1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother Research Paper

1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother - Research Paper Example Kellner writes, â€Å"The novel opens with evocations, frequently repeated that "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU." Then it quickly plunges the reader into an oppressive environment where omnipresent television sets not only incessantly broadcast government propaganda but actually serve as instruments of surveillance.† The subtle aspect of Communism as perceived by George Orwell is doublespeak. The Michal Buchowski at el. writes, â€Å"Communist language was forcefully brought home to the West by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four, especially in his notion of â€Å"doublethink.†(p.555) What is the working style of Big Brother and his associates and superiors? Their implication is—‘we don’t say whatever we say or do is correct. But whatever correct is there in the world belongs to us! How George Orwell highlights the serious shortcomings of the hardcore communist regimes with his satirical style by taking potshots at their methods of suppression of fre ewill of the people, through the character of Big Brother in 1984? The name of the watchtower through which Big Brother and his associates function is ‘totalitarianism.’ Buchowski at el writes, â€Å"The very term totalitarianism suggests a political problem: a form of rule so total as to leave no aspect of life untouched: a form of rule that is not merely dictatorial, but holds people in its grip so thoroughly that they become its puppets.†(p.557)... But the style of functioning as portrayed by George Orwell in his book 1984 seems to have been adopted in communist countries and partially in the West. This is the issue of control of history (including the censorship on print and electronic media), surveillance and corruption of language. Those who are assigned duties in these areas seem to salute the Big Brother every day, before the commencing their duties and carry out his instructions implicitly, as for tapping phones, intercept mails, enter residences unauthorisedly etc. Language corruption is being used as an important political propaganda weapon and with full knowledge of their double meaning. The words like socialist, war criminal, racist, democratic are used, as if Satan quotes the Bible. The hero of the book, Winston Smith, employed in the Ministry of truth is engrossed in rewriting and falsifying history, as per the demands of the present regime. Big Brother has a tremendous responsibility, to control the State of Oceani a. His â€Å"thought police† have to see that friends and enemies are kept under control. Oceania is at constant war with artificially created factions. Alliances are created and discredited; what is important for the Big Brother is the perennial hysteria, and to maintain the situation of confusion and to tell the people that something dangerous is being planned against the Nation by the opposition with vested interests. George Orwell, through Big Brother, gives lots of importance to past history—for the process to undo it and suppress the facts that are inconvenient to the present (Communist) regime. The supreme objective of the party is to retain and maintain power at all times and at all costs. It uses a variety of methods to keep the population under control. â€Å"War is peace† is one

Making Work Better Essay Example for Free

Making Work Better Essay This was done by showing the different bubblers that the white people|leaves the audience in no doubt at all that racism is evil. This is most evident in the | |Use the film terms that you have been taught in |and the Negro people had to use. The white bubbler was a refrigerated one and the |establishing sequence. This sequence began with a medium shot focussing on two water fountains. | |class- this will be good for C3 –aesthetics |Negro bubbler was a broken non-refrigerated one. This represents the racism that |The signage of white and colored, with the white sign being higher than the coloured was subtle | |The selection of items should be based on the |is present in Mississippi straight away and symbolises that the whites are the |representation of the hierarchy within the South. There is quite an extended amount of time on this| |best information to prove your point. You also |preferred race. This is followed on by a car of cops chasing the care of activists |shot, signifying its importance. The lighting shrouds the white drinker in darkness, again quite | |need to select evidence that will not impede the|and pulling them over. This results in the death of the three activists. This is |subtly positioning the audience to reject the values that privilege white people over Negro people. | |fluency of your writing. |authentic representation as the shooting of the three students actually happened. The fact that the light shines over the evidently substandard ‘colored’ fountain perhaps suggests | |Stick to formal register – police over cops for |The cops go on to joke about ‘killing’ a nigga’ and this represents the hatred and |that the director wants to ‘shine a light’ on the racism within Mississippi. When this is combined | |example – unless of course you are quoting |brutality that is shown towards the Negros. The attitude of the cops is juxtaposed|with the next sequence which shows the suspenseful chase scene shrouded in arkness from the | |dialogue |with the attitude of the activists by showing the cops in a bad light by using |perspective of the civil rights activists brutally murdered by Southerners, the perspective of the | |Try not to retell the story – I know it. |close ups and darkness when showing them whereas the activists have an innocence |director is blindingly obvious- racism is clearly evil. |Bold in your homework all C3 words as a way of |and a victimised representation to position the audience to sympathise for them, |Knowing the facts of what happened and then seeing it in a brutal recreation is gut wrenching in its| |giving yourself a quick visual check that you |and support the Negroes. The Ku Klux Klan is also a representation of racism in |ugliness. This evocative response is guaranteed when the naivete of the civil rights workers whom | |have covered all of them enough. |Mississippi. Symbolism and motifs are used to show where the Klan has been |the audience get to see are juxtaposed against the malevolent people chasing them (whom we don’t see| |Try to make sure your topic sentence and |present. These are by reoccurring music, burning cross, and white hoods. These |until the murder takes place). The close ups makes both the fear of the activists and the hatred of| |clincher sentence mirror each other without |things are authentic and support what actually happened in real life. Racism is |their pursuers very real to the audience. When the audience realises that it is the police not only| |directly repeating yourself. |represented effectively throughout the opening scenes in Mississippi Burning. |perpetrating the crime, but laughing about â€Å"killin’ a nigger’ (Parker, 1989) it is clear that | |Your perspective on the film should be very | |these racist values are abhorrent! These opening scenes establish the director’s perspective | |clear by the strong assertive judgement words | |clearly. Later in the film this is further represented by the excessive violence of the Ku Klux Klan| |used. Highlighted in yellow. | |(KKK). Commonly known motifs such as the white hoods and the burning cross make it clear this is a | |Adding in all of the important info means my | |film based upon a recognisable and authentically represented time in history which makes seeing the | |paragraph was too big, but you can see a natural| |visuals more powerful. These clever film and narrative techniques create a representation of racism| |break with sentences that can act as topic | |that one can’t help but despise. | |sentences and clincher sentences. DO NOT do | | | |monster paragraphs!! | | |

Mary Wollstoncrafts, The Vindication of the Rights of Women Essays

Mary Wollstoncraft's, The Vindication of the Rights of Women Mary Wollstoncraft's book, "The Vindication of the Rights of Women," is an incredibly insightful look into the life of women in the early portion of this century. It is a philosophical examination of the condition of women, in relationship to some very basic rights, and is also a very enlightening look at how short a distance we really have come, as a society, in relationship to our perceptions of women. Wollstoncraft presents herself as an incredibly enlightened individual who looks at her gender as a subject which should be seen as reasonable creatures, rather than brutes or heroines. She begins her book with words which clearly illustrate her concerns: "After considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with anxious solicitude, the most melancholy emotions of sorrowful indignation have depressed my spirits, and I have sighed when obliged to confess that either Nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial. I have turned over various books written on the subject of education, and patiently observed the conduct of parents and the management of schools; but what has been the result?--a profound conviction that the neglected education of my fellow-creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore, and that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion." From this excerpt we can clearly understand that Wollstoncraft is not merely venting anger and describing realities that are false. She is not necessarily angry or bitter about the realities she sees before her, but rather, is puzzled and seems determined to somehow understand what it is that causes the realities she sees. While there is the use of some negative words such as "weak" and "wretched," these are essentially words of the time and they only further the truth of what the author is witness to. Here is a woman who is of obvious intelligence who is witness to the misunderstanding that appears to follow all women around. She illustrates that women are denied the ability to openly obtain a useful education, but rather kept ignorant and put upon this undeniable pedestal that insists women do not need to possess such knowledge, for it would lik... ...ook and her attempt to get women to understand, is that women still do not understand the essential root of the problem. While women may be in a position today, where they obtain an education and maintain a very intellectual position, and perhaps even go so far as to find a mate that treats them equally, there are still millions of women who strive to be nothing more than a pretty picture for the men. How many women spend thousands of dollars to enlarge their breasts? Do they do that so they look better in general or do they do this to gain the attention of men, in a sexual and reproductive manner? In many ways, Wollstoncraft's is a story of yesterday and today. It is a philosophical approach to the inequality or the disrespect of men in relationship to women, as well as a look into how women see each other and their own gender. It is a very intelligent address on the subject of such realities. One wonders if Wollstoncraft was aware of how relevant her philosophical approach would be 70 years later. Upon reading her book, one would have to say that Wollstoncraft was intelligent enough to recognize that such realities would never change in such a relatively short period of time.

