from input. Microcontroller frequently uses in automatically control devices such as remote control system, toys and hardware. [5] PIC is used as the main brain system in a moisture monitoring system. Technically, PIC is used to converts analog signals to digital signal that can be read by computer that provided the view of monitoring system. In the measurement of soil moisture, the soil moisture sensor potential to measure the difference (voltage) across the probe and transmit the measure to the PIC. PIC will convert the reading into the soil moisture level. This is achieved by setting the conversion unit into the PIC programmed.[6] Irrigation System The main purpose of Automatic irrigation management system is proposed to offer the following benefits: first, it is able to provide the amount of water needed by plants in the field. Second, it can eliminate the time and scheduling system for watering plants. Third, it also managed to contain the pressures caused by over-watering plants. In conclusion, this system is to promote the save and production water. [7] With the increasing needs for agriculture, human start to realize that agriculture activity are needs plentiful source of water just like how they need water to survive. As time goes by, the increase in population and the area of settlement grows wider. So, human has created a device that allows them to get water even they are far from the water source. The earliest system known as aqueducts. [8] Soil Moisture Monitoring Software The software is designed to monitor system operation. This is to record the measurement of soil moisture so that can be used as a reference for plant watering strategies to produce better yields. The data recording is very important since different patterns in the irrigation schedule do affect the crops growth. [9] The concept of monitoring system is also beneficial to operators to help them monitor for any abnormalities in the system during operation. The software also provides a graphical display system operation. The display helps the operator to determine the level of soil moisture and watering system conditions during operation. This will ensure the system is healthy and operate normally. [10] Soil water percentage experiment Before starting the experiment, the method of calculation needs to be determined first. For this project, the water percentage will be calculated by referring to the mass of dry soil. This method will apply three general equations which are normally used to determine the water percentage using the oven dry method. (d) Methodology Kaedah projek For sensing unit, the design stage is started with the soil moisture sensor circuit design. In this project, the voltage divider circuit is used. After the soil moisture circuit has been confirmed, the next step is determining the material that is used as a sensor probe. Here are two types of probes were used which is stainless steel and copper. Experiment and analysis will be conducted on both of the probe. Result from both of the probe will be taken and compared to determine which probe more suitable as a sensor probe. The selection of reliability sensor is depend on the high electric conductivity and also has a high corrosion resistance. The sensor probe is build of two rods which are separated for 2 cm. The two rods are separated so that when the probe is inserted into the soil there will be a potential difference across them. These potential difference is varies with the soil resistivity. The microcontroller used in this project is the Duemilanove Arduino. The Arduino is equipped with the Atmega328 PIC with a built in USB interface which provides an easy serial connection between the controller and computer to provide the GUI display. The Arduino is programmed to obtain the voltage reading from the sensing unit and display it. Action unit in the project is automatic plant irrigator system. This unit consists of two small units which is water pumps and dripping system. Water pumps supplying 240V power supply and its operation is controlled by a relay. That is triggered by the arduino. (g) References Application of sensor manual, Principles and Basic, 1999 R.Frank, Research on the soil moisture sensor, 2000 C.C. Shock, R. Flock, E. Feibert, C.A. Shock, A. Pereira, L. Jensen, Irrigation Monitoring with Soil Water Tension. Oregan State University, 2005 Model KS-D1 owners manual, DELMHORST INSTRUMENT CO. Application of Microcontroller manual, Principle and the BASIC Stamp, 1999 . Juang, J.-N.; Ekong, D.U.; Carlson, C.; Longsdorf, W.; Miller, M.; , A Computer-Based Soil Moisture Monitoring and Hydrating System, System Theory, 2007. SSST 07. Thirty-Ninth Southeastern Symposium on , vol., no., pp.142-144, 4-6 March 2007 Julie S.Chang. Western Washington University. 10-22-2006 C. Brouwer, K. Prins, M. Kay, M. Heibloem. Irrigation Water Management: Irrigation Methods, Rome, Italy: Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1988 C. O. Akinbile, M. S. Yusff, Growth, Yield and Water use Pattern of Chilli Pepper under Different Irrigation Scheduling and Management, Asian Journal of Agricultural Research, 5(2), pp 154 163, 2011. Y. Zhao, J. Zhang, J. Guan, W. Yin, Study on precision water-saving irrigation automatic control system by plant physiology, Industrial Electronics and Applications, 2009. ICIEA 2009. 