Restriction Endonuclease Digestion of Plasmid Dna

Introduction: With the execution of this experiment, we began to go deeper into the Cell and Molecular Biology course. The main focus of the experiment would be how the Restriction Endonucleases cleave the strands of DNA. For this experiment, pBR322 was the specimen to use. Restriction Endonucleases work by cleaving the sugar phosphate backbone of specific DNA sites. Restriction enzymes that have been isolated from bacteria have a defensive role. This idea is illustrated when an attacking foreign cell DNA is trying to alter the bacteria; restriction enzymes cleave the DNA rendering it inert.The second part of the experiment deals with Gel Electrophoresis. The samples are loaded into wells on an 1% agarose slab and subjected to electrical currents both positive and negative. Our current target here is DNA, therefore since nucleic acid as a negative charge, the bands will migrate toward the positive cathode. This process of migration is called sieving and smaller strands move faster th an longer strands due to their ease in going through the gel. The objectives of the experiment include:Learning the principles behind Restriction Enzymes and Gel Electrophoresis Applying the concepts in the experiment to produce bands at the end of the Gel Electrophoresis stage Interpreting what these bands mean with accordance to how the plasmid was cleaved Methods and Materials: For the experiment we used several restriction endonucleases (BamHI, EcoRI, HindIII, PstI, ScaI, SaII), ppBR322 plasmid DNA, TAE/TE Buffer, DNA Ladder (50 Bp), Restriction Buffers, 1g of Agarose, 700ml of Distilled H2O. Equipment used for the experiment included: Agarose Gel Electrophoresis System, Uv-vis illuminator and Camera or a Gel doc-it documentation system.The first procedure began by adding 8. 5  µL sterile distilled H2O, 1. 0 µL of the appropriate 10x buffer, 1. 0 µL combination of the restriction endonucleases and 1. 0 µL of pBR322 plasmid DNA (the DNA would be added last) in 5 separate 1. 5ml microcentrifuge tubes, one tube is not to have an RE in it. The mixture was then incubated for 1 hour at 37  °C. No dry block heater was available so body heat was used. After incubation, 2 µL of gel loading dye (Bromphenol Blue) was added to each mixture and loaded in 1% agarose gel. The 50bp DNA ladder was placed in lane 1.It was then subjected to electrophoresis at 100V 250mA 50W. Agarose gel was prepared by dissolving 1g of agarose gel powder in 100mL distilled H2O in a microwave over. It was then cooled at 60 °C then poured in a gel casting tray. A comb was then put and the gel was left to solidify. Afterwards, the gel casting tray was placed into the submarine gel electrophoresis system. The TAE buffer was then placed. The samples were then loaded from left to right starting with the DNA ladder on lane with and the sample without any restriction enzyme on the extreme right.It was then covered and the anodes were connected on the side of the walls. They were connec ted to the power supply set at 100V 250 mA 50W and then run. When the tracking dye reached near the end point, the power supply was turned off. The gel was then removed and transferred into a developing try containing a 10 µL ethidium bromide pero 100ml buffer. It was then shook for 15 minutes. The get was then transferred to the documentation system and Rf values were measured. Pictures were taken and the gel was immersed in hypocholorite (chlorox) solution before discarding. Results and DiscussionThe group did not include a mix without restriction enzymes because doing so will lead to undigested or incompletely digested DNA. The DNA methyltransferase (DNA MTase) family of enzymes catalyze the transfer of a methyl group to DNA. DNA methylation serves a wide variety of biological functions. All the known DNA methyltransferases use S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor. In prokaryotes, the major role of DNA methylation is to protect host DNA against degradation by restric tion enzymes. In eukaryotes, DNA methylation has been implicated in the control of several cellular processes, including ifferentiation, gene regulation, and embryonic development. Structural work on HhaI DNA methyltransferase demonstrates that the substrate nucleotide is completely flipped out of the helix during the modification reaction and has provided much insight into the enzymatic properties of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent DNA-modifying enzymes. Structural comparison of three enzymes, HhaI C5-cytosine methyltransferase, TaqI N6-adenine methyltransferase, and catechol O-methyltransferase, reveals a striking similarity in protein folding and indicates that many SAM-dependent methyltransferases have a common catalytic-domain structure.This feature permits the prediction of tertiary structure for other DNA, RNA, protein, and small-molecule methyltransferases from their amino acid sequences, including the eukaryotic CpG methyltransferases. Ethidium bromide is an interca lating agent commonly used as a fluorescent tag (nucleic acid stain) in molecular biology laboratories for techniques such as agarose gel electrophoresis. It is commonly abbreviated as â€Å"EtBr†, which is also an abbreviation for bromoethane.When exposed to ultraviolet light, it will fluoresce with an orange colour, intensifying almost 20-fold after binding to DNA. Ethidium bromide is an â€Å"intercalating dye†, that is, it is able to slip itself into the DNA while essentially stacking itself between the bases of the helix. When it is inserted into the DNA, it becomes much more fluorescent when exposed to ultraviolet light as compared to ethidium bromide just in solution. So we can use it to visualize the DNA that has been resolved on a gel by electrophoresis.

