Micro Environment

|Chapter | | 1 | Introduction 1. 1 Problem Background There are about three billion people, half of the world’s population, living on the income of less than two dollars a day. Among these poor communities, one child in five does not live to see his or her fifth birthday. One study in 2006 showed that the ratio of the income between the 5% richest and 5% poorest of the population is 74 to 1 as compared to the ratio in 1960, which was 30 to 12.To enhance international development, the United Nations Organization (UNO) announced the millennium development goals,aimed to eradicate poverty by 2015. In this regard, microfinance is the form of financial development that has its primary aim to alleviate the poverty. Governments, donors and NGOs around the world responded enthusiastically with plans and promised to work together towards the realization of these goals.In the recognition of microfinance, the UNO celebrated the year 2005 as a year of micro-credit, as a result this financ ing instrument is perceived worldwide as a very effective mean against hunger and poverty, mainly in developing countries. Microfinance is a credit methodology, which employs effective collateral substitute for short-term and working capital loans to micro-entrepreneurs. The level of a country’s poverty has long been linked with measures of its economic development. Little consideration was given to the social reorganization of the natural resources (e. empowerment vs. alien ation of people, sustainable use vs. depletion of the environment). The economies with positive growth rate of Gross National Product (GNP) were measured by their poverty mitigation. This gratitude emphasized on the achievement of wealth and technology as a path for development and assumed that improved lives for all would be the natural consequence. Microfinance is not a new development. Some developed countries as well as developing countries particularly in Asia hav e a long history of microfinance.Dur ing the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in number of European countries, microfinance evolved as a type of the informal banking for the poor. Informal finance and self-help have been at the foundation of microfinance in Europe. The early history of microfinance in Ireland can be traced back to 18th century. It is a history of how self-help led to financial innovation, legal backing and conductive regulation, and creating a mass microfinance movement. But the unpleasant regulations prompted by commercial bankin g brought it down.The so-called Irish loan funds appeared in early eighteenth as charities, initially financed from donated resources and offering interest free loans. They were soon replaced by financial intermediation between savers and borrowers. Loans were granted on short–term basis and instalments were scheduled on weekly basis. To enforce the repayment, monitoring process was used. In Latin America and South Asia, the microfinance has grown out of experiment s, but the best-known start was in Bangladesh in 1976, following a widespread famine in 1974 and a hard-fought war of liberation in 1971.Its origin can be traced back to 1976, when Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank, as an experiment, on the outskirts of Chittagong University campus in the village of Jobra. The inspiration of Grameen Bank came to Muhammad Yunus’ mind when he lent the equivalent of $26 to $42 to exploited women who were working as bamboo furniture maker. He saw that, they were enthusiastic about it and paid back their loans on time.In the beginning, Muhammad Yunus focused the activities of Grameen Bank mainly on savings and small loans, and decided to put the interest rates high enou gh to cover the expenses. Finally yet importantly, he asked borrowers to organize themselves in solidarity groups of five people (who have to meet every week in order to repay their loans and to ex change their opinions). Inspired by the success of his experiment, he decided t o spread out this system to other villages in Bangladesh. In 1983, this institution became a bank.Today it operates in almost 36000 villages and serves more than 3500000 people. On 13th October 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Muhammad Yunus and Gramen Bank, the microfinance institution he founded 30 years ago. Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. 2 Eventually we are in a situation, in which Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, tells us the goal spread of micro-credit and finance, which give us the hope, may be our great-grandchildren will go to museums to see what poverty was like. This report is about microfinance and its contribution to the improvement and poverty alleviation for millions of the poorest people of Ba ngladesh. Micro finance has a huge impact on the lives of millions of poor people..Numerous scholars and NGOs have been working to take microfinance within the reach of poor people, who are still not benefited by the conventional financial system. It was believed that microfinance is not important for all people but most groups can benefit from this idea. In this report, we try to present evidence of the important contributions made by microfinance in the eradication of poverty by increasing the income generating activities, empowerment of poor people to access development services such as health and education, and reduction in vulnerability. 1. 2 Problem StatementIn the light of problem, background leads to the following problem statement, Impact of Microcredit on poverty alleviation of the poor people in Bangladesh 1. 3 Objectives of the study To be meaningful, every work must have to formulate the objectives of the study. In the light of the topic of the report, the objective of this study is to show how microcredit works, by using group lending methodology for reducing poverty and how it effects the living standard (income, saving access to health and education, etc. ) of the poor people in Bangladesh. 1. 4 Methodology of the studyData & information are mainly collected from secondary sources. We have used several books, research literatures, articles, journals and report, as secondary sources for our study. Internet sources were also used as a secondary source for our report. Since the internet sources are less reliable, we have limited the use of those sources to the web pages of prominent organizations like Grameen Bank. Most of the sources, we tried to use, are reliable and are acceptable almost everywhere. Nevertheless, from them we had to choose the most appropriate literature for our report.For this reason, we had to go through numerous references related to this topic, to find the suitable materials. Besides these, Google Scholars were also used to find the suitable research material. The keywords used when searching for scientific articles and literatures were; microcredit, microcredit and Bangladesh, poverty reduction and microcredit, Muhammad Yunus and microcredit,living standards and microcredit etc. 1. 5 Limitations Due to shortage of time, the accuracy of information may not have been completely flawless. 1. Definitions and Key Concepts Microcredit It is a component of microfinance and is the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs, who are too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Especially in developing countries, micro-credit enables very poor people to engage in self-employment projects that generate income, thus allowing them to improve the standard of living for themselves and their families. Poverty Poverty is a condition in which a person of a commumity is deprived of the basic essentials and necessities for a minimum standard of living.Since poverty is understood in many senses, the basic essentials ma y be material resources such as food, safe dringking water and shelter, or they may be social resources such as access to information, education, health care, social status, political power, or the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. According to the World Bank’s (1980 ) definition of poverty, condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, and disease as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency. Extreme Poverty/Absolute PovertyExtreme poverty is the most severe state of poverty, where people can not meet their basic needs for survival, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, sanitation, education and health care. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is a Millennium Development Goal set by UNO. To determine the number of extreme poor people around the world, the World Bank characterizes extreme poverty as living on the daily income of US $1 or less. It has been estimated that around 1. 1 bill ion people currently live under these conditions. Moderate povertyIt indicates the condition where people earns about $ 1 to $2 a day, which enables households to just barely meet their basic needs, but they still have go for many of the other things – education, health care –that many of us take for granted. Relative Poverty It means that a household has an income below the national average income. Micro finance Institutions (MFIs) A microfinance institution is an or ganization, engaged in extending micro credit loans and other financial services to poor borrowers for income generating and self-employment activities.An MFI is usually not a part of the formal banking industry or government. It is usually referred to as a NGO (Non-Government Organization). |Chapter | | 2 | Theoritical Framework 2. 1 What is microcredit? Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not consi dered bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit.Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of a wider range of financial services to the very poor. 2. 2 Features of microcredit †¢ Size – loans are micro, or very small in size †¢ Target users – micro entrepreneurs and low-income households †¢ Utilization – the use of funds – for income generation, and enterprise development, but also for community use (health/education) etc. †¢ Terms and conditions – most terms and conditions for microcredit loans are flexible and easy to understand, and suited to the local conditions of the community. Usually micro-credit is provided to a particular geographical area or community. †¢ Micro-credit funds are sometimes initiated in response to the needs of a particular group . †¢ Some loan circles and lending institutions require participants to attend ongoing business training and mentoring programs, which is not the case with traditional debt lending. †¢ Micro-credit is recognized as having increased risk and is treated as a separate class of product by lenders. †¢ Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty. It is targeted to the poor, particularly poor women. 2. 3Classification of microcredit I. Traditional informal microcredit (such as, moneylender's credit, pawn shops, loans from friends and relatives, consumer credit in informal market, etc. ) II. Microcredit based on traditional informal groups (such as, tontin, su su, ROSCA, etc. ) III. Activity-based microcredit through conventional or specialised banks (such as, agricultural credit, livestock credit, fisheries credit, handloom credit, etc. ) IV. Rural credit through specialised banks. V. Cooperative microcredit (cooperative credit, credit uni on, savings and loan associations, savings banks, etc. VI. Consumer microcredit. VII. Bank-NGO partnership based microcredit. VIII. Grameen type microcredit or Grameencredit. IX. Other types of NGO microcredit. X. Other types of non-NGO non-collateralized microcredit. |Chapter | | 3 | Major MFIs and their role in Bangladesh Back during late 1970s, when the Jobra experiment was underway under Professor M. Yunus, the Dheki Rin Prokolpa was initiated by the Bangladesh Bank in collaboration with the Swanirvar Bangladesh, and several other pilot schemes were initiated by a handful of the NGOs who were active then.At that time, it was difficult then to conceive that these initiatives would lead to a major micro-credit movement, which would make Bangladesh known to the rest of the world. Even during the 1980s, in spite of Grameen Bank’s success, the main discourse amongst development practitioners in Bangladesh centred on the desirability of micro-credit program as opposed to concie ntization. By 1990, unhindered experimentation in the fields led to a quiet resolution of the debate and the country experienced a massive expansion of micro-finance activities during the 1990s.This is borne out by the figures on the time path of MFI expansion (see Figure 1), [pic] Many studies and surveys have been carried out by different agencies regarding the working of MFIs and their impact on the poor people in Bangladesh. The agencies like Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and World Bank have found strong evidence that functioning of MFIs have helped the people in meeting their daily needs and at the same time building their assets.It has been stated in The World Bank Economic Review that microfinance has not only helped people to develop in their material capital but also in the human capital, by better access to health care and education system, and general awareness among the people about their rights and duties towards society. However, there are numerous MFIs w orking in Bangladesh at present so it is almost impossible to mention all of them. Therefore, we have chosen four of the most important ones and try to give the overview of them. 3. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) With a vision of â€Å"a just, enlightened, healthy and democratic Bangladesh free from hunger, poverty, environmental degrad ation and all forms of exploitation based on age, sex, religion and ethnicity†, BRAC started as an almost entirely donor funded, small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help the country overcome the devastation and trauma of the Liberation War. Today, BRAC has emerged as an independent, virtually self-financed paradigm in sustainable human development with its motto ?Alleviation of poverty and empowerment of the poor. It is the largest in the world employing 97,192 people, with the twin objectives of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. Through experiential learning, BRAC today provides and protects liveliho ods of around 100 million people in Bangladesh. Diagnosing poverty in human terms and recognizing its multidimensional nature, BRAC approaches poverty alleviation with a holistic approach. BRAC's outreach covers all 64 districts of the country. 3. 1. Microfinance Programs of BRAC, at a Glance (Source: BRAC Annual report 2005) |Inception of micro finance programme |1974 | |Programme coverage |Districts 64,Thanas:507 | |Total No of Area/Branch Offices |1,381 | |Total No of village Organizations |160,197 | |Total No of Members |4,837,099 | |Percentage of Women Members |98% | |Outstanding Borrowers |4,159,793 | |Cumulative Loan Disbursement |165,794 million (US $3,094) | |Members’ Savings |9,159 million (US 141 million) | |Average Loan Size |9,452(US $145) | |Repayment Rate |99. 49% | 3. 2 Grameen Bank The history of origin of Grameen Bank can be traced back to 1976, when Professor Muhammad Yunus, head of the Rural Economics Program at the University of Chittagong, launche d an action research project to examine the possibility of designing a credit delivery system to provide banking services targeted at the rural poor.The initial activities started from Jobra village (adjacent to Chittagong University) and some in th e neighboring villages in the following years. Later in 1979, with the sponsorship of central bank and support of the nationalized commercial banks, the project was extended to Tangail, a district north of Dhaka. Later the Grameen Bank became an autonomous organization through the government legislation of October 1983. Today, Grameen Bank is mainly owned by the people whom it serves and they own 90% of its shares and remaining 10 % are owned by the government. 3. 2. 1 Microfinance Programs of Grameen bank, at a Glance (Source: Gra meen Bank annual report 2007) |Numbers of Members |7. 5 million | |Percent of Women Members |97% | |Number of Canters |99,502 | |Number of Villages covered |59,912 | |Number of Branches |2,499 | |Number of A reas |81,334 villages | |Number of Zones |21 | |Cumulative amount Disbursed since Inception |256,497. 