Herbal Medicine

Being a part of alternative medicine, herbalism is often opposed to orthodox medicine. I believe that herbalism can make a good competition to conventional medicine as it has not only a set of methods to cure people, but also a developed philosophical and cultural background, which makes it a complicated system. Herbal Medicine is a medial system, which helps to maintain good health and prevent illnesses.Herbal   practitioners state that good health is much more than an absence of disease. Normal functioning of the body and good work of all systems and organs of an organism is the main and ultimate goal of alternative medicine. History of Herbal Medicine The history of herbalism counts more than five hundred years. Western herbal medicine was founded about 5000 years ago. Since ancient times humans used herbs for food, medicine and making clothes. The term â€Å"herb† is usually used to speak about the plant which is used for medical purposes. So called â€Å"herbs† have been used for centuries to treat people from different diseases. Archaeologists stay that herbs have been used by humans since the Middle Paleolithic era, which is dated more than 61,000 years ago. (Butterfield) Herbal remedies were used in Egypt, Greece, Rome and Middle East. Columbus and other travelers who succeeded him brought a lot of new herbal remedies to Europe. Herbal remedies became especially popular during the era of Henry VIII. A new science, which combined the use of herbs and astrology, was developed during his rule. Herbal medicine was used for centuries and modern medicine did not appear until the end of the Second World War. Technological development made it possible to produce synthetic drugs, which gradually replaced herbal remedies. Nowadays herbal plants become more and more popular. People start realizing that reducing pain symptoms is not enough to cure illness. Herbal medicine is able to give them alternative to orthodox medicine, which treats only symptoms but not the causes of the illnesses. Nowadays there is a separate branch of herbalism called pharmacognosy. This science is preoccupied with the study of drugs produced from plants and animals. There are a lot of sources from which people obtain knowledge about the characteristics of different plants. â€Å"Much herbal knowledge is obtained through attentive empirical observation of a plant's effects on humans. In some traditions, intuition and sacred teachings are important. Many traditional herbalists believe in a ‘life force' that is yet to be fully understood. † (Mysteriously, 119) In addition by mystical approach, modern science gives rational explanations of different components, which create a healing effect of herbs. Only specialists know that a lot of modern medicines used in pharmacology originally derived from plants. Components, which are used to produce synthetic medicaments, derive from natural products. For example, aspirin was originally produced from the bark of willow tree and morphine is achieved from poppy. Most herbs used in herbal medicine have well-studied and explained peculiarities, which explain their curing effect. Old art of herbal treating is almost forgotten now and synthetic drugs have replaced natural products but people start remembering about the positive effect of herbal treatment and it becomes more and more popular in the modern world. Scientific study gives additional reasons to make confidence in alternative medicine in general and herbalism   in particular. Scientists continue to uncover new qualities of herbs, which give additional opportunities in the sphere of medicine. â€Å"In 1993, the British medical journal Lancet reported that in tests conducted in both Germany and Italy, extracts from the ancient Chinese ginkgo tree were successful in treating cerebral insufficiency in older patients. As a remedy that improves the circulation of blood to the head, it is able to help the memory of elderly people. † (Bruno) Ancient people, who could cure practically any disease with the help of herbs possessed knowledge practically lost nowadays. Latest statistics shows that interest to herbal treatment has increased during resent time. People are looking for the ways to be healthy and holistic approach used by herbal medicine appeals to many of them. Herbalism as a Part of Alternative Medicine Usually herbal remedies are used by the practitioners of so called holistic medicine, who believe that there is inner force inside of each human being and this force can help to maintain physical and mental health. Despite the practitioners of holistic medicine do not reject germ theory of illness applied in traditional medicine, they state that this theory does not give convincing explanations about the reasons of illnesses. As states Leonard Bruno in his article Western Herbal Remedies:   â€Å"They argue that many diseases and conditions come about because the individual's inner force or natural immune system is weakened or out of balance. Therefore, they prescribe herbal or plant remedies that are found in nature in order to return an individual's natural inner balance, strengthen the resistance to disease, and maintain good health. † (Bruno) Herbalists use a plant as a whole to treat their patients. In contrast to conventional medicine, where healing characteristics of medicines are based on single chemical constituents, herbal specialists use plants. Each plant provides a unique combination of elements and curing effect is achieved by this unique combination. Herbalists believe that even if we take a combination of all components, which constitute one plant, they will not be as effective as same components, which are found in this plant. So called â€Å"whole plant† philosophy is based on the idea that plant is much more than a sum of its components. Each plant consists of hundreds of different elements and their combination is unique for each plant. This combination gives plant its unique characteristics, which are used in herbal medicine. An effect, created by the sum of components and elements contained in the planed is called synergism. This peculiarity of herbal medicine becomes a subject of controversy because it is not accepted by conventionally trained professionals. The list of active constituents can not serve as an explanation of curing effects of herbal medicines. Herbal remedies influence human body in same chemical manner as synthetic drugs do. From the other side there are several distinctions, which make an effect of herbal medicines and synthetic drugs on organism different. Herbal medicines consist of difficult combination of different elements and these elements affect several organs. These elements get to blood by indirect ways that is why their effect can be not as quick as the one of synthetic medicines but it will definitely be more extensive. Herbs generally make a complex pharmaceutical system. They contain vitamins, minerals, trace elements of different oils, alkaloids, tannins and many other elements. Complexity of effects herbs have on human organism can be traced on different examples. For example, both, tea and coffee contain practically similar dozes of caffeine but everybody knows that coffee usually has stronger stimulating effect. This effect can be explained by big quantity of tannin, contained in tea. Tannin prevents caffeine from absorbing and this reduces   tea’s stimulating effect. (Holmes, 118)  Ã‚   Another example is a comparison of synthetic antibiotics and garlic. Garlic is known as one of the best natural antibiotics but its action is based in principles, which differ from the action of antibiotics. Antibiotics kill bacteria and stop illness. But they kill all kinds of bacteria, including ones which are necessary for good functioning of an organism. In contrast to synthetic antibiotics, garlic does not kill bacteria useful for organism and even vice versa, stimulates them. Since herbal treatment is based on holistic approach qualified herbalist starts his treatment with long interview with a patient. His interview sometimes covers different spheres of client’s life because in alternative medicine physical health is not separated from mental and emotional state. Latest researches prove that a lot of illnesses have psychosomatic nature and that is why it is not enough to treat only physical side of the problem. The cause of the problem, which causes an illness, can sometimes differ from a diagnosis made by mainstream professionals. Special diet and exercising can be added to the course of herbal treatment in order to improve the result. Peculiarities of Herbal Medicine Herbal treatment can be used for treating practically all known diseases and in the most cases herbs can replace synthetic drugs used in conventional medicine. Effectiveness of herbs is proved by multiple investigations. Herbal remedies are used for different purposes. They can improve digestion, stimulate respiratory and circulatory systems of organism. Other kinds of herbal remedies are used to improve the functioning of nervous and endocrine systems. Stimulating these systems helps to strengthen immune system. Herbs perfectly remove toxins from organism. Usually herbs are classified   according to the sphere of their use. Some herbs are used to stimulate nervous activity, other have antiseptic action and are used to treat infections. Medical use of herbs is diverse. Herbs are used to make oils, infusions, tinctures, and salves. There are several ways of herbal administration. Herbs can be drunk, others are used for external treatment only. There are special herbal capsules. Mainstream physicians rarely prescribe herbal treatment and those, who want to be treated with the help of herbs should find qualified herbalist of naturopathic physician. Unfortunately, insurance companies very rarely cover the cost of herbal treatment. This kind of treatment can be covered only in the cases when herbal treatment is prescribed by mainstream physician. Herbalism vs. Conventional Medicine Conventional medicine is often opposed to herbalism. There are several key differences, which differ these two systems. Despite orthodox medicine is a dominating medical system there are a lot of people who turn to alternative methods, including herbal remedies. There are several factors, which explain this phenomenon. First of all orthodox medicine shows its failure. There are a lot of cases when synthetic drugs can not help people. As states Williams, â€Å"the vacuum created by the abandonment of nutrition by orthodox medicine, is directly responsible for nutrition becoming an alternative therapy. In other words, the so called food faddists and nutrition quacks so often complained about by the medical profession, owe their very existence and continued survival to orthodox medicine! Nature, as they say, abhors a vacuum. â€Å"(Williams, 112) Growing popularity of herbal medicine proves his thesis about the failing of orthodox medicine. The conflict between conventional and herbal medicine presents two different systems of believes. These two systems show two different approaches to human health. Representatives of orthodox medicine do not want any changes to occur. They do not recognize alternative medicine as a valid system of treating people. At the same time there are representatives of orthodox medicine, who use alternative methods as a supplementary means to their orthodox methods. In this case we meet a kind of controversy when orthodox specialists use separate holistic methods while rejecting holistic medicine in general. Conventional medicine does not use individual approach to each patient. In conventional medicine all similar symptoms are usually treated by same medicines. â€Å"Many patients feel alienated by their physicians, who do not always seem to treat them as individuals. This alienation is compounded by the often extreme costs of high-tech medicine. Further, many synthetic drugs have adverse side effects, or have been overused to the point of no longer being effective† (Bruno)   Modern herbalism is based on several principles. First of all its main goal is to optimize health and wellness. The accent in treatment is made on the state of the person as a whole, but not separate symptoms. Individual approach is one of main principles of   herbal medicine. Uniqueness of each individual is a main treasure in herbal medicine. Such an approach is contrasted to conventional medicine which uses standard approach to all patients. Conventional medicine uses a single drug to treat single disease. Herbal medicine treats each patient individually. Herbal specialists believe that similar symptoms of illnesses can be caused by different reasons and that is why they treat each person individually. Herbal medicine is based on the principle of fragile balance, which maintains our mind and body in healthy condition. When this balance is broken a disease starts. In this case disease is regarded as a signal about broken balance and that is why herbal medicine makes everything possible to renew the balance. Such an approach can not guarantee quick treating of all symptoms because all treatment is directed to renew balance. Specialists of herbal medicine believe that organism is able to cure itself as soon as its balance is renewed. As states Leonard Bruno â€Å"Thus the person who takes an herbal remedy should not always expect to see all symptoms disappear immediately, since the natural medicine is intended rather to support the body's systems. The proper functioning body will then remedy the symptoms† (Bruno) Holistic approach used in herbalism is contrasted to philosophy of reductionism, expressed by conventional medicine. Orthodox medicine aims to achieve the state of optimum health where people experience as little pain symptoms as possible. Holistic medicine derives from the notion of holism or balanced functioning of an organism, which becomes the main sours of healthy condition. As states Williams in his book Nutrition against Disease â€Å"Unlike reductionism, holism does not seek to fragment, or impose artificial limitations upon, human knowledge and learning. Rather than dissect the body into numerous separate and independent functional areas , it recognises the interdependence of our various bodily systems. †Ã‚   (Williams, 79) When speaking about dissecting the body into pieces, he definitely speaks about orthodox medicine, which does not regard human body as a one organic unity and treats each symptom and each organ separately. Merits and Demerits of Herbal Medicine Herbal remedies have a lot of advantages. First of all they are natural products, which have mild effect on human organism. Herbal medicines can be used to treat practically all illnesses. Along with positive sides, herbal medicine have some demerits. Herbal medicines do not have so quick effect as synthetic drugs do. Like it was mentioned before herbal medicines treat the causes of an illness, not its symptoms, that is why it can require longer course of treatment to treat all dysfunctions of an organism. People should be aware that using herbal and conventional medicines together without the doctor’s advice can be dangerous. Synthetic and herbal medicines can come in conflict and cause negative effect on human organism. Despite all advantages of herbal medicine and its good impact on human health it is necessary to remember about potential dangers when using herbs for medical purpose. The most toxic and dangerous medicines are produced from plants. Natural origin of herbal medication does not make them completely safe. There is a danger of misuse or overuse of medicines produced from plants. It is true that the most remedies produced from plants are safe but it is still necessary to address a doctor before using herbs as medicines. In addition there is danger of different reactions when herbal remedies are used together with conventional medicines. That is why each person must consult a herbalist before turning to herb treatment. Possible demerits of herbal medicines are fully compensated by positive sides of these remedies. In the most cases herbal remedies are not less effective than synthetic drugs but have much less side effects, if any. Most of conventional drugs have many side effects. Treating one symptom, they hurt other part of an organism. Natural remedies never or very seldom cause side effects. Herbal medicines can make an alternative to practically all synthetic drugs and using them people can escape negative effects of synthetic drugs. Natural remedies are especially suitable for children who are very sensitive to different chemical components. Herbalism becomes very popular among young parents, who try to use only natural products for their small children. Natural remedies can be used for people, who are allergic to synthetic drugs. Herbalism uses holistic approach, which helps to treat an organism as one whole and individual approach helps to choose treatment effective for each separate individual. That is the reason people turn to herbal medicines again. Conclusion Western history of medicine is mainly the history of herbal medicine and I am sure that herbalism will occupy deserved place in the future medical system. Since ancient times people used herbs to treat different diseases and it was hard to find any disease which could not have being cured with the help of herbal remedies. Herbal medicine went through the period of decline during the time after the Second World War. During this time synthetic drugs replaced herbs and people turned to so called conventional medicine. Nowadays the situation is changed again and people start using more and more herbal medicines. Latest research made by the World Health Organization states that more than 80 percent of people turn to herbal treatment in different forms and believe that it is an effective medical method. (Micozzi)   Dispute between herbal and conventional medicine lasts since the development of orthodox medicine and both sides have strong arguments to defend their positions. Herbal medicine is an effective system of treatment and prevention disease and scientific recognition it gets in the official world, is a good proof of its effectiveness. If we consider all reasons pro et contra herbal medicine, we will understand that it deserves to occupy a descent place in the modern world. May be it will not be able to replace orthodox medicine but it can be used as an alternative way of treatment in many cases. Lack of information about alternative types of treatment often deprives people of additional opportunities to choose treatments suitable for them. Works Cited Bruno C. Leonard â€Å"Herbal remedies, western†. Encyclopedia of Medicine. 20010406. FindArticles. com. 16 Mar. 2007. http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_g2601/is_0006/ai_2601000663 Butterfield, J. and Sexton, J. â€Å"New Remedies for Old Ills' USA Weekend, Dec 30, 1994-Jan 01, 1995. Helman, C. Culture, Health, and Illness, 3rd ed. Oxford: Butterworth Hellman, 1994. Holmes, P, The Energetics of Western Herbs, revised 3rd ed. , Vol. 1, Snow Lotus Press Inc. , Colorado, USA, 1997. . Holmes, P, Jade Remedies, A Chinese Herbal Reference for the West, Vol. 1, Snow Lotus Press Inc. , Colorado, USA, 1996. Micozzi, M. ed Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. New York:Churchill Livingston, 1996 Mysteriously, L. â€Å"Western Hebraism,† pp 111-120 in Fundamentals of Complementary and Alterative Medicine. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1996. Williams, R. J. , Nutrition Against Disease, Pitman Publishing Corp. , New York, USA, 1971. Shein-Chung Chow; Annpey Pong; Yu-Wei Chang On Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Trials Drug Information Journal; 2006; 40, 4; Health Module pg. 395