4th IEEE Conference on , vol., no., pp.1296-1300, 25-27 May 2009 D ACCESS TO EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL / KEMUDAHAN SEDIA ADA UNTUK KEGUNAAN BAGI PROJEK INI Equipment Peralatan Location Tempat E BUDGET /BELANJAWAN Please indicate your estimated budget for this project Sila nyatakan anggaran bajet bagi cadangan projek ini Budget details Butiran belanjawan Amount requested by applicant Jumlah yang dipohon oleh pemohon Comment by panel FYP 1 PSM 1 (RM) FYP 2 PSM 2 (RM) E (i) Project Materials Supplies Bekalan dan Bahan Projek Copper rods (Rm5.00) PCB BOARD (RM2.00) E (ii) Maintenance and Minor Repair Services Baik pulih kecil dan ubahsuai E (iii) Professional Services Perkhidmatan Ikhtisas E (vi) Accessories and Equipment Aksesori dan Peralatan TOTAL AMOUNT JUMLAH BESAR RM7.00 F Declaration by candidate / Akuan Calon (Please tick ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ )): / (Sila tanda ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ )): I hereby confess that: Saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa: All information stated here are accurate, Supervisor and panel has right to reject or to cancel this proposal without prior notice if there is any inaccurate information given. Semua maklumat yang diisi adalah benar, Penyelia dan panel berhak menolak permohonan atau membatalkan tawaran cadangan ini pada bila-bila masa sekiranya keterangan yang dikemukakan adalah tidak benar. Application of this Project Proposal is presented for a FYP 1 seminar. Permohonan cadangan projek projek ini dikemukakan untuk Seminar PSM 1. Date : Candidates Signature : Tarikh : Tandatangan Calon : ___________________________ G Recommended by FYP Supervisor Perakuan Penyelia PSM Please tick ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ ) Sila tandakan ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ ) Recommended: Diperakukan: A. Highly Recommended Sangat Disokong B. Recommended Disokong C. Not Recommended (Please specify reason) Tidak Disokong (Sila Nyatakan Sebab) Comments: Ulasan: Name: Signature: Nama: Tandatangan: Date: Tarikh: Appendix A: Flow Chart of Project Activities Start Proposing a project title: Development of monitoring system for Automatic Plant Irrigator Literature Review Soil Moisture Sensor PIC 3. Irrigation System Design the system System block diagram Soil Moisture Sensor Circuit 3. Programming PIC System Construction Run simulation for sensor circuit using LiveWire Pro System hardware and software construction System testing and analysis Final report writing and submission End Appendix B: Project Schedule of Project Activities (Gantt chart) Project Planning List major activities involved in the proposed project. Indicate duration of each activity to the related month(s). 2012 2013 Project Activities Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mac. Apr. May June Finding out the project title and proposal submission Search for relevance information with the project Designing and testing of the sensing unit Designing and testing of the action unit Integrating the sensing and the action unit Run testing and analysis Final report writing Appendix C: TURNITIN Report must be attached

The Midwife :: essays research papers

The Midwife’s Apprentice is written by Karen Cushman. The setting takes place in the past nearly five hundred years ago from now. It is also a fiction book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alyce formerly known as Beetle or Dung Beetle has found a home in a village with a Midwife who feeds her only morsels of what hard work she does. But before that the tale of how she was found must be told.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beetle found herself snug as a bug in a dung heap. She slept for warmth, completely dismissing the horrid smell of it. Then a sharp question asked â€Å"You girl. Are you alive or dead?† she promptly opened her eyes and was taken in after tell the woman she could do hard work and not eat much. So that’s how she ended up as where she is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well the midwife didn’t really treat her as an apprentice for she spoke unkindly and forbid that Alyce would ever see what she was helping women do. But Alyce did! And how horrible it was, the Midwife would scream, curse and slap the poor women until they could take no more and push out the baby.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the midwife was not there and Alyce had to help the woman with the baby. She told the husband to brew whatever was needed to help her. Then she began talking to her softly and soothing her till the baby came out into the world when it was almost certain that it would not make it. When the midwife got there she was thoroughly mad. The husband of the wife said Alyce was more kind and efficient and that the midwife was no good.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end she fled to a small inn near the village where she saved another baby. The Midwife :: essays research papers The Midwife’s Apprentice is written by Karen Cushman. The setting takes place in the past nearly five hundred years ago from now. It is also a fiction book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alyce formerly known as Beetle or Dung Beetle has found a home in a village with a Midwife who feeds her only morsels of what hard work she does. But before that the tale of how she was found must be told.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beetle found herself snug as a bug in a dung heap. She slept for warmth, completely dismissing the horrid smell of it. Then a sharp question asked â€Å"You girl. Are you alive or dead?† she promptly opened her eyes and was taken in after tell the woman she could do hard work and not eat much. So that’s how she ended up as where she is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well the midwife didn’t really treat her as an apprentice for she spoke unkindly and forbid that Alyce would ever see what she was helping women do. But Alyce did! And how horrible it was, the Midwife would scream, curse and slap the poor women until they could take no more and push out the baby.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the midwife was not there and Alyce had to help the woman with the baby. She told the husband to brew whatever was needed to help her. Then she began talking to her softly and soothing her till the baby came out into the world when it was almost certain that it would not make it. When the midwife got there she was thoroughly mad. The husband of the wife said Alyce was more kind and efficient and that the midwife was no good.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end she fled to a small inn near the village where she saved another baby.