40 (Million Taka) | |Cumulative Disbursed during |2005 39,183. 49 (Million Taka) | |Amount of Loan outstanding |27,970. 31 (Million Taka) | |Members |20,138. 7 (Million Taka) | |Non-Members |11,521. 19 (Million Taka) | |Portfolio Growth Rate |39. 66% | 3. 3 Association for Social Advancement (ASA) ASA in Bengali means ‘HOPE’. ASA is a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, which provides micro-credit financing. It was established in 1978 by Shafiqual Haque Choudhury who is also the current chairman. Its functioning is basedon the institutional support system.Innovations and simplifications of staff training, monitoring and bookkeeping are the three areas responsible for ASA's ability to effectively manage established units and pursue bold growth initiatives simultaneously. This makes the operations smooth and efficient. This makes it simple and easy to operate both for the organization and for the clients, without the unnecessary delays of bureaucracy and red-tape. Its mission is to â€Å"reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the poor through the provision of qualitative and responsive micro finance services in an innovative and sustainable way†. ASA offers a successful alternative microfinance model to that of the Grameen bank.ASA combines low cost operations and high growth to fuel its success. ASA continues to perfect the role of financial intermediation by developing a variety of savings p roducts that are quite successful at generating the necessary funds from local sources. The experiences of ASA's managerial dynamism and replication of its simple model have much to offer the diverse microfinance sector as it accommodates demand for quality Financial services by the poor masses. ASA is confident that a financially viable microfinance sector that provides competitive financial services to its customers will be able to expand outreach at a pace similar to its own. 3. 3. Microfinance Programs of ASA, at a Glance (Source: ASA Annual Report 2005) |Inception of micro finance programme |1978 | |Programme coverage |Evenly distributed over the country | |Total No of Area/Branch Offices |2,291 | |Total No of village Organizations or groups |178,904 | |Total No of Members |5. 99 millions | |Percentage of Women Members |Not sex biased | |Outstanding Borrowers |4. 8 millions | |C umulative Loan Disbursement |33,082 million (Taka) | |Total Members’ Savings |3,036 million (Taka) | |Average Loan Size |Taka 7,129 | |Avg. savings balance by members |Taka 748 | 3. 4 Proshika Immediately after the ‘WAR OF LIBERATION’ in 1971, a group of young men, who could realize the inadequacy of the conventional development practices, began to plan development activities with an alternative appr oach. With an objective to contribute to rebuilding the war-ravaged country, they formed Proshika M anobik Unnayan Kendra (Proshika Centre for Human Development).The development process of PROSHIKA, one of the largest NGOs of Ban gladesh, started in a few villages of Dhaka and Comilla districts in 1975, although the organization formally took its first step in 1976. Proshika is an acronym of three Bangla words, proshikkhan (training), shikkha (education) and kaj (action). PROSHIKA envisages a society, which is economically productive and equitable, socially just, environmentally sound, and genuinely democratic. The main mission of PROSHIKA is to conduct an extensive, intensive, and participatory process of sustainable development through empowerment of the poor.Through empowerment, the poor are or ganized and made aware of the real causes of their impoverishment, a leadership is developed among them, their material resources are mobilized, income and employment is increased, and capacities are developed to cope with natural disasters. Empowerment makes th e poor functionally liter ate, enables them to take better care of their health, to get involved in environmental protection and regeneration, get elected in local government bodies and community institutions, and provides the poor with better access to public and common property resources. 3. 4. 1 Microfinance Programs of PROSHIKA, at a Glance ((Source: PROSHIKA Annual Report 2005) |Numbers of Members |2. 7 millions | |Percent of Women Members |Approximately 60% | |Number of Groups |148,039 | |Number of Villages covered |23559 | |Number of Slums |2102 | |Number of Households |2. 3 millions | |Number of primary Groups |148,039 | |Cumulative Disbursed during 2005 |Taka 31,870 millions | |Number of Education Centres Set Up So Far |53,616 | |Persons graduated with technical skills |1. 11 millions | |Chapter | | 4 | Impact of Microcredit Program on Poverty Alleviation 4. What the microcredit clients do with the loan money In one of the country's large formal MFIs, it was found that about sixty eight per cen t of the clients used 54% of their total loans for small trades. A few clients used 64% of the loan money for buying homestead and cropland. A small number of clients used 67% of the loans to build new houses. Some spent 15% of the total loan for medical treatment of their relatives and themselves. Some spent 19% of the total loan money for consumption purposes. A few clients used 29% of loan money for sending their relatives abroad for jobs. A smaller number of clients used 18% of their loan for major repairing of their dwelling houses.A handful of clients used 42% of the loan for buying television sets, furniture and gold ornaments, while others used the loan money in buying rickshaws, livestock and lending to others in a modicum scale . In another large non-governmental organisation (NGO)-MFI, it was spotted that fifty per cent of the clients used 95% of the total loan money in trading businesses like vegetables, grocery, fish, and betel leaves, etc. A few clients used 40% of the loan money in repaying occasional borrowed debts. Some clients used 35% in agricultural farming. Some used 37% of the total loan for buying livestock for rearing. A few clients used 41% loan money for redeeming mortgaged cropland.Some clients used 61% of the loan money for sending relatives abroad. Again some used 34% of the loan money for meeting the debts from moneylenders. Some clients used 15% of the total loans in repaying loan installments of other NGOs. Some clients used 17% of the loan for medical treatment. Some used 100% loan for house construction, while others used the loans for buying land, rickshaw vans and consumption purposes. Yet again in another large NGO-MFI in the country, about fifty per cent clients were noticed using 66% of the total loan in running their businesses. Several clients used 43% of the total loan for marriage ceremony of their family members.A few clients used 38% of the loan for house construction and repairing. Some used 32% of the total loans in repaying loans of the local moneylenders. A few clients used 59% of the loan for various litigation purposes. Some clients spent 41% in food consumption. Some clients used 67% loan for weaving purposes. Others used the loans for medical treatment, buying livestock, cropland, taking others land for cultivation and repaying loan installments of other NGOs. In a mid-level MFI operating in the urban areas, cent per cent clients used 86% of the total loan in various types of businesses that include grocery, cattle hide, computer composing, photocopy service, commercial phone service, saree selling, etc.Some clients used 84% of the total loan for house construction. A few clients used 81% of the total loan in buying land in the villages where they hailed from. In a pretty tiny NGO-MFI, some clients were found using 74% of the total loans for buying fishing equipment like nets and boats, etc. Some clients used 46% of the loan for buying livestock. A few used 74% of the loans as business capital. Some kept 52% of the loans as savings in the commercial banks, while others used the loan money for repairing houses and meeting medical costs. 4. 2 Impact of Microcredit The major objective of microcredit (MC) is to create income among poor households and thereby alleviate poverty.In this respect the question can be asked at two levels, first, whether MC leads to an improvement in income and second whether the increase in income is sufficient to lift them above the poverty level. There is also a third aspect related to the second that is whether poverty alleviation takes place on a sustained basis. Though most impact assessment studies examine the impact of MC on income, the analyses concentrated on mainly the first question. It should be mentioned that most studies consider the total impact on growth of income and do not examine whether a redistribution of credit fund has a redistributive impact on poverty and income of households 4. 2. 1 Findings of PKSF ME Study by BID SPalli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) commissioned a longitudinal Monitoring and Evaluation Study (MES) which was conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). Started in 1997, the studies were completed in 2001. The study covered 3026 sample households spread over 91 villages located in 13 of PKSF POs operational areas. A census was administered in late 1997, covering 19151 households in 91 villages. The first and the second round surveys under the study were administered in 1998 and 1999 and the third and final round survey was conducted in 2000. Some findings on the impacts of microcredit as presented here are gleaned from the reports and papers prepared by BIDS. The summary of the PKSF-ME Study by BIDS is shown in the Table below- Table: Impacts of Microfinance (compared to non-participants) Broad Category |Indicatiors |Type of Change |Cause of Change | |Economic Impact |Income |+ |Self employment activities | | |Food Security |+ |Greater access to cultiv able land through the | | | | |rental market | | |Wage (land poor) |+ |Transport and other non-agril activities sup. by MC| | |Employment (land poor) |+ |better access to the land rental market | | | | |Wage emoloyment in non-ag. sector | | |Assets (land poor) |+ |av. ow land size than non-participants | | | | |larger operational holding | | | | |impact of MF (poultry livestock, bi-cycles, | | | | |rickshaw/van) | |Social and other |Fertility and contraceptive use |+ |program participation | |development impacts | | |female methods dominate | | |Health and Nutrition |+ |program placement effect | | |Sanitation and drinking water |+ |program participation | | |Literacy and school enrollment |+ |program participation | | |of children | | | | |Social mobility |? |do not vary significantly | | |Women articipation and HH |+ |participation in a MC program | | |welfare | |increasing women’s income | 4. 2. 2 Measuring the Impact of Microfinance Grameen Bank has been tracking the pro gress of its clients in achieving all ten indicators since 1997, and reports that 55 percent of its established members (Grameen annually surveys all clients who have been in the program more than five years) had crossed the poverty line by the end of 2004: [pic] (Source: CIA World Factbook: http://www. cia. gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bg. tml) This is an impressive achievement, and exactly the type of information that one might hope any MFI would be tracking. Though it might seem arbitrary to determine that achieving all ten indicators constitutes movement out of poverty, in fact all poverty lines are to some degree arbitrary, and they are meant to quantify whether or not families are meeting basic needs—such as those represented in the Ten Indicators. Knowing that 55 percent of established Grameen clients never go hungry, have access to safe drinking water, and send their children to school is important to Grameen. Table 1: Poverty rates among Grameen Bank members vs . Non-participants, 1984-85 |Grameen members |Target non participants |All households | | | |Grameen |Comparison |Grameen |Comparison | | | |villages |villages |villages |villages | |Moderately poor (percent) |61. 0 |83. 7 |80. 4 |61. 5 |76. 3 | |Extremely poor (percent) |48. 0 |76 |74. 4 |47. 1 |54. 6 | Table 2: Poverty rates among Grameen Bank members vs. Non-participants, 1996-97 |All households | | |Grameen |Comparison | | |villages |villages | |Moderately poor (percent) |18 |57. 5 | |Extremely poor (percent) |15 |54. 5 | Table 1 and 2 suggest that Grameen Bank members are substantially less poor than non-members, and that Grameen Bank’s activities affected the poverty levels of entire villages. The centerpiece of the findings of a survey is that every additional taka lent to a woman adds an additional 0. 18 taka to annual household expenditure—an 18 percent return to income from borrowing. Notably, the returns to male borrowing were considerably lower, only 11 per cent.The paper and the book reported a variety of â€Å"wider† impacts, including: †¢ A one percent increase in credit to Grameen women increased the probability of girls’ school enrollment by 1. 86 percentage points. †¢ A 10 percent increase in credit provided to women increased the arm circumference of girls by 6 percent. †¢ A one percent increase in credit to women increased the height-for-age of both boys by 1. 42 percent and girls by 1. 16 percent. Microcredit is not merely an instrument for credit extension to the poor borrowers. It is a movement to emancipate the poor to alleviate their poverty, improve their quality of life, and build their capacity and awareness and to integrate them economically and socially into the mainstream of the economy.The benefits of microcredit go beyond the quantifiable ones, there are other benefits, which are not seen, but are evident in the socio-economic transformation of rural Bangladesh. |Chapter | | 5 | Conclus ion We have come to the conclusions that there is a noticeable and positive impact of microcredit activities on the living standards, empowerment and poverty alleviation among the poor people in the society. If one can help, a poor person to stand on his own that cannot only bring about a revolution in their lives but also in the society. The dream of a healthy and educated society with no discrimination and biased can be achieved through this simple thought, the dream which seems to be coming true and becoming practical.The simple vision of one man, Muhammad Yunus has taken the shape of the revolution and has shown the ray of hope in the path of life to every human, irrespective of his background or status or position. The hope of a life that no one will sleep hungry, no one will die due to lack of medication, our children can read and write on their own and everyone will be the pillar of the society. Scope for further research The current study did not consider the reasons of moti vation to join the microfinance program. Another area that has not been investigated is the difficulties that the borrowers face to repay the loan. These areas deserve to be studied by future researchers in the field. There is also another field, which is neglected in our study that the supply gap of MFIs.Actually, to what extent the MFIs are capable to deliver their service to the poor people. Further research could be conducted in this area and for finding the reasons for the gap between demand and supply in terms of microfinance services. References www. google. com Grameen Bank official website (www. grameen-info. org/) ASA official website (www. asabd. org) BRAC official website (www. brac. net) PROSHIKA official web site (www. proshika. o rg/) Rahman, R. I. , 1994, Impact of Credit for the Rural Poor: An Evaluation of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation's Credit Program, Report Nr: 1207, BIDS, Dhaka. (found on the internet)The World Bank, 1996, Staff Appraisal Report, Bangladesh Po verty Alleviation Micro-finance Report 1, South Asia Region. (Found on the internet) Khandker, S. R, 1998, Micro-credit Programmes Evaluation —- A Critical Review, IDS Bulletin of International Development Studies 29 (4), 11-19. (Found on the internet) Measuring the Impact of Micro? nance: Taking Stock of What We Know (December 2005) – by Nathanael Goldberg. (Found on the internet) Impact of Microfinance on Living Standards,Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation of Poor People: A Case Study on Microfinance in the Chittagong District of Bangladesh. -by Mohammad Arifujjaman Khan and Mohammed Anisur Rahaman.

