Essay on Assessement of Advertisement - 874 Words

Assessement of Advertisement What exactly is media? Media is communication. Media is different ways of communicating with the public. We see media everywhere we go, on the streets, on TV and even at school. An example of media and one I will be focussing on in this essay is advertising, adverts such as the ones we see on posters and billboards. These adverts affect our everyday life because it influences us in our decisions. For example if a product is being sold, depending on the way the product is advertised can relate to whether or not a consumer decides to purchase the product. Advertisements are usually a persuasive piece that tries to get people to buy a product. I am going to compare†¦show more content†¦In both adverts there are no words only pictures. This could be because the picture is meant to say it all. Both posters rely on their picture to sell their product. They believe that the picture, which is used, is enough to sell their product. By placing an image in people’s heads they h ave conducted a way of selling their product through pictures and not words. The image, which is used in the Coco Cola advert, is a close up of a cartoon polar bear family sharing a Coke. In the Fanta advert it is similar but the family are real and in the background whilst the product in this case a Fanta drink is close up and of a bigger capacity. In the Coke advert it symbolises a human family and that coke can be drank anywhere, the way the polar bears are cuddled up suggests that there is warmth even though we know that polar bears are found in the North Pole, which has the coldest climates. The Fanta advert is in a different part of the earth because we see here that it is of a sunnier climate. The people are on the beach to symbolise that the drink is associated with summer, which means that Fanta is the best drink to serve when it’s hot. The picture of the family in the background shows compassion and symbolises that the drinkShow MoreRelatedProject Management32831 Words   |  132 Pagesorganization which will take care of the technical implementations. The project manager reports to the project board. 3.4.1 Responsibilities of the Project manager To get a good idea about the responsibility of a project manager take a look at the job advertisements in some magazines: {Translate customer demands into realizable and manageable product specifications;  © 1997 Hans Bestebreurtje, MSc UNIGIS 52 Master Thesis: GIS Project management Final Version {Give advice in the field of product

Sigmund Freud s Influence On Personality Theory - 862 Words

The ideas of Sigmund Freud have exerted an enormous impact on personality theory. However, theories and ideas subsequent to Freud have questioned the scientific basis of his ideas. Select one or two alternative theories of human personality and compare and contrast with that of Freud. Intro: Everybody has a unique personality that influences who we are, how we act, what careers we will pursue, as well as our success in close relationships. Our personality is inescapable and essentially shapes us as individuals. Despite its centrality to human existence, defining what impacts attribute to specific personalities and consequent behaviour patterns is something that is still heavily debated today, and as such, many alternating theories have evolved in an attempt to explain these concepts. (Shultz Shultz, 2009). Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist to formally theorise what factors contribute to the construction of an individual’s personality, and suggested that the unconscious mind has great power over behaviour and personality. Freud’s theories were both controversial and revolutionary, simultaneously gaining him many followers and many critics. However, unquestionably, Freud’s theories were the foundation on which all personality theories have subs equently derived (Passer Smith, 2013).This essay will highlight some of the major criticisms of Freud’s work focusing on flaws in the subjectivity, testability and relevance in today’s modern society, as well as makingShow MoreRelatedSigmund Freud s Influence On Personality Theory1909 Words   |  8 Pages Sigmund Freud has had the greatest impact on personality theory in Psychology. His theory of psychoanalysis made him a household name during the 20th century, and is still widely studied today. Freud’s theory was so influential that many personality theorists have shaped their own theories around his by either expanding upon elements of psychoanalysis, or refuting it in favor of their own ideas. One critic of Freud’s theory was Fulton J. Sheen, who argued that Freudian psychoanalysis was un-ChristianRead MoreSigmund Freud And Humanistic Theories Of Psychology1636 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The reading of personality has a thick layer of theories in psychology and is one of the most important fragments of psychological history to this day. This paper will compare and contrast the differences between the great theories of the psychodynamic theory from Sigmund Freud and the humanistic theory from Carl Rogers. These two theorists have different views of how personality is developed, with both theorists influencing the world of psychological personality to this day. Disputes betweenRead MoreComparing The Work Of Sigmund Freud And A Neo Analytical Theorist1290 Words   |  6 Pages Contrasting Personality Theories: Analysis of Freud and Karen Horney Yorkville University Alanna Sampson â€Æ' Abstract The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the work of Sigmund Freud and a neo-analytical theorist. This paper will compare the work of Freud and Karen Horney and begins with an introduction to the study of personality and an identification of the key elements in Freud and Horney’s theories. The paper then moves into an analysis of where Horney and Freud would find agreementRead MoreMoore 1. Kristen Moore. Mrs. Kristy French. English Iii1443 Words   |  6 Pagespsychologist named Sigmund Freud. Freud published a myriad of theories regarding the human mind and its inner workings, which have since fallen from practice. A great majority of his theories have been disproven and rendered useless, though his name is one that is immediately recognized upon mention and he is one of the first figures that psychology majors study. If Freud has fallen from practice, however, why are his theories still studied at all? Although Sigmund Freud’s practices and theories have beenRead MoreSons And Lovers By D. H. Lawrence901 Words   |  4 Pageslove. His books were ahead of time, and he was quite influenced by Sigmund Freud. I believe that Freud really influenced lawrence’s writing during Chapters 6 and 7 when Paul is starting to get closer to females, and his mother did not want any other female to be in Paul’s life other than herself, which is one of Freud s early theories on sexuality, and Sons and Lovers deeply explores and revises of one of Freud s major theories, the Oedipus complex, such as Paul truly and deeply loves his motherRead MoreSigmund Freud s Theory Of Psychoanalysis1339 Words   |  6 PagesSigmund Freud Biographic Description of Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg (currently known as Czech Republic). Freud is best known as the founder of psychoanalysis, which entails a scientific analysis of unpacking unconscious conflicts based on free associations, fantasies, and dreams of the patient. He was among the greatest psychologists of the 20th century, and his legacy lasts up to now. While young (4 years old), his family relocated to Vienna where he lived andRead MoreCarl Jung And Alfred Adler1517 Words   |  7 Pagesinfluential theorist was born, Sigmund Freud. During his childhood and adolescence years, his scholastic performance stood out. He graduated high school with honors, and set out to study medicine at Vienna University. While studying medicine, he was introduced to Ernest Von Bruke, who worked at the university as a physiology professor . Bruke assisted Freud in obtaining a grant to study with a psychiatrist, by the name of Jean Martin Charcot. In 1881 Sigmund Freud finally earn ed his doctoralRead MoreThe Theory Of Personality Psychology1019 Words   |  5 Pagesnot like you at all? It’s ironic how a person personality is shaped. Personality is included in basically everyday life. Personality defines a person. Personality is like a big stew mixed with emotions, behaviors, and patterns of thought that truly define a person. Personality Psychology is the study of these different patterns among a group of people or culture. The studies of psychology started from Hippocrates’ theory that argues that personality traits are based on four different sections. ThisRead MorePsychodynamic Theories And Theories Of The Psychodynamic Theory Essay1702 Words   |  7 Pagespsychodynamic theory in depth as well as its presentation in real life as presented by Sigmund Freud. It presents an analysis of the theory in terms of its historical developments and perspectives as well as the ideas of its main supporters. Further, the paper also attempts to bring to light the hidden and unambiguous assumptions made by the theory concerning individuals, groups, families, systems and communities. Additionally, It will attempt to highlight the relationship that exists between the theory andRead MoreTheories And Theory Of Psychosocial Development Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pages 1 Theories Theorist Tiffany Leaf Walden University Dr. Thomas Russo RSCH – 61007-6 Research Theory Life is full of many experiences and challenges which help individuals to grow and become better people. There has been tons of research to better understand how and why humans develop and grow the way they do. Among the many theories and therapist in the field of psychology, I have chosen psychosexual and psychosocial

