Misconceptions of African American life Essay -- essays papers

Misconceptions of African American life â€Å"When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his "proper place" and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.† This quote, spoken true by a prominent African American scholar of the 20th century, Carson Woodson, is aimed at shedding light on the inherent miseducation of African Americans. His beliefs that controlling one’s thinking with such a powerful grasp that allows little or no movement will lead to that individual behaving as he is expected is a very justifiable point. If time and time again, one is told to do certain things or believe certain things as â€Å"right†, then with constant repetition and enforcement, widespread belief and acceptance of this idea or practice will become the norm. A people that is consistently taught or treated a certain way may at some point begin to accept it â€Å"right.† However, in many cases what may be deemed â€Å"right† by some is not necessarily the â€Å"right† thing to do. This theory can not be any more prominent than in the case of African Americans, who have long endured hundreds of years of discriminator y practices based solely upon their race and origins. Dating back to the days of slavery, these are a people that out of prejudice, out of expectations, out of fear, have often come to view the white man’s way as the â€Å"right† way either by choice or by having no other choice. In the process, however, their very own culture, beauty, beliefs, traditions, etc., often get trampled upon or even forgotten as they either struggle to keep up or struggle to stay up. More then not, though, this â€Å"brainwashing† of sorts results in a â€Å"miseducation† of the African-American people that often leads to widespread misunderstandings about them. These misunderstandings can then lead to various forms of stereotypes aimed against African-Americans by whites or other non African Americans picked up along the way due to incomplete knowledge about their history which inherently also hurt those making these false assumptions. Times are changing, however, and wit h these evolutionary years comes a greater sense of struggle to understand. ... ...African Americans by white Americans must be thoroughly examined from both sides as they are equally deep-rooted among each group. In addition, I personally feel that with more and more of these investigations of the miseducation of the races can lead to a better understanding of each. It is not just the fact of the acknowledging the existence of miseducation that will help people to understand African Americans better and more realistically. It is up to both whites and blacks alike to make conscious efforts to ignore stereotypes and seek only truths in answering questions about the races. If the problem of miseducation is not properly addressed equally by all sides, the problem can never be fully understood or solved. Miseducation benefits no one. It harms all involved by spreading unsubstantiated opinions for norms or forcing actions based upon fear and ill will. Truth is hidden, and innocent people get hurt or mislead in the process. It is up to today’s younger g enerations of American citizens to wake up, realize the vast racial miseducation that currently exists, and start treating others with the dignity and respect earned automatically in their being born human beings.

Abortion is too easy †Do you agree? Essay

There seems to be a common attitude shared even by some abortion rights supporters that abortions shouldn’t be too easy to obtain. People apparently feel that if abortions are easy to get, then they would be â€Å"abused† — as if women can’t be trusted to use abortion â€Å"correctly† or as if the meaning of pregnancy would be diminished. But can you imagine the outcry if people were told that they have a right to vote (arguably of equal importance to the decision to have an abortion), but that voting shouldn’t be â€Å"too easy† and that they have to go through several hoops to cast their vote? Aren’t efforts to make abortions more difficult to obtain a direct attack on the poor and working classes who can least afford to devote the time and money being demanded while technically and formally keeping abortion â€Å"legal†? Abortions will always occur because the situation will always arise where someone has an unwanted pregnancy. Therefore if abortions were illegal or even more difficult to obtain, people might have to resort to having an abortion carried out on the ‘black market’. Such a procedure might be carried out in unfit conditions by someone unqualified to do the job. The fact that it is legal in the UK means at least that it can be regulated and you can be sure that it is carried out safely, the same reason why prostitution is legal in America. Although Christian teaching on abortion is not simple, generally Christian’s belief in the sanctity of life means that they have serious concerns about abortion, therefore for the most part think that it should not be legal at all. Christian’s will always have a problem with abortion, however hard to obtain they are. For this reason making abortions more difficult to obtain would simply have the result of further infringing of the rights of women over their body and still would not appease the strict Christians. However abortion is still murder of an innocent human being who has done nothing wrong and who cannot defend him or herself. Abortion can simply be a selfish act because their child is an inconvenience and it is simply a â€Å"get out of jail free card†. Moreover, it is a traditional Christian belief that abortion is wrong and in the Didache it states that you should â€Å"not kill the foetus in the mother’s womb†. Also every person is sacred as God made us in his image and likeness and therefore it is wrong to destroy what is like God. As Mother Teresa said, â€Å"If a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop you and me from killing each other†. Although abortion is unpleasant, it is necessary and it is a woman’s right to decide what happens inside her body. We know longer live in a time governed by religion and therefore I do not think religions have the right to change the laws on abortions. For these reasons, I don’t think that abortion is too easy.