Lesson Plans for Educators :: Teaching Technology Internet Essays

Lesson Plans for Educators I will be graduating with a Liberal Studies Major. I will hopefully be teaching in September but I have a dilemma, I am afraid of not having enough lessons to get me started. My other fear is not having fun lessons to teach. I work at an Elementary school now and there is a teacher that I work with that doesn't know the meaning of fun activities that can provide great knowledge from them. I will never forget my favorite teacher, Mr. Protho. He loved making our class a fun and exciting place to be. We would do Shakespeare plays throughout the year. He could take any subject and make it fun. Still to this day I call and ask him for advice when making lesson plans for school. There are many resources where one who is becoming a teacher can find. There are books, magazines, in-services, seminars, other people and of course the Internet. The Internet is something that I was quite afraid of because of the fact that it was foreign to me. New territory is something that frightens me. I have used the Internet for reasons such as research for papers but not for pleasure. I have heard a lot of controversy about the Internet and how people pretend they are someone else and fool children and other people whom they are chatting with. For this reason, I am quite hesitant to try talking to people in the chat rooms. I am hoping that the Internet can provide me with lesson plans and other activities that I can use in the classroom. Trying to connect to Netscape from home was very difficult. I had many problems connecting and no one to ask. I gave up and ran to school to use the computers there. The computer finally worked at CSUN. I used the engine server named Yahoo. I typed "educational lesson plans". It gave me 33 files. I began searching them to find the one with the most lessons to choose from. The first couple of them were not very helpful. I began to think that this is not going to be easy topic and maybe I should switch topics. But I told myself be patient and continue looking. I finally decided to go around the topic and just type "LAUSD" which gave me the web site. I entered the web site and found a lot of information about the LAUSD system but no lesson plans.