Invisible Man

1) Symbol In chapter 15, the narrator comes across a coin bank when leaving Mary's house. The coin bank is a figurine is of a grinning black man, who when a coin is placed in its hand and a lever is pushed, tosses the coin into his mouth. This is not only derrogative on how society viewed the african americans but also symbolic in how the narrator has experienced the race being not only treated negatively, but regarded in terms of unequality and in a sense, bottom feeders. More specifically, this can relate to the Battle Royal where the young black boys scavvanged up their winnings on the electrified carpet infront of an audiance that was mainly wealthy white people. To the white men, this exemplified the black men's despair to grab up any money they could, in a humiliating mannor, which was supplied by the white man himself. I think this symbol is significant because it symbolizes the reoccuring issue of black men being lesser equals of the white man, and it doesn't allow the narrator to forget about his â€Å"place† in society, as long as the rest of the race. ) Setting â€Å"†¦ I found a home-or a hole in the ground, as you will†¦. My hole is warm and full of light. In my hole in the basement there are exactly 1,363 lights. I've wired the entire ceiling, every inch of it. And not with flourescent bulbs, but with the older, more-expensive-to-operate kind, the filament type. (p. 6,7)† † It was foggy with cigar smoke. And already the whiskey was taking effect. I was shocked to see some of the most important men in town quite tipsy. They were all there-bankers, lawyers, judges, doctors, fire chiefs, teachers , merchants. Even one of the more fashionable pastors. Something we could not see was going up front. A clarinet was vibrating sensuously and the men were standing up and moving eagerly forward. (pg. 18) † It was a beautiful college. The buldings were old and covered with vines and the roads gracefully winding, lined the hedges and wild roses that dazzled the eyes in the summer sun. Honeysuckle and purple wisteria hung heavy from the trees and white magnolias mixed with their scents in the bee-humming air†¦. How the grass turned in the springtime and how the mocking birds fluttered their tails and sang, how the moon shone down on the buildings, how the bell in the chapel tower rang out the precious short-lived hours; how the girls in bright summer dresses promenaded the grassy lawn. (pg. 34)† â€Å"†¦ winter, with the moon high above and the chimes in the steeple ringing and a sonorous choir of trombones rendering a Christmas -caarol; and over all is a quiteness and an ache as though all the world were lonliness. (pg. 5)† † The plant was in Long Island, and I crossed a bridge in the fog to get there and came down in a stream of workers. Ahead of me a huge electric sign announced its message through the drifiting strands of fog†¦. Flags were fluttering in the breeze from each other in a maze of buildings below the sign, and for a moment it was like watching some vast patriotic ceremony from a distance. But no shots were fired and no bugles sounded (pg. 196)â⠂¬  † I was sitting in a cold, white rigid chair and a man was looking at me out of a bright third eye that glowed from the center of his forehead. He reached out, touching my skull gingerly, and said something encouraging, as though i were a child. his fingers went away (pg 231). † † When I came out of the subway, Lenox Avenue seemed to careen away from me at a drunken angle, and I focused upon the teetering scene with wild, infant's eyes, my head throbbing (pg. 251). † † Then I was back in the street and moving toward the subway. My eyes adjusted quickly; the world took on a dark-green intensity, the lights of cars glowed like stars, faces were a mysterious blur; the garish signs of movie houses muted down to a soft sinister glowing (pg. 84). † â€Å"†¦ a small crowded room of men and women sitting in folding chairs, to the front where a slender woman in a rusty black robe played passionate boogie-woogie on an upright piano along with a young man wearing a skull cap who stuck righteous riffs from an electic guitar which was connected to an amplifier that hung from the ceiling above a gleamin g white and gold pulpit. A man in an elegant red cardinal's robe and a high lace collar stood resting against an enormous Bible and now began to lead a hard-driving hymn which the congregation shouted in an unknown tongue. And back and high on the wall above him there arched the words in letters of gold: LET THERE BE LIGHT (pg497,498). † â€Å"It was a hot dry August night. Lightning flashed across tge eastern sky and a breathless tension was in the humid air (pg 516). † I believe Ralph Ellison has created a credible setting because in each of the examples, a detailed description of the narrator's surrounding is evident. With such detail, it is clear to the reader what time period the novel or flashback is taken place in and the environment the main character, or author is experiencing. In this case, the story is taking place first in the south, then making its way towards the north, Harlem, in the early 1920's and 1930's. 3) Striking images, ideas, events, objects â€Å"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me (pg. 3). † Opening the prologue, the narrator starts by introducing himself as an invisible man. This introduction is important because it immediatedly allows the reader to understand the narrator's self placement in society, which also sets the constant theme throughtout the novel. â€Å"Without light I am not only invisible, but formless as well; and to be unaware of one's form is to live a death. I myself, after existing some twenty years, did not become alive until I discovered my invisibility (pg. 7). † Prior before this excerpt, the narrator explained he installed 1,369 lights in his basement. He goes on to explain why he possesses so many lights in the theory that even though he is â€Å"invisible† he still exists; and the light permits him to exist. In addition, he explains that he hadn't begun to live until he realized he was invisible. I interperate this as him stepping back from participating in the life society leads, and observing and living his own, secluded. † All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was†¦. I was looking for myself and asking everyone execept myself questions which I, and only I, could answer (pg. 5). † The narrator begins to flashback to his adolecent years by explaining what he now realizes was the hindering aspect of his youth. Throughout the book he begins to find himself, and his place in society. â€Å"You're hidden right out in the open – that is, you would be only if you realized it (pg. 154). † At the Golden Day, the veteran doctor tells th is to the narrator. In his flashback, this is when the narrator gets the notion of being an invisible man of society. It also foreshadows his future understanding of himself. Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you? (pg. 581)† Ending the novel, the narrator leaves the reader with these words. This can be interperprated into different views. To me, this means that he may speak for you, it is possible that he is expressing your feelings or describing some part of your experience; and who is to prove otherwise other than yourself? 4) Figures of Speach â€Å"Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass (pg. ) . † This metaphore is used to exemplify the narrator's view upon his place in society and how he is viewed. With this, he is trying to explain that when in public, he is never seen as he is; whether he had been replaced by his surroundings, other people, or figments of the viewer's imagination. â€Å"†¦ A figure in a nightmare which the sleeper tries with all his strength to destroy (pg. 4). † Another metaphore is used to explain how the narrator experiences invisibility. Invisibilty has led him to question if in reality he is infact viewed and understood as an actual human being or is he rather a neusance, or terrorist in other's lives in that they wish not to see him- making him invisible. † Live with your head in the lion's mouth (pg. 16). † A few of the narrator's grandfather's last words that had powerful meaning. To live with your head in the lion's mouth means to live life on the edge, or to live life in a knowingly dangerous manor. The grandfather did not want his grandchildren to live life in fear, and with the wills of society. Invisible Man 1) Symbol In chapter 15, the narrator comes across a coin bank when leaving Mary's house. The coin bank is a figurine is of a grinning black man, who when a coin is placed in its hand and a lever is pushed, tosses the coin into his mouth. This is not only derrogative on how society viewed the african americans but also symbolic in how the narrator has experienced the race being not only treated negatively, but regarded in terms of unequality and in a sense, bottom feeders. More specifically, this can relate to the Battle Royal where the young black boys scavvanged up their winnings on the electrified carpet infront of an audiance that was mainly wealthy white people. To the white men, this exemplified the black men's despair to grab up any money they could, in a humiliating mannor, which was supplied by the white man himself. I think this symbol is significant because it symbolizes the reoccuring issue of black men being lesser equals of the white man, and it doesn't allow the narrator to forget about his â€Å"place† in society, as long as the rest of the race. ) Setting â€Å"†¦ I found a home-or a hole in the ground, as you will†¦. My hole is warm and full of light. In my hole in the basement there are exactly 1,363 lights. I've wired the entire ceiling, every inch of it. And not with flourescent bulbs, but with the older, more-expensive-to-operate kind, the filament type. (p. 6,7)† † It was foggy with cigar smoke. And already the whiskey was taking effect. I was shocked to see some of the most important men in town quite tipsy. They were all there-bankers, lawyers, judges, doctors, fire chiefs, teachers , merchants. Even one of the more fashionable pastors. Something we could not see was going up front. A clarinet was vibrating sensuously and the men were standing up and moving eagerly forward. (pg. 18) † It was a beautiful college. The buldings were old and covered with vines and the roads gracefully winding, lined the hedges and wild roses that dazzled the eyes in the summer sun. Honeysuckle and purple wisteria hung heavy from the trees and white magnolias mixed with their scents in the bee-humming air†¦. How the grass turned in the springtime and how the mocking birds fluttered their tails and sang, how the moon shone down on the buildings, how the bell in the chapel tower rang out the precious short-lived hours; how the girls in bright summer dresses promenaded the grassy lawn. (pg. 34)† â€Å"†¦ winter, with the moon high above and the chimes in the steeple ringing and a sonorous choir of trombones rendering a Christmas -caarol; and over all is a quiteness and an ache as though all the world were lonliness. (pg. 5)† † The plant was in Long Island, and I crossed a bridge in the fog to get there and came down in a stream of workers. Ahead of me a huge electric sign announced its message through the drifiting strands of fog†¦. Flags were fluttering in the breeze from each other in a maze of buildings below the sign, and for a moment it was like watching some vast patriotic ceremony from a distance. But no shots were fired and no bugles sounded (pg. 196)â⠂¬  † I was sitting in a cold, white rigid chair and a man was looking at me out of a bright third eye that glowed from the center of his forehead. He reached out, touching my skull gingerly, and said something encouraging, as though i were a child. his fingers went away (pg 231). † † When I came out of the subway, Lenox Avenue seemed to careen away from me at a drunken angle, and I focused upon the teetering scene with wild, infant's eyes, my head throbbing (pg. 251). † † Then I was back in the street and moving toward the subway. My eyes adjusted quickly; the world took on a dark-green intensity, the lights of cars glowed like stars, faces were a mysterious blur; the garish signs of movie houses muted down to a soft sinister glowing (pg. 84). † â€Å"†¦ a small crowded room of men and women sitting in folding chairs, to the front where a slender woman in a rusty black robe played passionate boogie-woogie on an upright piano along with a young man wearing a skull cap who stuck righteous riffs from an electic guitar which was connected to an amplifier that hung from the ceiling above a gleamin g white and gold pulpit. A man in an elegant red cardinal's robe and a high lace collar stood resting against an enormous Bible and now began to lead a hard-driving hymn which the congregation shouted in an unknown tongue. And back and high on the wall above him there arched the words in letters of gold: LET THERE BE LIGHT (pg497,498). † â€Å"It was a hot dry August night. Lightning flashed across tge eastern sky and a breathless tension was in the humid air (pg 516). † I believe Ralph Ellison has created a credible setting because in each of the examples, a detailed description of the narrator's surrounding is evident. With such detail, it is clear to the reader what time period the novel or flashback is taken place in and the environment the main character, or author is experiencing. In this case, the story is taking place first in the south, then making its way towards the north, Harlem, in the early 1920's and 1930's. 3) Striking images, ideas, events, objects â€Å"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me (pg. 3). † Opening the prologue, the narrator starts by introducing himself as an invisible man. This introduction is important because it immediatedly allows the reader to understand the narrator's self placement in society, which also sets the constant theme throughtout the novel. â€Å"Without light I am not only invisible, but formless as well; and to be unaware of one's form is to live a death. I myself, after existing some twenty years, did not become alive until I discovered my invisibility (pg. 7). † Prior before this excerpt, the narrator explained he installed 1,369 lights in his basement. He goes on to explain why he possesses so many lights in the theory that even though he is â€Å"invisible† he still exists; and the light permits him to exist. In addition, he explains that he hadn't begun to live until he realized he was invisible. I interperate this as him stepping back from participating in the life society leads, and observing and living his own, secluded. † All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was†¦. I was looking for myself and asking everyone execept myself questions which I, and only I, could answer (pg. 5). † The narrator begins to flashback to his adolecent years by explaining what he now realizes was the hindering aspect of his youth. Throughout the book he begins to find himself, and his place in society. â€Å"You're hidden right out in the open – that is, you would be only if you realized it (pg. 154). † At the Golden Day, the veteran doctor tells th is to the narrator. In his flashback, this is when the narrator gets the notion of being an invisible man of society. It also foreshadows his future understanding of himself. Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you? (pg. 581)† Ending the novel, the narrator leaves the reader with these words. This can be interperprated into different views. To me, this means that he may speak for you, it is possible that he is expressing your feelings or describing some part of your experience; and who is to prove otherwise other than yourself? 4) Figures of Speach â€Å"Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass (pg. ) . † This metaphore is used to exemplify the narrator's view upon his place in society and how he is viewed. With this, he is trying to explain that when in public, he is never seen as he is; whether he had been replaced by his surroundings, other people, or figments of the viewer's imagination. â€Å"†¦ A figure in a nightmare which the sleeper tries with all his strength to destroy (pg. 4). † Another metaphore is used to explain how the narrator experiences invisibility. Invisibilty has led him to question if in reality he is infact viewed and understood as an actual human being or is he rather a neusance, or terrorist in other's lives in that they wish not to see him- making him invisible. † Live with your head in the lion's mouth (pg. 16). † A few of the narrator's grandfather's last words that had powerful meaning. To live with your head in the lion's mouth means to live life on the edge, or to live life in a knowingly dangerous manor. The grandfather did not want his grandchildren to live life in fear, and with the wills of society. Invisible Man Invisible Man