Electrochemistry experimen Essay

Introduction: Redox reactions are reactions where the oxidation states of the atoms change. The atoms are either oxidized or reduced, depending if they lose or gain electrons. Electrochemical cells are devices that cause a current from redox reactions. It is set up so that electrons lost from one of the reagents can travel to another reagent. This creates a voltage, which is also known as the electric potential difference. This voltage can be read if a high-resistance voltmeter or multimeter is connected to the circuit. Salt bridge is used to allow migration of ions between two electric cells to maintain neutrality of solutions. It is usually made up of a filter paper moistened with an inert solution or an inert solution/gelatine salt bridge to prevent oxidation of certain ions. This experiment is divided into 2 parts: part A and part B. Part A Objective: To investigate the effect of change in lead(II) ion concentration on the potential of the Pb2+(aq) |Pb(s) electrode Introduction: This experiment investigates the e. m. f. of the cell: Cu(s) |Cu2+(aq) |Pb2+(aq)|Pb(s). Keeping the ion concentration in the copper electrode system constant(1M) and varying the ion concentration in the lead electrode system, the effect of change in lead(II) ion concentration on the potential of electrode as well as the Kc of the above reaction can be found. Chemicals: Copper foil x1, lead foil x1, 1M Cu2+ solution, 0. 1M Pb2+ solution, saturated potassium nitrate solution Apparatus: 250 cm3 beakers, 50cm3 beakers multimeter, distilled water bottle, filter papers, electrical wires with electrode holders, forceps, 100ml volumetric flask,10ml pipette x2, dropper Procedure: 1. The 0. 1M, 0. 01M, 0. 001M, 0. 0001M Pb2+ solutions were prepared from 0. 1M Pb2+ solution by dilution(1 portion solution plus 10 portions water). 2. The copper and lead electrodes were cleaned with a sand paper. 3. The circuit was connected as the diagram below. 4. The e. m. f. was recorded when the data shown was stable. 5. The above steps(2-4) were repeated with 0. 01M, 0. 001M and 0. 0001M Pb2+ solutions. Safety precaution: Potassium nitrate solution: Contact with combustible material may lead to fire 1M Copper(II) sulphate solution: harmful and irritating to eyes and skin. –>Safety goggles should be worn. Experimental set-up Results: [Pb2+]/M log[Pb2+] E/V 0. 1 -1 0. 482 0. 01 -2 0. 502 0. 001 -3 0. 521 0. 0001 -4 0. 545 Graph of E against log [Pb2+]: Trend shown: Given the ion concentration in the copper electrode system constant, it is found that the potential of the cell drops as the lead(II) ion concentration increase. The electrode potential is inversely proportional to the ten folds of ion concentrations. Calculation: When the reaction Cu2+(aq) + Pb(s) –> Pb2+(aq) + Cu(s) achieves equilibrium, the net e. m. f. of the cell=0 volt. The equilibrium expression of this reaction is: Kc= [ Pb2+(aq)][ Cu(s)] /[Cu2+(aq)][ Pb(s)] The effective concentration of Pb(s)/ Cu(s) are independent of its amount present and can be considered as constant. This reduces the expression to Kc= [ Pb2+(aq)] /[Cu2+(aq)] = 1Ãâ€"1021 Conclusion The potential of the cell decreases ad the ion concentration of Pb2+ increases. Further Analysis: Using the Nernst equation: E=E? -0. 059/n log[ox]/[red], Take [Pb2+]=0. 1 M as an example, E=0. 47-0. 059/2 log(0. 1/1)=0. 4405(V) [Pb2+]/M log[Pb2+] E/V(calculated) E/V(measured) %difference 0. 1 -1 0. 4405 0. 482 9. 42% 0. 01 -2 0. 529 0. 502 5. 10%.0. 001 -3 0. 5585 0. 521 6. 71% 0. 0001 -4 0. 588 0. 545 7. 31% It is shown that difference is present between the calculated value and measured value. This may be because of different conditions, resistance of the multimeter or errors in preparation of various concentrations of solutions. Part B Objective: To find out the equilibrium constant by e. m. f. measurement Introduction: The equilibrium constant for the below reaction is found out: Ag+(aq) + Fe2+(aq) Fe3+ (aq) + Ag(s) By e. m. f. measurement on the cell Pt |Fe2+(aq), Fe3+(aq)|Ag+(aq)|Ag(s) Chemicals: 0. 1 M Fe3+ solution, 0. 2 M iron(II)sulphate, 0. 2M barium nitrate, 0. 4M silver nitrate, platinum electrode, silver electrode Apparatus: gelatine salt bridge, 250 cm3 beakers, 50cm3 beakers ,multimeter, distilled water bottle, electrical wires with electrode holders, forceps, 10ml pipette x2 Procedure: 1. Equal volumes of 0. 2M FeSO4 and 0. 2M Ba(NO3)2 were mixed and the precipitate was allowed to settle without disturbance. 2. Equal volumes of 0. 1M iron(II) nitrate solution obtained and the iron(III)nitrate solution were mixed. This was the Fe2+(aq)/Fe2+(aq) half-cell. 3. The 0. 4M, 0. 2M, 0. 1M, 0. 05M, 0.025M silver nitrate solutions were prepared from 0. 4M silver nitrate solution by dilution. 4. The silver electrode was cleaned with a sand paper. 5. The circuit was connected as the diagram below. 6. The e. m. f. was recorded when the data shown was stable. 7. The above steps (4-6) were repeated with 0. 2M, 0. 1M, 0. 05M, 0. 025M silver nitrate solutions. Safety Precaution: Silver nitrate: harmful and oxidizing; 1) Poisonous if swallowed or inhaled 2) Skin contact with silver nitrate solid or solutions is likely to leave silver stains on the skin. Barium nitrate is poisonous and very harmful if swallowed. It is also a strong oxidizer, so may be hazardous if mixed with flammable materials. Experimental Set-upResults: [Ag+]/M log[Ag+] E/V 0. 4 -0. 398 0. 023 0. 2 -0. 699 0. 005 0. 1 -1 -0. 030 0. 05 -1. 301 -0. 050 0. 025 -0. 025 -0. 053 Graph of E against log[Ag+(aq)]: Calculation: When the reaction reaches equilibrium, both forward and backward reactions proceed to the same extent. This means that both the half cell reactions would have the same potential to proceed, so that the net e. m. f of the cell =0 volt at equilibrium. From the graph, the x-intercept is log[Ag+(aq)]=-0.72, hence,[Ag+(aq)]eqm=0. 1905 Ag+(aq) + Fe2+(aq) Fe3+ (aq) + Ag(s) KC= [Fe3+ (aq)]/ [Ag+(aq)][ Fe2+(aq)] =0. 1/ (0. 1905X0. 1) =5. 2493(mol2dm-6) ~5. 25(mol2dm-6) Conclusion: The equilibrium constant for the reaction between Fe2+/Fe3+ and Ag+ is 5. 25 mol2dm-6. Discussion(for both parts): 1. Possible Errors: -The electrodes (Cu(s),Pb(s),Ag(s)) were not cleaned very well with a sand paper so that they are not conducting electricity in all parts. The e. m. f. measured may hence be underestimated. -The same ammonium nitrate/gelatine salt bridge was used several times in part II of experiment. Ions of previous measurement may remain in the salt bridge and change the concentration of ions in the next measurement. -The apparatus including pipettes, beakers and volumetric flask may not be washed to be very clean. The error in concentration may be enormous when handling very dilute solutions (e. g. 0. 001M, 0. 0001M, 0. 025M) -The electrode touched the salt bridge once so that the accuracy of measurement of e. m. f. was affected. The solution is not exactly passed. -Air gap may be present in the ammonium nitrate/ gelatine salt bridge, increasing the resistance of ion migration. 2. Difference in effect of ion concentration on electrical potential of cell: -In part A, the cell e. m. f. increases as [Pb2+(aq)] decreases. However, in part B, the e. m. f. drops as [Ag+(aq)]. This suggests that when the species is a stronger oxidizing agent in the reaction and undergoes reduction, the presence of its ions tends to increase the e. m. f. whereas the one which undergoes oxidation tends to reduce the e. m. f. The species with more positive standard reduction potential has a positive effect but the one with less positive potential has a negative effect. Reference: Physical Chemistry II by TM Leung and CC Lee( p. 295-298 &299-301).

Crash Movie Reaction Paper

As I entered Wal-Mart, the lights were bright but not gleaming. The employees were pleasant and working for the most part. Everything was easily accessible. I was not approached by anyone but if you needed help with finding something or you had a question about a product, there was staff available to assist. There were signs on the top of each isle which gives you an idea of the kind of things you can find in that particular isle. The store decor is not particularly pleasing to the eye but bearable none the less. You can pretty much find everything you need in your daily life and more at this store.Quality of products is below average and prices reflect the same. You can get a money order, send money to a loved one, or you can cash your check. Your one stop-shop, as they say. I found the shoppers to be average to below average income level. I also saw some who were pretty well off but are still shopping at a discount store to save money. After all, no matter how much money you have, who doesn’t want more? How do you spot a â€Å"well off† person? The clothes they wear, the handbag they carry, jewelry and things of that nature.I would like to point out that, these folks are not buying clothes or jewelry here, they are here for the everyday things such as groceries, diapers, paper products, cleaning supplies, etc. The average to below average income people also but some of the same things but in addition to that, they also bought clothes and shoes and jewelry. Almost all the people bought their things with a credit card or a debit card. Some people had an access card, which is a government funded welfare program for food. I am assuming (and hoping) that the above average income people did not use or have a need for this.

Free encryption for thumb drives (TrueCrypt) Case Study

Free encryption for thumb drives (TrueCrypt) - Case Study Example Another important thing about TruCrypt is that it is a free and open-source encryption software. This can run on Windows, MAC OS and even Linux. 2. The shared volume may only be file-hosted. As explained by the TrueCrypt website , the server is usually the one mounted so other computers on the network would "will not be able to mount the volume". It must also be remembered that files are not necessarily saved on the hard disk and once dismounted, the files cannot be read. Another popular file encryption software manufactured by Credant is Credant Mobile Guardian which is actually as policy-based encryption technology that can service the need for full data encryption such as desktops, laptops, handhelds and external media. Credant offers many advantages such granular control, anti-bridging, anti-hardware keylogger, built-in compliance policies, flexible and intuitive policy management, U3 and auto-run control. According to Technical Specifications of the Credant protector datasheet, anti-bridging meant " blocking WiFi, BlueTooth, modems, or Irda while the PC is connected to the wired local area network ( LAN)". Therefore, there is no need to be wary of these peripheral devices since Credant Mobile Guardian will be mainly responsible for blocking any of these hardware.

Economic Impact of Peacekeeping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Impact of Peacekeeping - Essay Example The topic gives me a chance to highlight the importance of peace in economic development. Any country at war its economy grows backward and investors will not invest in that country thus leading to high level of unemployment. What does a peacekeeping mission help in the economy of the country? What are the challenges associated with the peacekeeping missions across the world? The peacekeeping mission is an activity that provides peace and security in a country affected by conflict. Peacekeeping missions have helped countries like Kosovo, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Burundi, and Ivory Coast restore stability (Garnahan, Durch & Gilmore, 2006). The peacekeeping mission is crucial for the propriety of the continent. According to Nibishaka, â€Å"When it brings about peace in the continent, it creates an environment that is conducive to reconstruction and development in our region and possibilities of faster economic development" (Nibishaka, 2011.p.2). Despite the positive role played by peacekeeping missions towards the growth of the economy, it is faced with various challenges. Some of the challenges include the operations of peacekeeping missions sometimes canno t be sustained by the developing country, and a mission sometimes takes policies without understanding their impact on the local economy. Finally, there is the uneven distribution of economic impact by the geographic area or ethnic groups (Garnahan, Durch & Gilmore, 2006). Consequently, the questions raised above are critical to the fact that peacekeeping play a crucial role in the growth of any economy. The economy determines the many things including the living status of the concerned citizens. If stability is not in a country, the life will be difficult in that country. In my opinion, nobody likes war and from my perspective, stability is only to economic development of any country.