Organic Evolution Essay Example For Students

Organic Evolution Essay LBST 2231April 16, 2004Everybody knows the great debate about how the world became what it is and how the earth was created. Even though we are living in the technology age, there are still no certainties about how everything came to be how we see it today. This is mainly due to the obvious fact that there were no humans alive at the time earth was first created to record data on the earliest years of Earth. What we do know however, is that everything came about by something known as evolution. Although theories conflict each other, and there are many different views on evolution, one thing agreed upon is that it has taken time to get to where we are today. The word evolution, derived from the Latin evolvere, means to roll out or unfold (The Fantasy). According to The Merriam?Webster Dictionary, evolution has a few different definitions. The first refers to evolution as a process of change in a particular direction. The second definition dealing with the actual theory of evolution st ates the following: a theory that the various kinds of plants and animals are descended from other kinds that lived in earlier times and that the differences are due to inherited changes that occurred over many generations. (Merriam?Webster)The main debate about evolution is being fought between religious sectors and scientists. The science side of evolution is taken from evidence in rocks and other earth materials. The religious end of the argument believes God had more to do with the earth than anything else. There are two parts to the scientific perspectives of evolution, they are Organic Evolution and Biological Evolution. Based on the definition of evolution, organic evolution deals only with plant and animal life and is referred to as the process of organisms to roll out or progress through a succession of changes from simple to more complex conditions (The Fantasy). The concept implies that ll animals and plants are descendants of some primordial substance, which have evolved through a slow, gradual process of mutations into higher forms. This theory includes the evolution of man and requires millions, even billions of years to be carried out. Organic evolution assumes that transmutation has taken place to get where the world is today, and continues to take place for future generations. Although this concept seems to be valid so far, there is much controversy over the actual validity of the evidence behind organic evolution. Most refer to the idea of organic evolution as more of a fantasy than a scientific presumption. It is believed to be totally discredited and unscientific without any evidence or basis of fact. Even though most believe that there is no validity to the ideas of Darwin, Malthus and Wallace, the creators of organic evolution, it has become a basis for many religions. Atheism, and humanism have both been formed through the ideas of organic evolution. These religions are based on a system of faith in the doctrine of materialism. It has been designed by the master of deceit to spread the seeds of doubt and evil. The followers of these twisted religions believe in a denial of God and His Word. They live their unseemly lifestyles by manifestations of the heathen mentality. Christians view organic evolution totally different though. They believe that God is the first cause for everything, he always has been and always will be first in the eyes of a Christian. Quoting John 1:3?4, All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men (The Fantasy). Christians are taught and believe that the greatest display is not creation, but the cross. It is the power of resurrection and God himself that changed everything, not by transmutation, but by transformation into the creation of Jesus Christ. Another religion affected by the questions of organic evolution and its validity is the Islamic faith. The Christians have an outlook that whatever God says, goes. Islamic followers are not as accepting of the idea of believing something that has not been proven true. They are told to listen to Allahs teachings, since they can not find out for themselves in the observable world. We are asked to believe in life after death, yet no one has returned from the dead to tell us about this; we are asked to believe in resurrection and the Day of Judgement without any evidence; we are asked to believe in the life to come, and its eternity, when we really dont have the capability to understand what eternity means (Organic Evolution). The Islamic community does not have anything to base these assumptions on. Altho ugh they are more cautious than the Christian followers, they still believe in these teachings because they are told to. .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .postImageUrl , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:hover , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:visited , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:active { border:0!important; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:active , .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua2cb27d65c6aad0c80a56fe082d9365b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Mattel - Auditors Liablity EssayThe people involved enough in their religion to believe in something that cant be proven just because their leader says so, have very strong feelings for what they believe. When scientists began poking around at the possibility that these teachings may not be so true, many people were set off. The Quran teaches that things should not be accepted based only on the theory, in order for ideas to be accepted you must be able to prove it. When scientists could not experimentally reenact what happened millions of years ago, the battle between the scientific sects and the religious sects began. The scientists were highly persecuted by the churches, as a vengeance to this, scientists began taking a negative stand toward anything religious. They rejected anything that was unseen. Of course the religious sect was very adverse to this behavior of the scientific world, but they came back by replying this: But we know we are surrounded by many unknowns and that these can only be revealed to us by divine revelation (Organic Evolution). Their example for this was life after death, which to me is a contradiction of previous statements about believing the unknown. The Roman Catholic society, on the other hand, is becoming more and more accepting of the scientific beliefs concerning organic evolution. On October 23, 1996, Pope John Paul II announced that evolution was a scientific theory acceptable by the church, and that Catholicisms accepts biblical inerrancy. He also announced that Evolution is scientific, and the Bible is not infallible when it comes to science (Evolutions Role). Christians and scientists have come to a Theistic Evo lution Compromise, stating that both sides are not entirely right about evolution. In a conference held in Southern California in November 1996, the scientists agreed that Darwins theory is not totally right in that God actually did play a role in evolution, and the religious sect confessed that science also played a large role in evolution. This new theory is know as theistic evolution (Evolutions Role). Organic evolution is obviously a huge part of life in todays society and always will be. The fact is, this is how we, as mankind, came about. There are many veils and theories as to how humans were created. One popular theory is what we all know as the Big Bang theory. Looking back at fossil discoveries, it is quite obvious that man has changed dramatically over the years. The evolution of mankind is thought to have happened in adaption to their needs. In early times it was necessary to hunt and gather to have food to eat, some tribes were also scavengers. Drs. John Hawks and Milfo rd Wolpoff have studied this theory quite thoroughly, and have made the interpretation about the evolution of humans: Body size is a key element in these behavior changes, (hunting, gathering and scavenging) because of the locomotor changes that large body size denotes, and the increased metabolic resources it requires (The Big Bang Theory). They have also created a chart that outlines the growth and evolution of man, and how long ago each species was derived (see attached table). Regarding the concepts and beliefs of organic evolution, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Because of this there will always be conflict amongst people and their differing beliefs concerning organic evolution. I, like anyone else, have an opinion too. Although my thoughts are not very thorough or elaborate I have my own belief on this debate between religious and scientific theories. Although I would not consider myself a religious person, I dont not believe in anything religious. Yes, I believe that many religious?based theories are a bit far fetched, but if thats what one person wants to believe, let them. Me, on the other hand, would agree more with the scientists on the topic. There is just more evidence to back up a scientific theory. I cant just believe something because somebody told me to, or simply because God, or any other higher being, said thats the way it happened. All in all, I guess I am just like any one else in that I dont have completely concrete opinion on what happened 4 billion years ago. But I differ from some in the respect that we really never will know exactly what happened, and how we arrived on earth and why. I can accept this because we are, who we are and to me, thats all that matters.

Trip To The Porno Shop Essay Research free essay sample

Trip To The Porno Shop Essay, Research Paper Before traveling into Phase II, I didn? Ts truly experience anything out of the ordinary. I have been in that shop a few times, and wear? t find it violative in any manner. My merely experiencing about being in that shop is a sense of sexual overload on the senses. There is so much sexually oriented stuff there that it is about overpowering. I drove at that place with three friends from my house, who are besides in the HDFS 240 category. Their feelings on the shop were by and large similar to mine. We all agreed, nevertheless, that it is more uncomfortable to travel in entirely than in a group. So, with the four of us, the uncomfortable feelings were eased. The first point I selected was a film, titled, ? Ready to Drop: Volume 7. ? The movie was priced at $ 10.95. The box displayed images of pregnant adult females in a assortment of sexual Acts of the Apostless. We will write a custom essay sample on Trip To The Porno Shop Essay Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The exposure appeared to be of low quality, and the scenery and histrions in the images besides seemed to be in the more cheap scope. I selected this point because it grabbed my attending. It was something out of the ordinary, as films go, so I decided I should take a expression at it. My 2nd point was a merchandise called the? Super Suction Penis Pump. ? The box was really apparent, with merely a little block of text depicting how a adult male could ? watch his prick grow to unb elievable dimensions! ? The merchandise is designed to increase the size of the phallus in both length and thickness. This merchandise was on sale for $ 21.95, and was an open-box special, which was interesting in itself. I take this one because it was sitting on top of a heap of films, and I knocked it onto the floor. So, I figured that, since I already had to pick it up, I? vitamin D merely compose about it. Finally, my favourite pick was? The Famous Erotic Love Piggie. ? This point can be purchased for a mere $ 12.95, and provides hours of? Farm fun. ? The image on the forepart showed a drawing of a hog have oning a Bikini. This box was besides really obviously, and didn? t give any description or exposure of the merchandise. We could merely conjecture what astonishing workmanship was invested in that $ 12.95 piggie. I chose this point because it was the most entertaining point at that place. It seemed to be the lone 1 of it? s sort, so it grabbed my attending. After holding gone into the shop, I didn? t feel any different that earlier. Inside, I felt comfy looking about through the merchandises because so many of them are so bizarre and humourous. It is about like a shop of gag gifts and gags. The trip was merriment and entertaining, but due to anterior experience at that place, did non do any important impact on my positions or feelings on grownup stores.