Innovation of Ipad

IS THE IPAD A DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY? Technology has been moved towards advancement day after day bringing new and improved devices and system. People are always on the verge of inventing something new and exciting. About a decade ago, mobile phone was rarely used by people but now everyone has a smartphone with all the possible gadgets in it like camera, video player, internet and more. Talking about disruptive technology which almost replaced any other company in new innovation was Apple. Apple launched iPhone which was one of the major successes in disruptive technology because it provided every bit of comfort to its user while using it.When apple launched ipad in 2010 there was a huge marketing and hype about its new innovated technology in the market. It was 10 inch tablet which runs on IOS (iphone operating system) as any other apple product. The ipad only runs apps from the Apple App Store. There are thousands of these applications available in the iTunes from movies, songs, ga mes and more. The ipad is not a necessity like the smartphone which do have the same gadget however it improves the quality of life of its users.Ipad has been used by the first author in two units offered by the Department of Statistics at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia): a second-year Introduction to Probability unit (PROB) and a masters-level unit Mathematical Background for Biostatistics (BCA), delivered through the Biostatistics Consortium of Australia (Simpson, 2009). The use of technology, particularly the use of ipad, has supported a different mode of teaching in these two units that takes account of the general needs of the students and it enables students to be responsive to their individual requests.The ipad has been used as a way to involve, and motivate students through high-level presentation and communication tools. It has changed the approach in learning, experience simpler and deeper. Students will now experience the most amazing textbooks they’ve eve r read through the means of ipad because it provides with the images and dictionary one tap away to find the meaning of any word. This facilitates the user to become more relax while reading through ipad. Talking about the market that ipad is looking to compete is kindle. A kindle is a device just like ipad but smaller than ipad.Kindle is specially design only for reading purposes. It is dark ink display which enables user to study freely in the sunlight without any hesitation unlike ipad. Ipad is more likely a multi-purpose device which is used for almost everything that we need. It is easy to study at night rather at day because of its multi-colour display. But after apple launched the new ipad it has been solidified its presence on the e-reader device market, a market that has been previously been the dominated by Amazon, with its Kindle, and Barnes and Noble.Those devices are especially dedicated to e-book readers, while the new ipad series is an e-book reader in along with its various features, such as web browsing, multimedia, and support. But that flexibility doesn't make ipad a better product than kindle. Sometimes device that can do only one thing can be way more interesting than a multi-purpose device. The smallest, lightest, least expensive, easiest for reading purposes are the black-and-white e-book readers. If user wants only a reading tablet device it is to say the kindle is the favourite excluding the joy of watching videos and images.Each company offers varieties of models which gets the best lighting conditions. The one you want is the Kindle Paper White, whose brilliance is more pleasant than the equivalent any other device out on the market With plain, no-touch, no-light Kindles, with the ads on the screen saver, are quite cheaper but the light and the touch-screen are really worth having. One of the important parts in the learning experience is when a student does not understand a topic or a step in an exercise. The easiest way to help him or her is to go through the question using written words.With the introduction of the ipad into the teaching method, written answers can be incomplete to some cases when they are applicable and an answer to a student’s question can be produced in the form of a video lecture particular to the topic or exercise. The learning module of distance students has now been completely changed. If they cannot solve a problem or face any problem with the subject material by themselves, there is a new possible way by dedicating video by the tutorial/lecturer that shows every step of the problem and solution.This format is particularly important and has been successful. Written solutions are the same as the textbook and are often unable to provide the student with a new approach on solving the problem. It is common that a lecturer’s first response to a question is not enough and students ask for more visions. A video is different because it allows the student go through every step of the explanation in a more verbal way and probes asking for further explanation after such a mini video lecture are unusual.

Knowledge and reality Essay

The quest for knowledge remains a perplexing problem in the field of philosophy. Even nowadays mankind continue to seek to understand himself and the world around him he is thirst to know were exactly our knowledge comes from. The question of knowledge appears to be a battle between the empirisists who believed that knowledge is acquired through sense experience and the rationalists who believed that knowledge can only be required through reasoning. Although there are a lot of people who abides with these groups in my essay in my essay I will only deal with John locke who in this case argues that knowledge is acquired throughsense experience thereby representing the empirisists group and Rene Descartes who argues that knowledge comes fronm reasoning thereby representing the rationalists. Diffrent scholars have also shown their appreciation to the work which was done by the two groups. Rene Descartes who is the rationalist have claimed that the ultimate starting point for knowledge is is not the senses but reason. According to Cottingham,Descartes argues that knowledge of a particular subject matter is underwritten by intuition or rational insight and deductive reasoning rather than experience of that subject matter(1984). Descartes in this case is of the opinion that the only way one can acquire knowledge is through deductive reasoning ,reasoning that aims at exactitude. In one way or other that exactitude is the one which we can now call knowledge Descartes maintain that without prior categories and principles supplied by reason wen could not organise and interrupt one’s sense experience in any way (Kenny:1986). In this case one would be faced with just one huge ,undifferentiated,kaleidospic whirl of sensation ,signifying nothing(Kenny:1986). Rationalism in its purest form goes so far as to hold that al our rational beliefs and the entirety of human knowledge consists in human principles and innate concepts. According to Russel Descartes believes that men are born with innate ideas or ideas that we are born with (1946:548). He argues that those innate ideas are generated and certified by reason along with anything logically deducable these first principles. Furthermore on innate ideas ,a number of mankind still how can reason supply ay mental category or first principle at all? The question is a bit easy for such people like Descartes who claimed that we are born with several fundamental concepts or categories in our minds ready for use(Stitch:1975). Descartes went own to argue that this gives us innate knowledge . This might be through certain categories of space ,time,cause and effect. In one way or other Descartes argues that people thinks in terms of cause and effect and this helps one’s experience of the world(Stitch:1975). A ccording to Stitch Descartes argues that people think of themselves as seing some things causing other things to happen,but in terms of our raw sense experience ,one sees certain things happen before other thing happen and remember having seen such before and after the sequences at earlier times (1975). One can come up with an example like ,a rock hits the window and then the window breaks. We don’t see the third thing called causation but we believe it has happened. The rock hitting the window caused it to break but this is not experienced like the fight of the rock or the shattering of the glass. Descartes argues that experience does not seem to force the concept of causation on us. On this case Descartes bis denying the fact that knowledge comes fron sense experience but reasoning. Descartes also claimed that the foundations of our knowledge are propositions that are self-evidently true. A self-evident proposition has the strange property of being such that ,on merely understanding what it says and without any further checking or special evidence of any kind. One can just intellectually see that it is true(Caruthers:1992). If A is greater than B the B is greater than C and therefore A is greater than C. In this example the claim is that once these statements are understood ,it takes no further sense experience whatsoever to see that they are true . Descartes was athinker who used sceptical doubt as a prelude to constructing a retionalist philosophy. He was convinced that all our beliefs that are founded on the experience of the external senses could be called into doubt ,but that with certain beliefs like ‘I am thinking’,there is n o room for creating and sustaining a reasonable doubt(Pojman:1991:72). Descartes then tried to find enough other first principles with immune to rational doubt that he could provide an indubitable ,rational basis for all other legitimate beliefs. According to Pojman Descartes thought that mathematics gave a paradigm or model of certain knowledge or of attaining such knowledge (1991:73). He argued that mathematical knowledge is based on self evident axioms ,or first principles. In this case those principles are clear and distinctly persued as self-evident and in other words they are indubitable that is to say it is hard to doubt them. They are intrinsically valid on self-certifying . Dscartes argues that once we have such self-evident truths ,then with the rules of reasoning or logic ,theories can be validly deduced from them (Spinoza:1905). Descartes wanted to apply the method of philosophy as he argued that in mathematics ther is no appeal to sense experience . Human reasoning is the sole source of mathematical knowledge (Spinoza:1905). In this case Descartes claimed that by poor reasoning one can achieve knowledge. It was this method of doubt that Descartes used to get at the indubitable starting point which will be unshakable foundation of the edifice of knowledge hence to doubt means to think and think means to be(Pojman:1991). On the other hand we have the empirialists who in this case are being represented by John Locke. Locke is of the view that knowledge is acquired through sense experience. Locke was actually influenced by Descartes writings in which Descartes was arguing that knowledge comes from reasoning and the issue of innate ideas. According to Pojman Locke believes that the senses we maintain ,gives us all our raw data about the world and without this raw material their would be no knowledge at all(Pojman:1991:83). To Locke perception starts a process and from this process come all our beliefs . In its purest form ,Locke and his collegues believes that sense experience alone gave birth to all our knowledge. Locke was influenced by Descartes writings because what Descartes believes was the opposite of what Locke and his collegues believed mostly on the issue of innate ideas hence he decided to put on his suggestion on were exactly our knowledge comes from. Locke argues that innate ideas are suppose to be inborn ideas and they are their in the human mind since birth (Locke:1894). He argues that these ideas are neither created by us nor derived from our experiences. Locke argues that the human mind is a ‘tabula rasa’ meaning to say it is blank and it looks like a white sheet of paper without any content or ideas. According to Pojman there are no inborn ideas in the human mind(Pojman:1991). Ideas denote the content of human mind and consciousness. This then supports the idea that all ideas spring from experiences. According to Spinoza ,Locke argues that all knowledge is formed as and ultimately derived from sensational or inner reflection(1905) To add more the empirisists argue thatideas acquired through sensation and reflection are simple ideas. According Russel Locke argues that the mind has the power to reject ,compare and combine them to then form complex ideas(1946:551) . The simple ideas are the materials of the mind or consciousness. The mind elaborates them in defferent ways and this knowledge is developed(Russel:1946:551)Simple ideaas in this case are thus produced in the mind by the outer things through external experiences and simple ideas posseses valididty. The two theories presents different ideas on were exactly we get knowledge but I think I am convinced with the theory of Descartes which says knowledge is acquired through reason. Although the theory was mainly meant for the mathmaticians I think it is good for me because a men ought to reason so as to find knowledge. To me reasoning shows that someone really is thinking deeper so as to find whatever he wants . The method of doubt which he uses convince me also because I think through doubting you will be able to find knowledge. The Christians might want to say Thomas was wrong but in one way or other Thomas made Christians to know that realy the man they saw was Jesus and Christians were made to believe that really there is resurrection and this was through doubting Thomas. I cant just believe what I have not see without doubting because nowadays people tend to lie so as to get whatever they want in their lives . Therefore the theory of Descartes to me is good one on how we aquire knowledge . ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Carruthers. P.(1992)Human knowledge and human nature,Oxford: Oxford University Press’ Cottingham. J. (1984)Rationalism,London:Palada books. Fieser. P. (1991) Introduction to Philosophy. Oxford:Oxiford University Press Kenny. A. (ed). (1986)Rationalism,Empiricism and Idealism ,Oxiford:Oxiford University Press Locke. J. (1690)An essay on human understanding. (ed)R. Woolhouse. (1997). London:Panguin Books Louis. P. (2007)The theory of knowledge ,classical and temporary readings. Belment CA:Wadsworth Stitch. S. (ed)(1975)Innate ideas ,Berkely CA:Carlifonia University Press Russell. B. (1912)History of Western Philosophy . Oxiford:Oxiford University Press.