The role of women in the Israeli army today Assignment

The role of women in the Israeli army today - Assignment Example Even though such contributions are considerably informal, they take a center play in the course of conflicts. In essence, women involvement in the military spans three thousand years into the past throughout different cultures and nations. Currently,† women in uniforms† serve in the armed forces although the majority of the combatants have predominantly been men. Women service in the military has been a controversial subject in the women welfare circles. Despite the diverse but limited roles of women in the military, their contributions in the combat have been significant. The women who have participated in the military have expressed commendable competencies that have motivated women fresh women combatants.in the American civil war, women dressed just like men and participated in the armed conflict. This paper exemplifies the contribution of women in the military activities in the current era. On May 26th, 1948, the Israeli prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, ordered for the conscription of both single and married women who were born between 1920-1930 into the Israeli Defense Forces. The women served under the umbrella body of Women Corpse and were tasked with the responsibilities such as nursing, signal operations, driving, clerical work, and cooking for the militants. Some of the early women soldiers to be conscripted into the Israeli Defense Forces include Yael Rom, who was the first female pilot to be trained by the Israeli Air Force and later conscripted in 1951. In September 1969, Hava Inbar was appointed the judge of the military court in Haifa. Hava Inbar said, â€Å"I am glad that I was appointed; it proves that the Israeli Defence Force leaves almost all doors open for its female soldiers.† This statement is an assertion of the milestone involvement in the Israeli military. Before the establishment of the Israeli state, women correctly served in combat roles in the

Thank you later Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thank you later - Essay Example It tells us that Miss Moore's lesson has had an impact. This is from 'Everyday Use' by Alice Walker and Dee is speaking to her mama regarding the quilts she wanted to take from Maggie. She viewed them as valuable now, having identified herself with her African American roots. She thought Maggie was not worthy of owning such items, would only use them and destroy them, while she would display them for decoration. The quote showed Dee's attitude to her sister and her own heritage.3. This comes from 'Sonny's Blues' by James Baldwin and is the narrator, Sonny's older brother speaking. He realized the power and wonder Sonny created with his music. It also suggested a deeper understanding of himself, society and his and Sonny's place within it. He valued his brother and his talent at last.5. Mrs. Wright would be meek and obedient, rather scared of the others at first, especially Torvald because he is a man. She might look for instructions from the other women, being afraid to draw attention or to assert her independence. Dee would be annoyed at their situation, tidying herself up, concerned with her appearance and status, and maybe a little impatient with Mrs. Wright.Torvald, as the only man, used to having his own way and women running around after him, might try to organize the women into carrying out tasks such as fetching wood, looking for food, making a shelter. Miss Moore would at first observe all that was happening, then talk to everyone to get their views on how to deal with things. Dee would tell Torvald to stop trying to be master over the women, maybe even argue with him, which would annoy him greatly. Once Mrs. Wright felt she was safe, thanks to Dee's brave attitude and Miss Moore's regard for her input, she would become more assertive. All of them would have to change to more cooperative behaviors and accept that in order to survive, they must see each other's strengths and treat each other as equals. 6. This quote forms the last words in 'The Storm' by Kate Chopin. It has ambiguity, after what Calixta did with Alcee while her husband and son took shelter at the shop. The 'storm' could be interpreted as her passion and the 'happiness' of everyone concerned is ironic. Bobinot was blissfully ignorant, Bibi was safe at home, Alcee's passion had been shared, and his wife Clarisse did not have to sleep with him, which made her happy. It was an ironic closure, suggesting more tempests to come. 7. Aunt Jennifer's Tigers 1. Adrienne Rich is the poet. 2. The speaker is a detached observer, and could be the voice of a young person relating what she saw as the sad life of the older woman, told in an ironic tone. 3. This relates to the tigers Aunt Jennifer was embroidering. 4. Metaphor for tigers 5. The wedding ring's "massive weight" that "sits heavily" symbolized the burden she was under in being married to uncle. 6. She was afraid of him, as the tigers are not afraid of men. The poet talked of "terrified hands" and "ordeals" Aunt had suffered. Name Anderson Scholarship Address Address Date: Write in Dear..MrMrs etc. I am writing to thank you for donating the Anderson

The 5 'I's Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The 5 'I's - Assignment Example This acts as the key inspiration that trigger the company to initiate a low sugar product that meets the needs of young children and old customers who are loyal towards the company products. In order to be successful in the soft drink market that is characterized by stiff competition, strong marketing team will be employed to carry out intensive market research. Through the use of feedback from parents and young consumers, the company will ultimately produce a quality brand that effectively puts at bay its competitors. Additionally, promotional strategies that include free samples, competition and road shows will greatly influence the demand of the new product among the young consumers. To be successful in the market, Coca-Cola will need to emulate various initiatives. First, duration of approximately 3 months is needed to undertake market research. After the research, the company needs to adopt marketing strategies for 6 months in order to create strong customer awareness (Tuomi 35). This implies that the company should employ various avenues of advertisement such as television, magazines as well as social sites including face book and twitter. For these strategies to be effectively put in place, the company requires approximate US $250,000 per year. To meet the high demand of its product in the market, the company will need to produce large volume of syrups in it production facility. In this regard, the technical team will be expanded and new machines will be put in place. Additionally, the company will adopt an effective communication system to monitor the sales of its new product in the current and new markets. Through the coordination of the 5 ‘I’, Coca-Cola will be not only successfully penetrate new markets but also it will expand its customer base an aspect that will contribute to its sustainable

You are an Investment Analyst Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

You are an Investment Analyst - Essay Example The company works from the customer backwards and believe that failure to listen to the customers is an automatic failure. The company believes that it lives in a time of insurmountable opportunity and the unheralded revolution where they must make even minute to count. They believe that ownership is necessary, especially when building a company where the owners are compelled to think long term as well as plead passionately for their ideas and projects while formulating respectfully challenged decisions. Their hiring bar considers the need for the ability of the person in offering the services. In frugality, the company usually spends many finances on things that matter as they believe that frugality breeds self-sufficiency, invention and resourcefulness (Jones, 2011). Currently, Amazon employs more than 14,000 employees in the world. Their engineering department is involved with the tackling of complex challenges within the large scale computing to contribute to the e-commerce platform used by Amazon customers, sellers and merchants and external developers. The IT department is involved with massive responsibility of overseeing the system to ensure that it is reliable. The business in Amazon is much simpler than normal book retailer stores. The business does not require costly requirements such as point of sale terminals, small inventories and better client support. This makes it advantageous as the company offers an opportunity for people to search for materials and databases wherever they are. Some of the services offered include books, DVDs, software, videos, lawn products, video games and kitchen pan. All items are available and can be uploaded to the shopping cart after which an online form is filled to indicate the type of payment required and shipment characteristics (Jones, 2011). The Amazon Company started by offering books after which it resulted to DVD/Video and music in 1998. By 1999, the

Environmental Impact Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Environmental Impact Analysis Paper - Essay Example This is essentially the reason why the leadership style of the management determines to a great extent the success or failure of the leader’s attempt at effecting significant organizational changes. AT&D is an organization that is dire need of effective changes if it is to survive the cut-throat competition that is characterizing the industry it is operating in. It requires a serious rethink from its leadership and especially Muller who at its helm has the leeway to make important decisions that can consequently enable AT&D remain afloat in the ever changing motor industry. The only consolation that Muller has is the fact that there are a number of options that he can institute if AT&D is to weather the imminent bankruptcy that is staring it in the face. In this regard, there are a number of leadership models at his disposal that he can employ in order to steer the organization back to profitability. Already he has come to the conclusion that relocating to an area closer to fo reign automakers like Toyota and Honda, which are increasingly displacing the big three US automakers in market share, and which AT&D is supposed to be supplying spare parts is the way to go. Some of this leadership that he can employ in his bid at enabling the organization relocate to new location without suffering more damage or disenfranchising section of the subordinates include; the 8-Stage model of planned organizational change, appreciative inquiry, individualized theory of leadership, and path-goal theory. The 8-Stage model of planned organizational change and â€Å"American Tool & Die" This theory is anchored in the understanding that an organizational change process can be implemented through following an eight step procedure if it is to be successful and effective. This strategy fits perfectly in AT&D scenario because of a number of factors. In this regard, John Kotter proposes eight stages namely; establishment of a sense of urgency; creation of a guiding coalition; dev elopment of persuasive vision and strategy; communication of the change vision widely in the organization; empowerment of the constituents for a broad-based action on the vision; generation of a short-term win; consolidation of the gains and production of more change; and anchoring of the new approaches in the organizational culture (Beer, & Nohria, 2000, pp. 304). In order to succeed in each of these stages, Keller Muller will be required to demonstrate a very high degree of leadership. First, he would be need to create a sense of urgency through convincing and demonstrating to his workforce that AT & D requires moving closer to foreign automakers if it is to survive the reduction in business that is being occasioned by the fact that the big three automakers that it has been depending on for business over the years are increasingly losing market share to these foreign automakers. This creation of urgency might take the form of demonstrating to them with figures and other fact how g rave the situation is for AT&D such that it has to move with speed to evade a possible bankruptcy or a similar eventuality within a very short time, which in Muller’