Female Spies in World War I and World War II

Female Spies in World War I and World War II While almost every nation yet prohibits women in combat, a long history of female involvement in warfare reaches all the way back to ancient times. Extensive documentation exists covering the role of women working undercover or otherwise involved in intelligence work in each of the two world wars. World War I Mata Hari If asked to name a female spy, most people would probably be able to cite Mata Hari of World War I fame. Real name Margaretha Geertruida Zelle McLeod, the woman the world would come to know as Mata Hari was born in the Netherlands. Her cover was that of an exotic dancer from India. While there is little doubt regarding the legitimacy of Mata Haris life as a stripper and sometimes-prostitute, some controversy surrounds whether she was ever actually a spy. Famous as she was if Mata Hari was a spy, she was fairly inept at it. She was caught following contact with an informant, tried and executed as a spy by France. It later came to light that her accuser was, himself, a German spy, effectively casting doubt on her true role in World War I espionage. Edith Cavell Another famous spy from World War I was also executed as a spy. Edith Cavell was born in England, growing up to become a nurse by profession. When World War I erupted, she was working in a nursing school in Belgium. Although she was not a spy as we generally view them, Edith worked undercover to help transport soldiers from France, England, and Belgium to escape from the Germans. She worked as matron of a hospital and, while doing so, helped at least 200 soldiers to escape. When the Germans realized Cavells role in what was happening, she was put on trial for harboring foreign soldiers rather than espionage, and convicted in two days. She was killed by a firing squad in October of 1915 and buried near the execution site despite appeals from the United States and Spain to return her body to her homeland. After the war, her body was transported back to England. Edith Cavell was finally buried in her native land, following a Westminster Abbey service presided by King George V of England. A statue in her honor was erected in St. Martins Park bearing the simple but apt epitaph, Humanity, Fortitude, Devotion, Sacrifice. The statue also carries the quote she gave to the priest who gave her communion the night before her death, Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone. Edith Cavell had, in her lifetime, cared for anyone in need regardless of which side of the war they fought out of religious conviction. She died as valiantly and honorably as she lived. World War II Two main oversight organizations were responsible for intelligence activities in World War II for the Allies. These were the British SOE, or Special Operations Executive, and the American OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. The SOE was active in virtually every occupied country in Europe along with native operatives in enemy countries, aiding resistance groups and monitoring enemy activity. The American counterpart, the OSS, overlapped some of the SOE operations and also had operatives in the Pacific theater. In addition to traditional spies, these organizations employed many ordinary men and women to covertly provide information on strategic locations and activities while leading apparently normal lives. The OSS eventually became what is now known as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Americas official spy agency. Virginia Hall An American heroine,  Virginia Hall came from Baltimore, Maryland. From a privileged family, Hall attended fine schools and colleges and wanted a career as a diplomat. Her aspirations were thwarted in 1932 when she lost part of her leg in a hunting accident and had to use a wooden prosthesis. Having resigned from the State Department in 1939, Hall was in Paris at the start of World War II. She worked on an ambulance corps until the Henri Philippe Petain-led Vichy government took over, at which point she moved to England, volunteering for the newly-founded SOE. SOE training completed, she was returned to Vichy-controlled France where she supported the Resistance until complete Nazi takeover. She escaped on foot to Spain through the mountains, continuing her work for the SOE there until 1944, when she joined the OSS and asked to return to France. Returned to France, Hall continued to help the underground Resistance by, among other things, providing maps to Allied forces for drop zones, finding safe houses and providing intelligence activities. She assisted in training at least three battalions of French Resistance forces and continuously reported on enemy movements. The Germans recognized her activities and made her one of their Most Wanted Spies, calling her the woman with a limp and Artemis. Hall had many aliases including Agent Heckler, Marie Monin, Germaine, Diane, and Camille. She managed to teach herself to walk without a limp and employed many disguises, foiling Nazi attempts to capture her. Her success in evading capture was as remarkable as the prodigious work she accomplished. Still active as an operative in 1943, the British quietly awarded Hall the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). Later, in 1945, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by Gen. William Donovan for her efforts in France and Spain. Hers was the only such award to any civilian woman in all of WWII. Hall continued to work for the OSS through its transition to the CIA until 1966. At that time she retired to a farm in Barnesville, MD until her death in 1982. Princess Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan A childrens book author may seem an unlikely candidate for international spy induction, but Princess Noor defied any such expectation. The great-niece of Christian Science founder  Mary Baker Eddy  and daughter of Indian royalty, she joined the SOE as Nora Baker in London and trained to operate a wireless radio transmitter. She was sent to occupied France under the code name Madeline, carrying her transmitter from safe house to safe house, maintaining communications for her Resistance unit,  with the Gestapo trailing her all the way. Khan was captured and executed as a spy in 1944. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the Croix de Guerre and the MBE for her valor. Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell was born in 1921 to a French mother and British father. Her husband Etienne Szabo was a French Foreign Legion officer killed in battle in North Africa. After her husbands death, Bushell was recruited by the SOE and sent to France as an operative on two occasions. On the second of these visits, she was caught giving cover to a Maquis leader. She killed several German soldiers before finally being captured. Despite torture, Bushell refused to give the Gestapo classified information, so was sent to  the concentration camp  Ravensbruck, where she was executed. She was posthumously honored for her work with both the George Cross and the Croix de Guerre in 1946. The Violette Szabo Museum in Wormelow, Herefordshire, England honors her memory as well. She left behind a daughter, Tania Szabo, who wrote her mothers biography,  Young, Brave Beautiful: Violette Szabo GC. Szabo and her highly decorated husband were the most decorated couple in World War II, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Barbara Lauwers Cpl. Barbara Lauwers, Womens Army Corps, received a Bronze Star for her OSS work, which included using German prisoners for counterintelligence work and cobbling fake passports and other papers for spies and others. Lauwers was instrumental in Operation Sauerkraut, an operation which mobilized German prisoners to spread black propaganda about  Adolf Hitler  behind enemy lines. She created the League of Lonely War Women, or VEK in German. This mythical organization was designed to demoralize German troops by spreading the belief that any soldier on leave could display a VEK symbol and get a girlfriend. One of her operations was so successful that 600 Czechoslovak troops defected behind Italian lines. Amy Elizabeth Thorpe Amy Elizabeth Thorpe, early code name Cynthia, later Betty Pack, worked for the OSS in Vichy, France. She was sometimes used as a swallow- a woman trained to seduce the enemy into sharing secret information- and she participated in break-ins. One daring raid involved taking secret naval codes from a safe within a locked and guarded room. Another involved infiltration of the Vichy French Embassy in Washington D.C., taking important codebooks. Maria Gulovich Maria Gulovich fled Czechoslovakia when it was invaded, emigrating to Hungary. Working with Czech army staff and British and American intelligence teams, she assisted downed pilots, refugees, and resistance members. Gulovich was taken by the KGB and maintained her OSS cover under fierce interrogation while assisting in the Slovak rebellion and rescue efforts for Allied pilots and crews. Julia McWilliams Child Julia Child  was up to much more than gourmet cooking. She wanted to join the WACs or the WAVES but was turned down for being too tall, at a height of 62. Following this rejection, she opted to work in research and development out of the OSS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Among the projects with which she was involved: a workable shark repellent used for downed flight crews later used for US space missions with water landings and supervising an OSS facility in China. Julia Child handled countless top-secret documents before gaining television fame as The French Chef. Marlene Dietrich German-born  Marlene Dietrich  became an American citizen in 1939. She volunteered for the OSS and served both by entertaining troops on the front lines and by broadcasting nostalgic songs to battle-weary German soldiers as propaganda. She received the Medal of Freedom for her work. Elizabeth P. McIntosh Elizabeth P. McIntosh was a war correspondent and independent journalist who joined the OSS shortly after  Pearl Harbor. She was instrumental in the interception and rewriting of postcards Japanese troops wrote home while stationed in India. She intercepted and detected orders of numerous sorts, chief among them a copy of the Imperial Order discussing terms of surrender which was then disseminated to Japanese troops. Genevieve Feinstein Not every woman in intelligence was a spy as we think of them. Women also played significant roles as cryptanalysts and code breakers for the Signal Intelligence Service (SIS). Genevieve Feinstein was one such woman, having been responsible for creating a machine used to decode Japanese messages. After WWII, she continued to work in intelligence. Mary Louise Prather Mary Louise Prather headed the SIS stenographic section. She was responsible for logging messages in code and preparing decoded messages for distribution. Prather was primarily credited with having uncovered a previously-unnoticed yet distinct correlation between two Japanese messages which led to the decryption of a pivotal new Japanese code system. Juliana Mickwitz Juliana Mickwitz escaped Poland during the Nazi invasion of 1939. She became a translator of Polish, German and Russian documents and worked with the Military Intelligence Directorate of the War Department. She went on to translate voice messages. Josephine Baker Josephine Baker  was a singer and dancer best known at the time as the Creole Goddess, the Black Pearl or the Black Venus for her beauty. But Baker was also a spy working undercover for the French Resistance, smuggling military secrets written in invisible ink on her sheet music  into Portugal from France. Hedy Lamarr Actress Hedy Lamarr made a valuable contribution to the intelligence division by co-producing an anti-jamming device for torpedoes. She also devised a clever way of frequency hopping that prevented the interception of American military messages. Famous for the Road movies with Bob Hope, everyone knew she was an actress but few were aware she was an inventor of military importance. Nancy Grace Augusta Wake New Zealand-born Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, AC GM, was the most decorated servicewoman among Allied troops in WWII. Wake grew up in Australia, working early on as a nurse and later as a journalist. As a journalist, she watched the rise of Hitler, well aware of the dimension of the threat Germany posed. Living in France with her husband at the start of World War II, Wake became a courier for the French Resistance. Among the Gestapos Most Wanted Spies, she was in constant danger, having her phone tapped and her mail read. Nazi Germany eventually put a five million franc price on the head of the woman they called the White Mouse. When her network was uncovered, Wake fled. Forced to leave her husband behind, the Gestapo tortured him to death trying to obtain her location. She was briefly arrested but released and, after six attempts, fled to England where she joined the SOE. In 1944 Wake parachuted back into France to assist the Maquis, where she participated in training highly effective Resistance troops. She once bicycled 100 miles through German checkpoints to replace a lost code and was reputed to have killed a German soldier with her bare hands to save others. After the war she was awarded the Croix de Guerre three times, the George Medal, the Mà ©daille de la Rà ©sistance, and the American Medal of Freedom for her undercover achievements. Afterword These are only a few of the women who served as spies in the two great world wars. Many took their secrets to the grave and were known only to their contacts. They were military women, journalists, cooks, actresses, and ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times. Their stories demonstrate that they were ordinary women of extraordinary courage and inventiveness who helped to change the world with their work. Women have played this role in many wars over the ages, but we are fortunate to have records of quite a few of those women who worked undercover in World War I and World War II, and we are all honored by their accomplishments. Sources and Further Reading The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of Americas Greatest Female Spy  by Judith L. Pearson, The Lyons Press (2005).Sisterhood of Spies  by Elizabeth P. McIntosh, published by the Naval Institute Press.Young, Brave Beautiful: Violette Szabo GC  by Tania Szabo.