Plato’s Concept of the Ideals

Plato’s concept of the ideals Plato believed that reality is more than what we sense around the world (e. g. taste, smell, hear, see and touch), he believed that behind these physical realities lies a perfect version of them in which he called Forms and that the greatest thing we can learn is to have knowledge and understanding of them. Plato’s theory means that what we can sense around us (for example a chair) is just a mere shadow of the perfect version which exists in the world of Forms. The perfect version of a chair is one in which for fills its purpose e. . to be comfortable and to be sat on. Plato believed that everything had a perfect Form, from objects such as pens and books to things such as beauty and justice. He believed that to experience the world of Forms we had to become perfect philosophers. Plato introduced the ‘Analogy of the cave’ to try and illustrate that human being live and only understand a realm of shadows. Within this explanation Plato used many objects as symbols or metaphors to describe the true meaning of forms, for example, the sun is seen as the Form of Good.Plato describes the world of Forms as ‘unchanging’ in the fact that everything that has yet to be invented in the world of senses already exists in the world of Forms as its perfect version. Plato also believes that that quality’s, such as truth, beauty and justice, all have a universal existence, a reality of their own and Plato believes that we have an innate knowledge of their true Forms. They act ad s cause, source, or necessary, a primary condition for the existence of secondary objects (such as chairs) and actions in the world. To what extent is it true to say that the Forms teach us nothing about the real world?

World War 1 and Peace Plan

———————– President Woodrow Wilson had a plan for peace in the war known as the Fourteen Points. It was also called â€Å"Peace Without Victory. † The plan meant to prevent international problems from causing another war. To promote his plan for peace, Wilson visited Paris, London, Milan, and Rome in Europe. However, the Allies were against Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The Allies wanted to punish Germany for the war. One idea of Wilson’s peace plan was an end to secret treaties. One issue that caused World War I that was addressed in that idea was entangling alliances between the countries.Another idea was a limit on weapons. The issue that lead to World War I that was addressed in that idea was militarism. The most important of Wilson’s Fourteen Points was a League Of Nations, to protect the independence of all countries. The issue that caused World War I that was addressed in that was also the entanglin g alliances. The final treaty that was agreed on was the Treaty Of Versailles. Germany thought they were getting Wilson’s peace plan but instead, they got this. The Treaty of Versailles consisted of many ways of punishing Germany.The war guilt clause was a part of the treaty. The war guilt clause stated that Germany had to accept the blame of causing the war. Another part noted that Germany had to give up it’s colonies. It also consisted of the fact that Germany had to pay all war costs. This means they had to pay their war cost, as well as the Allies‘ war costs, which was over $200 billion. The Allies also wanted to disarm Germany. This meant that they wanted to cut off Germany’s army and navy, so they wouldn’t be able to fight another war for a long time. Did the Treaty of Versailles lead to World War II?The Treaty of Versailles was the way of the Allies to punish Germany. To surrender, Germany accepted Wilson’s Fourteen Points but Germany didn’t get anything close to a peace plan. The treaty resulted in bitterness, betrayal, and hatred between Germany and the Allies. Italy was also not happy with the treaty because they did not get the territory they were promised for helping the Allies. Therefore, the Treaty of Versailles did â€Å"plant the seeds† of World War II because Germany and Italy wanted revenge. Priyanka Dongare Social Studies Mr. Ranalli 2 April 9, 2010World War I was one of the bloodiest wars fought in history. The two sides were the Allies and the Central Powers. The Allied countries were Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Italy. The Central Powers were Austria Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. There were many reasons the war started, such as militarism, entangling alliances between countries, imperialism, and nationalism. Militarism was the policy of building up a strong army and navy to prepare for war. Alliances were agreements between nations in which they pro mised to support one another in case of attack.Imperialism was the policy of powerful countries seeking to control weaker countries. Nationalism was extreme feelings of pride in one’s country. At the beginning of the war, the United States was a neutral country. However, the neutrality of the United States was tested and it entered the war. The entry of the United States into World War 1 marked the turning point of the war and changed the outcome. However the postwar goals of the Allies may have lead to the outbreak of World War II. For most of World War I, the United States was a neutral country. One reason for neutrality was President Washington.Washington warned to stay out of European affairs and entangling alliances. Another reason for the United States to stay neutral was the Atlantic Ocean, which acted as a natural barrier between the United States and Europe. The neutrality of the United States was soon tested. One reason why the United States entered World War I was Germany’s strategy during the war. Germany used submarines called u-boats and sunk any ship without warning near the Allies’ countries, which was the war zone. Therefore, Germany cut off supplies to Allies, while the United States was supplying the Allies.Germany also sank the Lusitania, which was a British passenger ship, in which 128 Americans died. The Zimmermann Telegram also enraged many Americans. The Zimmermann telegram was sent by Germany’s foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German minister in Mexico. The secret note urged Mexico to attack the United States if the United States declared war on Germany. In return, Germany would help Mexico win back it’s lost territories from the United States, such as Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Therefore, the U. S. entered the war on the side of the Allies.