Hetrogenetiy of Problem Behavior in Male Adoloscents Essay

Often an incorrect interpretation or prognosis of an abnormal or extraordinary behavior pattern can draw the line between what is normal and acceptable, and what can suddenly be classified as a disorder or a disease. This paper aims to study the similarities between certain behaviors, and what factors can acts as differentiators between the two. The paper also emphasized how critical correct assessment is for correct prognosis, and that a treatment may thus, vary greatly from one disorder to another. Key concepts including â€Å"delinquency†, â€Å"antisocial behaviour†, â€Å"conduct disorder†, â€Å"conduct problems† and â€Å"externalising behaviour disorders† are often used interchangeably, however these concepts are far from identical (Connor, 2004). These are different definitions from different perspectives of psychology such as juvenile justice, clinical diagnostic/medical settings, psychometrics, and personality/social psychology in order to have a more complete understanding of antisocial behaviour and other related behaviours (Connor, 2004). Disorders that bear similar symptoms Antisocial behaviors are any acts that violate social rules and the basic rights of others. They include conduct intended to injure people or damage property, illegal behavior, and defiance of generally accepted rules and authority, such as truancy from school. These antisocial behaviors exist along a severity continuum. Disruptive Behaviour Disorder is used to describe a set of externalizing negative behaviour that co-occur during childhood; and which are collectively known as: â€Å"Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders† as outlined in the referred to collectively in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The following are three subgroups of externalizing behaviors: †¢ Oppositional Defiant disorder (ODD) †¢ Conduct Disorder (CD) †¢ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Conduct Disorder is aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness, theft, and other serious social rule violations. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is characterized by negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviors, such as losing one’s temper, arguing, defying rules, deliberately annoying others, blaming others for one’s behavior, and displaying anger or vindictiveness (Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders). ADHD A mental disorder of childhood is at least three times as common in boys as in girls, characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. Brief History of Disorder classification In the medieval times, any deviation from norm was dealt with contempt, and any extraordinary behavior shown by people were said to be possessed by an evil spirit. Later, following Darwin’s theory of human evolution, Morel’s idea of degeneration was used to explain criminal behaviour. According to this concept, criminals were less evolved than normal human beings and that all psychopaths exhibited some degree of criminal behaviour. Physician and phrenologist Carl Otto (1824) was the one who initiated the evolvement of the term psychopathy. Although his method was scientifically invalid, he started the trend of what would be called psychopathy as a set of personality traits. The term â€Å"psychopathic† was first used by J. L. Koch (1891) to describe personality disorders as a result of biological causes. K. Birnbaum (1909) first used the term â€Å"sociopathy†, because it was felt that environmental factors were causes of the personality. Now, psychopathy, as defined by Hare’s revised Psychopathy Checklist, is associated with both personality traits and overt behaviour. (Source: How Does Conduct Disorder correlate with Phsychopathy) What are the factors in the patient’s history that will help determine whether the adolescent has a certain disorder or he is simply â€Å"acting out, and will eventually outgrow such behaviours Most of these disorders are generally and holistically classified as antisocial behavior. Antisocial behaviors tend to be consistent across social settings, such as school and home environments (Dishion et al. 1995). Although the inclination towards serious antisocial behaviors is quite steady across the lifespan, the manifestations of this propensity vary according to developmental stages. This concept has been termed â€Å"heterotypic continuity† (Moffitt 1993, extracted from Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders ). For example, antisocial behavior that is interpreted as irritability and impulsivity in younger children may become criminal behavior once these children reach adolescents or adulthood. Antisocial behaviour is a heterogeneous phenomenon and encompasses a wide variety of behaviours and definitions as mentioned above. One way to distinguish subtypes of antisocial behavior is from the developmental perspective where current classification system (APA, 1994; Lahey et al. , 1998) and developmental pathways (Hinshaw, Lahey, & Hart, 1993; Loeber, 1990; Moffitt, 1993; Nagin, Farrington, & Moffitt, 1995; Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991; Shaw, Bell, & Gilliom, 2000) feature two different subtypes of antisocial behaviour: child-onset (also early-starter, aggressive-versatile) and adolescent-onset (late-onset, non-aggressive). This paper focus on adolescent on-set behavior, from the perspective of developmental pathways. Despite the extent of information gathered on Psychopathy, little is known about its developmental nature. Presumable, there are certain risk factors or distinct developmental pathways which correlate them to other groups of delinquents. Knowledge of such developmental risk factors will greatly enable psychologists and researchers related to this field to deal with the serious problem of Psychopathy. Some risk factors of psychopathy include a history of abuse, parental antisocial characteristics and related factors. It is also widely believed that phsychpathy is manifested at a young age (Hare 1991, Hart and Hare 1997, extracted from Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy). However