Development and use of explosives over the past century

The history of explosives and propellants, also known generally as ‘energetic materials’ began with the material known as gunpowder or black powder, whether the intended use was for civil applications such as rock blasting, military uses in demolition, shell filling (bursting charges) and construction projects, or military and civilian propellant charges for short guns, pistols, rifles or artillery. The individual inventor of black powder will undoubtedly forever remain unknown, but numerous writers such as Drinker (1878), Munroe (1888), Marshall (1915), and Davis (1941, 1943), described what is known about its development and evolution.Until the discovery of nitrated explosive compounds such as nitrocellulose by schonbein and Bottger (independently of one another) and nitroglycerin by Sobrero (all occurring in 1846), the only explosive available for any purpose was black powder. 1) Solid (particulate) propellants; 2) Military explosives; 3) Commercial explosives. Propel lants Propellants may be granular, solid, or liquid. The primary focus was on granular (particulate) material since they are the most commonly encountered by the forensic chemist.Solid propellants are deflagrating materials designed to accelerate a projectile from its position of rest at the breech of a weapon to its full velocity as it exits the tube or barrel. In the ideal (and designed for case), the complete consumption of the propellant and the exit of projectile occurs at the same instant. Propellant gains are thus chemically formulated and physically designed to achieve this end. The gains burn particle to particle at speeds below the speed of sound in the material: this defined the word ‘deflagrating’. Historically such materials have been termed progressive powders.In addition to burning particle- to- particle burns from its free surface inward or, in the case of perforated grains, also from the free surface outward. This characteristic enables the propellant d esigner to size and configure the grains or particles to be totally consumed at the optimum instant. Propellant gains may be found in multitude of shapes and sizes, as might be expected given the varieties of weapons and desired pressures and projectile velocities. Black powder Black powder is the mixture of three components, generally (and originally) charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate.These are typically in the ratio of 15:10:75. Many variations to that ratio have been used: Cundill (1889) lists over 20 varieties, many with sub –varieties. Most of the differences, however, are insignificant. The one major development in the past 100 years is the use of sodium nitrate in some black powder grades. Black powder has an inherent drawback as a military propellant due to the fact that it produces a solid reaction product. Because of this, a dense black cloud is produced upon firing weapon is readily apparent, and after a number of rounds are fired the volume of battlefield sm oke leads to confusion and general chaos.For this reason the development of the ‘smokeless’ propellant charge was an objective of every governments weapons laboratory. Upon the discovery of the nitration reaction this research intensified. Smokeless powder The early history of the nitrated carbohydrates, which includes the 1833 discovery of nitro-starch (called xyloidine by its discoverer, Braconnot) and guncotton, called pyroxyline or pyroxyle be the chemist Pelouze, is thoroughly covered by Devis (1941).Guncotton, nitrocellulose of high nitrogen content (13. 35% to 13. 45%), was the first nitrated material to be tried as a replacement for black powder, but it was too prone to accidents. However its military use continued after it was found that the newly –invented mercury fulminate blasting cap would cause compressed guncotton to detonate, leading to its application as a demolition charge and shell filling. Its use was rather short lived, however due to the int roduction of picric acid.Research was continued on nitrocellulose of lower nitrogen content as a propellant material, and the first good smokeless riffle powder was produced by Vielle in 1886, for the French Government. This was nitrocellulose with either alcohol, kneaded in bread making type machine, rolled out into thin sheets, and then cut into small squares and dried (Military Explosives, 1924). This was a ‘single base’ smokeless powder (nitrocellulose only). In 1888 Nobel invented a powder