Management Problem of the U.S. Pension Crisis Essay

Management Problem of the U.S. Pension Crisis - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the pension crisis is an ongoing concern among various nations on their economic ability to fund the pending pension benefits especially those of public employees. The problem began with concerns related to the increasing number of retirees and the limited contributions being remitted to the scheme. In the United States, the problem is being experienced in both the private and public benefit plans. The two forms of pension plans being used by the American workers include the defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. The corporate bodies, with support from political circles, took advantage of the 2007 economic crisis to impose measures that undermined the defined benefit plans in the pretext of saving the pension crisis. Other challenges that the United States pension Scheme faces include providing for the retirement income and old age poverty and funding for the labor market participation and incentives for the old generati on. Additionally, contributing to the low saving plans of the United States citizens and preserving the economic soundness of the local and state government as well as corporate pension schemes depletes the scheme. If left unreformed, the Social Security system will be faced with the shortage of financial resources as the life expectancy of the current generation increases. The number of workers paying the contributions is declining compared to the ones receiving the benefits. Problem Statement Underfunding is the prominent challenge facing the United States pension program. According to Horowitz (2004), the 2002 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp (PBGC) balance sheet dropped from 7.7 billion to 3.6 billion dollar deficit with an estimated loss of 11.3 billion dollars. The figure was approximately five times compared to the previous year. In January, the Bloomberg Business Week, (2012) reported that financial estimates suggest that the PBGC could face a deficit of 120 billion dollars over the next decade. The PBGC also confirms that it required approximately 23 billion dollars over the same period. This implies that most pension plans will be lost and the taxpayers will be required to contribute in the bail out. Contributing in the Aletho news in July 3, 2012, Rasmus indicated that the crisis was not related to increases in pension benefits for workers. He attributed the crisis to the mismanagement practices and adoption of inefficient corporate policies. Factors that resulted f rom the mismanagement practices further aggravated the situation. They include the collapse of the economy, jobs and pension contributions, reduction in pension funding, stagnant jobs, and failure of the economic recovery. Almost all states have made cuts to the public-employee pension but the 900 billion dollar retirement funding deficit remains. The economic forces are reshaping the past rivalries in pension schemes, making the labor leaders and policy-makers become convinced that the past plans are unsustainable. This has cemented the unity between political leaders with the labor unions. According to the wall street journal research by Corkery, 2012, adoption of the labor laws on job cuts have only trimmed 100 billion out of the 900 billion dollar deficit between the amount the workers remit and the retirement benefits owed by the states. Additionally, the changes made to the pension scheme cater for the compensation of the most expensive benefits implying that most inexpensive benefits will take decades to be considered. The strategy of reducing the benefits for the current workers and retirees to cater for the pension crisis has failed due to the legal nature of the benefits. Causes of the Problem The prominent cause of pension crisis is the demographic shift. This is characterized by a growing number of retirees with proportional reduction in the number of people contributing to the fund. This problem can be minimized through increasing the retirement age

Master1 Essay Example for Free

Master1 Essay Psycholinguistics merges the fields of psychology and linguistics to study how people process language and how language use is related to underlying mental processes. Studies of childrens language acquisition and of second-language acquisition are psycholinguistic in nature. Psycholinguists work to develop models for how language is processed and understood, using evidence from studies of what happens when these processes go awry. They also study language disorders such as aphasia impairment of the ability to se or comprehend words and dyslexia impairment of the ability to make out written language. It is the study of interrelationship of psychological and linguistic behaviour. Its most important area of investigation has been language acquisition. It has raised and has partly answered questions such as how do children acquire their mother tongue? How do they grow up linguistically and learn to handle the registral and stylistic varieties of their mother tongue effectively? How much of the linguistic system that they ultimately command, are they born with and how much do they iscover on the basis of their exposure to that system? John D. Carroll states that this branch uses: Some aspects of psychology and some aspects of linguistics. It is confined to the study of how people use a language system and how they learnt it By language acquisition is meant the process whereby children achieve a fluent control of their native tongue. By 1950, people thought that children imitated their elders and got language but now various theories have been presented. Some argue that it is the environmental impact and product of our experience and others discuss the nnateness of language or Empiricist (Behaviorists) and Rationalists (Mentalists). The theoretical questions have focused on the issue of how we can account for the phenomenon of language development in children at all. Normal children have mastered most of the structures of their language by the age of five or six. The earlier behaviorist assumptions were that it was possible to explain language development largely in terms of imitation and reinforcement. Psycholinguistics therefore argue that imitation is not enough; it is not merely by mechanical repetition that children acquire language. They also acquire it by natural exposure. Both nature and nurture influence the acquisition of language in children. Both schools of thought have said significant things but neither is perfect. Language Acquisition is a process of analogy and application, nature and nurture. Experience and innateness. Imitation is there but the child forms his own grammar of rules. Children learn first not items but systems. In other words, what is being claimed is that the childs brain contains certain innate characteristics which pre-structure it in the direction of language learning. To enable these innate features to develop into adult competence, the child must be exposed to human language, i. e. it must be stimulated in proper to respond but the basis. David Crystal asserts: On which it develops its linguistic abilities is not describable in behaviourist terms Psycholinguistics nas researched and exposed that there is a critical period in first language acquisition. If the child, in the first thirteen years, is not exposed to language, he loses his critical period and then he can never master a language; even his native tongue. Genie and Chelsea ho lost their critical period, are the examples in this proof. If he is exposed to language in his childhood, he goes certain stages to learn his mother tongue. The development of a childs language starts from babbling; merely saying /b/, [p/ and / m/ etc. and then he goes on to word level. His One-Word Stage is between the ages of 12 months, children are able to produce one word utterances. And the child can use one word to mean the whole thing as dada to mean I see daddy or daddy is coming etc. or Juice to means give me Juice etc. In Two-Word Stage: such as baby chair eaning the baby is sitting in the chair or babys chair etc. Hit Doggie meaning I hit the doggy etc. In Telegraphic Stage, children begin to produce longer and complex sentences such are chair broken, Car make noise, I good boy, man ride bus today etc. Language development from age 2 is rapid and fast. The telegraphic stage is a very important period which is characterized by the emergence of powerful grammatical devices. In short, Psycholinguistics deals with relationship between language and mind focusing mainly on how language is learnt, stored and occasionally lost. Mind and language have two functions: Acquisition and Performance and the two are linked. For empiricists, language learning is the result of conditioned behavior while Chomsky maintains that every human being has an innate capacity to learn his language. Language behavior is a very complex phenomenon. Language behavior is subject to different social and psychological factors. There is strong evidence to prove that language learning is a biologically controlled process. Psycholinguistics seeks to study all these issues and more.

Acid Rain Essay -- Environmental Science

INTRODUCTION The term acid rain refers to the process of deposition or precipitation of hydrogen ions with a pH value below 5.0, in the atmosphere. These acidic substances are produced by the pollutants on the earth that are airborne. These acidic precipitates will pour down as water droplets along with normal rain water whose pH lie between 5.0 and 5.6 creating hazardous effects on the living organisms of earth. HISTORY The cause of acid rain is mainly due to industrial pollutants. Acid rain was first reported during the Industrial Revolution in England in 1852.A Scottish chemist by name Robert Angus Smith discovered the same. [Briney A, 2001]However the term ‘Acid Rain’ was coined in the year 1972 by the scientist in his book,†Air and Rain: The Beginnings of Chemical Climatology â€Å".Awareness towards acid rain started to increase rapidly among people from then on. In today’s date even a small kid is taught about acid rain and made to understand the importance of preserving the environment from pollution. ACID RAIN FORMATION Air is polluted by both natural and artificial sources. The major contributors of acid rain are the oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen. These oxides released through pollutants settle in the atmosphere. They then combine with the moisture in the atmosphere to form acid rain. The acid rain thus collected in the cloud gets released along with the raindrops of normal water thereby forming acid rain [J.N.B Bell, 1981] .The rain water that pours down will obviously contain the most harmful sulphuric acid and nitric acid. The effects created by this acid rain unimaginable. They just burn the living being alive in seconds creating a permanent destruction to the earth. CAUSES As seen earlier, the major con... ...hould take care that we do not become the root cause for the day on which the whole world will get drenched in acid rain. Nature is precious. Every individual must realize this fact and start their action to create a green and clean environment in future, as always prevention is better than cure! Works Cited Briney A, The Causes, History and Effects of Acid Rain, 2001 J.N.B Bell, An update on acid rain: A UK Viewpoint, 1981 Lane C A, Acid Rain –Overview and Abstracts, 2003 Epa, Available at, http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html, Accessed on 13th August 2010 Wolosz T, Effects of Acid Rain, SUNY Plattsburgh States College, New York, 2005 Trotman G, Acid rain – A review of the phenomenon in the EEC & Europe, 1983 Kneese A, Measuring the benefits of clean air and water, 1984 BrimbleCombe P, Acid Rain –Deposition to Recovery, 2007

Napoleon Bonaparte Essay -- European History Corsica Essays

Napoleone Buonaparte Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name Napoleone Buonaparte. He was the second of eight children of Carlo and Letizia Buonaperte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. Before Napoleone, no Buonaparte had ever been a professional soldier. His father Carlo, was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French occupied the island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and a judge and entered the French aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence, Napoleone was educated at the expense of King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleone graduated in 1785, at the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant. After the revolution began in France, he became a lieutenant colonel (1791) in the Corsican National Guard. However, when Corsica declared independence in 1793, Buonaperte, a Republican, and a French patriot, fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as captain, to an army besieging Toulon, a naval base that was aided by a British fleet, while in revolt against the republic. It was here that Napoleone Buonaperte officially changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte, feeling that it looked "more French". It was here too that Napoleon replaced a wounded artillery general, and seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from the harbor, and Toulon fell. As a result of his accomplishments, Bonapatre was promoted to brigadier general at the age of 24. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing an insurgent mob in Paris. Then in 1796 he married Josephine de Beauharnais, the mother of two children and the widow of an aristocrat guillotined in the Revolution. Early in his life Napoleon was showing signs of militaristic geniuses and knowledge for formidable strategy. It was through the application of his skills, and a revolutionary style of spontaneous fighting styles than gave Napoleon the opportunities, which he jumped at, making his the great military leader he is known as today. Latter in1796, Napoleon became commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, each at impossible odds, and forced Austria and it's allies to make peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio provided that France keep most of its conquests. In northern Italy he f... ...ropean countries. Napoleon was a driven man, never secure, never satisfied. "Power is my mistress" (VI pg. 176), he said. His life was work-centered; even his social activities had a purpose. He could bear amusements or vacations only briefly. His tastes were for coarse food, bad wine, and for cheap tobacco. He could be hypnotically charming for a needed purpose of course. He had intense loyalties to his family and old associates. Even so, nothing or nobody, were allowed to interfere with his work. Napoleon was sometimes a tyrant and always an authorian. But one who believed, however in ruling by mandate of the people, expressed on plebiscites. He was also a great enlightened monarch-a civil executive of enormous capacity who changed French institutions and tried to reform the intuitions of Europe and give the Continent a common law. Few historians deny that he was a military genius. At St. Helena, he said "Waterloo will erase the memory of all my victories." (VII pg.345) he was wrong; for better or worse, he is best remembered as a general, not for his enlightened government, but surely the latter must be counted if he is justly to be called "Napoleon the Great".

