Examine the Argument That “Good Fences Make Good Neighbours.” free essay sample

They will also assume a collective identity along with the occupants of other nearby dwellings as members of a neighbourhood community, and relational identities as each other’s neighbours. Their membership of the former may on occasion clash with their identity as members of the latter, particularly if there are cultural or racial differences involved, as members may share a sense of loyalty to their group identity as members of the family. According to Erving Goffman, we need to look at small-scale social activity in order to understand society as a whole. (Taylor, 2009, p172), and therefore understanding how neighbours relate to each other can help us to understand how whole communities also relate to each other. Neighbours are expected to be friendly and approachable without intruding on each other’s private space or private business, as observed by both Wilmott (Byford, 2009, p253) and Crow et al (Byford, 2009, p254). In fact, the entire concept of being a â€Å"good neighbour† seems to revolve around knowing where the boundaries are between â€Å"just enough contact† and â€Å"too much contact†, with most disputes between neighbours being caused by excessive intrusion, either in the form of too much noise, taking up too much space (boundary disputes, parking disputes), the â€Å"reverse intrusion† of forcing one’s neighbours to be a party to one’s private life by making excessive sexual noise or marital arguments, or by pursuing too much contact and not respecting privacy. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine the Argument That â€Å"Good Fences Make Good Neighbours.† or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The best neighbours, it seems, are a paradox – friendly, helpful, but so quiet and unobtrusive that one would hardly know they were there at all. As observed by Kate Fox, (Byford, 2009, p256), â€Å"A person busy in his or her front garden is regarded as socially ‘available’†, whereas as Jovan Byford points out – the front door is seen as an unspoken boundary, with neighbours who knock on one’s front door often apologising straight away for the intrusion before explaining the reason for it. Byford, 2009, p257). Thus, neighbouring is an â€Å"occasioned activity† (Laurier et al, cited in Byford, 2009, p256) – under the unwritten rules of neighbouring, it should not take place too often and there should be a good reason for it, in most cases, with most neighbours choosing not to socialise with each other as they would with their friends. As observed by Harold Garfinkel, social life is constantly being made and repaired by the never-ending flow of social interaction (Taylor, 2009, p173), and most of us instinctively play our parts in society by knowing the correct course of action to repair social order if that order is broken, whether by ourselves or another party, despite the fact that there if no official â€Å"rule book† of neighbouring. However, sometimes the unspoken rules of interaction can be unclear, and disputes can arise between neighbours. In these cases, both parties in most cases realise that they must somehow work together to repair the situation, either by discussing the matter among themselves and arriving at a mutually agreeable resolution, or – in more serious cases – by using a trained local government-funded mediator to help them come to an agreement. People may also use â€Å"distancing mechanisms† to resolve any issues before they get to the stage of becoming an actual dispute, for example by moving their marital bed away from the party wall to avoid â€Å"embarrassing noises† being overheard (Joanna Bourke, cited in Byford, 2009, p266). Regardless of the method used to resolve or avoid disputes, there is an interesting tendency for the complainants to stress their own â€Å"playing by the rules†, despite having been inconvenienced, as with the extract from the mediation session (Byford, 2009 p264) where the complainants, despite having been subjected to some unpleasant language and obtrusive sexual noise, were anxious to be seen to be good neighbours by not ignoring the noisy neighbour when they encountered each other and by speaking of her in polite terms, and stressing that they had attempted to cope with the situation by themselves by withdrawing, until it became unbearable. Returning to Goffman’s observations, the complainants were â€Å"behaving in a way will tell others who they are, what they’re doing and what they expect and want to happen†, and expect the other party to play their part in return. The tendency so far has seemed to show that good fences – i. e. separate spaces – do indeed make good neighbours. But Professor Margaret Wetherall makes an interesting point to the contrary when talking about the Catholic/Protestant situation in Northern Ireland. In segregated – i. . , heavily â€Å"fenced†communities, whereas â€Å"segregated neighbourhoods†¦had a much stronger sense of community†, the level of prejudice against the other group was much higher, leading to further conflict. (â€Å"Making social lives: Studying identities†, CDA5998, Track 1). Fences are, therefore, not necessarily a good thing, and returning to Garfinkel for a moment, it could be argued that these communiti es are, in a sense, stagnant, and therefore not in constant motion and therefore unhealthy. In conclusion, whereas good fences in the sense of respecting the personal space and privacy of one’s neighbours may make for a better relationship with them, in a community-wide sense it can be shown that fences may lead to deeper division and unrest if too rigid, and in a street-level sense, to conflict if they are unclear. References Taylor S. (2009)†Who do we think we are? Identities in everyday life† in Taylor, S. Hinchliffe, S. , Clarke, J. and Bromley, S (eds), Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Byford J. (2009)†Living together, living apart: the social life of the neighbourhood† in Taylor, S. , Hinchliffe, S. , Clarke, J. and Bromley, S (eds), Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. â€Å"Making Social Lives: Studying Identities†, CDA5998, 2009, Open University.

