Marco Polo The Travels

Marco Polo The Travels Marco Polo is inarguably the most famous medieval European traveler, despite the heated controversy among modern scholars surrounding his adventurous travels. In The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo has clearly portrayed the character of the 13th century Asian society, which forms the basis of this paper. Various issues have been considered in the paper, such as the government organization and administration by Kublai Khan, the prosperity of the Asian society, their beliefs and last but not least, the values and possessions that people esteemed. At the age of only 17 years old, Marco Polo accompanied his father and uncle in a long and difficult journey from Venice his birth place, to Cathay, China. It was in this journey, started at the end of 1271, that Marco began his account of the escapades during the three and a half long difficult journey, and his account of the Mongols life. Marcos detailed description on the greatest moment when he first met the Great Khan, and the appointment of Marco to high posts in the Khans administration demonstrated Marcos gift in linguistics and languages. His amazement with Chinas vast power, immense wealth, and complex social structure made Marco to travel the more in China, becoming one of the most travelled Westerners on the Silk Road. His journey throughout Asia took 24 years, which made him to reach beyond Mongolia to China (Silkroad 10-14). The following analysis is based upon Polos information, and additional information obtained with reference to his writing. The government of the 13th century Asian Civilization provides an interesting reading, especially from the ruler, Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan was, as Polo describes him, the â€Å"the greater and more powerful than all others†, of the six khans that ruled the Mongol Empire. Being the last khan, a title given to a ruler in the Mongolian languages, Kublai ruled the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294, founding the Yuan Dynasty, which lasted until 1368. The Mongols, under the rule of Kublai, implemented divide-and-rule methods in a way that made the Mongols and the Asians to remain separate from Chinese life (Brummett et al 98). By dividing the Chinese population into the Mongols; the northern Chinese and Koreans; the southern Chinese; and the central Asians, it was possible to successfully rule the Mongol minority. While the Mongols and the central Asians enjoyed extensive privileges the southern Chinese were barred from state offices. The government was also reorganized by Kublai, and he established three distinct divisions to supervise the military, to deal with civilian affairs, and the third one to supervise the major officials (EWB 6-10). The prosperity of the Asian society during Marco Polos travels is revealed by many of Polos quotations concerning, for instance, the Greater Hermenia. Polo wrote that the Tartars of the Levant frequented the Armenian country every summer due to the outstanding pasture that was available in plenty for their cattle. The pastures were always abundant for the cattle, and according to Polo, the pastures were in large quantity, never failing the cattle. Also of unique significance is the oil fountain that Polo met on the boundaries towards Georgiana. The plenty oil that sprung from the fountain was in such a large quantity that as Polo put it, â€Å"a hundred shiploads might be taken from it at one time.† Although the oil is was not recommended to be used with food, it was needed for burning and was also used for anointing camels that had the mange. The oil was such a treasure that people came from great distances to obtain it (Armenia ch5). The beliefs of the Asian civilization are of utmost importance when understanding their character. There were various beliefs in the 13th century Asian society, and the existence of the different religious beliefs, for instance, was because of Kublai Khans religious tolerance. Moreover, Kublai supported Confucian rituals and rites at court, and also showed special act of kindness to Buddhism. His tolerance was further demonstrated by his decision not to alienate Daoist interests, as well as protecting Muslims and professing an interest in Christian beliefs (Polo 134). The monastery of St. Barsamo is a very important example in portraying part of the beliefs of the 13th century Asian society. The many monks who came to the monastery involved themselves in knitting girdles, which they placed on the altar of the monastery as the service continued. The monks have been likened to the â€Å"Brethren of the Holy Spirit† Polo, and he writes that they present the girdles to their friends and to other people, since the monks belief was that the girdles could remove bodily pain. Every monk, henceforth, just like the â€Å"Brethren† is religiously fervent to have them. Polos description of how the one-eyed man prayer caused the mountain to move is very significant in understanding