Giving Advice about Treatment

Racism & Hate Crimes In America Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Racism & Hate Crimes In America Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Racism & Hate Crimes In America Racism & Hate Crimes in America Blacks were introduced to American soil during the 17th and 18th centuries via the triangular trade route, and were welcomed by whips, chains, shackles, and all the horrors of slavery. Slavery was legitimized by our government and continued for a few hundred years, taking a civil war and sixteen presidents before it was abolished. To this day, there is still much hatred between blacks and whites despite emancipation, desegregation, and integration; some would argue that the condition of African Americans in the United States is still one of a subservient nature. Federal law defines a hate crime as whenever a victim is attacked on the basis of his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender; hate offenses are directed against members of a particular group simply because of their membership in that group (Levin 4). Last year, a black man was brutally murdered in east Texas by three young white males. There are over a hundred homicides committed every year, but the m anner in which this life was taken and the apparent motive of his perpetrators leaves no doubt that this crime was one rooted in hate. In this brutal murder, the motivation is obvious and clear-cut, the bigotry so blatant that it virtually hits you in the face. James Byrd Jr.'s death is America's shame: another man tortured for no reason- other than the color of his skin. This essay will use the Byrd murder to explore the cause and effects of hate crimes, and attempt to draw meaning from it so that a tragedy like this will not happen again. In the early morning of June 7, 1998, a black man was walking down a road in Jasper, Texas. James Byrd Jr. had just left a niece's bridal shower at his parents' house, and was trying to hitch a ride home. Three men drove by and the owner of the vehicle, Shawn Berry, offered Byrd a lift in the back of the pickup. Byrd, handicapped in one leg, didn't hesitate to accept the apparently kind gesture; little did he suspect his fate that was to follow. Angered, one of the passengers by the name of John King grabbed the wheel and drove to a dark deserted road outside of town. What happened thereafter undoubtedly has to be one of the most gruesome and horrifying crimes this country has seen since the day's slavery was legal. King and the final member of the trio, Lawrence Brewer, got out of the truck and began beating and kicking Byrd until he was nearly unconscious. Afterward, they chained him by his ankles to the back of the truck and dragged him so violently down the winding asphalt road, tearing off his head and right arm from his body. Police found Byrd's dentures torn from his mouth, lying a few hundred yards down the road from the rest of his body. Blood smeared a trail over a mile long. Research strongly suggests that hate crimes reported to the police have certain characteristics that distinguish them from other types of offenses. First, hate crimes tend to be excessively brutal; the hatred in such crimes is expressed when force is exercised beyond what is necessary to subdue victims or make them comply. Classifying the murder of James Byrd as brutal is definitely an understatement. A second characteristic of hate crimes is that they are often senseless or irrational crimes perpetrated at random on strangers. Finding a random black man walking down the road late at night and dragging him to death is not a common circumstance. Another characteristic of hate crimes is that they are usually perpetrated by multiple offenders; it is a group crime frequently carried out by young perpetrators operating together for the purpose of attacking the members of another group (Levin 16). The murder of James Byrd Jr. satisfies these characteristics, and unmistakably qualifies as a hate crime. Byrd's hometown of Jasper is a racially mixed town of 8,000 people located in a rural section of Texas; a Southern town with built in biases, but not racist. Despite of the nature of Byrd's murder, you cannot stereotype a community because of the actions of

Globalization in Daily Life Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Globalization in Daily Life - Assignment Example Many scholars and economist have tried to explain the term globalization as per their own view and opinions. For example, Jos Berghman commented that â€Å"globalization refers to a growing global interconnectedness† (Berghman, 2005, p.6). The term, ‘interconnectedness’ itself explains the core essence of the globalization. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has given a broad definition of globalization. DFID has identified that the â€Å"increased flows of goods, services, capital, people and information† are the major determinants of globalization which is â€Å"driven by technological advances and reductions in the cost of international transaction† (Zajda, 2005, p.294).  Therefore, primarily, international trade and technological advancements have facilitated the process of globalization and this has developed medium for exchanging ideas, views, tangible & intangible capital, factors of productions etc. This process has crea ted a better scope for the development of economic, social, cultural and international relation. In our every step of daily life, we can feel of the presence of this development encouraged by globalization.  For example, the product developed using Japanese technologies like Japanese cars is dominating in the global automobile sectors. On the other hand, Italian cuisine like ‘Pizza’ is one of the popular food items of the people living in American and Asian countries. Moreover, Chinese cost-effective production process has led to encouraging many manufacturers like Nike to expand their business in China, and many multinational corporations are trying to enter in emerging marketing like India, Taiwan, China etc. These examples are a proper reflection as an outcome of globalization. In order to facilitate the process of international trade, the trade agreement between and/or among different countries have played a very significant role as it helps to grow a country with significant amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) which creates industrialization causing growth in aggregate demand and supply, and an economy can achieve equilibrium growth. Recently, U.S. and Korea have entered into free trade agreement known as KORUS FTA, according to which the U.S. MNCs can have greater accesses in the Korean market, and Korean automobile manufacturer can enjoy a significantly reduced tariff in U.S. automobile market (U.S. International Trade Commission, 2011). The U.S. automobile sector is already crowded with a number of domestic and foreign automobile companies. However, as per this agreement, the Korean companies can have better access to the automobile market as they are able to offer cars at much-reduced cost increasing the competition. The competition is one of the healthy sign for economic development.

