Talking about Age in the Media

Talking about Age in the Media Talking about Age in the Media Talking about Age in the Media By Maeve Maddox Everyone wants to live longer, but no one wants to be old. –Harry Moody, director of academic affairs for AARP (2012). To me old age is always ten years older than I am. –Bernard Baruch, American financier (1870-1965). About forty-two million Americans are 65 years or older. Advertisers, politicians, and researchers often need to refer to this group, but finding a term that will not insult its members is not easy. Various terms have been suggested with varying degrees of success. Elder, elderly, senior, and retiree are the most common. In Canada, according to what I’ve read in forums, the term elder has connotations of venerable age and wisdom; in the United States, however, people tend to associate elder with disapproving church elders or the word elderly. The decline of the acceptability of the word elder is illustrated by the name change of a travel organization established in 1975 for active Americans 60 and older. The parent organization is still called Elderhostel, but in advertising, the program is now known agelessly as â€Å"Road Scholar.† Even the word retiree is heavy with the connotations of age. These days, the American Association of Retired People (founded 1958) goes by its initials only: AARP. When politicians talk about â€Å"our seniors† in the same breath as â€Å"our children,† mature adults understandably bristle. An article in The Senior Times says that the term â€Å"senior citizen† was coined in 1938 during a political campaign. Its use soars on the Ngram Viewer beginning in the 1940s. According to National Public Radio reporter Ina Jaffe, â€Å"senior citizen† is a term that â€Å"seems to annoy just about everyone.† Recognizing the minefield of age and terms relating to it, The AP Stylebook has this entry for the word elderly: Use this word carefully and sparingly. Do not refer to a person as elderly unless it is clearly relevant to the story. It is appropriate in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals: concern for the elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. If the intent is to show that an individual’s faculties have deteriorated, cite a graphic example and give attribution for it. Use age when available and appropriate. Apply the same principle to terms such as senior citizen. Age is one of the realities of life that our culture prefers to deny. It’s unlikely that any term can be found to refer to old people that would not be offensive to someone because in our culture, old age itself is seen as offensive. Perhaps the safest course is to refer to the intended age group in numeric terms: between the ages of 65 and 75 above the age of 65 septuagenarian octogenarian nonagenarian centenarian Colloquial synonyms for â€Å"old person† range from friendly to deliberately hurtful, for example: old-timer oldster codger dotard crone coot Although the word codger (like coot) usually has a negative connotation, this review about Dick Van Dyke in the Chicago Tribune (1992) makes a kind of compliment of it: The wonderfully funny Dick Van Dyke, insufficiently honored in his prime, has now passed into the lovable-old-codger stage. His comic gifts are sharper than ever, and he still dances with grace, style and a naughty insouciance. He is much too good for the quirky-old-coot roles that are his lot nowadays. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and FingersComma Before Too?