History of Astronomy - Rise of Modern in 20th Century

History of Astronomy - Rise of Modern in 20th Century Tycho Brahe has often been called the Father of modern astronomy, and for good reasons. However, I think that title really belongs to Galileo Galilei for his pioneering use of the telescope to magnify the view of the sky. However, Brahe did advance the science more than anyone in the past, simply by using his senses, rather than philosophy to study the sky. The work that Brahe began was continued and expanded by his assistant, Johannes Kepler, whose laws of planetary motion are among the foundations of modern astronomy. There are many other astronomers since Galileo, Brahe, and Kepler who have advanced the science:  Here, in brief, are some of the other bright lights who helped bring astronomy to its current place. Edmund Halley (1656-1742) was a British astronomer who was also a big fan of Sir Isaac Newton. After encouraging Newton to write his Principia, Halley then published it at his own expense. Not stopping to rest on the fame of another, he went on to calculate the orbits of comets, including the one named after him.Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), though born in Germany, was a British astronomer. He discovered Uranus in 1781 coined the word asteroids. He also cataloged about 2,000 nebulae, discovered several satellites of Uranus and Saturn, studied the rotation of planets. Discovered and studied binary stars. He discovered two satellites each orbiting Uranus and Saturn. He studied the rotation period of many planets, the motion of double stars, and nebulae. He cataloged more than 800 double stars and contributed new information on the constitution of nebulae. Herschel was the first to propose that these nebulae were composed of stars. He is considered the founder of sidereal astronomy. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German-born American physicist and Nobel laureate. He may be the most well-known scientist of the 20th century. In 1915, he developed his general theory of relativity, which states that the speed of light is constant and that the curvature of space and the passage of time are linked to gravity. Thinking the universe was unchanging, he inserted a  cosmological constant fudge factor  into his calculations to make them fit his viewpoint.Willem de Sitter: (1872 - 1934), a Dutch astronomer, removed Einsteins cosmological constant from his calculations and used the theory of relativity to show that the universe may always be expanding.Georges-Henri Lemaitre: (1894 - 1966) was not only a Belgian astronomer, he was also a Jesuit priest. Discovering the writings of Russian mathematician, Alexander Friedmann, Lemaitre took his solution for an expanding universe and theorized that if the universe is expanding, if we follow it back to the starting point, the n our universe began as a great cosmic egg which exploded and expanded outward. Lemaitre is often referred to as the father of the Big Bang theory. Edwin P Hubble (1889-1953), American Astronomer. In the 1920s, Albert Einstein stated, I have made my greatest blunder. This pronouncement came when Hubble  demonstrated that the universe was not static and Einsteins cosmological constant was not necessary. Utilizing improved telescopic devices, he was also able to confirm that those fuzzy objects astronomers had seen for years were in fact other galaxies.Thomas Gold (1920 - 2004) was an American astronomer. Though it is generally believed that Golds steady state theory of the universe is incorrect, he made many major contributions to our knowledge of the universe, including the nature of pulsars as rotating neutron stars, and the origin of planetary hydrocarbons. These are just a few of the astronomers and their findings in the pre- and early 20th century history of astronomy. There have been and are many other great brains in the field of astronomy, but its time to get away from history for now. Well meet some of these other astronomers throughout the rest of our lessons. Next, well look at numbers. Fourth Lesson Big Numbers Lesson 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Writing Business Letters 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Writing Business Letters 1 - Essay Example Though the situation posed an ethical dilemma to the judges and might have been viewed as a set of a wrong precedent, the judge decision was appropriate and mandated by the circumstances. Moreover, ones right should not be infringed to protect another as in the case of Jodie right. The ruling by the judge to defend the right of life of Jodie is ethical even though it caused termination to the life of Mary. The decision of the judge had no violation to the law because even without conducting the surgery, Mary would still not survive (The Guardian, n.d). The attorney General conclusion to protect the judges from conviction and criticism further considered the need to remain objective while making the rulings. Mary would still die even without having the surgery and thus decision to protect Jodie right is prudent. Finally, protection of the weaker should not be taken to authorize the violation of the dominant one. Though the submissions of the catholic church, pro-life and the parents had some essence, the judges went ahead to reaffirm to them that the decision does not make killing lawful and gave a comprehensive explanation to their decision (The Guardian, n.d). By so doing, the judges acted ethically and made their ultimate decision without completely disregarding the voices of all the parties. The opponents of the decision should therefore remain open minded and be cognizant of the unique circumstances. The judge’s decision is therefore supported and all parties should appreciate the ruling that saved a life. " A right to life, but not to stay alive | UK news | The Guardian ." Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Aris Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aris Dilemma - Essay Example She had been sitting in silence for more than an hour now. She had never imagined that it would be like this. She remembered, for the 100th time, how her mother had gasped in shock when she brought Bilal to their home in Western Texas. Her father tried desperately to pretend that he was pleased at his daughter’s choice of friend. However, the rest of her family only gaped at his elaborate headdress. Bilal was kind enough. Her mother had purposefully tried to make him feel uncomfortable. She constantly wore, on her face, expressions full of hatred at Bilal. She permitted him to talk or comment on anything without openly opposing his comments. Beside, she constantly criticized Bilal’s Muslim culture and culture pointing out the unjust and monopolistic way they treated their women. In addition, she kept telling Bilal that he is not any different from all his Muslim folks as long as they live in Saudi Arabia. Bilal tried to persevere the rampage, from his to be mother-in-la w, in silence, perhaps accepting the truth in silence. â€Å"Ghayda!† Ari took some moments to realize that it was she who was being addressed by the old woman at the door to her right. â€Å"Ghayda!† Her husband’s aunt had given her the name to make her a complete Saudi Arabian. The old woman motioned towards the kitchen.

Compare & Contrast Han and Rome Essay Example for Free

Compare Contrast Han and Rome Essay When Han China and Imperial Rome are compared, one can find both similarities and differences in terms of techniques of imperial administration. A similarity would be that both are bureaucracies. However, both are also different. One major difference is that Han China had the civil service exams. They also differed because Han China had a much greater emphasis on religion than the Romans. These differences led to very different futures for the two empires, both of which were among the strongest in the world at the time. The first comparison is that both Han China and Imperial Rome were bureaucracies. They had a sole ruler, but they had many others governing specific portions of the empire. This allowed for the empire as a whole to be in better shape. This is due to the fact that a more localized ruler would better know both the area and its needs. They would also be more dedicated to their job as they would be managing the area they live in, so every decision they make would impact not only their life but possibly the lives of family living in the regions they are governing. The empires would be much worse off if they had their single ruler managing everything, as they would not fully understand the needs of the areas, nor would they care as much as they would most likely have no personal ties to those regions. Due to this, both empires were much more powerful and well organized. Another comparison is that Han China had the civil service exams, while Imperial Rome had nothing similar. The exam allowed for overall better governing and management of the empire. This is because the examination filtered out those who were unqualified for those positions and instead filled them with intelligent people who could do good for the empire. If they let unqualified people in that would greatly increase poor management because they would not be knowledgeable enough to make decisions that would benefit not only that one area, but the empire as a whole. Without the civil service exams, many unqualified people entered positions of power in Rome, and so there were many problems. The final comparison is that Han China had a greater emphasis on religion than Imperial Rome. In Han China, this was found in the mandate of heaven,  the structure of family found in the government, and that to get a good job in the government one needed to be educated in Confucianism. When the Han first took power, they incorporated the mandate of heaven into Confucian values, If the ruler was a good ruler, then they were supported by the heavens. Confucianism also led to the family hierarchy becoming the basis for government structure. Subjects owed the emperor the same obedience that they gave to their fathers. Religion was also important because one needed to be knowledgeable in Confucianism to get a good job, as the tests were mainly based off of Confucian texts. Rome, on the other hand, had no real religion within the government. While both Han China and Imperial Rome were different in terms of imperial administration because of Han China’s civil service exam, as well as Han China’s focus on religion, they are still similar due to the fact that they are bureaucracies. Even so, these differences and more led to very different futures for both empires, neither of which ended very well.

Matrix Review :: essays research papers

The Matrix Action / Sci-Fi (US); 1999; Rated R; 135 Minutes Cast Keanu Reeves: Thomas "Neo" Anderson Laurence Fishburne: Morpheus Carrie-Anne Moss: Trinity Joe Pantoliano: Cypher Hugo Weaving: Agent Smith Produced by Bruce Berman, Dan Cracchiolo, Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Joel Silver, Erwin Stoff, Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski Directed and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski Keanu Reeves as a martial-arts master and savior of the earth? Laurence Fishburne as his mentor? The world as we know it does not even exist? Surely, you can't be serious. Welcome to the fascinating and confusing world of "The Matrix." In this sci-fi thriller, Reeves stars as Neo, a computer programmer by day and cyber-hacker by night. Out of nowhere, he is contacted by a group of super hackers who tell him that his life is in danger and his only hope is to trust them. The group's leader, a quiet but confident man known as Morpheus (Fishburne) tells Neo that he is the one chosen to save the world and that the "Matrix is the wool that has pulled over your eyes - that you are a slave." Neo is the world's only hope. In a nutshell, Morpheus explains that computers developed on their own and won a brutal war against man. So the computers made a program to put all of the slaves back in the past, which is our present day. He tells Neo that he can chose either to live now or to see what the world is truly like. Neo chooses the latter, and the trip down the rabbit hole begins as does the fight for the salvation of humanity. But the battle must be fought out in â€Å"The Matrix†, not the real world, where computer sentinels are seemingly invincible and where the laws of physics can not only be bent, they can be tossed right out the window. With that kind of freedom, characters can run up the sides of walls, leap incredible distances, dodge bullets, and with the help of Hong Kong stunt specialist Yuen Wo Ping, pull off some of the most impressive kung fu fight sequences ever filmed. Slow-motion film sequences, some shot at the rate of 12,000 frames per second, allow the filmmakers to manipulate the on-screen action much like in the Gap commercials where the dancers are frozen and the camera angle shifts around them. Andrew Mason lends the film the same look he gave Dark City, only this time the good guys wear black and everyone else is either a sentinel or prime fodder for target practice.