called Ballistite, which was a low nitrated nitrocotton gelatinized with nitroglycerin: which came to be known as; double base’ powder.In the same year Cordite (given that name because it was extruded in the form of cord or ribbon), a mixture of high nitrated guncotton, nitroglycerine, and Vaseline, gelatinized by means if acetone was developed by an English Committee. (Marshall, 1915) Later ‘triple base’ smokeless powder were developed, containing nitro guani dine in addition to the nitrocotton and nitroglycerin of typical double base powders. Triple base powders were cooler-burning than the single or double base materials and use was mainly restricted to large caliber weapons.Developments in smokeless powder since those early days had been primarily to improve stability, decrease the erosion of the barrel of the weapon, control pressures, decrease smoke output (‘smokeless’ powders are smokeless in comparison to black powder, but still produce visible smoke), and to decrease the muzzle flash from a firing weapon. The geometry of powders may include flakes, tubes, cylinders, sticks, flattened balls, or spheres. Military Explosives As black powder was the first propellant, so it was the first military explosive too.It was used for shell filling, demolition, and military construction projects from the earliest times up until the invention of nitroglycerin. Military explosives as discussed here are those used as the shell filing or ‘bursting charge’ in artillery round and those explosives used for demolition charges. Military construction projects typically use commercial-type explosives, except in field-expedient situations. The brief use of guncotton as a military explosive was noted above. Trinitrotoluene (TNT)During and after World War I the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT, C7H5N3O6) became the dominant shell filling and demolition charge material. TNT has the advantage of being very easy to cast, since it has a wide spread between its melting and decomposition temperatures. One disadvantage is its extreme insensitivity. In the order to conserve TNT for small caliber shells in World War I, a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate (‘amatol’) was developed. It was specified for use only in shell of $. 7-inch to 9. 2-inch diameter (Crowell, 1919) but in actual practice it was used in all sizes.For the same reason of conserving TNT, nitro starch explosives were used very successfully in that war for hand grenades and trench mortar shells (Williams, 1920). Tetryl Tetryl (2, 4, 6-trinitrophenyllmethylnitramine, N-2, 4, 6-tetra-nitro-N-methyl aniline, or picrylmethyl nitramine) was used in military boosters, but has generally been replaced by materials such as RDX and HMX. The ‘tetrytols’ are mixtures of tetryl and TNT, which were utilized in boosters, demolition charges, shells, and shaped charges. The TNT generally ranged from 20 to 35 percent of the mixture.An advantage of tetrytol is that it allows the casting of the explosive into munitions rather than requiring pressing. It is also more powerful than TNT, but not as sensitive as tetryl alone. RDX and HMX Between the world Wars a number of explosives were developed, and after the start of the second war a vast amount of explosives research took place. One of the most important and useful military explosive is RDX (an acronym for ‘Research Department Explosive’), which was discovered i n 1899, but not used until World War II.It is also called cyclonite, hexagen, and cyclo-trimethylenetrinitramine. HMX was another explosive used for military applications during and after World War II. The initials are said to stand for â€Å"High Melting Explosive’, although other sources for the acronym are sometimes cited. It is also called cyclo-tetramethylenetetranitramine or octogen. (Beveridge 1-4) Blasting and Use of Explosives Only authorized persons can handle and use explosives. No person using explosives is allowed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.Nothing which could be an ignition source, such as matches, open flames, or smokers, is to be around explosives. Accountability is required to assure that explosives are under the care of a qualified person. All blasting aboveground is done between sunup and sundown and, when blasting is done, blasters are to take special precaution near public utilities, around transportation conveyances, and near public a reas to assure safety and mitigate any damage. Care must be taken to assure that