Biography of Benito Juárez, Mexicos Liberal Reformer

Biography of Benito Jurez, Mexico's Liberal Reformer Benito Jurez  (March 21, 1806–July 18, 1872) was a Mexican politician and statesman of the late 19th century and president of Mexico for five terms during the turbulent years of 1858–1872. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Jurez’s life in politics was his background: he was a full-blooded native of Zapotec descent and the only full-blooded native to ever serve as president of Mexico. He did not even speak Spanish until he was in his teens. He was an important and charismatic leader whose influence is still felt today. Fast Facts: Benito Juarez Known For: First Mexican president of full Mexican heritageAlso Known As: Benito Pablo Jurez Garcà ­aBorn: March 21, 1806 in  San Pablo Guelatao, MexicoParents: Brà ­gida Garcà ­a and Marcelino JurezEducation:   Oaxaca Institute of Arts and SciencesDied: July 18, 1872  in Mexico City, MexicoAwards and Honors:  Namesake for many roads and schools as well as the Mexico City airportSpouse: Margarita Maza  Children: 12 with Margarita Maza; 2 with Juana Rosa ChagoyaNotable Quote: Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace. Early Years Born on March 21, 1806, into grinding poverty in the rural hamlet of San Pablo Guelatao, Jurez was orphaned as a toddler and worked in the fields for most of his young life. He went to the city of Oaxaca at the age of 12 to live with his sister and worked as a servant for a time before being noticed by Antonio Salanueva, a Franciscan friar. Salanueva saw him as a potential priest and arranged for Jurez to enter the Santa Cruz seminary, where young Benito learned Spanish and law before graduating in 1827. He continued his education, entering the Institute of Science and Art  and graduating in 1834 with a law degree. 1834–1854: His Political Career Begins Even before his graduation in 1834, Jurez was involved in local politics, serving as a city councilman in Oaxaca, where he earned a reputation as a staunch defender of native rights. He was made a judge in 1841 and became known as a fiercely anti-clerical liberal. By 1847 he had been elected governor of the state of Oaxaca. The United States and Mexico were at war from 1846 to 1848, although Oaxaca was nowhere near the fighting. During his tenure as governor, Jurez angered conservatives by passing laws allowing for the confiscation of church funds and lands. After the end of the war with the United States, former President Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna had been driven from Mexico. In 1853, however, he returned and quickly set up a conservative government that drove many liberals into exile, including Jurez. Jurez spent time in Cuba and New Orleans, where he worked in a cigarette factory. While in New Orleans, he joined with other exiles to plot Santa Anna’s downfall. When the liberal general Juan Alvarez launched a coup, Juarez hurried back  and was there in November 1854 when Alvarez’s forces captured the capital. Alvarez made himself president and named Jurez the minister of justice. 1854–1861: Conflict Brewing The liberals had the upper hand for the moment, but their ideological conflict with conservatives continued to smolder. As minister of justice, Jurez passed laws limiting church power, and in 1857 a new constitution was passed, which limited that power even further. By then, Jurez was in Mexico City, serving in his new role as chief justice of the Supreme Court. The new constitution turned out to be the spark that reignited the smoking fires of conflict between the liberals and conservatives, and in December 1857, conservative general Fà ©lix Zuloaga overthrew the Alvarez government. Jurez and other prominent liberals were arrested. Released from prison, Jurez went to Guanajuato, where he declared himself president and declared war. The two governments led by Jurez and Zuloaga were sharply divided, mostly over the role of religion in government. Jurez worked to further limit the powers of the church during the conflict. The U.S. government, forced to pick a side, formally recognized the liberal Jurez government in 1859. This turned the tide in favor of the liberals, and on Jan. 1, 1861, Jurez returned to Mexico City to assume the presidency of a united Mexico. European Intervention After the disastrous reform war, Mexico and its economy were in tatters. The nation still owed great sums of money to foreign nations, and in late 1861, Britain, Spain, and France united to send troops to Mexico to collect. Intense, last-minute negotiations convinced the British and Spanish to withdraw, but the French remained  and began fighting their way to the capital, which they reached in 1863. They were welcomed by conservatives, who had been out of power since Jurez’s return. Jurez and his government were forced to flee. The French invited Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, a 31-year-old Austrian nobleman, to come to Mexico and assume rule. In this, they had the support of many Mexican conservatives, who thought that a monarchy would best stabilize the country. Maximilian and his wife Carlota arrived in 1864, where they were crowned emperor and empress of Mexico. Jurez continued the war with the French and conservative forces, eventually forcing the emperor to flee the capital. Maximilian was captured and executed in 1867, effectively ending the French occupation. Death Jurez was reelected to the presidency in 1867 and 1871, but he did not live to finish his last term. He was felled by a heart attack while working at his desk on July 18, 1872. Legacy Today, Mexicans view Jurez much like some Americans see Abraham Lincoln: he was a firm leader when his nation needed one and took a side on a social issue that drove his nation to war. There is a city (Ciudad Jurez) named after him, as well as countless streets, schools, businesses, and more. He is held in particularly high regard by Mexico’s considerable indigenous population, which rightly views him as a trailblazer in native rights and justice. Sources Gonzalez Navarro, Moises. Benito Juarez. Mexico City: El Colegio de Mexico, 2006.Hammett, Brian. Jurez. Profiles in Power.  Longman Press, 1994. Ridley, Jasper. Maximilian Juarez. Phoenix Press, 2001.