Leadership and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Leadership and management - Essay Example Besides, the entire program should be tailored to be child-centered since they should be the main focus on the teaching and learning process. However, in order to achieve this, there should be an effective integration of early childhood education. This paper focuses on the role of integration as an important aspect of early childhood education. It is quite reflective, dynamic, inclusive and progressive to be adopted in the contemporary society (Gasper, M., 2009). The term integration, as used in the context of education, refers to the process of building collaborations and combining resources across the social, health, and educational in order to promote the wellbeing of learners. With the increasing demand for education, there need to be measures to ensure that different professionals involved in education provision should work as a team (Aubrey, C., 2011). Since schools act as agents of socialization in the society, they should be properly used to help in preparing children who can adequately comfortably be accommodated and be fruitful to the society upon a successful completion of their studies. However, in order to ensure that children are holistically prepared for this life, measures should be taken right from their time in the pre-school (Whalley, M.E., 2011). Therefore, there is a need to integrate the teaching and learning process. Meaning, all the stakeholders should be ready to collaboratively work as a team. If this happens, it will be easier for them to help their children to be adequately prepared in all spheres of life. As a matter of fact, education should be treated as a whole (Aubrey, C., 2011). When children are introduced to the appropriate social, religious and cultural aspects of their society, they will learn to understand and appreciate them from such a tender age. Therefore, they will eventually become informed people who have the right information about the dynamics of their society (Cleaver, H. et al., 2007). In this

Case Study - Organisational Development Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

- Organisational Development - Case Study Example Notably, such poor leadership skills portrayed in poor organizational communication usually lead to increased conflict thereby leading to poor production. Therefore, this case aims at addressing vital interventions and the modes they can be applied towards achieving their intended applications towards correcting the current lame organizational leadership systems. To manage systematic changes in an organization, often organization development interventions prove useful. The Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference is the first intervention used to solve the problems of VRD (Argyris, 1985; Pg. 37). The Ladder of inference illustrates that to reach to a conclusion or draw inference it is necessary for follow the steps in the ladder that includes observing the available data, selecting the relevant data, affixing meaning to the data, making assumptions, developing belief and drawing conclusion and finally taking action based on the belief. In this applications, the inference to be applied in working the conclusions to the underlying organization problems include opinions, beliefs, and or conclusion drawn from gathering data that are based on cultural or personal experiences. The same data must be supported data based on the premises that the same data is true. In VRD, the implication of the Ladder of Inference can be explained base on the available data or evidence that shows that the organization lack strong leadership and employees are not ready to quit the status quo or to accept organizational changes. Notably, both the employees and the management are unable to understand the need of a radical change among other factors such as ineffective communication, lack of innovation, and change in the VRD’s organizational management. Other data sets that can be drawn in case for managerial management adjustments include the inadequate organizational communication that leads to poor production and

Performance Improvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Performance Improvement - Research Paper Example Evidently, there is a weak link between healthcare spending and patient experience. In this context, it is advisable for health organizations to review their health delivery policies and think how their health budget could effectively enhance patient experience. Evidences suggest that efficiency of workflow is the key to improve patient experience, and in turn a number of factors such as time, process designs, and procedural efficacy may influence workflow efficiency. This performance improvement paper will discuss how improving workflow can contribute to enhanced patient experience by reducing wait-times. The paper will also address the outcomes of a one on one meeting with the finance team, patient experience team, and patients. The term workflow refers to the sequence of administrative and other processes through which a particular healthcare work passes from initiation to completion. As mentioned already, time is a crucial component of workflow such that a long wait time would contribute badly to patient experience. According to a Press Ganey article (2010), US patients have been experiencing the longest wait times in emergency departments since 2002. The report says that in 2009 a US patient spent an average of four hours and seven minutes in the emergency department from the moment he entered the room until the time he was discharged. This average time spent was 31 minutes more than the national average in 2002 and indicated an increase of four minutes compared to 2008 (Press Ganey, 2010). Previous researches have established a clear negative relationship between long wait time and patient satisfaction. According to one finding, â€Å"patient wait time for medical care has a direct impact on patient sa tisfaction, medical compliance, return show rate and patient attitudes toward clinicians, staff and clinics in general† (Cuevas & Joseph, n.d). To illustrate, researchers including Anderson, Camacho, and Balkrishnan (2007) conducted a study to evaluate the

Lenses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lenses - Research Paper Example Whenever a lens is surrounded by air, refraction of light takes place from the air into the lens, crossing through the lens and then refracting back into the air. Each refraction can lead to a change in the direction of light travel. There are two types of lenses, converging lenses, and diverging lenses. A converging lens is one that causes light rays that were initially parallel to the central axis to converge, while a diverging lens is one that causes such light rays to diverge. When an object is placed in front of any of the two types of lenses, light rays that can refract either into or out of the lens from the object to produce an image of the object. A lens can produce an object image only because it can bend light rays, but it can only do this only if its refraction index is different from that of the surrounding medium (Halliday, Resnick & Walker, 936). The single spot to which light rays that have been refracted by a lens are converging is known as the focal point. The dista nce from the lens to the focal point, often denoted by the letter f, is called the focal length. Every lens has its own focal length that forms its defining characteristic. A lens can have either a positive or a negative focal length, depending on the side of the lens on which an object is placed. When the focal point of a lens is on the opposite side of the lens from where an object is placed, the resulting focal length is positive. On the other hand, when the focal point is on the same side as the object, the focal length is negative. While these terminologies are useful convections used by scientists and engineers to characterize lenses as well as mirrors, they contain no real physical meanings (Kirkpatrick & Gregory, 367). Both converging and diverging lenses form different types of images, depending on where the object is placed. When an object is placed inside the focal point, the lens forms a virtual image that is on the same side of the lens as the object, and having the sam e orientation. Thus, a converging lens can form two types of images, real or virtual, depending on whether the object is placed inside or outside of the focal point. In the case of a diverging lens, the image formed is virtual that is on the same side of the lens as the object, and contains the same orientation. This is regardless of the object distance and whether it is placed inside or outside of the focal point. Just like in the case of mirrors, when the image is real the image distance is taken to be positive while when the image is virtual it is taken to be negative. However, the location from lenses of real and virtual images are the reverse of those belonging to mirrors. Real images form on the lens side that is opposite the object, while virtual images form on the side that the object is located (Benenson, 358). There are lens systems that are arrangements of a correction of lenses that have a common optical axis, and are mostly applied in the correction of image defects tha t are present in single lenses. If the positions of the principal planes of the single lens are known together with their total focus, then it is possible for an optical image to be constructed for a lens system. The image construction is similar with that of thick lens if there are only two principal planes. In addition to lens systems, there are lenses with

Malpractices during Elections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Malpractices during Elections - Essay Example Hans Von Spakovsky argues that in order to ensure a democratic election process, the election board and authorities should ensure safety and security just before elections, during the election and after the election. He argues that this encompasses preparations made before voting that include ensuring that there is a credible voters register, ensuring that during voting process all legible people are allowed to vote peacefully and ensuring that the vote counting is conducted with a lot of integrity. Hans acknowledges that the use of IDs by voters can help in curbing election irregularities that may occur as a result election malpractices. He points out that use of IDs can to a certain extent deter people from impersonating other voters, prevent illegible people from voting and prevent people from casting their votes in more than one state or region. Hans argues that unless the use of voters IDs is launched then it will be futile trying to charge those caught in voters’ fraud. This is because of lack of sufficient proof to charge those caught committing election crimes. Hans further argues that fears by a section of the public that use of IDs would result in lower voter turnout are baseless. He justifies his sentiments by arguing that almost all American adults have IDs and those without can easily acquire them with ease. He backs up his sentiments by pointing out that during the 2008 presidential primary elections, Georgia one of the states in the USA with existing strict voter ID laws registered the highest of voters (Louis 407). Therefore Hans concludes by stating that voter identification is one logical way that can be employed in the USA to prevent election irregularities and hence ensuring a democratic election process that most Americans deserve. Contrary to arguments put forward by Hans that voter fraud is real in the USA and voters IDs can be used to curb down on these irregularities, Chandler Davidson argues that identification cards cannot elim inate fraud if at all exists. He instead argues that trying to impose the use of IDs is discriminative and would result in lower voter turnout because minority groups such as the elderly might not take part in the elections. Edward Foley, on the other hand, argues that both arguments presented by conservatives and liberals are logical and therefore should be addressed cautiously. He asserts that identification of voters can be discriminative to a certain degree and therefore may have an influence on the voter turnout and at the same time it can be used to a certain extent to address issues related with voters’ fraud. He instead proposes that a more valid and logical way that can be used to ensure democracy in elections is by employing the use of digital technology. Ha argues that voters should be allowed to present digitized photos of themselves at the voting venue. This he argues can be used to confirm the true identity of the voters. He argues that a digital photo can easil y be obtained therefore fears that use of drivers license, passports or other forms of IDs could be a burden to some people won’t arise. He further proposes that for absentee voters they could email a copy of their digitized photo alongside their ballot to help in confirming identity. This could help in eradicating fraud among the citizens who may not personally go to the polling stations (Louis 413).  

Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Civil War - Essay Example Back in the last decade of the 20th century, Somali was engrossed in a civil war. The mood on the ground was that the government of Siad Barre becoming too harsh to the people. Whether such claims were true or not, what followed was one of the longest and perhaps bloodiest civil war ever witnessed on the African continent. Probably the only country that had also been through such a long period of war is now the newly independent Southern Sudan. Thanks to Kenya and AMISOM (African Mission in Somali) troops, the Somali people recently voted in a new parliament that successfully voted for a new president. Things appear to be poised for changes but that is for history to judge. It is vital to analyze the context of the civil war in Somali prior to the recent developments. Such an analysis will take into consideration the humanitarian crisis. Even so, this is not to imply that the process towards a stable Somalia had been a smooth transition. The Somali civil war case has been one that ha s had far-reaching effects immediately after the overthrowing of Barre’s government in 1991. Being a country that is made up of clans, what erupted in the initial period was a contest for dominance by all the major clans. It was almost practically impossible trying to persuade any clan lord to visualize a united Somali with him on the periphery. I use "him" because under sharia law, some positions of leadership are gender governed and Somali being a predominantly Muslim nation, the rule applies (Munene, 2012).