Family Effects on Criminal Behavior Essay

It is rare for a person to see someone, who comes from a â€Å"good† family per say, to get into criminal behavior but it does happen. These people are brought up in this world with high standards and at some point they just can’t take it. They’re brought up with high expectations on them so when they can’t be met they find a way to cope. They turn to things, such as drug abuse, to make it through their situations. Others are just anti-social so they don’t know another way out but to turn to something that will accept them. Family has a major effect on what they’ll do. If they expect them how they are flaws and all they’re more likely to stay away from criminal behavior. But if they expect nothing but perfection and then are shunned on for not meeting those standards, they find a way to cope. They turn to things that you wouldn’t expect them to do. They’re brought up to high expectations. Then there’s people who aren’t brought up in a â€Å"good family† and don’t turn to the criminal behavior. These people are doing it for themselves. They saw what it was like to come from a â€Å"poor family† and don’t want to be that way the rest of their lives. They know what it’s like to live without the things they need and they want better for their future. They aren’t held to meet high expectations so any type of accomplishment they met is highly looked upon. But then there is the person who was brought up in a â€Å"good family† and isn’t looked upon as doing something so amazing. They just break at some point. But the ones who don’t come from a â€Å"good† family are given praise. People that come from a â€Å"good† family have more pressure on them to be a better person. They have high family values to meet. In Agnew’s Sources of Strain and Their Consequences it states one of the sources of strain is failure to achieve goals and one of the negative affective states could be anger or frustration. So then they turn to drug abuse or violence. But in some cases it’s not the family who has the effect on them. Because in the social learning theory it states that, people act aggressively because, as children, they modeled after the violent acts of adults. So when people are brought up in this world with those role models they try to be just like them. So a person’s acts aren’t only affected by their family. But their family does have a great deal on how they’ll be in the future. Though it is more likely for people that come from a disadvantaged family to turn to crime, there are always exceptions to everything. People can come from a good family and still turn to crime. They find a way to be individual, to stand out from the rest of the family. They want to have their own individuality and be paid attention to and if crime is the only way they are seen, the crime is what they will turn to. As for people who come from a poor family they may want to be able to give back to their family what they couldn’t be given. They strive to be different and stand out from the rest of their family. They too are looking for individuality.

Economics as a collection of analytical tools - concepts of Essay

Economics as a collection of analytical tools - concepts of rationality, opportunity cost, comparative advantage and the margin - Essay Example 87) B. Venkatesh says that "rationality in economics is to do with greed! People are called rational if they desire to improve their economic well-being. That is, they want more wealth, and they want it sooner than later. Thus, if you are offered Rs 1 lakh, and you refuse it, you may be deemed irrational by the economists". (Venkatesh, 1990, p.2) Count the following decision problem. A consumer must choose between 2 actions, videlicet, A and B. She/he acquires 10 dollars from action A and 5 dollars from action B. On the supposition that the consumer prefers more money to less one, he is rational if he chooses action A; a consumer choosing action B is irrational. In the context of this mere example, the rationality concept is trivial, partly because there is no ambiguity in the decision problem (i.e., the set of probable actions and the payback from each action are clear with certainty). Nevertheless, in the context of examples with uncertainty, the concept of rationality is by no means trivial. For instance, consider the following modification to the decision problem stated earlier. If the consumer selects action B, then a fair coin is tossed, and if he is lucky and heads turned up then the consumer gets 15 dollars, and if tails turned up then he gets 5 dollars. In this much more complicated decision problem, it is not clear whether it is as yet rational for the person to choose action A. Opportunity cost is an economical term that means the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foreseen and the benefits that could be obtained from that opportunity, or also understood as the most valuable foreseen alternative. The opportunity cost concept is used in CBA to adjust a dollar value on the inputs necessary to execute policies. The opportunity cost of using an input to execute the policy is its value in the best alternative usage. It assesses the value of what people should forgo to use the input for the policy fulfillment. For instance, if a city wants to construct a hospital on available land it owns, the opportunity cost is another possibility that might have been used with the land and funds for construction instead. Having built the hospital, the city has lost the opportunity to construct a sports centre on that place, or the opportunity to sell that piece of land to decrease the city's debts, and so forth. Simply said, the opportunity cost of spending a Friday night having fun could be the sum of money you could have made if you had spent that time in labor. Opportunity cost is not determined in monetary terms, but in terms of anything that constitutes value for the person or persons carrying out the assessment. The use of the opportunity cost concept seeks for the latent cost of each and every separate economic decision. Incompetence in the economic concept of opportunity cost has induced general economic mistakes, like "the broken window fallacy" reported by Frederic Bastiat. According to Frederic Bastiat, it is not possible to have everything promoted at the expense of everything else. This calls up his well-known definition describing the state, "the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else" (Bastiat, 1975, p.144). A. Smith says "If among a nation of hunters, for

Why Peace Processes Fail to End Violence Research Paper

Why Peace Processes Fail to End Violence - Research Paper Example The failure of talks among governments, societies, rebels, communities and other parties faced with conflict to come to consensus is discussed in the paper. Various examples of such instances have been given, and the challenges they face in the negotiation process outlined. Attempts and failure of dialogue in solving a conflict eliciting new beginning of the conflict have also been illustrated in this document. Factors hindering peace methods in curbing the conflicts have also been widely discussed. In various cases, both international and domestic, mediation has always failed; this is discussed with various relevant examples in the world.  Most warring parties embark on physical confrontation as a means of solving the problem. Political and fiscal reforms will be noted to assist in decision-making during the negotiation process. This often results in the elimination of peace as a solution to the problem that resulted in war. This idea has been viewed from different angles in this document such that it is realized that peace often fails in the process of ending violence.  The definition of peace may be varied, but, in this context, it can be summarized or explicated as the absence of hostilities or war. It can be attained by various applications depending on the context. Establishment of peace through peace method has proved inefficient in most cases thus termed to have failed in ending violence. This method is mostly applied through negotiations and settling of disputes through peacebuilding and peacekeeping. Political factors, in most cases, are the culprit of war thus making peace a difficult avenue to take in bringing things under control. The willingness of the warring parties to have a round table talk is a problem.

Molecular Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Molecular - Speech or Presentation Example Suppose furthermore that these variants are distributed in the population independently of one another. Since A and B are now dependent, the probability of a randomly selected person to have the two variants, A1 and B1, will increase as these two variants will in most cases be found together (dependent distribution) In the movie Superman, the infant Kal-El’s father Jor-El gives him a crystal about the size of a tube of toothpaste and leaves a recorded message telling him that it contains the combined knowledge of the â€Å"28 known galaxies.† Suppose that this extraterrestrial crystal is a covalently bonded array of atoms spaced about 0.4 nm apart (like diamond on Earth) and that it contains information encoded in defects in the crystal lattice (For example, a defect could be a missing carbon atom. b. If a human encyclopedia of the 21st century fits comfortably on a digital video disk (4.7 GB, or 38 . 109 bits), about how many encyclopedias worth of information per â€Å"known galaxy† could Jor-El have recorded on his crystal a. You are a city inspector. You go undercover to a bakery and buy 30 loaves of bread marked 500g. Back at the lab you weigh them and find their masses to be 493, 503, 486, 489, 501, 498, 507, 504, 493, 487, 495, 498, 494, 490, 494, 497, 503, 498, 495, 503, 496, 492, 492, 495, 498, 490, 490, 497, and 482 g. you go back to the bakery and issue a warning. Why? b. Later you return to the bakery (this time, they know you). They sell you 30 more loaves of bread. You take them home and find their masses to be 504, 503, 503, 503, 501, 500, 500, 501, 505, 501, 501, 500, 508, 503, 503, 500, 503, 501, 500, 502, 502, 501, 503, 501, 501, 502, 503, 501, 502 and 500 g. you’re satisfied, because all the loaves weight at least 500g. But your boss reads your report and tells you to go back and close the shop down. What did she notice that you missed? 4. Molten wax is placed into a cold metal pan; the wax becomes solid and the metal rises

The City in the progressive era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The City in the progressive era - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the progressive era was a time of flourishing during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. During this era, there was much reform taking place. Women, government, education, and healthcare were made new to make for a better America. The progressive era was also a huge time for modernization. The leaders and families in the progressive era focused on modernizing everything. This meant increasing city life and many swarmed to the city. The present research has identified that during the progressive era the city had so much to offer. The city offered housing complexes, theatre, jobs, shopping, and schools were nearby. Many began to develop around cities. Immigration also began to grow. Asian decent immigrants came dramatically into the cities. The modernized way of thinking and city life encouraged increased immigration. During the progressive era, there was a huge focus on clean water and healthy family life. Many different act s such as the Pure Food and Drug Act, helped to put regulation on food and drinking water. This was important since the cities rapid growth contributed to illness as a result of improper sanitation. The paper tells that many living in the city during the progressive era shared the same toilets and overcrowding became an issue. The progressive era was definitely a time where many saw hope and dreamed of a promising future.