Equity Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equity Theory - Essay Example Equity theory is useful to understand why people behave in a certain manner that satisfy their desires and how they relate to these achievements. It is based on the simple belief that every employee in the organization wants to be treated fairly in relation to others. Here, the two aspects, i.e. ‘fairness’ and ‘relativity with others’ vary among individuals; these perceptions are greatly influenced by sociocultural aspects to a great extent. Many management researches have indicated that managing people in the contemporary global organizations that consist of employees from different sociocultural backgrounds has been a great challenge. Motivational needs vary in different cultures, which makes the managers’ job even more difficult to motivate their people according to what the employees perceive as a source of their motivation. In such situations, managers can improve their awareness of their people’s motivational needs through better people c onnect and interpersonal relationship. Other than actual motivational needs of every individual, managers can strive to know the extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors of their people. In order to establish equity, organizations ensure goals and expectations are set, and reward schemes are made. All individuals will be rewarded in accordance with these policies and plans, which will cater to the extrinsic motivation. However, managers will have to make an effort to understand the intrinsic motivational factors for their people.

Writer is free to pursue any field of inquiry Research Paper

Writer is free to pursue any field of inquiry - Research Paper Example This is arguably the greatest difference and point that makes the beloved better since unlike the summer’s day the beloved is eternal. Moreover, the final lines of the piece explains how the beloved shall live forever in the words of the poem. Additionally, the couplet cements this by arguing that the beloved shall live eternally as long as men breathe and eyes see. Nevertheless, to clearly understand the sonnet there it is important to focus more on the overriding theme and also the general feeling prevalent in the sonnet. Determination of the overriding theme requires a critical evaluation and analysis of the main emergent idea in the sonnet. Theme are important since they give a clearer and better understanding of the main argument in a poem. For this particular sonnet, the overriding theme can be considered to be love. This is because the greatest part of the sonnet mainly focuses on praises directed towards the beloved. Unlike the summer’s day that seems to lack in so many respects such as too short, too hot, and too rough among others, the beloved carries all the desirable aspects of a perfect summer day. For example, the second line states â€Å"Thou art more lovely and more temperate†. Inclusion of such praise towards the beloved shows the speaker’s view and in totality love is the most prevalent theme in the sonnet. Incorporation of emotions in poetry is considered to be of great importance. This is because presence of emotions in a poem creates a platform for readers to interact with the main idea of the poem. Since most poems are written in a seemingly hidden meaning technique, there is need to incorporate an aspect that can act as an intermediary between the persona and the reader hence enhancing understandability. Shakespeare has managed to invoke readers’ emotions through the comparison tactic. There is a general feeling of tenderness as the reader goes through

