What is the importance of things in our life Essay

What is the importance of things in our life - Essay Example ite unfortunate that ‘things’ are not the determinant of the quality of life, but if they are used well they can enable an individual to have a more fulfilling life. I perceive that there are many misconceptions that relate to the acquisition of things hence people need to understand what they have and how it is beneficial to them. For me, the word â€Å"thing† is too vague. â€Å"Things† however important to me depends on what time I need them and where. When defining what really a person needs, we should not use the word ‘things’ because of its broad and vague meaning. We need specific things to make it in our lives; we do not need all things. Even those things we need them in certain quantities. The assumption that life is driven by the acquisition and consumption of things is not absolutely true. This is because apart from things, there are other important components that people need to make it in life. This does not underrate the importance of having more things on our side. It is very important to have things, but they ought to be specific and meant to meet a given purpose. For example, it is unimaginable that an individual has acquired one hundred personal cars, all for his or her own use. The point here is that, some of these cars may remain to be unutilized even for years. Therefore, the essence of having them in the first place beats logic. It would have been better if the individual bought and disposed appropr iately if the personal need was to have diversity. Therefore, it is better to talk about the importance of specific things instead of the global view. The importance of specific things cannot be disputed. In the paragraph above, the argument has been, we need specific things; these specifics have a very important role in our lives. Things can be categorized from the basic needs, to those that facilitate our personal development, those that help us relate with others as well as those that we need for comfort and luxury. All these categories

Two Models of the Criminal Process Essay Example for Free

Two Models of the Criminal Process Essay Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Criminal Control Model emphasizes the importance of protecting people, their property, and their rights for the good of the victim and the whole society. The Due Process Model is closer to our democratic ideals, and emphasizes the importance of individual rights at all stages of the Criminal Procedure. The models represent the two different (and contradicting) views on criminal justice and Criminal Procedure Policy. Two Models of the Criminal Process   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contemporary theory of criminal justice uses the two different criminal justice models – the Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model. Both models were designed by Packer in 1964 and â€Å"embrace constitutional values† (Zalman, 2002). However, these models represent the two different sets of criminal justice values and can never be used simultaneously. Although both models are equally applicable within the democratic political framework, they cause different impact on shaping the Criminal Procedure Policy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Criminal Control Model emphasizes the importance of protecting people, their property, and their rights for the good of the victim and the whole society (Samaha, 2005). The Crime Control Model implies that people are unable to fulfill their social functions, if they do not feel safe. Crime control, satisfaction of society’s needs, and discretion create the practical basis of this model. Very often, the Criminal Control Model is compared to the assembly line conveyor belt that moves the endless array of cases and suspects through the criminal justice system (Samaha, 2005). From the viewpoint of the Criminal Control Model, justice should be speedy, correct, and accurate. Under the influence of the Criminal Control Model, the whole Criminal Procedure Policy turns into the power which never makes mistakes and is eager to sacrifice several innocent suspects for the sake of solving the crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Crime Control Model is frequently blamed for assuming that the alleged criminal is guilty before the court takes objective and correct decision. In its turn, the Due Process Model is closer to our democratic ideals, and emphasizes the importance of individual rights at all stages of the Criminal Procedure. Fair procedures form the essence of the Due Process Model: â€Å"fair procedures means decision making according to formal rules growing out of the Bill of Rights and the due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions† (Samaha, 2005). In the Criminal Procedure Policy, the Due Process Model distrusts the power of government and implies that the government’s decisions should be controlled. In many instances, the Due Process is similar to the â€Å"obstacle course†; it is distanced from the idea of unmistakable justice and is based on the â€Å"fact finding† principles (Zalman, 2002). In distinction from the Crime Control Model, the Due Process Model relies on the equal treatment of all defendants and contradicts to the Crime Control Model’s view in that the rights of individuals can sometimes be hindered for the sake of the whole society and justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Crime Control Model is close to conservative thinking, while the Due Process Model goes in line with liberal democratic ideals. The models represent the two different (and contradicting) views on criminal justice and Criminal Procedure Policy. It is impossible to determine which of the two procedures prevails, but evidently the Due Process Model has proved its superiority in the need to promote fairness of justice, equality of defendants’ rights, and the importance of legal procedures in the process of proving one’s guilt. References Samaha, J. (2005). Criminal Justice. Thomson Wadsworth. Zalman, M. (2002). Criminal procedure: Constitution and Society. 3rd edition. Pearson Education: Prentice Hall.