Defining the Role of the President of the United States as Outlined in Research Paper

Defining the Role of the President of the United States as Outlined in the US Constitution - Research Paper Example The President can appoint people to high-level positions of public administration. This role and power are enshrined and provided for in Section II of Article II of the Constitution where the Chief Executive can select top employees, subject to the approval of the Senate. Still, as the Chief Administrator, Section III of Article II bestows the power to make recommendations on fiscal policies on the President of the United States. The consideration of this article is always done in light of Article I of the US constitution which accords Congress the power to review taxes and spending. Nevertheless, the power to control the budget-making process is chief among the crucial administrative prerogatives of the President of the US. In this light, it is often the President who makes the decision on how and where the money is spent. At the end of the 1990s, the Office of the President took over a more significant function in determining federal spending. Section III of Article also extends the Office of the President of the United States the powers of a Chief Magistrate. Particularly, Section III of Article states that the President of the United States â€Å"†¦ shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In a closely related wavelength, Section VII of Article I accords the President of the United States the powers of the Chief Legislator. This section of the US Constitution states that every bill which the Senate and the House of Representative shall pass shall be presented to the President of the United States prior to its becoming law. If the President approves the Bill, he shall append his signature to it. Otherwise, the President shall return the Bill to the House with his objections to it.  

Rhetorical Analysis of Obamas Inaugural Address 2008 Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis of Obamas Inaugural Address 2008 Essay The 2008 presidential campaign was controversial, emotional, historical and also amidst an economic crisis. Barack Obama’s victory marked a change in American society regarding race and politics. His election as the first African American President of the United States is profound and signifies a changing America. Obama gave his inaugural address on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. Unlike the campaign, the inauguration was a celebration, marked by clear skies and a patriotic crowd. More than one million people gathered in the National Mall to support the newly elected President despite cold weather. His primary audience was the American people viewing, but he also appealed to a secondary audience consisting of nations across the globe. Obama’s use of diction, tone, and vocal variety created a powerful delivery that supported his implicit purpose. In order to achieve his explicit purpose, he established and maintained a positive ethos and appealed to pathos through imagery. Obama’s explicit purpose was deliberative and challenged Americans to return to the moral truths â€Å"upon which our success depends†. He does not clearly state his main claim until the end of the speech. He goes on to list these truths as, â€Å"honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty, and patriotism†. After listing these values and challenging Americans to return to them, he states, â€Å"[w]hat is required now of us is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world [. . .]†. He is leaving it up to American citizens to take responsibility to face the challenges of today by returning to principles of yesterday. Implicitly, Obama’s speech was an attempt to generate a sense of hope back into America. He chooses words such as ‘hope’, ‘unity’, and ‘peace’ in order to rhetorically soothe the audience. He delivers a powerful implicit message through his use of diction, tone, and vocal variety. The diction that Obama used in addit ion to tone and vocal variety created a powerful delivery that contributed to the success of his motives for speaking. By choosing to use particular words or phrases, Obama was able to convey his message more clearly and he was also able to affect the audience in a particular way. For example, near the beginning of the speech he says, â€Å"[t]he time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit†. This is another way of stating his explicit purpose. Telling the audience that they have an ‘enduring spirit’ is an attempt to encourage them to press on. Another example of this encouraging diction is when he says, â€Å"we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America†. This phrase received great reception from the audience because of the optimism it instilled. Not only did the specific words that he chose contribute to the success of his speech, but the way in which he delivered the words ultimately made the purpose of the speech successful. Throughout the duration of his speech, Obama maintained a clear, strong, confident voice that easil y projected across the magnificent crowd. He enunciated each word clearly and carefully and adjusted his tone appropriately with his speech. He also emphasized particular words in order to stress their significance. One particular example of this was when Obama was discussing our common defense and he said, â€Å"[a]nd we are ready to lead once more†, stressing each word separately and with great force. This is important because it gets the audience’s attention and not only focuses on his explicit purpose, but also implicitly creates optimism that generates hope into the crowd. In order to gain credibility with his audience, Obama had to first establish a positive ethos. Without credibility, Obama would not be able to achieve his primary purpose. He appeals to ethos when he opens his speech with â€Å"[m]y fellow citizens†. By putting himself on the same level as the people who had elected him President, he was able to gain their trust and respect. He does this again when he says â€Å"[. . .] We the Pe ople have remained faithful† only a few sentences later. Not only does Obama have to establish a positive ethos to accomplish his explicit purpose, he also needs to maintain a positive ethos. He does this successfully several times throughout his speech. One way in particular that he does this is by continuing to include himself with the American citizens. He does not blame the state of the economy on the government, citizens, or anyone else, but instead calls it â€Å"our collective failure to make hard choices†. He could easily point a finger at another political party, for example, but he does not, and that maintains his positive credibility. A final way in which Obama establishes and maintains a positive ethos is by addressing the opposing side. He discusses how they will criticize his plans and refutes it by saying, â€Å"[t]he question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works [. . .]†. By taking the opposing side into account, Obama demonstrates that he is well prepared and credible which enables him to achieve his explicit purpose. Obama also appeals to pathos through descriptive imagery in attempt to motivate people to return to old moral values. He discusses the Americans who have struggled, sacrificed, and persevered for generations and the examples that they are. For instance, he says,â€Å"[f]or us, they packed up [. . .] and traveled [. . .] [f]or us, they toiled in sweatshops [. . .] endured the lash of the whip [. . .] plowed the hard earth[. . .] [f]or us, they fought and died [. . .]†. His repeated use of â€Å"for us† is an example of anaphora and is significant because it reinforces the sacrifice behind the struggle. He wanted Americans to remember those in the past who had fought and endured for freedom and victory. By doing this, Obama further motivated his audience to return to old moral values and encouraged them to take responsibility to face the challenges of this age. In conclusion, Barack Obama’s diction, tone, and vocal variety contributed to an influential delivery that directly influenced the success of his implicit purpose of instilling optimism into the American people. By establishing and maintaining a positive ethos, Obama created a more receptive audience that was willing to hear what he had to say because of his recognized credibility. This enabled him to achieve his primary purpose of challenging Americans to return to old moral values and to take responsibility for themselves, their nation, and even the world. Finally, Obama appealed to pathos in an attempt to further challenge Americans by reminding them of brave Americans from the past who have struggled and sacrificed so that freedom could live on. Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address is quite successful when analyzing these elements because he effectively fit his message to the current economic circumstances and used suitable techniques to appeal to the audience.

Hamburger Hill Essay Example for Free

Hamburger Hill Essay The entire mountain is a rugged, uninviting wilderness blanketed in double- and triple-canopy jungle, dense thickets of bamboo, and waist-high elephant grass. Local Montagnard tribesmen called Ap Bia â€Å"the mountain of the crouching beast. † LTC Weldon Honeycutt, commander of the 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry (the â€Å"Rakkasans†), called it â€Å"Hill 937. † The Soldiers who fought there dubbed it â€Å"Hamburger Hill. † The ? ght on Hamburger Hill occurred during Operation Apache Snow, the second part of a three-phased campaign intended to destroy North Vietnam Army (NVA) bases in the treacherous A Shau Valley. The American and South Vietnamese units participating in Apache Snow knew, based on existing intelligence and previous experiences in the A Shau, that they were in for a tough ? ght. Beyond that, however, they had little evidence as to the enemy’s actual strength and dispositions. Masters of camou? age, the NVA completely concealed their bases from aerial surveillance. When the NVA moved, they did so at night along trails covered by triple-canopy jungle, again confounding observation from above. They effected their command and control mainly by runner and wire, leaving no electronic signature for the Americans to monitor or trace. Technology, therefore, provided scant assistance to the American battalion commander trying to â€Å"see the enemy† during Apache Snow. He had to generate his own tacticalintelligence. Patrols, captured equipment, installations, documents, and occasionally prisoners provided combat commanders with the raw data from which to draw their assessment of the enemy order of battle and dispositions. Gathering this information took time, though. Moreover, intelligence about the enemy’s strength and dispositions did not necessarily illuminate his commander’s intent. It took days to ascertain this, and the learning experience proved decidedly unpleasant for the Americans. On 11 May, Honeycutt dispersed his Rakkasans and scoured the vicinity to the north and northwest of Ap Bia Mountain. When Bravo Company made heavy contact with some NVA late in the day, Honeycutt adjusted his estimate of the enemy’s strength from â€Å"a few trail watchers† to a reinforced platoon or even a company. The Rakkasans could still deal with a force that size, but they would have to concentrate to do so. For the next three days, Honeycutt fought the mountain and the NVA to bring his scattered companies together for a coordinated battalion attack. Despite the fact that, since the initial assault, no company was more than about 1,500 meters from the crest of the mountain, it took two days to consolidate the battalion for a three-company assault. Time and again, the American infantrymen found themselves hampered as much by the topography as by the enemy. The rugged terrain slowed dismounted movement to a crawl. Between 12 and 14 May, for example, Delta Company was virtually immobilized when it went down a steep ravine and was caught there by the enemy. In one grueling ? ve-hour period, the company labored to advance a total of only 500 meters. The steep, mud-covered slopes, more than the enemy, kept this company from ful? lling Honeycutt’s intent. In the end, the troops had to abandon their attack and withdraw the way they had come. These three days were a period of intensely unpleasant â€Å"discovery learning† for Honeycutt and his men. Map reconnaissance and helicopter over-? ights did not indicate that his initial scheme of maneuver was impractical. It took Delta Company’s three-day ordeal to do so. Though Honeycutt had a long and distinguished record as a combat commander in both Vietnam and Korea, he underestimated Ap Bia Mountain and the NVA facing him. Although his estimate of the enemy strength was incorrect, his miscalculation was not immediately apparent to him or to any of the American leadership. It took three days of assaults by Bravo and Charlie Companies, each bloodily repulsed, before the situation became clearer. The enemy was stronger than anticipated, much stronger than company strength, and he grew more powerful every night as he received reinforcements from Laos. The NVA commander’s demonstrated tenacity and willingness to replace heavy losses indicated he intended to put up a stiff ? ght for Hill 937 (Scalard).

