How to Find Adult Education and Earn Your GED in Texas

The Texas Education Agency, known as TEA, is responsible for adult education and high school equivalency testing in the state of Texas. According to the website: The high school equivalency assessment serves as the basis for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to issue the Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency (TxCHSE). TEA is the only agency in Texas authorized to issue the Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency.   Tests may only be administered by authorized testing centers. Four Testing Options The state allows adult learners to take the High School Equivalencyhttp://tea.texas.gov/HSEP/ exam, the GED exam or, alternatively, to take the HiSET or TASC exam. Each exam is a little different, so its worth your while to take a look at all three. You may find that one or the other is a better match for your skills and knowledge. Its important to know that: All three tests may be taken in English, Spanish, or a combination  All three tests use a computer for at least part of the examAll three tests include sections on language arts, math, science, and social studies; the HiSET and TASC have additional sections as wellThere is a fee for taking the tests; the GED costs $145 while the other two cost about $125. You may be able to get help funding the cost of the testIf you have any type of documented disability that could make it difficult to take the test, you can ask for and receive accommodations Texas Virtual School Network TEA manages a virtual school network that provides Texas students with access to online courses. You can take these courses to prepare for high school equivalency tests, or take a test prep course. Test prep is offered free through online programs and through the Adult Education and Literacy Teachers program. Job Corps Also under Related Content on the Certificate of High School Equivalency Information page is a link to Job Corps. The link takes you to a map of Texas with job corps centers identified. Click on the homepage for information about how to take advantage of this opportunity. There is an eligibility quiz on the landing page, and the links on the top navigation bar are also helpful. Under FAQs, youll learn that Job Corps is a nationwide program that offers hands-on training in more than 100 career technical areas, including: Automotive and machine repairConstructionFinance and business servicesHealthcareHospitalityInformation technologyManufacturingRenewable resources You can also earn your GED through Job Corps and participate in college level courses. ESL courses are also available through Job Corps. Texas Workforce Commission Adult education and literacy help in Texas is also available from the Texas Workforce Commission. TWC provides help with learning the English language, math, reading, and writing with the goal of helping students acquire the skills they need to find a better job or enter college. Good luck!

De Havilland Inc. Case Report Essays - 1463 Words

De Havilland Inc. Case Report Date of submission: February 2, 2010 Executive Summary: Marton’s suitability as a Vendor for De Havilland must first prove that its proposal is realistic in price and does not lack any important elements to efficiently supply the flap shrouds and equipment bay doors to De Havilland. Once that is clarified, De Havilland must ensure that Marton’s is a viable entity that can perform its duties on a long term basis, provide the necessary warranties and guarantees as well as perform to the service levels De Havilland is receiving from their current supplier. In order to not jeopardize any production levels at De Havilland it is recommended that De Havilland use both, their current supplier Dollard†¦show more content†¦It would be important to understand the current process that exist with Dollard Plastics, capture the total cost of doing business with the current supplier and compare it to Marton Enterprise. The most expensive bid received is from the current supplier. Dollard Plastics has the experience and understa nds the requirements of doing business with De Havilland. De Havilland would most likely not respond to the RFQ without making sure all the documented steps of delivering the materials and the pricing structure is in check with what was requested in the RFQ and previously done in the past. The paper does not provide any information on delivery (i.e. lead times and FOB), type of materials used, labor charges and other key performance indicators (KPI’s) of the current situation with Dollard Plastics in order to equally compare the two proposals. Prior to moving forward with any recommendations to the Source Selection Board (SSB) it would be important to consider some factors on the Marton Enterprise bid: ïÆ'Ëœ Does the proposal fulfill all the specifications initially requested in the RFQ? ïÆ'Ëœ What is the current Supplier’s lead time, warranties and any other monetary incentives and how does it compare to Marton’s bid proposal. ïÆ'Ëœ Was the bid, received by Marton, sent by an individual that can bind the organization? Once the Marton bid has gone through its due diligence, we can thenShow MoreRelatedDe Havilland Inc Case Study Report2257 Words   |  10 PagesDe Havilland Inc. Case Report Executive Summary Havilland, a high profile Canadian aircraft manufacturing, has decided to find a new supplier for two of its parts. Since they account for a high percentage of the total cost, it is crucial to find a supplier with a reasonable quote. 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Facebook Ipo free essay sample

The highly anticipated IPO has now turned into a debacle, sparking fury among investors which led to the filing of a number of lawsuits. Questions Andrew Preston, the CEO of Greentech Company, a private game software developing company, is planning to raise equity through an initial public offering. Andrew is going to propose the plan to the major shareholders and is worried about the resistance from the shareholders due to the recent Facebook’s IPO debacle. He remembered from his MBA finance course that many IPOs in the US were issued at prices substantially below the first day closing market prices. However, he was not sure whether the short-run IPO underpricing phenomenon exists in Australia stock market. We will write a custom essay sample on Facebook Ipo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Andrew asked you, the chief financial analyst, to investigate and prepare a report on the following issues. 1. Short-run IPO underpricing is a well-known phenomenon exists in the US stock market. Is this phenomenon unique to the US IPO firms only? In other words, does this phenomenon exist in the Australian stock market? To answer this question, you are required to investigate the short-run IPO performance in the Australia stock market. To measure the short-run IPO performance, you should calculate and analyse the initial return of IPOs that were listed on Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) from June, 1 2009 to May 31, 2010 and remain listed up until its 2 year anniversary. The initial return (Ritter, 1991, p. 7) equals [(the last trading price at the end of the first day of trading -initial offering price)/ initial offering price] * 100. Download the list of IPO firms with their issue price and the first trading day closing price from Morningstar DatAnalysis. The initial offering price is called the issue price in DatAnalysis. Please make sure that you select the adjusted price for the closing price. Critically analyse the results of your calculation using the entire sample and describe the insights that could be gained from the calculation. For instance, you could describe the results of the analysis using simple descriptive statistics such as mean, median etc. or frequency distribution. Next, categorise your data/calculations into groups using 3 variables such as industry and describe what additional insights you could gain from the analysis. You must decide on your own the grouping variables to be used and provide the justification(s) for your selection. Also, list any assumptions made in the analysis. (5 marks) 2. How do the IPO firms perform after the IPO? Examine the performance of IPO firms analysed in Question (1) 2 years after they were listed on ASX using the 2-year holding period return. Compare and contrast the 2-year performance with the initial return based on the grouping 3 variables chosen in Question (1). The formula for 2 year holding period return (Ritter, 1991, p. 4) is ? P ? Pt ? 2 ? year holding period return = ? 2 ? ? 100 ? Pt ? P2 = the adjusted closing price on the 2-year anniversary. If the first trading day is June 1, 2009, then the 2-year anniversary is June 1, 2011; if the 2-year anniversary is a non-trading day, then use the adjusted closing price of the trading day immediately prior to the 2-year anniversary; If the company is suspended from trading on the 2-year anniversary, use the available adjusted closing price, Pt = the adjusted closing market price on the first day of trading, (3 marks) 3.

The Indian Copyright Act free essay sample

Copyright accrues by virtue of authorship, which means that regardless of whether there is a public indication of copyright or the copyright has been registered, the exclusive rights of the author exists. Certain acts are not considered to be infringement of copyright. 1. A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work not being a computer programme for the purposes of- -private use including research; -criticism or review, whether of that work or any other work 2. The making of copies or adaptation of a computer programme by the lawful possessor of a copy of such computer programme from such copy- -in order to utilize the computer programme for the purpose for which it was supplied; or -to make backup copies purely as a temporary protection against loss, destruction or damage in order only to utilize the computer programme for the purpose for which it was supplied. Fair dealing The doctrine of fair use seeks to balance out societal interests against the exclusive rights of the copyright holder. We will write a custom essay sample on The Indian Copyright Act or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They allow for fair dealing for research, study, criticism, review and news reporting, wherein copyrighted material can be used without permission. The Act has a widely-worded clause for fair use, yet it is important to note that the rationale behind the clause is that society benefits more from the copyright infringement than from the grant of the exclusive right to the author in that situation; this implies that your use of copyrighted material must be a provable social benefit and it must credit the copyright holder. Further, the degree to which copyrighted content is used is also material to a fair use defence; large swathes of unaltered content being quoted would probably invite scrutiny. The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2012, widens the scope of fair use by including all material (except computer programmes) as opposed to only â€Å"literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works† which were covered before. This implies that videos and sound recordings too, will now be covered by the fair-use exception.

5 Mixed-Up Malapropisms

5 Mixed-Up Malapropisms 5 Mixed-Up Malapropisms 5 Mixed-Up Malapropisms By Mark Nichol It’s almost impossible to speak or write English without dodging a misnomer or a malapropism at least once in your lifetime. A misnomer (the word is derived from the Latin for â€Å"incorrect name†) is forgivable usually, it’s merely a matter of retaining an obsolete description, as in â€Å"pencil lead† for the graphite used in writing instruments, or referring to the United States as a democracy, when it’s technically a federal republic but a malapropism is a bald sign of carelessness or overreaching for elephants. Eloquence. I meant eloquence. Sometimes, of course, it’s used for comic effect. (That’s where we get the word malapropism. It comes from malapropos, the Latin for â€Å"inappropriate,† entering the English language when playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan used it as the name of a character who, out of ignorance, uttered humorous inanities.) Here are some examples of malapropisms to avoid: 1. â€Å"Her plans didn’t jive with his ambitions.† Jive means â€Å"to deceive†; the writer meant jibe, â€Å"to coincide†: â€Å"Her plans didn’t jibe with his ambitions.† 2. â€Å"Who was the first Englishman to circumvent the globe?† In one sense, circumvent means â€Å"to go around,† so it superficially works here, but the most common meaning is â€Å"to evade,† so, unless the Englishman was a fugitive astronaut, circumnavigate is the word the writer is looking for: â€Å"Who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe?† 3. â€Å"In outrage, she responded vehemently to the anti-Semitic epitaphs at the rally.† An epitaph is a commemorative inscription or comment about a deceased person. The correct word is epithets (an epithet, in this context, is an insult): â€Å"In outrage, she responded vehemently to the anti-Semitic epithets at the rally.† (Epithet can also mean a substituting word or phrase such as â€Å"the Father of Our Country† or, in biology, a term in a taxonomic name.) 4. â€Å"I awaited her arrival with baited breath.† Baited means â€Å"lured† or â€Å"teased† (or â€Å"attacked,† â€Å"harassed,† or â€Å"persecuted†). The writer should have written bated (â€Å"withheld†): â€Å"I awaited her arrival with bated breath.† 5. â€Å"I wouldn’t step foot in there if you paid me.† This substitution of step for set is a minor flaw, but the latter word is the standard idiom: â€Å"I wouldn’t set foot in there if you paid me.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of Phrases50 Diminutive Suffixes (and a Cute Little Prefix)

20 Words with More Than One Spelling

20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling By Mark Nichol When the dictionary lists two alternate spellings of a word, should you use your judgment (or is that judgement?), or is there some other criterion for selection? Most dictionaries describe what is, rather than prescribe what should be hence the alternatives but they usually favor one form over the other. For both convenience and consistency, follow the dictionary’s indirect dictates. In printed dictionaries, the preferred form will have the full definition, while the runner-up will be cross-referenced to the winner. Online, the spelling in the Web page’s heading indicates the preference, though the other choice will likely also be listed. Here are some common entries with more than one orthography: 1. Acknowledgment/acknowledgement: Acknowledgment, though it looks awkward because the spelling implies that the g is pronounced hard, rather than (correctly) soft, is the preferred spelling, at least in American English. 2. Adviser/advisor: Adviser is the preferred spelling, though it is inconsistent with the spelling of the adjectival form advisory. 3. Aesthetic/esthetic: Aesthetic is the preferred spelling, a rare case of the digraph retained in American English in favor of a single-vowel spelling. (See also amoeba/ameba and archaeology/archeology.) 4. Ameba/amoeba: Amoeba is the preferred spelling. It also has variant plural forms: Amoebas is acceptable in all but the most strictly scientific contexts, where amoebae is preferred. 5. Amok/amuck: Amok is the traditional spelling, preferred to amuck. 6. Among/amongst: The -st extension is, in both American English and British English, widely considered an unnecessary appendage. (The same preference applies for amid/amidst and while/whilst; whilst is, at any rate, rare in American English.) 7. Analog/analogue: Analog is one of fourteen words in which the original -ue ending is clipped. Whether one form or the other is preferred varies depending on not only the word but also, occasionally, on which part of speech it represents. Most one- and two-syllable words ending in -ue have no truncated variant; prologue is the exception. 8. Archaeology/archeology: The version with the ae digraph is preferred over the single-vowel form. 9. Ax/axe: Ax is the preferred spelling, alone and in compounds (axman, battle-ax). 10. Collectable/collectible: Collectible is the preferred variant. 11. Barbecue/Barbeque: Barbeque is a variant of barbecue influenced by the truncation BBQ. 12. Disc/disk: Disc is a variant of disk, though it has valid status in the â€Å"phrase compact disc† and references to similar media. 13. Donut/doughnut: Donut is an informal variant of doughnut. 14. Enquire/inquire: Inquire is the preferred American English spelling, but in British English, enquire prevails. 15. Flier/flyer: Spelling depends on meaning. See this post, in which I conclude that pilots and passengers are fliers, and posted papers are flyers. 16. Gray/grey: Gray is the preferred spelling in American English; British English favors grey. 17. Nite/night: Nite is an informal variant of night. 18. Theater/theatre: The former spelling is preferred in American English, though the latter form sometimes appears in proper names. 19. Toward/towards: In American English, towards and other similar words are considered informal variants of the forms in which the s is omitted. 20. Whiskey/whisky: The former spelling is more common in the United States (as well as in Ireland), though usage in labeling varies. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations7 Other Types of Pronouns

Realism in England and France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Realism in England and France - Essay Example The French were able to take a hard look at the effects of the industrial revolution at the end of the Napoleonic wars. Appalled by the blighting effects of technology, misery of the lower class and the industrial smog of London, the French decided to approach modernism carefully. The British workers were more educated and more productive than the French were. The French slowed down industrialization contrary to England, a nation that transformed itself from a rural community to a more urban community and from an agricultural to an industrial nation. By the year 1840, England's agriculture was overtaken by industries in prominence but it was until 1950 when the rural way of life predominated in France. As an outcome of its economic policies, French was spared by industrial pollution that had made life in England a dark shrouded nightmare. The difference in artistic content between the French and English Realist artists is explained by their contrasting economies. Most artists were mi ddle class aged, and they were financially secure enough to criticize the prevailing establishment by depicting their own age. They painted from a protected privileged position. The lower classes did not represent themselves because they were represented in terms of needs and attitudes of the dominant class. E.g. in France, Jean-Francoise Millet was from a wealthy background and concentrated on peasant life.In France, illustrating peasants were quite extensive with risk for an artist. Outside Paris, the lower classes were resistant.

How does New Mexico's (Albuquerque and Santa Fe) media (newspapers) Essay

How does New Mexico's (Albuquerque and Santa Fe) media (newspapers) portray issues of drought and water allocation in the state o Geography of Albuquerque and Santa Fe - Essay Example The Albuquerque MSA population includes the city of Rio Rancho, one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, a hub for many master-planned communities which are expected to draw future businesses and residents to the area. According to the United States Census Bureau, Albuquerque has a total area of 181.3 square miles (469.6km). 180.6 square miles (467.8km) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6km) of it (0.35%) is water. The metro area has over 1,000 square miles developed. Albuquerque lies within the northern, upper edges of the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion, based on long-term patterns of climate, associations of plants and wildlife, and landforms, including drainage patterns. Located in central New Mexico, the city also has noticeable influences from the adjacent Colorado Plateau Semi-Desert, Arizona-New Mexico Mountains, and Southwest Plateaus and Plains Steppe ecoregions, depending on where one is located. Its main geographic connection lies with southern New Mexico, while culturally, Albuquerque is a crossroads of most of New Mexico."(Albuquerque, 2007) Wikipedia goes on to further detail the geography of the region as follows: "Albuquerque has one of the highest elevations of any major city in the United States, though the effects of this are greatly tempered by its southwesterly continental position. The elevation of the city ranges from 4,900 feet (1,490m) above sea level near the Rio Grande (in the Valley) to over 6,400 feet (1,950m) in the foothill areas of the Northeast Heights. At the airport, the elevation is 5,352 feet (1,631m) above sea level. The Rio Grande is classified, like the Nile, as an 'exotic' river because it flows through a desert. The New Mexico portion of the Rio Grande lies within the Rio Grande Rift Valley, bordered by a system of faults, including those that lifted up the adjacent Sandia and Manzano Mountains, while lowering the area where the life-sustaining Rio Grande now flows".( Albuquerque,2007) Santa Fe is located within the same region .Santa Fe is situated in the northern part of the Rio Grande Valley which essentially falls at the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains. It enjoys an area of 37.33 square miles and is situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level. The city is located in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, and has a dense pine forest on the outskirts which can be reckoned as near to the city. Mountain terrains enforce a kind of semi arid continental climate in Santa Fe and due to this climate the city has moderate summers and winters. In general the humidity is experienced at low levels and the bright sun shine is present almost 300 days per year. However Santa Fe receives very good snowfall and the annual average is clocked at 32 inches with deeper snows remaining fast at higher altitudes during the winter. General Climate of Albuquerque and Santa Fe Albuquerque and Santa Fe represent arid to semi arid kind of climate .Wikipedia describes the climate of Albuquerque as follows: "Albuquerque's climate is usually sunny and dry, with low relative humidity. Brilliant sunshine defines the region, averaging more than 300 days a year; periods of variably mid and

Literature Review Essay Example for Free

Literature Review Essay Abstract The primary role of literature review in a quantitative research study to gain information on the subject of your research question and identify unbiased and valid studies connected with your research question. For instance, my quantitative research question is â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † My hypothesis is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. Then I need to do a literature review to discover if my question has already been answered and I may need to modify it or if there are related studies to my research question that can provide quantifiable research. Introduction Quantitative Research involves collecting numerical data though content analysis, performance tests, personality measures, questionnaires, etc. This type of research procedures include an objective/unbiased approach to collecting numerical data from a large number of participants and analyzes these numbers using statistics in order to answer a specific, narrow research question. As part of research, a literature review is required. A quantitative literature review is an extensive review of literature that may or may not influence the study and your research question (UOA 2013). The primary role of literature review in a quantitative research study to gain information on the subject of your research question and identify unbiased and valid studies connected with your research question. For instance, my quantitative research question is â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † My hypothesis is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. Then I need to do a literature review to discover if my question has already been answered and I may need to modify it or if there are related studies to my research question that can provide quantifiable research. Why This Research Question This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † needs to be answered. There is a controversy over what types of literature is acceptable for students to have access. One of my favorite book series (Harry Potter) is a banned book in certain states. This research question would add to research already completed. Methodology in the Research Question This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † is an experimental research question and a casual research question. An experimental research question tests the cause and effect and a causal research question that test for a cause and effect relationship between variables. The variables in this research question are the independent variable (IV), age, ethnicity, and gender, the dependent variable (DV), assigned popular fiction and curriculum-required fiction, and the covariant (CoV) socio-economic status. Additionally, this question has ratio data. Ratio data is continuous. Ratio data rank order, but also quantify and compare the sizes of differences between them. Ratio data has an absolute zero and allows for how many times greater. The research question can discover how many times greater or less are the test scores of high school students who read popular fiction than those who read curriculum-required fiction. Supporting Research My hypothesis of the research question is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. The other similar research found during the literature review relates to my research. Although, my specific research question has not been fully researched. Other research relates to my question. According to the article, Impact of Students Reading Preferences on Reading Achievement, middle school students in Canada found â€Å"The most significant indicators were reading novels or fictional texts, informative reading or non-fiction, and reading books or other texts from the school library. In-class reading and participation in discussions pertaining to school-related reading were also shown to enhance reading achievement. These results are somewhat surprising in that research documenting this subject mainly emphasizes the use of pedagogical material corresponding to the interests/needs of students to foster achievement in reading† (Bouchamma, et al. 2013). This research shows that reading achievement can come from both required and optional reading. Moreover, according to the article, Reading Attitude and its Effect on Leisure Time Reading, â€Å"gender, educational level, age, and amount of spare time have a positive effect on reading behavior† (Stokmans 1999). Additionally, there is â€Å"a positive relationship between time spent reading fiction and educational level† (Stokmans 1999). This research shows that reading fiction relates positively to reading level. Additionally, according to the article, Popular Publications May Help Students Reading Scores, â€Å"We are concerned about the struggle to increase scores that children are posting on state-required exams not because of the scores themselves, but because they are strong indications that state students may not be gaining the thorough and analytical skills they need to become successful readers† (Michigan Chronicle 1997). This newspaper article shows that popular publications may help students on their reading score. Conclusion This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † needs to be answered. This research question addresses the controversy over what types of literature is acceptable for students to have access to. Moreover, this research question would add to research already completed. It would allow  administrators and other educators to decide if certain books can be helpful in high school students learning environments. Bibliography Bouchamma, Y. , Poulin, V. , Basque, M. , Ruel, C. (2013). Impact of students reading preferences on reading achievement. Creative Education, 4(8), 484-491. Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://search. proquest. com/docview/1441488139? accountid=28844 Mia J. W. Stokmans, Reading attitude and its effect on leisure time reading, Poetics, Volume 26, Issue 4, May 1999, Pages 245-261, ISSN 0304-422X, Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1016/S0304-422X(99)00005-4 http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0304422X99000054 Popular publications may help students reading scores. (1997, Oct 01). Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved February 6th, from: http://search. proquest. com/docview/390200035? accountid=28844 University of Arkansas Libraries (2013, Oct. 30) Literature Reviews. LibGuides. Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://uark. libguides. com/content. php? pid=110370sid=1384703

The Scarlet Letter Essay example -- Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

In the first chapter of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a solitary rosebush stands in front of a gloomy prison to symbolize "some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (Hawthorne 56). Serving as a symbol of beauty and solitude, this rosebush foreshadows the dismal tone that will preside over the remainder of the novel and illustrates the beauty of confession and growth in contrast to the suppression and decay apparent within the prison. Hester can be compared to the rosebush due to her growth and inner beauty following her confession of having committed adultery and because she shows passionate and brazen countenance in the face of stern rigidity. On the contrary, Dimmesdale is the prison, confining his guilt of having committed adultery within himself and thus allowing the decay of his soul. It is through immense symbolism, contrasting imagery, and Biblical allusion that Hawthorne creat es both a critical and gloomy tone while speaking to the ubiquitous theme that unconfessed sin destroys the soul. Hawthorne employs Hester's scarlet letter, her punishment for committing adultery, as a powerful symbol that juxtaposes the concealed letter that Dimmesdale must face due to his hidden guilt. In the first scaffold scene, before the crowd has even witnessed Hester or the affliction that is affixed to her breast, some of the women of the town gossip over her punishment. One young woman tells her neighbors, "Let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart," (60) illustrating the fact that Hester feels shame whether or not she is forced to wear the mark. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, does not confess his sin and... ...ul conception. Pearl also provides the only bright and hopeful tone in the novel by personifying the purity associated with confession. It is Hester's confession and freedom from guilt that provides for Pearl's innocence and purity. Through pervasive symbolism, contrasting imagery, and Biblical allusion, Hawthorne creates a critical and gloomy tone and speaks to the omnipresent theme that unconfessed sin destroys the soul. Through the novel, Hester is a symbol of growth due to her freedom from the torment of unconfessed guilt while Dimmesdale represents the decay of the human spirit that results from unconfessed sin. It is Hawthorne's dark and gloomy tone regarding Dimmesdale in contrast to the hopeful and accepting tone regarding Hester and Pearl that clearly personifies his belief that confession of sin revives the soul and allows for personal growth and empathy.

Nelson Mandela Essay

South African Anti-Apartheid leader and first black President Nelson Mandela. Pictured burning his â€Å"pass† which was required for blacks to carry with them to identify their race and area of the country. They were not permitted to leave to travel to another region without a passport. Nelson Mandela is South Africa’s most influential leader. Nelson Mandela was a dominant figure in the South African liberation movement, burning his pass as a peaceful protest. The twentieth century in South Africa is something that unfortunately cannot be retrospectively looked at with pride, because of the practice of apartheid. Apartheid had similarities to segregation in the American South, but was much worse. In addition to not being able to vote and separation from the whites in public businesses, blacks (which made up seventy percent of the population) were forced to live in a small area of the country, and could not leave without a â€Å"pass,† which very few people had and were very hard to get. Also, apartheid laws were explicitly stated laws, not just de facto rules that society followed, which South African blacks were forced to follow for nearly fifty years. Nelson Mandela rose up as leader of the African National Congress and major speaker against the evils of Apartheid, becoming the voice of the movement to end apartheid. The use of passes came into effect when Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd developed the policy of separate development, in which the nine African groups that lived in South Africa were moved from the urban areas into the country areas. If the Africans wanted to travel anywhere, or work, they needed a pass showing that they were allowed out of their designated section. If found without their passes, or traveling outside of the regulated boundaries, they were arrested and put in jail for a minimum of 30 days. These passes were used to keep the Africans in check, to regulate their ability to move and their freedom. To the people of South Africa, the passes represented lost freedom. Nelson Mandela’s contribution and dedication to South Africa’s struggle in achieving freedom and equal rights for every South African led to his popularity and respect in South Africa. In the 1950’s, Mandela began working on ending the apartheid. In 1964, he was arrested and imprisoned for trying to overthrow the government, but continued his fight even from his prison cell. After his release in 1990, Mandela traveled throughout the world trying to earn money to support the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela continued to advocate equality for all South Africans regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. In 1993, Mandela earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in improving human rights. In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first black South African to be elected as president of his country. His presidency was characterized by the successful negotiation of a new constitution for South Africa, but his main focus was the restructuring of South Africa after the damage done by the apartheid. The picture as a whole is significant to South Africa because it showed the people that they could stand up for themselves and fight against their oppression. Nelson Mandela presented the people of South Africa with a leader in their struggle, providing the inspiration needed for a drastic change. He planted the idea in the people that there was something they could do about their situation. Mandela would do anything to win the battle. The picture is significant to the twentieth century because it provided yet another example of the common theme of the struggle against oppression and the fight for freedom. It may be possible to oppress a group of people, but it is impossible to oppress the spread of ideas. Once the idea of freedom is sparked it can spread like wildfire. Therefore the picture represents the fight and struggle that people will go through no matter what the cost might be. In Afrikaans apartheid means ‘separateness’. In South Africa it grew to be a system of governance that discriminated against black South Africans. Nelson Mandela and people such as Ahmed Kathrada fought long and hard against this discrimination. From 1948 until early 1994 Apartheid was made law in South Africa, even though it is considered to have been a violation of international law. The idea of ‘grand apartheid’ was essentially one of political separation, while ‘petty apartheid’ had more to do with segregation. People in South Africa were segregated into categories of white, black, Coloured, Indian (or Asian). In 1958 Blacks were deprived of their citizenship. There were separate schools, buses, shops and hospitals for blacks and coloured people and the services available were well under the standard provided for the minority whites. Even laws were different. A black man found raping a white woman for example could expect years in prison, whereas a white man raping a black woman would probably be charged a small fine. The black and coloured people of South Africa protested against this inequality led by the likes of Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada. Most of the initial protests were in the form of passive resistance. In one protest against apartheid Mandela publicly burnt his ‘pass’. These passes had to be carried by all black men and they were not allowed to leave their own district without a pass. There was much unrest among the black community when the government tried to force the carrying of passes to include women. Working with the ANC (African National Council) Nelson Mandela apartheid efforts increased and he himself began to realise that passive resistance was not winning the fight. Plans were made to bomb places of significance to apartheid, but these were always planned to avoid anyone being hurt or killed. Nelson Mandela was tried for treason and at one stage was acquitted. In 1964 though, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Under apartheid Mandela served nearly 27 years in prison but he never gave up the fight. When Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island he continued his work and teachings. In South Africa and around the world, Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid messages gained in popularity. There is probably no one who has done so much to end the rule of apartheid as Nelson Mandela. He has been the voice of the people and made the message heard right around the world. Certainly Mandela did not act alone but his voice and actions held real power and the battle was eventually won. After his release from prison in 1990 Nelson Mandela went on to become president of South Africa. Apartheid was officially ended though there is no doubt that much of the racism is still deeply rooted in the country. While Nelson Mandela is no longer president, he is highly respected and his voice is still heard. As a leader and a peacemaker Nelson Mandela was the leading force in the battle against apartheid. A battle worth fighting for and a battle won. In his household, he never asked his parents a question, he must learn it himself. There were many stories passed on from generation to generation depicting Xhosa warriors. The stories all had a moral, mostly depicting virtue and generosity. The Xhosa childrens’ lives were shaped by custom, ritual, and taboo. Men followed the path of their fathers, women did so with their mothers.

A Project Dilemma At Canadian Shield Insurance Essay

Introduction After reading the case, you ought to realize that our protagonist, Seamus Reynolds, is between the proverbial â€Å"rock and a hard spot† and you are probably thinking â€Å"I would hate to be him†. Guess what? You are going to be him in this assignment. There is quantitative data in the case that we can analyze; however, we are also going to â€Å"quantify† the qualitative data provided – think of it as reducing numerical and non-numerical data to a set of numbers we can use to make a decision. Yes, you read that correctly, attach numbers to data without numbers. Exhibit 3 of the case will accomplish this for us and is called a Scorecard. A bit of history on this method from your â€Å"long in the tooth† Instructor. Scorecard analysis was made popular by a Kepner Tregoe decision making model dating back to the 1950’s. In essence, a decision is made by gathering information, prioritizing it and then evaluating it. The following link provide a quick primer on the method: Kepner Tregoe Decision Making We are going to use a scorecard to assist in the decision about which of the 3 information systems Seamus should recommend to upper management. One of the scorecard inputs (called â€Å"NPV† in Exhibit 3) involves the cost for each system (capital cost and operating costs). Here we will take the present value of the Year 1 to Year 5 operating costs and add them to the Year 0 capital cost (if applicable) to get a TCO. In these calculations we will be ignoring sunk costs (hint: Google sunk cost). In addition to the above decision making criteria we will take a look at the human side of â€Å"sunk costs†, learn from IS implementations, IS â€Å"make vs. buy†Ã‚  and determine who should be making a crucial IS decision for an entire company. Lab Assignment Questions 146 Marks in Total 1. Open the Excel file â€Å"Lab Assignment 6 PV and Scorecard Template.xlsx† and select the â€Å"PV Costs† worksheet. After inputting the table data (6 marks), calculate the PV to Operate System for all 3 scenarios provided (30 marks). 36 marks total 2. Select the â€Å"Scorecard† worksheet. Assign a Weight to ? scorecard items, then calculate the scores for the 3 IS options. 45 marks Answer the following questions on a new worksheet in the above Excel file and when done, upload to the designated Sharein folder. 3. Based on your calculations in (1) and (2) above, which IS Option would you recommend that Seamus select? 5 marks 4. Should the decision to select an IS option be left solely to Seamus? Explain. 10 marks 5. The concept of sunk costs is simple to apply in theory. Explain applying this theory to the calculations in (1) above from a Capital Cost and People point of view. 10 marks 6. Read the â€Å"Qualifiers vs. Competes.pdf† file. In light of what the file says, comment about the scorecard that the Ivey case writers compiled. 10 marks If you believe there an alternative or 4th solution that Seamus might recommend, what might it be? Explain. 10 marks 7. Read the â€Å"IT Value Metrics_ How to Communicate ROI to the Business.pdf† file, in particular the chart on Page 5/6. Next, open the file named â€Å"Investing in the IT That Makes a Competitive Difference.pdf†, go to Page 5 and study the charts and their message (and any accompanying prose in the article). Based on these 2 files and the case data, is it crucial that Canadian Shield Insurance â€Å"keep up with/get ahead of the Jones’s† (i.e., keep up/get ahead of the competition)? Explain. 20 marks

There must be reform essays

There must be reform essays There must be reform! At the rate the United States of America is evolving at, it wouldnt be a surprise if it is on its way to becoming an oligarchy. This country is governed by the dollar, not by the president or even the people. The campaign for the presidency is becoming like a campaign for president of the student council-it is a popularity contest. The president is no longer elected due to his credentials and beliefs; his is elected by how much in can get into the publics face and make them smile. Presidential candidates say whatever will please the public and win them some votes, this is no surprise and this isnt really the bad part. The bad part is money controls the means for a candidate to even gain enough recognition and notability to arouse the publics interests. This stands true for not only presidential elections but also Senate and House campaigns. Being the year 2001 candidates now have more options available to them to make themselves known. The only problem is, all these new methods (television, radio, the Internet) cost money to use. This immediately brings up two problems. The first being that the candidate with the most funds has a great advantage to winning just based on their ability to gain exposure. The second is that campaigns (presidential or otherwise) turn into a race for money and valor rather than for the benefit for the country and the people residing within. The lack of money can make a good candidate fail miserably if they do not have the funds to support themselves and on the opposite end of the spectrum, it can make a horrible candidate the victor due to an unequal advantage. The object of democratic elections is to allow the people of the United States vote for whom they feel would be best to run their country, not to coerce them to vote for the guy that had the most media appeal (for example, Pre sident Reagan). The road to reform is the road to recovery for ...

Pre-2013 Common Application Personal Essay Tips

Pre-2013 Common Application Personal Essay Tips Important Note for 2019-20 Applicants: The Common Application essay options have changed twice since this article was written! Nevertheless, the tips and sample essays below will still provide useful guidance and essay samples for the current Common Application, and both the old and new applications include the topic of your choice option. That said, be sure to read the most up-to-date article on the 2019-20 Common Application Essay Prompts. ________________________________ Heres the original article: The first step to writing a stellar personal essay on your college application is to understand your options. Below is a discussion of the six essay options from the Common Application. Also be sure to check out these 5 Application Essay Tips. Option #1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Note the key word here: evaluate. You arent just describing something; the best essays will explore the complexity of the issue. When you examine the impact on you, you need to show the depth of your critical thinking abilities. Introspection, self-awareness and self-analysis are all important here. And be careful with essays about the winning touchdown or tie-breaking goal. These sometimes have an off-putting look how great I am tone and very little self-evaluation. Read Drews essay, The Job I Should Have Quit, for an example of option #15 tips for essay option #1 Option #2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. Be careful to keep the importance to you at the heart of your essay. Its easy to get off track with this essay topic and start ranting about global warming, Darfur, or abortion. The admissions folks want to discover your character, passions and abilities in the essay; they want more than a political lecture. Read Sophies essay, The Allegany County Youth Board, for an example of option #25 tips for essay option #2 Option #3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. Im not a fan of this prompt because of the wording: describe that influence. A good essay on this topic does more than describe. Dig deep and analyze. And handle a hero essay with care. Your readers have probably seen a lot of essays talking about what a great role model Mom or Dad or Sis is. Also realize that the influence of this person doesnt need to be positive. Read Maxs essay, Student Teacher, for an example of option #3Read Jills essay, Buck Up, for another example of option #3Read Catherines essay, Diamond in the Rough, for yet another example of option #36 tips for essay option #3 Option #4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. Here as in #3, be careful of that word describe. You should really be analyzing this character or creative work. What makes it so powerful and influential? Read Felicitys essay, Porkopolis, for an example of option #4Read Eileens essay, Wallflower, for another example of option #47 tips for essay option #4 Option #5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. Realize that this question defines diversity in broad terms. Its not specifically about race or ethnicity (although it can be). Ideally, the admissions folks want every student they admit to contribute to the richness and breadth of the campus community. How do you contribute? Read Carries essay, Give Goth a Chance, for an example of option #55 tips for essay option #5 Option #6. Topic of your choice. Sometimes you have a story to share that doesnt quite fit into any of the options above. However, the first five topics are broad with a lot of flexibility, so make sure your topic really cant be identified with one of them. Also, dont equate topic of your choice with a license to write a comedy routine or poem (you can submit such things via the Additional Info option). Essays written for this prompt still need to have substance and tell your reader something about you. Read Loras essay, Eating Eyeballs, for a sample of option #6

Valuation and Investment Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Valuation and Investment Analysis - Term Paper Example Due to the slow U.S. economy, Best Buy has been plagued by declining sales during the last few years. Although the company reported losses of 2.4% for 2012, it was primarily due to the buyout of Best Buy Mobile for $1.3 billion. For 2013 the company reported a 0.5% loss, but the company was able to record a net profit of 1.3% in 2014 for the first time in the last three years. The company has been working hard to change its operating strategy and trim operations in order to turn around their financial performance. In 2012, the company hired new CEO and turnaround expert Hubert Joly which revised the companys strategy, closed down many of the less profitable big-box store, expanded many of the smaller retail store outlets, expanded their mobile best buy store outlets, streamlined and improved their online operations. Amid competition from giant retailers like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart in the consumer electronics business, Best Buy is looking to redirect their strategy through acquisitions and further expanding their mobile phone business in China and Mexico through their new venture of Best Buy Mobile. The company’s new strategy for their electronic business involves increasing the total number of retail stores, while decreasing their overall square footage in order to decrease fixed costs. The company seeks to improve their on-line revenues and customer experience by offering free shipping and more competitive pricing. By analyzing the companys overall financial performance, financial ratios and performing a valuation analysis this paper will determine whether Best Buy is a good long term investment. In order to evaluate the companys future financial performance I will need to calculate the companys growth rate and average discount rate. The growth rate was calculated by multiplying the return on operating capital by the retention rate. Based

In what ways can Australia, as a middle power, use multilateralism to Essay

In what ways can Australia, as a middle power, use multilateralism to effectively pursue its foreign policy objectives - Essay Example In the international system, it is as well the prerogative of each nation to fight for their space on the decision making table. Multilateralism as an effort to coordinate the policies of two or more nations together can hence be used by Australia (Beeson 2011). This is supported by the fact that the hierarchy places Australia at a point where it is able to bring together the lower power and the top power as an intermediary. Australia’s diplomatic practice has a strong foundation and has existed for a very long time; it is possible to discern Australian diplomatic elements, which could be said to emphasize on idealism an even legalism (Sampson & Woolcock 2003). Using the available advantage of multilateralism, Australia attempts to achieve its pursuit of foreign policy objectives in the international arena competing with not only other middle power states but also the great power states (Ball 1997). In its quest, Australia faces quite a number of possibilities as well as limit s and constraining factors. Through multilateral corporation of Australia as a middle power, the country is able to direct its efforts of whatever manner in trying to maintain international peace and security. This is one way of penetrating it policies in the international platform (2013). It is prudent to note at this point that middle power status has always defined quality of Australian foreign policy a fact that has always made Australia be a very strong negotiator and protector of its rights without simply obeying the great and mighty (Ball 1997). Such capability also makes Australia a force and to the countries advantage, they are able to bring in their policies onto the international platform. Another way in which Australia is able to use multilateralism to further its foreign policy objectives is through the application of the principle of creative middle power diplomacy. This has an extended impact of aiding the country to enhance its interests (Sampson & Woolcock 2003). Au stralia, as a middle power state, should be strategic in its alliances, as this will affect its pursuit of foreign policies. With other grater layers in the field, Australia must strive to keep up with these powers, as they are the main influential factors in the pursuit of foreign policy objectives. This has been the case with Australia as seen in various instances where Australia allied with other great powers (Ball 1997); including the USA, the super power in a strategic attempt to promote its foreign policy objectives; one notable instance is the support of Bush’s presidency in the USA by Howard’s government (Beeson 2011). The system of interdependence is an important factor that sustains interaction between states in the international syste

Body Ritual among the Nacirema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body Ritual among the Nacirema - Essay Example It has similarly attracted many anthropologists whose concern is to identify and to expose the special unique practices (Murdock, p. 506) their practices embrace the limits to which people’s behavior could explore. The name Nacirema would be reversed to mean American and in that context the majority of the outsiders actually consider them total reverse due to their strange and unique practices. In addition to that, the culture of body ritual among the Nacirema asserts that the body is quite in an ugly state and is vulnerable to diseases and infections. These are a major concern since man intends to make the body appealing, stronger and resistant to illness. And this they believe can be countered through a series of rituals and traditional ceremonies. In respect to that, every household owns a shrine indoors for these purposes. The amount of the shrines owned by a household would, therefore be dependent on their social status and economic depth. For instance, the opulence of a family is based on the number of ritual shrines that they posses. Most houses of the Nacirema group of individuals are made of daub and wattle. However, the shrines are built with strong magnificent stones an illustration of the special attachments and considerations of the shrines.this may seem so public but the rituals of every family secret to its members. Among the many daily body rituals performed include the mouth rite. It entails an insertion of a smaller hog of hair pieces into the mouth accompanied with a powder that is magical and ultimately running the bundle in precious formalized routines of gestures. Another mouth rite, though done once or two times a year, is the private mouth rite. The procedure looks scarier and is a visual torture to most anthropologists who dare to unveil the practice. It involves more paraphernalia that consists of probes, augers

Refugee Children In Developing Societies

Refugee Children In Developing Societies The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated there were over 9.6 million refugees living worldwide in 2003. That same year the Global IDP estimated that nearly 25 million people were internally displaced in approximately 50 countries. Most of these individuals were children, forced to live for months, sometimes years, in camps.  [1]  According to Grace Michel over 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict. At least 6 million children have been permanently disabled or seriously injured, and more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families.  [2]  . Although numbers are difficult to verifade because of the illegality of much of the cross-border movement of children, as well as lack reliable registration system of refugee children. These figures only account for those who are caught and repatriated but the majority of children go undetected. In addition many countries are unwilling to accept the scale and natur e of the problem. Refugee children And yet despite importance of the refugee children situation only in 1993 UNHCR introduce Guidkine on protection and care refugee children In order to improve and enhance the protection and care of refugee children, UNHCR has adopted a Policy on Refugee Children, endorsed by the UNHCR Executive Committee in October 1993. The UNHCR Guidelines on Refugee Children, first published in 1988, have been updated in the light of the new Policy and are presented in this document. At their core lays the realization of the need which children Refugee children definitely face dangers to their safety and well being than the average child. The brutal interruption of they family life and disruption of community structures by the conflict or natural disaster can deeply affect the physical and psychological well being. Children must also cope with the trauma of loss -of their family members, schools, neighborhoods and communities. In addition, millions of children have been forced to witness or even take part in horrifying acts of violence Sexual abuse and violence is another experience of many refugee children. Children are dependent on adults help, international organization and host countries generosity. Refugee children need to be providing with the basic needs like the nutrition, water and sanitation, suitable shelter and health care including health education. Also for many refugee children the basic need is accessing education to provide better future job opportunities. Many children especially on a first instance need f ood and urgent shelter, sleeping outdoors exposed to higher risks of contracting malaria or infections, not to mention the feeling of safety. They need safeguard against economic exploitation as they often are forced to work in fields belonging to host communities in exchange for food or low pay. Refugee children need a governments protection against ethnic and religion discrimination from host countries population and protection against sexual violence, especially refugee ophrense. . Finally Children need to help with tracking separated family. A number of children called for the authorities to stop abusing, imprisoning and repatriating them to their home countries, while others said they should be entitled to free education in the host countries. Southern Africa Child migrants tell all 29 April 2008 Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Southern Africa Child migrants tell all, 29 April 2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48200579b.html [accessed 3 December 2009] Health SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT Internet: http://www.unicef.org United Nations Childrens Fund UNICEF House, OPSCEN Health is the basic need very important aspect of refuge children well-being. First instance is to secure for refugee children to basic needs like access to clean water, nutrition, sufficient shelter, and access to medical services including hospitals and psychological and professional therapy assistance. I terms of water and shelter important is to organize a safety zone where children can fell comfortable and have access to food and clean water any time of the day and night. The emergency hospitals should provide necessary help in terms illness and injury and technical assistance for expectant mothers and maternity cases, and nursing mothers. More difficult cases should be direct to local hospitals. Good step in prevention of diesis, HIV/Aids spreads among children is health education. As well develop preventive health care and abolish harmful traditional practices, especial toward young girls comment among Africans tribes. The disruption and insecurity in refugee situations can harm childrens physical, intellectual, psychological, cultural and social development. In addition, children suffer or witness the torture or murder of family members or other forms of abuse or violence. Unaccompanied children are particularly vulnerable. First and foremost, the emotional well-being of children is influenced by the protection and care they receive from their families and communities. Adults often suffer greatly in refugee situations; this can Influence their ability to provide for their children. Sometimes parental distress results in child abuse, abandonment, family strife and other forms of family disintegration. During refugee situations, children face greater risks to their psychological development. Hardships in refugee situations are chronic. Children may be living in constant fear or anxiety; parents may be too stressed or traumatized to give good care; children may suffer from malnutrition and illness. Children are affected not only by what happens to them, but by what they are deprived of, for example missing out on developmental essentials such as play and school. Children need more than services which are directed just to them. Preschool play groups, for example, serve an important purpose, but if a parent cannot meet the childs emotional needs because the parent is too physically weak or emotionally stressed, then the childs greater developmental need is for the parent to receive help. First objective must be to restore normalcy, that is, to help the family function as normally as possible ensure existing a daily routine which increase they security and feeing of prediction. When life becomes stable, when they can rely on good things happening on a predictable basis, such as eating, going to school, playing, the sense of normalcy gives psychological security. Important from point of psychosocial well-being of refugee children is long assistance with information regarding they situation, rights and responsibilities as well as future possibilities. Education is a basic service which should be provide to all children, including refugee children. Unfortunately this service is less reachable for them despite fact that many young people believe that education is essential to their survival, protection and full recovery from their experience of armed conflict and disasters. They see in education the answers to their need for self-respect, economic and job opportunity and the voice in society. Education also represents an essential condition to peace and security of community and family. Yet, despite of central role in their lives, refugee children find quite often difficultly to access education. While the primary school education is more accusable for children, younger people find more difficult to get into higher education The major barriers to enter education can lay in sort of obstacles like is high cost of attending school and transportation problems, language and custom barriers, especially for girls. For example in Uganda, al though Universal Primary Education was instituted for all children including refugee, costs for materials and uniforms remained out of reach for most young people in the war-torn north. Non-tuition costs for primary school in northern Uganda averaged $120 per year, and secondary school costs were about $350 per year in a country where the estimated annual per capita income was $140 in 2001 Competing responsibilities are next major obstacles to enroll education. Teen parents, heads of households and orphans have particular difficulties obtaining education because, in addition to caring for themselves, they had the added responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and sometimes their own children. On the top of this obstacles there is the lack of facilities accommodate children and teaching staff, lack of flexible hours to accommodate work and family responsibilities and/or vocational and skills training linked to jobs . Sierra Leone is a good illustration of this problem where young people viewed education as a way to establish the peace, and said that access to education opportunities would help them feel less excluded from society, especially for demobilized soldiers who need to gain skills and access trainings to help them in job market. Educational opportunities and jobs are denied to girls who drown them into commercial sex work market or early marriages. The barriers can lay also in the host country policies. In Albania during the refugee crisis of 1999, Albanian Kosovars were welcomed to take refuge in camps and urban areas in Albania, but the government did not allow all young people immediate access to public education. Some refugees entered public schools, and some did not. Some refugees set up their own schools without initial external support and still others were attracted to schools opened by religious groups during the crisis. Girls situation is even more dramatic, despite commitments to gender equality in education. Girls dont have equal access to education, compared with their male refugee. For instance, 60 percent of girls in Sierra Leone were not attending primary school, and at least 76 percent did not attend secondary school, compared to 71 percent of boys. In northern Uganda, boys were more likely to complete primary school and did better on Primary Leaving Examinations than girls, and fewer girls went on to secondary school. Most girls and boys in each region agreed that, in general, parents valued boys education more than that of girls. Girls also said inadequate clothing, security and sanitary supplies kept many out of school. According to UNHCR approximately 1 million refugee children are enrolled in UNHCR education support program. 40 percent of enrolled are girls and adelnece women, 8 percent are enrolled at pre=school, 82% are attending primer school and 9 percent benefit from secondary school. Only 1 percent is attending higher education system. Page 7 Document Summary note on UNHCR s strategy and Activities Concerning refugee children Geneva may 2002 http://docstore.ingenta.com/cgi-bin/ds_deliver/1/u/d/ISIS/53779900.1/oup/reflaw/2003/00000015/00000001/art00149/08C6A8EBB1C9214B1259885548168C930EA581BF55.pdf?link=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/error/deliveryformat=pd The major solution to education problem is ensuring that all refugee children have access to primary and basic education and where possible secondary and professional education will help reduce the risk of exploitation. Special programs should be tailored to the needs of girls who have dropped out of school to reduce the risk of violence abuse. Children not only refugee should be educated on their rights. Various forms of social and life skills training will help young people to make better life choices and help them protect themselves from exploitation. Equal participation of girls in school should be actively promoted. The community also should be involved in recruiting and managing teaching staff and educators whom they feel they can trust, as teachers can also be sexual abusers. Cancellation of school fees or low cost of education should be placed. Furthermore, the clubs and counseling after school offering support and relax. Ensure Access to Education SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Disp Important is to mention of education for disable refugee children who quite often safer isolation from community due to their conditions. Children with disabilities often do not get any support and services they need like physical rehabilitation, specialized education and social integration are sometimes neglected. Some times families, health workers and teachers have not understood the importance of including disabled children in normal patterns of activity. In some refugee situations, rehabilitation services are not provided because nationals do not have access to such services but still teachers should be encouraged to include disabled children in their classes whenever possible. Clear guidelines should be given on the physical needs of children with various types of disabilities. A positive attitude towards children with disabilities must be encouraged. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Refugee children, particularly unaccompanied and separated from families children often can find them at risk of sexual abuse and violence. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion. In many cases, trafficking may involve payment to child family or even child themselves Child abuse and exploitation within the family is much more complex challenge as sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized. Also the abuse is cared by the person responsible for protecting and caring for the child. The teenage mothers especially described pitiful and harsh lives: I have to sleep with so many men to make 1500, so that I can feedmyself and my child. They pay me 300 each time, but if I am lucky and I get an NGO worker he can pay me 1500 at one time and sometimes I get 2000 (girl mother in Guinea) or I sleep with different men but mostly NGO workers because I have to eat and feed my child (girl mother in Liberia) Guinea Its difficult to escape the trap of those [NGO] people; they use the food as bait to get you to sex with them. (refugee child) page 17 Protecting children from the protectors: lessons from West Africa by Asmita Naik 15 october 2002 Force Migration review Displaced children and adolescents: challenges and opportunitiesPer Protecting Children in Emergencies Escalating Threats to Children Must Be Addressed VOL.1, NO.1 SPRING 2005 Safe the Children SC-glob-apr05.pdf Although numbers are difficult to estimate because of the illegality of much of the cross-border movement of children, as well as lack relaible registration refugee children. These figures only account for those who are caught and repatriated but the majority of children go undetected. In addision many countries are unvilling to accept the scale and nautre of the problem The children who told their stories in the book called for better protection in host countries, teaching children and communities about the dangers of travelling to and living in foreign countries, and for a halt to the abuse, imprisonment and forced repatriation often inflicted on them. Refugees from armed conflicts worldwide increased from 2.4 million in 1974 to more than 27.4 million in 1996, with another 30 million people displaced within their own countries. Children and women make up an estimated 80 percent of displaced populations.* Children are affected by war in many ways, but one of the SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT At any one time, more than 300,000 children worldwide are fighting as soldiers with government forces or armed opposition groups,13 accounting for 10 percent of the combatants in ongoing conflicts.14 Children under the age of 18-some as young as seven-are actively participating in hostilities in 27 countries worldwide.15 Since 1990, over 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict. At least 6 million children have been permanently disabled or seriously injured, and more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families. 1 Graca Machel, The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, delivered September 2000, www.unifem.org/index.php?f_page_pid=97, accessed 11 March 2005. In 2003, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated there were over 9.6 million refugees living worldwide.24 That same year the Global IDP Project estimated that nearly 25 million people were internally displaced in approximately 50 countries.25 Most of these individuals were children, forced to live for months, sometimes years, in camps. When disaster strikes, families suffer multiple and severe disruptions: not only do they lose their homes and livelihoods, but they often lose their autonomy, livelihoods, and dignity in the camps that are supposed to provide humanitarian relief and protection. Protecting Children in Emergencies Escalating Threats to Children Must Be Addressed VOL.1, NO.1 SPRING 2005 Safe the Children SC-glob-apr05.pdf http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/OCHA-6BCNE8/$file/SC-glob-apr05.pdf?openelement SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT Internet: http://www.unicef.org United Nations Childrens Fund UNICEF House, OPSCEN In the past decade, two million children have been killed in armed conflict. Three times as many have been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Armed conflict kills andmaims more children than soldiers. Civilian fatalities in wartime have climbed from 5 percent at the turn of the century to more than 90 percent in the wars of the 1990s. Refugees from armed conflicts worldwide increased from 2.4 million in 1974 to more than 27.4 million in 1996, with another 30 million people displaced within their own countries. Children and women make up an estimated 80 percent of displaced populations.* Children remain susceptible to the physical dangers, as well as to the lasting psychological and social effects of war, once a conflict has ended. Children are vulnerable to physical dangerfrom millions of existing landmines and unexploded ordnance. Children must also cope with the trauma of loss -of their family members, schools, neighborhoods and communities. In addition, millions of children have been forced to witness or even take part in horrifying acts of violence. One UNICEF survey in Rwanda found that nearly 80 percent of the children had lost immediate family members and more than one-third of these had actually witnessed their murder. Children have become targets, not incidental casualties, of armed conflict. War violates every right of a child -the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health and education, the right to the development of the personality, and the right to be nurtured and protected. It is a basic need of children to be protected and cared for when conflicts threaten, and the implementation of international human rights and humanitarian law addresses these needs. A number of international treaties exist to provide for the legal protection and care of children. Too often these treaties are ignored, and the world community must do everything possible to see that these treaties are complied with in all areas of the world. * Education is a basic service which should be provide to all children, including refugee children. Unfortunately this service is less reachable for them despite fact that many young people believe that education is essential to their survival, protection and full recovery from their experience of armed conflict and disasters. They see in education the answers to their need for self-respect, economic and job opportunity and the voice in society. Education also represents an essential condition to peace and security of community and family. Yet, despite of central role in their lives, refugee children find quite often difficultly to access education. While the primary school education is more accusable for children, younger people find more difficult to get into higher education The major barriers to enter education can lay in sort of obstacles like is high cost of attending school and transportation problems, languge and custom barriers. especially for girls. For example in Uganda, alt hough Universal Primary Education was instituted for all children including refugee, costs for materials and uniforms remained out of reach for most young people in the war-torn north. Non-tuition costs for primary school in northern Uganda averaged $120 per year, and secondary school costs were about $350 per year in a country where the estimated annual per capita income was $140 in 2001 Competing responsibilities are next major obsticuls to enroll education. Teen parents, heads of households and orphans have particular difficulties obtaining education because, in addition to caring for themselves, they had the added responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and sometimes their own children. On the top of this obticols there is the lack of facilities accommodate children and teaching staff, lack of flexible hours to accommodate work and family responsibilities and/or vocational and skills training linked to jobs . Sierra Leone is a good illustration of this problem where young people viewed education as a way to establish the peace, and said that access to education opportunities would help them feel less excluded from society, especially for demobilized soldiers who needs to gain skills and access trenings to help them in job market. Educational opportunities and jobs are denied to girls which drow them into into commercial sex work market or early marriages. The barires can laiy also in the host country policies. In Albania during the refugee crisis of 1999, Albanian Kosovars were welcomed to take refuge in camps and urban areas in Albania, but the government did not allow all young people immediate access to public education. Some refugees entered public schools, and some did not. Some refugees set up their own schools without initial external support and still others were attracted to schools opened by religious groups during the crisis. Girls situation is even more dramatic, despite commitments to gender equality in education. Girls dont have equal access to education, compared with their male refugee. For instance, 60 percent of girls in Sierra Leone were not attending primary school, and at least 76 percent did not attend secondary school, compared to 71 percent of boys. In northern Uganda, boys were more likely to complete primary school and did better on Primary Leaving Examinations than girls, and fewer girls went on to secondary school. Most girls and boys in each region agreed that, in general, parents valued boys education more than that of girls. Girls also said inadequate clothing, security and sanitary supplies kept many out of school. According to UNHCR approcimetly 1 million refugee children are enrold in UNHCR education support program. 40 precent of enlode are girls and adelnece women, 8 pecent are enrold at pre=school, 82% are attending primeryschool and 9 precent benefict from secondary scholl. Only 1 precent is attending higher education system. Pade 7 Document Summary note on UNHCR s strategy and Activities Conserning refugee children Geneva may 2002 http://docstore.ingenta.com/cgi-bin/ds_deliver/1/u/d/ISIS/53779900.1/oup/reflaw/2003/00000015/00000001/art00149/08C6A8EBB1C9214B1259885548168C930EA581BF55.pdf?link=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/error/deliveryformat=pd The majjoir solution to education problem is ensuring that all refugee children have access to primary and basic education and where possible secondary and professional education will help reduce the risk of exploitation. Special programmes should be tailored to the needs of girls who have dropped out of school to reduce the risk of vailence abuce. Children not only refugee should be educated on their rights. Various forms of social and life skills training, will help young people to make better life choices and help them protect themselves from exploitation. Equal participation of girls in school should be actively promoted. The community also should be involved in recruiting and managing teaching staff and educators whom they feel they can trust, as teachers can also be sexual abusers. Councelation of school fees or low cost of education should be placed. Furthermore, the clubs and counseling after school offerring support and relax. Ensure Access to Education SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Important is to mention of education for disable refugee children who quite often saffer isolation from community due to their conditions. Children with disabilities often do not get any support and services they need like physical rehabilitation, specialized education and social integration are sometimes neglected. Some times families, health workers and teachers have not understood the importance of including disabled children in normal patterns of activity. In some refugee situations, rehabilitation services are not provided because nationals do not have access to such services But still teachers should be encouraged to include disabled children in their classes whenever possible. Clear guidelines should be given on the physical needs of children with various types of disabilities. A positive attitude towards children with disabilities must be encouraged. Futhermore access to secondary school was nearly impossible for most young people in Sierra Leone and northern Uganda, virtually guaranteeing that they would not have the skills necessary to contribute to the economic development of their communities over time. While young refugees from Kosovo attended secondary school more often over all, they still faced major barriers. Fearing overcrowding, the Albanian government delayed entry into secondary school, and mandated that a summer school program be set up for refugee adolescents seeking to enter secondary school in the fall-a policy decision that left many young people idle. Later, Albanians returned to normal secondary schools in Kosovo after years of participating in a parallel school system, but the schools were in bad condition. Many young people in rural areas, especially girls and minority Romas, could not complete or move beyond primary school. Under very difficult security constraints, many Serb young people separated from fam ily members in order to complete their secondary education. Internally displaced young people often face even higher barriers to education than do refugees. For example, some young Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda fared better than Ugandan internally displaced youth because the refugees had help from UNHCR. By contrast, no international agency was charged with the protection and care of all IDPs. Less than 30 percent of school-age children in IDP camps were enrolled on a full-time basis, compared with the 93 percent primary school enrollment rate in other parts of Uganda. Despite the same security constraints, 77 percent of refugee students in northern Uganda were enrolled in primary school in one settlement that also benefited local Ugandan children. At the same time, both IDPs and refugees had equally poor access to secondary school. Young people who were able to attend school said it was difficult to learn. Their classrooms were often overcrowded and broken down or even witho ut walls and a roof. In the Achol Pii refugee settlement in northern Uganda, each teacher served a class of 110 children in their primary school. In all areas, paper, pens and books were lacking. Many teachers had been killed or had taken other jobs for their own economic survival. Those who remained, according to young people, were often unsupportive and badly prepared. Young people disliked teachers talking at them and called their methods old-fashioned and boring. Young people asked for more participatory approaches to teaching and for more opportunities to learn practical and vocational skills. They also asked for more support to help teachers. One young person said, We bring our teachers lunch, so that they will come back to us eac YOUTH SPEAK OUT: New Voices on the Protection and Participation of Young People Affected by Armed Conflict Womens Commission for Refugee Women and Children January 2005 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Refugee children often can find themselves at risk of sexual abuse. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries law and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion. Refugee children, particularly unaccompanied and separated from families children often can find them at risk of sexual abuse and violence. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries law and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion. In many cases, trafficking may involve payment to child family or even child themselves Child abuse and exploitation within the family is mauch more complex challenge as sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized. Alsow the abuse is cared by the person responsible for the protection . since the person who is responsible for protecting and caring for the child, in many cases a male relative, is doing neither. Sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized The teenage mothers especially described pitiful and harsh lives: I have to sleep with so manymen to make 1500, so that I can feedmyself and my child. They pay me 300 each time, but if I am lucky and Iget an NGO worker he can pay me 1500 at one time and sometimes I get2000 (girl mother in Guinea) or I sleep with different men but mostly NGO workers because I have to eat and feed my child (girl mother in Liberia) Guinea Its difficult to escape the trap of those [

Iago in William Shakespeares Othello Essay -- William shakespeare Oth

Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello William Shakespeare, born: 1564 died: 1616, is considered one of the greatest writers who has ever lived. He had a unique way of putting things into words. All of his plays, sonnets, and poems have gotten great recognition. But when Shakespeare wrote Othello he created one of the most controversial villains of all times; Iago. He is best described as disturbing, ruthless, and amoral. No other character can even come close to his evil (Iago: The 1). Iago, in the play Othello, is a very intriguing villain. Even though he is often referred to as "Honest" Iago, he lies, cheats, steals, bullies, and even kills just to get what he wants (Iago as 1). Iago starts off being evil when he finds out that Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant that he felt he deserved. To take this position from Cassio he must not let his conscience get in his way. This is not a problem with Iago because he has no conscience. Iago is able to manipulate anyone who gets in the way of his goals. He does this over and over during the course of the play. He uses all the characters to destroy Othello. He used the tension that was already existent to bring him down. And he also uses his intense sense of intuition. Iago is an excellent judge of character. He also makes it seem like he posseses characteristics that he really doesn’t have. Iago often wonders why someone would pretend to be something they are not, when in fact that is exactly what he represents. He has many fronts that he can put up. Every character in Othello had a relationship with the different sides of his personality. He uses this to his advantage in the case of Roderigo loving Desdemona. By knowing that Roderigo is madly in love with her, he knows he will do anything to be with Desdemona. Iago says about Roderigo, " Thus do I ever make a fool of my purse;" (1.3.353). By going on what he knows about Roderigo, he is able to get money and jewels from him. He doesn’t even think twice before taking things from someone who supposedly considers Iago to be his friend. Iago is also capable of thinking very quickly in any situation. This makes him able to handle himself when something he does not expect happens. He can recognize the advantages of trust and uses it to gain what he wants. He has it in his mind that if he has everyone's trust no one will ever expect him to be at... ...ll the people that are in a higher position and are more powerful than he is. Iago refuses to cooperate with those people that do posses more power than he does. This is just one of the many examples of Iago’s distorted ways of thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Considering all the hatred and jealousy Iago possesses, how could anyone see good in such a ruthless, merciless sociopath. When William Shakespeare created Iago, he could not have made such an ideal villain. Iago stands for the eponymy of evil. He represents hatred and all that is bad. He lacks any credibility for his motives and takes great pleasure in his ability to destroy the lives of Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, and Emilia. He created all the madness in the play but was never caught until the end finally arrived. Iago said it himself, â€Å" I am not what I am† (1.1.62). He proves this clearly that he seems like he is always watching out for people when really he is out to devastate the lives of so many. Even though Iago was successful in eliminating Othello and the others, he was not victorious in the end because the problems he caused, deaths especially, cannot be resolved. Ironically everything that Iago pretended to be led to his end.