Free Essays on Sex In The 20s

Sex in the 20’s vs. Sex of Today The 1920’s marked a new era in the way that America and the world thought about sex and sexual encounters. The men and women of the 1920’s â€Å"created the sexual manners of the twentieth century† (87). The steps taken by the young of the 1920’s led too much of the desires and disapproval of dating in society today. One of the major aspects of relationships today is the art of dating. When people first began casual dating in the 1920’s, it â€Å"permitted a paired relationship without implying a commitment to marriage† (88). Much like that of today, dating also led to the encouragement of â€Å"experimental relations with numerous partners† (88). The attitude toward casual sex did not originate with the young adults of today. The philosophy of casual sex has been passed down through the generations. Much like today, the young people had to draw â€Å"distinct boundaries between what was acceptable erotic behavior and what was not† (89). These â€Å"boundaries† have been stretched, slightly wider with every passing generation, as the thought of being sexually active is slowly but surely being more and more acceptable. Much like that of today, dating and â€Å"messing around† was not a problem until â€Å"the rigid boundaries the young imposed on their own behavior were overstepped† (90). What the youth of today would call â€Å"fooling around† the youth of the 1920’s called â€Å"petting†(89). Much like the youth of today, the youth: †¦ Observed the restrictions on petting in order to remain respectable to peers, but given the occasion and the desire, one could and did per because it was commonly accepted behavior. There was undoubtedly also considerable pressure to pet at least a little in order to remain in good standing in the eyes of peers and to assure that future dates would be forthcoming (90). It is hard to define the fine line that a teenager must walk in order to keep both their pee... Free Essays on Sex In The 20s Free Essays on Sex In The 20s Sex in the 20’s vs. Sex of Today The 1920’s marked a new era in the way that America and the world thought about sex and sexual encounters. The men and women of the 1920’s â€Å"created the sexual manners of the twentieth century† (87). The steps taken by the young of the 1920’s led too much of the desires and disapproval of dating in society today. One of the major aspects of relationships today is the art of dating. When people first began casual dating in the 1920’s, it â€Å"permitted a paired relationship without implying a commitment to marriage† (88). Much like that of today, dating also led to the encouragement of â€Å"experimental relations with numerous partners† (88). The attitude toward casual sex did not originate with the young adults of today. The philosophy of casual sex has been passed down through the generations. Much like today, the young people had to draw â€Å"distinct boundaries between what was acceptable erotic behavior and what was not† (89). These â€Å"boundaries† have been stretched, slightly wider with every passing generation, as the thought of being sexually active is slowly but surely being more and more acceptable. Much like that of today, dating and â€Å"messing around† was not a problem until â€Å"the rigid boundaries the young imposed on their own behavior were overstepped† (90). What the youth of today would call â€Å"fooling around† the youth of the 1920’s called â€Å"petting†(89). Much like the youth of today, the youth: †¦ Observed the restrictions on petting in order to remain respectable to peers, but given the occasion and the desire, one could and did per because it was commonly accepted behavior. There was undoubtedly also considerable pressure to pet at least a little in order to remain in good standing in the eyes of peers and to assure that future dates would be forthcoming (90). It is hard to define the fine line that a teenager must walk in order to keep both their pee...

Amiable vs. Amicable

Amiable vs. Amicable Amiable vs. Amicable Amiable vs. Amicable By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between amiable and amicable? Their etymology is identical, but their senses are distinct. Amiable means â€Å"agreeable,† â€Å"friendly,† suggesting a person or an experience marked by a congenial personality or atmosphere: â€Å"He seems like the amiable sort†; â€Å"They were engaged in an amiable conversation.† The word ultimately derives from amicus, the Latin word for â€Å"friend,† which is related to amare, meaning â€Å"love.† (The latter term is the basis of amatory and amorous, both of which refer to sexual feelings.) Amicus itself was borrowed into English as a legal term; it is part of the phrase â€Å"amicus curiae† (sometimes shortened simply to amicus), which translates literally to â€Å"friend of the court† and refers to an individual or an organization that files an amicus brief or otherwise requests of a court the opportunity to weigh in about a legal issue. Amicus also survives in the Spanish word amigo, which means â€Å"friend† and is sometimes used as such in American English. Amicable means â€Å"peaceable, marked by goodwill, as in â€Å"We were relieved when we came to an amicable understanding about the issue.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

SAT Latin Subject Test Information

SAT Latin Subject Test Information Lingua Latina optimum in universo, et utinam possem student singula die. If you know what this Latin phrase means, then perhaps you better showcase that Latin talent and sign up for the SAT Latin Subject Test before you apply to the school of your choice. Want to know more? See below. Note: This test is not part of the SAT Reasoning Test, the popular college admissions exam. Nope. This is one of the many SAT Subject Tests, exams designed to showcase your particular talents in all sorts of fields.​ SAT Latin Subject Tests Basics Before you register for this test, (which only pops up twice a year) here are the basics about your testing conditions: 60 minutes70 - 75 multiple-choice questions200-800 points possibleMacrons appear on the testVariations of Latin words appear in parentheses on the test. For example: iudicium (judicium).Questions following a poetry passage will always include one question requiring you to scan the first four feet of a line of dactylic hexameter verse or determine the number of elisions in a line (just to keep it interesting). SAT Latin Subject Test Skills So, whats on this thing? What kinds of skills are required? Here are the skills youll need in order to master this test.: Choose appropriate grammatical forms of Latin wordsChoose Latin words from which English words are derivedTranslate from Latin to EnglishComplete Latin sentencesChoose alternative ways of expressing the same thought in LatinAnswer a variety of questions based on short passages of prose or poetry SAT Latin Subject Test Question Breakdown As you can see, the majority of the test is based on those reading comprehension questions, but other Latin knowledge is tested, too: Grammar and Syntax: Approximately 21 - 23 questions Derivatives: Approximately 4 - 5 questions Reading Comprehension: Approximately 46 – 49 questions These questions include three to five reading passages and one or two poetry passages. Why Take the SAT Latin Subject Test? Since many people believe Latin to be a dead language – no one really speaks it in everyday life – why should you showcase your knowledge of it? In some cases, youll need to, especially if youre considering choosing Latin as a major in college. In other cases, its a great idea to take the Latin Subject Test so you can showcase a different skill other than sports or drama club. It shows the college admissions officers that you have more up your sleeve than your GPA. Taking the test, and scoring high on it, demonstrates qualities of a well-rounded applicant. Plus, it can get you out of those entry-level language courses. How to Prepare for the SAT Latin Subject Test To ace this thing, youll need at least two years in Latin during high school, and youll want to take the test as close to the end of or during your most advanced Latin class you plan to take. Getting your high school Latin teacher to offer you some supplementary materials is always a good idea, too. In addition, you should practice with legitimate practice questions like youll see on the test. The College Board offers free practice questions for the SAT Latin Test along with a pdf of the answers, too. Sample SAT Latin Subject Test Question This question comes from the College Boards free practice questions. The writers have ranked the questions from 1 to 5 where 1 is the least difficult. The question below is ranked as a 4. Agricola dÄ «xit sÄ“ puellam vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse. (A) that he would see the girl(B) that he had seen the girl(C) that the girl would see him(D) that they will see the girl Choice (A) is correct. The sentence presents an indirect statement introduced by Agricola dÄ «xit (The farmer said). The underlined indirect statement has the reflexive pronoun sÄ“ (referring to Agricola) as its accusative subject, the noun puellam (girl) as its accusative direct object and the future infinitive vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse (to be about to see) as its verb. The use of the masculine future active participle vÄ «sÃ… «rum indicates that sÄ“, not the feminine puellam, is the subject of the infinitive. The underlined portion of the sentence may therefore be translated as â€Å"that he would see the girl.† Choice (B) mistranslates the future infinitive vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse as pluperfect (had seen); choice (C) mistranslates puellam as subject rather than object (the girl would see); and choice (D) mistranslates sÄ“ (referring to the singular Agricola) as plural (they). The entire sentence may be translated as The farmer said that he would see the girl.† Good Luck!

International financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International financial services - Essay Example Intex is a third-party cash-flow projection technique that can provide accurate data on existing collateral investments and compute cash flow projection faster and easily. This enables the stock exchange to get the information they need faster and accurately for better decision making. Second reason is high frequency transactions in secondary market. This is because of two reasons. As the transaction frequency increases, the stock exchange has less time and fewer resources devoted to the primary markets. Secondly, high frequency transactions generate higher income to stock exchanges. Therefore, they will naturally put resources in areas that give them more money. Impact to the United Kingdom companies The first impact to the UK companies is reduction in their capital base. As the stock exchange concentrates in the secondary market, the primary markets experience shortage of skilled personnel who advises them on best ways of raising maximum capital for their companies. As a result, mo st companies may opt for other sources of capital because it is extremely hard to raise capital where there is no adequate help. Secondly, most companies take longer time to raise their capital from primary markets. This is because as the stock exchange gets busy with the secondary markets, they will be long queues of companies seeking help. As a result, there will be delays in getting assistance. 2. A company has the following capital structure, and all securities issued have the same nominal price of ?4.00. 400,000 5% Debenture Stock @ ?4.00 600,000 2? Preference Stock @ ?4.00 1,000,000 Ordinary Shares @ ?4.00 (a) the value of the gearing ratio and the significance of this ratio to potential investors Stock Quantity Price /unit in ? Amount capital in ? Debenture 400,000 4 1600000 Preference 600,000 4 2400000 Ordinary Shares 1,000,000 4 4000000 Total Fixed Capital 8000000 Gearing ratio indicates the proportion of debts used to finance assets in the company. The higher the gearing r atio, the riskier is the company. This is because most of the money used is borrowed from other sources other than ordinary shares. (b) When Directors decided to distribute only forty percent of the profit (?800,000), the dividend declared on ordinary shares is given below. =?320,000  The return on investment   (c) a. The price/earnings ratio  (c) b. The concept of price/earnings ratio and the significance to future Price/earning ratio measure the value of the stock. This is because it establishes the relationship between the stock price and the company’s earnings. When price/earning ratio is high in a given stock, the forecast earning growth is also high. It is a valuable ratio because investors can use to compare values of stock of different companies. Investors normally prefer stocks with higher price/earning ratio because it indicates higher returns. 3. The concept of Right Issues as well as advantages and disadvantages to the stockholders Rights issue refers to a n alternative means of raising capital whereby, a company issues additional shares or stocks to already existing shareholders in proportion to their shareholding in exchange for cash (Banerjee, 1990). For example, a company may offer rights issue on the basis of one rights issue for every six held by the shareholders. A company does this via seasoned equity offering or primary offering market at a premium or discount. The procedure for rights issue is easy. Once the issues

Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Literature Review - Essay Example rsing staff, doctors and others health workers like physiotherapists and respiratory therapists, and providing high-quality care to the sickest patients. Along with these, meeting the needs of the staff members who work in a very stressful environment is also an important challenge. To provide high quality care in ICU, there is a need for interplay of high technology and high acuity in such a setting. Each year, more than 4 million US patients receive critical care and this costs more than $180 billion annually (ECRI Institute, 2007). 10 % of the in-patient beds are occupied by intensive care patients. 30% of acute care hospital costs accounts for intensive care. 8% of the hospital beds are occupied by those who need critical care (Society of Critical Care medicine Survey, 1991 and 1993; qtd in Brilli, Spevetz, & Branson, et al, 2001). Treatment in critical care is extremely expensive. It accounts for 20% of all hospital costs and 1% of the GDP (Luce & Rubenfeld, 2002). The reason why intensive care treatment is highly costly is that ICU is a resource- intense environment which requires skilled staff, costly and new drugs and expensive technology (Kahn & Angus, 2006). Most of the Americans are covered by a health insurance plan either through the companies they work for or through the employment of their spouse or parents. According to the Current Population Survey, 2004 (ASPE, 2005), 59.8% of the population are covered by employers and only 9% purchase insurance directly. Another important source of insurance is Government. Medicare is the largest public coverage program and covers 14% of the population. About 84% of the beneficiaries of Medicare are those above 65 years of age. Another insurance program is the Medicaid which covers 12.9% of the population. The population which is covered by this program constitutes mainly the children, pregnant women, elderly, and disabled people. Military/veterans coverage of insurance is also provided by the Government and

Managing Group and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing Group and Teams - Essay Example Presently, organizations depend immensely on teamwork, hence the need for all employees to possess effective communication skills. Coevolutionary gaming is a scenario process developed by Jim Miskel and Jeff Cares in their article â€Å"Take Your Third Move First†. Coevolutionary gaming has revolutionized the way organizations consider aspects such as teamwork and decision making, both in issues that affect the organization internally and externally. This paper will examine coevolutionary gaming, discussing how the strategy enhances proper decision making, particularly within a group situation such as an organization or department in an organization. The paper will also describe the fundamental limitation of the coevolutionary gaming and the way through which this limitation can be resolved. Miskel and Cares’ article builds on the conception that planning, as well as resultant decision making should never be done within a vacuum. This means that it is not sufficient to just consider the present facts, as well as historical information and data in order to arrive at decisions or plans (Evans, 2012). The coevolutionary gaming also argues that it is unfeasible to presume that those who will be impacted by such planning or decision making, for instance, competitors will simply accept the decisions and not institute some form of counter action. Plans, as well as decisions, made within a vacuum process can be characterized as shortsighted at best. This is primarily because these decisions and plans typically do not take into consideration other factors such as the implications of counter plans and actions, which could be instituted by parties affected by the decision or plan. A decision made on the basis of existing data could turn out to be worse than simply sustaining the status quo, particularly if reactionary actions are taken into consideration (Branke & Rosenbusch, 2008). For instance, the decision of a newcomer to a market to implement robust price reductions so as to capture massive market share can be considered as detrimental in a coevolutional milieu (Axelrod & Hamilton, 1981). On the basis of existing data, this decision appears quite simplistic; however, the choice is erroneous since it wrongly presumes that the market leaders will do nothing in retaliation against the extremely low prices of the newcomer. What such existing data fails to show is that the market leaders are better equipped to retaliate in the event of a price war than the newcomer because of their robust, incumbent market volumes, which provide them the economies of scale needed to make long term decisions such as cutting prices (Ficici, 2004). Consequently, the market leaders can fight aggressively to the point where they bring their prices below the newcomer’ s point of breakeven, which is often higher, until the newcomer collapses since its sales will be incapable of supporting its overall operations (Thompson, 1994). Simply put, this means that if the decision made by the newcomer is not based on coevolutionary gaming, it could prove more fatal for the company than, for instance, identifying a geographic market niche where it can build its brand. Coevolutionary gaming is an essential tool in decision making, particularly within groups when the risk factors, as well as uncertainty levels are extremely high. This is the fundamental reason why Cares and Miskel poised that the process of coevolutionary gaming lends itself particularly well to all decision making endeavors, regardless of the business, from the Department of Defense to the

Macro &Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro &Micro Economics - Essay Example 16). Within the vast arena of macroeconomics, the development of the model of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply generally known as AD-AS model is of immense importance as it has been developed and applied for determining and evaluating the factors that are very useful in realizing the effects of Real Gross Domestic Product which is i.e, GDP deflated by the general price level. As a consequence the model also acts as a useful indicator for the determination of the inflation level of the economy (Taylor & Weerapana, 2009, p.695). The AD-AS model also incorporates the notion of micro economic concepts like demand and supply framework including equilibrium analysis (Karl, E, 2007, p. 409) and thus setting up a platform in accordance with the demand of the paper. Focus of the paper The paper will focus on the underlying mechanism of the aggregate demand (especially) and aggregate supply along with the concepts of volume of money demand and supply and its application and importance in the economy of the United States of America (US) with its recent financial crisis within the backdrop of the article, â€Å"It’s the Aggregate Demand, Stupid† written by Bruce Bartlett who has held senior policy roles in the administration of Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Pau. Crux of AD-AS model Before entering into the AD-AS model a short purview of the notion of law of demand and law of supply requires to be mentioned. The law of demand has been developed by the economists out of several criticisms (various exceptions like Giffen goods, Veblen effect) and the law basically states that for a normal commodity, there is an inverse relationship between the price of a particular commodity and the quantity demanded keeping all other things constant. The demand function can be stated as,signifying the inverse relation between price and quantity. A short mathematical and graphical explanation will m ake it clearer (Maurice & Thomas, p.43). Let, , (where a, b>0) be a linear demand curve which is taken for our purpose. Differentiating the above function with respect to Q we get, Therefore the slope of the curve is negative. The graphical representation is as follows: Fig.1 The law of demand (Maurice & Thomas, p.43) In the above diagram, at the price level P2, the quantity demanded was at the level Q2 when the price fell down to the level of P1, the quantity demanded rose to the level Q1. Thus the inverse relationship between the price and quantity as given by the law of demand is represented. The demand comes from the consumer’s angle in an economy that purchase goods and services in an economy for the maximization of their utility (Bhide, 2010, p. 313). The theory of supply on the other hand represents the positive relationship between the quantity and the price keeping all other things constant (Hussain, 2010, p. 214). It comes from the producer’s angle. More the commodity the producer sells more the price will it charge. Let a linear supply curve be considered as, . Now differentiating the

Family Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Family Business - Research Paper Example The other family members in family-run businesses do not often accord the same level of respect to the decisions made by their siblings or relatives who may be in charge of the family business. Many times, siblings will overrule the decision of a sibling who was chosen by the parents to hold a position of authority. This shows a lack of structure that is vital in ensuring that organizations realize their goals. This lack of structure is also to blame for the procrastination of important tasks within an organization. Procrastination can result in delayed succession planning which is detrimental to a company. According to the family business survey, which was meant to assess different how the different functions in family-run businesses are conducted, only 12% of the reviewed family businesses had documented plans dealing with succession planning (The Family Business Survey, 5). This is somewhat better than the survey of Australian KPMG and Family Businesses, conducted to further under stand the success of family businesses, which established that 80.7% of respondent family businesses did not have any succession planning program in effect (KPMG and Family Business Australia Survey of Family Businesses, 3). ... Another common concern is favoritism. According to a family survey conducted in the UK, it was discovered that 18% of the respondents felt that their lives were in some way hampered by their responsibilities towards the family business. 17% of the respondents also affirmed that it is easy for business disagreements to bet in the way of building strong family relationships (The Family Business Survey, 4). There were similar findings from the According to CBIA/UCONN Family Business Program Survey, which established that only 31% of the participants felt that the responsibilities were fairly allocated (Rathgeber and Nino, 12). The accusation of favoritism is common in most family organizations and can sometimes interfere with realizing organizational objectives. The employment of qualified workers is another issue that often causes misunderstandings within family run businesses. For the most part, the children or relatives of people who launch successful businesses expect that they will hold positions of authority in the said businesses even if they may not be qualified for them (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 39). However, for any business to succeed, it requires the input of skilled workers who are trained in professional institutions. Sometimes, parents have to hire workers from outside the family in order to keep their companies afloat while placating their children with junior positions. According to the Family Business Survey, 61% of the respondents had 2 or 3 relations who worked in the family-run companies (Family Business Survey, 7). The Australia KPMG and Family Business Survey’s results indicated that 40% of the surveyed