Child Soldiers and Poverty

Child Soldiers and Poverty Child Soldiers in Africa What accounts for the phenomenon of child soldiers in Africa? The primary cause contributing to the recruitment of child soldiers in Africa is poverty. While other factors such as ‘war’ itself, proliferation of small arms, lack of education, displacement all inevitably lead to child soldier recruitment, it is however poverty at the root of these circumstances. Therefore this essay shall argue this case by examining how Africa has come to have such high levels of poverty and by showing the association between other factors and that of poverty. To establish what is meant by the term ‘child soldier’ it must first be defined and a brief description offered that explains the recruitment practices used. This in turn allows the reader to better comprehend the devastating outcomes when underlying causes such as extreme poverty are not addressed. Subsequently this essay examines the factors that account for the phenomenon of child soldiers in Africa and through this examination of causal factors it will become apparent that pov erty is a recurring theme. Once it has been established that poverty is indeed the major cause of child soldier recruitment attention is then given to what is being done to stop it. Finally consideration must be given to the problems that arise when addressing the issues of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of the child soldier back into the community, to avoid a replication of the whole cycle. This focus on stopping child soldier recruitment and difficulties faced after hostilities cease, demonstrate an attempt to eradicate the practice at the causal level and show a commitment to assisting children who have already endured and survived this reprehensible process. A Definition of the ‘Child Soldier’ According to UNICEF: A child soldier is defined as any child boy or girl under 18 years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including, but not limited to: cooks, porters, messengers, and anyone accompanying such groups other than family members. It includes girls and boys recruited for sexual purposes and/or forced marriage. The definition, therefore, does not only refer to a child who is carrying, or has carried weapons (Cape Town Principals, 1997). Recruitment Children are commonly taken from their homes, their schools, orphanages and refugee camps for displaced persons, directly to military camps for training. Many children are abducted by force while military offences are taking place on a child’s village. In contrast others actually volunteer and join the army (both government and rebel) to receive perceived benefits such as protection, food, opportunities to loot and a sense of power with a gun in their hands. The training commences very shortly after the children are abducted and its main focus is to quickly prepare the children to fight a war. Intense psychological pressure is placed on them whereby the links of the children with society are broken and a programming process is commenced to think of war and only war. This in turn is aimed at dehumanising the children and turning them into killing machines. The discipline is extremely hard and if a child is caught trying to escape often the penalty would be death and more than likely this would be carried out by another child soldier as a deterrent to others. It is also not uncommon to order these children to kill their own relatives, neighbors and to attack and steal from their own villages. This is a deliberate ploy by armed groups to destroy any chance of the child being accepted back into their village (Honwana, 2002). The Primary Cause The Children within African countries are generally at a higher risk of poverty, disease, malnutrition, becoming an orphan and have a higher mortality rate than seen in western developed nations. In addition sexual and labor exploitation (slave labor and armed conflict) has increased in the last twenty to thirty years. Africa is experiencing this state of affairs due to the poor state of socio-economic development in Africa and the nature of the development policies that have given rise to it. This terrible situation these children find themselves in is largely due to the failure of both state governments and markets. The developed world needs to redefine poverty reduction strategies urgently to address this situation and this may include more discriminatory aid allocation that includes debt relief, in agreement with the individual governments commitments to reducing poverty. The poverty we refer to above is predominantly of a rural nature as many of Africa’s poorest live in rural areas and thus depend on subsistence farming to provide food and income. Sub-Saharan Africa has the greater amount rural poor who are living in abject poverty and this includes the rural poor people of Eastern and Southern Africa, a region that has one of the world’s highest number of poor people. Rural poverty in many areas of Africa such as the Sub-Saharan region has its roots in the colonial system and the policy and institutional restraints that it imposed on poor people. Recent developments that affected the poor in Africa can also be attributed to the cold war between the east and west. The competition between the two sides resulted in many countries throughout Africa taking sides and either following a socialist model of development or a neo liberalism approach. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fact that many born in recent generations within Africa have been exposed to the later model, many saw their future based within the context of a ‘free market’ system. This system while showing encouraging signs initially started to show cracks into the 1990’s as it became apparent that an ever widening gap was developing between the south and the north. Many countries now found themselves in more debt from borrowed funds that could not be repaid than they were a decade earlier. In short the policy had basically managed to increase the wealth of developed countries, particularly multinational corporations (MNC’s) and the elitists within either African governments / rebel leaders. In contrast the poorest have received little due to a lack adequate social development policy (Baylis Smith, 1999). In recent decades, economic policies and institutional structures have been modified to close the income gap. Structural adjustments have also dismantled existing rural systems, but have not always built new ones. Furthermore in many transitional economies, the rural situation is now experiencing continuing stagnation, poor production, low incomes and the rising vulnerability of poor people. The reduced access to markets is a problem for many small businesses in Africa. The rural population is poorly structured and is often situated in remote locations that make it difficult for any assistance initiatives to reach. As a result more and more government policies and investments where they exist to address poverty reduction will most