Argumentative Essay Essay Example for Free

Argumentative Essay Essay In America there are so many people who live without healthcare. President Obama has tried hard to change that known fact by introducing and passing his new Obama Care Act. It is very important for people to have proper healthcare coverage, medical care, affordable medications, and for all healthcare services to be available to everyone, whether they are poor, middle class or rich. For most Americans, high quality care generally is readily accessible without long waits but at high cost. However, the uninsured and, increasingly, the underinsured, the poor, and members of underserved minorities often have poor access to health care and poor health outcomes. The health workforce is well trained, yet the United States faces a severe shortage of primary care physicians. Approximately 45% of the U.S. population has a chronic medical condition, and about 60 million people, half of these, have multiple chronic conditions; the CDC estimated these numbers during a recent survey. 2 Most Americans 250 million (84.2%) have some form of health insurance coverage. But an estimated 47 million Americans (15.8%) were uninsured for a year, as reported for 2006 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 43.6 million people (14.8%) of all ages were uninsured at the time of the National Health Expenditure Survey interview in 2006. However, as many as 89.5 million people under the age of 65 years lacked health insurance for a least 1 month or more during 2006-2007, according to a study by Lewin and associates published by Families USA. In addition, another 16 million people can be  considered underinsured. People without health insurance are much less likely than those with insurance to receive recommended preventive services and medications, are less likely to have access to regular care by a personal physician, and are less able to obtain needed health care services. Consequently, the uninsured are more likely to succumb to preventable illnesses, more likely to suffer complications from those illnesses, and more likely to die prematurely. The U.S. health care system has much potential for improvement. Disparities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status has pervaded the U.S. health care system. In addition to the large numbers of Americans who lack adequate health insurance, the cost, quality, and utilization of health care services vary widely. Meanwhile, the need for long term care services and care coordination is increasing. Preventive care, cross discipline coordination, and proactive management of long term care might reduce the cost of care, but these services often are uncovered or poorly reimbursed. 3 Spending on health care in the United States has been rising at a faster pace than spending in the rest of the economy since the 1960’s. According to the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services- National Health Statistics Group states that in 2005, national health care spending amounted to approximately $2.0 trillion, or $6697 per person and 16% of the gross domestic product. By 2015, health care spending is expected to reach $4.0 trillion. People with large medical care cost are often chronically ill, disabled, or poor. Our society’s inability to provide continuous, coherent patient centered care for this group of individuals is one cause of the high aggregate cost of health care and contributes to the cost of public insurance programs. Patients who enter Medicare without previous insurance but with chronic illness will be sicker and more disabled and therefore more costly to that government program. Health insurance premiums increased drastically since the year 2005. Many have been unable to even afford health coverage. Employer based health insurance has been the basis for paying for health services since 1940, but  it is fast eroding under the pressure of relentlessly rising costs of care. Despite the growing need for coordination of health care services, government and private insures pay for health care services primarily on a episodic, visit related basis with few, if any, incentives for providing comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous care for the prevention and management of chronic illness. Primary care physicians now spend about 20% of their time in unreimbursed coordination of care tasks using the telephone or e-mail. Despite repeated attempts to rein in federal expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid, federal have continued to increase much faster than inflation in the entire economy. 4 The Medicaid program provides medical benefits to over 52 million people who meet categorical eligibility standards. The federal government and the state share responsibility for funding Medicaid. The success of the VA system in dramatically restructuring itself indicates that major gains can be achieved in the United States in improving health care access and quality while reducing costs. One response to rising health care costs has been the adoption of consumer directed health plans in which the individual takes greater responsibility for paying for care out of pocket rather than the employer or government. Unfortunately, for those with modest incomes, cost sharing has reduced medically necessary care, such as taking medicines for hypertension. The United States is in such a crisis when it comes to the health care system, yet is very important to see that every one of its citizens is afforded health coverage. People are sickly in this nation, like it is in other countries. The United States is in the midst of a primary health care workforce crisis that is expected to worsen in the next decade. The population is aging, and baby boomers are at a high, and a large amount of people will soon be over 65 years and at greater risk for needing care for chronic conditions. The United States should continue to work on having national policies introduced to the health care system to help guide training, supply, and the distribution of health care providers to better assist those in need of health coverage. It is very important to make this a reality, because we the  people of the United States need to be able to receive medical care, and health coverage, no matter if we are rich or poor in this society.

Eating Misconceptions in America Essay Example for Free

Eating Misconceptions in America Essay The eating habits of Americans have been changing throughout the years of history. It could be noted that as the state of life increases in terms of wealth and a more stable economy, there are those people who are much encouraged to take in ready-to-eat mixture of preserved foods, some are even more interested in eating junk foods particularly because of the fact that there are numerous kinds of junk foods as well as processed food available in the market for such type of people. Why do they do this? Because of primarily the time that they might consume in preparing â€Å"much-healthier† foods in comparison with the time that they would spend in grabbing a bite of the junks. Since their stomach requires them to fill it with something when they hungry, they preempt that the food they take in counts no matter what kind the food they eat are. Most likely, the aim of eating for them is to simply give in to the craving of their stomach. How is this particular claim proven through statistical studies? The following paragraph shall show the necessary informations collected by the researcher of this particular paper. Methodology The researcher of this paper decided to deal with the situation in a much more actual way of collecting the needed data for the intended study. To be able to do so, the said researcher aimed to pass a random survey-interview among several students in a college campus. With the questions â€Å"What types of foods cause weight gain? † and â€Å"What types of foods help you lose weight? †, the researcher tried to get the opinion of the students and base the study on their answers as to how they view the food that they take in everyday.