Siemens case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Siemens - Case Study Example It is the commitment of companies, especially those that have a significant influence on the international market that ensures that efficiency is maintained. Efficiency is integral not only when it comes to using minimum resources to fulfill maximum needs, but is also pivotal when it comes to allocation of resources and their eventual distribution. In other words, the basic economic problem is seen to have its solutions within the confines of efficiency, and it is advantageous for the members of the world of commerce to ensure that the equilibrium of efficiency is maintained, both locally and internationally. Multinationals companies are seen as increasingly responsible for maintaining the equilibrium that would benefit all since their increased market share gives them greater influence in the arena of buying and selling. This is one reason why the use of bribes is heavily frowned upon by the international markets, especially when large multinational firms are involved. The use of br ibes is an act that disturbs the equilibrium of free trade, since they influence the decision power of individuals, prejudicing it to fall in the favor of the one offering bribes. Siemens, being one such multinational firm that possessed significant share of the global market was caught in the hurricane of media attention, international scrutiny and internal ratification policies when fraudulent actions were seen to be prevalent within the company. The Siemens executives were accused of paying six million Euros to another company in order to achieve the gas turbine contract in Italy. The accusation involved that the executives used the company funds to influence the decision of others. This accusation attracted the attention of the international media since it involved the transaction of such a large amount of money. Moreover, the reputation of one of the world’s largest companies was at stake. As a company that complies and abides by the restrictions and regulations of the f ree market, the bribe was seen as an act that harms the spirit of competition and free trade in the global market. Thus, Siemens was seen as the perpetual deviant of the global market. Subsequently, the fact that a multinational company such as Siemens is involved in financial embezzling had a negative impact on the brand. The executives accused of the embezzling were Andreas Kley and Horst Vigener. While they agreed that the transfer of six million Euros from Siemens to Enel did occur under their authorization, they defended their actions. These former managers said that their actions cannot be classified as an act of fraud since the financial transaction between Siemens and Enel was made solely and purely for the benefit of Siemens the company. They claimed that a bribe is an act that ensures personal gain, and signifies corruption that is intended to harm the company. However, their decision to transfer the amount to Enel was not for their own gain. Siemens would have gained imme nsely if the contract for the gas turbine had been awarded to them, and the managers were aware of this. The company hoped to earn 90 million Euros in addition to a firm footage in the Italian market. Thus, Siemens’ funds were not used to benefit anyone else, except Siemens the entity itself. Since neither employee benefitted personally from the funds transferred, both Kley and Vigener testified that they were innocent. The defenses they presented were to an extent

Business Plan on The Fitness Club Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business Plan on The Fitness Club - Essay Example The paper tells that the Fitness Club will provide workout and various fitness routines. It will also help develop individual diet plans for its members. Health clubs and gyms business is booming all over the world and UK is no exception. People are getting interested in losing weight and eating healthy. Staying in shape and looking ‘good’ is the new trend and people are willing to invest money in their health plans and the Fitness Club is here to help them. What sets this club apart from other health clubs is the variety it offers at a very low cost. It can be afforded by people from all walks of life. They not only get the place to get in shape but coaches customize their diet plans and encourage them to keep up with the schedule. The coaches and nutritionists at this club are highly qualified and experienced in their respective fields. They have helped so many people achieve their dream body figure. Other than the fitness trend, the fact that a huge market area is til l untapped justifies this business plan. People are also joining health clubs to stay away from obesity and its related diseases. According to a survey, 17% of boys and 16% of the girls in UK between ages 12-15, have some form of obesity (BBC, 2012). That is why it is a great opportunity to cash in this factor and get people motivated to achieve a healthy life style and this club exactly does that. Competitors in the health and fitness industry mostly ignore low income people and a perception has started to develop that health and fitness clubs are only for rich people. ... This perception is completely wrong and needs to be taken off the market. Even though the fitness market is extremely competitive but there is a lot of room for growth. Health awareness and fashion clothing are the main contributors towards motivating people to join health clubs. State of the art equipment will be available for all members of The Fitness Club. Financial Highlights Start-up Costs Expected Growth in Revenue Expected Growth in Profit Company Description 1.1 Company Overview The Fitness Club will start its central office in Bicester Oxon, UK this June 2012. Later on, more branches will be opened throughout UK starting from Edinburg. The company is also looking forward to opening health centres in areas of UK that haven’t been tapped by fitness industry. The Fitness club is planning to provide great quality fitness services at extremely competitive costs. The objective is to appeal to the affordability of the customers so that people from all walks of life could jo in in. 1.2 Mission & Vision Vision: To create sentience among people about healthy lifestyle. Mission: To provide custom made exercises and meal plans for the mass market. 1.3 Strengths and Competencies State of the art fitness equipment available to use at the lowest price Highly qualified and experienced trainers and nutritionists Dedicated staff that actually inspires and motivates people 1.4 Challenges Despite of having the advantage of highly qualified coaches and nutritionists, there are few competitors that can cause neck to neck competition. The Fitness Club will have to plan its strategy of promotion and marketing by keeping an eye on ‘The Fitness Company’, which operates exactly in the same area where the central office will be built

Wal-Marts Globalization Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wal-Marts Globalization Strategy - Essay Example Market entry strategy being critical in entering a new market, Wal-Mart employed joint ventures and acquisition of strong market partners. Through acquiring of strong local market partners, Walmart was in a position to performance higher as a result of adequate scale and high brand awareness level.Location characteristics were very crucial in determining the mode of entry to be employed by Wal-Mart. Due to the high rate of competition in the foreign market, more developed markets like Japan, South Korea and Canada entered through acquiring strong local market partners to counteract the high rate of competition hence was employed as a mode of entry by Wal-Mart, making its operations a success. It is easy to enter an into an underdeveloped market because the competition and market space are properly defined, however, if it is a culturally and geographically distant, then challenges are posted since the core aim is to put in place a global strategy which was the main objective of Wal-Ma rt. This made Wal-Mart seek for strong local market partners hence their success.Entry of Wal-Mart into a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises in India was a good idea simply because India had a fast-growing retail market. As a result, Partnership with Bharti enterprises formed part of Wal-Mart successful strategy of gaining entry of market in India. This is because Bharti was well familiarized with the local market know-how, recognition of the brand, political strategies involved with entry and customer preferences.

United States Electoral College Essay Example for Free

United States Electoral College Essay The Electoral College, the mechanism for electing the president and the vice-president of the United States which was first put to use in the 1789 presidential election has already outgrown its purpose and should therefore be abolished (National Archives and Records Administration). Formulated by the country’s founders more than two hundred years ago, the system has undoubtedly grown stale and ineffective and no longer â€Å"conform to our modern interpretation of democracy, which is one person, one vote† (Hough). According to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), although the term could not be found anywhere in the United States Constitution, it is believed to have been actually conceived by the â€Å"founding fathers as a compromise between the election of a president by Congress and election by popular vote. † The term was coined from the words â€Å"elector† and â€Å"college. † The term â€Å"elector† was used to refer to the German princes who were granted the right to take part in the process of electing the German king who later became the emperor of the Roman Empire while â€Å"college† was taken from the Latin word collegium which means â€Å"a body of persons that act as a unit. † Thus the term â€Å"electoral college† means a group of people chosen to elect the President and the Vice President of the United States of America (NARA). A total of 538 electors handpicked by political parties comprise the present Electoral College. Every state has two electors representing their two senators and another elector for each of their congressional representation. This means that a small state with only one congressional representation owing to the smallness of its population is allocated the minimum number of three electors. In 2004, the four states with the highest number of electors were: California (55), Texas (34), New York (31), and Florida (27) while seven small states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming), and the District of Columbia, had only three electors each (NARA). As congressional representation is determined by the census of population which is taken every ten years, a state’s number of electors could therefore be reduced or increased, without prejudicing the total electors of 538 for the entire country. For instance, based on the 1990 census of population, the state of Arizona was allowed 8 electors for the presidential elections of 1992, 1996, and 2000. After it registered a population increase in 2000, its number of congressional representation and therefore, the number of its electors, was raised to 10 for the presidential elections of 2004, 2008, and 2012 (NARA). In 48 states and the District of Columbia, a presidential candidate who gets the majority of votes in one state is awarded all the electoral votes allocated for that state in a â€Å"winner-take-all† manner. In the states of Maine and Nebraska, meanwhile, proportional voting is practiced. Under this voting system, Maine, which has four electoral votes, gives one vote to the winner in each of its two congressional districts and gives the remaining two votes to whoever gets the majority votes in the entire state (NARA). A simple majority or a minimum of 270 electoral votes is needed to win the U. S. presidency. In case of a tie (269-269 result) in the presidential contest, the Congress of the United States decides the issue while the U. S. Senate conducts the runoff election in case of a deadlock in the vice presidential race. In the history of the presidential election in the country, the congressional runoff was only done twice – in 1800 and in 1824. In the vice presidential race, the United States Senate was called on to decide the issue in 1836 (NARA). This is the first undesirable feature of the Electoral College that many American voters find unacceptable. A tie in the presidential election under this system takes the electoral process away from the hands of the American voters and confers the power to elect the president to a highly partisan congress. In such a scenario, the presidential candidate of the party which controls the House of Representatives would win the presidency regardless of the will of the majority of the American voters. A case in point was the 1824 presidential election. When congress decided on the issue after a deadlock was declared, Andrew Jackson lost the presidency to John Quincy Adams despite garnering a decisive 57. 2% of the popular vote (NARA). Point two against the Electoral College is the fact that the president and the vice president of the United States are not actually chosen by the people but through the electoral votes assigned to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is therefore possible for a candidate to win the votes and gain the trust and confidence of the majority of American voters and still lose the presidency – a systemic defect which is tantamount to a disenfranchisement of American voters. This has already happened four times in the political history of the country. The case of Andrew Jackson in 1824 was already discussed earlier in this paper. Another case occurred in 1876 when Rutherford Hayes (R) won the presidency with a single electoral vote majority (185 against Samuel Tilden’s 184) in spite of the fact that only 48. 5% of those who voted went for him while the majority 51. 5% voted for Tilden. Once again, in 1888, Benjamin Harrison (R) won with 233 electoral votes against Grover Cleveland’s (D) 168. However, 90,596 more American voters had chosen Cleveland over Harrison in that election. The most recent case was the 2000 presidential election. President George W. Bush (R) defeated Albert Gore, Jr. , 271 – 266 electoral votes, despite getting only 50,456,062 popular votes (49. 7%) against Al Gore’s 50,996,582 (50. 3%). The official result of that election, in effect, nullified the votes of 540,520 American voters who gave Gore the advantage in popular votes, thereby expressing their preference for Al Gore to be the president of the country (NARA). The Electoral College does not count the votes cast by American voters equally. For instance, in the 2004 election, Wyoming, one of the small states, was allocated three electoral votes. California, on the other hand, whose population was about fifty times larger than Wyoming, only had 54 electoral votes. A simple computation would show us that although California was 50 times as large as Wyoming, its number of electoral votes was only 18 times larger (54/3 = 18). In other words, a vote cast by a voter from Wyoming was given a higher value than the vote cast by a California voter (Bates). Or, expressed another way, one Wyoming voter is equal to 18 California voters. This is plain inequality! Electoral College discourages some voters from participating in the election, thereby resulting to low voter turnout which reduces the credibility of an election. This is true in the case of states which have already been identified as one-party states. For instance in 2004, since California was already expected to vote for the Democratic candidate, chances were that some voters who planned to vote for the Republican standard bearer could have chosen to stay home instead. Indeed, what’s the point of voting when your state is already in the hands of the other party? It would seem as if the votes have already been counted before they were cast (Bates). On the other hand, defenders of the Electoral College claim that under the popular voting, the small states would simply be overwhelmed by the large states and that presidential candidates would tend to overlook them in favor of large states where more votes could be obtained. The opposite had, in fact, been observed during the campaigning which occurred for the 2004 election. Let us return to the example of California, the largest voting state in the country. Because it was already expected to go for the Democratic Party, George W. Bush ignored it in spite of its size and its 54 electoral votes and concentrated instead in the â€Å"swing state of Pennsylvania† which he visited â€Å"more than forty† times. In fact campaigning for the presidency of the United States had always shown candidates spending more time in swing states than in larger states which had already committed to the other side (Bates). Because of its proven ineptness and widespread unacceptability, the Electoral College has been labelled differently by different people. It was likened to â€Å"the vermiform appendix: a useless organ that can cause trouble on occasion† (Abolish the Electoral College? ). It was described by the American Bar Association as â€Å"archaic and ambiguous† when a survey it conducted in 1987 found that 69% of American lawyers wanted the system abolished. The American public have spoken against the system through polls held in 1967 (58%), 1968 (81%), and then again in1981 when 75% of Americans were found to favor its replacement by a popular voting system (NARA). Regardless of the labels, however, the subjugation of the people’s will and the utter disregard for the value of the votes of Americans has rendered the Electoral College unacceptable to the American public. Their disgust and contempt for the system was already shown by the more than 700 proposals for its abolition or modification. They almost succeeded in the U. S. Senate in 1956 when amendments introduced by Republican Senator Karl Mundt (South Dakota) and Texas Democratic Senator Price Daniel won a senate voting with a 48-37 majority. Only their failure to muster the required three-fourths vote of the senate prevented the measures from pushing through (Duchschere). The American people tried again in 1969. Supported by then President Richard Nixon, an amendment was unanimously approved in the House of Representatives only to be stalled in the Senate for almost one year until supporters lost their interest on the measure and it died a natural death. Republican Senator Eastland and Democratic Senator Thurmond, described as â€Å"notorious segregationists† because they had been observed to have â€Å"voted against every civil-rights and voting-rights measure† in the Senate, were responsible for its death (Electoral Justice). Americans now want their votes to be properly counted and their decisions duly respected. As Professor Keyssar aptly put it, Americans today believe that the Electoral College has ceased to mirror America’s â€Å"sense of social equality† (Hough). Hence, it is now time to say goodbye to the antiquated, obsolete Electoral College. The time has arrived to show the civilized world that in the United States of America, every man, every registered voter, has a right to vote and a right to demand that such vote be counted. Works Cited â€Å"Abolish the Electoral College? † Wilson Quarterly. Winter 2001, Vol 25, Issue 1, p. 97. 13 June 2007. http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=truedb=aphAN=4028232site=ehost-live Bates, Nathaniel. â€Å"What Are the Arguments Made in Favor – And Against – the Electoral College? † 26 October 2004. 15 June 2007. http://hnn. us/articles/8163. html Duchschere, Kevin. â€Å"JFK Led Opposition in 1956 Effort to Reform the Electoral College. † Minneapolis Star Tribune. 26 November 2000. 13 June 2007. http://www. freerepublic. com/forum/a3a20ce2a366a. htm Electoral Justice. â€Å"The Electoral College: An Embarassing Vestige of Slavery and Segregation. † 15 June 2007. http://www. iwantmyvote. com/justice/electoral_college/ Hough, Lory. â€Å"Why Do We Still Have The Electoral College? † News Stories. 13 June 2007. http://www. ksg. harvard. edu/news/news/2004/Keyssar_why-electoral_college_102904. htm National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). â€Å"U. S. Electoral College. † 13 June 2007. http://www. archives. gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index. html