SWOT annalysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SWOT annalysis - Assignment Example This paper examines the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as depicted in the Figure 1 below. With regard to strengths, PepsiCo, Inc. is renown in maintaining top brands. Indeed, Pepsi is one of the most recognized brands in the globe. In the year 2008 for example, Pepsi featured in the 28th position in the top 100 global brands rankings. Furthermore, most of its other brands are top brands as well. They include Diet Pepsi, Lipton Teas, Tropicana, Aquafina Bottled Water, Quaker Foods and Snacks, Tostitos, Sierra Mist, Gastorade Mountain view among many others. Most of these brands dominate in over 200 countries worldwide. Another strength of PepsiCo, Inc. is product diversification. In this regards, Pepsi maintains a wide variety of products including juice drinks, snacks, bottled water, breakfast cereals, ready-to-drink beverages, cakes, among other. Also, PepsiCo, Inc. maintains an excellent distribution channel. In this regards, the company enhances proper the delivery of its products directly from the places of manufacture to the consumers and retail stores. The company also markets their own products, giving them a competitive advantage. With regards to weakness, PepsiCo, Inc. heavily depends on Wal-Mart. Approximately 12 percent of PepsiCo’s total net sales is sold to Wal-Mart (Datemornitor, 2011). This therefore implies that PepsiCo is greatly affected by Wal-Mart’s strategies to large extents. For instance, Wal-Mart’s low price strategy mounts lots of pressures to PepsiCo, Inc. Overreliance on the US markets also constitutes PepsiCo’s weakness. In this regards, a substantial portion of PepsiCo’s revenues originate from the United States. As such, the company is largely affected by changes in the economic condition in the US economy. With reference to opportunities, PepsiCo continues to broaden its product base. For example, PepsiCo, Inc. recently

Curriculum for the gifted Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Curriculum for the gifted - Essay Example A major shift in the curriculum design for the gifted was introduced by Van Tassel-Baska and Little when they suggested that the curriculum design should be a performance-based model which gives emphasis on the level of functioning of the individual to determine whether he is ready to go up the next level (Chapter 1 - Curriculum for the gifted: Past, present and future directions). This new development changed the view that the curriculum should have an optimal match with the characteristic of the gifted learner. With this new approach therefore, the curriculum design becomes more responsive to the needs of the gifted learner. There are several issues in developing a curriculum for gifted learners. A major issue which confronts a teacher in developing a curriculum for the gifted is that not all gifted learners are alike with regards to their characteristics and needs (Chapter 2 - Curriculum design issues in developing a curriculum for the gifted). The background of the student, like income level, must be taken into consideration so that the curriculum can be adapted accordingly. Another issue that faces the curriculum developer is the choice of content and the process design (Chapter 2 - Curriculum design issues in developing a curriculum for the gifted). A decision has to be made on whether the topic will be of interest to the gifted. The content should be meaningful and challenging enough so that the students will be interested to explore it. The teacher who will be discussing the topic must be appropriately knowledgeable of the topic, else the gifted student might lose interest in it. The strategy to be used in teaching the content is another issue that must be tackled by the instructor of gifted individuals. A single strategy may not work for all learners. The issue is determining what combination of strategies must be applied so that the gifted learners get the maximum benefit from the curriculum (Chapter 2 -

Greek mythology Essay Example for Free

Greek mythology Essay Engels biography is a display of such scientific course. His early life had been the explanation why he came about with his voluminous works on history. His works were a summation of the different implications of the facts how he was raised and intended of him to become, his experiences, and his direct contact with the production process and later in complete absorption to the revolutionary struggle in the industrial West. Friedrich Engels was born in Barmen, Prussia to a family of bourgeois origins in September 28, 1820. At that moment, Europe was at the height of the development of the industrial era and wars of conquest for the accumulation of market, labour and resources for the bourgeois economy. It was a time of rapid changes ensuing on all borders. Expansion of industrial interests was grappling Europe. Colonies in Asia, Africa and Latin America were continuously ransacked while the European continent was in a constant scrabble of migration from different nations in search of industrial work. Indeed an era of accumulation of wealth and technological advances to improve productivity . With these changes in the economic landscape came the winds of liberal thought. New machines that were never seen before were conceived side by side with political ideas never heard before. Thus the revolutionized industry became a breeding ground for a revolutionary spectre. Friedrich Engels was never detached from these changes. From his childhood until his intellectual career was on its full bloom, the economic transformations in Europe became the solid foundations of Marxist historiography. His nascent years had been vital for the development of his future philosophical pursuit. In his poem â€Å"To My Grandfather†, written December 20, 1833, Friedrich had shown his early acquaintances in history through stories in the Greek mythology which he described as â€Å"many a beautiful story† that his grandfather had told him . Another untitled poem written 3 years after described characters in stories from all over Europe seen by young Friedrich as â€Å"pictures to delight† . He was an observer and the environment drew much attention from him. Once he wrote about the conditions in Wuppertal, one of his first attempts to explain the seemingly complicated miseries of the working class , even the columns of a building and the style of architecture did not escape his watch. It was the beginning of his acquisition of his most powerful weapon in his revolutionary battle – excellence in textual conveyance. Not only was it a peek to his future history inclinations but also his superb literary talent that has greatly manifested in his works. In such a young age, Engels had learned that his wealth was a curse. The environment in which Friedrich Engels lived was full of stark contradictions. External factors greatly affected his inner resolve. His father, a German textile mill owner, wanted him to become an industrialist too like himself. Knowing in his self that he was not fit for that kind of life, a strained relationship developed between them. A supporter of the Prussian government, Friedrich’s father held conservative views in politics and religion which were attributed to his Protestant Pietist devotion. He enrolled Friedrich in local Pietist schools where he was indoctrinated with narrow fundamentalist views of society. Those were never acceptable to his broad interests. Hoping that the radical youth in Friedrich could still be doused with cold waters of isolation, he was sent to Bremen before he finished his high school studies to work as a clerk. These efforts were put to waste. There he exhibited despise to autocracy and religion, enjoyed life at its fullest and studied literature, philosophy, theology and history . Engels was drawn to the democratic struggles that were gaining political momentum at that time. Using a pen name of Friedrich Oswald, he participated in the literary movement. His first work, a poem titled â€Å"The Bedouin † was published in the Bremisches Conversationsblatt No. 40. In September 1838 and many other literary works and commentaries proceeded thereafter. As an active radical, Engels wrote articles for the democratic movement while attending lectures at Berlin University with his military service all at the same time. When he moved to Berlin to join the Household Artillery of the Prussian Army, he already had attractions to the Young Hegelians .