African American Identity Essay

It was a hot August day as sweat beat down on Thomas Jefferson Brown. He had been working in the field 2 hours before the hot sun had made its presence known. He looked back over the drying field, hoping that this crop would provide for his family better than last years crop had. Thomas watched his oldest son, Nathan, who worked down one row of the field while staring intently at the cotton plants as he picked the cotton. Nathan was a very inquisitive young man who had just yesterday asked his father what it was like being a slave for Mr. Walter Johnson. When his father had told him that in a lot of ways life was so much easier than now, Nathan had given him a look that allowed Thomas to know that his son could not understand. How could he understand? Nathan had not grown up a slave and seen that while it was extremely difficult, there was a feeling of stability to life then. Yes, Thomas Jefferson Brown had endured the beatings and yes he had watched as his Mother and eventually his sisters had been sexually assaulted, but how do you tell a young man such as Nathan that such was the way of life; it was to be expected, along with the comfort of knowing where your next meal was going to come from. Since Tomas had been freed after the great war, He s and his family had endured much more than that; having watched the lynching of two of his brothers and numerous friends. They were the lucky ones though, Thomas thought, while looking up at the fiery ball of heat known as the sun. They did not have to endure other hardships; their suffering was over. Yes it was hard for Nathan to know that life was indeed easier as a slave than a freed man, and maybe, just maybe, things would change during Nathan’s lifetime. Thomas Jefferson Brown wiped his brow once more and continued on picking the cotton? Even though the civil war ended in 1865, African Americans still faced an uphill battle to obtain rights that were afforded other Americans. This was in spite of the fact that 24 African American soldiers earned our Nations highest honor; the Congressional Medal of Honor, during the Civil War. Even with the passing of the 13th Amendment in 1865 banning slavery and the 14th Amendment giving African Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law, there were still so many other issues that would deprive African Americans of their lawful rights, such as having the first African American elected into the 41st Congress in 1869 continuing through 1901 with the 57th congress, which had no African Americans. This trend would continue until the election of 1929 before another African American was elected to congress. In 1873 the Supreme Court decision ruled that the 14th-Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws extended only to federal civil rights, thus removing southern states from the duty to protect the civil rights of African Americans, but it was just not their rights that were taken; but their lives as well. Between 1882 and the end of 1900, 1751 African Americans and 1105 white Americans were lynched for trying to further the African American cause (National). Given all of this discrimination and violence, it is hard to imagine that anyone would be willing to further the African American cause, but many stood ready to not only give of themselves, but perhaps even to give their life for this noble cause. African American writers were presented with these problems of equality and self esteem, and yet have truly transformed and continue to support a freed people, to obtain all of their rights. What follows is from three writers who each in his own way contributed mightily to the African American cause. They are W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Glen Loury. First, we have W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Dubois, who was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Dubois was one of the most influential black leaders of the first half of the 20th Century. Dubois shared in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, in 1909. He served as its director of research and editor of its magazine Crisis until 1934. He was the first African American to graduate from Harvard University, which he accomplished in 1896. At first, Dubois thought that African Americans could be freed through the Social Sciences, but quickly became disillusioned with this idea and began to believe that freedoms could only come about by agitation and protest(Chew). Dubois recognized that the African American’s of his day faced many problems, not the least of which were of the life threatening variety. After his disillusionment with helping African Americans through the social sciences, Dubois thought that African Americans needed to develop their own culture, which was definitely more American than African. Dubois enjoyed the unique African American culture, particularly that of the Negro spiritual songs. Dubois thought that African Americans should not give in to what white Americans expectations were of African Americans, but to continue to develop as a people. Dubois wrote that all people regardless of their culture, heritage, sex, should be treated as equals. Dubois also thought that African Americans should not worry about competing with the world as a group, but that they should join together to help each other. He eventually was forced to leave the United States because the government considered Dubois an agent of the Soviet Union. That is why he immigrated to Ghana, first obtaining Ghana citizenship, joined the communist party and eventually died there in 1963. Dubois was there for all future African Americans to follow his example. Dubois founding of the NAACP led to many victories for the rights of all Americans, most of which he never saw. Next we have Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who was born in Jamaica on 17 August 1887. Mr. Garvey is best remembered as a pivotal figure in the struggle for racial equality, not just in the United States but throughout the world as well. He founded the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) and African Communities League in 1914 while still in Jamaica, and also championed the ‘back to Africa’ movement of the 1920s. Of the Africans who departed, Garvey thought, some had left independently while others were brutally removed for economic gain and exploitation. Garvey perceived that the main problems facing not only African Americans, but Africans as well was that they must first go back to Africa and free their African brothers before moving on to other parts of the world. Through the organizations that Garvey had formed (UNIA and ACL), he reasoned that until Africa is free and redeemed, not only in name but in reality, no one would be free, Black or White. Garvey reasoned that no matter what one’s race was we are all bound together by the Creator, which is Spirit. The Creator has a purpose for everyone and that purpose did not include being made a slave or subject to anyone for that matter. While Dubois and Garvey did not see eye to eye on the issues involving African Americans, Garvey did align himself closely with Dr Robert Love, and Dr Loves teachings that a race could progress no further than the dignity and esteem of their women and younger girls. Garvey and Love thought that the best way to plant the seeds of dignity and self-esteem would be through the woman and younger girl. Last, we have Glen Loury, who was born in 1948. Mr. Loury is a professor of economics at Boston University while also being a consultant to the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Loury has devoted a major portion of his career to the study of race and public policy. He is the author of ‘On the Need for Moral Leadership in the Black Community’, ‘Responsibility and Race’, ‘Impact of Affirmative Action on Equal Opportunity: A New Look’, and most recently ‘A New American Dilemma’. Mr. Loury saw many problems facing not only African American, but also all Americans, including the civil rights policies of 1960-1985, which seemed to have been based on equality of outcome rather than on equality of opportunity. Mr. Loury also thought that affirmative action policies created backlash. Loury maintained that all Americans should have equal rights with none being given favorable treatment over any other. Loury reasoned that it is hard to justify denying admission to an elite college to anyone who struggled to be able to pass the admissions exam; while admitting a member of a designated minority group, who did not work near as hard to earn his score and is only admitted based on his minority status. Such actions build resentment towards these policies and are only heightened when defenders of the policies claim that to question these policies is to engage in a racist act. Mr. Loury contends that giving preferential treatment with no sound explanation only led to more heightened tensions and is a very grievous error on the part of those who merely wish to be advocates of affirmative action. Loury did see, that there was a proper use of affirmative action, such as on police forces around the country that had a significant percentage of African American citizens and yet none on the police force. These Authors present their own conclusions and reasoning’s for what happened to the African Americans previous to, and of their own time. These writers used the influences of other African Americans and were also pioneers themselves. All of these writers believed in equality for everyone and thus did share at least one common goal. In Mr. Dubois we have a writer and scholar who originally thought that through a study of Social Sciences and doing what was right could African Americans receive their rights, and yet Dubois was able to refocus and remain firm in his opinions of helping each other and thus able to help not only the African American’s of his generation, but the ones to follow as well. Mr. Dubois saw all of the problems besetting African Americans and knew that they must unite, working together, to build a culture of their own, that would allow all African Americans to have a better life. Mr. Garvey on the other hand, perceived that until the rights and freedoms were restored in the entire African continent, Africans elsewhere would always be treated as second-class citizens. Garvey along with Dr Robert Love, thought that it was through the African women, especially the younger women, that Africans had a chance to make a difference in providing a better future. Mr. Loury saw problems that came about because of the Civil Rights movement, and that African Americans should not merely rely on being a minority to get ahead in life, but instead grab the opportunity that was before them so as not to create a political backlash. Each of these writers have stood their ground for what they believe in, and our world we live in today is better for it. Each of these writers, in their own time, helped frame not just African Americans lives but has truly transformed and continues to support a freed people, obtain all, of their rights. Works Cited Chew, Robin â€Å"W. E. B. Dubois Sociologist, Author & Civil Rights Leader 1868 ? 1963†³ February 26, 2005. 6 Feb 2006 Dr Coony, Mark â€Å"Race and Affirmative Action† 6 Feb 2006 Du Bois, W. E. B. â€Å"Of our Spiritual Strivings. † Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 131-145 Garvey, Marcus â€Å"Motive of the NAACP Exposed† Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 153-154 Loury, Glenn. â€Å"Free at Last? A Personal Perspective on Race ad Identity in America. † Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 173-180 â€Å"Marcus Garvey Biography† November 2000, K. W. Spence-Lewis Consultant Researcher Community Health and Planning Plant Science. â€Å"The Making of African American Identity VOL II 1863-1917† National Humanities Center 6 Feb 06 Bibliography Chew, Robin â€Å"W. E. B. Dubois Sociologist, Author & Civil Rights Leader 1868 ? 1963† February 26, 2005. 6 Feb 2006 Dr Coony, Mark â€Å"Race and Affirmative Action† 6 Feb 2006 Du Bois, W. E. B. â€Å"Of our Spiritual Strivings. † Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 131-145 Garvey, Marcus â€Å"Motive of the NAACP Exposed† Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 153-154 Loury, Glenn. â€Å"Free at Last? A Personal Perspective on Race ad Identity in America. † Cultural Conversations The Presence of the Past. Ed Stephen Dilks, et al. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2001. 173-180 â€Å"Marcus Garvey Biography† November 2000, K. W. Spence-Lewis Consultant Researcher Community Health and Planning Plant Science. â€Å"The Making of African American Identity VOL II 1863-1917† National Humanities Center 6 Feb 06.