Clinical Governance overview

Clinical Governance overview A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care can flourish (1) The term Clinical Governance (CG) was first introduced by the Labour government and underpinned by a statutory duty of quality set out in the Health Act 1999.The new government established for the first time a national framework, within which the NHS at a local level, can work towards realising consistent and systematic improvements in the quality of patient of care. Clinical Governance places a clear responsibility upon NHS organisations for the delivery and continuous improvement of patient care. In practice this means implementing principles that will result in a high quality of care for patients by a highly motivated and qualified workforce. The introduction of the contractual framework of community pharmacy in April 2005 laid out specific requirements for CG consisting of principles which were to be integrated into each pharmacy by a nominated clinical governance lead.(2) The contractual framework makes clear the role of community pharmacy and its contribution to the achievement of the targets for the health sector. Primary Care Trusts will support pharmacy contractors in implementing the new framework and monitoring compliance was only to begin in October 2005. For the introduction of CG to be successful it is essential that there is of mutual benefit to community pharmacy and the rest of the local NHS, while improving quality service to patients. Clinical Governance is composed of seven principle elements, Education, Clinical audit, Clinical Effectiveness, Risk Management, Research and Development, and Openness. The principles above are all extremely important in their contribution to clinical governance and I will discuss in detail some of the above in this essay. As part of the CG requirements, pharmacies have to participate in a clinical audit of their services and have the necessary arrangements in place to verify the quality of advice given to patients. Clinical audit involves the pharmacist and their staff participating in one practice based audit and one PCO determined multidisciplinary audit each year. Patient involvement entails the public to complete Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire to express their level of satisfaction at the services provided by their local community pharmacy. The pharmacies should review the surveys and consider changes to improve their services. Risk management ensures pharmacists provide sufficient evidence of recording, reporting, monitoring, analysing and learning from patient safety incidents. Clinical effectiveness programmes ensure the correct operating procedures are in place for the management of repeat NHS prescriptions, medicines use reviews and standard operating procedures. Staffing and staff management ensure that the people operating within the pharmacy have all the necessary training skills related to their role in the pharmacy and up to date with the legality issues surrounding confidentiality procedures, health and safety issues etc. Pharmacy operators must also ensure that there is an induction and written operating procedures for locums, who will be undertake the role of responsible pharmacist at different pharmacy premises. Pharmacists must also demonstrate their commitment to continuing professional development (CPD) through a CPD record, acquire information via up to date reference sources and comply with regulations. (3) Pharmacists have been implementing many of the aspects of CG in their roles as front line carers for patients on a day to day basis for many years. The structures put in place for the development of a CG framework; build upon the existing strengths possessed by pharmacys and highlights areas where improvements can be made. For CG to be successful and for processes to become embedded in pharmacies, pharmacists must be able to recognise the compelling nature of it outcomes. They should be clear on the intended benefits and understand that CG is an opportunity for them as individuals to adapt to change, generate new knowledge and continue to improve in their professional performance. (4) Clinical Governance activities can raise awareness of learning needs for example through audit and also for the continuing development of the services they provide within their organisation to provide the best form of patient care possible. Adverse incident reporting is an important element of CG but in general incident reporting to external bodies is at an early stage in community pharmacy and will require considerable culture change. The development of the No blame culture is essential and is important for pharmacists to realise that incidents and mistakes do occur but as long as the necessary procedures are taken to prevent dispensing errors and near misses through examination of these errors in an objective way to prevent the same problems happening over and over again. (5) Clinical effectiveness is made up of a range of quality improvement activities and initiatives including evidence, guidelines and standards to identify and implement best practice. Clinical Governance invites pharmacists and their working team to perform at very high professional level, which improves the quality of patient care and helps improve patient trust. This generates a feel good factor for the pharmacist and his team, in the services they are providing to the public and gives them the confidence and makes them better equipped for issues which present themselves in their pharmacies. Risk management is key part in CG, as the safety of patients is the main priority for all the healthcare team. The reporting of dispensing errors to an external board could minimize the risks of potential hazardous situations caused by dispensing errors, by effectively setting motions in place to reduce or remove risks. The principles of CG applies to all practitioners, including community pharmac ists, who have an important contribution to make to the development of a coherent strategy for assuring and improving the service provision across the local health community. (6) This involves working and communicating as a multi-disciplined team across primary care but also between primary and secondary care, to improve the overall quality of patient care. Clinical Governance also has systems in place to identify poorly performing pharmacists and provides retraining and other support at an early stage for pharmacists but the onus is on them to acquire the necessary skills to act as professional pharmacists and build on their existing knowledge. There is no doubt that Clinical Governance is a positive driving force behind improving patient care but there are questions of how practical it can be in the day to day running of busy pharmacies. Many pharmacists especially the older generation have found it particularly difficult to come to terms with the massive impact of paperwork associated with clinical governance and finding time to implement everything is a problem and many feel that time filling out forms would be better fulfilled advising patients. Cost is another problem, training staff to be effective in CG and employing locums, buying CG packs and having to close the pharmacy to attend PCT meetings are certainly not cheap. There are numerous other problems which could be mentioned which pharmacists find challenging and wrong with CG. In conclusion, the concept behind Clinical Governance has been put forward to undoubtedly benefit the entire health system. It is therefore important that systems are in place to maintain a high standard of clinical care. Pharmacists have been at the forefront of patient care and have been providing dependable services to the community for many years. The system of CG brings together all the elements which seek to promote quality care and the challenge of it shouldnt be underestimated. The cultures involved will need to be understood and greater sensitivity shown to pharmacists to help them review and justify their performance. Many pharmacists are apprehensive about CG and feel the changes involved could be an unnecessary intrusion and many will only be won over when they can see that its in their interest and that of their patients. (Word Count 1196) Clinical Governance; Quality in the new NHS (HSC 1999/065) Department of Health, London, 1999 Department of health, 28/4/05 Implementing the new Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework www.psnc.org.uk/pages/essential_service_clinical_governance.html PSNC, Essential service 8- Clinical Governance Requirements in the New Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework Continuing Professional Development: Quality in the new NHS. (HSC 1999/154) Department of Health, London, 1999. Doing Less Harm. Department of Health 7 national Patient Safety Agency, London, 2001. Pharmacy in the Future-Implementing the NHS plan. Department of Health, London,2005