Affect of Culture and Religion on Curriculum Essay

It has been observed that the teenage period of a child has been given the most important position in the life of a human being. During this age, children go across various notions of life, and concepts and ideas are matured up by them, which is used and implement by them during their lives. Therefore, growth period of a child has to be provided with good quality and matured curriculum according to his/her age. In this regard, schools play an important and crucial role in the provision of a platform that can allow, as well as, encourage the intellectual, physical, as well as, spiritual growth of the children. In formal schooling, a set of courses, as well as, its related content has been referred as a curriculum, which is provided and utilized during the study at almost every school, college, and university around the world. Curriculum consists of a number of experiences, stories, and accounts of deeds that can guide the students to understand the basic and important phases of their lives. In this respect, designing of the curriculum should be given due importance, as they can nurture and cherish human lives, as well as, deteriorate the thinking power and understanding of the humans. (Taylor, 1999, p. 171). In this regard, a number of researches have been carried out by the professionals and experts that have put light on the importance of the curriculum. Different experts have described curriculum in diverse perceptions. Some have deemed it as a social engineering arena, whereas, unintentional and undirected experiences for the cultivation of a successful adult society are some of the definitions of the curriculum. (Philip, 1993, pp. 10-12) Different and various bodies have been formed for the determination of the curriculum in different countries around the world. An external or an authoritative body can perform the role of partial, as well as, entire determination of a curriculum. For instance, the National Curriculum for England has been established in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the curriculum that is provided to the students is established by school districts individually according to the regulations of their states and requirements of their students. However, the United States Department of Education plays an important parental role for the provision of guidelines that are important and necessary for the designing of curriculum. (Allport, 1979, pp. 23-29) As earlier mentioned in the paper, curriculum plays an important role in the nurturing of a human life. Thus, the designing of the curriculum to be taught at schools, colleges, and universities cannot be ignored at all. In this regard, a number of factors are responsible for the formulation of the school curriculum. In this paper, we will try to identify, define, and evaluate some of the cultural, as well as, religious factors that influence the designing of the curricula at various schools around the world. As all cultures are quite different from one another, different and diverse understanding is provided by every culture in different perceptions. A person’s culture is rooted in quite a lot of things as mentioned earlier; language, history, geography, religion, and race. The abovementioned things play a different part in cultures, and affect reasoning in a variety of ways and areas. Religion influences nearly everything in our daily lives: from the architecture of buildings, the food we eat, and the books we read, to the rituals of marriage and death, and the customs of courtroom and government. It has been observed that for thousands of years, religion has shaped the beliefs, moral codes, national identities of millions of people, and now it should help define other cultures in the classrooms. Every thing in life has been affected as greatly by other cultures, because of the environment and culture, which developed dwellings with three-dimensional right angles. Although there are many interpretations of what defines a religion, the Oxford Dictionary describes it as the trust in and devotion of a Herculean controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, or a particular system of faith and worship, and a pursuit or interest followed with devotion. All religions, no matter who believes in them or where they originated, are convinced that they are the primary source of all correct thought and righteous action. It is widely known that, no matter who is preaching to you, they are telling you that what they believe is the truth. The fact is that all religions began as word of mouth or a generalized belief. These have been put into writing, rewritten, translated, outdated and rewritten once again. It is not likely that everything in such scriptures should be taken as the absolute truth, with no room for compromise or alternative (Taylor, 1999, p. 184). Different countries have been established on different and diverse concepts and ideologies. For instance, Christianity can be the religion of a country in the American continent, whereas, another country would have been established on the bases of Islamic thoughts and teachings. Thus, a student in the United States would have been taught by a curriculum that has been formulated on the teachings of Bible, whereas, another student in an Islamic country would be provided with a curriculum based on the teachings of Quran. However, it has been observed and noted by almost every study and researcher that every religion has given the same teachings on this earth, but only the perceptions have been different due to the different modes of revelations of the sacred teachings. In this regard, different students around the world acquire the same knowledge and concepts, but in a number of variety of perceptions. In this regard, different people may act or react in different ways, which has been due to the diverse awareness by various curricula globally. In this aspect, a field of curriculum studies has been formed for the identification, as well as, evaluation of different issues and factors that are interrelated with each other, and that play a crucial and important role in influencing the components of the curriculum. It has been observed that educational programs are influenced by cultural factors also, and different and diverse influences have been observed in different countries, as every country has its different culture, norms and values, etc. A culture of a person can be known even in minutes of first sight of a person. For instance, a person with a different culture can be known by the clothing, jewelry, body language, as well as, hairstyle. Secondly, speech and unfamiliar beliefs can provide a deep understanding of the culture that is portrayed by every human being in different parts of the world. All these distinctiveness are denotative of culture – exemplar of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share. A people’s culture subsume of their beliefs, values, norms, language, style of dress, ways of cooking food, religion, jewelry, that are passed from one generation to the another. In this regard, it can be observed that curriculum is influenced greatly by the involvement of different people from different cultures around the world. (Smart, 1995, pp. 19-23) Each country has its own culture. For example, the popular culture in China has a big difference from the United States. The United States is a country full of immigrants. New York City is the capital of the world. No matter where we go, we can see people in all kinds of skin color. People came to this land to find their new life, establish families here, generation by generation. Unlike old days in China, when we saw a foreigner walk on the street, everybody will look at him. Because they are travelers, and we do not see them that often, better take a good look at them before they are gone. In the U. S, it is different; People never get excited when they see another person from different society, because we are so into a large global society. China and United States of America shares a number of cultural differences between each other, such as food, climate, religion, population, school and greeting. It has been believed by a number of people that food is very important to their culture when immigration is performed from one country to another. It has been an observation that people always try to keep their customs, norms and values in their lives. (Zhang, 2007, pp. 55-60) For instance, if an Asian person is immigrated to an American country, he/she may try to incorporate his/her practices, concepts, and habits in the American environment, which may sometimes be incompetent and not acceptable in the society. (Allport, 1979, pp. 51-55) In another example, if an educator emigrates from an Australian country to an Asian country, he may try to integrate Australian practices in the Asian curricula, which may not be appreciated or encouraged. Food is an important part of daily life for Chinese people. Chinese, not only enjoy eating, but also believe eating good food can bring harmony and closeness to the family and relationships. Chinese used to have their dinner together with all the family members, sitting around a table. China’s regional differences create problems for a definition of Chinese food. The westerner always thinks of rice. But a third of china’s people are living in north and west are tend to eat wheat and maize, and Sweet Corn in Middle, Northern, Western China. There are so many traditional and special Chinese foods, according to the folk culture, district, religion, and festival. For example, Chinese New Year, most Chinese families will eat dumplings and rice cake at midnight to cerebrate a new year. Thus, the abovementioned factors play an important role in the designing of curricula of a particular country. For instance, nodding in the vertical direction represents an affirmation in a symbolic manner. On the other hand, disapproval is represented by the nodding in the vertical direction in another country. Thus, it may sometime create confusion in people from different countries. Therefore, a curriculum should be based on the universal beliefs and a universal culture should be considered during the designing of curriculum in different parts of the world. It has been observed that a person from an Asian country would present the teachings according to his beliefs, culture, and language. On the other hand, the same teaching and lesson would be represented in other form and different perception would be represented by a person from Australian continent. Thus, different curricula are affected and influenced by a number of significant factors that are dominant in their lives. (Carrette, 1999, pp. 82-83) As earlier mentioned in the paper, different cultures, norms and values have been observed in different parts of the world. In some countries, it is a common habit that believes is advertised in virtually everything. Cars are decorated with bumper stickers, clothes with quotes, and houses with lawn decoration, etc. These habits influence the curriculum also. In some curricula, it has been observed that the abovementioned habits are portrayed through pictures and interactive activities, in order to present a realistic view of the environment of that particular country. (McGrath, 1999, pp. 77-79) For instance, curriculum of the United States may portray high scrapers and busy streets in their books. On the other hand, an African country may sketch deserts and jungles in their curriculum books, in order to present a realistic picture of the environment that their children experience in their daily lives. In this regard, the physical features of a place influence the culture and ways of living of the people, which can be seen in the curricula of that particular place easily. The abovementioned are some of the ways that religion affects the curriculum, as well as, our lives. Many people’s daily routines change because of what they believe. For example, a person goes to church every Sunday, and make sure that nothing is scheduled over top of that. (Carrette, 1999, pp. 101-103) This is one way, a curriculum can teach a child to go to the Church every Sunday. On the other hand, curriculum of an Islamic country may teach the students to pray five times a day, which is quite different from the already mentioned curriculum. However, both the curricula have provided the religious teaching to pray to God. In this way, religion do influences the style of the curriculum. However, it would be wrong to say that these factors influence the basic meaning and principles of the society. (John B. , 1940, pp. 43-45) In Buddhism, the only way that a person is guaranteed to get to Nirvana, is by giving up their lives in the name of Buddha, or for their religion. Christians change their lives to please their Creator. In the Bible, it states that ‘in everything you do, do it as unto the Lord’. This affects someone from driving a car, doing chores. With all of the trouble in our world today, it is disconcerting to know that religion is a contributing factor, and thus, these concepts affect the designing of the curriculum in almost every part of the world. In addition, one can say that culture is more significant than its distinct seeable characteristics. In this regard, if one extends this to the inner self of an individual person, such as to member within a certain society, further to the all community, possibly he or she can be able to find some answers by determining how he or she is affected by culture. In fact, thorough out the human history, culture represents a whole community. However, in order to evaluate how culture changes one’s inner values and beliefs, he or she has to define some common beliefs, just like clothing that has some features that help distinguish its cultural background. People having the same cultural background, in general, are likely to behave in a similar way, because their education and religion background have also cultural elements. In this way, the culture, as well as, the religion of a place influences the formulation of basic elements that have to be included in the curricula of the schools around the world. In some countries, a person may not be allowed to dress unethically or very casually, especially the girls in eastern countries. On the other hand, western countries may not have any problem in casual dressing by the girls. Thus, you may not find a curriculum made by an eastern authoritative body with girls wearing casual dressing, and not covering their body in strict manner. However, the curricula of the English or American schools may have pictures of girls in jeans or t-shirts, which may not be accepted in the eastern world. Thus, this has shown that the culture of a country plays a very important and crucial role in the development of set of courses to be taught at formal schools. (Ernile, 1995, pp. 20-22) Needs of an individual should be met, and good teaching can be provided to the students by a set of courses, which can then be preferred as a well-designed curriculum. Instructions that are given in the curriculum are implemented and taught by an implementer, that is, a teacher. In this regard, the set of courses that are formulated by the curriculum designers should be included with a teaching guide that may instruct and teach the teachers according to their cultural norms and values, as well as, religious principles. (Mader, 1993, pp. 65-66) It has been observed that success of a student is greatly influenced by the cultural background, as well as, socioeconomic status of a child. Thus, process of curriculum designing is affected significantly by the cultural characteristics of a place. However, American schools have the largest number of cultural variations in their classes due to masses of immigrated people in the United States. Thus, it has become very difficult for the American curriculum designers to incorporate the characteristics of different cultures into one curriculum. One of the reasons of this difficulty is that sometimes, cultures diversify each other, and that results in the opposition with each other. In the last decades, cultural and ethnically diversification has been observed in the United States, and cultural diversity has become one of the most important factors to be integrated in their curricula. (Mader, 1993, pp. 60-61) In the result, continuity and diversity is the outcome of the cultural factor that has influenced the planning of the curriculum in a significant manner. In particular, curriculum of every country has been influenced by a number of cultural and diversity factors, such as, language, religion, socioeconomic status, race, physical characteristics, etc. In addition, social values, issues, and norms are some other factors that also influence the designing and planning of the curriculum to be taught at different schools around the world. As earlier mentioned in the paper, social issues and values are different and varied in different parts of the world. In the result, diversity in different parts of a group of people can be accommodated by this variation in the students. For instance, a country may have some specific goals regarding the education, which may be different from the United States. (Ernile, 1995, pp. 33-34) Thus, beliefs and freedoms that are provided to the human lives in different parts of the world play an important role in the designing of the curriculum, which has already been discussed in the paper. For instance, sex, drug education and related programs and seminars are incorporated in the curricula of American schools. However, this kind of programs and teachings are not encouraged in the eastern schools at all, and deemed as unethical for the students. Thus, the curricula of the American schools may be planned with quite free hand and freedom, and on the other hand, the eastern curricula may be designed with more short hand and less freedom in this aspect. Thus, a number of factors influence the designing and planning of the curricula to be taught at schools in different parts of the world. These factors may be cultural, social, economical, psychological, and even spiritual in their nature. In this paper, we have tried to define, evaluate, and discuss religious and cultural factors that influence the designing and planning of the school curricula around the world. It is hoped that this paper will help the professionals, educators, and students in understanding the role of abovementioned factors in the planning of the curriculum that is one of the basic pillars of the human society. References Allport, G. (1979) The Nature of Prejudice. Massachusetts: Adison Wesley Carrette, J. (1999) Religion and Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Durkheim, Ernile. (1995) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press. Hefner, Philip. (1993) The Human Factor, Evolution, Culture, and Religion. Minneapolis: Fortress. Holt, John. B. (1940) Holiness Religion: Cultural Shock and Social Organizations. American Sociological Review Vol. 5, no 3. Mader, T. E. (1993) Understanding One Another. Madison, Wisconsin: Brown & Benchmark Publishers. McGrath A. E. (1999). Science & Religion: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Smart, N. (1995) Worldviews: Cross-cultural Explorations of Human Beliefs. London: Prentice-Hall Taylor, S. (1999). Sociology Issues and Debates. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. Zhang, N. (2007). The Basic Features of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Cover feature: china today. World Literature Today.