Classical School of Criminology: Definitions of some terminology Essay

Introduction The Classical School of Criminology emerged during the period of Enlightenment and was to become an important role player in the scientific study of Criminology. The Classical School of thought offered the first naturalistic explanation of crime and basic ideas about crime and a criminal justice system were developed. (Bezuidenhoud, 2013, p. 126) The Classical school and its proponents left a legacy which can be seen in the Constitutions of many countries (including South Africa) and form the basis and foundation of many laws and Criminological theories. Here following is a discussion on three (3) of the concepts (Hedonism, Death Penalty and Deterrence) as introduced by the Classical School but with particular attention paid to how these concepts form a part of modern day Criminology and how the current concepts can be improved upon in South African Law. 1. Hedonism 2. Social Contract 3. Law 4. Deterrence 5. Due process of law 6. Death Penalty Hedonism The concept of Hedonism is grounded in several scientific fields of study. In Psychology the definition for Hedonism is given as: â€Å"the theory that conduct and especially all human behaviour are fundamentally motivated by the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain†. (Hedonism. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11th Ed.) Jeremy Bentham in his book Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) defines Hedonism as â€Å"A doctrine with the central tenet that the achievement of pleasure or happiness is the main goal of life. (Bentham, Jeremy, (1988), Chap 5) The word ‘hedonism’ comes from the ancient Greek for ‘pleasure’. Psychological or motivational hedonism claims that only pleasure or pain motivates us. Ethical or evaluative hedonism claims that only pleasure has worth or value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or the opposite of worth. Jeremy Bentham asserted both psychological and ethical hedonism with the first two sentences of his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation: â€Å"Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain, and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do†. Debate about hedonism was a feature too of many centuries before Bentham, and this has also continued after him. (Bentham, Jeremy, (1988), Chap 1) In layman’s terms Hedonism implies that every human has the inborn desire and compulsion to weigh pleasure and pain up against each other and ultimately choose to go for the pleasure option. Therefore laws should be formulated in such a way that, bearing in mind the innate desires for pleasure, man will be curtailed by †pain†. Any person should be able to weigh the pleasure to be gained by an illegal act against the punishment (pain) decreed by law and subsequently to decide against the act. (Philips, A.R., (2014), Slide 19) In modern-day South Africa nothing seems to have changed. It is merely the forms of pleasure and pain that have evolved due to the technological changes since the 18th century. The search for pleasure has become more powerful with all citizens; society in general and government aiming at gaining â€Å"pleasure† sometimes at any cost. The ordinary citizen sees the level of luxury of the â€Å"haves† and will consider anything to be able to experience the same level of pleasure. Furthermore, certain promises were made 20 years ago when the country moved from apartheid to democracy. Although huge strides have been made there has been a definite widening of the gap between the â€Å"haves† and the â€Å"have-nots†. Simplistically crime has evolved into the one sector of the poor turning them to crime to achieve a level of survival (those who have experienced no or very little improvement in their lives) while another sector is driven to crime purely by greed. The  desire for fast, easy money through crimes such as drugs and prostitution. Death Penalty Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) together with Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was considered to be the most influencial during the Classical School period. Beccaria famously writing mostly about Deterrence as prevention of crime and Punishment should fit the crime Beccaria also called for the abolition of capital punishment. He offered three Main arguments: first, that the death penalty is not useful within a rational and well-ordered Criminal justice system; second that capital punishment is illegitimate under a social Contractarian theory of political obligation; and, third, that the irrevocable nature of the death Penalty is incompatible with the fallible human judgments that are necessarily involved in Capital punishment. Every time a remarkable crime occurs – remarkable either because of the fame of the victim or the extraordinary brutality of the act – there are people calling for a debate on the restoration of the death penalty in South Africa; for the protection of good people, children, and the whole of society against monsters. When it comes to death penalty the Constitution of South Africa is very clear too; there are three basic rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights which focuses on the unconstitutionality of state sanctioned murder. These rights are: the right to life, the right to freedom and security of the person and the right to dignity (SA Constitution, (1996), Section 12 (1)) The death penalty is a highly contentious issue which has been the subject of much debate, writings and research. Botswana still passes the Death sentence and is the country with the lowest crime rate. As stated in The Botswana travel Guide (2013) stated: â€Å"People in Botswana are very friendly and the crime rate is low.† Could the reason for this be that the Death sentence (an act of revenge) acts as Deterrence on a general level? This is a proverbial can of worms that I would definitely not like to open. South Africa’s Death sentence history is a very murky one. About 3500 inmates were hung in the previous century. Of these were 130 whose only crime was fighting for freedom for all South African citizens. (Is this the most ghoulish tourist attraction in the world? Gallows where 3500 were hanged declared a national, monument in South Africa, (2011, 15 December) My personal view on the topic is that we should maintain the status quo for several reasons. 1. Being a Christian I believe in the Commandment â€Å"Thou shall not kill† 2. Killing a killer does not make is right. 3. The Death sentence is purely an act of revenge and serves no purpose as deterrence. One could however argue the point that Abortion (which is legalized in this country) is also murder. Murder of intent but once again another contentious issue. Death sentencing, in my opinion, is barbaric, inhumane, and cruel and has no place in our modern society and Constitution. Deterrence According to the Classical school â€Å"the law was to protect the rights of both society and the individual, and its chief purpose was to deter criminal behaviour. Therefore Classical law emphasized moral responsibility and the duty of citizens to consider fully the consequences of behaviour before they acted†¦.. The role of punishment, according to Bentham, in itself was evil and should be used only to exclude some greater evil. Thus, the only justification for punishment was Deterrence. The Classical school saw two forms of Deterrence: a specific or individual form and a general or societal form.† (Williams, P.W. and McShane, M.D., (2014), pg. 17) Individual Deterrence is aimed at the individual who has committed the crime. The punishment should therefore be equal to the crime committed so that the offender will remember the unpleasantness of the punishment and not repeat the activity again. General or societal deterrence is aimed at the society at large. The severity of punishment should be determined by the extent of damage to the public welfare. BUT the aim of punishment should be to restrain the criminal from causing any further damage (individual deterrence) and deter others from crime (general deterrence). (Carlitz, A., (2013), Chap 5) In South Africa today our penal system makes provision for 3 aims of punishment: Retribution, deterrence and Rehabilitation. All three aimed at providing peace, harmony and safety for all its citizens. Our Constitution leans more heavily towards Rehabilitation. All attempts are therefore made to ensure that the offender learns from his punishment and rehabilitates to become a productive member of our society. Deterrence is to my mind a positive way of dealing with offenders. If implemented correctly it can go a long way in leading to a better society. However there seems to be different rules for different people. Deterrence has very little value if punishment for high-profile offenders is reduced while the ordinary citizen has to face the full wrath of the law. The society looks at the preferential treatment of certain high-profile citizens. Examples of preferential treatment. 1. Schabir Shaik (Durban businessman and friend of President Jacob Zuma): On 8 June he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on each of the two counts of corruption, as well as 3 years on the count of fraud. The sentences will run concurrently, giving him an effective 15year prison term. On 3 March 2009 Shaik was released on medical parole, after serving two years and four months of his 15-year prison term. Since that time he has been seen regularly busy with activities which clearly refuted his alleged medical condition (Opposition slams release of Schabir Shaik, (2009, 3 March), p. 1) and Schabir Shaik’s parole paradise, 2010, 8 January, p.1) 2. Jackie Selebi (SA Police Commissioner): Selebi was found guilty of corruption on 2 July 2010 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on 3 August 2010. His appeal against his sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeal on 2 December 2011, after the court unanimously ruled against him. However, he was released on medical parole in July 2012. (Selebi guilty of corruption, (2010, 2 July), p. 1) Tony Yengeni (South African politician): In 2004, Yengeni was convicted of  defrauding parliament by accepting a discount on a luxury car during the tendering process for a controversial arms deal while he was the member of a parliamentary committee reporting on the same deal. The case against Michael Woerfel was withdrawn since Yengeni was found not guilty on the charges involving Woerfel. Yengeni entered Pollsmoor Prison near Cape Town on 24 August 2006, was immediately transferred to more modern Malmesbury prison, but was released on parole on 15 January 2007 — after completing a mere four months of the four-year sentence. ((Tony Yengeni. (n.d.). In Wikipedia.) Cases such as the three mentioned above, do not sit well with the South African citizens. Such cases make people suspicious and negative towards our legal system. They do very little to act as a Deterrence since citizens believe that you will only receive fair treatment if you are somebody important. Conclusion One could argue that the Classical School was extremely radical regarding the rights of criminals and working tirelessly at proving that criminals were forced into crime by various internal and external factors because of the appalling circumstances and inhumane punishments that went on in the centuries prior to the enlightenment. They could seem to have had an axe to grind and wrote prolifically on the topic. What can however not be disputed is that they were very forward in their thinking and set the stage for many reforms to take place in the penal system. The value of their proposals is proven by the number of countries that have entrenched in their constitutions many of the changes advocated by the writers of the Classical School. Many of the ideas championed by Beccaria in such rights as freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to a speedy trial, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to a prohibition of ex post facto laws, the right to confront one’s accusers, and equality under law, contained in the Bill of Rights and other documents at the heart of Western legal systems today. (Bezuidenhoud, C., Ed, (2013), p. 127) Bibliography Associated Press, (December 15, 2011), Is this the most ghoulish tourist attraction in the world? Gallows where 3500 were hanged declared a national, monument in South Africa, Daily Mail. Bentham, Jeremy, (1988), The Principles of Morals and Legislation. Amherst: Prometheus Books. Bezuidenhoud, C, Ed., (2013), A Southern African Perspective on Fundamental Criminology, Cape Town, Heineman Botswana, (n.d.), In Wikitravel, Retrieved on February 17, 2014 from http://wikitravel.org/ Carlitz, A., (2013), Theoretical foundation of Sentencing, Bloemfontein Groenewald, Y., (March 3, 2009), Opposition slams release of Schabir Shaik, Mail and Guardian. Groenewald, Y., (January 8, 2010), Schabir Shaik’s Parole Paradise, Mail & Guardian Hedonism. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11th Ed.). Retrieved from http://www.mw.com/dictionary/hedonismp. Jackie Selebi (December 30, 2013), In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopaedia, Retrieved on 2014 February, 17 from http://en.wikipedia.org/ Philips, A.R., (2014), Crime Causation according to the Classical School, Bloemfontein. South African Constitution, (1996), Cape Town Tony Yengeni, (n.d.), In Wikipedia: The Free encyclopaedia, Retrieved on February 17, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wiliams P.W. & McShane, M.D., (2014) Criminological Theories, 6th Ed, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall

Research Paper on Women

Research Paper on Women Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has, commented Margaret Mead after a lifetime of observing diversity in cultures from around the world. After 150 years of fighting for equality among the sexes, people today have no idea of the struggle that women went through so that women of future generations could have the same privileges as men. Seven generations have come since the womens rights movement and the women of these generations have different opportunities in family life, religion, government, employment, and education that women fought for. The Womens Rights Movement began with a small group of people that questioned why human lives, especially those of women, were unfairly constricted. These women also worked deliberately to create a better world. The movement marks it’s beginning as July 13, 1848. This movement didn’t just happen because someone thought that it was time for women to have the same rights as men, women of all ages came together at the start of it in order to fight for equality among the sexes. Women have affected changes in laws and human nature by holding meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking, and also by demonstrating nonviolent resistance. Leaders of the movement fought for freedom in family life, government, religion, employment, and education. Over the years, they have successfully gained access to these freedoms and luxuries because a group of women never gave up and fought for the things that they believed in. As a leader of the Women’s Rights Movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments which drew its inspiration form the Declaration of Independence. Through this declaration, Stanton enumerated areas of life where women were treated unjustly compared to the treatment of men. By using this writing, Stanton campaigned for women’s rights by paralleling them to the American Symbol of Liberty. The most famous arguments from the writing that are heard over and over again throughout the duration of the movement was: We hold these truths to be self- evident by their Creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, a and the pursuit of happiness. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having indirect object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to candid word, said Stanton of the abuses of women. After having said this, she went into the specific abuses. The offenses included: married women were legally dead in the eyes of the law, women were not allowed to vote, women had to submit to laws when thber had no voice in the in their formation, married women had no property rights, husbands had legal power over women and responsibility for their wives to the extent that they could imprison or beat them with impunity, divorces and child custody favored men and gave no rights to women, women has to pay property taxes even though they could not have any access to property ownership, most occupancies were closed to women but the women who worked earned a fraction of the salary of men, women were not allowed to enter p rofessions, women had no right to and education after high school, women could very rarely partake in any church function, and finally, women were robbed of their self-confidence and self-respect, therefore making them completely dependent on men. Upon introducing those offenses to other women, Stanton and other leaders of the movement began planning the first Womens Rights International Convention that was to be held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19-20, 1848. During the two-days of discussion at the convention, the Declaration of Sentiments and twelve other resolutions received unanimous endorsement. The only resolution that did not pass was the call for women’s enfranchisement. To most, the idea that women should have the right to vote was inconceivable and unheard of. The suffrage victory drew near in 1919. Around this time, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was in the process of reconfiguring itself into the League of Women Voters. Through this league, members would ensure that women would take their hard-won vote seriously. They would also make sure that women used the privilege wisely. Shortly after the formation of the League of Women Voters, the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor began in 1920. The purpose for establishing the Bureau was to gather information about the situation of women at work. It also advocated for changes that it saw necessary to society. Many women voters also became actively involved by lobbying for legislation to protect women workers from abuse and unsafe working conditions. The Womens Bureau of the Department of Labor served as inspiration for Alice Paul, a Women’s Rights Movement leader, to draft the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923. She thought that this would be the wisest step in the fight for equality among the sexes. This Amendment would guarantee that women would be granted the same rights as men. Basically, women would be guaranteed employment of their choice and a higher education if they so desired, regardless of their location. After women had won the fight for basic freedoms and privileges, a second-wave of the Womens Rights Movement began rapidly approaching in the sixties. This part of the movement was called the Birth Control Movement. A public health nurse, Margaret Sanger, initiated this part of the Women’s Rights Movement. In her opinion, if women had the right to vote and other privileges, then they should have the right to control their own body, especially when it came to their own reproduction and their own sexuality. The goal of this wave was to allow women the privilege of deciding whether they would become mothers or not and if so, when that would happen. Throughout this time, women began to advocate for women’s reproductive rights and surrogate motherhood. They also began to fight for protection from pornography and sexual harassment. In the fight for women’s reproductive rights, women fought for the right to terminate pregnancy through abortion or prevent pregnancy through birth control pills. For the surrogate motherhood issue, some women argued that it was the free right of women to rent out their womb. In other words, they thought that it was their right to have children for the women who couldnt bare children. In the struggle for protection from pornography, women argued that it could be potentially dangerous for women and that it was degrading to them. Some women also said that pornography was a free speech issue and that women could choose for themselves what they wanted because of the First Amendment. In the debate over sexual harassment, women wanted more protection and punishment from sex offenders because of the trauma that rape puts women through. In their defense, it also causes oftentimes-serious medical problems as well as emotional trauma. In the fight for reproductive rights, sexual harassment also alluded towards abortion. One of the topics brought up was that if a woman was raped and she got pregnant from the offender, she should have the right to abort the pregnancy because it was unwanted. Thus, these topics brought about the most serious and controversial issue that is still being debated over today: abortion. Abortion is often considered one of the most controversial issues of the post-suffrage movement. Abortion is a surgical procedure in which the fetus is killed in many different ways. The most popular form is by partial- birth abortion in which the doctor delivers almost the entire unborn baby except for the head. Once the body is out, the doctor then drills a hole in the baby’s head and sticks a catheter inside the baby to suction out the brain. This cause the baby’s heads to collapse and in turn kills the baby. The issue of abortion was first brought up in front of the Supreme Court in 1973 when t6he Roe vs. Wade case was introduced. This case legalized all abortions. The courts decided that it was the right of women to decide whether they wanted to have a child if they were to get pregnant. Although abortion is a very emotional and controversial subject, it is also something that women have to decide for themselves. Many of the rights that women have won because of the Womens Rights Movement are based on opinions. Women can either take advantage of their freedoms and privileges, or they can just not do anything about it. For instance, it is basically up to a woman if she decides to vote or not. The womens rights controversy does not only exist in the United States. In many other parts of the world, such as India, women suffer from discrimination because of their gender. They suffer from many grievances that women from previous generations suffered from before they started the Women’s rights Movement. Women and men will enjoy, in practice, equal rights, equal access to and control over productive resources, education, health, land, other forms of property, shelter, credit, information, knowledge, skills, technology and markets by adoption of affirmative action wherever necessary, and by the removing identified impediments. This was an excerpt from India’s country paper at the Fourth United Nations Conference that dealt with women’s rights. Many of the inequalities that women suffer from in India are rooted in the traditions of its communities and are both social and cultural in nature. Under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, India is legally obligated to protect women’s rights. Also, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees that women’s political and civil rights will be protected by the Indian government. Both of these state that all states parties will take all appropriate measures that will eliminate discrimination against women in all aspects of Indian culture. The CEDAW also ensures that parties will modify all social and cultural patterns in the conduct of men and women. In doing this, superiority will not be placed on men and will be shared equally among men and women. In India, women are looked down on because they are supposedly not as capable as men. In some cases, abortions are performed in India once the mother and father find out whether their unborn baby is supposed to be a girl or boy. Mothers choose to do this because girls are not considered to be as fit as boys. They also do this to avoid paying large dowries on the marriage of their daughter. The beliefs that girls are not as fit as boys have to do with the social and cultural beliefs. In India, having a girl means many different things from bad luck to financial ruin and extreme hardship. Women in India also have to worry about the threat of rape. Rape is often targeted more towards women belonging to lower castes and tribal women. This is because women of lower castes and tribal women are very rarely acknowledged because of social and cultural norms. As in other countries all over the world, rape is extremely common in India. Regardless of where you live, what country you go to visit, there is going to be discriminations placed on women because of gender. Unfortunately, in some countries, women would be arrested for standing up for what they believe in. Women in the United States stood up for what they believed in without being punished for it in most cases because of the First Amendment. Women in other countries are often sometimes afraid to voice their opinions because of the consequences of doing so. In some countries, the standard for criminal offenses are very different from that of the United States and the punishment terms are often very different. So in conclusion, regardless of where you go, equality among the sexes is an ongoing battle for women. They fight for the basic rights of humans while fighting against traditions and social and cultural norms. Women today are faced with so many more opportunities than women of previous generations. However, many women are held back from these opportunities because of the belief of men that they are superior to women. Basically, no matter what women do, there will always be discrimination against women whether it is for employment opportunities or educational opportunities. In today’s world, women have won many more privileges because of how much times have changed since the start of the Women’s Rights Movement. As stated before, the struggle is an ongoing battle that will most likely never end.