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Mutants

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Mutants GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP) MUTANTS WITH ALTERED FLUORESCENCE INTENSITY AND EMMISSION SPECTRA Introduction: Now-a-days GFP is creating revolution in the field of science by its applications and properties.GFP is a stable protein extracted from the photo organs of the jellyfish Aequoria victoria by Shimomura et al in 1962. In 1992 the cloning of GFP has done. It is found in a variety of coelenterates (both hydrozoa and anthozoa) and it emits light by utilising energy from the Ca2+ activated photoprotein aequorin [1]. Energy transfer and the emission spectra of GFP can be affected by dimerization. Structure of GFP is cylindrical ÃŽ ²-can structure and has a chromophore located centrally. The chromophore is responsible for the fluorescence and the formation is independent of species but mainly depends on oxygen. GFP is a small protein and has been made up of 238 amino acids. Deletion of any seven amino acids either from C-terminus or N-terminus may result in the loss of fluorescence. Amino acid replacement is responsible for the change in colours of GFP. It has a molecular weight of 27 KDa an d has an absorption range at 488 nm and an emission range at 509 nm. It can accomplish high temperatures (65 ÌŠc) and basic PH range of 6-12 [2]. Increase in PH results in the decrease of fluorescence. Increase in the fluorescence and photo stability can be achieved by single point mutation at S65T. Fluorophore of the GFP is generated by using auto-catalytic process of continuous mechanisms. Visible excitation is one of the optical properties of GFP. Its derivatives are produced from the mutagenesis experiments like random and directed mutagenesis [3]. GFP is majorly used as a reporter in expressing genes. Protein and chromophore folding also constitutes as a major advantage of GFP. It can also be used in protein fusion by applying recombinant DNA technology. Aim of this research is to analyze properties of GFP by cloning, mutations, expression of proteins and purification. Objectives of this research are to sub-clone GFP into a vector and mutations are carried out by various mutagenesis experiments followed by expression of proteins and purification. Finally after purification properties are analyzed. Materials and methods: Initially DNA is isolated and GFPuv is sub-cloned into the pET28c vector from pET23 plasmid by speectrophotometric analysis. 5 µg of pET23GFPuv DNA is digested by using NdeI and HindIII restriction enzymes. And the digests are analysed by using Agarose gel electrophoresis. GFP fragment is extracted and purified using QIA quick gel extraction kit from QIAGEN and the recovered DNA is estimated. Recombinant protein is expressed in E.coli by ligation and transformation. To confirm the presence of GFP in the pET28c plasmid, colony PCR is used. Further mutagenesis experiments are carried out by designing oligonucleotide primers which will alter the spectral properties of the protein. Complementary primers containing same mutations are generated. Mutagenic primers are prepared with a melting temperature of ≠¥ 78 ºC, length between 25 and 45 bases and primers longer than 45 bases are generally used. Introduction and identification of mutations within GFPuv gene: Mutations are created in the GFPuv insert by site-directed mutagenesis Site-directed mutagenesis: 5 µl 10 x PCR buffer 5 µl 20 mM dNTP mixes 15 ng GFPuv-pET28c template DNA 125ng oligonucleotide primer F+ 125ng oligonucleotide primer R+ 2 µl 25mM MgSo4 32 µl sterile water 1 µl KOD hot start polymerase (1U/ µl) * All the above are added to 0.2ml PCR tubes and incubated in a PCR machine for 24 cycles: 94 ºC 30s 94 ºC 30s 55 ºC 1min 68 ºC 4min 20s 68 ºC 10 min * Reaction is then kept on ice for 2 min and 1 µl (1U) of Dpn1 is added and incubated for 60 min at 37 ºC Alignment of amino acid sequences is carried out using: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/clustalw2/index.html Product of site-directed mutagenesis (pET28c DNA) is transformed into XL-1 supercompetent cells. Transformed colonies are extracted using QIAprep Mini prep kit Qiagen [5]. Concentration and purity can be checked by using Agarose gel electrophoresis. For this 5 µl of plasmid preparation and 10U HindIII are digested at 37 ºC for 1h. Sequencing is then carried out by using 10 µl of DNA at a concentration of 50ng/ µl. E.coli BL21 (DE3) cells are prepared and are transformed into the pET28cGFPuv plasmid for expression Auto-induction method: Wild type protein (GFPuv) and the mutant protein are expressed in the expression vector [BL21 (DE3)] using auto-induction method. For this transformed colonies are inoculated into 3ml of LB-1D + antibiotic media and incubated at 37 ºC at 300 RPM for 6 hrs and O.D is taken. Inoculum is taken into the flask containing SB-5052 auto-induction medium along with antibiotic and incubated at 28 ºC at 300 RPM for 20 hrs. Cultures are then cooled for 1 hr. Total induced sample is prepared by taking 100 µl of cooling culture and 900 µl of SB-5052 media. Cells are then pelletized by centrifuging it with both total induced and non-induced samples and are resuspended in 100 µl of SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE)) sample buffer. 12% of polyacrylamide gel is prepared and the Soluble and insoluble samples are prepared by cell fractionation using BUGBUSTER. For this 1 µl of DNAase1 is used along with reagents. Cell suspension is then centrifuged at 13000rpm for 20mins. Supernatant is then used as soluble sample and insoluble is prepared by resuspending the pellet in 2ml binding buffer. SDS-PAGE buffer and binding buffer are added to the soluble and insoluble fractions. At 95 ºC all samples are heated for 5 min. Gel is then loaded as: Molecular weight standard-5 µl Uninduced sample 5 µl Induced total sample 5 µl Soluble sample 5 µl Gel has to run for 1 hr. And is transfered to a box of Coomassie blue stain. Western blotting: GFP protein presence can be verified using western blotting technique. Protein samples are first seperated by SDS-PAGE and are transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane. GFP bound to nitrocellulose membrane is then visualised by incubating the blot with His-probe which is linked to a HRP (horse radish peroxidase) enzyme (HisprobeTM-HRP solution is diluted to 1:5000 (1 µl in 5ml) ). His-tag of GFP protein is bound to probe. Blots are kept in TBST and probes and thus probes are visualised by chemiluminescence and these are photographed by chemiluminescent reader. Ni-NTA chromatography: His tagged GFP can be purified by Ni-NTA (nickel nitrilo triacetic acid) chromatography method. In this, sample of soluble protein is loaded on column packed agarose resin and the non-specific protein binding is removed by washing resin with buffer and is eluted by high concentrated imidazole of elution buffer. After elution the purification of protein is done by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining. The concentration of the protein is measured by Bradford assay. Fluorimetry and mass spectrometry: Properties of GFPuv protein are analysed by Fluorimetry and mass spectroscopy. Fluorimetry: In this wavelength and intensity of a molecule at specific wavelength are measured using fluorimeters. Perkin Elmer LS50B is the fluorimeter used to measure GFP. Quartz cuvettes are placed in a chamber to measure the concentration and intensity. The parameters set to measure GFP are: Excitation 440nm Emission 460-550nm Slit widths 4 and 4 Accumulation 5 20 µg/ml of protein concentration is used. The emission and excitor wavelengths are set at 509nm and 395nm. Mass spectrometry: GFPuv properties and molecular mass can be analysed by mass spectroscopy. The type of mass spectroscopy used here is electron spray ionization (ESI). ESI is a type of atmospheric pressure ionisation technique (API) which is used for biochemical analysis. JEOL HX110/HX110A equipped with electron ion source tandem mass spectrometers are used to analyse structural properties [7]. 1-10 pmol/ µl of protein concentration is used. Solvents used are: MeOH MeCN TFA During ionisation sample is dissolved in a solvent and is pumped through a steel capillary at a rate of 1 µl/min and voltage of 3 or 4KV is applied [8]. Ion current is amplified by the detector and the data system will record signals in the form of mass spectrum. RESULTS: Site-directed mutagenesis: Primers used for site directed mutagenesis (Mutant) Forward primer: 5-CACTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTGGGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCC-3 Reverse primer: 5-GGAAAAGCATTGAACACCCCAAGAGAAAGTAGTGACAAGTG-3 Alignment of the amino acid sequence of the mutant with the GFPuv amino acid sequence GFPuv MSKGEELFTGVVPILVELDGDVNGHKFSVSGEGEGDATYGKLTLKFICTTGKLPVPWPTL 60 mGFPuv MSKGEELFTGVVPILVELDGDVNGHKFSVSGEGEGDATYGKLTLKFICTTGKLPVPWPTL 60 ************************************************************ GFPuv VTTFSYGVQCFSRYPDHMKRHDFFKSAMPEGYVQERTISFKDDGNYKTRAEVKFEGDTLV 120 mGFPuv VTTFSWGVQCFSRYPDHMKRHDFFKSAMPEGYVQERTISFKDDGNYKTRAEVKFEGDTLV 120 *****:****************************************************** Y66W GFPuv NRIELKGIDFKEDGNILGHKLEYNYNSHNVYITADKQKNGIKANFKIRHNIEDGSVQLAD 180 mGFPuv NRIELKGIDFKEDGNILGHKLEYNYNSHNVYITADKQKNGIKANFKIRHNIEDGSVQLAD 180 ************************************************************ GFPuv HYQQNTPIGDGPVLLPDNHYLSTQSALSKDPNEKRDHMVLLEFVTAAGITHGMDELYK- 238 mGFPuv HYQQNTPIGDGPVLLPDNHYLSTQSALSKDPNEKRDHMVLLEFVTAAGITHGMDELYK- 238 ********************************************************** Amino acid substitution: Y66W Belongs to Class 5, indole in chromophore (cyan fluorescent proteins) [6] eCFP CATATGAGTAAAGGAGAAGAACTTTTCACTGGAGTTGTCCCAATTCTTGTTGAATTAGAT 60 GFP ATGAGTAAAGGAGAAGAACTTTTCACTGGAGTTGTCCCAATTCTTGTTGAATTAGAT 57 ********************************************************* eCFP GGTGATGTTAATGGGCACAAATTTTCTGTCAGTGGAGAGGGTGAAGGTGATGCAACATAC 120 GFP GGTGATGTTAATGGGCACAAATTTTCTGTCAGTGGAGAGGGTGAAGGTGATGCAACATAC 117 ************************************************************ eCFP GGAAAACTTACCCTTAAATTTATTTGCACTACTGGAAAACTACCTGTTCCATGGCCAACA 180 GFP GGAAAACTTACCCTTAAATTTATTTGCACTACTGGAAAACTACCTGTTCCATGGCCAACA 177 ************************************************************ eCFP CTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTGGGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCCCGTTATCCGGATCACATGAAA 240 GFP CTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTATGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCCCGTTATCCGGATCATATGAAA 237 ******************* ******************************** ****** Mutation eCFP CGGCATGACTTTTTCAAGAGTGCCATGCCCGAAGGTTATGTACAGGAACGCACTATATCT 300 GFP CGGCATGACTTTTTCAAGAGTGCCATGCCCGAAGGTTATGTACAGGAACGCACTATATCT 297 ************************************************************ eCFP TTCAAAGATGACGGGAACTACAAGACGCGTGCTGAAGTCAAGTTTGAAGGTGATACCCTT 360 GFP TTCAAAGATGACGGGAACTACAAGACGCGTGCTGAAGTCAAGTTTGAAGGTGATACCCTT 357 ************************************************************ eCFP GTTAATCGTATCGAGTTAAAAGGTATTGATTTTAAAGAAGATGGAAACATTCTCGGACAC 420 GFP GTTAATCGTATCGAGTTAAAAGGTATTGATTTTAAAGAAGATGGAAACATTCTCGGACAC 417 ************************************************************ eCFP AAACTCGAGTACAACTATAACTCACACAATGTATACATCACGGCAGACAAACAAAAGAAT 480 GFP AAACTCGAGTACAACTATAACTCACACAATGTATACATCACGGCAGACAAACAAAAGAAT 477 ************************************************************ eCFP GGAATCAAAGCT 492 GFP GGAATCAAAGCTAACTTCAAAATTCGCCACAACATTGAAGATGGATCCGTTCAACTAGCA 537 ************ eCFP GFP GACCATTATCAACAAAATACTCCAATTGGCGATGGCCCTGTCCTTTTACCAGACAACCAT 597 eCFP GFP TACCTGTCGACACAATCTGCCCTTTCGAAAGATCCCAACGAAAAGCGTGACCACATGGTC 657 eCFP GFP CTTCTTGAGTTTGTAACTGCTGCTGGGATTACACATGGCATGGATGAGCTCTACAAATAA 717 SDS-PAGE : Coomassie staining gel of (Sample 6): Marker GFP protein (soluble sample) Western blotting (Sample 11): Induced total sample GFP protein Ni-NTA chromatography: Fluorimetry: Mass spectrometry: Wild-type: Mutant: Discussion: Site-directed mutagenesis: In the site-directed mutagenesis mutation is carried out at the right place i.e., at 197 and 198 places. Tyrosine (TAT) is mutated to tryptophan (TGG), Y W. During this mutation protein undergoes many changes especially in the fluorescence. GFP turns into CFP (Cyan fluorescent protein) hence the light emitted will not be exactly green. CFP will have many peculiar features like rather than single excitation and emission peaks it possess double humping. Tag CFP possess some properties like: Structure monomer Molecular weight 27KDa Polypeptide length 239aa Fluorescence colour Cyan Maximum excitation 458nm Maximum emission 480nm Excitation coefficient 37000M-1 cm-1 Pka 4.7 Quantum yield 0.57 Brightness 21.1 Brightness is produced by the quantum yield and extinction coefficient. Dual colour visualisation of the protein expressed is enabled by the CFP. This has led to the Fluorescence Resonance Energy Development (FRET). SDS-PAGE: SDS-PAGE is carried out to separate proteins according to their electrophoretic mobility and experimental repeats will result in the purity assessment of the protein. Four wells are loaded with samples and 2 and 4 wells show protein result and as 1 and 3 wells dont contain protein they will be normal without any bands. Results shows that little amount of GFP has been observed in the insoluble and large amount of protein has been observed in the soluble sample. Uninduced sample cannot find GFP. Western-blotting: Western-blot is performed to make sure the presence of protein. Histidine tagged probe is added to confirm the protein present was GFP or not. pET28c plasmid contains T7 RNA polymerase promoter sequence. But this promoter is blocked by the repressor. Hence lactose containing medium is required for E.coli growth. Because lactose is used as carbon source, glucose is converted into allolactose. This allolactose will bind to repressor by unblocking promoter, and expresses GFP. Hence presence of glucose will result in Lac-I and is binds to the operator. Band observed in the blot is probably GFP and it has high level of intensity after induction. And it is necessary to confirm this by performing blotting technique using His probe to detect His tagged GFP. Bands are observed in the induced and soluble samples after performing western blotting confirming the presence of GFP. Ni-NTA chromatography: Purification of GFP can be done by Ni-NTA chromatography. For a recombinant protein the amino acid binding site with 6 or more His residues in a row acts as metal binding site. So hexa-his sequence is called as His-tag. His-tag sequence is present in the N-terminal of the target protein and is located in the promoter region adjacently to the GFP gene. During this process enzyme HRP is also bound to the probe. This HRP-probe will react with luminal 4 peroxidase buffer which is further used for purifying GFP by Ni-NTA chromatography. Purification by His-tagged GFP can be done by using several methods like Ni2+-poly (2 acetomidoacrylic acid) hydrogel. Displacement of GFP can be done by binding nickel to imidazole. This is mainly because of high affinity of nickel towards imidazole compared to GFP.Distinctive bands are supposed to observe in the elute1, elute 2 and also in the total soluble fraction. Bands formed states the presence of the GFP mutant. Absence of the bands states mutant a bsence. In the results bands are observed at the total induced and the soluble samples which state the protein presence. Even small amounts of bands are also observed in the insoluble sample. GFP protein produced in the induced total sample is approximately at 27KDa. Slight bands are observed in the insoluble sample as it may be because of some impurities. Finally the GFP protein has been detected. References: 1. Davenport D, Nichol JAC: Luminescence in Hydromedusae. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 1955, 144:399-411 2. Ward. W., Prentice, H., Roth, A. Cody. C. and Reeeves.S.1982.Spectral perturbations of the Aequoria green fluorescent protein. Photochem. Photobiol. 35:803-808 3. Cormack, B. P., Valdivia, R. H., Falkow, S. (1996). FACS-optimized mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Gene, In press 4. Darelle Thomson , Greg Smith. (2001).PCR-based plasmid vector construction for generation of recombinant viruses. Journal of Virological Methods 94, 7-14 5. Vogelstein, B., and Gillespie, D. (1979) Preparative and analytical purification of DNA from agarose. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 615-619. 6. HEIM, R., PRASHER, D. C. TSIEN, R. Y. 1994. Wavelength Mutations and Posttranslational Autoxidation of Green Fluorescent Protein. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91, 12501-12504. 7. HARUKI NIWA, SATOSHI INOUYE et,al., Chemical nature of the light emitter of the Aequorea green fluorescent protein. Vol. 93, pp. 13617-13622, November 1996. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 8. â€Å"Mass Spectrometry: A Foundation Course†, K. Downard, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, 2004.