the Christians and their behaviors, as they converted the Saracens after the miracle had been performed (Armenia, Ch12) Polos travels reveal various possessions that people esteemed. One of these was the manufactures promoted under the Mongols. The Mongols were good stewards at accumulating wealth, which they did through various ways, such as sacking of cities, promoting trade, and by taxation. A variety of objects were found in the tombs of the influential Mongolians, especially from the 13th and 14th centuries. These included items such as gold cups, leggings, robes. Of these commodities, hundreds of craftsmen were located into northern China, others located in the steppe regions north of the Yellow River. Marco Polo described them as â€Å"they live by commerce and industry†¦just as we have woolen clothes of many different types, so have they of cloth of gold and silk† (Waugh 34). Marco Polos narrative was of tremendous use in understanding the 13th Century Asian civilization. From all the discoveries that he made, and all the documented information regarding the behaviors, culture, and way of life of the Asian community, it was possible for one to not only understand the civilization, but also appreciate the lifestyle. There were numerous adventures in Marco Polos travels, which played an important role in understanding various elements of the character of the civilization. Marcos escapades were written with a simple, yet profound, easy to understand way, and his excellent skill of using an interactive language was very significant in relating with the society. Since most of the information provided in Polos narration was concerning his experiences and the Asians way of life, the narration was a very relevant source in understanding and characterizing the society. Works Cited Armenia. The Travels of Marco Polo 1: Chapter 3. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo_1:_Chapter _3 Brummett, Palmira Johnson., Edgar, Robert., Hackett, Neil J., Jewsbury, George., Taylor, Alastair M., Bailkey, Nels M., Wallbank, Thomas and Lewis, Clyde. Civilization past present. Longman, 1999. EWB. Kublai Khans administration â€Å"Encyclopedia of World Biographies†. 2007. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Kublai-Khan.html Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo .Cosimo, Inc. 2007. Silkroad. Marco Polo and His Travels. 2000. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml.

Romantic Love: An analysis of Andrew Sullivan?s Article :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people want to have a romantic love in their life; however, romance is such abstract feeling so that we do not know whether it exists or not. In many cases, we can find that romantic love do exist in varieties of movie, song, and even books. Therefore, some people do believe that romantic love exists, and they feel that romantic love does not seem to be abstract. For example, we can find in many movies that the main male character sees the main female character, and then all of a sudden, he realizes that she is the one he wants to be with for the rest of his life, and vice versa. We also can find the same scenes in numerous of songs and books. After all of these movies, songs, and books, we seem to be hypnotized; there is such thing as we called â€Å"romantic love.† In the American Heritage Dictionary, romantic is defined â€Å"expressive of or conducive to love.† However, what is love? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, love is de fined as deep affection and warm feeling for another. Besides this one, love also have another definition such as, the emotion of sex and romance; strong sexual desire for another person. The ideal romantic love—expressive of deep affection and warm feeling for another—is what we’ve been taught the true meaning of romantic love is. But according to the American Heritage Dictionary, romantic love can also mean the expressive of strong sexual desire for another person. It comes down to one question—Does the ideal romantic love really exist or not. According to Andrew Sullivan in the Love Bloat: Why Obsess Over Romance?, there is not such thing called romantic love as we idealized, and his opinion about romantic love is right; there is not such thing called romantic love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Love Bloat: Why Obsess Over Romance?, Sullivan says that the concept of romantic love is crock by any serious person before the 19th century. And Sullivan applies Shakespeare’s idea of love—it comes; it goes. If taken too seriously, it kills. Sullivan also gives some his idea of what relationships truly are, and which are useful economic bargains. Sullivan uses Rousseau as another support for his opinion about romantic love; Rousseau saw bourgeois love as a salve for the empty emotional center of restrained, law-bound societies. Rousseau wanted to substitute the passion of people for truth and honor and power with something just as absorbing but nowhere near as dangerous.