Macro &Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro &Micro Economics - Essay Example 16). Within the vast arena of macroeconomics, the development of the model of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply generally known as AD-AS model is of immense importance as it has been developed and applied for determining and evaluating the factors that are very useful in realizing the effects of Real Gross Domestic Product which is i.e, GDP deflated by the general price level. As a consequence the model also acts as a useful indicator for the determination of the inflation level of the economy (Taylor & Weerapana, 2009, p.695). The AD-AS model also incorporates the notion of micro economic concepts like demand and supply framework including equilibrium analysis (Karl, E, 2007, p. 409) and thus setting up a platform in accordance with the demand of the paper. Focus of the paper The paper will focus on the underlying mechanism of the aggregate demand (especially) and aggregate supply along with the concepts of volume of money demand and supply and its application and importance in the economy of the United States of America (US) with its recent financial crisis within the backdrop of the article, â€Å"It’s the Aggregate Demand, Stupid† written by Bruce Bartlett who has held senior policy roles in the administration of Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Pau. Crux of AD-AS model Before entering into the AD-AS model a short purview of the notion of law of demand and law of supply requires to be mentioned. The law of demand has been developed by the economists out of several criticisms (various exceptions like Giffen goods, Veblen effect) and the law basically states that for a normal commodity, there is an inverse relationship between the price of a particular commodity and the quantity demanded keeping all other things constant. The demand function can be stated as,signifying the inverse relation between price and quantity. A short mathematical and graphical explanation will m ake it clearer (Maurice & Thomas, p.43). Let, , (where a, b>0) be a linear demand curve which is taken for our purpose. Differentiating the above function with respect to Q we get, Therefore the slope of the curve is negative. The graphical representation is as follows: Fig.1 The law of demand (Maurice & Thomas, p.43) In the above diagram, at the price level P2, the quantity demanded was at the level Q2 when the price fell down to the level of P1, the quantity demanded rose to the level Q1. Thus the inverse relationship between the price and quantity as given by the law of demand is represented. The demand comes from the consumer’s angle in an economy that purchase goods and services in an economy for the maximization of their utility (Bhide, 2010, p. 313). The theory of supply on the other hand represents the positive relationship between the quantity and the price keeping all other things constant (Hussain, 2010, p. 214). It comes from the producer’s angle. More the commodity the producer sells more the price will it charge. Let a linear supply curve be considered as, . Now differentiating the

Prepare an 11 page on criminal justice management and administration Research Paper

Prepare an 11 page on criminal justice management and administration - Research Paper Example The creation of organized policing marks the initiation of the development of administration of policing. The current policing system, which is paid by the government and is there to safe guard the interest of civilians, took place during 1829. During 1829, after a very lengthy and poignant debate, Metropolitan police act became a part of parcel of the English legal system. Before 1829, the activities conducted today by police and law enforcement agencies were conducted by ordinary civilians, volunteers, employees of justice system in America and England. When the law enforcement system was in the hand of these individuals, it provided very satisfactory results until the industrial revolution, during the revolution the crime rate of America and England escalated at a very fast pace. Under the Metropolitan police act, Sir Robert Peel gained the authority to assemble a force of policemen for the metropolitan region of London; Sir Robert Peel took this opportunity and instantly hired 10 00 individuals as cops. Sir Peel along with two police commissioners recognized as Robert Mayne and Charles Rowan experienced the same issues and challenges in managing and organizing the police station and its members as faced by commissioners and managers of police station in current settings. These issues mainly concerned communication and managing a huge police force, these issues included: how to manage and coordinate the activities of a very huge police force, how to ensure that all directions and protocols are being followed and how to inform a huge number of police men about their duties and roles. The solution to some of these challenges is available in the Peelian Reforms, according to these reforms; police system should be managed and directed as the military system, police should be provided proper training and police members should be retained, individuals interested in operating as policemen should be hired on probationary basis and those who

Education Is Jkey to Sucess Essay Example for Free

Education Is Jkey to Sucess Essay Change is the essence of life said one philosopher, and keeping phase with the change is the meaning of education. There are different connotations of education. One is formal education and other is the daily education. Education is not only classroom studies but learning. In many cases what we study at class is completely different from what we practice outside. We may study the outdated technology or the old philosophy, to live in the present world we have to learn quickly what is happening in front of our eyes and try to understand it. We have seen children, always active, curious and full of vigor. the reason for that attitude is their interest in learning new things and to know the world. So they are quick learners and they enjoy life even better than us and are happier than us. So it is the innate of a person to educate himself to the changes. If he fails to do that he trails in the race of life. So education plays very important role in the nation building too. The rate of development of the country depends on the educated human resource of that nation. The educated human resource possess global competency and global etiquette. So it is the education which is the real GDP growth of the country and the investment on education is the real investment which will bear rich dividends than any other type of investments. We can learn from history how countries have progressed through their strong education system. take example of US, EUROPE and other developed countries, the universities are the real technology generators and industries are the buyers of the technology. Education is the inevitable investment the state has to do on its subjects to sustain itself and to be in the race to the global superpower. The so called global powers have invested on education so much, now they are tasting the fruit of that tree which they planted long ago. The countries instead of investing on defense and arms, if they invest on education, it will certainly pay back in large scale.

Racial Inequality in the US

Racial Inequality in the US Inequality Essay Racial inequality among blacks have long been a blatant circumstance of the American experience. Such circumstances range of from the horrible realities of African enslavement in the 1700s to the restrictions on human rights such asand unfair practices such as literacy tests before being permitted to housing and voting in the 1950s. Fast forward to modern day, and the progress that blacks have initiated in America is evident through legislation like the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Act. Both are pieces of legislation which stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the advancement, the repercussions of such mistreatment of blacks by whites are still in effect today. The issue of â€Å"internalized racism† comes in part from the pressure of a majority white society and economy wanting blacks to be a â€Å"model minority,† while in fact the institution of a majority white society are the ones in â€Å"denial† of the ongoing problems that make blacks feel th ey should not be the â€Å"model.† All the terms have socioeconomic complexes pertaining to the inequality of backs in America. Each term will be defined in context of the paper as well as analyzed and interconnected with each other term through factual justification attained from a socioeconomic and historical basis. The term internalized racism refers to the negative, condescending racial viewpoints that blacks have towards other blacks. Viewpoints such as seeing your own race as lesser than another race, not wanting to be of your own race, and wishing other people in your race were not associated with you are all forms of internalized racism. For hundreds of years, blacks were told that they were not equal to their white counterparts. They were told that having â€Å"dark skin was a mutation, and were made lower in society† (Smedley 59). These observations, as we know today, are completely absurd. However, such remarks were made and carried on for so long, and even acted on by white authority during periods of slavery where â€Å"lighter skinned Africans did not have to engage in harsher labor tasks as darker skinned Africans†(Colorism 1). Plus, majorities of American Congress agreed to the inequality of blacks with Jim Crow Laws and voting laws. Therefore, it is reasonable to see the internalized racism of blacks in previous generations where they would believe that they are not equal to whites or that their darker skin is a mistake. Furthermore, such ideologies from white society carried on in post-slavery eras such as the Industrial Revolution where blacks with lighter skin were more acceptable in society. Therefore, within black communities having fairer skin was seen as a positive physical attribute rather than having darker skin. This colorism among blacks was another form of internalized racism. Also, due to white supremacy, the â€Å"black† way of speaking which was primarily through ebonics was seen as uneducated. Therefore, in many Black communities internalized racism would arise when one spoke â€Å"white† because other members of the community would frown upon that and assume you were trying to be â€Å"white.† Moreover, speaking â€Å"properly† refers to a way of speaking that does not comprise of ebonics or any other cultural dialect of English that does not derive form white colonialism. By doing this, whites would view blacks who spoke in such a matter as educated and reformed. With the notion of white supremacy which favors â€Å"whiteness† over â€Å"blackness,† the dialect more associated with whites would be what was deemed more acceptable and appropriate. Such viewpoints from model minority still have profound impact. I can recall my sister being teased by other blacks in middle school because she supposedly â€Å"talked white.† One of the black girls even went as far as to say, â€Å"you think you’re better than us?† With such a statement, it is apparent to see the internalized racism at work. Just because my sister spoke in a way in which was deemed by white society as â€Å"educated† and â€Å"pure,† other black girls actua lly believed that and saw that my sister’s â€Å"white† way of speaking was automatically better than their dialect even though my sister never made any statement or action of superiority over them. Furthermore, my sister’s way of speaking would be seen by whites as appropriate or the â€Å"model† way in which to speak. However, my sister was not trying to be something she was not. That was just the way she spoke. My sister has her own beliefs, culture, and influences that have all affected her dialect from birth. However, with white society forming an acceptable â€Å"norm† in which to speak; there is some vulnerability for instances internalized racism among blacks and other non-whites. The socioeconomic implications from the experiences my sister has had as well as other African-Americans are evident as well. According to a poll conducted by Monster.com, one of the leading employment websites; it was concluded that employers are more likely to hire someone who has a similar dialect to themselves. Furthermore, with most employers being Caucasian, it is advantageous for African-Americans to develop a dialect that may not be natural to them. In my sister’s case it was natural since she is a first-generation American, therefore, her dialect can be easily derive from her life experiences. However, this can really be an issue to many African-Americans in the workforce because they feel they have to behave not authentically in order to just have a chance of being hired and contributing to the economy. In stating this, one could conclude why this could be one of the reasons why the highest rates of American unemployment are among African-Americans. This is crucial b ecause that leaves a substantial vacancy for African-Americans in the workforce. Who knows the economic gains that could be derived if Americans tapped in to the potential human capital of all people rather than those they could most identify with? There has been legislation passed that makes some corporations meet a â€Å"quota† for minority employees, however, I believe corporations should really seek out to racially broaden their workforce rather than just meet a quota because you are forced to. Diversity promotes different perspectives, experiences, and knowledge that could all be beneficial to help a company grow. This is a circumstance that I believe more corporations should seriously look into. The term model minority refers to the â€Å"proper† manner in which white society believes blacks should behave. Factors such as dialect, culture, and behavior are all effected under the model minority. The â€Å"proper† manner that white society believes blacks should engage in terms of this paper is a manner in which they â€Å"keep to themselves, don’t initiate any political change for the betterment of their race, speak without the use of ebonics, etc† (Model Minority). Basically the culture that derived from white colonialism is the culture white society wants blacks to take on. In addition, by white society wanting blacks to also keep to themselves and not try to initiate any political change; the notion of white supremacy will stay intact without their power being compromised. The term denial is a more refers to the ignorance of racial mistreatment that whites have towards blacks that the whites themselves fail to see. The inequality among blacks by whites has made substantial progress in modern-day from where it was even 50 years ago. Inequality based on race is illegal in nearly every facet of American life which allows blacks in America to succeed in ways unheard of in previous generations through affirmative action regulations set for universities, reformed voting laws, and more. However, despite the progression blacks have fought for, there is still a lot of inequality. The amount of blacks in prisons far â€Å"outnumber the number of whites although whites commit more crimes† (Weiser). Moreover, â€Å"blacks are the highest race targeted† with the Stop and Frisk laws placed in New York (Weiser). However, even with many racial inequalities that whites perform towards blacks; many whites believe that racism and prejudice is not alive, and that the lives of black people are just as equal and fair as whites when that is not true as evident through the preceding issues addressed. The issue of denial can be predi cted for the following reasons: Since whites do not have to conform to the â€Å"model minority,† they don’t realize the struggle that many blacks go through with having to abandon who they really are as people in order to adopt model minority principles to be more accepted in society which could lead to their own personal, economic growth. Therefore, with blacks trying to be more accepted and play a part in a majority white economy, they have to deal with internalized racism stemming from condescendence among some blacks for abandoning their culture in order to â€Å"fit in.† Furthermore, since many whites are not really aware of this, it is easy to deny issues that many blacks face especially within their own cultural circles. The socioeconomic impact of trying to be a â€Å"model minority† is prevalent among blacks as well. There is a renowned opportunity cost at stake when it comes to this issue. Should a black person act like â€Å"society† wants them to act in order to have a better shot at employment and advancement within the workforce, therefore forfeiting their cultural integrity to get ahead? Or should a black person stay true to themselves, and be looked at as â€Å"different,† therefore diminishing their opportunities for employment and career advancement? It’s a tough decision to make, and many blacks and minorities find themselves in a space where they have to balance the two worlds. Furthermore, having to work to find this â€Å"balance† takes away from the time that blacks could be using to be more efficient contributors of the economy. It brings an additional, psychological workload on top of what they already have to deal with in their respective economic situations. Racial inequality among Blacks and Whites have long been a critical part of the American experience. The depiction of the model minority is a motivating factor behind some internalized racism within black communities and groups. Therefore, it can be easy for a white or non-white person who is not associated with any such group to deny some of the issues at hand. Furthermore, with the advancement of civil rights and privileges of modern-day that are somewhat due to blacks going against the model minority during the Civil Rights Movement; whites may believe that the fight for equality is over, and that blacks and whites are in fair, equal society. As we know by now, that is not the case, but with discussions such as the ones brought up in this paper even more progression can be made with race relations and inequalities in American society.