likely favor urban over rural areas. Given the above situation child labor is likely to keep increasing in Africa into the future  as the families or possibly just the children are dependant on the income they earn to simply subsist. In addition it has been found that if attempts are made to stop children working, it will only worsen the families or individuals situation unless new forms of income producing activities can be provided as an alternative. While this shift in income producing activities may help alleviate the situations where children are exploited and exposed to hazardous working conditions there still is concern that these children are not receiving an education. As the children are often not attending school they are in effect limiting their future chances of actually improving their situation and are more likely to continue a cycle of poverty through to the next generation (Ronald, Hope Sr. Kempe, 2005). Other Causes An obvious but often overlooked cause is simply ‘war’ itself – for without war there would be no need for child soldiers. Other causes consist of a proliferation of small arms since the end of the cold war, lack of education and displacement. These factors are likely to be present when a child is forcefully recruited by means of abduction which is a common occurrence in poor rural remote parts of Africa. Well known targets for this repulsive behavior are schools, walking home from school, refugee camps and from the home, often during the night. Others motivations that may lead to a child ‘voluntarily’ choosing to become a child soldier often stem from a view that the armed force will provide various opportunities not available at home. Additionally they are seen as providing a sense of adventure, survival in the case of an orphan, revenge against killed family members and escape from an either oppressive or abusive home (Cahn, 2005). These ‘other’ causes do indeed contribute to a child decision to become a child soldier, especially if that recruitment has been forcibly undertaken. The ‘state’ is often virtually non existent due to corruption / conflict and thus not able to provide sensible economic policy that may encourage industry and development or any social safety nets. The result is there are simply insufficient jobs; the only organization is that of the army or rebel group and therefore child soldiers in Africa do not exist for ideological reasons, but rather reasons of survival and escape from abject poverty. The fact that war is one of the main causes of child soldier recruitment seems too obvious and it appears quite strange that many non government organisations, researchers and bodies such as the UN have failed to even recognise it as a major cause in their research / discussions as a trigger for child soldier recruitment This ignorance may account for why many of the current efforts such as the millennium development goals (MDG’s) are failing Africa. Moreover as war is such a massive force of destruction and normality in Africa that sadly many children grow up believing it is a part of everyday life. Just being aware of its presence in your backyard / town generates a continuous need where a child must look out for themself through violence. War will cause the collapse of society including, family structures, closure of schools and other places of learning and lead to high unemployment. All of which indirectly lead children to view involvement in military conflicts as the only choice available to them for survival. The circumstances of education have a very immense impact on young children and through childhood and education children are forming their morals, values and goals for later life. Access to education and the content that is actually taught in schools are of equal importance. The relevance of education to employment, the way in which children are treated in their schools, or the way the school operates as a recruiting place are also important when studying the relationship between education and the recruitment of child soldiers. Likewise, the lack of education is a perilous trap because children will find armed violence as the only possible solution to their unappeasable boredom. Whilst studying the significance of education, the link between education and employment is also very important. In many of Africa’s unstable countries, this connection is very fragile and as a result children often find themselves thrown into a world of poverty and unemployment where education has no value. A consistent cycle of poverty leads to one course for its children that appears to offer economic protection and that course is that of armed involvement. As poverty increases in third-world countries the connection between education and employment is rapidly eroding and tragically a child coming to the conclusion that education is not very important in their lives. Singer (2001, p. 45) attributes the expansion of child soldiers to the proliferation of light weapons. â€Å"Rarely mentioned in analyses of world threats, which typically focus on the most complex and expensive systems, light weapons (rifles, grenades, light machine guns, land mines, and other â€Å"child-portable† systems) are the weapons most often used in contemporary warfare and produce 80 to 90 percent of all the casualties. Technological and efficiency advances in these weapons permit the transformation of children into lethal fighters†. After the Cold War there were enormous amounts of small arms in surplus throughout the world. Until recently, the weight and technicality of small arms precluded the employment of children in front-line positions. The proliferation of simple, light arms such as the M16 and AK-47 assault rifles has meant that they are now easily handled and carried by the child. This is due in part to lighter weight, less moving parts, which allows for easy stripping and reassembly even for a child under the age of 10 (Faulkner, 2001). A final contributing factor discussed in this essay is that of ‘displacement’. Children that are separated from a family due to a variety of different reasons will not have any reference for guidance, support or education. These children’s displacement may be the result of past wars that have created a generation of orphans as well as other children that are dislocated. Often these times is when children may identify with an armed group and possibly even volunteer their services to an armed group. However many children most likely initially move to either live on the streets in urban areas or possibly be able to access an orphanage for protection and shelter, although many will end up in refugee camps for displaced peoples. It is from these places of ‘safety’ that these special risk groups are often forcibly recruited and as they are especially vulnerable and feel defenseless they will usually come to acceptance of promises that a powerful armed group will also provide them with protection, shelter, food, and other basics of survival (Save the Children Federation, 2001). International Law Children’s Rights The international community has implemented laws that ban the recruitment and use of child soldiers in conflict. This legal and policy network is comprised of numerous laws developed by many international institutions and have been ratified by many governments. The following lists some organizations that have established many of the laws we see today that prohibit the use of child soldiers in conflict and also some of the major conventions (Hughes, 2000). The League of Nations (1924 Declaration for the Rights of the Child). The UN Security Council – numerous resolutions. The International Labor Organisation – Child labour conventions. The Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1949. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child – 2002. Although some of these laws may be imperfect, legal protections now exist and are increasing to protect children from being drawn into military service. Where governments such as seen in Africa are not democracies and therefore may not be accountable to their citizens, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and International institutions represent the best possible sources of change because they function outside of the state bureaucracy. In some of Africa’s states that are experiencing conflict they may be either unable / unwilling, to protect children’s rights. NGOs have shown success in drawing attention to the problems facing children and in affording services and resources to help them. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has also been fervently promoted by NGOs which has resulted in many countries ratifying the convention (Cahn, 2005). While conventions and laws are importantly necessary to address child soldier recruitment defiance of them needs to be correctly scrutinised, reported and the perpetrators held accountable before tribunals or other bodies such as the Statute of the International Criminal Court. Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration The ‘gun’ gave a sense of power that was not there prior to becoming a child soldier and was most likely used against a child’s own community. This raises two issues, firstly how do these children lose this sense of power and secondly how do the children reintegrate into communities they may very well have alienated? One thing that is obvious it that the process will be long and difficult in many cases and will require feasible and special programs to achieve rehabilitation and reintegration (Zack-Williams, 2001). When children can be induced into formal disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes, there are many factors to address. Firstly the number of soldiers reporting for disarmament and demobilisation need to be counted, their weapons surrendered and consideration given to what communities or other destinations they choose to relocate to. The ideology of violence needs to be addressed by imposing alternative values and non-violent means of confl ict resolution. The following points Malan (2000) demonstrates what needs may need addressing when child soldiers are being demobilised: †¢ Nutrition †¢ Medical treatment (including STD’s and drug abuse) †¢ Respect and self-esteem †¢ Human dignity and confidentiality †¢ Consultation and participation in determining their fates †¢ Reintegration packages and benefits †¢ Community sensitisation in advance of family reintegration †¢ Amnesty from prosecution, protection from retribution for acts committed †¢ Protection from repeat recruitment †¢ Mental ‘disarmament’; †¢ Education, peace education and vocational training †¢ Employment creation. Given the number of needs as shown above there would obviously need to be a huge commitment on the part of all parties involved (not just the NGO’s) to have any hope of achieving a beneficial outcome. Furthermore when considering the above needs it does highlight how much damage child soldier’s recruitment can do to the child. This awareness should encourage further urgent work by all concerned to address the causative factors such as abject poverty which is at the root of the whole child soldier process. Conclusion The entire child soldier phenomenon is a poignant process where children are being deprived of their childhood, denied an education and blocked from actively participating in their chosen culture. As a matter of urgency the underlying abject poverty that is a catalyst for children’s involvement in conflict and war, must be addressed by good governance, social policy and targeted aid / assistance by NGO’s and international bodies such as the UN. Priorities to assist in achieving a reduction in poverty in countries where hostilities have ceased should include the following. Improvements that allow ‘secure’ private sector activity, strengthening the public sector / quality of governance, increasing investment in infrastructure, the creation of service delivery in human development and the creation of a social safety net. Furthermore increased work must be done to not only create laws that prohibit the use of child soldiers in Africa, but to actively prosecute those responsible and apply appropriate penalties as a deterrent to others. Given the large number of needs shown to rehabilitate child soldiers and the subsequent investment in time and money; a serious commitment will have to made by those involved to provide the best chance for the child to attain some ‘normality’ of life and to not see the child return to armed conflict. Reference List Baylis, J Smith, S 1999, The Globalization of World politics – An Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press, New York. Cahn, N 2005, ‘Poor Children: Child â€Å"Witches† and Child Soldiers in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Public Law and Legal Theory Paper No. 177, The George Washington University law School. Faulkner, F 2001, Kindergarten killers: morality, murder and the child soldier problem, Third World Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 491–504. Honwana, A 2002, Negotiating Post-war Identities: Child Soldiers in Mozambique and Angola, in Bond, G and Gibson, N (ed) 2002. Contested Terrains and Constructed Categories. Colorado: Westview Press, p. 3. Hope Sr. K.R 2005, Child survival, poverty, and labor in Africa, Journal of Children and Poverty, vol.11, no. 1, pp. 19 — 42. Hughes, L 2000, Can International Law Protect Child Soldiers?, Peace Review, vol.12, no. 3, pp. 399 — 405. Malan, M 2000, ‘Disarming and demobilising child soldiers: The underlying challenges’, African Security Review, vol. 9, no. 5/6. Save the Children Federation 2001, Child Soldiers Care Protection of Children in Emergencies, Save the Children Federation, accessed 20 May 2008, Singer PW, 2001, ‘Caution: Children at War’, Parameters, vol.31, no. 4, winter 2001/2002, p. 40. UNICEF 1997, Cape Town principles and best Practices, UNICEF, accessed 23 May 2008, . Zack-Williams, AB, 2001 Child soldiers in the civil war in Sierra Leone, Review of African Political Economy, vol. 28, no. 87, pp. 73 — 82.