Media Bias Essay -- News Media Television Biased Opinion Essays

Media Bias Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One problem that plagues us everyday without us even realizing it is media bias. We see it in the news. We see it on our favorite sitcoms. We read it everyday in the paper. Yet, we really don't recognize it when we hear it or see it. Media bias is evident in every aspect of the media, yet the problem is that we don't even recognize it when it is right in front of our faces. Are the impressions that we form about individuals a product of the media? Do we form certain opinions about particular types of people based solely on the things we see and hear in the media everyday without even realizing it? The problem is not only that there is media bias present, but also that we can't recognize it when we see it. What is media bias? Media bias is the tendency for the media to represent different people in a particular way based on their own views, the views of their sponsors, and possibly the views of society. Media bias could be blatant, but usually it is subtle. It can be expressed in the content of television shows. It can be expressed in the choices of types of stories that they show on the news. It can be expressed in the language used on shows, and that is written in the newspaper and magazines. Media bias is any stereotype set forth by the media that portrays individuals to society in a certain way. Media bias doesn?t even have to be a negative portrayal, but more of an inaccurate portrayal of people that helps aid to the ignorance of individuals in society. In the following paper, I will give specific instances where media biases have occurred as well as show that it is a common occurrence that we may not realize. I will also show you why individuals believe that media bias is not a problem because if you can?t blatantly recognize it, how can it be there. I will also show how stereotypes set forth by the media sometimes mirror stereotypes that are set forth by society, and they only exist to help form the belief and value system of society. I will also offer possible solutions to such problems. Media bias is a large problem, in that its? existence is not blatant nor is it one that many people feel threatened by. Examples of Media Bias   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we need to examine the cases where this is present. Less obvious stereotypes are those of women. Women?s roles in society have changed throughout the times. Are the... ... making it a requirement that so many community based programs or positive things are shown on the news each segment. The elimination of media bias is pretty much impossible due to the fact that large corporations head the media, and the heads of most large corporations are white men, but by the implementation of certain strategies it would be a move in the right direction. Media bias is a problem, though it may not be blatant, it is serious because it could be helping to form people?s beliefs about others. People are scared of the unknown, and by giving them a certain portrayal of someone they have had no interaction with; it can have detrimental effects. Who knows actually what impact media bias has had on the nation as a whole. How do we know whether or not media bias has made an individual not get or even lose a job? How do we know how many friendships media bias has stopped from even being initiated? Hopefully one day we will be able to recognize what media bias is, only then will we be able to begin the process of fighting to put an end to it. Only then will we be able to create a fair, unbias ed media that is diverse and one that encompasses the ideas of an ideal media.

The divisions within Northern Ireland society have as much to do with class as religion or nationality

The history of Northern Ireland, a state created in 1921, has not been a peaceful one, and the study of the country has been as turbulent – it could be said that there is a ‘meta-conflict'; a conflict about the conflict. The causes of these troubles are varied, and it is far too simplistic to reduce it to just a religious one – although the Protestant faith is now synonymous with unionism, and Catholicism with nationalism, there are in fact many reasons for the divisions within the society. The conflict has become one of national identity, class and political and economic equality, as well as, some have argued, culture. These are all endogenous, i. e. internal, explanations for the fractious nature of Northern Irish life in recent decades, but others have placed the blame on external – exogenous – sources, claiming the behaviour of Great Britain or Ireland (or both) are responsible for the current situation. The roots of these divisions are buried under centuries of conflict, betrayal and mistrust, and, whilst religion played an important part, it was part of a wider economic and political battle. It is important to take these into account, but one of the problems facing Northern Ireland is the sheer amount of unresolved history that underlies every movement and decision. This essay will therefore take the recent ‘Troubles' as its main focus; that is, the causes and effects of the collapse of the Stormont assembly on 24th March 1972 and the imposition of Direct Rule by Westminster, ending in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. Whilst this tentative agreement has by no means brought a complete halt to the violence and divisions in Northern Ireland, there was considerable hope, that has not yet proved to have been completely unfounded, that it would signify the beginning of the end. Northern Ireland had the second highest church attendance in Western Europe after the Republic of Ireland, with 95% of Catholics and 45% of Protestants attending church on a weekly basis in 1969 and there can be no denying the fact that the divisions within Northern Irish society have been given religious labels – on a superficial level at least it is a battle between Catholics and Protestants. If this is so, then it is not unreasonable question to ask just which of the two is principally at fault. Patrick Buckland is just one who feels that it is the Protestant