Rhetorical Analysis of E B. Whites The Ring of Time

Rhetorical Analysis of E B. Whites The Ring of Time One way to develop our own essay-writing skills is to examine how professional writers achieve a range of different effects in their essays. Such a study is called a rhetorical analysisor, to use Richard Lanhams more fanciful term, a lemon squeezer. The sample rhetorical analysis that follows takes a look at an essay by E. B. White titled The Ring of Timefound in our Essay Sampler: Models of Good Writing (Part 4) and accompanied by a reading quiz. But first a word of caution. Dont be put off by the numerous grammatical and rhetorical terms in this analysis: some (such as adjective clause and appositive, metaphor and simile) may already be familiar to you; others can be deduced from the context; all are defined in our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms. That said, if you have already read The Ring of Time, you should be able to skip over the stranger looking terms and still follow the key points raised in this rhetorical analysis. After reading this sample analysis, try applying some of the strategies in a study of your own. See our Tool Kit for Rhetorical Analysis and Discussion Questions for Rhetorical Analysis: Ten Topics for Review. The Rider and the Writer in "The Ring of Time": A Rhetorical Analysis In The Ring of Time, an essay set in the gloomy winter quarters of a circus, E. B. White appears not yet to have learned the first piece of advice he was to impart a few years later in The Elements of Style: Write in a way that draws the readers attention to the sense and substance of the writing, rather than to the mood and temper of the author. . . .[T]o achieve style, begin by affecting nonethat is, place yourself in the background. (70) Far from keeping to the background in his essay, White steps into the ring to signal his intentions, reveal his emotions, and confess his artistic failure. Indeed, the sense and substance of The Ring of Time are inextricable from the authors mood and temper (or ethos). Thus, the essay may be read as a study of the styles of two performers: a young circus rider and her self-conscious recording secretary. In Whites opening paragraph, a mood-setting prelude, the two main characters stay hidden in the wings: the practice ring is occupied by the young riders foil, a middle-aged woman in a conical straw hat; the narrator (submerged in the plural pronoun we) assumes the languorous attitude of the crowd. The attentive stylist, however, is already performing, evoking a hypnotic charm that invite[s] boredom. In the abrupt opening sentence, active verbs and verbals carry an evenly measured report: After the lions had returned to their cages, creeping angrily through the chutes, a little bunch of us drifted away and into an open doorway nearby, where we stood for awhile in semidarkness, watching a big brown circus horse go harumphing around the practice ring. The metonymic harumphing is delightfully onomatopoetic, suggesting not only the sound of the horse but also the vague dissatisfaction felt by the onlookers. Indeed, the charm of this sentence resides primarily in its subtle sound effects: the alliterative cages, creeping and big brown; the assonant through the chutes; and the homoioteleuton of away . . . doorway. In Whites prose, such sound patterns appear frequently but unobtrusively, muted as they are by a  diction that is commonly informal, at times colloquial (a little bunch of us and, later, we kibitzers). Informal diction also serves to disguise the formality of the syntactic patterns favored by White, represented in this opening sentence by the balanced arrangement of the subordinate clause and present participial phrase on either side of the main clause. The use of informal (though precise and melodious) diction embraced by an evenly measured syntax gives Whites prose both the conversational ease of the running style and the controlled emphasis of the periodic.  It is no accident, therefore, that his first sentence begins with a time marker (after) and ends with the central metaphor of the essayring. In between, we learn that the spectators are standing in semidarkness, thus anticipating the bedazzlement of a circus rider to follow and the illuminating metaphor in the essays final line. White adopts a more paratactic style in the remainder of the opening paragraph, thus both reflecting and blending the dullness of the repetitious routine and the languor felt by the onlookers. The quasi-technical description in the fourth sentence, with its pair of prepositionally embedded adjective clauses (by which . . .; of which . . .) and its Latinate diction (career, radius, circumference, accommodate, maximum), is notable for its efficiency rather than its spirit. Three sentences later, in a yawning tricolon, the speaker draws together his unfelt observations, maintaining his role as spokesman for a dollar-conscious crowd of thrill-seekers. But at this point, the reader may begin to suspect the irony underlying the narrators identification with the crowd. Lurking behind the mask of we is an I: one who has elected not to describe those entertaining lions in any detail, one who, in fact, does want more . . . for a dollar. Immediately, then, in the opening sentence of the second paragraph, the narrator forsakes the role of group spokesman (Behind  me  I heard someone say . . . ) as a low voice responds to the  rhetorical question  at the end of the first paragraph. Thus, the two main characters of the essay appear simultaneously: the independent voice of the narrator emerging from the crowd; the girl emerging from the darkness (in a dramatic  appositive  in the next sentence) andwith quick distinctionemerging likewise from the company of her peers (any of two or three dozen showgirls). Vigorous verbs dramatize the girls arrival: she squeezed, spoke, stepped, gave, and swung. Replacing the dry and efficient  adjective clauses  of the first paragraph are far more active  adverb clauses,  absolutes, and  participial phrases. The girl is adorned with sensuous  epithets  (cleverly proportioned, deeply browned by the sun, dusty, eager, and almost naked) and greeted with the music of   alliteration  and  assonance  (her dirty little feet fighting, new note, quick distinction). The paragraph concludes, once again, with the image of the circling horse; now, however, the young girl has taken the place of her mother, and the independent narrator has replaced the  voice  of the crowd. Finally, the chanting that ends the paragraph prepares us for the enchantment soon to follow. But in the next  paragraph, the girls ride is momentarily interrupted as the writer steps forward to introduce his own performanceto serve as his own ringmaster. He begins by defining his role as a mere recording secretary, but soon, through the  antanaclasis  of . . . a circus rider. As a writing  man ...  ., he parallels his task with that of the circus performer. Like her, he belongs to a select society; but, again like her, this particular performance is distinctive (it is not easy to communicate anything of this nature). In a  paradoxical  tetracolon climax  midway through the paragraph, the writer describes both his own world and that of the circus performer: Out of its wild disorder comes order; from its rank smell rises the good aroma of courage and daring; out of its preliminary shabbiness comes the final splendor. And buried in the familiar boasts of its advance agents lies the modesty of most of its people. Such observations echo Whites remarks in the preface to  A Subtreasury of American Humor: Here, then, is the very nub of the conflict: the careful form of art, and the careless shape of life itself (Essays  245). Continuing in the third paragraph, by way of earnestly repeated phrases (at its best . . . at its best) and structures (always bigger . . . always greater), the narrator arrives at his charge: to catch the circus unawares to experience its full impact and share its gaudy dream. And yet, the magic and enchantment of the riders actions cannot be captured by the writer; instead, they must be created through the medium of language. Thus, having called attention to his responsibilities as an essayist, White invites the reader to observe and judge his own performance as well as that of the circus girl he has set out to describe.  