Developing a Responsive Police Organisation Essay -- Police Organizati

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln INTRODUCTION The responsibility to maintain a peaceful society is shared by each level of government; local, state, and federal. However, because crime is an immediate threat to the communities, the police have a highly visible and primary role in overcoming the threat and fear of crime. The process of policing a democratic society is complex and due to this fact, a police department is probably one of the most difficult public institutions to manage effectively. It is therefore important to have processes that are critical to operating police departments and their commitments in securing peace in the society. In order to understand the field of police administrations, one has to look further beyond the dynamism and complexity aspects of the field. Laws are constantly modified, the environments police officers regulate in continually change, new problems regularly occur, and administrative practices that were once treated as gospels are now facing constantly modifications, often challenged and in some cases, discarded. The terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, have significantly changed the ways police departments police globally. The primary mission of police in local communities has become somewhat blurred as community policing efforts from the last decade fade to the emergence of security checks, intelligence gathering, and participation in join terrorism task forces. Police organisations are now facing ever changing ordeals that require the administrators to change the ways policing is performed, by which creating a more open and responsive organisation through the positiv... ...on, 2008. - Vol. 01. Blackler John Historical Influences on Australian Policing [Article] // Violence and Police Culture. - [s.l.] : Melbourne University Press. Chan Janet B. L. Changing Police Culture [Article]. Wainwright Elsina Police Join the Front Line [Article] // ASPI Strategic Insights. - 2004. - pp. 1-12. Westmarland Louise Police Ethics and Integrity: Breaking the Blue Code of Silence [Journal] // Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. - 2005. - 2 : Vol. 15. - pp. 145-165. Wimshurst Kerry and Allard Troy Criminal Justice Education, Employment Destinations, and Graduate Satisfaction [Journal] // The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. - 2007. - 2 : Vol. 40. - pp. 218-235. Wong Kam C. The Philosophy of Community Policing in China [Journal] // Police Quarterly. - 2001. - 2 : Vol. 4. - pp. 186-214. Developing a Responsive Police Organisation Essay -- Police Organizati "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln INTRODUCTION The responsibility to maintain a peaceful society is shared by each level of government; local, state, and federal. However, because crime is an immediate threat to the communities, the police have a highly visible and primary role in overcoming the threat and fear of crime. The process of policing a democratic society is complex and due to this fact, a police department is probably one of the most difficult public institutions to manage effectively. It is therefore important to have processes that are critical to operating police departments and their commitments in securing peace in the society. In order to understand the field of police administrations, one has to look further beyond the dynamism and complexity aspects of the field. Laws are constantly modified, the environments police officers regulate in continually change, new problems regularly occur, and administrative practices that were once treated as gospels are now facing constantly modifications, often challenged and in some cases, discarded. The terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, have significantly changed the ways police departments police globally. The primary mission of police in local communities has become somewhat blurred as community policing efforts from the last decade fade to the emergence of security checks, intelligence gathering, and participation in join terrorism task forces. Police organisations are now facing ever changing ordeals that require the administrators to change the ways policing is performed, by which creating a more open and responsive organisation through the positiv... ...on, 2008. - Vol. 01. Blackler John Historical Influences on Australian Policing [Article] // Violence and Police Culture. - [s.l.] : Melbourne University Press. Chan Janet B. L. Changing Police Culture [Article]. Wainwright Elsina Police Join the Front Line [Article] // ASPI Strategic Insights. - 2004. - pp. 1-12. Westmarland Louise Police Ethics and Integrity: Breaking the Blue Code of Silence [Journal] // Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. - 2005. - 2 : Vol. 15. - pp. 145-165. Wimshurst Kerry and Allard Troy Criminal Justice Education, Employment Destinations, and Graduate Satisfaction [Journal] // The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. - 2007. - 2 : Vol. 40. - pp. 218-235. Wong Kam C. The Philosophy of Community Policing in China [Journal] // Police Quarterly. - 2001. - 2 : Vol. 4. - pp. 186-214.