The Effects of the Renaissance Essay -- European Renaissance Essays

The Effects of the Renaissance When the Renaissance crept into the world?s social senses people were moved. However, when the Renaissance began to affect the literature of the sixteenth century, the world was changed forever. The Renaissance, meaning a ?re-birth,? was a time of many changes. These changes wrought pandemonium among the civilized people of earth. There was a recovery and discovery of medieval texts in which scholars were deeply impressed by. Those in love with the arts and literature now had more choices to view and read. There was an outpour of those individuals attempting to create paintings that exemplified the feelings that saturated the minds of the brilliant scholars. Most importantly, however, was the huge change of the role of the church in everything. Martin Luther nailed up his ?95 Thesis? and thus began the Reformation of the Catholic Church. With this came a rushing tide of secularization in Europe. This, of course, blew over into literature and the arts. The Faerie Queen is one epic that included the ideals and morals that the excom...

Globalization processes Essay

Globalization had brought different effects to the society. It had changed that world and how the world processes. Different states join together in creating a better world for humanity. Different businesses establish parts of their business in different parts of the planet in order to provide work for the underdeveloped or developing nations. Most of these nations profit from the globalization processes of the world because this is the way in which they acquire profit. Having a Multi-national Corporation (MNC) invest in one of those nations provides good opportunity not only for the government but also the people. Among the entities involved in the process of globalization, the people are said to profit most for the reason that they are given opportunities and jobs for their family. However in another perspective, the MNCs could be seen as the most profitable entity in the aspect of globalization. It is known to many that the labor pay for the people of the developed and underdeveloped nations are lower than the average labor wage of developed nations. Through investing in different developed and under developed nations, the MNCs are able to save more profit than they usually have. Within the process of expansion of these MNCs one of the most affected individuals are the women. Most underdeveloped and developing nations provide less labor pay for the women in comparison to men. Although now a days gender equality had been slowly implemented, most of these countries still adhere to their conservative perspective that men and women should not be treated or provided equal treatment. One good example is Bangladesh in which hosts different garment factories in the country (Sachs, 2004). It is known that the work of sewing is immediately associated with women. Therefore, they need women workers to be able to do the work on the garments. Most of the brands being produced by women are â€Å"GAP, Polo, Yves Saint Laurent, Wal-Mart JC-Penny and others† (Sachs, 2004). In support to the issue mentioned by Jeffrey Sachs (2005) in his book â€Å"The End of Poverty† other articles also stated the same concern in which Sachs had mentioned. Most corporations prefer having their businesses moved to underdeveloped or developing nations due to the factor of culture and specifically, â€Å"feminine† traits. It is said. In the written work of Thrift (1989) and Taylor (1992) it is specifically stated that Malay women are one of the races in which they prefer in working with some of their products, â€Å"fast fingers, fine eyes sight, the passivity to withstand low-skilled, unstimulating work are said to be biological attributes to be unique to ‘oriental’ women (Thrift and Taylor p. 134). In addition, a Chinese engineer stated that, â€Å"Our work is designed for females†¦ if we employ men, within two or three months they’d run away†¦ Girls under thirty are easier to train and easier to adapt to the job function† (Thrift and Taylor p. 134). Evidently, the MNC’s prefer women in comparison to men due to the personalities that they have. MNCs know that they cannot treat men like they could treat women therefore, making women the main target of these corporations. In the context of the cost of labor, most MNC’s prefer women because they are given less compensation compared to men. In countries such as Malaysia, men have provided higher salaries therefore making them less of a priority to be hired. It is also believed by most MNC’s that unschooled women in Malaysia could only use some training and after a while they will be more efficient to work in factories (Ong, 1987). This context is very degrading for men. Men are not preferred due to their nature and personality. In another side, women are more empowered because they are preferred by most companies. They are able to provide for their family’s needs without being dependent on men. But if seen in a cultural perspective, become the breadwinner of the family. Although it brings positive outcome for women, the changes in structure of the society will be present and slowly evident (Sachs, 2004). With these types of situation one may ask, how do these situations come about? Such situations become evident to the society of underdeveloped and developing countries due to their need to uplift the situation of their economy. Most of these nations are indebt with developed countries, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or the (WB) World Bank. If one could recall, there had become a debt crisis during the 1980’s in which made many nations indebt to different monetary organization to be able to survive (Sachs and Collins, 1989). Until this very day, many nations are still struggling to create answered to the decade long debt that they have. One of the answers they have seen is Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). In this type of solution, the underdeveloped and developing nations call upon the developed states to invest business in their countries. These developing and underdeveloped countries create way in which they could invite foreign investors in their country. Few of those schemes are the free trade zones and their women workers. With this situation, most of the MNCs take advantage of the tax-free situations and the subsidies given by the host government (Arregui and Baez, 1991). With the studies done by Arregui and Baez, they stated that women workers is also one of the reasons in which transnational companies decided to invest in the specific underdeveloped or developing countries. In addition, it is also stated that in the history of the world, most women are given low compensation (Arregui and Baez, 1991). Most of the time, these women are the most vulnerable and exploited workers because they have no choice but to agree upon the compensation given to them. Although Thrift and Taylor indicated that the skills needed are less compared to other works, Arregui and Baez firmly stated that the internalization of work currently requires more skills than before. With their view of the gender aspects of men and women, the authors have identified that having higher wages for men is very important in order to provide for their family. (Arregui and Baez, 1991)Such situation must be taken into consideration given that men, in the norms of the society are immediately entitled to provide for his family. Women on the other hand are not required to do so because of their responsibilities in the home. In context, having high salary for men is positive while women having high salary imply negativity. Sachs also adheres to this type of idea. He stated that the relationship of the family members becomes different. If the women are given high salary, the men would immediately be regarded to take care of the children compared to the usual. There is a great tendency that the women would be working for the family while the men will work at home and handle the children (Sachs, 2004). However, the current economic situations of the families in the underdeveloped and developing countries are in need to have a better economic lifestyle than what they have at present. The current lifestyle of families is that the mother and the father work for their children but then the lack of emotional attachment becomes an issue. In Sachs’ opinion, such problem does not only affect the gender responsibilities of men and women but also the welfare of the next generation.