Styleof the rider, of the writerhas become the subject of the essay. The bond between the two performers is reinforced by the  parallel structures  in the opening sentence of the fourth paragraph: The ten-minute ride the girl took achievedas far as I was concerned, who wasnt looking for it, and quite unbeknownst to her, who wasnt even striving for itthe thing that is sought by performers everywhere. Then, relying heavily on  participial phrases  and  absolutes  to convey the action, White proceeds in the rest of the paragraph to describe the girls performance. With an amateurs eye (a few knee-standsor whatever they are called), he focuses more on the girls quickness and confidence and grace than on her athletic prowess. After all, [h]er brief tour, like an essayists, perhaps, included only elementary postures and tricks. What White appears to admire most, in fact, is the efficient way she repairs her broken strap while continuing on course. Such delight in the  eloquent  response to a mishap is a familiar note in Whites work, as in the young boys cheerful report of the trains greatbigBUMP! in The World of Tomorrow (One Mans Meat  63). The clownish significance of the girls mid-routine repair appears to correspond to Whites view of the essayist, whose escape from discipline is only a partial escape: the essay, although a relaxed form, imposes its own disciplines, ra ises its own problems (Essays  viii). And the spirit of the paragraph itself, like that of the circus, is jocund, yet charming, with its balanced phrases and clauses, its now-familiar sound effects, and its casual extension of the light  metaphorimproving a shining ten minutes. The fifth paragraph is marked by a shift in  tonemore serious nowand a corresponding elevation of style. It opens with  epexegesis: The richness of the scene was in its plainness, its natural condition . . .. (Such a  paradoxical  observation is reminiscent of Whites comment in  The Elements: to achieve style, begin by affecting none [70]. And the sentence continues with a euphonious itemization: of  horse, of  ring, of girl, even to the girls bare feet that gripped the bare back of her proud and ridiculous  mount. Then, with growing intensity,  correlative  clauses are augmented with  diacope  and  tricolon: The enchantment grew not out of anything that happened or was performed but out of something that seemed to go round and around and around with the girl, attending her, a steady gleam in the shape of a circlea ring of ambition, of happiness, of youth. Extending this  asyndetic  pattern, White builds the paragraph to a  climax  through  isocolon  and  chiasmus  as he looks to the future: In a week or two, all would be changed, all (or almost all) lost: the girl would wear makeup, the horse would wear gold, the ring would be painted, the bark would be clean for the feet of the horse, the girls feet would be clean for the slippers that shed wear. And finally, perhaps recalling his responsibility to preserve unexpected items of . . . enchantment, he cries out (ecphonesis  and  epizeuxis): All, all would be lost. In admiring the balance achieved by the rider (the positive pleasures of equilibrium under difficulties), the narrator is himself unbalanced by a painful vision of mutability. Briefly, at the opening of the sixth paragraph, he attempts a reunion with the crowd (As I watched with the others . . . ), but finds there neither comfort nor escape. He then makes an effort to redirect his vision, adopting the perspective of the young rider: Everything in the hideous old building seemed to take the shape of a circle, conforming to the course of the horse. The  parechesis  here is not just musical ornamentation (as he observes in  The Elements, Style has no such separate entity) but a sort of aural metaphorthe conforming sounds articulating his vision. Likewise, the  polysyndeton  of the next sentence creates the circle he describes: [Tlhen time itself began running in circles, and so the beginning was where the end was, and the two were the same, and one thing ran into the next and time went round and around and got nowhere. Whites sense of times circularity and his illusory identification with the girl are as intense and complete as the sensation of timelessness and the imagined transposition of father and son that he dramatizes in  Once More to the Lake.  Here, however, the experience is momentary, less whimsical, more fearful from the start. Though he has shared the girls perspective, in a dizzying instant almost become her, he still maintains a sharp  image  of her aging and changing. In particular, he imagines her in the center of the ring, on foot, wearing a conical hatthus echoing his descriptions in the first paragraph of the middle-aged woman (whom he presumes is the girls mother), caught in the treadmill of an afternoon. In this fashion, therefore, the essay itself becomes circular, with images recalled and moods recreated. With mixed tenderness and envy, White defines the girls illusion: [S]he believes she can go once  round  the ring, make one complete circuit, and at the end be exactly the same age as at the start. The  commoratio  in this sentence and the  asyndeton  in the next contribute to the gentle, almost reverential tone as the writer passes from protest to acceptance. Emotionally and rhetorically, he has mended a broken strap in mid-performance. The paragraph concludes on a whimsical no te, as time is  personified  and the writer rejoins the crowd: And then I slipped back into my trance, and time was circular againtime, pausing quietly with the rest of us, so as not to disturb the balance of a performerof a rider, of a writer. Softly the essay seems to be gliding to a close. Short,  simple sentences  mark the girls departure: her disappearance through the door apparently signaling the end of this enchantment. In the final paragraph, the writeradmitting that he has failed in his effort to describe what is indescribableconcludes his own performance. He apologizes, adopts a  mock-heroic  stance, and compares himself to an acrobat, who also must occasionally try a stunt that is too much for him. But he is not quite finished. In the long penultimate sentence, heightened by  anaphora  and  tricolon  and pairings, echoing with circus images and alight with metaphors, he makes a last gallant effort to describe the indescribable: Under the bright lights of the finished show, a performer need only reflect the electric candle power that is directed upon him; but in the dark and dirty old training rings and in the makeshift cages, whatever light is generated, whatever excitement, whatever beauty, must come from original sourcesfrom internal fires of professional hunger and delight, from the exuberance and gravity of youth. Likewise, as White has demonstrated throughout his essay, it is the romantic duty of the writer to find inspiration within so that he may create and not just copy. And what he creates must exist in the style of his performance as well as in the materials of his act. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, White once observed in an interview; they inform and shape life (Plimpton and Crowther 79). In other words (those of the final line of The Ring of Time), It is the difference between planetary light and the combustion of stars. (R. F. Nordquist, 1999) Sources Plimpton, George A., and Frank H. Crowther. The Art of the Essay: E. B. White.  The Paris Review. 48 (Fall 1969): 65-88.Strunk, William, and E. B. White.  The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1979.White, E[lwyn] B[rooks]. The Ring of Time. 1956. Rpt.  The Essays of E. B. White. New York: Harper, 1979.