accidental premature ignition does not occur from stray electrical sources or radio transmitters.The blaster is to be considered a competent person in the use and care of explosives, and have experience with the type of blasting methods being used. The transportation of explosive and blasting materials must conform to the department of Transportation regulatory provisions. Drivers of trucks containing explosives and blasting equipment must be licensed and should be in good physical and mental condition. No blasting materials are to be transported with other cargo and blasting caps are not to be transported in the same vehicle as other explosives.These vehicles should be marked with a placard signifying â€Å"Explosives† and have a fully charged fire extinguisher. (Reese, Edison 648) Different uses of an Explosive Blasting is extremely important both to mining and the world economy. The saying is often used, â€Å"If it can’t be grown it has to be mined,† however if the ground is too hard to be mechanically mined economically, it has to be blasted. Certainly many materials, such as iron, copper and concrete to name but a few would be significantly more expensive if it weren’t for explosives and our ability to easily drill holes to use these explosives efficiently.Shock wave compression technology is not only a means of extremely high-pressure generation, but also a means of extremely high-temperature production in solids. When dynamite shock load is applied to solids by means of explosive and high-speed impact, the shock pressure and the shock temperature generated depend on the shock load and the density of the solid. Between 1985 and early 1991, there were 182 incendiary or explosive devices planted in Great Britain by animal-rights activists.This number accounted for approximately 50 percent of all explosive devices planted in all of Great Britain, ma king it numerically a larger problem in Great Britain than incidents attributed to the provisional Irish Republican Army. However, the majority of these devices were far less sophisticated and far less dangerous than the PIRA devices. In 1980 in Great Britain, the first use of high explosives by animal-rights terrorists took place. These acts appear to have been perpetrates by a small group, which had obtained a high explosive used both in military operations and in commercial applications, such as quarries.First it was used against the staff restaurant at Bristol University, where a 5-puound bomb was set off about midnight, wrecking about two floors of the building. More recently in 1990, the same explosive was used presumably by the same group in two car bobs. In one case, a passing infant was severely wounded. Conclusion During the past centuries, it has been proved that there is a beginning international acknowledgement of the future need for demolition of plants and buildings. There is also evidence of an increasing interest in demolition techniques and the re-use of building materials.There are literally hundreds of different types of explosives, varying from black powder used in pipe bombs (still a favorite of domestic bombers), to dynamite sticks, and from blocks of TNT to plastic explosives that can be molded into diverse forms, including thin sheets. A dozen or so of the most notable explosives are used by the terrorists. Of particular note are the explosives RDX and PETN which, together with plastic and other fillers, compose many plastic explosives such as Detasheet and SEMTEX.Explosives are mostly harmful (destructive) but on the other hand in many cases they are useful (constructive) too. Doctors, Engineers use explosives in a constructive way while at the same time criminals and terrorists use explosive in the destructive way. There are many uses of explosives such as Mining, Pyrotechnics, Building Demolition and even Construction. Explosives ar e also used in Carve Mount Rushmore, Avalanches and are used in backcountry for Trail Maintenance. Explosive are used in Medicines to break-up kidney-stones. Works cited Beveridge, Alexander. Forensic Investigation of Explosions. New York: CRC Press, 1998. 1,2,3,4 Kasai, Yoshio. Kenkyuio, Kenchiku, Kensetsusho. (Japan), Nihon Daigaku. Demolition and Reuse of Concrete and Masonry: Proceedings of the Second†¦.New York: Taylor & Francis, 1998. 49 Technology against terrorism: the federal effort, US: DIANE Publishing, (1992) Reese, D. Charles. Eidson, V. James. Handbook of OSHA Construction Safety and Health New York: CRC Press, 2006. 648