Is The Illegalization Of Marijuana Valid? :: pot should be legal

Is The Illegalization of Marijuana Valid? The debate over the legalization of Cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated controversies ever to occur in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries world wide and is documented as far back as 2700 BC in ancient Chinese writings. When someone says ganja, cannabis, bung, dope, grass, rasta, or weed, they are talking about the same subject: marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized because the government could earn money from taxes on its sale, its value to the medical world outweighs its abuse potential, and because of its importance to the paper and clothing industries. This action should be taken despite efforts made by groups which say marijuana is a harmful drug which will increase crime rates and lead users to other more dangerous substances. The actual story behind the legislature passed against marijuana is quite surprising. According to Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, the acts bringing about the demise of hemp were part of a large conspiracy involving DuPont, Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), and many other influential industrial leaders such as William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon. Herer notes that the Marijuana Tax Act, which passed in 1937, coincidentally occurred just as the decoricator machine was invented. With this invention, hemp would have been able to take over competing industries almost instantaneously. According to Popular Mechanics, "10,000 acres devoted to hemp will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average [forest] pulp land." William Hearst owned enormous timber acreage so his interest in preventing the growth of hemp can be easily explained. Competition from hemp would have easily driven the Hearst paper-manufacturing company out of business and significantly lowered the value of his land. Herer even suggests popularizing the term "marijuana" was a strategy Hearst used in order to create fear in the American public. Herer says "The first step in creating hysteria was to introduce the element of fear of the unknown by using a word that no one had ever heard of before... 'marijuana'". DuPont's involvement in the anti-hemp campaign can also be explained with great ease. At this time, DuPont was patenting a new sulfuric acid process for producing wood-pulp paper. According to the company's own records, wood-pulp products ultimately accounted for more than 80% of all DuPont's railroad car loadings for the 50 years the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. It should also be said that two years before the prohibitive hemp tax in 1937, DuPont developed

Single Tier Company Income Tax System

1. 0 Introduction Singapore already start adopting a one-tier corporate tax system effect from 1 January 2003. In Malaysia, it is referred as the ‘single tier’ system. The government allowed a six-year transitional period to enable companies with unutilized dividend franking credits to pay franked dividends. From 1 January 2008, all resident companies in Singapore will come under the one-tier system. Meanwhile, other countries including Hong Kong, Ireland and also Malaysia are adopting the one-tier system effective from 1 January 2014.Generally, the Malaysian dividend system has undergone a complete overhaul in 2008 with the objective of providing companies, shareholders and the government with a simple, transparent, efficient and equitable system. With effect from Year Assessment (YA) 2008, a single tier dividend system replaces the tax imputation system on dividend payments to shareholders. All the changes from changing of dividend system have arisen as a result of leg islative amendments introduced by Finance Act 2007 (Act 683) gazette by the government on 28 December 2007.The new corporate tax system is called the single tier system because profits earned by companies are only taxed once and the profits distributed are no longer taxable on shareholders of the company. In this regard, the principal Income Tax Act 1967 is amended by substituting sec 108 with the following: 108. where a dividend is paid or credited by a company to any of its shareholders in the basis period for a year of assessment, the company shall not be entitled to deduct tax from such dividend paid or credited. 1. Chart: The Single Tier Company Income Tax System The company Company shareholders Income from the Income Profits business operations from investments in the company Tax on company profits The profits after taxes Profits after tax Net dividend aid out as dividends 2. 0 Advantages of Single Tier Dividend System First, single tier dividend system allows complete free f low in the channeling of profits of the company to the shareholders as exempt dividends. There are two sources of profits that can be identified. It is including revenue gains (where income tax has been paid) or capital gains from the disposal of long-term investments like, shares, landed property, plant, machinery, and factory by the company. The company may now frank out these profits as dividends to shareholders without any restrictions.From YA 2008, companies are no longer subject to the restrictions of having to maintain a tax imputation balance on dividend payments. Besides that, the second advantage is shareholders who receiving the exempt dividends are not requires to report the dividend income in their tax return. However, they are required to keep records and documents on their exempt dividend income for 7 years to substantiate this income in the event of a tax audit. The third advantages is that the company are no longer have a section 108 (6) charge issues. Single tier s ystem simplifies tax compliance.At the same time, it is enhancing efficiency of tax administrative system because no need keep track of tax paid and also dividends amount distributed to shareholders. However, under the previous dividend imputation system, a company whose payment of dividends is in excess of its tax credit balance [s 108 (6) balance] will end up paying s 108 (6) charge to the tax authorities. It is indicates company has to involve additional expenditure. Similarly, any excess in the dividend payment for capital gains over the tax credit balance will cause the company to incur the s 108 charge.This is no tax efficient to the company and increase the cost of dividend payment. While, the fourth advantage is shareholders whose marginal tax rate is at 27% will not be paying additional tax on dividend. As a comparison to previous imputation system, the income tax payment by company is imputed as tax credit to individual shareholders upon dividend payments, which is YA 2009 , 25% of the dividend income. However, the individual shareholders with the marginal tax rate of 27% will end up paying an additional 2% of tax dividend income received.With effective from YA 2009, an individual is assessed on 27% tax rate if is chargeable income exceeded RM100, 000. Fifth, it simplifies the job of tax authorities. Now, tax authorities does not need to process tax refunds to the shareholders. Thus, the tax authorities are freed up to focus their time and effort in particular the areas, such as tax audit to ensure complete tax compliance by taxpayers in a self-assessment system. The sixth advantage is single tier dividend system is business friendly, economical and tax efficient as companies are no longer requires to maintain tax credit balance for dividend payment.A portion of tax administration duties is now abolished so that human assets may focus on tax efficient work. Besides that, the seventh advantage is from a macro point of view. Nowadays, the single tier ap proach has provided a simple and convenient tax system to the country, companies and shareholders. Human capital assets may be deployed to the productive sectors to ensure that everyone is placed on a competitive edge to take on global challenges. 2. 1 Diagram of Dividends Payment to Shareholders under Imputation System Shareholder| Company Dividend income (gross)Individual75% x gross dividend| Pay net dividend (a)Received net dividend of 75% of gross dividend(b)Assessed as s 4(c) on gross dividend income(c)Tax credit on dividend income (25% of gross dividend) is available as s 110 set on income tax payable| Income tax payable RMFirst RM 100,000 14,[email  protected]% __xx__ __xxx_-S 110 set off (x) (25% x dividend income) _____Net income tax payable xx_ |Debit 25% od dividend income to s 108 account| Tax credit ondividend payments xx| Balance b/f xxYA 2009Income tax [email  protected]% / 25% nilxx| S 108 account| 3. 0 Single Tier Dividend System VS Imputation System The time l ine of implementing imputation system and single tier system is totally different. According to Choong (2009), he stated that a single tier dividend system replaces the tax imputation system on dividend payments to shareholders on 1 January 2008 and on YA 2008 onwards.Meanwhile, transitional rules applies for six-year period to 31 December 2013, during which the two systems will co-exist. From 1 January 2014, all resident companies will come under single tier system. However, imputation system implemented prior to YA 2008 until 31 December 2007 only. There are another comparison perspectives is in terms of income tax paid by the company. Under single tier system, dividend is final tax and the divided paid out to shareholders would be an exempted tax in the hands of shareholders.From here, the mechanism of single tier dividend system is treated as a separate tax entity without any integration with the shareholders. However, under imputation tax system, any excess in the dividend paym ent for capital gain over the tax credit balance will cause the company to incur the s108 charge. Thus, lead not final tax to the company while will increase the cost of dividend payment. Here, imputation system will allow integration between company and shareholders whereby a company in its essence does not pay tax.The actual tax is calculated on the shareholders upon receiving dividend income The next comparison is in the perspective of maintaining tax credit account (s 108 account). Maintaining tax credit account (s 108 account) require single tier dividend with no more than tax credit balance of companies to monitor because the company no longer has s108 charge issues and shareholders with authorities. However, it requires imputation tax system to maintain an imputation account to record income tax paid annually in credit side of the s108 account.A differences also occurs in payment of dividends to shareholders. For payment of dividends to shareholders under single tier divided for tax authorities, there is no more tax credit balance (s108 account) of companies to monitor. Hence, it also no necessity for them to process tax refunds to the shareholders and also no restriction for dividends payment. However, imputation tax system leading 108 account are to be debited the tax portion in s108 account. Continuing is the comparison perspective payment of capital gains as dividends to shareholders.Under single tier system, the company frank out profits such as dividends to shareholders without any restrictions in order to maintaining a tax imputation balance on dividend payments. However, imputation system stated any excess in the dividend payment for capital gain over the tax credit balance will cause the company to incur the s108 charge. Another comparison perspective is dividend income to shareholders. Frequently, shareholders receive the exempt dividend in single tier dividend which is not required to report the dividend income in their tax return.However, th ey have to keep all the record and documents on this exempt dividend income for 7 years to substantiate this income in the event of a tax audit. In contrast, under imputation system, shareholders receiving net dividend would be assessed on gross dividend income under s4(c) while the tax deducted on dividend income would be given a deduction (s 110set off) against their income tax payable in that YA. Next is the comparison of interest expense incurred to acquire shares. Now, the interest expense incurred to acquire shares is disregarded in the single tier dividend system as the dividend income is now tax exempt.In contrast, under imputation system, the dividend income is assesses under s4c of the Act which allowed interest expense to be deducted against gross dividend to arrive at statutory income. Thus, this will result in cash refund as the tax credit on dividend income exceeds tax payable on statutory income of dividend. Lastly is the differences of implementation. The existing co mpany with s 108 credit balances has to apply transitional period from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2013 according to ss 38-57 of the Finance Act 2007(Act 683/2007).During transitional period, existing companies are slowly phase out from imputation system. Shareholders will not suffer immediately because many listed companies will continue to use imputation system to frank out dividends until 31 December 2013. After a transitional period, a single tier system will fully take place on 1 January 2104. Hence, the imputation system no longer using anymore. At the same time, any unutilized credit balance at s 108 account balance is deemed nil at 31 December. 3. 1 A Summary Table of Comparison between Single Tier Dividend and Imputation Tax System Single tier dividend| Imputation tax system| | (1. 1. 2008 on YA 2008 onwards)| (Prior to YA 2008 till 31. 12. 2007)| (a) Income tax paid by the company| Final tax| Not final tax. The amount is allowed to be credited to s108 account to pay d ividend to shareholders. | (b) Integration to shareholders| No. company and shareholders regarded as separate and individual entities| Allow integration between company and shareholders whereby a company in its essence does not pay tax. The actual tax is calculated on the shareholders upon receiving dividend income. (c) Maintaining tax credit account (s 108 account) (d) Payment of dividends to shareholders (e) Payment of capital gains as dividends to shareholders (f) Dividend income to shareholders (g) Interest expense incurred on loan to acquire shares (h) implementation| NoNo restrictionNo restrictionExempt dividendInterest expense is disregarded. Permanent lossFully in place on 1. 1. 2014| YesSubject to the availability credit in s 108 accountHas to incurred additional cash as s 108(6) chargeTaxable dividend with tax credit on dividend income. s 110 set off ]. It will be used to set of the income tax payable for the YADeductible. The excess of interest expense over dividend incom e is not allowedExisting s 108 a/c balance may be used to pay dividend for YA 2018 till 31. 12. 2013. Section 108 a/c is deemed nil at 31. 12. 2013| 4. 0 Examples 4. 1 New Company If there are any new companies that are planning to commence their businesses in YA 2008 or subsequent YAs, they will automatically start implementing single tier dividend system. The final tax will be monthly income tax paid by company.From here, there is a non-existing of section 108 account after commencement of new company start from YA 2008. Hence, new company doesn’t have a necessity to maintain section 108 account. Meanwhile, a change has been made on dividend payment by company to shareholders. Now, it is not required to deduct tax from dividend paid or credited to shareholders. However, the company still has to follow one regulation at the same time. It will provide a statement on dividends paid to the tax authorities. The period must be dividend paid during the YA within 7 months after clo sing the accounts.If a failure to do so by company is an offence, liable and conviction to either a) a fine of between RM200 and RM2000 b) imprisonment of not more than 6 months c) or both. The dividends received by shareholders are not entitled to tax computation or tax return forms. It is also tax exempted on dividends received. However, shareholders need to keep their documentations and records. The main purpose is for future tax audit inspections. 4. 2 Existing Company Any existing company in YA 2007 is continuing to maintain section 108 account until the cut off and frozen at 31 December 2007.The existing company has the following circumstances: a) Section 108 balance nil as at 31. 12. 2007. b) Section 108 balance is nil as at any date from 1. 1. 2008 to 31. 12. 2013. c) Section 108 balance is nil due to tax discharge, remittance or refund for tax assessments prior to YA 2008. d) Company exercised an irrevocable option during 1. 1. 2008 to 31. 12. 2013 to self zerolise section 108 balance to nil. The existing company will continue credit the last installment that is December 2007 monthly installment to section 108 account. In YA 2008, section 108 is not applicable anymore.While on 31 December 2007, the credit balance in section 108 is frozen. From this date onwards, credit balance will keep decreasing rather than increasing. It is used to pay cash dividend on ordinary shares until nil balance at 31 December 2013 or earlier than that. On 1 Jan 2014, all companies including existing companies are moved into a single tier dividend system. Companies with different year end have different treatment. A company with 31 December year end will have January 2008 monthly installment, and it is actually payable for December 2007 credited to section 108 account.In contrast, a company with non 31 December year end is allowed to have monthly income tax paid for the YA 2008 until 31 December 2007. On 31 December 2007, section 108 account is frozen and cut off. This accou nt is keep continuing decrease by tax discharge, remittance or refund for tax assessments prior to YA 2008. Meanwhile, the composite assessment arising through tax investigation which is issued after 31 December 2007 shall not added to section 108 account balance. Below is the table showing companies ending with different year end: Table 4. 0 Section 108 account credit balanceCompanies Year End| 31 December| Non 31 December| YA 2007 (31. 12. 2007)| Last installment in Jan 2008| N/A| YA 2008| N/A| Monthly installment till 31. 12. 2007| 31. 12. 2007| Credit balance frozen| Credit balance frozen| 1. 1. 2008 to 31. 12. 2013| To pay cash dividend on ordinary shares till nil balance| To pay cash dividend on ordinary shares till nil balance| 1. 1. 2014: Utilised s 108 balance| Deemed nil| Deemed nil| 5. 0 Conclusion In a overview, single tier dividend system means that the dividend from the companies is an tax exempt dividend to shareholders.Company will no longer have section 108 (6) chan ge issues and also shareholders will not face any additional taxes, even though their marginal tax reach 28%. Even tax authorization on the other end, no longer needs to monitor the tax credit balance section (108 account) of the company and also processing of the tax refunds to the shareholders. They are now able to intensify on tax audits to ensure complete tax compliance with the self assessment system. The single tier dividend system is deemed to be business friendly, economically and tax efficiency for the business environment.It is because it is no longer are a requirement to maintain tax credit balance for dividend payment. A portion of tax administration duties is now abolished so that human assets would be able to focus on tax efficiency duties. The change in the tax structure from imputation to the single tier system are the most significant changes as deemed in Malaysian tax laws. It is clearly a progressive measure, one that accords with international trends. In an inter national setting, the single-tier system or exemption system is seen by commentators as being more neutral than imputation .It achieves simplicity, resulting in efficiency savings for both businesses and tax authorities. It plugs tax leakages since no tax refunds are made under any circumstances. While imputation system discriminates against the non-resident shareholder (who is not granted a tax credit) in favour of the resident shareholder (who is granted a credit), however the single tier system eliminates this, thereby removing a discrimination against regional and multinational companies seeking a holding company locations in Malaysia.The government realized that the imputation system is not very sustainable anymore in we see it in the long run. So, if the tax rates were to be reduced further down in the future, the government needs a perfect system that will allow company's tax to be deemed as a final tax. In this case, the government have certainly had taken a bold step to mov e in the right direction. References 1. Choong. K.. F. (2009). Malaysian Taxation Principles and Practice. (15th ed. ) Malaysia: InfoWorld. 2. Kasipillai. J. (2009). A Comprehensive Guide to Malaysian Taxation. (4th ed. ) Malaysia:McGraw-Hill.