Business Information System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Business Information System - Essay Example Particularly they are required to help each resident attain or uphold the highest possible mental, psychosocial and physical well being. Care and treatment provided must improve o r maintain health subject to resident’s right to select and decline services. The standards of care in nursing homes are government prospect however quality is not assured. Geriatrics has various needs that aids in its day to day operations. First of all accommodation need. A resident has the right to obtain services and reside with reasonable accommodation of personal desires and needs. The institutions should acclimatize things like room arrangements, schedules, call systems and staff assignments to contain residents’ exclusive needs, desires and preferences. If there is existence of communication barrier between the staff and residents, the nursing g home is required to ensure adequate communication through use of interpreters or other measures that will facilitate communication. Secondly adequate nursing and other employees are required in the nursing homes to meet the needs of each resident in the geriatric at all times. The nursing homes are also required to establish an all-inclusive and individualized care plan for each resident that states care needs and how they will be met. This ensures proper and up to standards services are adhered to by the staff employed, considering the number and personal attention each resident requires or is entitled to. One of the most widespread reasons why people seek nursing home care is due to urinary incontinence and uncontrollable bladder. Incontinence and lack of toileting aid results too many serious problems for example isolation, pressure sores and psychological harm. Each resident bowel control complications must be thoroughly assessed and given care and treatments that can improve the condition. Many geriatric occupants are not incontinent but require

C-reactive protein as a novel biomarker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

C-reactive protein as a novel biomarker - Essay Example This process leads to the formation of foamy macrophages and atheromatous plaques and, finally, to atherothrombotic disease. Atherosclerosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Although measurement of lipid levels, stress testing, and coronary angiography are effective indicators of the extent and severity of the disease, circulating markers that could be easily and noninvasively measured would be powerful tools to diagnose, monitor, and intervene in this disease process. One promising marker is CRP, a major acute phase response protein synthesized in the liver in response to the elaboration of acute phase response cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) (figure 1). Other associated acute phase proteins include serum amyloid A protein, fibrinogen, and mannan-binding lectin. CRP is a member of the pentraxin protein family, which is so named because these proteins possess five identical subunits. CRP, which is elaborated dramatically during acute inflammation, augments the immune response to certain antigens, activates complement, and increases the monocytic production of tissue factors (1). CRP binds to phosphoryl choline on bacterial surfaces, acting as an opsonin and playing a pivotal role in host defense. Interestingly, CRP also appears to bind low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in vitro, which suggests a direct interaction with the atherogenic lipids (2). Why use CRP as an indicator Atherogenesis is initiated by endothelial injury, which is followed by activation of endothelial cells, up-regulation of cytokines and adhesion molecules (eg, soluble intercellular adhesion molecules, E-selectin), and migration of inflammatory cells into the subendothelium (see figure 1). In this scenario, IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha stimulate CRP synthesis by inducing hepatic gene expression (3). Because atherosclerosis is now considered an inflammatory disease and an elevated level of CRP in