Bigger, Better, Faster (, Foundations Of Paradise Essays

Bigger, Better, Faster (, Foundations Of Paradise Essays Bigger, Better, Faster (, Foundations Of Paradise By Arthur C. Clarke) Man has always longed to build things, and as time goes on, man feels the need to outdo all previous achievements. Arthur C. Clarke's novel, Foundations of Paradise is a good example of this human characteristic. Vannevar Morgan is an engineer living in the twenty second century, and is known by his peers to be one of the greatest engineers in the world. The creation that gave Morgan this title was the Gibraltar Bridge, connecting Europe to Africa. This bridge is situated five kilometers above the water of the Mediterranean Sea. Dr. Morgan has in his head yet another idea that will become his final and greatest mark on the world. A new substance has been developed through years of research. It is a microcrystaline fiber that is extraordinarily strong and ten times narrower than a human hair. Morgan's idea is to use this material to build an elevator to hoist things into orbit of the Earth. This way, no rockets will be needed to blast things into orbit. Much money will be saved, along with a dramatic decrease in pollution. Morgan knows many people who have faith in his plan, including the World Bank, although many doubt the feasibility of his ideas. I can relate to this because I tend to dream big also. Many of my ideas are very grandiose and many times, I have a hard time explaining them to other people. I have found though, like Vannevar Morgan, if I keep one of my ideas in my mind for long enough and think it out, it has a good chance of coming true. It seems like the number of difficulties encountered when an idea is put into place is directly relative to the outcome of the completed idea. A simple idea with little benefit will typically not encounter many problems in production. A grandiose idea with earth-shaking benefits, on the other hand, will have many obstacles to overcome before completion. This rule applies very heavily to the space elevator concept. It turns out that the place on which the elevator is to be built is occupied by xenophobic monks. After a few twists of fate that hardly be called luck, the monks leave their home and construction of the tower is started. The problems aren't over yet, though. The tower is built, but not without causalities, the last of which is Dr. Morgan himself. After the tower is completed, it becomes one of the most important structures on Earth. This is not unlike many construction ventures that have been completed in the past. The construction of the Hoover Dam had a human cost in the dozens of lives, and the average north-Atlantic fisherman works in the business for only four years before he is killed or forced to quit due to family or physical problems brought on by the work. Another part of the book that deals with human ingenuity takes place 2000 years before the main story, but in the same general locale. A king, so afraid of his own mortality, creates his own heaven on earth. Although the technology is not as advanced in this era, the garden paradise and the palace in the sky serve the same purpose as the space elevator. This shows that throughout history, man has endeavored to be master of all he surveys. Another example of man's need to outdo himself can be seen in sporting events. Every athlete longs to hold a world record, and many go to great troubles to do just that. Personally, I enjoy swimming. I am on the high school team and have went to the State level meet every year since I was a freshman. As a team, we shave our heads and legs in hopes to eliminate that extra one or two tenths of a second needed to place better. This is a good example of the great lengths that man will go to outdo himself. All in all, Foundations of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke has opened my eyes to the fact that Even as technology advances, the reason for it stays the same. I hope that I can live to dream big and leave my mark upon

Prehistoric Life During the Pleistocene Epoch

Prehistoric Life During the Pleistocene Epoch The Pleistocene epoch represented the culmination of 200 million years of mammalian evolution, as bears, lions, armadillos, and even wombats grew to bizarrely large sizesand then went extinct due to climate change and human predation. The Pleistocene is the last named epoch of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present)Â  and is the first epoch of the Quaternary period, which continues to this day. (Up to the year 2009, when paleontologists agreed on a change, the Pleistocene officially began 1.8 million rather than 2.6 million years ago.) Climate and Geography The end of the Pleistocene epoch (20,000 to 12,000 years ago) was marked by a global ice age, which led to the extinction of many megafauna mammals. What most people dont