this does not mean that psychopathy manifested in adulthood has been developing in an early age. Certain risk factors are identified in the assessment and prognosis of a disorder. Risk factors are generally associated with earlier events or conditions that are associated with a negative outcome which has been caused or influenced (McBride, Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). This includes factors which act within the environment of the individual, and may be casually or indirectly linked to a negative outcome are also referred to as risk factors. Thus, serious assessment of anti-social behavior in an early and timely intervention may be able to mediate these risk factors. Loeber and Stothamer Lober (1996) indicate that these conditions are cumulative and may lead to ‘stacking’, and may become resistant to change if not interrupted or mediated (Moffit 1990). It is important to understand that dynamic or changeable risk factors (such as knowledge about a childhood aggressive condition) are important in early identification of an adolescent disorder. Factors such as poor parenting or poor parental monitoring are important to be identified at an early age and thus can be monitored and treated, preventing it from becoming a an aggressive and adolescent delinquency in the future (Loeber and Stothamer Lober 1986). These factors are mutable through treatment, and prevents the accumulation of antisocial behavior in aggressive adolescents (Kazdin 1987). Twentieth century theorists report that parental care is a key characteristic in the development of child behavior. Theorists have suggested that poor family attitudes and interactions fail to provide the attachments that could leverage children into socialized life-styles (e. g. , Hirschi, 1969). Poor home environments manifest antisocial characteristics in their children and associate them with disengaging themselves from their environment (e.  g. , Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Reports based on two adolescents studies have addressed this issue. Both studies have used data collected by the Youth in Transition project from adolescents at ages 15 and 17 years (Bachman and O’Malley, 1984). Delinquency related to parent-adolescent interaction was studied by Liska and Reed (1985); their analyses suggest that attachment or interaction with parents inhibits delinquency, which in turn, promotes school attachment and stronger family ties. Wells and Rankin (1988) considered the effectiveness of various dimensions of direct control on delinquency; their analyses suggest that restrictiveness, but not harshness, inhibits delinquency, however these studies do have their limitations as they were made using the same database, but none of the same parameters to conclude the relationship between the variables (adolescent studies from Youth in Transition project extracted from Mc Cord Family Relationships, Juvenile Delinquency, And Adult Criminality). Many suggest that psychopathy disorders, such as antisocial behavior, are also genetically inherited (Hare 1993.  Forth and Burke 1998, Lykken 1995, (source: Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Parents who are psychopathic also behave violently towards their children, thus instilling seeds of similar behavior into them. Children who have displayed signs of aggressiveness also may not culminate into aggressive adolescents with disorders or psychopathy as suggested by studies done by White, Moffits, Earls, Robins and Silva, 1990 (Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Aggression in a proportion of boys emerges early in life and is usually accompanied by ODD symptoms (Loeber et al.  , 2000, extracted from Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). DSM-IV prescribes that the diagnosis of CD should not be made when behaviors are in reaction to their immediate external environment or influences, an example would be of an aggressive adolescent living in a high-crime area (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). There is a consensus among delinquency studies of both official and self-report data, showing an increase from childhood through adolescence in the prevalence of nonaggressive CD behaviors (Achenbach et al.  , 1991; Stanger et al. , 1997); these include behaviors such as theft, breaking-and-entering, and fraud (e. g. , Loeber and Farrington, 1998; Loeber et al. , 1998a). More studies show that the prevalence of clandestine conduct problems increases from childhood through adolescence (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber, 1998). However, studies also give evidence that certain forms of aggression (such as physical aggression) has shown to decrease during the same period (Lahey et al. , 1998; Loeber and Hay, 1997; Loeber et al., 1991). However, more violent forms of aggression, such as robbery, rape, and attempted or completed homicide, tends to develop more during adolescence (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I) What are the important factors that the clinician should assess? Often during clinical assessment, when investigation is conducted, external factors and information from parents and key influencers are extracted to determine the behavior of children and adolescents. It is, however, important to understand that children and youth in subject are essential informants regarding CD because their covert acts are not always noticed by adults. It is essential to combine the important informants diagnosis and results to establish the correct diagnosis and assessment, however much of this is missing. Even minor changes or difference in diagnostic criteria can produce large variations in prognosis leading to incorrect assessment and treatment of disorders. A comparison of DSM-1II and DS2v1-III-R diagnoses on the same sample showed that between DSM-III and DSM-III-R ODD became 25% less prevalent and CD became 44% less prevalent (Boyle et al. , 1996; Lahey et al. , 1990 extracted from: Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). Diagnostic Assessment The assessment of Conduct Disorder, for example, requires collecting data from