Explain The Relationship Between Money Supply And Inflation Essay

Explain The Relationship Between Money Supply And Inflation - Essay Example When money increases in quantity, the demand for it devalues consequentially. â€Å"According to Austrian Economics an increase in the money supply should result in inflation as the value of each old dollar is "diluted" by the printing of new dollars† (McMohan, 2009). Different theories of economy offer different explanation for the influence of money supply on inflation. According to the theory of quantity of money, which is often referred to as monetarism, relationship between the two terms is interpreted as MV = PT, where M = money supply, V = Money Velocity, P = Price Level, and T = Transactions (Ellis, 2011). Other terms being constant, price level is controlled by the money supply. As the velocity of money and the transactions generally remain constant, this essentially means that increase in the supply of money directly increases the price. Likewise, decrease in money supply decreases inflation. On the other hand, the Keynesian theory suggests the existence of several o ther factors that can influence inflation and price level, in addition to the supply of money. â€Å"Generally, the Keynesian theory stresses the relationship between total or aggregate demand and inflationary changes† (Ellis, 2011). Money supply is often varied to control the inflation. When the government intends to lower the inflation in a certain region, central banks stop lending the money frequently and raise the rate of interest. As a result of this, inflation drops. However, when it goes below the intended level, the lending patterns are loosed so that the economy may be stimulated. In other cases, when release of money becomes unreserved, it results into the situation of hyperinflation. When a bank issues loan, it adds to the amount of money in circulation, without a net increase in the wealth (Anon., n.d.). Economists mutually consent that an increase of inflation above 50 per cent per month is the symbol of inflation. The inflation typically increases when the incr ease of money supply is not accompanied with an equivalent increase in the production of goods. In a vast majority of cases, the federal banking system is used to impose limits of the trends of lending and setting interest rates. If more money is supplied at equilibrium, it makes the interest rate ti go down because the supply of money far exceeds the demand (Hornle, 2007). In order to keep that from happening, the federal banking system decides the limits making use of the economic data. Sometimes, it becomes hard to estimate the money supply, particularly when the trends changes constantly. The supply of money may increase frequently as a result of change in the patterns of storage of money on the part of people. The following chart displays the supply of money from 1985 to 2008. The per cent change in money supply of one year has also been shown: Supply of money vs inflation (McMohan, 2009). M1 is generally considered as the most accurate measure of supply of money in that M1 mea sures money in just its most liquid states. M1 is just limited to the currency that is in the public’s occupancy in various forms which include but are not limited travelers’ checks, and checks for money deposits. Sometimes, increase in the supply of money may not cause the inflation to increase. Certain factors play a role in it that include but are not limited to the speed of circulation of money, increase in the capacity of productivity and the state of economy. Increase in real output is one

Housing Policy of Conservative Government: 1979 to 1997

Housing Policy of Conservative Government: 1979 to 1997 What aspects of the housing policies of conservative Governments between 1979 and 1997 reflect the key policy principles of public choice theory? The following will discuss the aspects of the Conservatives housing policies between 1979 and 1997 that reflected the key policy principles of public choice theory. When the Conservatives came to power they were committed to reducing the size and the role of the public sector which had consequences for the housing policies they pursued in office. Reducing the quantity of public sector housing, as will be examined, fitted in with the principles of public choice theory. The principles of public choice theory are mainly based upon the idea that the public should be free to make choices about the services that are available to them. Services such as education, healthcare provision, and specifically here regarding housing policies (Dorey, 2005 chapter 6). Britain had a large public housing sector of council houses that were rented to people at lower rent levels than paid to private landlords. Council tenants had little choice in the location, quality, and costs of council housing (Parsons, 1995 pp. 306 326). Council housing had not been built to fit in with the principles of public choice theory, it was solely intended to provide affordable housing for those people that could not afford to buy their own homes, or afford private sector rents (Parsons, 1995). Housing policies are not usually designed for the benefit of those that analyse public policy (John, 1998 p. 9). Before 1979 central government set quotas for how much public housing could be built , whilst councils allocated houses in order of the most needy first. The destruction of housing during the Second World War meant that high levels of council house construction had been necessary (Sandbrook, 2005 p. 179). Margaret Thatcher wished to increase people’s choices and opportunities to own their own homes. This was partly to increase levels of home ownership and partly to reduce the role of government in people’s lives (Fisher, Denver Benyon, 2003, p.15). The selling off of council housing certainly was a key aspect of the Conservatives housing policies that reflected the principles of public choice theory. That it did so was due to coincidence rather than design. The main motivations behind the selling off of council housing were political, economical, and ideological. The Conservatives believed that it allowed more people to own their own homes and would increase their electoral support. Homeowners were more likely to vote Conservative than council house t enants who had traditionally been strong Labour supporters (Coxall, Robins Leach, 2003, p.28). Economically and ideologically selling off council housing fitted in with the aim of reducing the public sector. It also proved to be one of the most popular Conservative policies between 1979 and 1997, more than a million families bought their council houses (Moran, 2005, p. 18). For the Conservatives under Thatcher’s leadership, housing policies were part of their plans to change the economy and society away from the post-war consensus of Keynesian economics and a welfare state in which people had no influence over the way services were provided (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p.147). The popularity and take up rates for the right to buy council housing was a de facto privatisation of large parts of the public housing sector. Its impact on the British economy was similar to the privatisation of the public utilities, the reduction of trade union power, and the adoption of monetarist policies (Dorey, 2005 chapter 6). The Conservatives were aware that not every council house tenant was either willing or able to buy their homes from their respective local authorities. Therefore the Conservatives decided to further reduce the level of public housing controlled by councils by transferring whole housing estates to non-profit organisations such as housing associations dubbed ‘Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)’. Tenants were given the right to choose between local authorities and RSLs controlling the management of their housing estates. The right to opt out or stay under local authority control nominally gave tenants a greater freedom to live their lives. Taken at face value this was another aspect of Conservative policy that followed the principles of public choice theory (Coxall, Robins, Leach, 2003 p. 28). It was also another example of the Conservatives trying to reduce the powers of local authorities (Parsons, 1995 pp. 306 326). Under the Conservatives the number of houses being built for the public sector dropped dramatically as local authorities were not allowed to use the money from council house sales to fund new construction (Parsons, 1995 pp. 306 -326). Instead new house construction was mainly undertaken by private sector building firms. The public had more choice about where they lived and the size of their homes, if they could afford to buy their homes. The more limited number of homes built for the public sector was constructed for RSLs and housing associations. Removing the management of public housing from the control of local authorities was intended to make social housing provision more cost effective and more responsive to the needs and wishes of their remaining tenants (Stoker, 1999 p. 53). The Conservative governments were also hopeful that the transfer of public housing would save money, as RSLs would seek to fund improvements and new construction through partnerships with private sector bu sinesses. Since 1997, New Labour has not substantially altered housing policies as a means to limit expenditure as much as reflecting a wish to continue with policies influenced by the principles of public choice theory (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp. 70 – 71). Therefore, aspects of the housing policies of the Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997 reflected the key principles of public choice theory from 1979 the Conservatives were intent on reducing the level of people that lived in council housing through the right to buy scheme. That scheme allowed existing tenants to purchase their homes at discounted prices. Right to buy fitted in with Margaret Thatcher’s political, economic and ideological beliefs that the public sector should be reduced to allow people to make their own decisions and become homeowners. Thatcher rightly assumed that council tenants that bought their own homes would be more likely to vote Conservative. Not only did selling off council housing reflect the principles of public theory, it had the political advantage of being electorally popular. For people that could not afford to buy their council houses the Conservatives introduced the possibility of whole estates opting out of local authority control ma naged by RSLs. The Conservatives managed to achieve their aim of increasing home ownership in Britain as over a million council houses were bought by their tenants. Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, London Dorey P (2005) Developments in British Public Policy, Sage Publications, London Eatwell Wright (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum, London Fisher J, Denver D, Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London John P, (1998) Analysing Public Policy, Pinter, London Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Parsons W, (1995) Public Policy, Edward Elgar, Aldershot Sandbrook D, (2005) Never had it so good – A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles, Abacus, London Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001 – 5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Stoker G, (1999) The New Management of British Local Governance, MacMillan Press Ltd, London