community who see the conflict in religious terms, claiming â€Å"For Catholics the problem was largely political; for Protestants largely religious†. They feared the resources and the power of the Roman Catholic church, with 69% of Belfast Protestants in 1994 believing the Church had a ‘significant, ‘powerful' or ‘too powerful' influence in the government of the Republic of Ireland. This fear of the Catholic hegemony, that would swamp and overrun their own way of life and form of worship, helps explain their hostility towards the minority in the North. As an ethnic group, they are defined by their religion, which inevitably shapes their communities, their politics and their outlook. It could even be claimed that they fall back on their faith because they have no national identity of their own. Four features of unionist politics during the period 1972-1998 were clearly influenced by religion. The refusal to reach any significant accommodation with the Catholic minority, the steadfast rejection of any contemplation of an united Ireland, the desire to maintain the Union to preserve the Protestant way of life and the support for the evangelical Democratic Unionist Party were all bound up with Protestantism – the last point echoed in Steve Bruce's claim that â€Å"the Northern Ireland conflict is a religious conflict [because]†¦ that is the only conclusion that makes sense of Ian Paisley's career†. Finally, the anthropologist Don Akenson claims that the conflict stemmed from the Ulster Protestants' belief that they are God's ‘chosen people', and this explains their sense of superiority, their ability to discriminate against their Catholic population without qualms and their determination to retain the autonomy of the Six Counties, their ‘promised land'. However, it is also possible, as many Unionists have done, to blame the divisions on the Catholic religion. Many extreme loyalists claimed that nationalism is nothing by the tool of the Vatican in an attempt to ‘turn back the tide' of Protestantism. Whilst this view is perhaps a little extreme, they pointed to the ‘religious genocide' that took place in the South between 1941 and 1971, when the Protestant proportion of the population fell from 10% to 4. 1%, the legal enforcement of Catholic morality that caused the Protestant emigration to the North and the Papal law ensuring that the offspring of ‘mixed' relationships were raised as Catholics. Unionists also argued that it was the Catholic hierarchy that consolidated the divide by teaching a Catholic, southern Irish national identity within their schools, that it was their refusal to accept the legitimacy of the Union and its security forces that led to the downfall of the first Stormont Assembly. They were also incensed by the Church's refusal to excommunicate members of the IRA, as they did during the Civil War between 1922-3, and their willingness to bury IRA dead and hunger strikers in consecrated ground. This, coupled with the discovery of IRA weapons on church land, led to the belief, in Unionist circles at least, that the Church played an active role in the conflict. It was this strident and violent Catholic nationalism that linked Protestantism to unionism – after all, there were a small number of Catholic unionists, which is not to be expected if Protestantism and unionism had been one and the same from the very beginning. Despite all this, it must be remembered that the conflict was not a theological one, and that religion alone cannot explain the divisions within society. Although Northern Ireland still does have one of the highest church attendance figures outside the Republic, in line with the increasingly secularisation of the rest of the UK and Europe, numbers fell (just 29% of Protestants and 67% of Catholics went to church weekly in 1998) as the conflict developed, intensified and continued. The period 1972 and 1998, saw Northern Ireland become an increasingly secularised state – between 1981 and 1987 the divorce rate increased at the same rate as Great Britain's and the number of births outside marriage doubled – yet the divisions continue. If the conflict was the result of purely religious reasons, it would be expected that there would have been a correlation between areas most afflicted by the Troubles and the degree of religious intensity of the inhabitants, but this simply was not the case – the most devout communities were to be found in the countryside, but the vast majority of the violence was carried out in the cities, which recorded much lower church attendance figures – in 1992 it was estimated in one Belfast Catholic parish just 38% of the population attended mass on a weekly basis. The same should have been true for the paramilitaries, that those most committed to the cause would also have been the most devout, but there is considerable evidence that many only turned to religion after incarceration; most famously, many of the hunger strikers led by Bobby Sands in 1981 had converted to Catholicism once in jail. There has also been a careful avoidance by the main political parties in the province to avoid religious labels – the DUP was formerly the Protestant Unionist Party, but swiftly changed its name to the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971 – preferring terms such as ‘social democratic', ‘unionist', ‘nationalist' and so on, and they pursue political and economic – not religious – policies. It should also be pointed out that even if they did have religious labels, it would not have necessarily meant that the conflict was a religious one – numerous European political parties, the German CDU being just one example, proudly possess a religious name. Between 1969 and 1994, only one Protestant cleric was killed, and he, the Reverend Robert Bradford, was a hardline, outspoken UUP MP, and both sides, to a greater extent, respected the sanctity of churches and churchmen. An important point in this issues is that there is, in fact, nothing intrinsically religious about Catholics taking up arms in the late 1960s/early 1970s against a perceived aggressor or oppressor. This was not a ‘holy war', not a crusade, but a fight against the inequalities and discrimination they faced. Nor was