Reducing UK Deficit through Hyperinflation

Reducing UK Deficit through Hyperinflation The unprecedented UK budget deficits have drawn sufficient attention to the issue of the ability of the government to finance these deficits continuously by borrowing ever-increasing amounts from domestic and foreign residents by issuing government bonds. What might be particularly worrisome is that, since the 1980s, the UK government has been issuing debt (borrowing) in the current time period to pay back the principal and interest due on the debt it issued in previous periods. In other words, it has been simply ‘rolling over increasingly large chunks of government bonds. Adding to this concern is the belief intrinsic to most individuals that there is something inherently wrong with deficits and that, eventually, they would have to be reduced to zero. Introduction â€Å"Balancing the budget is like going to heaven: everybody wants to balance the budget, but nobody wants to do what you have to do to balance the budget† Senator Phil Gramm (R Tex.), 1990. Throughout the ages, national economies have experienced repeated fluctuations about trend in output, employment, prices, and interest rates, known as business cycles. Many explanations have been offered for these fluctuations in economic activity. They range from sudden supply-side disturbances, or shocks, caused by changes in technology or adverse weather conditions, to unanticipated changes in the money supply. Early business cycle theories assumed that the fluctuations in output and prices about trend were caused by the internal dynamics of a market economy. Sustained economic growth was thought to place severe strains upon the economy. For example, after a prolonged economic recovery, the continually increasing aggregate demand might cause wages and input costs to rise faster than selling prices. This, according to the early theories, would lead to a cutback in business investment and employment as firms, particularly those that had overinvested earlier, started to experience shrinking profits. This link between real and nominal variables, coming in the wake of a sustained period of recovery, was thought to cause recessions. During the era of the gold standard and fixed exchange rates, it was widely believed that business cycles were transmitted across national boundaries by detrimental fiscal and monetary policies of countries that were trading partners. Most of the early theories were in the gold standard era, and hence financial factors such as bank panics, shortages of liquidity, and fluctuations in interest rates were thought to be primarily responsible for economic downturns. While economists are by no means unanimous in their analyses of business cycles, the trend today is towards a demand-side money-induced explanation of these cycles in economic activity (Lucas, pp. 7-8). Since 1980s in United Kingdom there has been a growing feeling amongst economists and policy makers that an increase in taxes in the future is ‘inevitable. Nervousness about the large bond-financed deficits compounded by doomsday predictions in the media has convinced workers that the tax cuts are temporary. This has stunted the outward shift of labor supply and labor demand. It remains to be seen if the present administration does keep taxes at the low levels of 1987 and 1988, or conveniently ignores election year promises and raises them. In this world of individuals with rational expectations, the results of the policies of any one administration are strongly contingent on the expectations of individuals regarding the continuation of these policies by succeeding administrations. Once again, we must remember that policy is not a one-shot deal, but a ‘rule or a sequence extending into the future and the past. Economists tend to view the aggregate effects of fiscal policy from one of three perspectives. To sharpen the distinctions among them, it is helpful to consider a deficit induced by a lump-sum tax cut today followed by a lump-sum tax increase in the future, holding the path of government purchases and marginal tax rates constant. Under the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis proposed by Barro, such a deficit will be fully offset by an increase in private saving, as taxpayers recognize that the tax is merely postponed, not canceled. The offsetting increase in private saving means that the deficit will have no effect on national saving, interest rates, exchange rates, future domestic production, or future national income. A second model, the small open economy view, suggests that budget deficits do reduce national saving but, at the same time, induce increased capital inflows from abroad that finance the entire reduction. As a result, domestic production does not decline and interest rate s do not rise, but future national income falls because of the added burden of servicing the increased foreign debt. A third model, which we call the conventional view, likewise holds that deficits reduce national saving but that this reduction is at least partly reflected in lower domestic investment. In this model, budget deficits partly crowd out private investment and partly increase borrowing from abroad; the combined effect reduces future national income and future domestic production. The reduction in domestic investment in this model is brought about by an increase in interest rates, thus establishing a connection between deficits and interest rates. Budget deficits are financed by issuing government bonds to domestic and foreign residents (borrowing) or by selling bonds to the central bank (monetizing the debt). The processes of government spending, taxes, and money creation are linked quite explicitly by the arithmetic of the intertemporal budget constraint. The most important sources of tax revenue for the government are income taxes, corporate taxes, and payroll taxes. As all these tax revenues are functions of the national income, they consequently decrease when GNP falls, or when the economy goes into recession. On the other hand, transfer payments such as unemployment benefits increase in recessions, thereby causing budget deficits to rise in periods of economic sluggishness, even in the absence of any change in fiscal policy. Because of this independence of the magnitude of the deficit to changes in policy, many economists feel that less attention should be paid to the actual deficit and more to what is known as the high-employment or the standardized-employment deficit (also full-employment deficit, structural deficit). This is a hypothetical construct that replaces both the actual government spending and tax revenues in the actual budget by estimates of what government spending and tax revenues would be, given current tax rates a nd spending provisions, if the economy were operating at full employment. A 6 per cent unemployment rate is assumed to be the full-employment mark in the UK. The high-employment deficit, therefore, is unaffected by the state of the economy, since it ignores the actual expenditures and tax revenues and instead focuses on what they would be at full employment. This measure of deficit changes only when specific policies change, and for this reason economists believe that it is a better indicator of fiscal policy than the actual deficit, as the aggregate business cycle effects have now been sifted out (Baumol and Blinder, pp. 288-290). The inflation-adjusted deficit is the actual deficit adjusted for the inflation component of the interest payments. When the UK government (or any borrower for that matter) pays interest on the government bonds outstanding in an inflationary environment, more dollars must be returned to the lender in recognition of the fact that inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the currency. These interest payments, made to restore the lenders purchasing power, exaggerate interest expenses and distort the government expenditure figures. To sift out this additional government expenditure due to inflation, we subtract the inflation premium from the interest paid on the national debt, thereby counting only the real interest payments, a technique which provides us with a more accurate measure of the deficits. Large budget deficits financed by money creation are widely believed to be the primary force sustaining prolonged high inflation processes. The relationship appears to be closer for hyperinflationary episodes, which are usually associated with the presence of massive budget deficits. Hyperinflation, understood in this paper as a process of accelerating inflation, in fact occurs because governments have unsustainably large budget deficits. Fiscal adjustment is a prerequisite for stopping hyperinflation. Suppose the economy is initially at a point like H, moving along the unstable path with accelerating inflation. The objective of the authorities is to move the economy to a stable stationary equilibrium such as A. This will require a reduction in the deficit to [d.sub.0]. However, this will not suffice to restore inflation stability since real money balances are below the steady state level (i.e., to the left of A); expansionary monetary policy is also needed. This can be achieved through an open market purchase of government bonds. Under rational expectations, the proper combination of fiscal and monetary policies will instantaneously stop hyperinflation (Grossman and Helpman, 1991). In this specific example, as proposed in Dornbusch (1986), expansionary monetary policy supports the fiscal effort. Indeed, an open market purchase of government bonds reduces the interest payments and the value of the total deficit. The government can thus take advantage of the higher demand for money to reduce the deficit. In this case, the reduction in the primary deficit would be smaller than would otherwise need to be. The once-and-for-all increase in the demand for money that results from a successful stabilization effort contributes to a permanent reduction in the deficit. The stabilization strategy just discussed is useful to explain the analytical implications of assuming partial adjustment in the money market and rational expectations vis-à  -vis instantaneous adjustment in the money market and adaptive expectations. The reduced-form dynamic equations are similar in both cases. However, as just shown, when the right policy combination is followed, hyperinflation can be controlled instantaneously in the former case, while it will at best be reduced through a gradual process in the latter. The rigidity in expectations creates a strong barrier to rapid reductions in inflation. There are useful insights regarding the role of tight fiscal policy in anti-inflation programs. First, it is apparent that small reductions in the deficit may not be sufficient to reduce permanently the rate of inflation. Second, it was also argued that there is not a one-to-one relation between deficits and inflation rates; while a given budget deficit might be associated with a stable rate of inflation under one set of initial conditions, it could also lead to an unstable path of prices under others. Finally, there is an interesting asymmetry emerging from this model. While small increases in the budget deficit can move the economy into unstable paths that can eventually result in large increases in inflation, stabilization of the rate of inflation (once the economy is moving along the unstable path) can require even larger contractions in the fiscal deficit. In particular, if the economy is in a sufficiently hyperinflationary state, the monetary authorities might find that the onl y feasible stabilizing alternative is the complete elimination of the use of inflationary finance. In this paper it is shown that under plausible assumptions regarding the adjustment of the money market it is possible to find conditions under which large money-financed deficits can lead to hyperinflation even when agents have perfect foresight. The basic analytical framework is similar to the one used in Sargent and Wallace (1973), Evans and Yarrow (1981), Bruno and Fischer (1986), Dornbusch and Fischer (1986), and Buiter (1987). It assumes that budget deficits are entirely financed through seigniorage, a Cagan-type demand for money function and rational expectations (which in the present model, given the absence of uncertainty, is equivalent to perfect foresight). The main difference is that in the present model the money market does not clear instantaneously. Literature review The adjusted deficit values, therefore, assist us in putting the deficits in perspective and enable us to attribute changes in deficits to specific policy regimes. Another important form of measurement of the budget deficit is the primary deficit. The total budget deficit can be divided into two components: the primary or non-interest deficit, and the interest payments on the public debt, that is Total deficit = primary deficit + interest payments The primary deficit therefore represents all government outlays, except interest payments, less all government revenue. This definition will have huge significance when we discuss the role of the interest payments on outstanding government bonds. The overall budget might be in deficit even if the primary deficit is in surplus (or when we have a primary surplus). This is because in every time period the government makes a significant amount of interest payments on past debt. After mandatory spending, interest payments constitute the second largest chunk of UK government expenditures. Thus we can see that the overall budget will be in deficit unless the interest payments on the existing debt are more than matched by a primary surplus (Dornbusch and Fischer, pp. 581-583). According to Dornbusch and Fischer, this forms the core of the mechanics of deficit financing (p. 597). They write: ‘If there is a primary deficit in the budget, then the total budget deficit will keep growing as the debt grows because of the deficit, and interest payments rise because the debt is growing. As in Diamond (1965), a deficit is created by the government once and for all increasing its debt by reducing taxes on personal incomes. This is equivalent to the government transferring new bonds to the households. The traditional assumption has been that in subsequent periods taxes on personal incomes are raised in order to pay the interest on this additional debt. Instead, in the present paper I consider the case in which it is the future taxes on corporations that are raised. In the present model we find that, because taxes on personal incomes are discounted at a higher rate than the interest on government debt, deficits financed by raising future taxes on personal incomes increase wealth and aggregate expenditure, causing a current account deficit. This is the general view about the effects of deficits in finite horizon models. We, however, find that unanticipated deficits financed by raising future taxes on corporate incomes are neutral. This result arises because corporations, unlike households, are infinitely lived, and therefore taxes on corporations are discounted at the same rate as the interest on government debt. Thus, when the government incurs a deficit by transferring new bonds to the households, and it announces that it is going to raise taxes on corporations to pay the interest on these new bonds, the value of shares in corporations falls by the same amount as the value of new bonds that are issued, leaving wealth and aggregate expenditure unchanged. A correction of the fiscal imbalance has been crucial for stopping hyperinflation. This factor is well documented in the works of Yeager (1981), Sargent and Wallace (1973), and Webb (1986) on the hyperinflation episodes in the central European countries and United Kingdom on the episodes of recessions. Substantial reductions in the budget deficit, monetary reform, and a fixed exchange rate were crucial for the successful stabilization policies in those countries. Indeed, fiscal restraint, which in most cases meant outright elimination of the budget deficit, was probably the most