The Brown Sisters Lecture Essay -- Brown versus Board of Education

The Brown Sisters Upon hearing the narrative assignment, I found myself stunned that I would actually have to attend a lecture outside of my classes. When scanning the list of possible events, the Brown Sisters lecture stood out in my mind. I had just completed an essay solely devoted to the decision and it’s impact on society so I thought it would be interesting to hear a first hand account of the tumultuous times these brave women faced. The lecture turned out to be more interesting than I originally imagined though I left with a slight sense of dissatisfaction. As I slowly trudged up the steps of Foellinger Auditorium, I saw my pledge mom and walked up to her prolonging the time before I had to enter the room. She immediately asked, â€Å"What class are you here for?† African Americans were forced to deal with social inequalities for centuries by their white counterparts and struggled to break free of the chains of racism. The Brown decision took a huge step towards fixing the discrepancies between races and should be celebrated by every citizen of our country. If the Brown family appeared at a university, every one should flock to see people that made the advancement of African Americans possible. But in reality, student converse about that mean teacher that makes his students attend outside lectures and how their time could be better spent. The composition of the audience came as no surprise to me. Students sat with dread as they pulled out notebooks in order to fulfill a required class assignment. Teachers and administration scattered the audience and a predominantly African American high school class filed in also wearing faces of discontent as a result of a required field trip. Two mi... ...band never got to see the success of Brown due to his death shortly after the decision but I think that Oliver Brown, to this day, would not be satisfied. To my disappointment, they did not deal with issues surrounding the current integration status and spent little time talking about what changed after the decision. Growing up, I lived a sheltered life and issues of integration did not concern me. As I further investigate the aftermath of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, I become decreasingly naà ¯ve about our current integration situation. When thinking about the area I live in, I notice that integration is nonexistent. Our society has come a long way in the past fifty years since the decision but we still have a long road ahead of us. The Brown decision signifies the beginning of the fight against segregation not the end of it, as many people believe.

Buying Tesla and the Social Class of Green Technology

Electric Cars are not a new concept, but are finally gaining a market share in todays car market. These cars are extremely efficient and produce the least pollution out of any other car, however they have also become a symbol of status and wealth exemplified by Tesla Motor's fast and status-oriented automobile models.The article â€Å"Positive and Negative spillover effects from Electric Car Purchase to usage† by Klockner states how research resulted in the understanding that individuals who buy lectric cars have no deduction in the amount of miles put on the annual mileage of their gas using cars. In other words, buying an electric car does not change Tesla owner's consumption patterns. The ultimate green automobile is used more as a status symbol and companies such as Tesla Motors understand this and market primarily to the wealthy.This has created a form of â€Å"Green Aesthetic† which makes some consumers believe this is the way to gain entrance into an environmenta lly concerned upper class if they own these electric cars. Heider defines class as an order of which society divides people into sets based on perceived social or economic status. Even though individuals may want to reduce the overall carbon footprint, they lack the necessary financial stability to purchase a fuel efficient car like a Tesla.Owning such vehicles has become a type of â€Å"Electric Cool† where a status oriented society sees owning a tesla as being a method of exemplifying social strata. The middle and lower class have been encouraged to use much cheaper methods to educe their carbon footprint such as recycling, further confirming the previous notions of the â€Å"Green upper class. † Tesla claims to market to all buyers to build a customer base for the next ten years, however it is quite relevant that they target the base of people who can afford such high costs.The idea to create electric cars Is not new to the world, however the only way to make an act ual Impact on consumption patterns Is to locate more affordable electric vehicles, creating a Tesla line of ffordability. Tesla Motors is a multibillion dollar corporation that has the proper tools and minds to make an actual change happen on a global scale, however due to the high cost, still only the wealthy sector can currently afford these vehicles. Cheaper electric cars will not be developed by larger car manufacturers or marketed to the middle and lower class for years to come.Tesla is going lower In price and hopefully they will continue to do so. Buying Tesla and the Social Class of Green Technology By kiansthebest –Buying Tesla and the Social Class of Green Technology– â€Å"Positive and Negative spillover effects from Electric Car Purchase to Usage† by base of people who can afford such high costs. The idea to create electric cars is not new to the world, however the only way to make an actual impact on consumption patterns is to locate more affordable electric vehicles, creating a Tesla line of to the middle and lower class for years to come.