the Protestant discrimination of Catholics inherently religious – Catholics were treated unjustly because they were seen as disloyal to the state, not because of their rosaries and belief in transubstantiation. The question of whether the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles' were prompted by the religious tensions is best summed up by John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary when they said â€Å"There is no need to invent ingenious religious agendas to account for militant republican paramilitarism† and the same is true for the loyalists. There are a number of other, more fundamental and realistic issues that explain the divisions within the province. There were clear class divisions within Northern Irish society throughout the twentieth century that could be said to have had an effect on the development of the Troubles. Stated crudely, there a disproportionate of the middle classes were Protestant, whilst Catholics were much more likely to make up the working classes. In 1971, 69% of Catholics were manual workers, in comparison to 59% of Protestant, and throughout the period the number of unskilled Catholic workers rose, whilst Protestant figures fell. Thus the Northern Irish conflict could be seen in terms of a Marxist struggle – one where the mainly Protestant elites were attempting to maintain the status quo against the demands of the Catholic working class. However, this would be to oversimplify the problem, and overlooks the not insubstantial Catholic middle class and ignores the significant influence the Protestant working class were able to exert on the Unionist leadership. If it had been an issue of class, then it would not be unreasonable to expect that political parties would have organised along class lines, but this was not necessarily the case. Whilst the UUP was heavily dependent on the support of the Protestant working class, this was not at the expense of middle class votes. The differences between the DUP and the UUP were not class-based, but simply political, although it could be said the SDLP attracted more middle-class nationalist support than Sinn Fiin before 1998. It might also have been expected that the small Catholic middle class would have been more unionist in character, if it had merely been a class struggle. Therefore to perceive the divisions in society as being along class lines is misleading, but there is a case for looking at the economic inequalities between the two communities, and the effect that they had on the formation and character of the conflict. In 1989, the Northern Ireland Office Minister Richard Needham said â€Å"If work can be found for 10,000 unemployed boys in West Belfast †¦ that in itself will do more to impact on the political and security areas than anything else. In all societies, political stability is linked to economic prosperity, and the fact that, for most of the period 1972 to 1998 the Northern Irish economy consistently underperformed economically in comparison to the mainland. At times in the 1970s, unemployment reached levels as high as 12%, whilst Great Britain had enjoyed full employment. Key staple industries, such as textiles, ship- and airplane building suffered from fierce overseas competition and by the 1970s were in near-terminal decline. Political extremism, and, by extension, paramilitarism was always more prevalent amongst the disadvantaged on both sides of the religious divide rather than the more affluent; a considerable proportion of the violence emanates from deprived Catholic and Protestant ghettos. Therefore there is some truth in Needham's statement – if Northern Ireland's economy had been stronger, then perhaps the more violent nature of the conflict could have been contained. A very important economic issue was that of discrimination. In 1971, 17. 3% of Catholic men were unemployed, in contrast to just 6. 6% of Protestants. Twenty years later, the figures were 21. 3% and 9. 6% respectively. For those Catholics in work, they could expect to be paid considerably less than their Protestant counterparts. Direct and indirect discrimination against Catholics were inherent in the economic inequalities they faced. Thus the roots of the conflict can be seen in Catholic demands for an improvement in their economic situation, but attempts, especially under the leadership of Terence O'Neill, to address these discrepancies had an important consequence: the Protestants became increasingly more determined to protect their economic privileges. They began to complain of what Birrell called ‘reverse relative deprivation', that is, during the 1970s Protestants began to feel relatively deprived as the gap between them and Catholics began to close, which led to an increased resistance to anti-discrimination policies, which in turn fuelled Catholic discontent. By the 1990s, the violence of loyalist paramilitaries were being attributed to the perception that Catholics were now doing better than Protestants, thanks to ‘reverse discrimination' in their favour – this point of view was especially prevalent in the Shankhill area of Belfast, as uncovered by the 1993 Opsahl Commission. Another economic motive that could help explain the divisions within Northern Ireland was the clear financial disadvantages of abandoning the Union. In the words of McGarry and O'Leary, â€Å"Protestants are said to be more loyal to the half-crown than to the Crown†. One of the reasons Unionists were so opposed the idea of a united Ireland was because it would lead not only to the end of their economic advantages, but to a general decline in the average standard of living, seeing as the Republic simply could not guarantee degree of expenditure on the province as Britain – by the early 1990s, the subsidy given to Northern Ireland from London actually exceeded the Republic's income tax revenue. This does not explain the continued nationalist support for and end to the union, even when aware of the inevitable economic disadvantages, but it is an important factor in understanding Protestant intransigence. However, economic factors alone simply cannot explain the divisions that led to the outbreak of the ‘Troubles', or their continuation for so long. As