important of these policy measures. One distinctive feature of hyperinflationary episodes is that the rate of inflation accelerates over time, thus suggesting that these processes are inherently unstable. Cagans seminal work on this issue provides an alternative interpretation. In Cagans view hyperinflationary episodes could only be unstable if they were â€Å"self-generating,† and he considered that although â€Å"there is no reason why (self-generating inflations) could not occur; so far they have just not been observed† (p. 73). However, Cagans stability analysis only considers the case in which the money process was exogenous. If one extends Cagans seminal paper through the introduction of money-financed budget deficits and rational expectations, and then analyzes the dynamic properties of the system, as was recently done by Evans and Yarrow (1981), Kiguel (1986), and Buiter (1987), the results are astonishing. Large money-financed budget deficits could be the source of instability; however, they could only lead to hyperdeflation. These deficits can never be the source of hyperinflation. The presence of large budget deficits in a perfect foresight framework has a surprising effect on the dynamic behavior of inflation. Auernheimer (1976), Evans and Yarrow (1981), and Kiguel (1986) showed that in order to obtain a hyperinflationary process one needs to assume adaptive expectations. In other words, in Cagans framework, large budget deficits could result in hyperinflation only when agents make systematic mistakes in forecasting the rate of inflation. It has been recognized for some time that it is very difficult to justify the use of adaptive expectations in macroeconomic models. Economic agents eventually learn the process that generates inflation, and they will use that information in the formation of their forecasts on inflation. As a result, it is difficult to accept that large budget deficits would lead to accelerating inflation only in the presence of systematic mistakes. The effect of anticipated deficits financed by taxing corporate incomes is the exact opposite of the conventional view about anticipated deficits in finite horizon models. If the government announces that at some future date it will incur a deficit by issuing new bonds to the households, and that corporate income taxes are going to be raised in the periods after that in order to pay the interest on this debt, then at the time the policy is announced aggregate wealth will fall, for the following reason. As taxes on corporations are discounted at the same rate as the interest on government debt, the present value of the taxes is equal to the value of the bonds transferred to the households as of the time that the policy is carried out. However, when the policy is announced households are not sure that they will survive to collect the transfer of bonds. Thus, they discount these transfers at a higher rate than the market rate of interest. On the other hand, as corporations are infinitel y lived, the valuation of shares in corporation is such that taxes will be discounted at the market rate of interest. This then means that at the time the policy is announced aggregate wealth and expenditure will fall, causing a current account surplus. This result is the opposite of the conventional view about the effects of anticipated deficits in finite horizon models, as emphasized by, for example, Feldstein (1983), and Frenkel and Razin (1986). Finally, the fact that taxes on corporations in UK are discounted at a lower rate than taxes on personal incomes means that a revenue neutral tax reform involving a shift in taxes from personal incomes to corporate incomes will result in a loss of wealth and a fall in aggregate expenditure, causing a current account surplus. Much of the literature on monetary unions has concentrated on their effects on trade and hence on the effects on the efficiency with which factors of production are used. Rose (2000) shows, in a multi-country panel study, that there may be significant effects on trade from membership of a monetary union. Whilst Honahan (2001) does not dispute the potential for benefits, he points out that much of the weight in Roses results comes from small countries leaving (or sometimes joining) colonial and post-colonial monetary unions. These decisions were often associated with a bundle of changes in relation to partner countries that themselves had a major impact on trade. Given that there are likely to be reasonably large gains in the scale of trade from joining a monetary union, there are also likely to be significant increases in the level of output. Grossman and Helpman (1991) argue that there is a strong link between openness and growth and much of the evidence is surveyed in Pain (2002). These gains come from the arrival of new technologies, increases in specialization by comparative advantage and the reaping of economies of scale within industries that have become more specialized. In addition, a monetary union reduces the barriers to trade even within a common customs area by reducing transactions costs, and this is likely to have a major impact on the level of output that can be produced with a given level of inputs. Given the theoretical importance of the output gap, it is unfortunate that its measurement is so problematic. This will always be the case however when we are trying to separate out ‘high frequency events such as the business cycle from ‘low frequency events or persistent phenomena such as the trend in potential output. As Watson (1986) points out, a time series of 30 years could contain a significant number of examples of cycles of periods of less than 5 years, yet only a few examples of cycles of 10 years or more. Therefore we have more information in a finite sample on the shorter cycles, and correspondingly less information on longer cycles and the permanent shocks (which can be regarded as infinitely long cycles). Techniques for trend extraction have to address this problem directly, and filters for trend extraction are designed to remove specific frequencies and, in particular, cycles from the data under consideration. The central point of Feldstein (1986) article is to present empirical evidence in support of the view that budget deficits cause a currency to appreciate. He regresses the real exchange rate between the U.S. and UK on a measure of the budget deficit in the United Kingdom and a set of other variables. For the period 1973 to 1984 (twelve annual observations), he finds that the estimated effects on the real exchange rate are strong and robust to the inclusion or exclusion of other variables. Branson and Love (1988), on the other hand, outline a theory that assumes that the movements in the nominal exchange rate cause movements in the real exchange rate. These, in turn, cause movements in the supply of (tradable and non-tradable) output and employment and, hence, the trade balance. Their empirical results indicate that appreciation of dollar over the period caused a large unemployment loss in manufacturing. Barth et al. (1990) note that the choice for measuring of the deficit affects the nature of the linkage between deficits and interest rates. Specifically, studies that use cyclically adjusted deficits or federal debt instead of federal deficits are more likely to find a significant relation between the fiscal variable and interest rates. Recent evidence reported by Barth et al. conforms with these observations. Barth et al. (1990) also conclude that low frequency data (annual versus quarterly or monthly) and long-term interest rates (instead of short-term rates) are more likely to produce a significant relation between deficits and interest rates. However, recent studies do not support these generalizations. The summary shows that many studies that use quarterly data yield a significant relation between deficits and interest rates (e.g., Bruno and Fischer, 1986; Dornbusch and Fischer, 1986; Buiter, 1987). Moreover, several of the studies surveyed (e.g., Honahan, 2001; Rose, 2000) find a significant relation for short-term interest rates. Barth et al. (1990) note that expected deficits play a greater role than contemporaneous deficits for long-term rates. One should note that results of all such studies are sensitive to the measurement of expected deficits. Frenkel and Razin (1986) find that announcement effects of the unanticipated deficit on interest rates are positive and about the same throughout the yield curve. Both rational expectations studies (Bruno and Fischer, 1986; Dornbusch, 1986) find positive relations, one for long-term rates and one for short-term. Finally, Feldstein (1983) and Dornbusch and Fischer (1986) find a positive relation between 10-year rates and projected cyclically adjusted deficit as a percent of GNP. Therefore, this relation apparently does exist for long-term rates, but concluding the same for short-term rates would be premature. Discussion The politics of tax cuts are not necessarily straightforward. Since the UK Budget of March 1993, discretionary tax increases have added about [pounds] 18 billion to expected tax revenue in 1996/97. It might therefore appear odd to the electorate for there to be a remittance of [pounds] 5 billion of these tax revenues as an election approaches. However, a reasonable defense of this might be that the fiscal position has turned out to be better than originally forecast. When the first tranche of tax increases was announced in the March 1993 Budget it was expected that even with the additional revenue the PSBR to GDP ratio in 1996/97 would be 4 1/2 per cent of GDP. The additional fiscal changes announced in the November 1993 Budget contributed to a reduction in the forecast deficit to 2 3/4 per cent of GDP. Now, with no further tax changes the Treasury is forecasting that the deficit will be 2 per cent of GDP, substantially lower than they first thought it would be. In terms of the economics of the UK Budget judgment, the slowdown in economic activity that appears to be occurring, especially the very weak state of domestic demand would appear to allow some relaxation of the fiscal stance. In addition, our projections suggest that even after allowing for tax cuts the general government financial deficit will fall below the 3 per cent reference level for the European Union excessive deficits procedure. The main difficulty with the tax cuts is that they retard the progress that the government has made in reducing its borrowing towards the level that would be permitted by the so-called ‘golden rule that the government borrow no more than is necessary to finance investment. This may be seen either in balance sheet terms or by examining borrowing in relation to investment expenditure. The consequence of the deterioration in the public sectors balance sheet is that this years taxpayers are leaving more liabilities and fewer assets to next years taxpayers than they started with. This suggests that the future services provided by public sector capital will be lower and debt interest higher than they would otherwise have been. This means that future taxes need to be higher in order to pay for the extra debt interest. This situation can be prevented by the government following the golden rule that borrowing be no more than is necessary to finance capital investment. Deficits have to be financed either by issuing debt or by creating base money. Sargent and Wallace (1973) have argued that persistent budget deficits will eventually result either in monetization of the outstanding stock of debt, thus depriving the monetary authorities of their autonomy in setting policy targets, or in a repudiation of at least part of the debt. Hence lack of fiscal discipline could undermine the independence of a newly created European Central Bank, which might come under potential pressure to loosen its policy stance if some member states had serious budgetary problems. Its credibility could be affected if agents thought that a softer stance would become inevitable to alleviate the financial difficulties of highly indebted countries running large deficits. One of the consequences would be an increase in interest rates reflecting a revision in expectations incorporating higher future inflation rates. Fiscal discipline would still be a major concern even if the UK monetary authorities remained steadfast in their anti-inflationary commitment, because those states with unsustainable fiscal positions might have to pull out, whose irreversibility would then be questioned. As a result, markets could take a different view of the degree of substitutability of the assets issued by the different countries. Furthermore, other externalities would be at work, in the form of pressure on other member states to come to the rescue of those with unsustainable debt/deficit paths. Another possibility is that conflicts would arise ‘on issues related to the distribution of (seigniorage) among member countries (Pain, 2002). Other consequences for the country as a whole of the lack of fiscal discipline would be a general rise in interest rates and an external deficit for Europe vis-à  -vis the rest of the world, with adverse effects on the ECU exchange rate. As to the introduction of binding fis cal constraints, the argument is often put forward in the literature that they may appear to improve welfare, but only if the existence of a trade-off between fiscal and monetary policy is ignored (Pain, 2002). Development of a government bond market provides a number of important benefits if the prerequisites to a sound development are in place. At the macroeconomic policy level, the UK government securities market provides an avenue for domestic funding of budget deficits other than that provided by the central bank and, thereby, can reduce the need for direct and potentially damaging monetary financing of government deficits and avoid a build-up of foreign currency denominated debt. A government securities market can also strengthen the transmission and implementation of monetary policy, including the achievement of monetary targets or inflation objectives, and can enable the use of market-based indirect monetary policy instruments. The existence of such a market not only can enable authorities to smooth consumption and investment expenditures in response to shocks, but if coupled with sound debt management, can also help governments reduce their exposure to interest rate, currency, and other financial risks. Finally, a shift toward market-oriented funding of government budget deficits will reduce debt-service costs over the medium to long term through development of a deep and liquid market for government securities. At the microeconomic level, development of a domestic securities market can increase overall financial stability and improve financial intermediation through greater competition and development of related financial infrastructure, products, and services. The creation of a monetary union will inevitably affect the setting of fiscal policy. Even if only monetary policy becomes the responsibility of the new institutions, with fiscal policy remaining in the domain of national government, the fact that they will no longer be able to monetize debt has implications for policy choices. Fiscal policy may play a more important role as a stabilization tool. In the standard Mundell-Fleming framework, in which sticky prices are assumed (Frankel and Razin, 1987) fiscal policy is most effective when exchange rates are fixed and there are free capital movements, conditions which has to be fulfilled by the UK government. Because in a fixed rate system a fiscal expansion does not lead to a rise in interest rates and to an appreciation of the exchange rate, some countries might resort more frequently to fiscal measures to respond to shocks, especially if they are country-specific. Such budgetary policies could result in a looser overall fiscal stance, especially if the fiscal authorities failed to distinguish between temporary and permanent shocks. It is often claimed that fiscal policy is the appropriate policy resp