Youth obesity

Game consoles, MacDonald's, KFC, all companies that provide entertainment and fried foods for kids are the main causers of the growing number of children becoming obese. These companies are so prevalent on today's youth's lives that they make a profound impact on their health. With the rate that these companies are expanding worldwide, the rate at which children are becoming obese is bound to become even worse. Every corner you go around especially in America you will find a fast food restaurant. This is the main reason why America has the highest youth obesity rate. During the past 30 years the percentage of obese children between the ages of 6 and 11 has tripled. It is amazing is it not all we have to do to change this is adjust our food intake and watch our daily activities so I ask of you to join me and change for the better of our own lives. There are three causes of youth obesity that stood out from the rest for me. These are poor nutrition, low self esteem and a less – active – youth. Eating healthy means taking a lot more time to prepare a meal and it costs more than a readymade, extremely fast, unwatched while being cooked and full of oil fast food meal. A lot of parents are not educated with what is right for their children to be eating. So they leave their children to enjoy what they like instead of having a balanced diet. Children's self esteems lower when they are obese because of society's influences on being thin. As they get more obese their social interactions with other youths decrease because of this influence. Now the low self esteem that develops leads to children no longer being around others thus making them become less active which helps to make children even more obese. A study performed by Research Triangle Institute International for the Centres of Disease Control in Washington, DC surveyed 986 parents on childhood obesity and prevention. The results were as follows 49.5% did not feel schools had the right to record children's weights. 72.9% felt that schools needed to provide weight loss and exercise programs. 39.1% thought an increase on the tax of fast food was constructive. 42.31% favoured the standardization of food portions in restaurants. You must be thinking that to stop obesity means we just have to remove fat from our diets. But you would be wrong stopping obesity does not just mean removing fat from your diets. Usually when people remove fat from their diet they will increase their intake of sugar, high density carbohydrates, and starches. This means you are having a low protein and fat meal which often leave people feeling hungry which leads to them filling their stomachs as soon as possible with whatever they can find to eat. That is wrong. You need to have and stick to a balanced diet. Most of us eat 3 large meals, breakfast, lunch and supper. That too is wrong. You need to eat six small meals and your last meal should be eaten at least two hours before going to sleep to allow for you to burn all fat and energy from the meal. This information was given to me by an actual dietician from CFB. Coming back to the topic of game consoles and I would like to add into that topic television. The question is, is television a friend or foe of youth obesity is what I shall answer for you. Every hour a child sits and plays a video game or watches TV they may double their risk of becoming obese. Glenda Nichols, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tarrant County College she stated in an interview that on average a child watches or plays a video games for 7.1 hours a day. That equals to 25,000 hours of being in front of a television by the time that they would be seniors in high school. That is extremely dangerous because children are guaranteeing their chances of becoming obese. Some long term effects of childhood obesity are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the development of diseases such as type 2 diabetes. These are all very dangerous for the human body. But these are just a few of the many associated problems. More problems associated with obesity are: 1. Diabetes 2. Hyperlipidemia 3. Blood circulation diseases like arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, and palsy 4. Skin disease 5. Joint problems, back, knee, and ankle pain 6. Liver disease 7. Cholelithiasis 8. Menstrual abnormalities 9. Female infertility 10. Breast cancer 11. Endometrium cancer 12. Decline in libido 13. Mental stress We all live in a society that sends out very strong messages about beauty and body weight. Girls are encouraged to constantly diet and exercise until they attain a fit, thin body. Boys are told to constantly work out and do whatever is necessary to attain a buff, muscular figure. Am I wrong? So come on let's follow the messages society sends to all of us together. I ask all of you to not do it for me but to do it for yourself. You will not forget it especially in the long run. So come on let's get healthy.