Life and Religion in To Kill a Mockingbird :: essays research papers

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee in 1960, life in the town of Maycomb is very traditional. Most people have the same racial prejudices and live by certain rules, also referred to as ‘codes’ by Atticus Finch (p. 224). Aunt Alexandra is a good example as she is not from Maycomb but lives 20 miles away. When she comes to live with Atticus and his children, Jem and Scout, the town accepts her immediately for with her â€Å"boarding-school manners† (p.142), her ladylike behaviour and her enthusiastic involvement into the Missionary Circle and the ‘Maycomb Amanuensis Club’, she represents the ideal of a Maycomb woman. Although all people in Maycomb are quite different from each other, most of them, especially the more accepted, show respect, discipline and politeness. This can be seen in the Missionary Circle where ladies sit together to talk, drink tea and eat cakes (p. 253-259) and although they might not always agree on everything, they never directly say so. For example when Mrs Merriweather starts to criticise Atticus’ doing in Tom Robinson’s case, at a Missionary Circle in front of Scout - not naming anyone - Ms Maudie interrupts her and cuts off the subject without drawing anybody else’s attention to the quarrel. There are not many people in Maycomb who are open-minded and willing to accept different people and/or things, which makes it difficult to change. So after loosing the trial, Ms Maudie admits that she did not think Atticus had any chance of winning but that he was â€Å"the only man who could keep a jury out that long† and that it was a step, if only a baby-step, towards equality (p. 238). Furthermore this intolerance leads to Jem and Scout being confronted with offences against Atticus’ decisions by town people and fellow students. For one thing Mrs Dubose, an ‘evil’ neighbour of the Finch’s, criticises Atticus in a way that Jem is not willing to ignore and ends in him cutting down all her beloved camellias (p. 112-114). This in turn leads to Jem having to read to Mrs Dubose for more than a month (p. 117-122). For another thing the children at school badmouth Atticus probably with what they overheard their parents saying and this time it is Scout who looses her head a couple of times. In a small town like Maycomb there is also a lot of gossiping and prejudices against ‘lower class’ people.