Congressional Oversight Essays

Congressional Oversight Essays Congressional Oversight Essay Congressional Oversight Essay 1. Congressional oversight  refers to oversight by the  United States Congress  of the  Executive Branch, including the numerous  U. S. federal agencies. Congressional oversight refers to the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation. Congress exercises this power largely through its  congressional committee  system. However, oversight, which dates to the earliest days of the Republic, also occurs in a wide variety of congressional activities and contexts. These include authorization, appropriations, investigative, and  legislative hearings  by standing committees; specialized investigations by select committees; and reviews and studies by congressional support agencies and staff. A  filibuster  is a type of  parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal. It is commonly referred to as  talking out a bill,  and characterized as a form of obstruction in a  legislature  or other decision-making body. 2. Advantages of Incumbency Advertising Credit claiming Position taking Weak opponents Difficult to defeat Stability and change Most incumbents get to stay in office 3. 1. PAC’s, Lobbyist, Electioneers. 2. The money is used to fund the campaign and for publicity. 3. 4. The system of checks and balances is an important part of the Constitution. With checks and balances, each of the three branches of government can limit the powers of the others. This way, no one branch becomes too powerful. Each branch â€Å"checks† the power of the other branches to make sure that the power is balanced between them.

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange Free Online Research Papers In A Clockwork Orange, a young fifteen year old droog named Alex is a thug on the streets. He and his fellow droogs Pete, Dim, and Georgie do every single horrendous thing possible: raping innocent women, breaking into houses, picking on men that were simply minding their own business, stealing cars, spending stolen money on drinks for women, getting into violent fights, and more. After a whole mist of chaos, his three droogs betray him and Alex is sent to prison for fourteen years. In the prison, Alex meets a chaplain and the chaplain allows him to read the Bible and listen to classical music, for Alex loved classical music before he went to prison. When he was in prison, he was intrigued with the Bible simply because of all of the drinking, sex, and violence that was told in it. After murdering another prisoner in the cell, Alex is â€Å"the first candidate for the Ludovico’s Technique.† The Ludovico’s Technique is a brainwashing system that was designed to make stubborn prisoners becomes harmless. After two years, Alex is released from prison since he has already transformed from a vicious thug to a helpless young man. He also realizes that he is defenseless because Dim and his enemy from the past, Billyboy, are now policemen and take every chance to attack him since he cannot do anything back to them. Finally, the novel ends when the government turns him back into the person he was before because a man named F. Alexander gets the word out that the government used the Ludovico’s Technique on him. He forms a new gang but after finding Pete again and finding out that Pete has led a â€Å"normal† life (which includes being married), Alex realizes that is all he wants to do now is have a so called â€Å"normal† life with a family, regular job, and what he calls a â€Å"grown-up goloss.† This book, as we know, is mainly about a fifteen year old boy named Alex. Alex is the leader of his gang that includes Dim, Georgie, and Pete. At night, they feel that they rule the streets. This is evident because most of the incidents, if not all, take place in the night, such as the raping of F. Alexander’s wife while holding her husband down to watch, the ripping of the manuscript A Clockwork Orange by F. Alexander (though we do not know that that is his name at the time of the ripping of the manuscript), stealing cars, drinking milk laced with other drugs at the Korova Milkbar, and as Alex would say, â€Å"all that cal.† This may also demonstrate that Alex feels a high sense of security during the nighttime rather than the daytime since most of the incidents, if not all, happen at night. Alex seems to be programmed to rob people and rape women, since he does it so automatically. At one point in this novel, Alex rapes two ten year old girls who always cut school, listen to pop music, and in my opinion, are truly naà ¯ve. I think that the girls are naà ¯ve because they believe that Alex is only taking them to go eat and have them listen to music: â€Å"‘What you got back home, little sisters, to play your fuzzy warbles on?’ Because I could viddy the discs they were buying were these teeny pop veshches. ‘I bet you got little save tiny portable like picnic spinners.’ And they sort of pushed their lower lips out at that. ‘Come with uncle,’ I said, ‘and hear all proper. Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited.’ And I liked bowed. They giggled again and one said: ‘Oh, but we’re so hungry. Oh, but we could so eat.’ The other said: ‘Yah, she can say that, can’t she just.’ So I said: ‘Eat with uncle. Name your place.’† Later on, they STILL do not seem to get the fact that Alex may do something bad to them such as, oh, I would guess, RAPE them: â€Å"‘Righty right, Marty and Sonietta. Time for the big spin. Come.’ When we were outside on the cold street they thought they would not go by autobus, oh no, but by taxi, so I gave them the humour, though with a real horrorshow in-grin, and I called a taxi from the rank near Center. The driver, a starry whiskery veck in very stained platties, said: ‘No tearing up, now. No nonsense with them seats. Just re-upholstered they are.’ I quieted his gloopy fears and off we spun to Municipal Flatblock 18A, these two bold little ptitsas giggling and whispering†¦ Then I pulled the lovely Ninth out of its sleeve, so that Ludwig van was now nagoy too, and I set the needle hissing on to the last movement, which was all bliss. There it was then, the bass strings like govoreeting away from under my bed at the rest of the orchestra, and then the male human goloss coming in and telling them all to be joyful, and then the lovely blissful tune all about Joy being a glorious spark of heaven, and then I felt the old tigers leap in me and then I leapt on these two young ptitsas. This time they thought nothing fun and stopped creeching with high mirth, and had to submit to the strange and weird desires of Alexander the Large which, what with the Ninth and the hypo jab, were choodnessny and zammechat and very demanding, O my brothers. But they were both very very drunken and could hardly feel very much. The way Alex is with raping women and other crimes is almost as if it were like weed to an addict: You feel the urge to have it even if the urge is not really there. I believe this is so because what Alex does is so automatic: at night, he meets up with his friends, they all go to the Korova Milkbar, get drugged up, and then they run around doing crazy things. Though Alex does all of these thuggish things, surprisingly, I found out that Alex enjoyed classical music. However, I believe that the classical music is symbolic in the way that the bits in the story that talked about classical music were arranged just like music. For example, at one point, when he is trying to pick out a record to listen to, he repeats over and over again, â€Å"What’s it going to be then, eh?† with different â€Å"stanzas† in between. When reading this, I recalled playing a Rondo by Beethoven when I was younger. It followed that sort of pattern, A B A C A B A. Also, the classical music may be some sort of a trance for Alex because whenever he did something gruesome, he would have classical music on, such as the part where he is about to attempt to commit suicide: â€Å"It was a symphony that I knew real horrorshow but had not slooshied for many a year, namely the Symphony Number Three of the Danish veck Otto Skadelig, a very gromky and violent piece, especially in the first movement, which was playing now†¦The music was still pouring in all brass and drums and the violins miles up through the wall. The window in the room where I had laid down was open. I ittied to it and viddied a fair drop to the autos and buses and walking chellovecks bellow. I creeched out to the word: ‘Goodbye, goodbye, may Bog forgive you for a ruined life.’ Then I got on to the sill, the music blasting away to my left, and I shut my glazzies and felt the cold wind on my litso, then I jumped.† Also, when he is raping Marty and Sonietta, he puts on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: Then I pulled the lovely Ninth out of its sleeve, so that Ludwig van was now nagoy too, and I set the needle hissing on to the last movement, which was all bliss. There it was then, the bass strings like govoreeting away from under my bed at the rest of the orchestra, and then the male human goloss coming in and telling them all to be joyful, and then the lovely blissful tune all about Joy being a glorious spark of heaven, and then I felt the old tigers leap in me and then I leapt on these two young ptitsas. This time they thought nothing fun and stopped creeching with high mirth, and had to submit to the strange and weird desires of Alexander the Large which, what with the Ninth and the hypo jab, were choodnessny and zammechat and very demanding, O my brothers. But they were both very very drunken and could hardly feel very much. From analyzing the Classical Music in A Clockwork Orange, I learnt that the one thing that you love most can be turned against you. Of course, I knew that before, but while reading A Clockwork Orange for the second or third time, I realized that since Alex loved classical music so much, when the doctors were experimenting Ludovico’s Technique on him, they injected medicine into him that made him nauseous, made him listen to classical music, and watch violent films. I believe that this may be a form of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or for short, NLP. Basically, the doctors associated violent films and classical music with the nauseous feelings such as vomiting, migraines, and â€Å"all that cal.