Wait †Should You Really Do a Volunteer Abroad Program

Wait - Should You Really Do a Volunteer Abroad Program SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you heard about volunteer abroad programs and are wondering if you should participate in one?Volunteer abroad programs can provide amazing experiences and the opportunity to help improve the world, but they can also be expensive, frustrating, and at times ineffective. Read this guide to learn about potential positive and negative effects of volunteer abroad programs and to learn whether you should participate in one. What Is a Volunteer Abroad Program? A volunteer abroad program is any program where a participant travels to a different country and performs volunteer work.Traditionally, religious groups often conducted the majority of volunteer abroad programs, but the popularity of these programs has grown in recent decades, and now many organizations offer them.They are particularly popular with high school and college students as a way to have interesting experiences while young and as something to include on your resume. These programs take place all over the world, from rain forests in Central America to large cities in Asia.Volunteer abroad programs generally work to improve a specific issue or issues.One common area these programs often focus on is education, and many volunteers teach children English or basic math skills in rural schools. Programs that are more health focused may have volunteers provide basichealth care in clinics or shadow a local doctor, and volunteers participating in conservation or environmental programsmay find themselves rehabilitating elephants in Asia or collecting data on coral reef growth in Africa. It is important to know that choosing whether to participate in a volunteer abroad program can be a difficult decision, and there are many factors to take into consideration.While many volunteer abroad programs undoubtedly have a positive impact, some have few real benefits, and there are even a few that can negatively affect people and places. Before you participate in a volunteer abroad program, you should know the impacts, both positive and negative, that they can have.Read on to learn more about volunteer abroad programs and how to decide if you should participate in one. What Are the Benefits of Volunteer Abroad Programs? Allow You to Give Back and Support a Cause You Care About Volunteer abroad programs can be an amazing way for you to work on an issue that is important to you.While participating in a volunteer abroad program, you may help out at free medical clinics, track endangered animal species, teach children in orphanages new games, build houses, or do one of many other activities, depending on your interests and the program’s focus. Being there and doing the work yourself allows you to more easily see the impact of the project and what you did specifically to improve it. You are able toview the results of your work first-hand, such as seeing children use new school supplies, witness people in remote areas receive medical care, see homeless people move into new housing, and more. Many people have at least one cause they are passionate about, and participating in a volunteer abroad program can give you a great opportunity to improve this issue. Provide Experience You Can Include on Your Resume Because volunteer abroad programs provide direct and active work experience, you can often include participating in one on your resume.People who have participated in a volunteer abroad program are still the minority, so having that experience on your resume can help you stand out from the crowd.Participating in a volunteer abroad program can show that you are motivated, a hard worker, and passionate about a cause, all traits that employers like to see. There are also some volunteer experiences that focus on particular career fields. Examples of this includevolunteering in a rural hospital, teaching children English, or treating animals at a wildlife sanctuary.These experiences can be a great way to see if you like the work a specific career involves. Give You an Opportunity to Meet New People and Have New Experiences Many people develop close personal relationships as volunteers.You often work closely with both your fellow volunteers and the groups of people you are helping, which makes it easier to form personal bonds than if you were simply sending money. For your volunteer program, you may beworking with orphans, teaching schoolchildren, giving food and blankets to the homeless, or another activity that involves meaningful interactions with others. These programs also often give you the opportunity to have experiences you wouldn’t typically have the chance to do otherwise, like travel to a new country, see rural villages, work with vulnerable populations, or see wildlife up close. Can Influence Your Personal Growth Many people return from volunteer abroad experiences with a better understanding of the world and the people in it.Seeing others in difficult situations is an eye-opening experience, and it often makes volunteers more appreciative of what they have and more willing to give back in the future. Volunteering abroad also gives you a better understanding of global problems and their impacts on people and communities than a more passive way of learning would, like reading a book or listening to a presentation. What Are the Potential Drawbacks of Volunteer Abroad Programs? May Not Be as Beneficial as They Claim to Be While all programs claim to have significant benefits, this is unfortunately not always the case.Some are little more than glorified vacations, where participants spend most of their time zip-lining and swimming while devoting only a few hours to painting houses or working at a soup-kitchen. Also, considering their large price tags, some programs don’t use their funds wisely, choosing projects that are more fun and interesting for participants rather than ones that help communities more.For example, painting houses is a common activity on these programs because it is easy for participants to do, but the community may be in more need of new houses or improved plumbing or electricity. In addition, paying a volunteer abroad program’s hefty price tag may not be the most effective way to improve a problem.If a volunteer abroad program has 20 students who each paid $5000 to participate in a program where they spend a few weeks helping out at a homeless shelter in Costa Rica, that is a total of $100,000 being spent, a lot of which goes towards plane tickets and room and board. That’s a lot of money, and it may be better spent if participants stayed home and instead combined those donations and used them towards building a brand new homeless shelter or a similar large-scale project. You may be doing a lot of this on some volunteer programs. Some Programs Can Actually Be Harmful This issue is less common, but still occurs. Some volunteer abroad programs can actually have a negative impact.One example is volunteer programs that work in orphanages. While it may be enjoyable for participants to spend a few days or weeks playing with children, it can be very difficult for orphans, who have already lost their parents, to continuously meet new people only to have them leave. There was even an instance of an orphanage in Cambodia that worked with volunteer programs and ended up being exposed as a scam and shut down. The orphanage had made so much money off volunteer abroad programs that parents were pulling their children out of school and sending them to the orphanage instead to earn money for the family.Other potentially negative impacts can occur when unpaid volunteers end up taking jobs away from local workers, such as dentists, doctors, and teachers, who cannot compete with the low or non-existent fees the volunteers charge. Programs Can Be Very Expensive Even if certain programs are very beneficial, nearly all of them have a high price tag for participants.Many of the organizations that run volunteer abroad programs are non-profit organizations without a lot of money, so participants typically have to cover their own expense, like airfare, housing, and food, as well as program costs, such as the costs of providing medical supplies, school supplies, or building materials. There are also for-profit organizations that run high-priced volunteer abroad programs because they know interest is high among students looking for ways to give back and have unique experiences to include on their resumes. No matter who they are run by, volunteer abroad programs often cost thousands of dollars, with some costing $10,000 or more.This can be very difficult for young people to afford, especially when these programs often occur over the summer when participants may have been able to make money by having a paying job. Conditions Can Be Challenging The brochures and websites of these programs may be filled with images of pristine beaches and mountain views, but the reality can be very different.Living conditions are often very simple, with participants living in dormitories or with a local family. You often won’t have a lot of amenities common in Western countries, such as air conditioning, clean water, and internet access.You also probably won’t have access to many of your favorite foods, and finding things to eat can be especially difficult if you have certain dietary restrictions, such as being gluten-free or vegetarian.Additionally, while rare, there is also a higher chance of contracting a disease, especially in tropical countries. Even if you are motivated and working on a program you care about, don’t underestimate the effects difficult living conditions can have. While it may be exciting to live in such a different place at first, it can quickly become disorienting and challenging.I spent several summers conducting research in rural Nicaragua, and I can say from experience that while lounging in a hammock for a few hours can be delightful, spending 8 hours in one every night while wrestling with a mosquito net is not so delightful. How to Decide Whether or Not to Participate in a Volunteer Abroad Program So now that you know there are many benefits and potential drawbacks to participating in a volunteer abroad program, how do you decide whether to participate in one? In order to make an informed decision, research a few programs you may be interested in, and ask yourself the following questions: Why Do You Want to Participate in a Volunteer Abroad Program? Be honest with yourself here.Is your primary motivation truly to try and improve a certain problem in the world, or are you more interested in traveling to a new country and meeting new people? Or maybe you just want something interesting and impressive to include on your college applications? There's no shame in admitting any of those reasons. People travel just for pleasure all the time, and traveling in a way that is sustainable and benefits local businesses can also have a significant positive impact on an area. Similarly, it is very common for students to participate in a certain activity mainly because they are trying to improve their chances of getting accepted to colleges and want their application to stand out. However, you should only participate in a volunteer program if your main reason for doing so is so you can work on a cause you care about, as the people these programs help deserve to have only the most motivated and dedicated volunteers. How Well Have You Researched Particular Programs? You should alwaysresearch a program thoroughly before agreeing to join it. To do this, read through the program’s website and brochures, and think critically about the information they tell you. Ask yourself the following questions: How Does This Program Benefit People or a Place? Don’t just take the program’s assurances at face value; really think about the impact this program will have. Does the project claim to help schoolchildren in El Salvador? How? Do they donate school supplies, give English lessons, train local teachers? What will volunteers specifically be doing? It's easy for programs to make big claims like their participants improve education in rural Cambodia, even if their volunteers spend only a few hours playing with some school kids. The way to avoid joining a program that you end up feeling like doesn't have much of an impact is prior research. Find out the specific activities volunteers will be participating in and how much time will be spent on those activities as opposed to how much time will be spent on more traditional "tourist" activities. If the program is vague about what volunteers will be doing or you don't feel like volunteers spend enough time helping others, you may want to consider a different program or way to give back. How Do Others Feel About the Program? Hearing others' opinions is a useful way to learn about how effective and beneficial a particular program is.Don’t just read quotes from past participants on the program’s website, which will all most likely be glowing. Search â€Å"[name of the program] reviews† to see what others are saying about it. This information can come from past participants, the people or communities the program works to help, or third-parties who review and rate programs. Try to find out what others are saying about the program's benefits, living conditions, and organization.If multiple people are sharing concerns about the program and its impacts, you may want to consider a different option. Where Does Your Money Go? Other important information to gather is how your program fee is spent. There are unfortunately some volunteer programs that exist only to make a few owners richer and provide little or no help to others, and there are many more programs that spend participants' money on costs that don't directly benefit local communities, such as providing expensive accommodationsand leisure activities for volunteers. You'll likely be spending a significant amount of money on this program, and you deserve to know how this money is used. Look on the program's website to see if they explain how program fees are spent. If they don't, call or e-mail the program. Any reputable program will share a breakdown of costs with participants. Next, analyze these costs. Does most of the money go directly to the communities, or is a lot of it spent on things like overhead costs or leader salaries? Different programs have different costs, but ideally, at least a third to half of participant fees should go towards directly benefiting the community. In general, non-profit organizations are more likely to put more money directly towards communities than for-profit groups, but always research any program you are considering. You want to make sure that if you’re spending thousands of dollars for a volunteer program, that your money will actually be helping others. Research volunteer abroad programs before you spend a lot of money on one Will You Be Able to Afford the Program? Program costs can vary significantly, but nearly all volunteer abroad programs cost at least a few thousand dollars, and you want to make sure you can afford it before you join one.If money is a concern, look around at different programs. Cost can vary widely depending on how long the program lasts, what part of the world volunteers travel to, and the activities they participate in. Are You Prepared for the Challenges Involved? Take time to really consider what it’d be like working in a new country that is often very different from your home. Do this by researching the living conditions of volunteers for different programs and in different parts of the world.Would you be ok sharing a room with multiple other people? Not have reliable internet access? Taking anti-malarial medication regularly? Eating very different and often plain food? I learned the hard way that in Central America, most people eat rice and beans three meals a day, every day. Not thinking about these things beforehand can mean a miserable time once you start the program, and if you are unhappy while participating in a volunteer abroad program, you will likely not be as motivated to work, which means you will not help that community as much as you could be. Struggling to adapt to a new country can also mean that you spread your frustrations to other volunteers and people back home, which may make them think less of that particular country and its people. In short, if you are unhappy with your lifestyle during a volunteer abroad program, many people may suffer as a result. Are There Other Options Available? If you don’t think a volunteer abroad program is right for you, there are other options.If you are still interested in volunteering for a cause, you can see if there are similar programs in your hometown or nearby. It may not be as exotic as going to a new country, but there are places everywhere that need volunteers to tutor kids, take care of animals at a shelter, paint houses, donate food to soup kitchens, and many other activities.You can also raise money and donate it directly to organizations abroad. What's Next? If you’ve decided to do a volunteer abroad program, read our guide on the best volunteer abroad programs to discover examples of great programs! Are you considering summer academic programs for middle school and high school students as an alternative to a volunteer abroad program? Look at our guides on the SIG, CTY, and Stanford EPGY programs Extracurriculars are also a great way to work on issues you care about and have interesting experiences. Read our guide on what an extracurricular is and why you need them. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: