When One Takes A Look At The World In Which He Currently Essays

When one takes a look at the world in which he currently lives, he sees it as being normal since it is so slow in changing. When an historian looks at the present, he sees the effects of many events and many wise people. Benjamin Franklin is one of these people. His participation in so many different fields changed the world immensely. He was a noted politician as well as respected scholar. He was an important inventor and scientist. Particularly interesting is the impact on the scientific world. Benjamin Franklin was a modest man who had had many jobs in his lifetime. This may help explain his large array of inventions and new methods of working various jobs. He did everything from making cabbage-growing more efficient to making political decisions to being the first person to study and chart the Gulf Stream movement in the Atlantic Ocean. Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. He was the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen kids. His parents, Josiah and Abiah Franklin, were hard working devout Puritan/Calvinist people. Josiah Franklin made candles for a living. Since the Franklins were so poor, little Benjamin couldn't afford to go to school for longer than two years. In those two years, however, Franklin learned to read which opened the door to further education for him. Since he was only a fair writer and had very poor mathematical skills, he worked to tutor himself at home. Benjamin Franklin was a determined young man. As a boy, he taught himself to be a very good writer. He also learned basic algebra and geometry, navigation, grammar, logic, and natural and physical science. He partially mastered French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. He was soon to be named the best educated man in the country. When he was 12-years-old, he was apprentice to his brother in printing. Benjamin's brother founded the second newspaper in America. Many people told him that one newspaper was enough for America and that the paper would soon collapse. On the contrary, it became very popular. Occasionally, young Benjamin would write an article to be printed and slip it under the printing room's door signed as "Anonymous". The following is a direct quote from Franklin's Autobiography. It describes his writing the articles as a boy. "He (Benjamin's older brother) had some ingenious men among his friends, who amus'd themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gain'd it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but, being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and, writing an anonymous paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they call'd in as usual. They read it, commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose n! ow that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteem'd them." Benjamin liked the printer's job but couldn't stand being told what to do all of the time. He desperately felt the need to be his own boss. That day would come. In 1730, Franklin married Deborah Read, who was the daughter of the first Philadelphia landlady. Read was not nearly so well educated as her husband. In old letters that she had written to him, there are many misspellings and improper punctuation marks. They were a very happy couple despite their differences. They eventually had two boys and one girl. One of the boys, William, became governor of New Jersey. When Franklin was 21-years-old, he began his career as a civic leader by organizing a club of aspiring tradesmen called the Junto, which met each week for discussion and planning. They hoped to build their own businesses, insure the growth of Philadelphia, and improve the quality of its life. Franklin led the University of Junto in founding a library in 1731, the first ever American fire company in 1736, a learned society in 1743, a college (the University of Pennsylvania) in 1749, and an insurance

Profile of Charles Starkweather, 1950s Spree Killer

Profile of Charles Starkweather, 1950s Spree Killer Charles Starkweather had all the makings of growing up to be a respectable man, but greed, resentments, and jealousy ate at his soul and turned him into a cold-blooded killer that murdered at will during an eight-day killing spree. With his 14-year-old girlfriend at his side, the two killed anyone that got in their way, regardless of their relationship to their victims. Childhood Years Starkweather was born on November 29, 1938, in Lincoln, Nebraska to Guy and Helen Starkweather. Unlike many serial killers, Starkweather grew up in a modest and respectable home with hardworking parents who provided for their seven children. Those who knew Charles as a child described him as well behaved and mild-mannered, as were all the Starkweather children. It was not until Charles started school that a deadly monster inside of him began to grow. Elementary School Years Born with genu varum, also known as bow-legged, Starkweather had to endure some early challenges. He also developed a speech impediment and was teased by his classmates. Suffering from undiagnosed severe myopia, which prevented him from being able to see objects twenty feet away, Starkweather was labeled as a poor student and perceived as being slow by his teachers, despite his 110 IQ. It wasnt until he was 15 that his inability to see was diagnosed, but it was too late for Charles, who was already severely lacking in primary education. Middle School Years Starkweather was one of the kids that sat in the back of the class, distracted and seemingly annoyed by having to be there. But when it came to gym time, his self-esteem shined. Physically he had developed into a robust and coordinated athlete. That could have been a positive factor in his life. Instead, Starkweather became one of the school bullies who his fellow students feared. As he grew older anyone who appeared better than him, regardless of if he knew them, was a possible victim of his quick kicks and hard fists. High School Drop Out At the age of 16, Starkweather dropped out of ninth grade and worked at a warehouse. He developed a passion for fast cars and renegade attitudes. Around this time James Dean hit the big screen in the movie classics, East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause. Starkweather identified with James Deans role as Jim Start, the troubled and rebellious teenager. He started dressing like Dean with tight jeans, slicked-back hair and cowboy boots. Starkweather embraced the hood persona and all the attitudes that went with it. He had developed into a moody, ego-driven defensive trouble maker who had little control over his quick temper and brewing rage. Caril Fugate Caril Fugate was the 13-year-old younger sister of Starkweathers best friends girlfriend. The four began double dating, and the young impressionable Caril became infatuated with her James Dean look-alike boyfriend. Starkweather was equally infatuated with Caril. She was pretty, as rebellious as he was and she adored him. What little money Starkweather made was spent on keeping Caril happy. It did not take long for the word to get around that Caril was his, and anyone else who might be interested would be risking their lives to pursue her. He left his job at the warehouse after several run-ins with his boss and began working as a trash collector. He liked the job better. It allowed him more time to see Caril after she got out of school, something Carils parents did not like. When rumors circulated that Starkweather and Caril were going to get married and that she was pregnant the Fugates decided to stop the relationship. This did little to deter the two. They continued to see each other. The Unobtainable Starkweathers life was falling apart. His father had kicked him out of the house after the two argued over an accident that Caril had in a car that he and his father owned together. Carils parents totally rejected Starkweather and forbade their daughter from seeing him. He lost his job as a sanitation worker and got locked out of his room for not paying his rent. It is at this point that the depressed and frustrated Starkweather decided that he had no future, but what little future he did have was going to be spent with Caril Fugate and all the material things that up to now had been unobtainable. First Murder On December 1, 1957, Robert Colvert, 21, was working at his job at the Crest gas station, when Starkweather robbed, kidnapped, then shot him in the back of the head on a dirt road outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. The day before Colvert had refused credit to Starkweather who was short on cash and wanted to buy Fugate a stuffed animal. This hurt Starkweathers pride, and he wanted to get even. He could also use the $108 that he robbed from the station. As far as killing Colvert, in Starkweathers mind, the kid deserved it. He shouldnt have humiliated him the day before by refusing him credit. The following day Starkweather told Fugate about the murder. She did not end the relationship after hearing the news. For Starkweather, this was a sign that their relationship was forever sealed. What was going through the mind of Starkweather in the weeks before January 21, 1958, is not known, but the pressure of having to one day face the consequences for murdering Colvert were surely mounting. But now with the monster inside of him unleashed, there would be no going back to his normal, dismal life. The Bartlett Family According to Starkweather, on January 21 he decided to try to mend his relationship with Fugates parents. He went over to their house to invite her stepfather Marion Bartlett to go hunting. He also brought Fugates mother Velda Bartlett two pieces of carpet. The Bartletts, who believed that their young daughter was pregnant by Starkweather, were not swayed by his good intentions and an argument broke out. Starkweather became unhinged and shot Velda in the face and Marion in the back of the head. The Bartletts daughter (Fugates sister), two-and-a-half-year-old Betty Jean, was also not spared. Starkweather shut off her frightened cries by slashing her repeatedly in the throat with a knife. Then to make certain no one survived the massacre, he stabbed all of his victims again. He then put Veldas body inside the commode of the family outhouse. He put Betty Jeans body inside a box of garbage and also placed her in the outhouse. Marions body was left on the floor of the chicken coup. Life Goes On Starkweather and Fugate lived in her dead parents house like a couple honeymooning for the next six days. To those who stopped by they were greeted with a handwritten note stuck on the front door that said, Stay away Every Body is sick with the Flue. Friends and family of the Bartletts werent buying the flu note, and after a lot of persistence the police did a physical search of the home and found the bodies, but not before Starkweather and Fugate had fled. August Meyer Now on the run, Starkweather, and Fugate weaved through back roads and made it to Bennet, Nebraska, where August Meyer, 70, and a long time friend of the Starkweather family lived. As they made their way up the rough dirt road that led to Meyers farm their car got stuck in the  snow. The couple abandoned it and continued on foot to the old mans house. What transpired afterward is unclear, except that Starkweather and Meyer got into a confrontation and Meyer ended up dead from a shotgun blast that removed a large portion of his head. Well fed from food from Meyers kitchen and loaded up with the dead mans guns and whatever cash they could find, Starkweather and Fugate headed by foot to the nearest main road. If they were to survive, they needed to get their hands on a car. Robert Jensen, Jr. and Carol King The couple hitched a ride with Robert Jensen, Jr., 17, and 16-year-old Carol King. Without wasting any time, Starkweather forced Jensen to go to a torn down school that was nearby. The terrified couple was led to a storm cellar. There Starkweather shot Jensen six times in the head and King once in the head. When the police discovered the young couple, it was noted that Kings pants had been pulled down and her genitals had been slashed, but there were no signs that she had been sexually assaulted. Starkweather later said that Fugate was responsible for the slashing. She thought Starkweather was sexually attracted to King and acted out of jealousy. A Strange Turn of Events As more of Starkweathers victims were discovered the manhunt for the fugitives intensified. At first, Starkweather talked about going out of state to Washington, but for some strange reason the couple turned Jensens car around and headed back to Lincoln. They passed by Fugates family home, but when they spotted the police cars that surrounded the house, they headed to the more affluent side of town where the rich lived. The Wards and Lilian Fencil Starkweather was familiar with the big homes that lined the streets from his days as a trash collector. One of the wealthiest homes belonged to C. Lauer Ward, 47, and his wife Clara Ward, also 47. Ward was the president of the Capital Bridge Company and the Capital Steel Company and one of the wealthiest men in town. On January 30, 1958, now eight days on the run, Starkweather, and Fugate forced their way into the Ward home. Inside were Clara and their live-in maid Lilian Fencl. Starkweather told the women that they had nothing to fear, then ordered Clara to fix breakfast. He liked being waited on by the woman whose trash he had collected so often. He then tied each of the women up in separate rooms and stabbed them to death. Annoyed by Claras barking poodle, he crushed the dogs neck with his rifle, leaving it alive to suffer. When C. Lauer Ward returned home from work, he met with the same fate as his wife and Fencil. Starkweather shot him dead. The F.B.I. Starkweather and Fugate loaded up C. Lauer Wards 1956 black Packard with supplies and decided to get out of town. When the Wards bodies were discovered the Governor put the F.B.I. and the National Guard on the case to stop the fugitives. Merle Collison Starkweather decided that they needed to get rid of Packard after hearing descriptions of them and the car on the radio. Merle Collison was a traveling shoe salesman who decided to pull off on a side road for a nap just outside of Douglas, Wyoming. Starkweather spotted the napping man, pulled over and woke him up. He demanded that Collinson switch cars with him, but the salesman refused. Not having time to argue, Starkweather shot him in the head nine times. Collison had a Buick with a push-pedal emergency brake, and Starkweather did not know how to release it. When he stalled out a passer-by offered to help, he was met with a rifle pointed at his face and the two began to wrestle. At the same time deputy Sheriff William Romer drove up on the pair, and Fugate sprang from the front seat of the Buick, screaming and pointing at Starkweather, saying, Hes killed a man! Starkweather jumped into the Packard and took off with Romer following close behind. Romer called for back up as he tried to keep up with Starkweather who was driving up to 120 miles an hour. More officers joined the chase, and one of them managed to shoot out the back windshield of the Packard. When a piece of the spraying glass cut Starkweather, he thought he had been shot and quickly pulled over and surrendered. In Custody The killing spree of Starkweather and Fugate was over, but the task of putting together the pieces of who did what had just begun for authorities. At first, Starkweather said Fugate was not responsible for any of the killings. Fugate insisted she was a victim and not a participant in any crimes. She told investigators that she had been held hostage and that Starkweather said he would kill her family if she did not go along with his demands. Fugates hostage story quickly dissolved after she admitted to being present when her family was butchered. Both were charged with first-degree murder, and they were extradited to Nebraska to stand trial. The Trial of Charles Starkweather The list of charges against Starkweather was lengthy, and the only defense his lawyers could bring to the table that could save him from the electric chair was an insanity defense. But to Starkweather, going down in history as insane was unacceptable. He used every possible opportunity to thwart his lawyers efforts by announcing that he was indeed sane during his killing spree. Instead, he said he killed his victims out of self-defense, a position no one believed. The jury found him guilty on two charges of first-degree murder and recommended that he be put to death in the electric chair. The court agreed, and he was sentenced to die on June 25, 1959. The Trial of Fugate When Starkweather found out that Fugate said she was his hostage, he stopped protecting her and told the authorities of her activity which included slashing Carol Kings genitals and shooting C. Lauer Ward. He also said she was responsible for Merle Collisons murder and went as far as describing her as one of the most trigger happy people he had ever met. He testified against her in court, although it was pointed out by her defense that he had changed his story at least seven times in the past. Few believed Fugates defense of being a victim and she was found guilty of murdering Robert Jensen, Jr. and given a life sentence because of her age. In the years following her sentencing, she continued to insist that she was a victim. Her sentence was later commuted, and she was paroled in June 1976. Except for one interview, Fugate never spoke publically about her time spent with Starkweather. The Final Curtain Call On June 25, 1959, Starkweathers execution was on schedule. Earlier in the evening, he had ordered cold cuts for his final meal. He was asked if he wanted to donate his eyes, which he said no adding, Why should I? Nobody ever gave me anything. Just after midnight, ​the 20-year-old spree killer was escorted to the execution chamber with his head shaved and dressed in a prison denim shirt and jeans. When Starkweather was asked if he had any final words, he merely shook his head no. There was to be no last scene for the James Dean wannabe. No words to send journalist off scribbling in their notebooks. He, like other killers before him, was strapped into the electric chair, hit with 2200 volts of electricity and killed.

Autism & Computing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Autism & Computing - Research Paper Example from high functioning individuals to those with severe communication disabilities. The patients of Autism have various developmental issues which are listed and discussed below (Eisenberg & Kanner, 1956): Excessive impassiveness with regard to human relationships Inability to successfully use ‘language’ as a mode of communication Restless and compulsive craving for upholding similarity / likeness leading to a striking drawback in the diversity of impulsive actions Over and above the issues listed above, people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) are known to have a heightened sensitivity towards sound, smell, taste, touch as well as visual motivation; restricted imagination; abnormal physical movements; and problems related to attention and motivation. However, these problems are known to undergo changes over time. Problems related to Social development: The social development of patients with ASD is starkly different, deferred, and / or uncharacteristic than the others. Such difficulties can be observed / highlighted during the communication with their peers. On account of such issues, individuals with ASD often find it difficult to establish, develop or maintain friendships / social relationships. ... them on a day to day basis, with regard to common and practical aspects of communication such as use of eye contact; facial expressions / gestures etc., during everyday communication. Difficulties in communication also includes efficient application of language skills such as in case of turn taking in a verbal communication; or initiating a conversation; debating on shared topics; maintaining consistency related to the subject of discussion; and ascertaining the knowledge of the listeners regarding the topic of discussion. They also face severe difficulties in understanding idioms, phrases or sarcasm. Poorly developed imaginative skills Individuals diagnosed with ASD display poor imagination skills which lead to a constrained monotonous and stereotyped behaviour. Poor / underdeveloped imaginative skills include a total lack of practical or representational play to problems in using imagination in everyday social lives. Their interests are often limited and against the common / accept able cultural norms. They have a strong obsession over scheduled tasks as well as their composition / sequence (Gilberg, 2001). Individuals diagnosed with ASD suffer with various kinds of difficulties which tend to impair their quality of life and hence need special efforts taken to elevate their quality of living. They often undergo great difficulties in establishing social relationships and as a result become victims of loneliness, further culminating into frustration and social awkwardness (Bauminger, 2003). They often err in judging common social situations such as – failing to identify and differentiate between genuine compliments and sarcasm; friendly banter and bullying etc., and hence fail to safeguard or defend themselves in public. Furthermore they do not share the same common

Personal activities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal activities - Essay Example The privilege of sharing my passion with the audience only brings me greater joy. If I can inspire even one other individual, I feel it will melt away all my years of toil and endless practices. 2. Apart from your first and second languages, what other languages do you speak and write Baring English and Chinese, which are my first and second languages, respectively, I am currently studying Gaeilge through home study courses. When I first heard Gaeilge spoken I was enthralled with it. I feel its oral beauty, fluidity and woven vocal patterns are unmatched. However, in the future, I also desire to pursue the Spanish and Japanese languages. 3. Do you already have a university course in mind If so, give details. I am yet to ascertain my course of study, though, I am sure to pursue a career in diplomacy. I have varied interests including, but not limited to: finance, economics and world history; however, prior to selecting a major course, I feel it best to explore the possibilities in the direction of my current interests. I am not a scholarship recipient now; however I am applying for a 50% award. Such a scholarship will give me the opportunity to find, explore and fund my own future.

Academic Skills Plus Essay Example for Free

Academic Skills Plus Essay Atwood writes: â€Å"What I mean by ‘science fiction’ is those books that descend from H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, which treats of an invasion by tentacled, blood-sucking Martians shot to Earth in metal canisters – things that could not possibly happen – whereas, for me, â€Å"speculative fiction† means plots that descend from Jules Verne’s books about submarines and balloon travel and such – things that really could happen but just hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the books. I would place my own books in this second category: no Martians.† (From In other worlds, p.6) With these remarks in mind, is it useful to distinguish between science fiction and speculative fiction? In answering this question you might consider Le Guin’s suggestion that people who refer to their works as ‘speculative fiction’ rather than ‘science fiction’ are simply trying to protect themselves from some of the negative connotations associated with science fiction (see In other worlds)? Discuss in relation to at least two works. ‘Science fiction’ is often defined as a wide literary genre related to fictional stories. It contains many subgenres, such as space opera, cyberpunk, utopia, dystopia, alternative histories and speculative fiction. Although there are an extensive number of subgenres, some writers, as Margaret Atwood, have been trying to differentiate ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’. Maybe this wideness of subgenres existing under the genre ‘science fiction’ is exactly the reason why Atwood found interesting to present this differentiation. When we consider science fiction stories, many different things can came up to our mind, such as aliens, intergalactic travel, artificial intelligence and utopian (or dystopian) societies. Considering that, as we can notice in these examples, these topics can differ a lot from each other and it might be understandable that Atwood  wanted to differentiate (more than just defining different subgenres) the kind of fiction related to more ‘plausible’ things (things that could really happen, as she says). Definitely, ‘speculative fiction’ books have a completely different scenario from cyberpunk, aliens or space opera works and this could awake a desire to disconnect them in a more significantly manner. However, it is possible to affirm that this distinction between ‘science’ and ‘speculative fiction’ is not useful and that there is no reason for making it, especially considering that speculative fiction is just one more subgenre of science fiction. This thesis will be supported by a number of points presented throughout this essay. Firstly, it will be argued that the subgenre ‘speculative fiction’ fits perfectly into the definitions and requisites related to ‘science fiction’. Secondly, it will be discussed that Atwood’s definition of ‘speculative fiction’ is vague and can change according to interpretation, and also that it can be used to define as speculative fiction other books that she clearly had classified as belonging to ‘science fiction’. Thereby, her definition can be seen as not clear, which makes it not useful at all. Finally, it will be presented that Atwood seems to reinforce this division specially because distinguishing ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ is convenient for her. There are some evidences for that, for example, Le Guin once said Atwood was trying to protect herself from negative connotations associated with ‘science fiction’. This is even noticeable considering that many of her attempts to define the genre contained irony and clichà ©s. Firstly, it will be discussed that ‘speculative fiction’ fits perfectly into the definitions and requisites related to the ‘science fiction’ subgenres, which makes unnecessary and not useful the distinction between them. It was stated before that ‘science fiction’ has a big number of subgenres and it is clear that they differ considerably from each other. However, despite their singularities, all of them have one kind of cohesive element in common, which brings each subgenre to be defined as part of the genre ‘science fiction’. To define this common element noticed in all the science fiction subgenres, it is useful to consider two Suvin’s definitions about science fiction: SF is, then, a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition,  and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the authors empirical environment (Suvin 1979, p. 7) and â€Å"Science Fiction is distinguished by the narrative dominance or hegemony of a fictional novum (novelty, innovation) validated by cognitive logic† (Suvin 1979, p. 63). Considering these two definitions, it is possible to affirm then that the necessary and sufficient conditions to identify one science fiction work are: the presence of a ‘novum’ and the presence of a ‘cognitive logic’, the logical consistency which makes the ‘novum’ become part of our knowledge about real things. With this in mind, we can analyse the book The Handmaid’s Tale from Atwood. She clearly have classified this book as not being ‘science fiction’, however, it is easy to identify the ‘novum’ and also the ‘cognitive logic’ in her book. The ‘novum’ is represented by the whole system of political organization in the Republic of Gilead described on the book and the ‘cognitive logic’ is given by some similarities that can be noticed between our society and the society described on the book. In the same way, for the book of H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, we can also identify the ‘novum’, which is given by the Martians and their technology; and the ‘cognitive logic’, given by the similarities existing between both societies. Thus, it can be affirmed that both books The Handmaid’s Tale and The War of the World belongs to the genre ‘science fiction’, contradicting Atwood’s previous proposition. This proves that although Atwood’s book can be classified as ‘speculative fiction’, it truly belongs to ‘science fiction’, leading us to verify again that ‘speculative fiction’ is just one more subgenre of ‘science fiction’. It makes clear then that the division between ‘science’ and ‘speculative’ fiction is not useful and not justifiable. Secondly, it will be presented that Atwood’s definition of ‘speculative fiction’ is imprecise and also can be used to define as speculative fiction other books that were categorized as ‘science fiction’ by her. In order to illustrate these points, we will analyse Atwood (2011) definition about ‘speculative fiction’ as â€Å"things that really could happen but just hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the books.