Ecology Essay Example for Free

Ecology Essay Patterns of plant successional change in Gatineau Park, Old Chelsea, were studied quantitatively. The relations between different successional stages of plant communities and abiotic factors were descried. To test these, we went to the fields, and worked on two transect in groups of 4. We counted the trees and measured the diameter at breast height (dbh) for tree with a dbh value greater than 2cm. The dbh measurements (cm), percentage of fern cover and percentage of bare ground were recorded and used to perform statistical analysis. No significant variations in the distribution of abundant tree species using chi2 analysis and percentage of fern cover using t-test analysis were observed between the compared sites. No significant variations found in the interquadrat analysis, and mean dbh of abundant tree species and percentage of bare ground between the sites compared. The results verified the stated hypothesis and were supported by literature sources. Introduction The purpose of this study is to quantitatively describe patterns of plant successional change in old-field succession in temperate mixed forest ecosystems and to describe the relation between abiotic factors and plant communities at different successional stages. Succession is described as predictable patterns of change over time and specifically, in ecology, as the predictable pattern of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. There are two types of succession; primary and secondary. Primary succession refers to the successional development of plant communities that takes place on a site formerly devoid of vegetation and usually lack well developed soil. Secondary succession refers to the successional development of plant communities that takes place when a well developed ecological community is disturbed either by natural or anthropogenic factors. Secondary successions are typically faster than primary successions since well developed soil is already present (Kaufman Franz, 2000). Old field succession is a type of anthropogenic secondary succession that refers to the successional development of plant communities on abandoned farmland (Cramer and Hobbs, 2007). This lab looks at an old field succession in the temperate mixed forest biome, particularly an area along the main rail of Gatineau Park Visitor Centre in Old Chelsea. This study area consists of five different sites which have been divided into transects and subdivided into quadrats. Each transect has 3 quadrats, and each site has 4 transects. There are five sites overall: site 1, site 2, site 3a, site 3b, and site 4. Each site has a different location and has had different type of disturbance. Dbh measurements (cm) of all identified tree species, percentage of plot area bare ground and percentage of area covered by ferns were recorded within the assigned quadrats. The dbh measurements were grouped into two size categories; dbh ≠¥ 2cm and dbh ≠¤ 2cm. Null hypotheses to be tested: HO1: there is no significant statistical difference between quadrats 1 and 2 of site 3a transect 2 HO2: there is no significant statistical difference between quadrats 1 and 3 of site 3a transect 2 HO3: there is no significant statistical difference between quadrats 2 and 3 of site 3a transect 2 HO4: there is no significant statistical difference between the three most abundant species of site 3a transect 2 and site 1 transect 2 HO5: there is no significant statistical difference between the dbh value for the three most abundant species at site 3a transect 2 and site 1 transect 2 HO6: there is no significant statistical difference between the percentage of bare ground at site 3a transect 2 and site 1 transect 2 HO7: there is no significant statistical difference between the percentage of plot area covered by ferns at site 3a transect 2 and site 1 transect 2 The alternate hypotheses for each of the null hypotheses state that there is a significant difference between what is being comp ared. Materials Method Refer to â€Å"Bio 2129 Ecology Lab Manual†, â€Å"Lab # 3 – Human modification of temperate forests: Disturbance and succession†, pages 4-6. Modification: Where it says to leave the string at the transect (bottom of page 5), was modified since we were given the measuring equipment before the lab began. Results Figure 1 (a) shows that at site 3a (transect 2), sugar maple is the most abundant tree species among tree species with dbh ≠¥ 2cm. (b) shows glossy buckthorn is the most abundant tree species among tree species with dbh ≠¤ 2cm. Table 1 show no statistical significance to the t-stat, therefore no significant variation exists among the quadrats 1+2 and 2+3 for the mean dbh (cm) of sugar maple. So we fail to reject the null hypothesis. On the other hand, quadrat 1+ 3 shows variation according to the t stat, therefore the null hypothesis for that quadrat is rejected. Figure 2 shows that among tree species with dbh ≠¥ 2cm, sugar maple, iron wood, red pine are the most abundant tree species at both sites 1 (transect 2), and site 1 (transect 2). Figure 3 shows that among tree species with dbh ≠¤ 2cm, sugar maple, glossy buckthorn and red ash are the most abundant tree species at site 3a (transect 2). Sugar maple, iron wood, and white ash are the most abundant tree species at site 1 (transect 2). Table 4 shows no statistical significance. We fail to reject the null hypothesis. Table 5 shows no statistical significance to the t-stats and therefore there is no significant variation in the mean dbh (cm) ≠¥ 2 cm. We fail to reject the null hypothesis. Table 6 shows no statistical significance. We fail to reject the null hypothesis.