The Role of Nature Essay -- Nature Poetry Poet natural Essays

The Role of Nature Introduction Considering the history of literature, the conception of Nature seems to be a quite complex question. 'Nature' is not a concept that can be grasped easily and it often requires discussing some great philosophical conceptions like 'Pantheism' or 'Deism'. However, my paper will not deal in detail with such vast enquiries. I rather want to focus more accurately on how 'Nature' is used by Pope and Coleridge, respectively. With other words, I would like to analyse the function of the concept of 'Nature'. The fact is, that even if these poets do not exhaustively characterise ‘Nature’ itself, they employ it in a lot of different analogies and metaphors to articulate and embody for example ideas about 'morality' (Pope) or the intimate 'self' (Coleridge). My argument would be to show that in both cases, nature has a sort of epistemological function. The apprehension of nature, its perception or its examination leads to knowledge of something that is not directly obvious; one can name it God or the divine. Thus, to mention of nature is a kind of disclosure that guides us to be aware of some reality that is meta-physical. As a matter of fact, the ways Nature is described by Pope and by Coleridge are very different: Pope uses a sort of analogical technique, whereas Coleridge exploits the more suggestive power of metaphors. That point shows that, even though Nature has the same overall function, that is reveal something that is beyond the mere material world, the way it can and should be perceived is not the same. I would like to argue that Coleridge considers a sort of intuitive faculty, whereas Pope thinks that a reasonable examination of Nature unveils the divine order of the universe. The present analysis will spotlight Pope’s Essay On Man and Coleridge’s Rime of an Ancient Mariner. First, I want to show that Coleridge and Pope advocate a pantheistic and a deistic conception of Nature, respectively. This should be the general framework through which I will try to show some other differences. Then, in a second time, the use of a concept like â€Å"reason† will be analysed in regard to Pope’s Essay on Man. This step shows that even if Pope is a writer of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, he deeply condemns the arrogance that results of a pretentious use of reason. In fact, reason should therefore be seen as an important but... ...enis. S.T. Coleridge. Poà ¨me de l’expà ©rience vive. Grenoble: Ellug, 1992. Boulger, James D. ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Englewood Cliffs: Prenctice-Hall, 1969. Crawford, Walter B. ed. Reading Coleridge. Approaches And Applications. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979. Cutting-Gray, Joanne, SwearigenN, James E., â€Å"System, the Divided Mind, and the Essay on Man.† Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 32, No. 3, Restoration and Eighteenth Century. (Summer, 1992), p. 481. Fairer, David. The Poetry of Alexander Pope. London: Penguin Books, 1989. Fraser, George S. Alexander Pope. London: Routledge, 1978. Hill, John S. ed. A Coleridge Companion, London: Macmillan Press, 1983. Laird, John, â€Å"Pope’s Essay on Man.† The Review of English Studies, Vol. 20, No. 80. (Oct., 1944), p. 290. McFarland, Thomas. Coleridge and The Pantheist Tradition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. Nuttall, A. D. Pope’s ‘Essay on Man’. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1984. Tillotson, Geoffrey. Pope And Human Nature. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Woodring, Carl. "Nature and Art in the Nineteenth Century." PMLA 92, no. 2 (1977): p. 193.