transport management :: essays research papers

Transport management is now far more sophisticated than it was a decade ago. Transport activities generate a wide range of economic benefits. Between 2% and 4% of total OECD employment, for example, is derived from transport services, and an estimated 4-9% of GDP in the OECD area is attributable to spending by the users of transport (including expenditure on infrastructure). More than 10% of total household expenditure now goes to purchase transport services (OECD Publications/ECMT). The balance of international payments is also strongly influenced by trade in transport equipment. Enormous changes have taken place in the transport sector in recent years. The most marked is its unprecedented growth. Both stock variables (fleet size, kilometres of road and rail infrastructure, and so on) and flow variables (number of trips taken, volume of goods transported, and the like) have expanded rapidly. The world's automobile fleet, for example, doubled between 1970 and 1990, to stand today at approximately 500 million vehicles. These numbers are expected to double over the next 20-40 years, although at a slower rate in OECD countries than in the past. Substantial structural, changes have also taken place. For one thing, there has been a major shift in where transport growth is occurring. In 1950, 75% of all automobiles were located in the United States. Since then, the number outside the United States has grown by about 8% per year (Mackenzie Walsh 1990) with even more remarkable increases in some locations. In Athens, for example, car ownership burgeoned from 35,000 in 1964 to 650,000 in 1984, and is expected to be about 900,000 by this year (Glaoutzi Damianidias 1990). Most future growth in global vehicle stocks is projected to occur in the developing world, as the industrialized countries become increasingly saturated with vehicles, as the developing countries undergo urbanization and industrialization processes of their own, and as people there begin to realize their longstanding aspirations for more mobility. There has also been a significant shift in the shares of different modes of transport. In the past twenty years, the v olume of road freight traffic has doubled, while rail and waterway volumes have remained stable. In view of the rapidity of these changes, it is not surprising that transport problems are generating considerable political debate in most countries. The traditional approach used to be to step up the supply of services; increasingly, calls are being heard for policies that curtail demand. Whichever approach is preferred, much of the discussion centres on the so-called 'social costs' of transport.