† According to the book, the Ludovico’s Technique was an experiment from the government that wanted to try this new formula. Since they released Alex after he served prison time for only two years and they did not call him back, this signifies that the experiment was a success. Also, Alex was completely defenseless when he came out of Ludovico’s Technique process. Through all of this, I am sure that the government is simply trying to find ways to control people no matter what the stakes are and that is the true reality of the world. In my opinion, this is very sad because the United States of America is a Union. Though this story takes place in London, to do this would be tyrannical and that would be such a shame. Another main character in this novel is the second droog named Pete, a friend of Alex’s. Though we learn at the end of the book that Pete is a couple of years older than Alex, I find it queer that Alex would be the leader of the gang. Perhaps Alex had more of the leadership type and I do think that Pete was the only one that was loyal to Alex, probably because they had been such great friends, though there are no examples that can be quoted from the text. However, it is apparent that Pete and Alex were closer friends than the others. I think that Peter was the only loyal friend because the other two droogs bailed out on Alex and it was because of them in the first place that actually got Alex into jail. Dim may have been the one to put Alex in jail, but I think that it was actually almost all Georgie’s fault: â€Å"’Away,’ I creeched to Dim. ‘The rozzes are coming.’ Dim said: ‘You stay to meet them huh huh huh,’ and then I viddied that he had his oozy out, and then he upped with it and it snaked whishhhhh and he chained me gentle and artistic like on the glazlids, me just closing them up in time. Then I was howling around trying to viddy with this howling great pain, and Dim said: ‘I don’t like you should do what you done, old droogy. Not right it wasn’t to get on to me like the way you done, brat.’† Now that is some serious backstabbing. However, the reader must remember that Dim is not his real name and though we do not know his real name, we can safely assume that his name is what he is because later on in the story when Alex is released from jail, Dim is â€Å"friends† with who used to be their enemy, Billyboy since they are both police officers. Now, as I thought for a moment, what are the chances of an enemy being friends with an enemy from before, and for what reasons would they do such a thing? My guess was that either both Dim and Billyboy were both motivated to kill Alex, or Billyboy saw how dim Dim was and was tempted to use him. Well, in the beginning of this novel, Alex says: There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, Dim being really dim†¦ So therefore, we already know that Dim really is dim, so the better answer of the two, at least with my logic, is that Dim was only â€Å"friends† with Billyboy because Billyboy could use him. Therefore, if Billyboy could be so possessive of Dim and they used to be arch enemies, would it not be easier for Georgie to possess Dim, since they were already friends? I believe that Georgie took control over Dim and made him hit Alex with his chain because Georgie knew that Dim would take orders from him. Perhaps Georgie had brainwashed Dim in some way to make him go against Alex; I do no know. Also, that may be one factor but I also think that maybe Alex might have bossed them around a lot and had air that he was their gang leader. This is only a guess; however, I think there had to be some kind of reason that they would do such a thing as to turn in their own fellow droog to the police. That is why I think that Pete is the only loyal one in the group. Even after Alex ha s his brainwashing reversed, when Alex finds Pete, Pete does not turn him away and instead, he introduces Alex to â€Å"the better side of life†: a clean, gangster-free life with a wife, near-perfect speech (in the days where they were always on the streets, they spoke Nadsat), and a steady job. It is Pete that inspires Alex to take what most people would think as â€Å"the right path.† Before, I did not know what Nadsat was until I did some deeper research. I noticed that there were many words that I did not know in A Clockwork Orange. Therefore, I did a search for â€Å"A Clockwork Orange Speech† and found out that the language that they were speaking was called Nadsat which is basically a combination of English, transliterated Russian, and Cockney English. Nadsat was invented by the author of A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess. Though I am not entirely sure, I believe that Jesus Christ may be symbolic in this story just because when Alex attempted suicide by throwing himself out the window, this may have been an act of sacrifice for the government’s wrongdoings. F. Alexander was trying to get Alex to kill himself by playing classical music full blast because at this time, the brainwashing was still intact. If Alex killed himself, F. Alexander could blame the government because they â€Å"drove him to insanity† by performing Ludovico’s Technique. Therefore, if Alex threw himself out and died, it would be like sacrificing himself to reveal the terrible, terrible government. I also think that the milk is symbolic. Whenever I think of milk, I think of cookies and the phrase â€Å"cookies and milk† seems somewhat childish because it would seem like the type of snack that children would have after school. Therefore, the milk may represent how young Alex and his droogs really are. However, in the milk are other drugs to â€Å"spike† the milk and when I think of drugs, I think of â€Å"adolescent† or â€Å"young adult† which may signify that though they are young, they still have the lives of adolescents. At one point, a peculiar thought came across my mind: In Nadsat, the word â€Å"God† becomes â€Å"Bog.† In British slang, â€Å"bogs† mean the bathroom. I am not sure if this would make any sense at all, but would this be pushing God farther down in any way? There is one part of the book that is unclear to me. Though this is supposed to take place in â€Å"Anthony Burgess’s nightmare vision of the future,† in the story, there is a part that says, â€Å"We haven’t a telephone.† How is that possible when even today, not finding a telephone in the house is uncommon? Overall, I believe that this book was very thrilling and great, yet terrible and horrific at the same time. The stories that Burgesses tells about Alex’s life and the brainwashing are awful and truth be told, I had to do all of my book report in the period between the morning and the evening; never at nightIn this book, a young fifteen year old droog named Alex is a thug on the streets. He and his fellow droogs Pete, Dim, and Georgie do every single horrendous thing possible: raping innocent women, breaking into houses, picking on men that were simply minding their own business, stealing cars, spending stolen money on drinks for women, getting into violent fights, and more. After a whole mist of chaos, his three droogs betray him and Alex is sent to prison for fourteen years. In the prison, Alex meets a chaplain and the chaplain allows him to read the Bible and listen to classical music, for Alex loved classical music before he went to prison. When he was in prison, he was intrigued with the Bible simply because of all of the drinking, sex, and violence that was told in it. After murdering another prisoner in the cell, Alex is â€Å"the first candidate for the Ludovico’s Technique.† The Ludovico’s Technique is a brainwashing system that was designed to make stubborn prisoners becomes harmless. After two years, Alex is released from prison since he has already transformed from a vicious thug to a helpless young man. He also realizes that he is defenseless because Dim and his enemy from the past, Billyboy, are now policemen and take every chance to attack him since he cannot do anything back to them. Finally, the novel ends when the government turns him back into the person he was before because a man named F. Alexander gets the word out that the government used the Ludovico’s Technique on him. He forms a new gang but after finding Pete again and finding out that Pete has led a â€Å"normal† life (which includes being married), Alex realizes that is all he wants to do now is have a so called â€Å"normal† life with a family, regular job, and what he calls a â€Å"grown-up goloss.† This book, as we know, is mainly about a fifteen year old boy named Alex. Alex is the leader of his gang that includes Dim, Georgie, and Pete. At night, they feel that they rule the streets. This is evident because most of the incidents, if not all, take place in the night, such as the raping of F. Alexander’s wife while holding her husband down to watch, the ripping of the manuscript A Clockwork Orange by F. Alexander (though we do not know that that is his name at the time of the ripping of the manuscript), stealing cars, drinking milk laced with other drugs at the Korova Milkbar, and as Alex would say, â€Å"all that cal.† This may also demonstrate that Alex feels a high sense of security during the nighttime rather than the daytime since most of the incidents, if not all, happen at night. Alex seems to be programmed to rob people and rape women, since he does it so automatically. At one point in this novel, Alex rapes two ten year old girls who always cut school, listen to pop music, and in my opinion, are truly naà ¯ve. I think that the girls are naà ¯ve because they believe that Alex is only taking them to go eat and have them listen to music: â€Å"‘What you got back home, little sisters, to play your fuzzy warbles on?’ Because I could viddy the discs they were buying were these teeny pop veshches. ‘I bet you got little save tiny portable like picnic spinners.’ And they sort of pushed their lower lips out at that. ‘Come with uncle,’ I said, ‘and hear all proper. Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited.’ And I liked bowed. They giggled again and one said: ‘Oh, but we’re so hungry. Oh, but we could so eat.’ The other said: ‘Yah, she can say that, can’t she just.’ So I said: ‘Eat with uncle. Name your place.’† Later on, they STILL do not seem to get the fact that Alex may do something bad to them such as, oh, I would guess, RAPE them: â€Å"‘Righty right, Marty and Sonietta. Time for the big spin. Come.’ When we were outside on the cold street they thought they would not go by autobus, oh no, but by taxi, so I gave them the humour, though with a real horrorshow in-grin, and I called a taxi from the rank near Center. The driver, a starry whiskery veck in very stained platties, said: ‘No tearing up, now. No nonsense with them seats. Just re-upholstered they are.’ I quieted his gloopy fears and off we spun to Municipal Flatblock 18A, these two bold little ptitsas giggling and whispering†¦ Then I pulled the lovely Ninth out of its sleeve, so that Ludwig van was now nagoy too, and I set the needle hissing on to the last movement, which was all bliss. There it was then, the bass strings like govoreeting away from under my bed at the rest of the orchestra, and then the male human goloss coming in and telling them all to be joyful, and then the lovely blissful tune all about Joy being a glorious spark of heaven, and then I felt the old tigers leap in me and then I leapt on these two young ptitsas. This time they thought nothing fun and stopped creeching with high mirth, and had to submit to the strange and weird desires of Alexander the Large which, what with the Ninth and the hypo jab, were choodnessny and zammechat and very demanding, O my brothers. But they were both very very drunken and could hardly feel very much. The way Alex is with raping women and other crimes is almost as if it were like weed to an addict: You feel the urge to have it even if the urge is not really there. I believe this is so because what Alex does is so automatic: at night, he meets up with his friends, they all go to the Korova Milkbar, get drugged up, and then they run around doing crazy things. Though Alex does all of these thuggish things, surprisingly, I found out that Alex enjoyed classical music. However, I believe that the classical music is symbolic in the way that the bits in the story that talked about classical music were arranged just like music. For example, at one point, when he is trying to pick out a record to listen to, he repeats over and over again, â€Å"What’s it going to be then, eh?† with different â€Å"stanzas† in between. When reading this, I recalled playing a Rondo by Beethoven when I was younger. It followed that sort of pattern, A B A C A B A. Also, the classical music may be some sort of a trance for Alex because whenever he did something gruesome, he would have classical music on, such as the part where he is about to attempt to commit suicide: â€Å"It was a symphony that I knew real horrorshow but had not slooshied for many a year, namely the Symphony Number Three of the Danish veck Otto Skadelig, a very gromky and violent piece, especially in the first movement, which was playing now†¦The music was still pouring in all brass and drums and the violins miles up through the wall. The window in the room where I had laid down was open. I ittied to it and viddied a fair drop to the autos and buses and walking chellovecks bellow. I creeched out to the word: ‘Goodbye, goodbye, may Bog forgive you for a ruined life.’ Then I got on to the sill, the music blasting away to my left, and I shut my glazzies and felt the cold wind on my litso, then I jumped.† Also, when he is raping Marty and Sonietta, he puts on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: Then I pulled the lovely Ninth out of its sleeve, so that Ludwig van was now nagoy too, and I set the needle hissing on to the last movement, which was all bliss. There it was then, the bass strings like govoreeting away from under my bed at the rest of the orchestra, and then the male human goloss coming in and telling them all to be joyful, and then the lovely blissful tune all about Joy being a glorious spark of heaven, and then I felt the old tigers leap in me and then I leapt on these two young ptitsas. This time they thought nothing fun and stopped creeching with high mirth, and had to submit to the strange and weird desires of Alexander the Large which, what with the Ninth and the hypo jab, were choodnessny and zammechat and very demanding, O my brothers. But they were both very very drunken and could hardly feel very much. From analyzing the Classical Music in A Clockwork Orange, I learnt that the one thing that you love most can be turned against you. Of course, I knew that before, but while reading A Clockwork Orange for the second or third time, I realized that since Alex loved classical music so much, when the doctors were experimenting Ludovico’s Technique on him, they injected medicine into him that made him nauseous, made him listen to classical music, and watch violent films. I believe that this may be a form of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or for short, NLP. Basically, the doctors associated violent films and classical music with the nauseous feelings such as vomiting, migraines, and â€Å"all that cal.† According to the book, the Ludovico’s Technique was an experiment from the government that wanted to try this new formula. Since they released Alex after he served prison time for only two years and they did not call him back, this signifies that the experiment was a success. Also, Alex was completely defenseless when he came out of Ludovico’s Technique process. Through all of this, I am sure that the government is simply trying to find ways to control people no matter what the stakes are and that is the true reality of the world. In my opinion, this is very sad because the United States of America is a Union. Though this story takes place in London, to do this would be tyrannical and that would be such a shame. Another main character in this novel is the second droog named Pete, a friend of Alex’s. Though we learn at the end of the book that Pete is a couple of years older than Alex, one may find it queer that Alex would be the leader of the gang. Perhaps Alex had more of the leadership type and Pete was the only one that was loyal to Alex, probably because they had been such great friends, though there are no examples that can be quoted from the text. However, it is apparent that Pete and Alex were closer friends than the others. One may think that Peter was the only loyal friend because the other two droogs bailed out on Alex and it was because of them in the first place that actually got Alex into jail. Dim may have been the one to put Alex in jail, but one may think that it was actually almost all Georgie’s fault: â€Å"’Away,’ I creeched to Dim. ‘The rozzes are coming.’ Dim said: ‘You stay to meet them huh huh huh,’ and then I viddied that he had his oozy out, and then he upped with it and it snaked whishhhhh and he chained me gentle and artistic like on the glazlids, me just closing them up in time. Then I was howling around trying to viddy with this howling great pain, and Dim said: ‘I don’t like you should do what you done, old droogy. Not right it wasn’t to get on to me like the way you done, brat.’† Now that is some serious backstabbing. However, the reader must remember that Dim is not his real name and though we do not know his real name, we can safely assume that his name is what he is because later on in the story when Alex is released from jail, Dim is â€Å"friends† with who used to be their enemy, Billyboy since they are both police officers. Now, as I thought for a moment, what are the chances of an enemy being friends with an enemy from before, and for what reasons would they do such a thing? My guess was that either both Dim and Billyboy were both motivated to kill Alex, or Billyboy saw how dim Dim was and was tempted to use him. Well, in the beginning of this novel, Alex says: There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, Dim being really dim. So therefore, we already know that Dim really is dim, so the better answer of the two, at least with my logic, is that Dim was only â€Å"friends† with Billyboy because Billyboy could use him. Therefore, if Billyboy could be so possessive of Dim and they used to be arch enemies, would it not be easier for Georgie to possess Dim, since they were already friends? Georgie took control over Dim and made him hit Alex with his chain because Georgie knew that Dim would take orders from him. Perhaps Georgie had brainwashed Dim in some way to make him go against Alex. Also, that may be one factor but also, Alex might have bossed them around a lot and had air that he was their gang leader. This is only a guess; however, I think there had to be some kind of reason that they would do such a thing as to turn in their own fellow droog to the police. That is why Pete may be the only loyal one in the group. Even after Alex has his brainwashing reversed, when Alex finds Pete, Pete does not turn him away and instead, he introduces Alex to â€Å"the better side of life†: a clean, gangster-free life with a wife, near-perfect speech (in the days where they were always on the streets, they spoke Nadsat), and a steady job. It is Pete that inspires Alex to take what most people would think as â€Å"the right path.† The language that they were speaking was called Nadsat which is basically a combination of English, transliterated Russian, and Cockney English. Nadsat was invented by the author of A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess. Jesus Christ may be symbolic in this story just because when Alex attempted suicide by throwing himself out the window, this may have been an act of sacrifice for the government’s wrongdoings. F. Alexander was trying to get Alex to kill himself by playing classical music full blast because at this time, the brainwashing was still intact. If Alex killed himself, F. Alexander could blame the government because they â€Å"drove him to insanity† by performing Ludovico’s Technique. Therefore, if Alex threw himself out and died, it would be like sacrificing himself to reveal the terrible, terrible government. The milk is symbolic. Whenever a person thinks of milk, they think of cookies and the phrase â€Å"cookies and milk† seems somewhat childish because it would seem like the type of snack that children would have after school. Therefore, the milk may represent how young Alex and his droogs really are. However, in the milk are other drugs to â€Å"spike† the milk and when one thinks of drugs, he or she thinks of â€Å"adolescent† or â€Å"young adult† which may signify that though they are young, they still have the lives of adolescents. At one point, a peculiar thought came across my mind: In Nadsat, the word â€Å"God† becomes â€Å"Bog.† In British slang, â€Å"bogs† mean the bathroom. I am not sure if this would make any sense at all, but would this be pushing God farther down in any way? There is one part of the book that is unclear to me. Though this is supposed to take place in â€Å"Anthony Burgess’s nightmare vision of the future,† in the story, there is a part that says, â€Å"We haven’t a telephone.† How is that possible when even today, not finding a telephone in the house is uncommon? Research Papers on A Clockwork OrangeThe Fifth HorsemanHip-Hop is ArtThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseQuebec and CanadaComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenWhere Wild and West MeetBringing Democracy to Africa