Life on Earth During the Precambrian Time Span

Life on Earth During the Precambrian Time Span The Precambrian Time Span is the earliest time period on the Geologic Time Scale. It stretches from the formation of the earth 4.6 billion years ago to around 600 million years ago and encompasses many Eons and Eras leading up to the Cambrian Period in the current Eon. Beginning of Earth The earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago in a violent explosion of energy and dust according to the rock record from Earth and other planets. For about a billion years, the earth was a barren place of volcanic action and a less than suitable atmosphere for most types of life. It wasnt until about 3.5 billion years ago that it is thought that the first signs of life formed. The Beginning of Life on Earth The exact way life began on Earth during the Precambrian Time is still debated in the scientific community. Some theories that have been posed over the years include the Panspermia Theory, Hydrothermal Vent Theory, and Primordial Soup. It is known, however, there was not much diversity in organism type or complexity during this extremely long period of Earths existence. Most of the life that existed during the Precambrian Time span were prokaryotic single-celled organisms. There is actually a pretty rich history of bacteria and related unicellular organisms within the fossil record. In fact, it is now thought that the first types of unicellular organisms were extremophiles in the Archaean domain. The oldest trace of these that have been found so far is around 3.5 billion years old. These earliest forms of life resembled cyanobacteria. They were photosynthetic blue-green algae that thrived in the extremely hot, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. These trace fossils were found on the Western Australia coast. Other, similar fossils have been found all over the world. Their ages span about two billion years. With so many photosynthetic organisms populating the earth, it was only a matter of time before the atmosphere started to accumulate higher levels of oxygen since oxygen gas is a waste product of photosynthesis. Once the atmosphere had more oxygen, many new species evolved that could use oxygen to create energy. More Complexity Appears The first traces of eukaryotic cells showed up about 2.1 billion years ago according to the fossil record. These seem to be single-celled eukaryotic organisms that lacked the complexity we see in most of todays eukaryotes. It took about another billion years before the more complex eukaryotes evolved, probably through endosymbiosis of prokaryotic organisms. The more complex eukaryotic organisms began living in colonies and creating stromatolites. From these colonial structures most likely came multicellular eukaryotic organisms. The first sexually reproducing organism evolved around 1.2 billion years ago. Evolution Speeds Up Towards the end of the Precambrian Time period, much more diversity evolved. The earth was undergoing somewhat rapid climate changes, going from completely frozen over to mild to tropical and back to freezing. The species that were able to adapt to these wild fluctuations in climate survived and flourished. The first protozoa appeared followed closely by worms. Soon after, arthropods, mollusks, and fungi showed up in the fossil record. The end of the Precambrian Time saw much more complex organisms like jellyfish, sponges, and organisms with shells come into existence. The end of the Precambrian Time period came at the beginning of the Cambrian Period of the Phanerozoic Eon and Paleozoic Era. This time of great biological diversity and rapid increase in organism complexity is known as the Cambrian Explosion. The end of the Precambrian Time marked the start of the more quickly progressing evolution of species over Geologic Time.