Women in Viking Society

Women in Viking Society Role of Women in Viking Society Upon hearing the word â€Å"Viking†, a specific image is usually conjured in the mind’s eye. More often than not, it is of a group of big, burly men, pillaging helpless English villages and sailing across fjords, but there has always been more to the Viking people than wielding axes and braving treacherous water, especially when it comes to the women, who are commonly left out of this stereotypical picture entirely. Vikingar, the Old Norse word for viking, was solely in reference to the men, who were the ones who primarily participated in trips to Great Britain, Europe, and the East. According to most sources, the women within Viking society did not partake in those two activities and were delegated to more domestic tasks back home. It was known that many women participated on journeys to explore, though, and eventually settle in places such as Iceland, which was uninhabited and required that women travelled there to help create a permanent population, and Finland. According to the Judith Jesch at BBC News, â€Å"Most journeys from Scandinavia involved sea-crossings in small, open ships with no protection from the elements. Families heading for the North Atlantic colonies would also have to take all the livestock they would need to establish a new farm, and the journey cannot have been pleasant. The Viking colonists settled down to the farming life in their new home, or established themselves as traders and became town-dwellers.† There is also evidence that the women within Viking society could make a living in commerce. There have been merchants’ scales and weights discovered within the graves of women in Scandinavian countries, marking an association between women and trade. According to a ninth-century account of a Christian mission to Birky, a Swedish trading center, recounts the conversion of a rich woman by the name of Frideburg, as well as her daughter, Catla. Though by law, Viking women were under the authority of the men in their lives, primarily their father or husband, and they did not enjoy the same legal status as the men within their society. These women could inherit as much as their brothers would or, depending on the region wherein they lived, would not inherit anything at all. At a Þingi meaning a â€Å"thing† which was an assembly of the free men of a province, country, or a hundred the women were unable to bring forth a case unless a man would take over the prosecution on her behalf. Girls were usually between the ages of twelve and fifteen when they were married and were expected to run the household. When entering a marriage, the bride would have a dowry which would consist of materials such as linen and cloth, as well as a spinning wheel and a bed. Girls from more affluent families could also bring silver and gold jewelry, animals, and sometimes even farms. While she brought all of these things as part of her do wry, they still remained her personal property and never became a full part of her husband’s estate and it would be her children who’d inherit it. Once married, gender roles were even more clearly defined and the women were in charge of making sure that the family’s food would last throughout the long winter and they would make butter and cheese, as well as dried and smoked fish and meat for storage. Also, as a wife, a woman was expected to have knowledge of what herbs were good for taking care of the sick and wounded. In her husband’s absence, she was in charge of running the farm and even when her husband was not away, the animals were one of her responsibilities. Often, if she was from a rich family, she would have slaves and servants to help her and, as a sign of authority, she would wear the key to the food storage chests. She also would cook, clean, and make clothing for everyone. When it came to clothing for themselves, Viking women liked to dress as well as they could, in woollen dresses. Sometimes they would wear an article of clothing called an over-dress, material that was wrapped over their dress and a round the woman and held up by shoulder straps, fastened with brooches. They would often wear leggings or socks and a scarf to cover their hair. When it came to jewelry, they wore pieces made of silver and gold with intricate designs. Despite many obvious shortcomings that came with being a woman and a wife in Viking society, a woman could file for a divorce from her husband. If she became displeased with her husband in any way that the Vikings found substantial enough reason if her husband was lazy and did not work to provide for the family, if he treated her or their children poorly, or insulted the family that she came from she was allowed to divorce him. To achieve this, and in the presence of witnesses, she would declare herself divorced at the end of the bed her and her husband shared and as her front door. Upon divorcing him, she could reclaim her dowry and keep any younger children with her, while any older children would be divided between the two parents depending on the status and wealth of the parents’ families. Since most women’s lives were centered around the home, they managed to have a great influence within that sphere and, as a result, many women were buried with things that symbolize the importance of those roles and influences, as well as their responsibility and control over the distribution of clothing and food within the household. Though this was the most common way women in Viking society obtained notoriety, some were well known for different reasons. The Oseberg â€Å"queen†, buried with an ornately-decorated ship and high-quality goods was one of the richest buriest of the Viking Age, showcasing her prestige. There was also the grave of the Pagan Lady of Peel Castle, which was discovered in a Christian cemetery on the Isle of Man. To this date, it is one of the richest Viking burials for a woman found outside of Scandinavia. The Pagan Lady of Peel’s grave is solid proof of powerful women and of a high status during the Viking Age. One of these women was th e daughter of a Norwegian chieftain from the Hebrides, named Aud, who married a Viking based in Dublin. Upon the deaths of her husband and son, Aud took control of the fortune that the family held and had a ship bring her and hers remaining daughters to places such as Orkney, Iceland, and Faroe. Later, she settled in Iceland and distributed land to most of her followers. While it can be difficult to find records about many actual women within Viking society, it is much easier to find them within legend and folklore, where they often took the role of shieldmaidens (women who fought as warriors). There are very few historical accounts that say that women took part in warfare, but according to a Byzantine historian named Johannes Skylitzes, women may have fought in battle when Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacked the Byzantines in 971 in Bulgaria. The Varangians were defeated, but the victors were surprised to discover women among the fallen, armed as warriors. Even Leif Erikson’s pregnant half-sister, named Freydà ­s Eirà ­ksdà ³ttir, was said to have taken up a sword of her own and scared away Native Americans, according to the Greenland saga, though she is never explicitly referred to as a shieldmaiden. Even with a couple accounts such as these, it is difficult to prove that these shieldmaidens existed outside of Norse mythology. Though there are many shieldmaidens of legend, including Brynhild, Hervor, and the princess Thornbjà ¶rg, but they were largely members of the aristocracy. By the 11th century, Scandinavians began to be â€Å"Christianized.† With this mass conversion, the women were given the opportunity to take on new roles within society; these roles are often seen in the rune stones from that time. Through depictions of the Nativity, the Dynna stone, found in Norway, memorializes Astrid, the daughter of Gunnvor. Similarly, the Stà ¤ket stone, hailing from Sweden, commemorates a woman who went on a pilgrimage named Ingirun. In addition, Queen Emma of Normandy, daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy, descended from Normandy’s Viking founder Rollo. She married two kings of England and gave birth to two others, but it was during her married to the Danish Cnut that she was a notable patron of the Church. Upon the death of her husband, she had a record of the Danish kings who, in the 11th century, were in England written up. She called this work the Encomium Emmae and it had a portrait of Queen Emma within the manuscript. Women in the Norse wo rld were far more open to Christianity than the men were and, in religious matters, women were highly regarded, as shown in the Edda, the main source of Medieval skaldic tradition and word itself maybe even meaning â€Å"great-grandmother†. It is no coincidence that the very first church built within Greenland was built by Thjodhild, the wife of Erik the Red and mother of Thorsten and Leif Erikson. Though despite the advances that women were able to make through the Christianization of Viking society, practices such an infanticide, the killing of newborn babies, were still practiced nearly exclusively on female babies. In Viking society, sons were of much greater value for they could participate on raids and in trade, which would increase a family’s fortune and land, as well as their honor. Daughters were more of a burden to a family, having to be married off and provided with dowries and having to raise fewer females would also mean that even fewer babies would be born in the future, which would then save the household from having even more mouths to feed. While we know only a small amount of the women in the Norse world, we know even less of the lives lead by any female servants and slaves, who were the ones that more frequently took care of the children. There is very little known about women who were raised and lived within smaller households. While life for women in Viking society was far better than for women throughout the rest of Europe, gender roles were still clearly defined. The role could shift depending on certain, specific circumstances, or in fictional sagas, but it remained a fact that the Norse world was a patriarchal one. Bibliography Jesch, Judith. Viking Women. BBC News. BBC, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. Harrison, D. Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fà ¤lth Hà ¤ssler, Và ¤rnamo. Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology, translated by Jean I. Young (University of California Press, 1964) Judith Jesch, Women in the Viking Age (New York: The Boydell Press, 1996), 107-108. Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans., Laws of Early Iceland, Grà ¡gà ¡s (Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba Press, 1980), 51.

Womens Role :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

A housewife and mother are words that describe the typical woman in the 1950's. The mother and wife was seen to have a very specific set of responsibilities to fulfill. Those roles and responsibilities have drastically changed since then. An excerpt, from a 1950 home economics textbook, was founded on "How to Be a Good Wife." It gave nine suggestions to women on how she could please her husband. Before her husband came home from work, she was expected to have dinner ready and on the table. She was also anticipated to prepare herself by putting make up on, doing her hair, anything that could make her look refreshed upon his arrival ("The Good Wife"1). Not only was she to pamper herself, but she was supposed to coddle her children, whether it be giving him/her a bath or changing his/her clothes. Since she was a housewife, she was to insure the house was spotless. The noise level was to be minimized. This did not only mean for the children to be quiet, but rather all noise from the washer, dryer, dishwasher, and vacuum were to be eliminated ("The Good Wife"1). The woman was to remember that her husband just spent a long, hard day at work. If he wasn't present, she would have no source of income and therefore would be at a state of financial ruin. Therefore, she was to avoid bothering him with problems or complaints. Her duty was to listen to him ("The Good Wife" 2). She was to guarantee that the evening would be peaceful, relaxing, and catered towards him. The main goal for the woman was to make the house a place of serenity and order where her husband could renew himself in body and in spirit. Women's roles were confined to a small list of responsibilities. As a result, they were seen as a minority. Society convinced women that they weren't capable of performing any work outside of the home. They were to stay home to cook, clean, take care of the children, and any other aspect involving the home. This was their sole responsibility. There wasn't anything else they were allowed or expected to do. Unfortunately this frame of mind developed in women and until only recently has this mindset been challenged by the female gender.