Interpretation Alternatives of Shakespeares The Tempest Essay

Interpretation Alternatives of The Tempest      Ã‚   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.     In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A Buddhist's Shakespeare, James Howe draws attention to Prospero's epilogue saying, "In his epilogue this master, Shakespeare, has the character Prospero ask us, the audience, to confirm our collusion with both the master and his creature. Indeed the two relationships are reciprocal. We are asked to release Prospero from our "spell" by "prayer." Becoming white magicians, offering a supplication to God, we reenact the righteousness of Prospero's power, and thus confirm it. This confirmation, in turn, acknowledge's the power of Shakespeare's play to transform us into Prospero's image. We are not only to be consciously complicit in Prospero's character and action, but also to be fully aware of their author." (191) It seems to me that this final transformation in the audience is a very worthy goal to strive for in a production of this play. While being entertained by the magic and splendor of the production itself, I think it is possible for an audience to also be aware of the inherent ideals in the s... ...d truth in the story. While this would clearly be the most problematic interpretation of the script, perhaps it would also be the most effective by far for a modern audience which does not enjoy being preached at or having their truth force-fed to them in a boring, easily-understood, linear manner. Works Cited Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare, The Playwright Praeger Publishers. Westport CT. 1996 Charney, Maurice. "Bad" Shakespeare Associated Univeristy Press. London, England. 1996 Howe, James. A Buddhist's Shakespeare Associated University Press. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 1994 Hylton, Jeremy. Complete Works of WilliamShakespeare, Oct 4, 1999. Massachusetts Institute of Technology <http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html> Kathman, Dave. Dating The Tempest Personal site <http://www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/tempest.html>    Interpretation Alternatives of Shakespeare's The Tempest Essay Interpretation Alternatives of The Tempest      Ã‚   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.     In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A Buddhist's Shakespeare, James Howe draws attention to Prospero's epilogue saying, "In his epilogue this master, Shakespeare, has the character Prospero ask us, the audience, to confirm our collusion with both the master and his creature. Indeed the two relationships are reciprocal. We are asked to release Prospero from our "spell" by "prayer." Becoming white magicians, offering a supplication to God, we reenact the righteousness of Prospero's power, and thus confirm it. This confirmation, in turn, acknowledge's the power of Shakespeare's play to transform us into Prospero's image. We are not only to be consciously complicit in Prospero's character and action, but also to be fully aware of their author." (191) It seems to me that this final transformation in the audience is a very worthy goal to strive for in a production of this play. While being entertained by the magic and splendor of the production itself, I think it is possible for an audience to also be aware of the inherent ideals in the s... ...d truth in the story. While this would clearly be the most problematic interpretation of the script, perhaps it would also be the most effective by far for a modern audience which does not enjoy being preached at or having their truth force-fed to them in a boring, easily-understood, linear manner. Works Cited Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare, The Playwright Praeger Publishers. Westport CT. 1996 Charney, Maurice. "Bad" Shakespeare Associated Univeristy Press. London, England. 1996 Howe, James. A Buddhist's Shakespeare Associated University Press. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 1994 Hylton, Jeremy. Complete Works of WilliamShakespeare, Oct 4, 1999. Massachusetts Institute of Technology <http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html> Kathman, Dave. Dating The Tempest Personal site <http://www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/tempest.html>   

Charles Dickens Great Expectations as a Fairy Tale :: Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essays

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations as a Fairy Tale There are many ways in which Great Expectations resembles a fairy tale, such as the themes- poor people receiving riches, the moral reasons, - do good unto others and you shall be repaid. During Victorian times stories were used mainly for morals purposes. One of the main reasons why resembles a fairy tale is due to its characters Great Expectations has many characters that reflect the characteristics of those in fairy tales. Some of these fairy tale characteristics are found in Miss Havisham. In chapter eight, when Miss Havisham first appears, she seems to take on the aspect of a fairy godmother, but yet, she still seems to come across as a distorted figure. In chapter eleven, Pip tells how she placed her hand upon his shoulder, â€Å"†¦She looked like the witch of the place.† This shows Miss Havisham to be the wicked witch of the story. Chapter fifteen, in this chapter of the book we learn about the ‘morose journeyman’ and the sort of tales he told Pip. â€Å"†¦the devil lived in a black corner of the forge, and that he knew the fiend very well: also that it was necessary to make up the fire, once in seven years, with a live boy, and that I might consider myself fuel.† The horror stories Pip was told throughout his childhood are threaded into the texture of the novel through various images, and at this point in the book, Miss Havisham represents the witch, but she is also fulfilling the role of the fairy Godmother. Another witchlike character in the book is Mrs. Joe. Estella is another character ‘type’ that you would find in a fairy tale. She comes across as the princess of the story. When we first meet Estella she comes across as mean, and cold hearted which is due to being brought up by Miss Havisham. As we get further into the story we begin too fell sorry for Estella, as she has lived all her life with a ‘witch’. She now seems to be the doomed princess; however, in chapter 29, it seems as if Estella will no lunge be the doomed princess. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ in short, do all the shining deeds of the young Knight of romance, and marry the princess.† This chapter shows that Pip believes he can rescue Estella from Miss Havisham and live a happy life with her. Orlick and Magwitch represent the ogre type character that you would find in a fairy tale. In chapter fifteen we learn how Pip feels that Orlick dislikes him fro some unknown reason. â€Å"†¦Drew out a red-hot bar, made at me with it as

Racism: Black People and New York Times Essay

I think everybody has heard about segregation. We all know about how everybody used to say separate but equal is okay. I think that racism is still going on today, even though it isn’t as obvious. It’s a disease that a lot of people have, which we must find a cure for. It’s a little harder to cure than the common cold though, but I think that it’s just as bad as it used to be. The first example of racism is when they are going to the trial in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird when Scout, Jem, and Dill are going to the trial and trying to find a seat in the balcony it says, † . . . and steered us gently through the black people in the balcony. Four Negroes rose and gave us their front-row seats. † (Lee 164) This is a good example of racism because it shows that blacks had to stand if whites wanted to sit down. So it shows segregation. Another quote is, â€Å"The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom. Like a second veranda†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee 164) This says that there was still a lot of segregation because it was just a â€Å"colored balcony†. That’s the only place blacks were allowed to sit or they could stand in the back. One more quote that I have from the book that says racism was, and still is a problem is, â€Å"But around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black. † (Lee, 162) I really think that this is a strong quote, because I think that it’s true. If someone doesn’t like one group of people and then they find out that your slightly one of them. They automatically push you away. My reasoning for them doing this is because they are either scared or jealous of them. It also says that people don’t try to get to know people very well. Lots of people did and still do make judgements based on outward appearance. In this paragraph, I’m going to prove to you that racism still exists, just as bad as it did in the 1930’s. Even though there isn’t segregation anymore racism is still a problem. People are racist mainly against blacks. Like this article says, † . . . 88 black men have been executed for killing whites, while only two white men have been executed for killing blacks. † (New York Times, February 24, 1995. A Long History. Laws once gave penalties by race.) It shouldn’t matter what your skin color is depending on how severe your punishment is. Another article says, † . . . when blacks committed crimes against each other without involving whites, the legal consequences wee lower than when whites were harmed. † (New York Times, February 24, 1995. A Long History. Laws Once Gave Penalties by Race. ) This one shows that once whites were involved the crime suddenly got a lot worse than they were making it. I think that with some proof from the book that shows how it used to be. Then some proof of how it has been in the last few years, I think that anyone can clearly see that racism is just as bad as it used to be. My solution to the problem of racism is very hard to do. It is known as a disease, but this isn’t one we can take some medicine for and cure it. This is one we have to teach. Racism is not caught, but taught. We have to teach each other that it doesn’t matter what we look like on the outside, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts. How do we teach this? We can go to schools all around the country. Do a lot of different public speaking sessions. That is how I would cure racism. So in conclusion, I hope that I have convinced some of you that racism is just as bad as it was in the 1930’s. You can plainly see that Harper Lee, even as a little child could see that racism was going on. Then it was a little more obvious, but we still need to realize it. Just because racism is just as bad as it was before doesn’t mean that we can’t change that.