Jocelyn Susan Bell Burnell :: Essays Papers

Jocelyn Susan Bell Burnell An important woman in the contribution of science is Jocelyn Bell Burnell. She is a British astronomer that discovered pulsars, which is a tiny, very dense, rapidly rotating neutron star that appear to emit radiation in pulses. Jocelyn was born in 1943 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was raised near the Armagh Observatory, which obviously impacted her life She graduated from Glasgow University in 1965 with a B.S. degree in Physics, and in 1968 she received a Ph.D. in radio astronomy from the University of Cambridge in 1968. Jocelyn began her studies by conducting experiments of gamma-ray astronomy at the University of Southampton. From 1974 through 1982, Jocelyn worked in X-ray astronomy at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at the University College in London. In 1982 she became a senior research fellow at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland, working with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and also did astrophysical research in the optical and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum until 1991. Her discovery came from the initial research at Cambridge, where she built a radio telescope to track quasars, which are starlike objects that have a large red shift, emit powerful blue light, and can often emit radio waves. Then in 1967, while using the radio telescope, there was an unexpected discovery, which she shared among with Antony Hewish and other colleagues. Jocelyn noticed that there was a source of regular, intense pulses of radio waves that emitted a burst every 1.337 seconds. At first, there was an attempted explanation that this phenomenon might be a beacon from alien sources, so they initially named the pulsing source LGM or â€Å"Little Green Men†. After a few months, however, the astronomer had discovered a number of other sources in distant space and deduced from their far away locations and other characteristics, that these pulses must be occurring naturally. Then Jocelyn and her colleagues realized that these pulse patterns came from a special type of s tar that they naturally termed a pulsar. Her discovery has made a huge impact in the science world. Astronomers have now discovered over 400 pulsars, but only the Crab Pulsar and the Vela pulsar, can emit visibly detectable pulses. These pulsars are distinguished from other types of celestial radio sources by their emissions.

Literary Analysis of American Literature Essay

As Elinor Ostrom explains, â€Å"To a great degree, his stories speak for those who are disenfranchised, cheated, abused, or ignored because of race or class. † Hughes’s stories speak of the downtrodden African-Americans neglected and overlooked by a prejudiced society. The recurring theme of powerlessness is exemplified in his narration â€Å"Let America Be America again†, â€Å"Harlem† and â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers†. Hughes uses rhyme to draw attention to the poetic element of his narration â€Å"Let America Be America Again†. Words such as â€Å"be† and â€Å"free†, â€Å"dreamed and â€Å"schemed†, â€Å"wreathe† and â€Å"breathe† etc. all demonstrate rhyming. The central theme is that the author feels left out of the American Dream. Hughes is writing a poem of someone who feels that America is a land that lives up to begin to add up to that. The tone is angry and resentful. In this poem he is not representing the point of view of one particular group. Hughes conveys that there are many people who’ve come here with hopes and dreams and they’re being let down. He’s also saying that there is an economic disparity between people. In essence the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, because there is no equal opportunity. That idea is something that is not real for many people because of their race, economic situation, and come up. The reader is immediately introduced to the fact that the author does not believe that America is all it can be due to the fact that the word again is used. He wants America to be â€Å"the dream it used to be. † But the powerful line is #5 which reads â€Å"America was never America. † This enhances what many people feel, that Americas ideals of equality, liberty, and land of the free don’t seem real. In a sense there is a positive tone because there is a hope that America can be a â€Å"great strong land of love,† O, let my land be a land where liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. Liberty, which is another word for freedom is important in the dream America holds so preciously. The central message here is one of greed. Money is at the center of what America has become. Hughes feels that â€Å"power, gain† and owning property is the focus. It’s all about money. He says in line #32 to what America has become in his views. â€Å"Of owning everything for one’s own greed! † At the later stage of the poem, Hughes is coming back and saying sarcastically that he wouldn’t say there is freedom. He is speaking for the â€Å"millions† of people who have been struggling, hoping, working, flying flags, â€Å"who have nothing† except for dreams that are â€Å"almost dead. † â€Å"Harlem† by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpone our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The â€Å"dream† refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Someone like me may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams. Although the meter of â€Å"Harlem† varies, the poem has a rhythmic, lyrical quality achieved through alliteration, rhyme, repetition of certain words, and carefully placed stressed syllables. People need to think twice before deferring their dreams. Langston Hughes says it best in his poem Harlem asking the question. What happens to a dream deferred Langston Hughes describes the outcome of the question as an altogether bad idea, saying that deferring your dream is â€Å"fester like a sore† or â€Å"it stinks like rotten meat†. By using imagery, he wants the reader to know what it is like to defer a dream and how bad it is. The first image in the poem proposes that the dream dries up like a raisin. This simile likens the original dream to a grape, which is round, juicy, green and fresh. Once the dream has lain neglected for too long, it dries up. Where the raisin image invokes the senses of taste and sight, the simile of the sore conveys a sense of touch and bodily impact. By comparing the dream to a sore on the body, Hughes suggests that unfulfilled dreams become part of us, like scars. In Langston Hughes’ poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers,† Hughes makes use of some interesting poetic techniques. This poem is written in free verse, at first glance, seems to be unstructured. Hughes repeats words and lines, but does not make use of repeated sounds. Finally, some of his word choices near the end of the poem help to bring the message of the poem across more strongly. These poetic techniques contribute greatly to the quality of the poem. The textual details of the poem invoke strong imagery related to veins, rivers, and the roots of trees and give the reader a sense of the timelessness of these objects. In the short first stanza, the speaker in the poem by Langston Hughes states that he has â€Å"known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. † From this early point in the point in the poem, images of the canals of veins that run throughout the human body as well as similar images of rivers that wind around and are shaped like veins form our understanding that this poem is about more than blood or water, it is about roots and circuits. He has a very deep meaning about how people feel by debating that his soul is so much stubborn now at this point that no external source could change it. Hughes’ poems illustrate many of the problems that African Americans faced during the depression era, ranging from prejudice and discrete racism to a general air of hopelessness and despair. His poetry basically develops the idea of celebrating and idealizing the Negro life in America. He is not much like the other poets who just uses a single voice/entity, instead has a tendency to express the visualizations through a number of voices making it more realistic. His expression consists of renunciation and feelings of personal cruelty.