renaissance essays

renaissance essays The Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation were two very important events in European history. They are a vital part of the Renaissance. They signify the point at which the power of the church dimineshes and the power of the monarchs increases. The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther. Martin Luther had once been a monk for the Church, but, after leanring about the way indulgences were practiced in the Church (particularly practiced by Tetzel), he wrote 95 statements about indulgences and posted them at a local church. He had assumed that the Church would accept these statements. Unfortunatly for the Church, the statements were not accepted. By not accepting Luther's teachings, the Church had inadvertantly encouraged its own decline. Since they did not kill Luther immediatly, he was able to spread his "heresy," and, by the time the Church realized how large a threat he was, it was too late. Luther had, in the 1520's started Lutherinism conflicted directly with the Church. It said that only two sacraments were necessary: baptism and communion. This reduced would reduce the power of Lutheran ministers and also save peasants money. This encouraged peasant converts. This also encouraged lords and princes to convert. They would convert to sieze the holdings of the Church in their lands and also to gian power over the new religion. Instead of the Church controlling the officials, the officials controlled the (Lutheran) Church. Lutherinism also stressed intent. He said that, for God to forgive a person, the person would have to feel real regret, instead of iust paying a fine. Luther also stated that, for a person to have good credited to their soul, they would have to have a good intent, not just a fear of Hell. I believe that these facts were unimportant to converts compared to the facts that Luther had defined Lutherinsim much better that the Church had ...

Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spanish

Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spanish Prepare to speak Spanish on Thanksgiving by learning these words. Many of these words dont have much of a cultural context outside the U.S. and Canada (which celebrates its Thanksgiving in October), as no Spanish-speaking countries have a version of Thanksgiving. The phrase  for Thanksgiving, by the way, is Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracias. Thats a mouthful that could be translated literally as the day of the act of thanks. The French form is similar  -   the Canadian Thanksgiving is known as lAction de Grà ¢ce. Holiday-Related Words agradecido (por) - thankful (for)ciberlunes  - Cyber Mondayla colonia - colonycompartir, repartir - to shareel cuerno de la abundancia, la cornucopia - cornucopiael desfile - paradeDios - Godla familia - familyla festividad de la cosecha - harvest festivalel fà ºtbol americano - football (not soccer)gluglà º gluglà º - gobble gobble (turkey sound)las gracias - thanksel indio, la india, el indà ­gena americano, la indà ­gena americana  - American Indian, native Americanel noviembre - Novemberel otoà ±o - autumn, falllos parientes  - relativesel peregrino - pilgrimel viernes negro, el viernes de descuentos  - Black Friday Food-Related Words Keep in mind that names of foods dont necessarily translate well, or might not be understood in Spanish-speaking countries, due to cultural differences. For example, the various words that can be translated as pie include pastel, tarta, empanada, and even pay (pronounced similarly to the English word). All of those words except the last also refer to other types of desserts.Also, it is common with fruits and vegetables for a popular name to be applied to multiple botanical classifications. For example, there are at least eight species of tuberous plants called  Ãƒ ±ames (yams), and a few are unlike what you might find in the U.S.   el arndano rojo - cranberryel banquete - feastel budà ­n, el pudà ­n - puddingla cazuela - casserolela cena - dinnercomer - to eatla cucurbitcea,  la calabaza - squash (the same Spanish terms also are used for other related plants)el maà ­z - cornla mazorca de maà ­z - corn on the cobel à ±ame, la batata, el boniato - yamel panecillo - dinner rollel pastel (o la tarta) de calabaza  - pumpkin pieel pavo  - turkeyel pavo asado  - roast turkeyel purà © de patatas - mashed potatoesel relleno - stuffing, turkey dressingla salsa para carne - gravylas sobras, los restos - leftoverslas verduras - vegetables Vocabulary Notes Ñame, the word for yam is one of the few Spanish words to start with  Ãƒ ±. Among the more common ones are à ±oà ±o (insipid or dull) and words derived from it, à ±ora (red pepper), and à ±u (gnu). Panecillo shows how diminutive suffixes are used. Pan is the word for bread, so even if you didnt know what panecillo means, you might guess that it is a small type of bread. In Spanish, it is sometimes possible to distinguish between  male and female animals by using the masculine and feminine forms of the word. Thus a female turkey is una pava. Some other animal names follow a similar pattern: Una mona is a female monkey, una polla is a young hen (and also an off-color word with a different meaning), and una puerca is a sow. But dont assume that any feminine animal name refers to the feminine of the species. For example, una jirafa is a giraffe regardless of its sex. While  relleno would normally be used to refer to turkey stuffing, the same word can be used for just about any type of food filling. A stuffed chili, for example, is known as a chile relleno. While verduras is the word to use when talking about vegetables as a food, vegetales is used more often when talking about vegetables as a type of plant. Sample Sentences Los indios de la tribu de los Wampanoag enseà ±aron a los peregrinos cà ³mo sembrar maà ­z. (The Indians of the Wampanoag tribe taught the pilgrims how to plant corn.) No es difà ­cil prepara un pavo exquisito para celebrar el dà ­a con tus amigos y familiares. (It isnt difficult to prepare a delicious turkey for celebrating the day with your friends and family members.) Despuà ©s de la cena, vamos a ver un juego de fà ºtbol americano. (After dinner, well watch a football game.) Tenemos mucha gratitud por todo lo que tenemos. (Were grateful for everything we have.) Key Takeaways No Spanish-speaking country has a version of Thanksgiving, so native Spanish speakers in those countries may have little cultural context when dealing with Thanksgiving-related words.When translating holiday-related words to Spanish, keep in mind that there may be only a partial correlation between meanings. For example, while a gravy is salsa in Spanish, salsa can refer to many other types of sauce as well.The Spanish phrase for the holiday itself is a long one: Dia de Accià ³n de Gracias.