Oppression and Class warfare Exposed in Dr. Howard Zinn’s A People’s Hi

Dr. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States might be better titled A Proletarian’s History of the United States. In the first three chapters Zinn looks at not only the history of the conquerors, rulers, and leaders; but also the history of the enslaved, the oppressed, and the led. Like any American History book covering the time period of 1492 until the early 1760’s, A People’s History tells the story of the â€Å"discovery† of America, early colonization by European powers, the governing of these colonies, and the rising discontent of the colonists towards their leaders. Zinn, however, stresses the role of a number of groups and ideas that most books neglect or skim over: the plight of the Native Americans that had their numbers reduced by up to 90% by European invasion, the equality of these peoples in many regards to their European counterparts, the importation of slaves into America and their unspeakable travel conditions and treatment, the callous buildup of the agricultural economy around these slaves, the discontented colonists whose plight was ignored by the ruling bourgeoisie, and most importantly, the rising class and racial struggles in America that Zinn correctly credits as being the root of many of the problems that we as a nation have today. It is refreshing to see a book that spends space based proportionately around the people that lived this history. When Columbus arrived on the Island of Haiti, there were 39 men on board his ships compared to the 250,000 Indians on Haiti. If the white race accounts for less than two hundredths of one percent of the island’s population, it is only fair that the natives get more than the two or three sentences that they get in most history books. Zinn cites population figures, first person accounts, and his own interpretation of their effects to create an accurate and fair depiction of the first two and a half centuries of European life on the continent of North America. The core part of any history book is obviously history. In the first three chapters of the book, Zinn presents the major historical facts of the first 250 years of American history starting from when Christopher Columbus’s Nià ±a, Pinta, and Santa Maria landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. It was there that Europeans and Native A... ...form of rhetoric, concessions, and propaganda calling for loyalty to America’s upper classes and rebellion, first quiet and then loud, against England. â€Å"[The bind of loyalty] was the language of liberty and equality, which could unite just enough whites to fight a Revolution against England, without ending either slavery or inequality† (58). Zinn is absolutely correct in seeing the ulterior motives of our founding fathers; they realized that splitting from England would be good for them financially, socially, and politically. What they did was harness the people’s anger against them and used it, quite ironically, for their own advancement. Ultimately, for the first 250 years of America’s history, there was oppression and class warfare on varying scales that are traditionally ignored or unemphasized by traditional history texts, but Zinn masterfully shows the reader are major and influencial parts of American history. To ignore the plight of the conquored and oppressed is to ignore a part of history that cannot be ignored. Work Cited Zinn, Howard, A People’s History of the United States, New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1980

Ernest Hemingway Essay -- essays research papers

Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Marvel â€Å"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever . . . The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose . . . The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits . . . .All the rivers run into the sea; ye the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.† (Ecclesiastes 1:4-7)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Hemingway’s style of writing is a unique form. In almost all of his novels the protagonist is a war veteran, which he himself was. He was known to travel the world. These places sparked the imagination to create novels that led to a Nobel Prize for literature. To better understand the impact of Ernest Hemingway as an American author, one must have a description of his background, a critical analysis of his work The Sun Also Rises, and his impact and importance upon the literary world. Ernest Hemingway was known as a simple, creative writer and person. Leonard Unger wrote, â€Å"He had an extraordinary reputation as a colorful human being.† He was born July 2, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His father Dr. Clarence â€Å"Ed† Hemingway was a physician, and his mother, Grace, taught piano and voice lessons. He spent summers in upper Michigan, where he found a passion for hunting and fishing. After graduating from Oak Park High, ...

Riots: Manuscript and Blog

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. I am †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. , a politically active student. The Mayor of London has invited me, to give a speech about riots in London. I would also talk about what we can do to prevent a similar incident. As mentioned, my speech today will mainly be about riots and some several reasons for that. Moreover, I will give some suggestions about what we can do to prevent the riots. I will focus on what the society can do to solve this situation. I will also speech about what the parents and the teachers’ can do for keep the children out of the riots.If some of you don’t know what riots are. I can tell you that it is a form of civil disorder which is characterized by groups how lashing out in a rash of violence against authority, property or people. The riots start on August the 4th, because a policeman killed an Afro-Caribbean man. His family has decided to stage a peaceful protest but it ended out of control. The traffic was diverted and people start ed crashing, smashing and looting. For many people, it was a staggering situations and completely unrealistic. The big question is:† What are the reasons for riots?†The protest for the Afro-Caribbean man was just an opportunity to show their dissatisfaction for the society. Big parts of the population are talking about how the policemen were not able to stop the criminality from vandalising and stealing. The word about riots was spread to South London. Due to this change of area, it is clearly that they have entirely different motives from here on. People all over London have begun to make different sorts of riots. The motive for many of the criminals became â€Å"making money, pure terror, havoc and free stuff†.We can conclude that these different episodes with riots have nothing to do with each other. Experts are discussing what the motives are. They have formed some theories about the motives and the most mentioned arguments are: unemployment, poverty and gang related crime. There are kids down to an age of 9 how robbed homes, stores and businesses. Among the youngest riots are kids who are looking for a rush. The main argument for riots is that it has something to do with unemployment. Unemployment results in poverty.Many people have tendencies to compare themselves with the community and therefore want the lower class to keep up with the middle and higher class. By use of riots has the lower class seen an opportunity to make money to gain a position in the middleclass. The lower classes are blaming the high class for their criminality, because the poor are unhappy with the balance between themselves and the rich part of their country. The youth unemployment rate is low, which result in that 1 out of 5 are not in work.The university are more expensive than ever, and that is the reasons why some of the young people lose hope for the higher education. The young people are unhappy with their present situation. They are getting more disenfra nchised, so they have to be heard. In previous times was it the black people who were victimized, but today it is the young people. The young people make riots, as an excuse to show their dissatisfaction with the society. The motive for the young people to make riots is to be a part of something bigger.Many have seen that the majority of the spotted participants in the riots are between the age of 14 and 18. Most of the people in London, who participate in the riots, are doing it because everybody else is doing it. They persuade each other by means of text message. Many of the riots have occurred as a result of the extreme use of the social media. A new problem is that they also use a Blackberry to spread the word, which involve that the communication is hidden from the police. We have to stop this young people and help them to behave in a better way.If they are old enough to make the crime, they are old enough to face the consequents. There are no correct answers to prevent new rio ts, but we know the reasons for these riots and the problems in the society. We cannot eliminate the inequality, it is impossible, but we can try to reduce it. We have to keep together and try to save our society. We have to protect the children from the criminality and help the family’s how have problem at home. The parents have to take a responsibility and be role models. The police have to take effect immediately and show that this behaviour will not be tolerated.They have to arrest the people how make riots, so they not keep on with the crime. More than 1200 of the rioters have already been arrested. Due to the modern technology, many of the participants have had their image caught, which means that they will be arrested later. In the future need the police a system, so they can find out what the people are encouraging encourage each other and make plans for illegal actions. The government have reduced the charge for the university so the young people have money enough fo r going in school and don’t make crime.A man called David Cameron promised that everyone would survive the current situation. He has 4 importing areas of focus: Rewards hard work Get more discipline in schools. A criminal justice system. Take care of the disrupted families. There are multiple reasons for riots, and we have to stop the riots trend. It is not only the parents, schools, police and sociality how should fight for a better country. We have to stick together and all try to stop the riots. If you know someone with problems, then try to bring them to senses. A society with out riots is a better place for all.

Ecology of Sand Dunes

There are six main physical types of dunes which rely on the position of the system in relation to the direction of the shoreline. Three of these being spits, offshore islands and nesses project towards the sea and are generally extending seawards. They are characterstic where the prevailing wind is offshore so in England would be the East Coast. The other three types which are bay dunes, hind shore dunes and machair are found found where the prevailing wind is onshore so a constantly being driven back on to the land behind the shore by the wind and are found on the west coast. Dunes are known as sub-maritime coastal habitats as they are not plagued by occasional flooding and are not very salty. Dunes can very in size greatly with the height increasing over 25 meters on some coasts and can vary greatly in width and length. Dune vegetation Dune vegetation varies according to stability, moisture content and calcium carbonate content of the sand the dune is made up of. In order for vegetation on the dunes to grow plant succession has to occur. Marram grass colonises the dune (fore dunes) and spreads its tuberous roots just under the surface of the sand, and forms an underground web that helps hold the sand in place. Though marram grass stabilizes the soil for its own survival, an inadvertent side effect is that it makes it possible for other kinds of vegetation to begin to take hold. Other plants take advantage of the increased stability of the soil surface and start to colonize areas the marram grass helped make safe Embryo dune formation Sand is blown onshore from exposed beaches at low tide. As the wind slows due to obstacles on the land being met the sand is deposited. Large amount of sand are deposited just beyond the highest water mark. This is due to the friction occurring where drift line vegetation is growing and by the accumulating sand deposits present. Eventually low sand hills build up on the shoreline and slowly move inaland. These embryo dunes become colonized by Agropyron Junceforme which can tolerate saline apray, posses' a large root system allowing more binding of the sand and rapid growth to avoid burial by the sand. The embryo dune vegetation increases sand deposition and they hills increase in size and advance further inland and develop into first fore and then yellow dunes. Fore Dunes and yellow dunes Above the driftline and embryo dunes there is often a seaward strip of low dunes with an open growth of plants still tolerant of short immersion during especially higgh tides. These fore dunes grade into main dunes further inland where Marram grass is the main colonist encouraging the growth of the dunes upwards. This grass is and efficient dune builder but does not form a layer of litter or bind the sand surface so later erosion occurs. As the colonists have made the sand more stable forther vegetation now grows such as Calystegia soldanella. This grows in the sand between the marram tussocks. Many species of plans which find a coastal niche also appear as open sand colonists. Some of these grow on mainly calcerous dunes, but the effect of varying lime content of the sand becomes more obvious as a closed vegetation develops and stabilization is accompanied by leaching. Fixed or Grey Dunes A vegetation of low growing grasses, lichens and mosses are present at this stage. Where contains less lime the characterstic species which occurs amongst the marram are red and sheeps fescue. Lichens such as Cladonia impexa also may become abundant Dune Heath and Dune Pasture The oldest and most stable parts of the non-calcerous dunes are eventually invaded by dwarf shrubs. This forms a heath which approaches which approaches that of many inland lowland areas with sandy soil. Lichen heaths also develop with species such as cladonia impexa growing in great abundance in dwarf shrubs, it is also possible for bracken to become abundant in this area and large areas of it may develop. During the early stages of closed sward formation marram may remain very abundant, but with further development of the succession it gradually thins out and eventually disappears. The development of the dwarf shrub heath is also marked by the sand surface becoming acidic and the formation of an acidic humus layer. Further development involves a thickening of the grassy swardm extension of these herbs into the moss and lichens, and the dissapearance of species such as marram grass.. Rabbits can be numerous on these undes and their grazing can produce a close cropped species rich area hardly distinguishable from that on many inland grasslands. The lime content and pH of calcerous sand dunes decrease with age, and organic