† This is a vague and inaccurate idea. It could encompass different definitions because the range of things that could really happen is highly dependent of each person’s  beliefs and ideas, what makes this definition extremely subjective. Also, with just a few exceptions, it is not possible to say for sure what is and what is not going to happen. Besides, Atwood even gives us another definition: Oryx and Crake is not science fiction. Science fiction is when you have chemicals and rockets. (Watts 2003, p. 3). Considering both definitions given by her, it could be understood that she considers rockets and chemicals as things that really could not happen, as they belong to science fiction. However, it is known that rockets and chemicals are not things impossible to happen, especially because nowadays we can see some examples of them. Both definitions become contradictory then. Considering her first definition, books about this theme would be classified as speculative fiction; however, she decided to use these two themes to exemplify ‘science fiction’. Atwood’s definitions about ‘speculative fiction’ are imprecise, therefore, what is the purpose in using an imprecise and cloudy definition? It is simply not useful to distinguish ‘science’ from ‘speculative fiction’ then. Thirdly, it will be presented that Atwood seems to reinforce this division specially because distinguishing ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ is convenient for her. Le Guin (2009) states that Atwood was trying to protect herself from negative connotations associated with science fiction and also â€Å"from being relegated to a genre still shunned by hidebound readers, reviewers and prize-awarders†. Considering Le Guin’s remarks, it is possible to observe that ‘science fiction’ was not a literary genre with considerable prestige in the intellectual audience. This could reduce her reputation on the high literary society. One possible reason for ‘science fiction’ being underestimated is that science fiction could be related to some works produced for mass audience like Star Trek and Dr Who and intellectuals would associate her books to these works. Then it would be interesting for her to dissociate the connecti on between her books and the genre ‘science fiction’ once it was not so appreciated by the intellectual audience. And this is also noticed by considering that some of her remarks about ‘science fiction’ contains irony, as she frequently uses clichà ©s to refer about it, such as ‘rockets’, ‘chemicals’, ‘blood-sucking Martians’, ‘talking squids in outer space’, and ‘skin-tight clothing’. Thus, it is possible to verify why Atwood reinforces the division between ‘speculative’ and ‘science’ fiction. And  considering her reasons we can see that they are not justifiable and strong enough to make the distinction between ‘speculative’ and ‘science fiction’ useful. Finally, this essay discussed a number of points in order to support the thesis that the distinction between ‘speculative’ and ‘science’ fiction is not useful. Firstly, it was stated that although it may be hard to define some literary genres it is noticeable that ‘speculative ficti on’ fits perfectly in most of definitions of science fiction, making it a subgenre only. Secondly, it was presented that Atwood’s definition about ‘speculative fiction’ is vague and could classify as ‘speculative fiction’ some books that she clearly classified as ‘science fiction’. Thirdly, it was discussed that is convenient for her to separate ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ since the genre of ‘science fiction’ was not so appreciated by reviewers and prize awarders and was associated to some mass audience works. She does not want to be linked to this image so she tries to put her works under a different literary classification. This point shows us clearly that there is no consistent and general reason for her to do the distinction. In conclusion, this essay illustrated that is not useful to distinguish between ‘science fiction’ and ‘speculative fiction’ and the reason for this was explained by all of the arguments stated previously. References Atwood, M 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale, Anchor Books, New York. Atwood, M 2011, In Other Worlds SF and the Human Imagination, Doubleday. Le Guin, U 2009, ‘The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood’, The Guardian, 29 August. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/29/margaret-atwood-year-of-flood Suvin, D 1979, Metamorphoses Of Science Fiction, Yale University Press, New Haven Watts, P 2003, ‘Margaret Atwood and the Hierarchy of Contempt’, On Spec, vol. 15, no. 2, summer, pp. 3-5. Wells, H 1898, The War of the World, New York Review Books, New York.

How the Catholic Church Held Up During the Middle Ages Essay -- Histor

The Middle Ages was a long period of time. It started in about the 500 A.D. and ended in about 1500 A.D. Not many things can last for this long period of time, but at least one thing did, and that was the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church consists of Popes, Bishops, Clergy, and Monks, and Nuns were also part of the Church. Also during the Middle Ages, it also produced many great philosophers (Funk & Wagnall’s, 275). From the Middle Ages to the 13th century, the church played important role as authority, influence. The Catholic Church held up due to the power of the Pope, Pope Gregory’s policies, and the Church was a part of the citizen’s daily lives. In the Middle Ages houses of the poor and wealthy were often alike, except for the wealthy because they could occupy all their floors of the house. Their business would be on the first floor, living quarters on the second, and servant’s quarters on the third. If they family were poor they might have several families living under one roof, which makes the house very crowded (Gies, 243). Among the village, the only stone building was the church. The entire village was mostly made out of sticks, mud and such objects. The churches were built and paid for by the people (thinkquest). It was a nice centerpiece of a town. Inside the Church, you will not find any sort of warmth. Many people came with hand-warmers, because the church was often cool year round. Churches also did not have pews for people to sit on; they had to bring their own chairs. The church was a public building in which the town’s business life is often occurring around a town’s church (Gies, 291). The Church provided services to the poor, care of the sick, helpless, and travelers (Frem... ... new heights. Christendom to take up arms to re-conquer Jerusalem, it was urged on by soldiers, monks, popes, and others. â€Å"The Church encouraged uniformity during the Crusades and efforts to recapture territories lost to aroused and militant Islamic powers† (Funk & Wagnall’s). The Roman Catholic Church went through some tough times during the Middle Ages, but they did hold up. Each member played an important part in the Church. Each part of the hierarchy had an important role to play. They had to be a firm believer in the Church. Pope Gregory created policies, and strengthened many parts of the Church. Each Pope had the power to influence the kings that were in power. If it had not been for the people, and the hierarchy of the Church, the Church might have died. The Catholic Church did hold up during the Middle Ages due to the people and events that took place.