From Boy to Man in Flight, by John Steinbeck and The Bear by William Faulkner :: Faulkner Bear Essays

From Boy to Man in Flight, by John Steinbeck and The Bear by William Faulkner Flight, by John Steinbeck and The Bear by William Faulkner were both stories that dealt with the journey from boyhood to manhood. They were alike in many ways, a particularly interesting way was that in both stories, the journey to becoming a man was assisted by others, but ultimately it fell on the lone boy becoming a man on his own. The two boys in the story became men, but in two very different ways. In Flight Pepe is forced to make the transition to manhood as a result of his killing a man. He has to face up to the consequences of his actions, and he becomes a man by facing up to his actions. In The Bear, Faulkner portrays the journey to manhood as a less traumatic experience. The boy in the story hears about the legend of the great Bear, and is consumed by a boyhood longing to become a "man" by killing the Bear. His journies through the woods and his proficiency as a woodsmen are metaphor's Faulkner presents as an allegorical representation of a persons journey through life, exp eriencing and mastering the different skills within the "journey". When the boy has finally become wise enough to confront the Bear, he realizes that what the Bear stands for is far more important than his killing of the Bear ever could be. He realizes that anyone could attack the Bear and kill it, but in the restraint of the boyhood urge for glory and respect he finds that he has preserved these virtues in himself and the Bear as well. Steinbeck and Faulkner both portray the defining point of manhood as the point at which a boy must decide between restraining the urge to grasp the respect associated with manhood or grasping for that respect at any cost. Pepe grabbed for the respect when his manhood was challenged, he killed a man, and had to admit he was wrong before he could become a man. The boy from The Bear on the other hand chose not to grab for the respect and glory of manhood when he decided not to shoot the bear, and became a man as a result of that decision.

Responsible Driving Essay -- essays research papers

Responsible Driving "Imagine a crowd of 44,000 people in the stands at a World Series or Super Bowl game. A television camera scans the individual faces --- some exuberant, some anxious --- all sports fans out for a good time. As many people as are in that crowd will die in highway accidents this year. More than half of those accidents will involve alcohol, alone or in combination with other drugs. A disproportionate number of the dead will be young, between the ages of 15 and 24. One group, 16 year olds, will be in 40% of all the singl-car, alcohol related crashes" (Knox 19). This statement shows the high risk and number of fatalities due to driving. It is very important to learn safe and responsible driving skills, which is why I am giving this speech. If you are prepared and know all of your stuff before your behind the wheel youll probobly do a better job and know the correct manerisms and etiquites of driving. The main purpose of this speech is to let you know how to drive responsibly and safely. I will first review the dangers and risks of driving to let you know what your getting into if you use illegal substances or drive improperly. Then I will go into the basic signs,signals and rules of driving to inform you of the current laws and regulations. Finally I will go through a step-by-step process of driving, from getting out of the drive way to turning onto a highway. Accident risk is the chance of injury to yourself or others and the chance of damage to vehicles and property. All driving involves risk. You have tonotice that risk always exists and can sneak up on you at any time. 85% of all collisions are the drivers first collision. 49% of vehicle crashes involve only one car. The liklihood of being in a collision any year is only 1/5 people.The chances of suffering an injury that is serious enough to disable you is 1/83 people (Kenel, 8) . As you can see risk is always very high and should never be forgot. One huge risk in driving is to be under the influence of an illegal substance or drug. There are many kinds of drugs that affect you perception and driving skills. They include Over the counter drugs, Prescription drugs, Depressants, Stimulants, Hallucinogens and Narcotics. Over the cou... ...hod. Whichever way feels most comfortable to you. Also when turning use blinkers and slow down a bit (Handbook). Tracking is how you keep your car on a chosen path. Track smoothly while going fast to prevent accidents (Handbook). The final two things to knowing how to drive is braking and stopping. In bracking you should know the amount of pressure needed to brake the car your driving. Also you always want to keep an adequate braking distance between you and the car ahead (Kenel 120). When stopping check for following cars, apply firm, steady pressure on the brakes and come to a complete stop. Leave the transmission in drive if you plan to move ahead in the next minute (Kenel 121). That pretty much wraps up my how to drive instructions. I hope that I have informed you of many new things that you didnt know. If you understood what I have said you are guarenteed to be a little ahead when its your time to go to driving school. I didnt know some of the trivial details ,involving laws and signals , before but now I do. I also know that every thing about driving is important because your life and others are always at risk. So for now ,bye and happy driving.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

How does Hamid employ symbolism throughout the novel? Is his use of symbolism effective? What is lost and gained through the use of symbolism? The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel in which an American immigrant Changez is living a dream with a great job, money, and the â€Å"regal† Erica by his side. However after the 9/11 attacks Changez’s perception on America shifted, he was forced to question where his allegence lies and this developed into contempt for America.If you read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, and fail to dig below to the surface of the text then the novel will hold an entirely different meaning to you. Hamid used heavy sybolism to convey meanings and themes that are better not said outright, and overall altered the impression the novel leaft. While reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist it became apperant that Changez’s love interest Erica symbolized America. Besides the obvious that Erica is the last five letters of America, there were multiple parallels in the story Hamid built for Erica and the way he portrayed America.When Changez first met Erica he says, â€Å"She had a presence †¦a naturalist would likely have compared her to a lioness: strong, sleek, and invariably surrounded by her pride†(22). Changez also comments of the pride America shows with, â€Å"stickers of flags adorned windshields and windows; large flags fluttered from buildings. They all seemed to proclaim: We are America†¦the mightiest civilization the world has ever known. †(79). Akin to America after 9/11, Erica seemed to be, â€Å"utterly detached, lost in a world of her own†¦ she was struggling against a current that pulled her within herself†(86).Similarly after 9/11 Changez felt that America, â€Å"retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority†(168). The grief that Erica felt over the loss of Chris was representative of the grief America felt after 9/11 and how that prevented both Erica and America from moving on and accepting Changez. When Changez goes to see Erica at her clinic he is told by a nurse that, â€Å"It did not matter that the person Erica was in love with was deceased; for Erica he was alive enough, and that was the problem. †(133) America, too, was increasingly giving itself over to a dangerous nostalgia,† he claimed that he, â€Å"had always thought of America as a nation that looked forward; for the first time I was stuck by its determination to look back. †(115) The grief that Erica felt over the loss of Chris was representative of the grief America felt after 9/11 and how that prevented both Erica and America from moving on and accepting Changez. When Changez goes to see Erica at her clinic he is told by a nurse that, â€Å"It did not matter that the person Erica was in love with was deceased; for Erica he was alive enough, and that was the problem. (133) If Erica represents America and their in ability to move on from their grief, then Chris is a symbol for 9/11. When Changez goes to visit Erica in the clinic,the nurse he meets when he first enters tells him that, â€Å"It did not matter that the person Erica was in love with was This was included to show Cahngez’s changing relationship with America and an alternative way to show how America is broken and how because of America’s tendency to look back, and hold on to the past prevented America fro building relationships with outher countriesIf you did not connect that Erica was America you might hink that this was about a Pakistany that came to American and wound up hating and criticisming it until he left. In reality it was about a man, or boy rather, that had big dreams of his life in America, ones that seemed to be coming true. But just as Erica could not let go of the past, America couldn’t let go of the hatred and fear they held for those who seemed un-American.

What personal factors can affect your success in school

Place Great news! Your answers show that having a place to study is not really a once for you. You understand that your study environment will significantly impact your academic success, and it's vital to invest in a dedicated, appropriate location to study along with investing in yourself. Now, the next steps are to clearly communicate your intended study plan of times and places so that your family and friends can provide support. We're here to see you succeed, so please contact us or ask your advisor for suggestions and resources.Meantime, here are some helpful tips below. Reason Bravo! You have well-defined, strong reasons for going back to school. To pep this fierce focus, we suggest that you write down the ways that this course will transform your life. Then, occasionally review this list to stay motivated. While attending classes, either online or at the local campus, we encourage you to build a network with other students for motivational support (Tip: our new Phonetician is an ideal first step. Meantime, your advisor can provide valuable resources needed to successfully complete your educational goals. Resources Bravo! You have a solid level of resources and support and recognize that in addition to enrolling in school, you need to enroll people in your life who can e your â€Å"cheerleaders† and motivate you on your academic journey. Let them know you appreciate and need their support. When an issue crops up (e. G. , childcare) explore your network for every possible solution so that an issue won't stop your educational progress.Also, providing your advisor with a clear picture of your educational goals will ensure that you are consistently encouraged and supported. When you need additional help, your advisor can help guide you to resources and provide other support. Students like you Often share their experiences and tips with their academic network, so that others can learn by example. Skills You appear reasonably concerned about the academic skills needed to go back to school. That's k.We recognize and applaud students who can now bring life experience to the classroom and who have different learning styles. We want you to be successful, so we offer access to various workshops, tutoring, and other resources. Developing a dedicated study plan with clear objectives, plus proactively seeking resources and support, will build your skills and confidence to help overcome future obstacles. Take a moment to talk with your advisor about all the options (I. E. , online or local campus courses) that will best fit your needs.