Apple Online Store Strategy

GROUP B _Choose three core competencies of Apple Inc. How did these competencies allow Apple to make sense out of the recorded music industry in the early 200’s? How did they set the company up for robust first user advantage? How stable do those advantage seem now? (See Jay Barney’s Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage; Zook’s Finding Your Next Core Business). As the Internet based recorded music segment continues to evolve into other devices, will Apple’s competencies continue to generate advantage versus suc competitors as Research in Motion and Dell Inc.? Apple today is the leading player in the internet music industry with over 6 billion songs downloaded since the launch of its iTunes online music store, which today contains more than 10 million songs. Apple introduced iTunes and its online music store in 2001 when there were several major players, such as Amazon and Napster, competing for the market. However, Apple was able to outperform these co mpetitors with its three main core competencies, software, retailing and branding. In 2003, Apple introduced the iTunes online music store that allowed customers to purchase and download songs directly from the store to their computer through iTunes, and then transfer them directly to their iPods. By that time, most of Apple’s competitors offered their customers songs through subscriptions, however they did not provide customers full control of the songs they purchased, i. e. , songs purchased would be lost once customer no longer subscribed. Apple was able to offer customer a whole new way of selling songs to customers. They allowed customers to buy songs like CDs, cassettes in store and never had their songs lost since there were no subscriptions required. In addition, Apple also allowed the customer to preview the songs they intended to purchase in order to avoid downloading the wrong songs. In order to be able to allow customers to purchase songs for a low cost, Apple managed to negotiate a landmark deal with biggest five music companies in the world, Warner, Universal, BMG, Sony and EMI. Songs offered by Apple were using DRM (Digital Right Management) technology to prevent the songs to be unlimited shared. However, the songs could be used to burn unlimited CDS and transferred to unlimited iPod. Since 2001, Apple had gained tremendous branding reputation for its iPod MP3 players. Since then, it has become the most popular MP3 player in the world. When iTunes online music store was introduced in 2003, Apple had provided an extremely convenient way for legally purchasing songs and transferring them directly to customers’ iPods. Therefore, Apple’s iTunes online music store was widely welcomed and accepted by a large number of customers. Apple was a pioneer in combining online music store and music management in one software that allow customers to conveniently purchase and manage their music. Since iTunes was introduced along with the first iPods, it has been well known for simplicity and user-friendly interface. Therefore, iTunes had largely contributed to the success of Apple’s online music store and the elimination of its competitors. As the internet based recorded music segment continues to evolve into other devices, Apple has taken another new strategies in selling music to customers. In June 2009, Apple has more than 10 million songs in its online music store, and since 2006, Apple started to take DRM off their songs and offer customers DRM-free songs. Eight million songs was DRM-free since June 2009 and Apple has been making effort to offer all of their songs free of DRM. Today, Apple does not have only iPod as their MP3 players, but they also have other devices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, that can all utilize the iTunes online music store. The introduction of iPhone and iPod Touch has provided Apple an opportunity to expand its iTunes store beyond a simple online music store to become an online entertainment store, which offers numerous varieties of movies, music, TV episodes, games, applications and books. This has made Apple become the leading brand in innovative technology and its brand ranking has been going up in recent years. ITunes itself also has gone through remarkably improvement in order to offer customers a simpler, more interesting and interactive way of browsing the online store. In general, despite intense competitions from other player such as Research in Motion and Dell Inc. , Apple has been able to outperform them and offer customers the most unique and efficient way of purchasing music and other online entertainment contents. This has been proved by growing stock prices, and increasing profit figures since Apple iTunes online music store was introduced in 2003.

The Right to Education

The Right to Education – A Global Perspective â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. † Nelson Mandela This saying of Nelson Mandela reveals a lot about the importance of education as a mean of achieving the changes we want to see in the world. Realizing the importance of education is highly significant for the nation and the world as a whole; however, giving equal education opportunities to people within specific countries and around the world remains a challenge for the global society.In order to overcome, or at least ease, such challenges, the right to education has been a subject of matter of international law, as well as state constitutions. While a great number of countries have been signatories and ratifiers of international conventions that protect the right to education, many countries have failed to provide the essential capacities to assure this right for various reasons. The failure to protect this right, no matter the reasons, has been quite harsh for the most vulnerable groups of different societies; hence, leaving millions of people worldwide without the capacity to contribute to a better world.As such, this paper will firstly focus on the protection of this right by international law, and it will later focus on the protection of the right to education in the following countries: Finland, Venezuela, India and finally Kosova. The Right to Education and the International Law The right to education, as a human right, has been highly guaranteed and protected by international law for many decades now. To begin with, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 marked the universal recognition of the right to education.The Declaration guarantees the right to education through Article 26, which among others states that: â€Å"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Techni cal and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit . † Furthermore, the right to education is protected by the Convention against Discrimination in Education, adopted in 1960.This convention, through its 19 articles plays a high significance in the struggle of the global society to hinder the discriminations and separations in education . Later on, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979, guarantees women equal rights with men in terms of education . In addition, in 1966, the right to education was also preserved in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, specifically through articles 13 and 14.Both article of ICESCR make primary education compulsory and free of charge, as well as oblige the states to make secondary and higher education easily accessible to all . Nevertheless, the Convention on The Rights of The Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, was a significant step in the protection of children from discrimination of any form. Articles 28-32 of this convention particularly deal with discriminations made in education. Signatories of this convention â€Å"recognize the right of the child to education,†¦with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity . As mentioned previously, besides international law, the right to education is also enshrined in many regional instruments and most of the countries’ constitutions, though the compliance to the international/regional/national instruments varies to a great extent from country to country. As such, there are great disparities between school enrollment rates in different countries, and the following sections of this paper will deal with the protection/application of the right to education in specific countries and their effects on the education activities. FinlandFinland proved to be one of the most successful countries in the education field. Actually, it was ranked as the fourth country out of 48 countries belonging to different development phases. Undoubtedly, one of the crucial factors that facilitated this achievement was Finland’s hard work in protecting the right to education. First of all, Finland is a signatory of all of the above-mentioned international instruments, which make Finland legally binding to all of the above articles. Furthermore, the Constitution of Finland protects the right to education through Section 16 of Chapter 2 .The constitution makes primary education free and compulsory to all children. Nevertheless, the constitution makes the state accountable for providing equal opportunities to all citizens even after finishing the compulsory education . The right to basic education in Finland is further protected by the Basic Education Act, which makes the municipalities responsible for providing education in both languages (Sweedi sh and Finnish), as well as providing free school materials, meals, and transportation to all students of pre – primary and primary education.The Basic Education Act also protects the right to education of the disabled children by making them entitled to special â€Å"interpretation and assistance services†, all for free . Furthermore, the Universities Act of Finland makes undergraduate studies free of charge for studies in Finnish and Swedish, as well as freeing from undergraduate studies tuition students of EU member countries . As mentioned previously, Finland is one of the few countries where the right to education is well protected, and cases of violations of this right are not common at all and are hard to find. VenezuelaVenezuela has ratified all the international instruments mentioned above, which means that Venezuela is obliged to comply with those articles that regulate the right to education. Besides that, the right to education in Venezuela is also protecte d under the Venezuelan Constitution. Chapter VI of this constitution deals specifically with education, and Article 102 of this chapter states that â€Å"Education is a human right and a fundamental social duty, it is democratic, free of charge and obligatory . † Further, Article 103 guarantees equal opportunities for all students, including disabled students .In addition to the Venezuelan Constitution, the right to education in Venezuela is also protected by the Organic Law of Education, decreed on 2009. Article 3 of this law, makes education â€Å"public, social, compulsory, free of charge†¦ quality, secular, comprehensive, and permanent, of social pertinence, creative, artistic, innovative, critical, multicultural, multiethnic, intercultural, and multilingual †. Article 6 of the Law gives access to education to disabled students and students in the â€Å"Adolescent Responsibility Penal System† .Furthermore, Article 6 makes the state responsible for devel oping the mechanisms that control the right to education. However, despite the progress Venezuela made in legally protecting the right to education, many challenges still remain and make the reality less desirable, one of those issues being the certification of the asylum students. Asylum seekers deal with delays in getting certified for their studies because they have to first be recognized as refugees, a process that often takes a lot of time.Furthermore, if an asylum seeker finishes a certain level of education in his/her home country, that certification will not be recognized until the student receives Venezuelan documents. As Rodrigo de La Barra puts, such delays of certification, prohibit students to continue with their studies, hence hindering motivation and increasing drop-out rates. It is important to mention that both these cases are violation of the Convention on the Rights of Children, a convention to which Venezuela is legally binding . IndiaContrary to Finland and Vene zuela, India is not legally binding to the International Convention against Discrimination in Education. Still, it is legally binding to the other international conventions dealing with education . The right to education in India is protected in its constitution in the Article 21A, which obliges the state to offer free/compulsory basic education to children 6-14 years old. Furthermore, Article 29. 2 prohibits the discrimination in education made to minorities, whether that is racial, religious, or caste based discrimination.Nevertheless, Article 30 gives them the right to develop their own educational institutions . A highly significant step on the improvement of protection of the right to education in India was made in year 2009, when the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed. This Act’s aim is guaranteeing every child of age 6-14 free and qualitative education, as well as defining the ways the state shall use in protecting such rights. Besides ma king education free and compulsory, this act also says that children cannot be left out because the admission period is over, or because of the lack of documents.Furthermore, the act gives the disabled students the opportunity to participate in the mainstream education . Noticeably, the government of India has made important steps in protecting the right to education; still, what lies in papers is quite different from the actual situation in India. Though the school enrollment rates have increased in India after passing the Act, the participation rates and drop-out rates are not so optimistic. Yet another concern in India is the low quality education, which is a result of †poor curriculum and syllabus, deficient pedagogy, negligent teachers † and parents.Nevertheless, discrimination, though prohibited by the Act, is still prevalent in the Indian education system. It is the Act itself that leaves space for such discrimination since it allows for school categorization as f ollows: â€Å"a) government schools b)aided private schools c)special category schools and d)non-aided private schools †. By allowing the existence of such school categorization, the Act legitimizes the discrimination of the poorer children who become subjects of lower quality education, as compared to the rich students.That violations of the right to education, guaranteed by the Act, are a serious concern in India, is shown by the great number of cases of violation. According to Amod Kanth , 10,500 cases of violation of the act have been recorded in Delhi, within a nine-month period after the implementation of the act. Kanth states that such violations are â€Å"of at least 15 kinds, like screening tests before admissions, corporal punishment, admission denial, mental harassment and others . These figures of the violations in the capital city seem quite concerning, and I believe that they clearly picture the state of the right to education in India. Conclusion In conclusion , education is an essential process which enhances the intellectual development of human beings. Despite being a right in itself, it is also a tool to achieve many other rights. Therefore, ensuring an education to every child is of a high significance, not only for the child alone, but also for the well-being and the development of the society.As such, guaranteeing that every human being is given the opportunity to be provided with such a development activity has been an important subject of many international, regional, and national instruments, among them: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention against Discrimination in Education, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Convention on The Rights of The Child (CRC), as well as the national constitutions of almost all countries.However, as the cases in Venezuela and India, show, the protection of the right to education by l egal instruments is not sufficient unless its implementation in the real life is ensured. Problems related to the application of this right arise every day, leaving millions of children worldwide, including highly developed countries, without even basic education; hence, without the potential to contribute to the improvement of the global society.Therefore, it is crucial that we, as individuals, start contributing to the gradually easing of the obstacles preventing the world from becoming a better place for everyone, either by making better laws or by implementing those laws better.