Trotsky pointed out, if mere deprivation was the cause of revolutions, the masses would always be in a state of rebellion. If economic reasons were the cause of violence between the two communities, it would be expected that periods of depression would be accompanied by an intensification of conflict, which simply was not the case: after the 1958 slump there was no outbreak of violence, and the ‘Troubles' actually started during a period of relative growth, falling unemployment and increasing prosperity, which would point to a political, rather than economic, trigger. Whilst political extremism is more likely to be found in underprivileged areas, repression (especially in the case of nationalist groups) was still as major reason for joining paramilitary forces, rather than objective deprivation. As already mentioned, there was no economic incentive for the Six Counties to unite with the South, especially before the Republic's emergence as a ‘Celtic Tiger', but the British subvention of the province also does not fully explain Protestant unionism, for it increased considerably during the years of Direct Rule, and in 1972 it was nowhere near the i3. billion it was in 1998. Unionism was driven by the belief in the right to self-determination and the resolve to preserve the Protestant way of life, not an economic self-interest, and equally, â€Å"Nationalism has a social psychological basis rather than a purely or largely materialist foundation† (McGarry and O'Leary). For shared material experiences to shape a community in any significant way, they must firstly, according to McGarry and O'Leary, have a deep sense of national identity formed through shared historical or geographical experiences and facilitated by common culture, language or religion. Whilst economics clearly played a crucial role in consolidating existing divides, it does not explain the existence of the divisions in the first place. The violent divisions in Northern Ireland society can all be traced to the problem of national identity. Culturally, there was no real divide between the two communities, except over fairly superficial matters such as sport and newspapers. Religious, economic, class and cultural issues, whilst important in understanding the complexity of the Ulster question, are not, in themselves, enough to explain the underlying causes. In terms of religion, whereas the Catholics were a single denomination, the various Protestant denominations were united only by the fact that their non-Catholicism, which was not strong enough to produce a strong enough degree of cohesiveness. Religious labels, however, were used as a demarcation between the two communities. Unionists were not united by their religion, their class or their economic self-interest, but by their identification with the rest of the United Kingdom, by the fact that they considered themselves to be British – even when the government did not necessarily agree. Equally, nationalists were united in the belief that they are Irish, and spiritually and ethnically a part of the southern Republic. People were members of a ‘religious community', considered to be a ‘cradle' Catholic or Protestant regardless of their actual religious or non-religious conviction; their religious label was an ethnic label. Whilst churches maintained and reinforced the social boundaries, through religiously driven activities, and the high rates of endogamy (in 1968, 96% of the population had parents of the same religion, whilst between 1943 and 1982 just 6% of all marriages were mixed), the persistence of segregated schooling (just 2% of primary and secondary school pupils in 1994 attended an integrated school) and residential separation, the divisions were originally caused by something else: â€Å"religion reinforced nationalism, not the other way round†. Thus political and economic discrimination of the Catholics by the Protestant majority can be explained in terms of Protestant fears that their national identity would be lost in a united Ireland. Their determination to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and their extreme reluctance to grant significant civil rights to the Catholic minority was as a result of their fear of losing their way of life, as well as just an unwillingness to relinquish their privileged status. As McGarry and O'Leary succinctly put it: â€Å"National and ethnic attachments tend to be much more binding and explosive in historically established and stable communities than alternative solidarities, like gender or class† and this is especially true of Northern Ireland. There are many aspects of the divisions in Northern Ireland society that this essay has not addressed. More could be said about cultural differences, and the long-term political discrimination, such as gerry-mandering, faced by Catholics that led to the Troubles between 1972 and 1998. External factors, such as British and Irish policy, and other long-term historical factors, such as the nature of British colonialism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as the impact of plantation on the political dynamic of the province. It is impossible to blame the Troubles on class conflicts, for Protestants and Catholics simply do not divide neatly into a unionist middle class and nationalist working class. Economic factors did have a significant impact on the development of grievances and intransigence, but also only provide an incomplete picture. Superficially, the conflict can be seen in religious terms – after all it is often described as Catholics against Protestant, as well as nationalist versus unionist. However, in recent decades, as Northern Ireland follows the general European trend for secularisation, and church attendance figures continue to fall, the religious labels are a sign of ethnicity, rather than belief. The entrenched nature of the divisions between the two communities, in the face of improving economic and political conditions and increasing secularisation during the period 1972 and 1998 means that there must have been a further, deeper cause for the conflict, and the question of nationality – British or Irish – is more convincing than the other, admittedly important, possibilities.