New Testament And Homer

Hebrew and Greek attitudes toward killing are similar, but once religion is factored in a remarkable difference is revealed. Early Hebrew citizens were murderous people by nature, much like the Greeks, but had God looking down on them saying to them that killing was wrong. Greek citizens would engage in war and human sacrifices with the gods on their side, and even sometimes the gods would take part in the murdering. The Greek way of life was murderous due to their strong urge to be revengeful, whereas the Hebrews murdered to keep the faith. In the text of The Odyssey and the Holy Bible killing is undeniably abundant with citizens killing, God killing, and sometimes the two killing in cahoots. The Holy Bible contains many instances of killing. The one that most everyone is familiar with is, Exodus 20:13, in the Ten Commandments of God stating, â€Å"You shall not murder. † Later in the Bible, God states what will happen to you if you disobey him, â€Å"The Lord will send you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me† (Deuteronomy 28:20). With these to teachings from God, one would think there would be no killing going on and if you did kill you would be punished severely. This however, is not the case. In Genesis, Cain murders his own brother, Abel, out of jealousy. God sees this and is angry that Cain didn’t follow his rules, consequently banishing him and desecrating his body with a mark (The Holy Bible, Genesis 4). In some instances God actually commands killing. In Genesis, God became angry with the people so he kills them all with a flood, sparing only what He put on Noah’s Ark (Holy Bible, Genesis 6-8). God also asks Abraham to sacrifice his own son. Abraham is ready to prove his faith to God and murder, but fortunately God does not make him (Holy Bible, Genesis 22:8-13). When the people worship a golden calf in Baal, God becomes angry because you are not suppose to worship figures or anything other than God, and took command over the people. God makes the men take their swords and slay over three thousand of their brothers and sons (Holy Bible, Exodus 32:27-29). God also kills all of Egypt’s first born when he establishes Passover. During the first Passover, all of the people who do not obey God’s detailed procedure for Passover are visited and murdered by an angel of death. After God makes the Egyptians hearts hard and then weak, the people are able to leave, but are followed by the Pharaoh’s men. God separates the Red Sea for the Hebrews, but once the Egyptian soldiers enter the parting, God fills the waters back up and drowns all the men (Holy Bible, Exodus 12:29-30). All of the killings are influenced by Gods determination to have the people faithful to his religion. God leads the people through Moses and performs various acts to win the faith of the people. He does this by putting death on the door of the Hebrews and then saving the Hebrews by not killing them, therefore winning their faith by making them acknowledge his existence. God commands that people obey him or pay the consequence. This is a threat to the people on disobedience for Gods laws. If you murder you have desecrated Gods will, and punishment will come, and it will come in the greatest way possible. Early Greek society is full of warfare and dedication to the gods. The citizens of their great cities take pride in the glory of their warriors and the proud armies that fight so hard to conquer and plunder their enemies. As they are busy killing in war, they are also dedicated to their gods. Sacrificing humans to the gods is not an uncommon occurrence. The gods also play active roles in the Greeks killing. The gods sit above on Mt. Olympus and watch the many people come in conflict with each other, sometimes taking part in how the divine game is played out. The way the gods interact reminds me as if they are watching a daytime soap opera, interfering with the actions of the actors. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus, a powerful Greek warrior, is glorified in his adventures to Troy. His kills are great and in many numbers. Odysseus is described as a hero and the â€Å"raider of cities. † On Odysseus’s twenty-year quest the gods, mainly Athena, lead him. In the beginning the gods interfere when Poseidon wants to kill Odysseus, but Zeus refrains him from doing so. As Odysseus wanders his way home, he contemplates self-restraint and the value of lives. On part of his journey, Odysseus travels a dangerous path at one point risking his whole crew, which he has lost numerous times. He must decide between one path that will kill only a few and is difficult, or on a simpler path that can kill all of his crew. He realizes the importance of the lives and chooses the less harmful one. Perhaps the greatest and most glorified of Odysseus’s killings is when he returns home to kill all of the suitors pursuing his wife. Greeks killed out of revenge quite often. This created a giant, perpetual cycle of killing that left many angry. As Odysseus is murdering in great numbers at his home he is proud. He believes he is doing justice when he hangs prostitutes dead by a rope and dismembers a goat herder. The vengeful Odysseus is described as a proud fisherman with all his kills. â€Å"Odysseus scanned his house to see if any man still skulked alive, still hoped to avoid black death. But he found them one and all in blood and dust? great hauls of them down and out like fish that fishermen drag from the churning gray surf in looped and coiling nets and fling ashore on a sweeping hook of beach-some noble catch? orpse covering corpse? †(Odyssey, lines 406-414). The pride that Odysseus instills from his murderous ways is apparent. The Gods to do not threaten a punishment on Odysseus. The only threat that is to Odysseus is the families of the suitors who are angry. The main motivation for the killings is families and citizens feuding and avenging past killings. Fortunately, at the end of the Odyssey, the Gods cast a fog in the memories of the people so they will forget their anger towards each other. As the Hebrews kill, God and his threat for them to behave forever accompanied them. However, God’s punishment is not always apparent, for the most part it is. As the Greeks kill they are profitful and in almost no threat to the Gods. In Hebrew culture murder was used by God to help keep order and to acquire his people freedom. The Greeks killed to please the Gods and to please their state, neither of these are a value in Hebrew life. Although Hebrews and Greeks killed a lot with little thought towards it, Hebrew culture was plagued with God’s guilt over you, while in Greek culture you could profit from killing.

Bartolome de las Casas’s Destruction of the Indies Essay

Bartolomà © de las Casas was a Spanish historian and a social reformer who was writing in the 16th century, during the time of the Spanish occupation of the Indies. In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Casas provides a scathing commentary on the cruelty exercised by the Spanish colonizers on the natives of Hispaniola—as well as explain the aims that motivated this behavior. The account acts as not only an observation on the practices of the colonizers, but is also a reflection of the imperial policies of the Spanish Empire. Through writing A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Casas aims at bringing the Spanish Crown’s attention to the atrocities committed by the citizens of the empire on the natives. In keeping with that aim, he utilizes a rhetoric that seeks to arouse the sympathy of his readers towards the natives and a sense of horror over how they are being treated. Right from the beginning of the account, in the preface, he paints an i mage of the natives as being simple, and harmless. He describes them as, â€Å"the simplest people in the world†¦they are without malice or guilt†¦never quarrelsome or belligerent or boisterous, they harbour no grudges†¦indeed the notions of revenge, rancour and hatred are quite foreign to them†. In contrast to that, he describes the Spaniards as â€Å"ravening wolves† who fell upon the natives like â€Å"tigers or savage lions who had not eaten meat for days .â€Å" Casas sets up a comparison between the helplessness of the natives and the savagery of the Spaniards, and this comparison holds throughout the document. Examples of this comparison are in the frequent accounts he gives of the before and after native population levels once the Spanish occupy an area—â€Å"when the Spanish first journeyed here, the indigenous population of the island of Hispaniola stood at some three million; today only two hundred survive† or â€Å"not a living soul remains today on any of the islands of the Bahamas.† Casas uses concrete numbers in describing the decline in the population level, in the number deaths—he does this as a means of stressing the official nature of the document, to lend it a sense authority. These numbers also help in giving his reade rs a very clear idea of the terrifying extent of the Spanish cruelty. He enumerates the different ways through which the locals are being exterminated, which gives a fair idea of the general colonial practices in the Indies— through â€Å"forcible expatriation†, â€Å"unjust†¦tyrannical war,† working the natives to the  point of death—Casas gives an example of a man who worked the natives under him so hard that within a month, out of three hundred, only thirty survived. More importantly, Casas reveals the motives behind the widespread cruelty as being simple, materialistic greed. He explains that the greed for the gold that the natives have is the driving force behind the actions of the Spanish. The one instance that effectively reflects this fanatical greed is of the local lord who makes an offering of nine thousand castilians to the Spanish and is still seized and tortured for more gold—â€Å"tying him in a sitting position to a stake set in the ground, lit a fire under his outstretched feet to induce him to hand over yet more gold†¦when he produced no further gold, they carried on until all the marrow ran out through the soles of his feet.† What is worth noting is that Casas when first talking about this greed, refers to the Spanish as Christians—â€Å"the reason the Christians have murdered on such a vast scale and killed anyone and everyone in their way is purely and simply greed.† Casas obviously uses the term â€Å"Christian† ironically to draw attention to the un-Christian behavior that the Spanish are displaying in the colonies. Casas was the Bishop of Chiapas. He was a clerical man, and so his primary concern was the un-Christian activities that were taking place in the colonies. He exclaims that the colonizers have â€Å"little concern over their [natives] souls as for their bodies, all the millions that have perished, having gone to their deaths with no knowledge of God.† This clearly defines exactly what A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies as a text is—it is not a text that is arguing for equal rights, it is instead a text that shows the priorities and concerns of a man living under the Spanish Empire at the time. Casas views the natives not as people equal to the Spaniards, but as potential Christians. He describes them as being, â€Å"innocent and pure in mind and have a lively intelligence, all of which makes them particularly receptive to learning and understanding the truths of our Catholic faith and to being instructed in virtue.† Casas is outraged because the Spanish policy of â€Å"conversion a nd saving of souls as first priority† was not being followed. Instead, it was being used as an excuse—â€Å"The gulf that yawns between theory and practice has meant that, in fact, the’ local people have been presented with an ultimatum: either they adopt the Christian religion and swear allegiance to the Crown of Castile, or they will find themselves faced with  military action.† He describes how the Spanish would unnecessarily pillage an area, but would essentially be within their legal rights as they would make sure that they presented the natives with the royal ultimatum. Casas’ account is a good reflection of the general imperial policy of expansion of the Spanish Empire. The Spanish Empire used religion as a tool to further its aims—the Spanish Inquisition, for example, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella as a way of increasing their political authority via religion and to suppress any tension that may arise from social and cultural differences. While the activities of the colonizers wasn’t the same as the inquisition, as Casas points out, the Spanish in the colonies were using religion in a similar way. Therefore, Casas’A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies gives important insight into the practices of the Spanish Empire. It also presents an interesting perspective from someone who is a part and within the empire—who is aware and recognizes the malpractices of the Crown and more importantly, is attempting to do something to put a stop to it. It’s also important that the way he goes about this, is through literature—it shows us the importance of the written word in the process of trying to affect a change. Though Casas’ sentiment in the account might not be a common one at the time, it does signal a rising awareness of the moral blindness displayed in the activities of the empires/colonies. Works Cited Bartolomà © de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, trans. Nigel Griffin (London: Penguin Classics, 2004), 9-37. Bartolomà © de las Casas, â€Å"Bartolomà © de las Casas,† in Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. Nina Bayme and Robert S. Levine. (New York: WW Norton & Co, 2012), 38.