multiple informants, such as parents, teachers, colleagues, in different settings using varying methods over time, in order to develop more realistic assessment and information about the subject in question. Contact with medical, school, social service, and juvenille justice personnel should be established to obtain more realistic informationd . A history of the patient should be gathered including the patient’s prenatal and birth history, substance abuse by the mother, maternal infections, and medications taken during as well as post-pregnancy. The adolescents’ history should cover problems of attachment, temperament, aggression, oppositional behavior, attention, and impulse control . Complete investigation of any physical and sexual abuse, both as a victim and perpetrator, should be dealt with in detail. DSM-IV target symptoms, and the course of their development, should be reviewed. The quality and quantity of peer relationships should be assessed . Obtaining information about the patients’ performance at school is imperative. Data from intelligence testing, achievement test, academic performance, extra-curricular behavior, and interaction as well as other behavioral reports should be gathered and analyzed. Referral for intelligence testing, speech and language assessment, testing for learning disability, and neuro-psychiatric testing may further help in establishing relevancy of the diagnosis and further prognosis and assessment. Family assessment is an essential part of the evaluation and should include details of the family’s stlye of coping and dealing with situations; socioeconomic status of the family as well as history of social and economic stressors, social support, rehabilitation etc should be obtained. How the parent has been dealing with adolescent, managing his behavior, and addressing the disorder’s relevance to the adoloscents’ life should be investigated. Any sign of parent’s harshness towards the adoloscent, abuse/neglect, and any abnormal inconsistency should be noted. A history of family antisocial behaviors, including incarceration, violence and physical or sexual abuse of the patient or other family members should be investigated as all of these have effects on the adolescents’ ultimate behavior and development. The family should be screened for any history of ADHD, CD, substance use disorders, specific developmental disorders (i. e. , learning disabilities), or any other personality disorders. Also included are any information on adoptions and placements in foster care and institutions and any behavior experienced there by the patient. An evidence of a physical evaluation specifically within the last twelve months is necessary for prognosis. Physical condition including pulse rate is useful or any medical history is important so that treatment can be planned accordingly. Other medical and neurological conditions, with especial focus on central nervous system (CNS) pathology (head injury, seizure disorder, or other CNS illness), chronic illnesses, etc should be evaluated. Any other relevant medical examinations should be conducted during the assessment. As mentioned above an interview with the patient, which can precede the parental interview, should cover the same aspects that are covered in the interview with the family; these include family history, the patient’s personal substance use and sexual history (including sexual abuse of others). DSM-IV target symptoms may be detected by interviewing parents and other informants, and perhaps not directly from the patients’ interview. A close observation of the patient’s capacity for attachment, trust, and empathy; tolerance, anger and expression should be conducted during the interview; the patient might convey his/her capacity to show restraint, accept responsibility for actions, and experience of guilt. A close assessment of factors such as cognitive functioning; mood, affect, self-esteem, and suicidal potential; presence and quality of peer relationships (loner, popular, drug-, crime-, or gang-oriented friends); and disturbances of ideation (inappropriate reactions to the environment, paranoia, dissociative episodes) may be the factors which can differentiate the CD from other disorders .

Salvation

Initial thesis statement: Is salvation â€Å"by faith alone† (according to Luther) or must there be a â€Å"cooperation of faith and works† in salvation (according to the Roman Catholic tradition)? My initial answer to this question before I began this study was that of the Roman Catholic tradition, one must have the combination of both faith and works. Although faith plays a big part of salvation, I tend to believe without both works and faith you may not receive it. 2) First view: Salvation is â€Å"by faith alone† is held to be true by many people.Perhaps the most popular figure from the European Reformation, Martin Luther, noted for his doctrine of justification by faith alone was one who believed that only faith was needed for salvation, and he also held true that God provided everything that is necessary for justification. In 1528 Luther spoke out about salvation saying, â€Å"This faith alone, when based upon the sure promises of God, must save us; as our text clearly explains. And in the light of it all, they must become fools who have taught us other ways to become godly. †¦Man may forever do as he will, he can never enter heaven unless God takes the first step with his Word, which offers him divine grace and enlightens his heart so as to get upon the right way. † Another important person who was on the side of salvation through faith alone is Paul. He uses a passage from Ephesians to support of his idea. â€Å"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. † He puts the emphasis on the fact that salvation is by faith alone.Paul later goes on to say â€Å"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. † That being said, we as humans are created to do good works, but reach salvation through faith alone. Yet another passage suggesting tha t we must only have faith is â€Å"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. † 3) Opposing view: In contrast to Luther’s view, the