Controversy of the Exile

After reading 2 Kings 25 and the two articles, the main source of contrast between these two sourcs is the amount of detail they go into on different aspects of the Exile. The Biblical reading mentions King Nebuchadnezzar and his capture of King Zedekiah, the efforts of General Nebuzaradan and his detailed destruction and pillaging of Jerusalem and the Temple, the capturing and execution of Judah†s chief officers and priests, Judah†s revolt against Gedaliah and fleeing to Egypt, and the benevolence King Evil-merodach of Babylon demonstrated towards Jehoiachin. The articles, however, mentioned nothing of to do with any of these circumstances. They concentrated, instead, on the life in Judah during the Exile. The Biblical picture of life in Judah during the Exile was expressed in only a few verses. One states, â€Å"But the poorest of the people were left to farm the land (2 Kings 25:12). † This gives us little information to work with, and all that can be assumed is that not many people were left in Jerusalem, and those that were, farmed. Whether they farmed for themselves, or for Babylon cannot be reasonably determined from this one verse. Later on, we see that some underground guerrilla forces were also left in Judah as they assassinated Gedaliah and fled to Egypt. Other than this, we know nothing from 2 Kings 25 about life in Judah during the Exile. The articles, however, give us much more light into life in Judah during these times. Graham illustrates that the people that worked in Jerusalem, Mozah, and Gibeon during the Exile were primarily vinedressers and plowmen. 2 Kings 25 does not give us enough information to have known that people worked in these three cities. Their work, however, was not for themselves, but for the greater power of Babylon, as can be illustrated in an engraving on a jar that read, â€Å"belonging to the lord† in reference to the work done by the people for the Babylonian king. This, also, was not explicitly illustrated in 2 Kings 25. The king of Babylon collected the goods produced and used them to better the Babylonian economy and the royal crown. Governor Gedaliah also was expected to have overseen people of Judah work to produce wine, fruit, and oil for Babylon. Outside Benjamin, people worked to make perfume, especially balm, for the royal crown of Babylon. The insight Graham gives us into the work done at Mizpah stresses an important point that 2 Kings 25 leaves out. Not only was work done to produce dyes for Babylon, but the choice of using Mizpah as the city for this work was important because it implies that Jerusalem was unihabited, and Mizpah was more ideal. This shows that Mizpah was saved, in order that this work could be done there, and that Jerusalem was desolate. Kings 25, however, states that workers were in Jerusalem. Additionally, the information from the Bible reveals that Gedaliah was appointed to watch over the people left in Judah, however, Graham adds that he was also in charge of royal estate management. Graham speaks of the area of Judah as being divided up into labor districts, and also notes that the transport of the goods to Babylon were illustrated on Erech tablets that were discovered. No information on these subjects were found in 2 Kings 25. Lastly, 2 Kings 25 says nothing about life for the inhabitants of Judah after the Exile under Persian rule, other than talking about how Jehoiachin was treated. Graham informs us more by saying that forced labor was engrained in the minds of the people because, under Persian rule, the prophet Trito Isaiah promised that there would be no more forced labor like that under the Babylonians. Thus, from Graham, we can tell that forced labor must have been a serious hardship for the people of Judah during the Exile, and that the Perisans appeared to rule in a more benevolent manner than the Babylonians. According to Williamson, a more archaeological view is taken in contrast to 2 Kings 25. Williamson says that, because of the discovery of tombs of wealthy Jews in Jerusalem, that there must have been more than poor people living in Jerusalem at this time. Based on these discoveries, Williamson goes on to state that the population of Jerusalem may have been more than 2 Kings 25 implies, and that religious liturgy was probably more productive, including people offering prayers at the site of the destroyed Temple. He also uses other pieces of Scripture to analyze the Exile. By using Ezra, Williamson speaks more of the Persian benevolence and God†s promises not to abandon His people than 2 Kings 25 does. Graham also believes that the book of Nehemiah was used as a prayed for restoration from the view of those in Jerusalem, and that Isaiah 40-55 was also from the view of those in Jerusalem during the Exile. These books support Graham†s belief that more people inhabited this city than implied by 2 Kings 25. It is thus inferred that the Levites in the post-Exilic period, when the books of Ezra nd Nehemiah were created, drew on their knowledge of these prayers when leading the people in confession. In Williamson†s opinion in light of Isaiah 40-55, it is impossible to suppose that Isaiah was not present with the people in the Exile, of which he speaks. Thus, Williamson agrees with the consensus of scholars that the work of Isaiah 40-55 was the work of another prophet, commonly referred to as deutero-Isaiah. Williamson goes on to examine a prayer in Isaiah that was written as a lament by the Jerusalem community who did not leave during the period of the Exile. Jerusalem is in ruins, as are the other cities of Judah, and the Temple had been destroyed. The entire passage (Isaiah 63:7-64:12) connects nicely with the passage from Nehemiah that Williamson spoke of earlier. Thus, if the conclusions about Nehemiah are true, they should give support that the passage from Isaiah is also a lament from Jerusalem during the Exilic period focussin on the destroyed and deserted Temple. In addition, several distinctive details suggest a relationship between the passage from Nehemiah and the passage from Isaiah. For example, only in these two passages in the entire Hebrew Bible is there a referenceto God†s Spirit (ruach) in connection with Israel†s wilderness wanderings. But beyond such details, Williamson believes that there is similarity in the overall shape of the two passages, especially in the last paragraph of each. Each, of which, contains an appeal to God which begins â€Å"But now†, and in each, a title for God is given that picks up a central aspect of His character. Both passages then hold up to God His people†s state of need, based on a previous recital of details, and both emphasize that â€Å"we† are failing to enjoy what â€Å"our fathers† once enjoyed. Additionally, in each case there is no specific request, only a laying before God of the source of the distress. Finally, each begins with a hymnic introduction, then comes a historical recital used as a vehicle for confession of sina nd faithlessness. Each then concludes with an appeal for salvation. In fact, this combination also occurs in Psalms 106. As a whole, Williamson†s proposal is that the three passages in Nehemiah, Isaiah, and Psalms should be taken together as giving us insight into the liturgy reciuted on the ruined site of Jerusalem†s Temple during the Exile. None of which was gleened from 2 Kings 25. Indeed, it is a testimaony to their religious insights and to the intensity of their expression that thesse passages were taken up again by the post-Exilic Jewish community and so given a wider application –one in a Nehemiah, another in Isaiah, and still another in Psalms. Harmonizing between the Bible and the articles is difficult. All the details that 2 Kings 25 did not address can be filled in with the articles. However, much criticism must be taken in weighing what is possible and what is Biblical. Only those things that accord with archaeology, like Williamson†s tombs and Graham†s Erech tablets, or other pieces of Scripture can be taken with much confidence in compilation with 2 Kings 25. Those assumptions from the articles that do not necessarily contradict, but add to what is already said in 2 Kings 25, must also be taken with caution. For example, the assumption that wealthy people lived in Jerusalem during the Exile adds to what 2 Kings says about poor people living there. 2 Kings never says that no rich people lived there, it only states that many poor people did. Thus, it is possible that some rich lived there also, and because it is supported with archaeological evidence of tombs, the assumption can be taken with much more confidence. The articles do not outright claim that 2 Kings 25 is false in any way, they instead add details to what is said there. Because these details are rooted in other passages of Scripture and archaeological evidence, they can be more harmonized with 2 Kings 25 with much confidence because their roots are in reliable sources. Based on the readings for this week, I tend to agree with Williamson†s conclusion and description of the literary activity in Judah during the period of the Exile. What was stated in 2 Kings 25, I believe is very credible evidence about the Exile, however I think it lacks in detail. Williamson made some very convincing arguments that filled in these gaps with details that seemed congruent with other Biblical passages. He made a very important point that the authors of the Bible used earlier sources in compiling their writings, which gave him justification to use other parts of Scripture to strengthen his conclusions on the Exile, as opposed to taking 2 Kings 25 by itself. The other passages from Nehemiah, Psalms, and Isaiah all seemed to be in the same context as that of 2 Kings 25. They made sense in how they fit into the historical timeline of the Exile, along with God†s ongoing provision for His people. These passages all added some important detail to Judah during the Exile, and I was convinced about his conclusion when I discovered that none of the passages were mutually exclusive. In addition, the archaeological evidence compiled about tombs of wealthy Jews in Jerusalem further supported my belief in Williamson†s view that more people inhabited Jerusalem than just the poor. Through Williamson†s archaeological and Scriptural arguments, I was convinced that the population of Jerusalem during the Exile must have been more than expected, that more people than just the poor lived there, and that religious liturgy was productive and prevelant in the city and on the ruins of the Temple.