Important Events in the European History That Changed the European Society Essay

The changes are an integral part of progress and development. It is a well-known fact that in order to gain a new level the society should go through the series of different transformation. These transformations are not always pleasant and peaceful but, in general, they are useful for the society and help it to become a better one. In this work I am going to explain how, the European world changed dramatically as a result of a series of stresses in the late 13th to the mid 15th centuries and how such events as Black Plague, the One Hundred Year’s War and the collapse of Papal Power influenced the Medieval European society. The transformation of the Medieval society was long and painful process, which lasted approximately 150 years. The development in the years 1000-1300 brought the positive changes in agriculture, finance and trade. Growing food supply, the creation of guilds, the development of urban life, commercial revolution, the new life of learning – all these changes influenced positively on the society (Beck et al. 387-392). This is the first reason why the later changes were so dramatic for the society. They were so much unexpected that the people were simply not ready for them. The Black Plague, which is also known as the â€Å"Black Death† was probably among the most dramatic events, which constantly changed the face of the Medieval World into the new one. When the historians talk about â€Å"The Black Death,† they mean the specific outbreak of plague that took place in Europe in the mid-14th century. The Black Death came to Europe in October of 1347, spread swiftly through most of Europe by the end of 1349 and on to Scandinavia and Russia in the 1350s† (Shell, â€Å"The Black Death†). This epidemic also came back several times during the rest of the century. These events were followed by mass fear and hysteria. The main changes in social life brought by the plague were the rise of marriage and birth rate, the increase of violence and the upward mobility. The economic effects also were quite dramatic. First of all, â€Å"surplus of goods resulted in overspending; it was swiftly followed by a shortage of goods and inflation† (Shell, â€Å"The Black Death†). The second effect was lack of laborers. The level of trust to the Church also decreased. The One Hundred Years’ War was another historical even, which influenced on the society in the Middle Ages. It â€Å"was a long struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, so it might more accurately be called the â€Å"116 Years’ War† (Wheeler, â€Å"The Hundred Years’ War†). Actually, it was the series of smaller wars and included several battles. The war involved two countries, England and France, which were among the leading ones in Europe during the Middle Ages. Nothing special, that such a massive struggle, which involved a large amount of people during the extremely long period of time, resulted into the drastic demographic, economical and political changes. England lost most of its continental territories and the insanity of the King brought it into the series of internal conflicts. On the contrary, France was able to strengthen its positions. The third important point, which initiated the changes in the European society and brought it to the new era of development, was the collapse of Papal Power. In the Middle Ages the belief that there is one Pope, who rules the church, was extremely strong. That is why the division of the Papacy into the two ruling points, one in Avignon, France and one in Rome was a great tragedy for many people as everything that they believed in, was destroyed. Despite the fact that finally the power was re-united in Rome, â€Å"it never recovered entirely from its stay at Avignon, and from the Great Schism. The power of the popes was never again as great as it had been before the quarrel between Boniface VIII. and the King of France† (Harding, â€Å"The Story of the Middle Ages†). The respect to the Church, which was among the most important factors, which influenced the Middle Ages, was destroyed. That is why these events are so important for the formation of the new society. To sum up, the European society went through the series of dramatic changes from the late 13th century to the mid 15th century. One of the most important factors, which influenced the changes, was the high speed of it. Such events as the Black Death, The Hundred Years’ War and the collapse of Papal Power were the events, which were â€Å"the beginning of end† for the Middle Ages. After them, the society required changes in order to adapt to the new conditions of life.