Roman Catholic view states that salvation is by a â€Å"cooperation of faith and works. James 2:17-18: In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, â€Å"You have faith; I have deeds. † Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. This creates a big contradictory in the bible. Although some may say deeds are not needed, in this very passage we are told without them our justification ceases to exist. One verse that simply breaks down and gives a great example of salvation through faith and works is James 2:20-26 that states: â€Å"20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?Was not our father Abraham considered ri ghteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, â€Å"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,† and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 6 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. † In this passage are two great examples of two different people that receive salvation through both their work and faith in God. They didn’t know exactly what was going to happen when they listened to the word of God and did as he told them, but through faith in him they were able to do so and reach j ustification. They had never seen God but were put in the position to decide whether or not he existed. 4) â€Å"Critical Realist†: With respect to this doctrine I agree with the Roman Catholic tradition that salvation must have a cooperation of faith and works.The reason I still hold this to be true is that throughout the bible and other readings the support behind the idea of works and faith both being crucial to receiving salvation is much stronger than those of Luther. Luther made some great points that through faith, works is automatically going to be inclusive. He also made the point that God makes the first step to giving you all the things necessary to obtain salvation. However, I believe that if someone is faithful in the lord God and wants to be welcome to salvation, then in the rocess of life the works will come naturally to that person. On the other hand if someone is said to be faithful in God and do something harmful or bad to another person, then that so-called faithful person has gone against his/her faith in doing so causing them to fade away from salvation. I have learned from Luther’s view that there are many supportive articles and passages. I have also learned that there are great ideas in both of these arguments, however when it comes down to choosing one of the following the Roman Catholic tradition.My initial has not been strengthened nor weakened after doing the research and studying both sides. Both sides hold a firm argument, but the Roman Catholic view just seemed to catch my attention more. 5) Final Thesis Statement: This doctrine helps answering the initial question by giving information about both of the opinions and going into detailed arguments. I would say that the answer to the initial question is the to obtain salvation, one must have a combination of faith and works.Work Cited â€Å"On Faith & Coming to Christ, by Martin Luther. † <http://homepage. mac. om/shanerosenthal/reformationink/mlonfaith. htm>. McGrath, Alister E. Historical Theology: an Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. Print. Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon. Protestants & Catholics: Do They Now Agree? Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1995. Print. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. McGrath, Alister E. Historical Theology: an Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. Print. [ 2 ]. â€Å"On Faith & Coming to Christ, by Martin Luther. † . [ 3 ]. Ephesians 2:8-9 [ 4 ]. Ephesians 2:10 Salvation A. Name the central character, protagonist – The main character is Langston Huges. (The author) B. Describe his/her key qualities or personality traits (complicated, stereotype, unique, round, flat, etc. ): Langston Huges is seemed as he’s full of integrity, honest to himself, sensitive, and observant. C. Who is another important character in the story, an antagonist? – Other important characters mentioned in this story are the Aunt, his friend Westley, and the pastor. II. Setting or time and place: Identify where and when the story takes place – The place is at bible church when Huges was 13 years old. III. Plot: A. What structure or design does the sequence of events follow: chronological, spatial, or order of importance? – The structure that is used in this story is chronological. A. Discuss the opening, rising action, climax (twist, surprise, turning point, and unexpected development), resolution and the denouement – The story started out in church and Huges was put into a special meeting to be seen by Jesus. You were told you were saved when you saw a light and before you knew it all the kids except Huges and Westley were remaining not being able to see the light. Westley got tired and pretended to be saved and Huges remained there for a while until he made a decision to be like Westley and got up to be pretended to be saved. Climax: When he cries late at night in bed. IV. Conflict/resolution (individual vs. individual; individual vs. society; individual vs. nature; individual vs. self? ): Huges is dealing with society so it would be individual vs society. A. What major problem is the main character faced with? Huges was attempting to be seen by Jesus and was trying to wait for a light to be saved. He’s taking things too literally. B. How does the main character attempt to solve this major problem? Langston Huges gets up and says he saw a light from Jesus. He tries to solve it by making confessions. V. Point of view: (First person, third person observer, third person omniscient? )- First person VI. Message or lesson: Can you think of appropriate expressions, proverbs or maxims that capsulate the main lesson? (Stand your ground): When you want to introduce an abstract subject to a child, you have to approach it easy and not so literal. VII. Theme: controlling or main idea: (brevity of life, loneliness, human suffering as a result of world conflicts, etc. The theme is about religion. (Religious experience as related by a child)