SAT Score Comparison for SUNY Campuses

SAT Score Comparison for SUNY Campuses When applying to colleges within the State Universities of New York (SUNY) system, good SAT or ACT scores  are crucial. However, it may not be clear what scores count as good, especially when it comes to applying to state schools like those in the SUNY system as opposed to colleges in  the Ivy League  or  top liberal arts colleges. Fast Facts: SUNY SAT Scores Binghamton University has the highest average SAT scores in the SUNY system; Buffalo State University has the lowest.Fashion Institute of Technology, Purchase College, and SUNY Potsdam have test-optional admissions.The majority of SUNY students earned SAT scores that are above the national average. Comparison of SAT Scores for SUNY Students If youre wondering if you have the SAT scores youll need to get into one of the four-year SUNY colleges and universities, heres a side-by-side comparison of scores for the middle 50% of enrolled students. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, youre on target for admission to one of these public universities in New York State. SUNY SAT Score Comparison (mid 50%) School ERW 25% ERW 75% Math 25% Math 75% Albany 550 630 550 630 Alfred State 470 580 480 590 Binghamton 650 710 660 730 Brockport 510 590 510 590 Buffalo 570 650 590 680 Buffalo State 400 510 460 530 Cobleskill 430 550 430 540 Cortland 530 600 530 600 Env. Science/Forestry 560 660 560 650 Farmingdale 500 580 510 580 Fashion Institute - - - - Fredonia 490 590 480 580 Geneseo 560 650 560 650 Maritime College 535 620 540 640 Morrisville 430 520 420 520 New Paltz 550 640 540 630 Old Westbury 480 553 470 500 Oneonta 460 590 450 590 Oswego 540 620 530 620 Plattsburgh 540 620 510 610 Polytechnic 490 660 510 690 Potsdam - - - - Purchase 550 650 510 620 Stony Brook 600 680 630 740 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing As an example of what these numbers mean, the middle 50% of students who entered SUNY Albany had an SAT evidence-based reading score between 550 and 630. This tells us that 25% scored a 550 or lower, and the top 25% scored a 630 or higher. Similarly, the middle 50% of students scored between a 550 and 630 on the math section. This means that 25% scored a 550 or lower, and at the upper end, 25% scored a 630 or higher. SUNY and Holistic Admissions Although SAT and ACT are important, they are not the only factors the admissions folks will use when determining whether or not a student will be accepted to a SUNY campus. In fact, some of the SUNY schools like Potsdam do not even require applicants to submit their scores at all. These test-optional universities recognize the limits and biases linked to standardized tests, and they instead evaluate students based their academic records and holistic measures. For nearly all SUNY programs, a strong academic record will be the most important part of your application. The admissions folks will want to see that you have earned high grades in challenging college preparatory classes. IB, Advanced Placement, and dual enrollment classes can all play an important role on this front, for success in challenging courses is the best predictor of an applicants potential for college success. Numerical data, however, is just one part of the SUNY application. The admissions officers will also want to see a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation. Fine art and performing art applicants are likely going to need to submit a portfolio or audition, and other specialized programs may have additional application requirements. In general the SUNY schools do not require SAT Subject Tests or the optional writing sections of the SAT or ACT, but be sure to check the specific requirements for the school and program to which you are applying. Also, requirements can be different for international and home-schooled students. Data Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Composition and Rhetoric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Composition and Rhetoric - Essay Example On the other hand, when I speak from the United States, I am essentially a citizen of UAE. ‘I’, My Multiple Identities and Difference At present, as the democratic revolutions spread cross the Arab world, which is initiated and led by youngsters like me, it is easy to identify myself as an Arab. It is important to think identity as something not given or stable. Identity is closely related to your imagination and the consequent identification with places and social groups. Therefore, when the whole world was concentrated in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, I found myself belonging to Tahrir Square than anywhere else. Although I am a citizen of United Arab Emirates, I imagine myself as a citizen of the increasingly globalizing world. As Benedict Anderson argues, it is your particular imagination defines you as part of certain communities. Still, it does not negate my identity of being an Arab. One’s identity in the modern world is predominantly defined by the national ity. It is not to say that national identity blurs all other identities. On the other hand, the identity of a person could be immensely influenced by his/her country of origin. I do have many commonalities with my fellow people in the United Arab Emirates and in the Arab world. As an Arab, I am proud of the great civilizations emerged from the Arab world. But, I am equally disgusted with the current affairs at my part of the world same as many of my fellow beings do. I believe, as like many other people in my country, that our civilization is decadent and decaying. But, still, we are proud of our glorious past. Having said that ‘we’ are proud of our past, it is necessary for me to emphasize that I am not proud of ‘our past’ in the same way as my fellow country men do. I am least proud of the history of Ottoman Empire or the great crusades. On the other hand, I have a lot be proud of being the successors of a great people who traveled all around the world, e stablished strong trade links with China, India and the Europe from sixteenth century onwards. It makes me delighted to claim that my ancestors spread the wisdom of mathematics and medicine to the rest of the world. If we had not preserved the intellectual and cultural products of the great Greek civilization, humanity would have lost it forever. Moreover, I am happy to be proud of what is really great in our historical past. But, many in my country do not see things related to the past in the same way. They proud of the fact that once we built big empires and took our religion even to the distant corners of the earth. And, they are so detached from the present, they still imagine the Arab world as the center of the world. Still, they imagine through their illusions that the Islamic civilization is far more superior than any other. However, in reality, after the great medieval scientists from the Arab world who contributed immensely to the development of modern mathematics, medicine and astronomy, no great scientist or philosopher of stature has emerged from our part of the world. A civilization triumphs only when it has a lot give and share with other civilization. Unfortunately, we have nothing more at the present to contribute to the humanity than the mystic tales of our glorious past. In brief, in medieval times, if we had lived in and for the future, at present, we die in and for the past. In terms of religion and spirituality, I identify myself as a Muslim like many in my country

The Boston Tea Party Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Boston Tea Party - Research Paper Example The first part is an overview of British colonization of America to show the relationship between ruled colonies and the ruling Empire. The second part summarizes the relationship between business and government in the colonies that led to abuses. The third part explores the role that taxation of tea, an ordinary beverage, played in the conflicts between the Crown and its colonies. The fourth part briefly discusses the protests that led to the Tea Party and the reactions of the British colonizers. The final part shows the link between the Boston Tea Party and American independence. The first English settlers sailed to America in the early 17th century, founding the colonies of Virginia in 1607. Despite harsh conditions of climate and violent resistance from natives, English settlers continued arriving in droves: settling in Plymouth in 1620, Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire in 1629, Maryland in 1630, Rhode Island and Connecticut in 1636, New Haven in 1638, North and South Carolina in 1663, New York and New Jersey in 1664, Hudson Bay in 1670, and Pennsylvania in 1681. Colonial settlements were established in Delaware in 1702, Georgia in 1732, and West Florida in 1763 (Innes 5-7). Each of these colonies was established either as a chartered company colony or a proprietary colony, which differentiates the way the colony is managed, its relations with the British government or Crown, and how revenues from trade and commerce in and out of the colony is shared with government. A chartered company is managed by business interests in behalf of the Crown, while civil servants appointed by the Crown manage a proprietary colony. Most chartered company colonies were not as well managed as proprietary colonies, so colonies such as Virginia, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were eventually turned into proprietary colonies, with the Crown appointing settlers from England as governors (Innes 11-13). America was a conglomeration of rich and