History And Effects Of Pesticide Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Pesticides have been known to be for 1000s of old ages. Sulfur combustion was a method used in ancient Sumer every bit good as ancient Rome for killing insects ; the Romans were besides known to utilize salt to kill weed ( Wikipedia,2010 ) . In the 1400s, lead, quicksilver and arsenic were efficaciously used for this intent. Similarly, in 1600s, the job of emmets was tackled by the usage of a mixture of honey and arsenic. In the later of portion of the 1800s, US husbandmans used assorted arsenites every bit good as baccy derived functions to command plagues. The greatest enlargement in the pesticides was seen after World War II. Chemicals like DDT, aldrin, diedrin and 2,4 – Calciferol came into usage due to their low cost and high grade of efficaciousness ( Delaplane, 1996 ) . DDT took the bar as pass overing out major part of vectors responsible for typhus and malaria. Although being in being since the latter half of nineteenth century, its true potency was understood in 1939 . It was so successful that the discoverer Paul M & A ; uuml ; llen was awarded Nobel award in 1948 for his accomplishment. It was non until 1962 when the land interrupting book of Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, made a connexion between environment pollution, major wellness jeopardies and DDT. Carson ( 1962 ) argued that the chemicals like DDT are non merely toxic to the insects but to the birds and fish every bit good. It was proposed that this was because of a direct mechanism every bit good as an indirect mechanism.Pesticides use in US and EU:After a prohibition on DDT ‘s usage in the US, the enthusiasm was shifted to production of newer compounds which were safer and better than the conventional 1s and methods of harvest production that discouraged plagues. Integrated pest direction ( IPM ) was introduced like a multipronged scheme to concentrate on newer harvest production methods, increased growing of pest-specific marauders and timing of pesticide spray so that maximal h arm to the plagues could be incurred finally increasing the output ( Delaplane, 1996 ) . It is interesting to observe that the pesticide ingestion has increased dramatically over the last 50 old ages. As opposed to 2kg/ha in 2004, in 1961, it was merely 0.49kg/ha. In one estimation, France and US spray 35 % and 20 % of their entire surface country severally every twelvemonth ( Goodplanet.info, 2010 ) . In malice of holding really powerful newer agents, the figures keep on lifting. Europe represents about one tierce of the universe pesticide market portion standing at 30 billion dollars a twelvemonth. North America and Asia constitute a one-fourth each. US is the taking consumer of the pesticide industry with a figure of 2.5kg/ha. Europe consumes 3kg /ha, while India is at merely 0.5kg/ha. In a study by PAN Europe ( 2007 ) , it was stated that the pesticide ingestion was on the rise despite newer agents that act at a lower dosage. This shows that the pest control is still dependent o n the usage of these merchandises.Pesticides use in United kingdom:It has to be mentioned that in UK the pesticides ‘ usage is controlled by the ( CRD ) .The board of directors controls chemicals ‘ usage where listed under REACH statute law which consist a portion of Europe ‘s statute law where came in force in June of 2007and is responsible for the chemicals ‘ rating, enrollment, limitation and mandate such as guaranting that the companies produce and at the same clip conveyance chemicals under a responsible and safe manner. Furthermore it ensures that the people give a high attending for the protection of the environment by any possible chemical ‘s effects. The CRD is the chief responsible for pesticides ‘ usage limitation in UK.Pesticides and their application:The large inquiry is why they are used†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? ? Harmonizing to a study, about one tierce of the agribusiness production is destroyed with the brunt faced by developing states bec ause of plagues. This amounts to a humongous 300 billion dollar one-year losingss with an mean output loss runing from 30 to 40 % ( Plucknett and Kagbo, 2010 ) . So to be faced that job at that place has been appeared particularly the last decennaries a expand usage of pesticides in agricultural industry. Pesticides are used to disrupt onslaughts of snails, animate beings, bullets and snails while at the same clip for the protection of public wellness killing animate beings like mosquitoes, mice and rats. More than 1600 types of different pesticides are listed in the Compendium of Pesticide Common Names. These are classified harmonizing to their country of action such as Herbicides, Insecticides and Nematicides. Other major classs include Acaricides, Antimicrobials, Attractants, Avicides, Fungicide, Molluscicides, Predacides, and Rodenticides ( Wood, 2010 ) . The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard and Guidelines to Classification 2009, divides these chemical comp ounds into Class Ia compounds, which are highly unsafe, Class Ib as extremely unsafe, Class II as reasonably unsafe, Class III as somewhat unsafe and Class U as improbable to be acutely unsafe based on LD50 for the mice.Mode of pesticides ‘ action:An of import fact worth adverting is that since there are a immense assortment of merchandises available for different types of plagues, likewise there is besides a enormous variableness in the mechanism of action of these pesticides. One chemical may move at one or more critical cellular tract of the plague. Harmonizing to Hayes ‘ Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology ( 2010, pp. 106 – 117 ) , this can be explained for a class of a chemical. Insecticides, Nematicides and Acaricides act as Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors or agonists. Some of them besides block glutamate gated chloride channels and mitochondrial composites. A assortment of them are ryanodine receptor modulators. Pyrethrum derived functions such as pyrethrins and pyrethroids that act on Na channels are speedy in action. Rodenticides may either organize an acute toxin such as phosphine in the tummy of the gnawer or cause hypercalcaemia. Examples include zinc phosphide and bromethalin. Warfarin may exercise an anti-coagulant consequence, therefore the animate being to spontaneously shed blood boulder clay it dies. Herbicides mark works specific mechanisms. They act on photosystems thereby interrupting the respiration of the weed. They besides block amino acid and fatty acerb synthesis and can besides do cell membrane break. Molluscicides disrupt cellular respiration of snails and bullets. Phasmohabditis hermaphrodita ; a infective roundworm, is a biological molluscicide.Behaviour and destiny of pesticides:Pesticides, when applied are either adsorbed, may be transferred to some other location or degraded into non-active constituents depending on the type of pesticide. Adsorption is a procedure by which these chemicals straight bind to the dirt atoms. Transportation is the phenomenon by which these compounds are dispersed off from the application site. Harmonizing to Nebguide ( 1993 ) , soaking up, harvest remotion, leaching, spray impetus and run off. Micro-organisms and workss uptake these compounds by soaking up. Mechanisms like volatilization and run off are of import as they distribute the pesticides to other location to eliminate the plagues but this is non ever the instance as it is besides one of the grounds of environmental pollution. Similarly, spray impetus causes these chemicals to be dispersed to other location at the clip of application. Leaching is dependent on the water-solubility of the pesticide and can either be downwards, upwards or sideways. Degradation takes topographic point either by, microbic action, Sun visible radiation or photodegradation or by a chemical reaction ( Nebguide,1993 ) .Pesticides in surface and land Waterss:In a survey by McBride ( 1989 ) , it has been postulated that H2O â₠¬Ëœs taint hazard is determined by features of the pesticide used, the features of dirt and the H2O volume ; A chemical with high H2O solubility, low dirt surface assimilation, high continuity applied on a coarse and low organic affair dirt with shallow land H2O and frequent irrigations has a high hazard of polluting H2O beginning. In an article by PAN Europe ( 2010 ) , Belgium, France, Netherlands and UK have highest pesticide taint in lowland river countries ; the one-year cost in cleaning up the H2O resource is around 170 million euros in UK yearly with a portion of this load go throughing on to the consumer.Practical solutions for pesticide pollution:Several techniques can be used to minimise the pesticide pollution. Integrated pest direction ( IPM ) is an first-class manner to get down with. It involves a holistic attack of choosing immune works species, cultivation and reconnoitering to minimise the chemical use. There should be repeated cheques on the harvests to mensurate th e pest population before a pesticide onslaught could be ensued. Crop rotary motion methods should be employed to deter the harmful beings. Educational plans should be encouraged so that all the persons involved in the procedure know precisely what they are making. This can be done by strong media runs backed by pertinent statute law. Research into biological and other non-chemical pesticides should be sought for. Pesticide choice should be appropriate and after usage disposal harmonizing to recommended manner. Tanks and reservoirs should ne'er be filled with pesticides while being close to a H2O reservoir to avoid taint. Preferably, a H2O beginning should be covered to forestall pollution. Detailed conditions prognosis should be taken into history before spraying to minimise run off and spray impetus. The equipment used should be in tip top form so that there are no leaks and droplet size is appropriate.