Prop 34: the Death Penalty

The Death Penalty, also known as Capital Punishment is a world wide controversial issue. Should the death penalty be repealed and replaced with life imprisonment without possibility of parole? California voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have repealed the state's death penalty. Supporters against Prop 34 claim that California is broke and taxpayers would pay at least $50,000 annually, giving lifetime healthcare and housing to killers who tortured, raped, and murdered children, cops, mothers and fathers. A yes on Prop. 4 states that no offenders would be sentenced to death under state law. Offenders who are currently under a sentence of death would be resentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The state would provide a total of $100 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies over the next four years. I strongly agree with a vote yes on Prop. 34. The death penalty isn’t an effective way to prevent or reduce a crime. Not only does this no t prevent future crimes and murders, but sometimes the death penalty is applied unfairly to innocent people.Evidence has shown that more than 100 innocent people have been sentenced to death in the United States and some have been executed. Prop. 34 means that the state of California will never execute an innocent person. Franky Carrillo was 16 when he was arrested and wrongly convicted of murder in Los Angeles; it took 20 years to show his innocence. Judge LaDoris Cordell, from Santa Clara said â€Å"If someone’s executed and later found innocent, we can’t go back. † I agree with this judge because what if later we find evidence that the offender is innocent there no way we can bring someone back to life.So then again who has the right to take the life of a human, when God is the one who decides when our time on earth has come to an end. Life without parole would be less expensive than the death penalty. California’s death penalty is too costly and is ha rdly used. Only 13 people have been executed since 1967 and no one since 2006. Prisoners are put to death row but die of old age before they make it to there punishment. We waste millions of tax dollars on special housing for these inmates, when they just sit around doing nothing.To me it makes more sense to keep a killer in a prison for the rest of his/her life until they die. An impartial study found California will save nearly $1 billion in five years if we replace the death penalty with life in prison without possibility of parole. The savings would come from eliminating lawyers’ fees and special death row housing. California is broke and Prop. 34 will save us money. We all know that killing another person is the most evil crime that one can commit.But it seems that our government is being hypocritical when it states that capital punishment is allowable because, after all, the criminal did murder an innocent victim, and therefore should be killed. This is known as the â⠂¬Å"eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth theory. † Of course, if we used this system all the time, there would be no need for laws. The majority of countries in Western Europe, North America and South have abandoned capital punishment. Why is it that the United States remains a user of capital punishment?The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It denies criminals their natural born right to life. The death penalty should be abolished because it has never been shown to lower crime rates or stop serial killers from killing. It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life. Capital punishment is against the humanity, we can find other alternatives to it. As Voltaire once said, â€Å"It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one. †

Risk Management Strategy and Plan Document Shell

Project Selection: The first step will be to select a project that you to develop a risk management strategy and plan for. This project will be used as the basis for each of the assignments throughout the course and should conform to the following guidelines: 1. Nontrivial: The selected project candidate should reflect a real-life project that has at least the major milestones identified. 2. Domain Knowledge: You will be applying knowledge of this project to address assignments related to identifying and analyzing risks.Select a project that fits these requirements, and submit your proposal to your instructor before proceeding further with the assignments in the course. Approval should be sought within the first few days of the course. Your instructor will tell you how to submit this proposal and what notification will be given for project approval. Assignment: Your first task in this process will be to select a project to use as the basis of your Key Assignment.You will also create the shell document for the final project Key Assignment document deliverable that you will be working on throughout the course. As you proceed through each project phase, you will add content to each section of the final document to gradually complete the final project delivery, which is the Risk Management Strategy and Plan. The following project deliverables: 1. Submit project proposal to instructor for approval 2. Risk Management Strategy and Plan Document Shell * Use Microsoft Word * Title Page 1.Course number and name 2. Project name 3. Student name 4. Date * Table of Contents 1. Use auto-generated TOC 2. Separate page 3. Maximum of three levels deep 4. Be sure to update the fields of the TOC so it is up-to-date before submitting your project. 