Notes on Phillis Wheatley Essays

Notes on Phillis Wheatley Essays Notes on Phillis Wheatley Essay Notes on Phillis Wheatley Essay perhaps thus nudging the reader to a more critical view of slavery or at least a more positive view of those who are slaves. Sable as a self-description of her color is a very interesting choice of words. Sable is very of the next line. Diabolic die may also be a subtle reference to another side of the triangle trade which includes slaves. At about that same time, the Quaker leader John Woolman was boycotting dyes in order to protest slavery. In the second-to-last line, the word Christian is placed ambiguously. She may either be addressing her last sentence to Christians or she may be including Christians in those who may be refined and find salvation. She reminds her reader that Negroes may be saved. The implication of her last sentence is also this: the angelic train will include both white and black. In the last sentence, she uses the verb remember implying that the reader is already with her and Just needs the reminder to agree with her point. She uses the verb remember in the form of a direct command. While echoing Puritan preachers in using this style, Phillis Wheatley is also taking on the role of one who has the right to command: a teacher, a preacher, even perhaps a master or mistress. What can be said is that the poems of Phillis Wheatley display not only classical quality but restrained emotion as well. Many deal with the Christian sentiments she learned from her masters. Often times, Wheatley uses classical mythology and ancient history as allusions, including many references to the muses as inspiring her poetry in a clear imitation of the great authors that she had studied earlier in her life. She speaks to the white establishment, not to fellow slaves nor, really, for them. This is most likely why individuals feel she was a traitor to her race. The perception of Wheatleys work changed over time. In its prime it was found to be profound that the writings of a black woman could add toward the notions that blacks were ntellectually inferior and incapable of being as equally influential as their white counterparts being disapproved. However, as time progressed, blacks began to treat Wheatleys poems as works of treason against her own race, even going as far as to call her an Uncle Tom or sellout. What must be understood is that the time period in which Wheatley wrote and the time period in which man individuals read her works are drastically different. It is generally individuals of later generations who feel that Wheatley was a traitor to her race for speaking so highly of the whites who enslaved her. Their error is not looking into the reality of the situation. Yes, it is unfortunate that Wheatley was taken from her homeland and shipped thousands of miles on an overcrowded boat to a new nation which she knew nothing of. The exception is that this is probably the worst part of Phillis Wheatleys experience as a slave. She had the opportunity t be well educated, and it is clear that her owners cared well for her. There is no doubt that she was well fed and well dressed. The Wheatleys certainly were not going to have her appear and travel as a representation of them in an unkempt appearance. Phillis certainly knew that there was a cruel and unfair side of enslavemt but she didnt experience it and that was showcased in her poems. It seems almost unfair to blame her for writing her opinions on the experience in slavery that she had. Instead of criticizing Wheatleys poems individuals should Just take them for what they are and learning from them. Each time period is filled with authors who have different points of view and different subjects that are important to them as writers. Rather than viewing Wheatleys works as an act of treason they what it was like for slaved during that time period. It is most likely that Whetley was not the only slave who did not have the typical slave experience and was afforded opportunities rare for the masses. On Being Brought from Africa to America is one of Phillis Wheatleys most discussed pieces. Her points of view are profound and her experience is rare. This is almost more of a history piece than a poem because it allows insight on every aspect of the experience of slavery. Although all may not agree with her views, it cannot be removed that her intellect and abilities reached far beyond her years and gave her works the resilience to transcend generations.

Sustainable Development For Iraqi Oil And Gas Resources In the Light Dissertation

Sustainable Development For Iraqi Oil And Gas Resources In the Light of International Law - Dissertation Example 1.2. Background of the study Overview of the current situation in the Iraqi oil and gas industry From 1975 to 2003 the Iraq’s oil and gas industry has been entirely state-operated. Blanchard (2009) points out that during this time the infrastructure â€Å"suffered from the negative effects of war, international sanctions, a lack of investment and technology, and, in some cases, mismanagement† (p.1). After the collapse of Saddam’s Regime in 2003, new Iraqi government started to put plans to develop oil and gas industry as the sector critical for the national economy. The Iraqi Constitution states that oil and gas are exclusively owned by the Iraqi people in all regions, implying that the management of these resources is a federal responsibility. Nevertheless, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has opposed these and other related statements, interpreting the Federal Oil and Gas Law so that to pursue its own Regional Oil and Gas Law and policies (Al-adhadh 2008 : p.7). KRG claims: â€Å"Under the country’s constitution, oil and gas management is primarily a Regional right, and the main features of this Law are in line with Iraq’s draft oil law. †¦The Law not only affords the Kurdistan Region a clear and transparent legal structure for negotiations with investors; but it also benefits the rest of Iraq as, consistent with the constitution, the law requires the Kurdistan Region to share revenues from oil and gas development with the Federal Government in Baghdad† (Strategic Media n.d.: p.8). Such disagreement between national and regional interpretations of the Iraqi Oil and Gas Law entailed the current situation when, in spite of lengthy debates of economists and... This paper stresses that the need of new legal and policy guidelines for the sustainable development of the country’s petroleum resources is widely recognised among Iraqis, due to ongoing political debates the effective solution has not been found so far. The main reason is significant differences in the understanding of â€Å"the proper role and powers of federal and regional authorities in regulating oil and gas development; the terms and extent of potential foreign participation in the oil and gas sectors; and proposed formulas and mechanisms for equitably sharing oil and gas revenue†. Such differences are especially apparent in disagreements between the Iraq’s national government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. This study intends to answer a number of important questions, critical for the national economics of Iraq in terms of creating conditions for the effective management of Iraqi oil and gas industry in accordance to modern international policies of sustainable development. This report makes a conclusion that it is necessary to keep in mind that, in spite of economic growth is considered to be a powerful means of improvement of human well-being, economic development must be within the limits of what is ecologically sustainable. This is important because environment not only provides the resources for economic activity, but also ensures ecological conditions for life of humans. So, ecology is of the same great importance as economy. This study is focused on the unique current conditions in the Iraqi oil and gas industry and on the prospects for sustainable development in the production and end use of oil and gas in Iraq, with particular reference to Kurdistan region.

An analysis of the movie Somewhere between Essay

An analysis of the movie Somewhere between - Essay Example An analysis of the movie "Somewhere between" Jenni is 14 years old and she lives in Berkeley California. She was adopted at age five she speaks mandarin she knows she’s a stranger to either country. Jenna cook is 15 years old lives in Massachusetts, Newburyport. She is an over achiever and a top student at an academy in New Hampshire. Butler is 13 years old, she lives in Tennessee Nashville and she has the ambition to be the first Chinese person to play in the grand ‘ole opry’. Ann Boccuti is 14 years of age and she lives in Pennsylvania, Lansdale. The girls are highly articulate, personable and self-aware as they know they belong to two adversely different cultures. The young women allow the viewers to grasp the experience of coming of age in America as trans-racial adoptees. Through these young women experiences and their exploration the viewers are able to consider themselves as individuals and as a nation of immigrant. The films structure weaves back and forth between the girls individual threads making it hard for the viewers to distinct and separate their narratives. The characters also had confusing names, Jenni and Jenna this gives the audience a hard time to follow and distinguish the two characters. It would have helped if the director had established the individual girls more firmly before moving back and forth in their threads.The directors should ensure that the lighting is sufficient to reveal the characters’ faces. This makes the movie more real and revealing.

Foundations of Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foundations of Literature - Essay Example Neverthless, in order for a story to work it must have some basic elements. It must have a plot—or a narrative in which things happen and unfold. It must have characters—people and actors who do things and with whom the reader can relate. It must have a setting—in other words a place where the action happens. And it must have a point of view—a perspective from which the story unfolds. Without these things, the story would be of little interest to anyone. In order to develop the plot of a story, a solid narrative is most important. Things must happen, characters must act. Otherwise the plot doesnt exist. A plot is a compilation of events, usually leading towards some sort of climax. A good example of all of this is James Joyce’s story â€Å"Araby† is similar to many of the other stories in the collection Dubliners in that romantic ardour or feeling is influenced by the profound Roman Catholicism, which is a staple of Irish life. Many other stories feature narratives about love and religion in which both are often thwarted. The worship of â€Å"holy† figures, dead and alive, colours the lives of the living in Joyce’s stories, no matter how much they might try to blot them out. Plot, narrative, characters and setting are evident throughout the story. Araby is the story of a sensitive boy who worships a friend’s sister from afar. He spends so much time thinking about her that he effectively idealizes her, much as a more religious person might idealize the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ. He imposes unrealistic expectations on the girl and his relationship with her and hopes that she will redeem or save him from the occasional drabness of his life. The overall message of the story is that religion creates unrealistic expectations of the world and costs much more than it is worth. Even if the narrator were able to go Araby and bring back the girl a

High and Simple Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

High and Simple Life - Essay Example This paper is based on the argument that high life is better than simple life because the high status gives people the freedom to choose everything in life. A wealthy town life involving the accumulation of money and resources is better than a simple life. People in the high life status enjoy the freedom of choice in all aspects of life. One can choose where to live, how to live, with whom to live, what to eat, what to wear, what to drive, among other requirements of modern life. Having the freedom to make choices makes one powerful on their own rights and able to enjoy life to the fullest. In other words, simple life may just come automatically because it is controlled by the natural course of events. However, high life comes at a price. In the article, the author refers to a Sears advert campaign that informs the consumer about the â€Å"good life at a good price, guaranteed,† that Sears offers. This implies that no good life will come without incurring a monetary cost. Good life comes with good clothing, appliances and other elements that help to shape the outward appearance (Japp & Japp 544). Nature is the sole source of a good life. It is the nature that gives space for golf courses, vacations, playgrounds, dancing halls, among others. Nature also gives the materials necessary to build better houses and acquire all the necessary elements that are necessary for a good life full of fulfillment and happiness. Nature is treated as a sustainable resource that must be utilized and mined in order for good things to be acquired. In other words, in order for human desires to be attained, nature must be conquered and exploited in all ways possible. Technology, which is another important aspect of human pleasure, has also developed from nature (Japp & Japp 540).