Footnotes in Financial Statements Research Paper

Footnotes in Financial Statements - Research Paper Example The last section of the financial statements consists of the footnotes and consists of information such as the policies and methodologies used in the preparation of the financial statement. In the simplest sense, the information in the footnotes is an extension of financial statement. It contains quality information that might be useful in understanding the financial position of the company. The footnotes can be divided into two section based on the content in it. One is about the accounting methodologies that are used in the preparation of the report. Second is the detailed explanation of the financial and operational reports. The information about the accounting policies of a company is identified and elaborately explained in the first section. There are numerous parts to this section that addresses different aspects such as inventory, revenue, etc. The policies with respect to these different aspects are discussed in this section. The determination of value of these different aspects is also discussed in this section(Tracy, 2009). There are numerous aspects of a business that cannot be easily understood such as when a company books a sale or revenue determination process. The understanding of these processes is very important to understand the information provided in the report. The information about these processes, mainly the revenue section, is provided in the footnotes. The revenue recognition and revenue determination process is addressed in the footnotes of a financial report. Hence the understanding of such methodologies and policies is only possible with the help of the information in the footnotes. The information in the footnotes is very valuable from an investor’s perspective as it can provide valuable information about the financial structure of the company. Facts that cannot be easily grasped from the main report can be understood by analyzing the accounting methods used. The analysis and comparison of the accounting

EnERGY WEDGES Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

EnERGY WEDGES - Lab Report Example Increasing forest cover and vegetable is likely to reduce carbon in the atmosphere since the trees utilize the carbon for the process of photosynthesis. Water body mass such as the rivers and lakes also absorb carbon from the atmosphere hence reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Soil and other land covers also utilize carbon (Nesta, 2009). Planting cover crops and reducing soil erosion is estimated to reduce carbon emission in the next 50 years. Our second wedge deals with nuclear energy production. Nuclear energy produces no carbon. It is the most efficient and the most beneficial form of energy production. However, it is always faced with political interference since nuclear energy can easily be used as weapon of mass destruction hence indicated by red color. (UNEP, 2007). Although it will take time to transform from carbon energy immediately to other forms of energy, it is important that the public be educated on efficiently utilizing the current carbon energy. This cuts across mainly in transport and construction sectors. The two sectors are the major consumers of energy mainly in form of electricity and fuel. Our last energy wedge deals with shifting from carbon energy to bio-fuels. Bio-fuel is a product of plants. This is our last option designated by color blue. Use of bio-fuel reduces significantly the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. However, this strategy is still faced with major challenges sine it creates competition with food production (Wardlaw, 2009). The big question is whether the current land used in food production will be substituted for bio-fuel produce. The above energy wedge is likely to win the desires of many oil producing companies such as BP and other companies such as Ford that are actively involved in the motor vehicle industry. The wedge also complies with human rights activists such as the Kyoto Protocol and Copen Hagan reports that aims at sustainable development. The energy