1. Section Headings (create each heading on a new page with TBD as content except for sections listed under â€Å"New Content† below) 1. Project Outline 2. Risk Management Justification 3. Project Risks Identification 4. Project Ri sks Assessment 5. Project Risks Responses Strategy . Project Risks Management Plan 7. Project Risks Monitoring & Control Plan 8. Project Risks WBS & Budget Updates 9. Project Risks Communications Plan 1. New Content to be Inserted in Above Shell * Project Outline 1. Brief description of the project. 2. The milestones and/or WBS for the project. 3. Material can be taken from approved proposal submitted to the instructor, and this will serve as the draft for the proposal. 4. Be sure this project is approved by the instructor. 1. Risk Management Justification 1.Discuss why risk management is so important to the success of the selected project in a letter to the project sponsor. 2. Describe the steps that will be used to develop the Risk Management Plan. 3. Represent this process in a flow diagram as well 1. Project Risks Identification * Start brainstorming, at a high level, on some categories where risk could occur in this project (Note: you will continue this brainstorming activity i n the next week with specifics, likelihood, and impact). Name the document yourname_MPM344_IP1. doc, and submit the document for grading.

Contemporary Urban Planning Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contemporary Urban Planning - Article Example This paper seeks to reflect on various issues that concern urban planning as far as packing spaces are concerned. Regulating parking prices The increased need to diversify investment portfolio has resulted to opening of more businesses in cities as well as establishment of taxi industry especially by young investors. This implies that it is essential for city authorities to adopt right parking prices. It is worth to note that high prices may result to empty curb spaces thus leading to various negativities not only to the business but also to the environment. For example, businesses that are located near parking areas will lose customers, leading to low sales and reduced profits. Due to reduced business operations large number of employees loses jobs resulting to high poverty level especially in the urban areas. In the same way, low packing prices will increase the demand for packing spaces. In their efforts to search for packing spaces, motorists highly contribute to environmental pollution through the emission of carbon. Similarly, traffic jams are experienced and the level of fuel wastage is high. One of the key measures that city authorities should advocate for is setting up proper pricing mechanisms that will ensure availability of at least two parking spaces in every building (Donald 36). Through adoption of performance pricing, parking spaces will not only be appropriately used but also they will be available. In addition, the level of environmental pollution caused by carbon that is emitted during traffic congestion will greatly b e reduced. It is also vital to note that one of major causes of economic backwardness of third world countries are the many hours that employees take while in traffic jams. This means that through performance pricing, the time taken by drivers in traffic congestion will be highly reduced. A notable city that has effectively utilized performance parking is San Francisco. Through the SFpark, the city has put in place meter that does not only report the availability of parking spaces but also they charge variable prices (Donald 12). Implication of right prices on business performance Installation of parking meters has attracted criticism from some drivers. For instance, some motorists in San Francisco argue that the use of meter especially during the evening will demotivate them from going to the restaurants located at the downtown. However, appropriate location of meters will result to proper management of parking spaces that will ensure one or two spaces are available for the custome rs who are willing to pay the fees. One of the major benefits of adopting performance parking in the contemporary urban planning is that motorist who are willing to pay the fees are also in a position to carry customers who are loyal to the businesses located near parking areas. This will ultimately result to more sales for such business thus creating more job opportunities. In the same way, carpooling is enhanced thus resulting to the reduction of packing costs incurred by individual drivers. One of the merits that make performance prices reliable is that they are sensitive to demand. For example, during recession the parking prices are deemed to fall thus resulting to continuous flow of customers. This will not only increase the sales of businesses but also employment opportunities will be generated in the urban areas. Role of parking fees on the expansion of public utilities To