Aboriginal Self Government

Assignment: 1 Aboriginal Self Government Aboriginal self-government is a long standing issue that continues to be a struggle for the First Nations People. To truly understand the scope of Aboriginal self-government within First Nations communities, more effort is needed to understand the legislative system that runs Canada. This issue of self-governance has been very destructive in First Nations communities. After signing the Treaties, First Nations People was stripped of their livelihood and from that point on to abide by the Dominion of Canadas legislative policies.One current issue that would be a perfect example is the Nisga People in British Columbia who is no longer under the protection of the Indian Act. The Nisga People are on self-government ideologies however their government still needs to follow foreign rules and regulations not of their own making. It is not my intention to be on the other side of the fence for what they have fought so hard for but when looking closely I would be not in favour of Aboriginal self-government because First Nations People can not truly gain self-government due to the federal and provincial laws that keep them from being a true democracy.First Nations People have been divided and subdued to a foreign form of governance that has trapped them to live by foreign rules and regulations. The systematic destruction of Aboriginal customs has been hammered out by the making of the Royal Proclamation of 1763. First Nations People have been forced to adapt to the policies and cultural customs that have slowly stripped them from their own traditional form of governance. First Nations People had to deal with policies known as the Numbered Treaties dating from 1871 to 1876[1], which forced them to surrender their traditional lands and adapt to European political customs.This form of treaty making can be seen as the final chapter on assimilating First Nations People. It was within these Treaties that First Nations People had lost trad itional lifestyle they have lived for decades what was worse they lost their identity as they were seen as the â€Å"white man’s burden†[2]. The Dominion of Canada had the power to enforce crucial implements of European customs that abolished political First Nation influence they carried for each other as they were subdued to live on little parcels of land that at times were far to small for a tribe.The First Nations people had lost their right to practice spiritual traditions that enabled them to govern their people before confederation. These regulated that were set out by the federal and provincial government stem from the former Acts that have created Canada. A major influential aspect of the change was created from the outcome of the Constitution Act of 1867. The Dominion of Canada enshrined the Treaties and acknowledged that First Nations affairs would be federal responsibility. Not only did First Nations have no say in where their reserve creation but were not g iven a say to where their reserves were allocated.First Nation People were to remain under federal jurisdiction while Canada grew stronger as a country leaving them to live by â€Å"Chief Commissioner Sir Charles Bagot (1781-1843)†[3], who directed administration regarding First Nation affairs. Through these foreign rules, First Nations People have lost their way of being part of Chiefdoms by the inability of self-government. As Dickason explains the power and control many of these Chiefs carried having multiple leaders within one tribe each having their own quality of a certain area such as a hunter, peace maker or one to speak on behave of the group as an equalitarian society.This idea of Chiefdoms would be the final view of true Aboriginal self-government that a nation could achieve, since signing of the Numbered Treaties is the last of actual Chiefdoms in action. This way of political thinking has long changed. Today looking back on these policies that created have captur ed the true idea of Aboriginal self-government which has long faded. In modern day society First Nations reserves remain under the creation of the Indian Act of 1867. This enables the federal government to assume full responsibility over the entire First Nations population.In A People’s Dream Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada, by Dan Russell, 2000, he brings up issues about the federal government making policies that have direct affect on First Nations People and they have no knowledge or say of what happens regarding decision about their people[4]. The federal government has a great deal of power that will ultimately alter how First Nations are dealt with. Dan Russell discuses both the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlotte Town Accord that would have had a major impact on how â€Å"Indians† were handled he states â€Å"Canadian history and laws, since shortly after initial contact with Europeans settlers, have imited the possibilities of easily exercising Aboriginal self-government in Canada†[5]. Once the first wave of settles arrived in North America, the Dominion of Canada created the power to control how settlers and resources were handled which left them also having to deal with the original inhabitants by means isolation in reserves. To look back into history even in the earliest stages of civilization First Nations People were only â€Å"interpreters and clerks, but none at the policy-making level†[6], in order to create change they need to be where these policies are being made.In making these policies and procedures there has been little to no input from First Nations or their leaders. There is