know is that this capitalized Ice Age was the last of no less than 11 Pleistocene ice ages, interspersed with more temperate intervals called interglacials. During these periods, much of North America and Eurasia was covered by ice, and ocean levels plummeted by hundreds of feet (due to the freezing of available water at and near the poles). Terrestrial Life Mammals: The dozen or so ice ages of the Pleistocene epoch wreaked havoc on megafauna mammals, the largest examples of which were simply unable to find enough food to sustain their populations. Conditions were especially severe in North and South America and Eurasia, where the late Pleistocene witnessed the extinction of Smilodon (the Saber-Toothed Tiger), the Woolly Mammoth, the Giant Short-Faced Bear, Glyptodon (the Giant Armadillo), and Megatherium (the Giant Sloth). Camels disappeared from North America, as did horses, which were only reintroduced to this continent during historical times, by Spanish settlers. From the perspective of modern humans, the most important development of the Pleistocene epoch was the continuing evolution of hominid apes. At the start of the Pleistocene, Paranthropus and Australopithecus were still extant; a population of the latter most likely spawned Homo erectus, which itself competed with Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) in Europe and Asia. By the end of the Pleistocene, Homo sapiens had appeared and spread around the globe, helping to hasten the extinction of the megafauna mammals that these early humans either hunted for food or eliminated for their own safety. Birds: During the Pleistocene epoch, bird species continued to flourish around the globe, inhabiting various ecological niches. Sadly, the giant, flightless birds of Australia and New Zealand, such as Dinornis (the Giant Moa) and Dromornis (the Thunder Bird), quickly succumbed to predation by human settlers. Some Pleistocene birds, like the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon, managed to survive well into historical times. Reptiles: As with birds, the big reptile story of the Pleistocene epoch was the extinction of oversized species in Australia and New Zealand, most notably the giant monitor lizard Megalania (which weighed up to two tons) and the giant turtle Meiolania (which only weighed half a ton). Like their cousins around the globe, these giant reptiles were doomed by a combination of climate change and predation by early humans. Marine Life The Pleistocene epoch witnessed the final extinction of the giant shark Megalodon, which had been the top predator of the oceans for millions of years; otherwise, though, this was a relatively uneventful time in the evolution of fish, sharks, and marine mammals. One notable pinniped that appeared on the scene during the Pleistocene was Hydrodamalis (aka Stellers Sea Cow), a 10-ton behemoth that only went extinct 200 years ago. Plant Life There were no major plant innovations during the Pleistocene epoch; rather, during these two million years, grasses and trees were at the mercy of intermittently plunging and rising temperatures. As during preceding epochs, tropical jungles and rainforests were confined to the equator, with deciduous forests and barren tundra and grasslands dominating northern and southern regions.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) - Essay Example Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is marriage between two persons of the same sex sex/gender. Legal recognition of same-sex marriage or the likelihood to perform a same-sex marriage is some of the time alluded to as marriage equality or equivalent marriage, especially by supporters. The primary laws in modern times, empowering same-sex marriage were established amid the first decade of the 21st century. In May 2013, thirteen nations, and a few sub-national administrations, permit same-sex couples to wed. Uruguay and New Zealand have both sanctioned laws to legitimize same-sex marriage, which has come into energy in August 2013. Same-sex marriage laws have differed by jurisdiction, being differently treated through anauthoritative change to marriage laws, a court decision focused around protected certifications of fairness, or by immediate prominent vote. The acknowledgement of same-sex marriage is a political, cultural, rights issue, and even a religious issue in numerou s countries. Debates are continuously rising on the hot topic whether same-sex couples ought to be permitted for marriage, be obliged to hold an alternate status. Permitting that couples to wed lawfully is thought to be a standout among the most imperative of all human and civil rights.Gay marriage has been a discriminating point in numerous nations for ages. Around the year 2000, nations, e.g. America and the United Kingdom began affirming gay marriages, despite the fact that not everybody concurred with this choice.

Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example Millions of people in America and the entire world practice Christianity (Dyet, 2006). Being the most popular religion in the world, there are various misconceptions about Christianity, some of which I personally held for so long. This research gave me a great opportunity to try and understand the Christian Religion and try to get answers to the queries I have had about Christianity for a very long time. Most Christians also hold other prejudices against other religious groups, which has led to religious discrimination and wars in areas dominated by one religion (Driscoll, 2009). In order to understand the Christian Religion, I attended a Christian prayer service at a Baptist Church, where I interacted with the Christian community in the church as they helped me understand the basic foundations of Christianity. I managed to have a small discussion with a few Christians in the form of an interview to help clear some of the prejudices I had towards their religion. After a lengthy discu ssion, I was able to understand the Christian religion and change some of the false impressions I had about this religious group. One of the biggest misconceptions I had concerning Christianity is how a Christian Worship Service is mainly centered on teachings about how bad other religions are. I had always believed that Christians are taught to despise other religions (Driscoll, 2009). This is a misconception I had held since my childhood days during my interactions with Christian who held very contempt views on other religions. I was made to believe, from their views, that they were taught such kind of ideas in their churches during worship services and Christian teachings. After attending the Service in a Christian Church, I was able to change this misconception. This was after carefully listening to the message and the sermon of the Preacher. His message was mainly centered on love for one another, understanding and mutual respect and coexistence (Driscoll, 2009). The Preacher e mphasized the point that God created people in his own image and therefore every human being should be loved as he or she represents the image of God Himself. He also stated that it is through loving one another that people express their love for God, and that is how they shall be able to get to heaven (Dyet, 2006). According to the Bible, God created all humanity, so it does not matter the religion one belongs to (Driscoll, 2009). The main point is that all human beings belong to God, and should be loved and respected. After listening to such messages, I had to change my view on Christianity and reduce my prejudices regarding how they treat other religions. I was surprised to find out that Christianity is such a welcoming religion, whose main message is based on love for God and for one another. The other misconception I had regarding the Christian religion before this encounter was that Christians hated other religions simply because they were not believers in Christ Jesus. This p rejudice kept me off from mingling freely with Christians because I could not trust the motives of some of them, just because I was not a follower and I felt they hated all non Christians and treated them like non believers who do not deserve to live. This misconception denied me so many opportunities of making Christian friends and mixing freely with other people and sharing ideas. In the course of this research on religion, I was able to come across some very challenging