Currency Exchange Rates, Management, and Speculation

Currency Exchange Rates, Management, and Speculation Read about the ways government and investors can manage and speculate on the value of their currencies. Currency exchange rates have become a global issue in the past year, particularly for developing economies which are generally performing better than the economies of the US, Europe, and Japan – the three sources of the â€Å"reference currencies† that essentially determine the value of the rest of the world’s money. This article is a short primer on the basics of currency exchange. It explains the ways in which governments and private investors can manage and speculate on the value of their currencies. Fixed vs. Floating Exchange Rates The value of the currency is always relative to something else, whether some commodity (gold has historically served as a reference) or other currencies. A fixed exchange rate also called a peg is a value that is determined by a government’s central bank, which must engage in the market trade of its currency for the reference currency in order to maintain the peg value. The main requirement for a fixed exchange rate scheme is that the central bank holds a large reserve of the reference currency. In a scheme in which the currency is pegged to a single reference currency, maintaining the peg is relatively straightforward. The value of the local currency is a simple function of the amount of the reference currency in the financial system, and changes in the currency value are reflected as price inflation or deflation; in order to exercise control over the local currency, the central bank sells the reference currency to move the value of the local currency higher, or purchases the reference currency to reduce the value of the local currency. Read more:  Money Makes the World Go Around A single currency peg is impractical  because the value of the reference currency always fluctuates. Let’s say that an example country – we’ll call it Examplestan – sets the value of its currency, the clam, at 5 clams to one US dollar. If a merchant in Examplestan imports $20 worth of goods from the US, he pays 100 clams. At the same time, he imports $20 worth of goods from Europe, whose euro is equal to $1.20; therefore, he only receives $16.67 worth of goods for his 100 clams. That means to earn back his 100 clams from selling the goods, he has to inflate the price by 16.65%, because the goods he bought from Europe are only worth 83.35 clams. The relative value of the clam is also affected by price inflation or deflation in the US; the actual amount of goods received for the equivalent of $20 will differ as inflation increases or decreases, which causes inflation or deflation of the clam as a follow-on effect. The opposite end of the spectrum from a fixed exchange rate is a floating exchange rate, in which market forces determine the value of the currency. The currency in a floating exchange rate system is treated as a commodity, and its value is determined by supply and demand.   There is no country that uses a fully floating exchange rate scheme, but some of the effects of what it can do to a local currency can be seen in emerging markets where large inflows of foreign investment money have driven the value of the local currency higher. The Philippines, which currently has the best-performing stocks in the world, is a good example. The high inflow of foreign money into the local stock market represents high demand for the Philippine peso – the investors are trading their dollars, euros, yen, and other currencies for equity, valued in pesos, in Philippine companies. Thus the value of the peso is growing, meaning that fewer pesos can be exchanged for one unit of a foreign currency. This is good for the economy in one respect because it makes imports cheaper, but it increases the cost of exports and tends to dampen demand for local labor and goods. Dirty Floats and Currency Hedges In order to find a â€Å"happy medium† between imposing strict control over the currency value and allowing it to seek an efficient value through market effects, most governments practice what is called a managed float, sometimes also referred to as a â€Å"dirty float†. Instead of setting a fixed exchange rate for its currency, the central bank will set a target range. Rather than fix the currency at 5 clams = $1, the central bank of Examplestan might instead choose to let the value of the clam fluctuate, so long as it does not fall outside a range of 4.50 to 5.50 clams per dollar. There is a number of advantages to maintaining a dirty float. Allowing the currency to fluctuate within a controllable range reduces the number of foreign reserves the central bank must hold, which frees up financial resources and permits the central bank to speculate on the future value of the currency to a degree by issuing bonds denominated in either the local or foreign currencies. This is a form of hedging, because the bonds lock in a future value, in the sense that the amount of a bond issue represents a known release of either the local or foreign currency in the future when the bonds reach their maturity. This is similar to the forms of hedging and speculation that private investors can engage in by treating currency as a commodity, including options contracts, forward contracts, currency swaps, and futures contracts. In the private sector, currency hedging and speculation are particularly useful for companies whose trade involves a large amount of foreign currency. For example, the trader in Examplestan may wish to purchase an option to swap a certain number of clams for US dollars at a fixed rate lower than the present exchange rate, say 5.10 clams to the dollar, if he suspects that when he completes a future purchase of US imports, the rate will be even lower than that. If when the time comes, the actual exchange rate is 5.12 clams to the dollar, he exercises the option and lowers his purchase cost by 0.1% not a lot, but for companies whose transactions are in the millions of dollars (or clams), the difference can be very significant. Naturally, foreign currency exchange rates is far more complex theme than what is described in this brief article, but to help understand its intricacies, just remember the basic point that the value of a currency is determined by its amount in a financial system compared to other currencies in the system, and that managing the values of those is really only a matter of managing quantities.