Stage 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stage 1 - Essay Example It is from this perspective that adolescent girls become an important subject of discussion due to the fact that adolescent girls have been found to be easily influenced by socialization, social influences, peer pressure, and social acceptability (Koplan, Liverman and Kraak, 2005). In effect, adolescent girls are more likely to make purchases of particularly food and nutrition products not necessarily because of the personal experience or education they have with the food, cosmetic or drug but because of the influences they receive from peers to purchase. It has even been established in research that due to the physical and biological changes that these girls experience at adolescence, they become more concerned about their bodies at teen ages and thus look for every means possible to appear as they find pleasing in their own eyes (Lackey and Kaczynski, 2009). Because of some of the key variables discussed about teen girls and for that matter female adolescents on their physical and biological changes and the quest for most of them to achieve a perceived perfect body appearance, this group has often become the target group for most advertisers in the food and nutrition industry. Due to the existing delight from the girls themselves, the advertisers often portray their food, cosmetic and drugs to have the potential of making these girls achieve the perfect bodies that they require or desire for themselves. As reflected in the second research question that seeks to answer the question of ways that advertisements influence the perception of girls on food products and services, Hindin, Contento & Gussow (2004) note that food products and services advertisements do not always represent the holistic truth about what they seek to portray. Rather, they target the intuitions of their audience such that what only things that when audience hear that will draw them to making purchases are represented in advertisements. This means that the case is not always holistic or tru e in what the girls are told in advertisements. Where there is lack of holistic presentation of information, the advertisers have been accused of keeping key information on products that has to do with side effects and risk effects of their food, cosmetic and drugs (Luder, Melnik and DiMaio, 2008). Based on the review above, the second research question will be particularly important in answering because it will open the understanding of girls on the purpose for advertisements and the need for more holistic approach to be taken towards the making of purchases rather than basing sorely on what is presented in advertisements. Once this is done, the aim for the first research question will be achieved because girls are going to be offered more and more options and bases for taking decisions on purchases. Where the accusation is also with false advertisement, the reports have been that what advertisements present is not what the products or services can really offer. In some other cases , advertisers have resorted to over emphasis of the true potency of what products and services being advertised can do, thereby portraying perfect body images that are not really as they are in the real world. But most of these girls take

High and Simple Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

High and Simple Life - Essay Example This paper is based on the argument that high life is better than simple life because the high status gives people the freedom to choose everything in life. A wealthy town life involving the accumulation of money and resources is better than a simple life. People in the high life status enjoy the freedom of choice in all aspects of life. One can choose where to live, how to live, with whom to live, what to eat, what to wear, what to drive, among other requirements of modern life. Having the freedom to make choices makes one powerful on their own rights and able to enjoy life to the fullest. In other words, simple life may just come automatically because it is controlled by the natural course of events. However, high life comes at a price. In the article, the author refers to a Sears advert campaign that informs the consumer about the â€Å"good life at a good price, guaranteed,† that Sears offers. This implies that no good life will come without incurring a monetary cost. Good life comes with good clothing, appliances and other elements that help to shape the outward appearance (Japp & Japp 544). Nature is the sole source of a good life. It is the nature that gives space for golf courses, vacations, playgrounds, dancing halls, among others. Nature also gives the materials necessary to build better houses and acquire all the necessary elements that are necessary for a good life full of fulfillment and happiness. Nature is treated as a sustainable resource that must be utilized and mined in order for good things to be acquired. In other words, in order for human desires to be attained, nature must be conquered and exploited in all ways possible. Technology, which is another important aspect of human pleasure, has also developed from nature (Japp & Japp 540).

Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engles - Essay Example The Marxist conflict theory views capitalist production as an essential element of class struggle. A social class consists of individuals grouped in relation to their ability to produce wealth and in their shared relationship to those that own the production methods. â€Å"For Marx and Engels the class struggle between the bourgeoisie (capitalist class) and the proletariat (working class) is the great lever of modern social change† (Knox, 1988: 160). The three classes Marx identified based on their income source, labour, capitalist and landowner status are today known as the low classes, labour and capitalist. This theory of class distinction is criticized by some who do not term class by means of ownership or the methods of wealth creation but with regard to lifestyle and prestige. However, this point of view seems very hollow when considering that a mere two percent of the world’s population possess enough wealth to subsist comfortably on the revenue it provides while the vast majority are employed by others or survive via welfare benefits. (Marx & Engels, 1958) Marx theorized that the conversion of minds and social structures to communism would end the divisions between social class in addition erasing the tyrannical line that divides governmental authority and society. There would be no need for political institutions or private property. Social justice would not have to be legislated because the antagonistic obstruction to social accord Marx believes stems from an individual’s ego and ‘one-sided development’ would be all but eliminated. (Marx & Engels, 1958). Marxism theorizes that as capitalism persists, it exacerbates the misery level for working class individuals. Marxist theory envisions the future of society as free of capitalism, replaced by the collective utopia brought about by communism. This was thought to be the natural course of mankind in which Marx had drawn-up the blueprint (Hunt, 1974: 212).

Principles and Articles of the US Constitution Essay Example for Free

Principles and Articles of the US Constitution Essay When one speaks of checks and balances in government you must understand what is really being asked. It is simply a system set up of the three branches of government that can either amend or veto an act of another branch as to prevent any one branch from having too much power over the other. Is this system effective? Over time, the Constitution has been interpreted and amended to adapt to changing circumstances, and the powers exercised by the federal government have changed with it. For instance because the federal government can influence the states it has the right to withhold federal funds from the states that do not want to go along with their plans whatever they maybe. Because the government can only exercise those powers specifically granted by Constitution, it is important to protection the rights and powers of the people. This includes the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to be free from unlawful searches and to a trail by jury, all of which are the first 10 amendments. Numerous real life conflicts have put this system to test over the past couple of centuries, but have stood fairly strong for over 200 years. From the resignation of Nixon over the Watergate scandal to Clinton’s impeachment over the affair with Ms. Lewinsky (Checks and Balances within the U. S Government) it proofs that this system can guard the U. S from any tyranny from administration corruption, scandals and cover-ups. So yes this system proves to be effective to me and that all the government branches remain important and no reform is deemed necessary at this time. How does a bill become a law? Getting a bill passed as a law takes time and effort on part of the U. S. House of Representatives. I’ll give a brief summary of the steps from bill to law. First and foremost a bill is just an idea either from the representatives or the people at which time if agreed upon it then becomes a bill. Next, other representatives have to support the bill, if so then it is placed in a box next to the clerks’ desk, assigned a number and then read to the house. The speaker of the house then sends it to the committee for review, research and revisions before sending it back to the house floor. Sometimes additional information is required and then the bill is sent to sub-committees before being an approved. Once approved the bill is then ready for debate by the House of Representatives where they will agree or disagree on the bill. Changes are then made and now the bill is ready for voting. It takes majority of the Representatives to say or select yes on the matter at which time it is then delivered to the U.  S. Senate by the clerk of the house. Just like the U. S. House of Representatives the U. S Senate goes through some of the similar steps. The Senate committee discusses the bill and then report to the Senate floor for yet again another vote. If the vote is â€Å"yea† then off to the President it goes. The President has the option to sign and pass the bill, veto the bill or do thing at which time the house makes the decision based on what is happening in the house. If by chance the bill has passed in both the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S.  Senate and is approved by the President then the bill becomes a law and will then be enforced by the government. I believe that because the three branches were put in place for the people it has worked to some extent. The people get a chance to vote and elect who they want to run the country in which they must live. We get the option of having a trail that is to be fair and without prejudice. Sometimes though you have to ask yourself when making decisions are all the decisions about the people or are they thinking about themselves and personal agendas. I would have to say sometimes it is both. When the vote is about raising taxes who does this hurts the poor man not the wealthy. When they want to vote on cutting jobs in higher offices then they try and fix the budget. How unfair is that. Decisions should always be made to suit the country as a whole and not when it deems necessary. Some things that I did learn was that when it came to voting that it was something called electoral votes and is made by an electoral college who actually cast the votes for which the candidates really become president. a person running for president can lose the overall popular votes, but still become President because of the votes casted by the electoral college† (Kimberling, 1992). Now my take on this is that in actuality as a people we are not really electing a president that we pick because of this rule from the Electoral College, so why have us vote? The U. S. Constitution had been around for over 200 years and has managed to with stand the test of time with minimum problems so I believe that we should just allow this document to run its course and see it through the end of time.