an important case to view which is the Nisgas Nation and their take on self-government. In Daniel Raunet’s book Without surrender without consent 1996, he looks closely at how the provincial and federal legislation combined at the time took control of the area without notification to the First Nations People who occupied the area[7]. To maintain a level of self-governance the Nisga people will have to be in the politician spear of politics.The House of Commons where the bill are passed is where the mist influential of self-government truly lies. In order to change policies is to understand that it is not just the community one is from but the nation as a whole that can create positive change that will help maintain a level of governance of First Nations People. Not to say that what happened to their people and the stripping of their land, they in turn did get a parcel that was debated by the Supreme Court of Canada.This political presence known as the constitution hold the power to change policies that will affect how self-government is maintained. In order to gain self-government there needs be to change within the policies that run Canada and understand how the legislative system is very important when dealing with the issue of self-government. This constitution Act not only governs Canada but the Fir st Nations Peoples also. The hard fought journey of self-government seems like a long lived battle that will never be solved or won.In the turn of events to follow the Nisga people have control of their community polices but have yet to fully gain Aboriginal self-government because when to really understand how they run their community they still abide by the federal regulations. The regulations that bind them to Canada will not allow for a new democratic state which ultimately is Aboriginal self-government. Through the indulgence of the idea of sefl-government I find that while making the laws that govern the nation the Nisga People are under legislative regulations. By not having the protection of the Indian Act merely entitles them to utilize their own resources.They have no power to create their own judicial laws enforcing punishment that their people that have done criminal offences. First Nations People no matter if they are no longer under the Indian Act there are still polit ical influences that have the power to alter First Nation communities. All Canadians are held together by the Constitution Act that created the authority of policy making and by attaining a place within the federal government there can be no true form of Aboriginal self-government because we live by federal policies that bind us as a nation.We are all governed by one law, the constitution, and that most fundamental of laws states that existing Aboriginal rights are recognized and affirmed yet have to follow the Constitution. Through-out the historical struggles that First Nations People have faced they still remain with diversity that has set them apart from traditional forms of pre-historic ways of self-government. As Andrew states â€Å"Aboriginal policy as a policy type, and as a concept, is a legacy of colonization. This legacy can be seen in the continuation of policies and attitudes that were introduced when the European colonial expansion was taking place.This legacy remains today†[8]. This not only affirms my beliefs but supports the views I carry on Aboriginal self-government. First Nations People have a hard fight in future events and need to have a voice in the parliamentary system, until then there can be change to governance. Work Cited Armitage, Andrew. â€Å"Comparing Aboriginal Policies: The Colonial Legacy† Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Purich Publishing Ltd, 1999. Harris, Cole. â€Å"Ideology and Land Policy, 1864-71† Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in Bristish Columbia.Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press, 2002. Dickason, Patricia. A Concise History of Canada’s First Nations. Canada: Oxford University Press, 2006. Morse, Bradford. Edited by Hylton H. John. â€Å"The Inherent Right Of Aboriginal Governance† Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Purich Publishing LTD, 1999. Raunet, Daniel. Without Surrender Without Consent. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1946, new addition 1996. Russell, Dan. A People's Dream Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada.Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press, 2000. ———————– [1] Patricia Dickason, A concise history of Canada First Nations, (Canada: Oxford University Press (2006). Pg 171. [2] Patricia Dickason, A concise history of Canada First Nations, (Canada: Oxford University Press (2006). Pg 154. [3] Patricia Dickason, A concise history of Canada First Nations, (Canada: Oxford University Press (2006). Pg 126. [4] Dan Russell, A People's Dream Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada, (Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press, 2000). Pg 9. 5] Dan Russell, A People's Dream Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada, (Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press, 2000). Pg 11. [6] Patricia Dickason, A concise history of Canada First Nations, (Canada: Oxford University Press (2006). Pg 136. [7] Daniel Raunet, Without Surr ender Without Consent, (Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1946, new addition 1996). Pg 76. [8] Andrew Armitage, â€Å"Comparing Aboriginal Policies: The Colonial Legacy† Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada. (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Purich Publishing Ltd, 1999), pg 61-77.