Restoring the American Chestnut Tree

Restoring the American Chestnut Tree Glory Days of American Chestnut American chestnut was once the most important tree of the Eastern North American Hardwood Forest. One fourth of this forest was composed of native chestnut trees. According to a historical publication, many of the dry ridge tops of the central Appalachians were so thoroughly crowded with chestnut that, in early summer, when their canopies were filled with creamy-white flowers, the mountains appeared snow-capped. The Castanea dentata  (scientific name) nut was a central part of eastern rural economies. Communities enjoyed eating chestnuts and their livestock was fed and fattened by the nut. The nuts not consumed were sold if a market was available. Chestnut fruit was an important cash crop for many Appalachian families that lived near rail hubs. Holiday chestnuts were transported to New York, Philadelphia and to other big-city dealers who sold them to street vendors who sold them fresh-roasted. American Chestnut was also a major lumber producer and used by home builders and woodworkers. According to the American Chestnut Foundation or TACF, the tree grew straight and often branch-free for fifty feet. Loggers tell of loading entire railroad cars with boards cut from just one tree. Straight-grained, lighter in weight than oak and more easily worked, chestnut was as rot resistant as redwood. The tree was used for nearly every wood product of the day - utility poles, railroad ties, shingles, paneling, fine furniture, musical instruments, even paper. The American Chestnut Tragedy A devastating chestnut disease was first introduced in North America from an exported tree to New York City in 1904.This new American chestnut blight, caused by the chestnut blight fungus and presumably brought in from eastern Asia, was first found in only a few trees in the New York Zoological Garden. The blight rapidly spread to northeastern American forests and in its wake left only dead and dying stems in what was a healthy chestnut forest. By 1950, American chestnut had tragically disappeared except for shrubby root sprouts the species still continually produces (and which also quickly become infected). Like many other introduced diseases and insect pests, the blight quickly spread. The chestnut, being completely defenseless, faced wholesale destruction. The blight ultimately invaded every tree throughout the entire range of the chestnut, where now only rare remnant sprouts are found. But with these sprouts bring some hope of reestablishing American chestnut. For decades, plant pathologists and breeders have tried to create a blight-resistant tree by crossing our own species with other chestnut species from Asia. Native chestnut trees also exist in isolated areas where the blight is not found and are being studied.   Restoring the American Chestnut Advances in genetics have given researchers new directions and ideas. Working and understanding the complex biological processes of blight resistance still need further study and improved nursery science. TACF is a leader in American chestnut restoration and confident that we now know we can have this precious tree back.   In 1989, The American Chestnut Foundation established the Wagner Research Farm. The purpose of the farm was to continue a breeding program for ultimately saving the American chestnut. Chestnut trees have been planted at the farm, crossed, and grown at various stages of genetic manipulation. Their breeding program is designed to do two things: Introduce into the American chestnut the genetic material responsible for blight resistance.Preserve the genetic heritage of the American species. Modern techniques are now being used in restoration, but success is measured in decades of genetic hybridization. An elaborate and time-consuming breeding program of backcrossing and intercrossing new cultivars is TACFs plan to develop a chestnut that will exhibit virtually every Castanea dentata  characteristic. The ultimate desire is a tree that is fully resistant and, when crossed, the resistant parents will breed true for resistance. The breeding method began by crossing the ​Castanea mollissima and ​Castanea dentata  to obtain a hybrid which was one-half American and one-half Chinese. The hybrid was then crossed to another American chestnut to obtain a tree which is three-fourths dentata and one-fourth mollissima. Each further cycle of backcrossing reduces the Chinese fraction by a factor of one-half. The idea is to dilute out all of the Chinese chestnut characteristics except for blight resistance down to where trees are fifteen-sixteenths dentata, one-sixteenth mollissima. At that point of dilution, most trees will be indistinguishable by experts from pure dentata trees. Researchers at TACF report that the process of seed production and testing for blight resistance now requires about six years per backcross generation and five years for intercross generations. Says TACF about the future of a resistant American chestnut: We planted our first set of intercross progeny from the third backcross in 2002. Well have progeny from the second intercross and our first line of blight  resistant American chestnuts will be ready for planting in less than five years!

Apply to University Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Apply to University - Personal Statement Example I have the zeal to know how computers operate and how I can use them to positively influence the world in my own way. English is my second language and I have had some difficulties learning it since I did not have enough learning materials in my native place. I figured out that if I become a computer expert I can make these materials available to kids who crave for knowledge and, consequently, help in dissemination of knowledge. I have studied Information Technology in my bachelors. The IT course equipped me with basic knowledge and skills in computer programming, web designing in form of HTML, information searching and retrieval and subject indexing and thesaurus construction. These skills and knowledge should give me a head start in computer science. I do not have any previous work experience as I have just completed my bachelor’s degree in IT. However, during my bachelors I undertook a work placement programme at a nearby high school for two months. My duties were akin to those of a system administrator where I helped the school’s system administrator configure computers and check for security breaches. I also helped students who did not know how to use computers to use them effectively. As a result, I grew my computing and management skills which should prove helpful for this course in the long run. I have a host of interests and hobbies. However, the ones I love most are to play and watch football, to play chess and to participate in enlightening debates. I believe football is a competitive and passionate sport. This should make me a competitive and passionate person in all my undertakings. Debating helps me grow my English language and vocabulary and equips me with the skills of thinking at my feet and adequately relaying information. Lastly, chess equips one with planning, thinking and overall strategizing skills. All these skills will be