Changes in family structure and modern family

Changes in family structure and modern family Due to its purchasing power, the family is believed as the most important consumers buying unit by many marketers (Dalakas Shoham, 2005). Therefore, a great number of previous studies have been done to understand how a family makes purchasing decisions over the years. As new social trends, the structure of family has changed dramatically in the past three decades in most countries in the world (Brace et al, 2008). The family is convinced as composing by parents and unmarried children in traditional mind. However, in the modern society, the definition of family has moved from only couple and children to family household. According to European Community Household Panel, a family household is a group of people who live together, share the bill and housekeeping arrangement (Askegaard et al, 2006). In view of most marketers, changes in family structures provide marketing opportunities. As the differentiation of the composition, families need and demand is diversified than before. Changes in family structure and modern family Family household types in modern society are diversified, such as single parent families, reconstituted families, unmarried cohabitation families, traditional families, couple with no children families and roommate family households. The reason of diversified family household type is that unmarried cohabitation, delayed marriage and delayed childbirth are trends for young people in the recent years. Furthermore, there have been increases in the proportion of the return of mothers to the workforce and the number of divorces and a decrease in the proportion of intact family unit (two biological parents and their dependent children). It is known that 76 per cent of UK children in 2004 lived in a family unit headed by a couple (UK Office of National Statistics, 2005). But, this official data does not differentiate families by couples who are intact or step parent. Also, it is acknowledged that 83 per cent of children in step parent families or single parent families live with their natur al mother (Brace et al, 2008). Therefore, most of single parent households are headed by females. Although the family types are diversified in the present day and age, intact families, step parent families and single parent families are three major types of composition for modern families. Haskey (1998) indicated there has been an obviously decline in the intact or traditional family household type and step families are more prevalent than single parent households. People are remarrying more often than before, and male is more likely to reconstitute a family than female. For example, step families are the fastest growing type of family in the UK (Mintel, 2005). There are totally 35 per cent British parents live as a non-traditional family unit. Concretely, 19 per cent of British parents are single parents. 16 per cent of British parents have children with ex-wife or ex-husband and now reconstitute families with new partners and the children (Mintel, 2005). Family structures have changed, which influence family decision making. Thus, some researchers argue that family communication has become more open and democratic (Belch and Willis, 2001). Particularly, the role of women has changed in the present society. The changes include education, increasing number of double-income families and the advent of career women. Further to say, these changes have impacted on family buying decisions and the role structure between family members. An increasing number of women are contributing to the incomes of their families and more women are motivated to succeed in their careers. For instance, nearly 60 per cent of women in New Zealand are employed in the workforce (Beatty Lee, 2002). This is much higher proportion than before. Some previous studies indicated that a persons power to make family purchasing decisions depends on his/her ability to satisfy his/her marriage partners needs (Beatty Lee, 2002). Therefore, the more a husband contributes to the resources of the family, the more the wife will accept the husbands buying decisions. In the same way, if the wife contributes significantly to the family income, then the wifes impact on family buying decisions would be greater than in families where the wife does not provide income to the family. It does not mean the person who contributes a dominant income to his/her family must accounts for the completely dominant position in the family buying decision making process. It is more likely that there is more equality in double-income families. Therefore, a wifes occupational status has an obviously effect on the family decision making. The prevalence of women working outside the home is not only because of the necessity to help the family in finance, but also because of the changes in social and cultural trends. Therefore, women obtain more power in some families which both family members will make decisions jointly. This type of family is more likely to be called modern family and it has a more democratic influence structure. In contrast, a traditional family has a more dictatorial husband and the decisions are made more autocratic. Family life cycle There are many factors influence family buying decisions. Despite the family type and womens role in the family, family life cycle (FLC) also significantly affects the family purchasing decisions. The family life cycle describes the changes that occur in family and family structures as they progress over time (Askegaard, 2006). The FLC shows the changes in both the family income and family composition over time. As the time passed, the needs and demands of families tend to change. Therefore, their preferences and behaviours will be changed. Families in similar stages of the life cycle share similar demographic, financial and buying characteristics. In contrast, families at different life cycle stages show different interests, needs and demands and use different communication strategies (Lee Levy, 2004). Childrens roles in family buying decisions Since 1990s, the growing awareness on childrens role is largely because of childrens steadily increasing impact on family buying decisions and increasing spending power (Caruana Vassallo, 2003; Dalakas Shoham, 2005; Fan Li, 2010). Many previous studies pointed out that children have became an extremely vital consumer group which influences family purchases of various products in many ways (Burns et al, 2007; Caruana Vassallo, 2003). Thus, many marketers recognize children as a primary market, an influencing market, and a future market. For example, children in the USA directly spent over $60 billion and influenced over $380 billion of spending by other members of their family per year (Chou Wut, 2009). In Australia, the adolescents market is estimated to be worth about $3.9 million, and in New Zealand the market size is about $800,000 (Wimalasiri, 2004). Therefore children are increasingly attractive targets for marketers. Children as independent consumer In the contemporary world, as primary market, children have increasing spending power in terms of being independent customers. They are seen as different from previous generations. Today, children are more connected, more direct and more informed. They have more personal power, more money, more impact on family decisions and attractive more attention than their parents and ancestors. Most of teenagers receive allowances from their parents or eldership. Also, a great number of adolescents have income from jobs. Past study showed 51.1 per cent of the high school students admitted that they get an allowance from family members in the USA and the median amount was $50 (Dalakas Shoham, 2003). Moreover, Chou Wut (2009) indicated children who between ages of 2 to 12 independently spent $29 billion per year by using their own money and further to say, they indirectly influence $320 billion worth of household purchase. Childrens influence on family buying decisions In addition, children are also major influencers within the family decision making unit. They attempt to and succeed in influencing family purchasing decisions. Several researches have shown that the childrens degree of influence in purchase decisions varies with the type of product (Beatty Lee, 2002). They have the most influence on buying decisions when they are the primary users of the products, for example, toys, games, and school supplies. They are also influential in purchase decisions about products which for all family members, for example, vacations, furniture, movies, and eating out. However, they have less impact on these products than in the products which they are the primary consumers. According to Dalakas Shoham (2003) reported, 34 per cent of nine to 14-year-olds acknowledged they influenced their parents purchasing decisions on videogame systems, 19 per cent affected decisions on vacation choice, 18 per cent have impact on stereo equipment, and 14 per cent particip ated the family decisions making process on computer equipment, VCRs, and televisions. Moreover, adolescents influence has been affected by the cost of the products on purchasing decisions. Their influence decreased for expensive family purchases. Furthermore, they have most influence as regards product type, colour and brand. One of the areas where children have the major impact is food purchasing decision. Food plays a vital role in family life and it is the main expenditure for most families. Children have most influence on the food and the meals which are easy to prepare. US studies have shown that in the major categories of food and drinks, playthings and clothing and TV programmes, children have an obviously influence (Chou Wut, 2009). In the UK, 84 per cent of parents said that their children decided what food to buy. 29 per cent parents admitted that their children impact on the choice of furniture. Even 20 per cent of parents said they like to listen to their childrens suggests about their own clothes when purchasing (Dalakas, Shoham, 2005). Also, through a survey, cable television networks in the USA found that children affected average of 43 per cent of total purchases which are made the decisions by parents. Further to say, mothers who shop with their kids normally spend 30 per cent more than they originally plan and fathers spend 70 per cent more (Caruana Vassallo, 2003). The ways and factors for children to affect family decisions Generally speaking, there are four different ways for children to influence family buying decisions. First, they hugely involve in affecting their parents to purchase products which they are the finally users. Second, older children buy the products which they want directly by using their own money. This money is received as allowances or salary. Third, children participated and affected their parents in family buying decisions making process for family products. Lastly, parents consult their childrens opinion for some of their own purchase. Therefore, children exert a certain influence on the overall family decisions. Children have more influence during the problem recognition and information search stage, but their influence decreases at the finally decision making stage. Their influence can be direct or indirect. Young children more tend to impact family purchases by directly asking. However, older adolescents may use various strategies to impact their parents decision making. Except the direct requests, they also take other actions like bargaining, persuasion, or using emotional strategies. A childs age is an important related factor of the childs influence on family decision making. Older children have fewer requests than younger children and their parents more tend to satisfy their request. The parents believe the older children have more experience with shopping and products, so they easily yield than before. Also, parents are convinced that their older children possess more understanding of economic concepts and have higher skills on shopping than younger children. Furthermore, childrens influence on family decisions is affected significantly by family type. Children in single parent families or one child families have more influence than others and the adolescents in modern families affect their families more obviously than adolescents in traditional families. The reasons for children influencing family decisions In the current era, family communication has become more open and democratic. Parents pay more attention to their children and spend more time to listen to their childrens opinions. These changes in family communication caused children can exert influence on family purchasing decisions making process. Furthermore, the influence of each child has increased because of the trends of smaller number of children in families. Because of the returns of women to workforce, most families economic status is in good condition. It not only means parents can afford enough money to satisfy their children request, but also pushes the children to take more responsibility for family decisions. This is because working couples have little time to make decisions and have to give their children more power. The analysis of implication for marketing There are many factors influence the children when they making purchasing decisions and shape their habits at the present. The top three influence factors are family, friends and media. All of them have outstanding impact on childrens shopping skills and behavior. In details, the family has been believed as it has the most influence on children in the purchasing process of food products, health care products and furniture. On the other hand, friends and the media play an extremely important role in affecting the discretionary purchase of the children. In fact, most of marketers consider the media as the most powerful affecting factor to impel the children to make purchasing decisions. They are convinced the television advertising is the greatest influence marketing communication tool. Moreover, previous marketing researches also suggested the companies to access the children seriously with child friendly amenities, colourful and playful displays and even credit cards (Caruana Vassal lo, 2003). In addition, it is known that most of children have low brand loyalty for most products. Because of their strong curiosity, they are easily to be attracted by original and distinct products. However, once they build the brand loyalty for one particular brand, they will be lifetime consumers for the brand. Furthermore, for the ethic thinking, the marketers ought to avoid displaying violent or pornographic pictures to children in their advertising. This is because children are not mature enough and cannot understand the meaning of this kind of advertising. Further to say, children very like to imitate what they saw. Thus, it is dangerous for children to access violent or pornographic advertising. For example, there was lots of news regarding that children did violent events after playing violent games, such as GTA, Counterstrike, or watching violent movie. An analysis of the situation of children in China Children in China have become the most significant target consumers for many marketers. This is not only because China has the largest population of children in the world, but also due to the fact that Chinese children have more economic power and influence in their families than children in other countries. Fan Li (2010) mentioned that there are 1,321.29 million people in China at the end of 2007. Among others, 19.4 per cent (about 256.60) are under the age of 14. This made China become the largest potential market. In the present China, children have more discretionary income compared with before and also exert a greater impact on family buying decision than other countries children. One couple one child has been a basic state policy in China for a long time since the early 1970s. Therefore, as the only child in the family, both parents and grandparents give most of their love and attention to the child. Even it caused a seriously problem raised in China, the Chinese children have been considered as being like Little emperors/empresses. A part of parents would like to satisfy their childrens each request as possible as they can. Due to the importance of Chinese children, marketers did many researches to seek the most relative information sources for Chinese children. Finally, they found that TV, parents, store visits and friends were ranked as the most significant sources to receive information for Chinese children (Fan Li, 2010).