How to Write an Exploratory Essay on Cultural Capital

How to Write an Exploratory Essay on Cultural Capital An exploratory essay is a form of essay that usually talks about an idea or merely answers a question. If you have been assigned with an essay on cultural capital, you may want to take note of the following tips to be certain that you are writing it in a correct way: Break the Essay into 3 Distinguishable Portions An essay must have three parts: an introduction, a body and a close/conclusion. If each portion is not distinguishable, the reader may be confused by the time they are done reading your essay. Do Not Beat about the Bush Students often tend to state the obvious, a form of filler words that certainly do not fool the teacher. If a question is to be answered in the exploratory essay, make sure that you answer it in the first sentence. Sample essay question: Do you think that cultural capital can be acquired at home? A bad answer: Many people talk about whether or not cultural capital can be acquired through conscious effort. A good answer: Yes, I believe that cultural capital can be achieved through conscious effort. Do Not Try to Sound too Smart Sometimes, students try too hard to impress their teacher, resorting to using big and bold words that eventually make less sense and put the reader to sleep. Sample essay question: Does cultural capital vary in different social classes? A bad answer: As per copious amounts of studies carried out by connoisseurs, cultural capital is seen to be at capricious levels in dissimilar social classes. A good answer: As per studies and surveys carried out by experts, it seems that various social classes have a varying degree of cultural capital. Be Sure to Back up the Statements That You Make Since an exploratory essay is all about doing your research and making your point, you need to help the reader/teacher understand how you came about to make the statements that you did. A bad example: Cultural capital is connected to sports because it is also connected to body management. A good example: A common example of cultural capital is in self-presentation. Body management through sports is a direct connection to self-presentation, which is why I believe that cultural capital and sports are also connected to one another. Do Not Assume That Your Reader Knows Everything It is your teacher’s job to understand how much you have understood about the exploratory topic that has been given to you. Do not come to the conclusion that your teacher acquired all the knowledge about the topic beforehand. A bad example: As we all know, cultural capital affects the education received by students. A good example: Cultural capital is earned through taking part in extracurricular activities. Therefore, the more students indulge in these activities, the better they can perform in different fields of education. Hence, cultural capital directly affects the education receive by students. Revise Once you are done writing your essay, proofread your essay. Scrutinize your own work and figure out which portions might need some editing. After all, submitting your best work is crucial. We hope this gives you a few good notions to build your essay upon. Don’t forget to check our 12 facts about cultural capital as well as our 20 topics backed up by a sample essay.

Battle of Memphis in the Civil War

Battle of Memphis in the Civil War Battle of Memphis - Conflict: The Battle of Memphis occurred during the American Civil War. Battle of Memphis - Date: The Confederate fleet was destroyed on June 6, 1862. Fleets Commanders: Union Flag Officer Charles H. DavisColonel Charles Ellet5 ironclad gunboats, 6 rams Confederate James E. MontgomeryBrigadier General Jeff M. Thompson8 rams Battle of Memphis - Background: In early June 1862, Flag Officer Charles H. Davis moved down the Mississippi River with a squadron of consisting of the ironclad gunboats USS Benton, USS St. Louis, USS Cairo, USS Louisville, and USS Carondelet. Accompanying him were six rams commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet. Operating in support of the Union advance, Davis sought to eliminate the Confederate naval presence near Memphis, TN, opening the city to capture. In Memphis, Confederate troops manning the citys defenses prepared to withdraw south as Union forces had cut the rail links to the north and east. Battle of Memphis - Confederate Plans: As the soldiers departed, the commander of the Confederate River Defense Fleet, James E. Montgomery, began making plans to take his eight cottonclad rams south to Vicksburg. These plans quickly collapsed when he was notified that there was not enough coal in the city to fuel his ships for the voyage. Montgomery was also plagued by a disjointed command system within his fleet. While he technically commanded the fleet, each ship retained its pre-war captain who was empowered to act independently once they left port. This was compounded by the fact that the vessels gun crews were provided by the army and served under their own officers. On June 6, when the Federal fleet appeared above the city, Montgomery called a meeting of his captains to discuss their options. The group decided to stand and fight rather than scuttling their ships and fleeing. Approaching Memphis, Davis ordered his gunboats to form a line of battle across the river, with Ellets rams in the rear. Battle of Memphis - The Union Attacks: Opening fire on Montgomerys lightly armed rams, the Union gunboats fired for around fifteen minutes before Ellet and his brother Lt. Colonel Alfred Ellet moved through the line with the rams Queen of the West and Monarch. As Queen of the West struck CSS General Lovell, Ellet was wounded in the leg. With the battle engaged at close quarters, Davis closed and the fighting deteriorated into a wild melee. As the ships battled, the heavy Union ironclads made their presence felt and succeeded in sinking all but one of Montgomerys ships. Battle of Memphis - Aftermath: With the River Defense Fleet eliminated, Davis approached the city and demanded its surrender. This was agreed to and Col. Ellets son Charles was sent ashore to officially take possession of the city. The fall of Memphis opened the Mississippi River to Union shipping and warships as far south a Vicksburg, MS. For the remainder of the war, Memphis would serve as a principal Union supply base. In the fighting on June 6, Union casualties were limited to Col. Charles Ellet. The colonel later died of measles which he contracted while recovering from his wound. Precise Confederate casualties are not known but most likely numbered between 180-200. The destruction of the River Defense Fleet effectively eliminated any significant Confederate naval presence on the Mississippi.

Intermediate macro on the effect of inflation on exports and imports Term Paper

Intermediate macro on the effect of inflation on exports and imports - Term Paper Example Inflation makes reserves to be misallocated. The paper explores how influence impacts on trade among nations, especially its effect on exports and imports. Effect of inflation on exports and imports Introduction Inflation refers to the decrease in the value of money as the prices of goods and services gradually increase overtime. Moderate forms of inflation are conceived normal in the majority of economies and desirable in any economy since this is indicative to producers that there is an increasing demand and so stimulates enhanced production, and ultimately economic growth (Evans, 2004). Nevertheless, high inflation, is worrying since the prices of goods and services rise faster that the surge in wages, thus eroding real incomes. Inflation renders exports to fall, as it costs other countries more to purchase similar amount the same goods. This relationship can be outlined mathematically by the equation NI= C+ I+ G- NX whereby NI represents national income (or price level that equat es to inflation), C represents consumption (consumer spending) I represent investment; G represents government spending while NX represents net exports. Inflation influences the current account deficit since then demand for exports plunges as prices rise, and imports become more competitive if imports prices reduce comparatively lower to domestic competitors (Ulke & Ergun, 2011). If the country is exporting and the local currency becomes strong, then the country’s products become more expensive for its buyers. If a country is relying heavily on imports and the local currency becomes weak, then the products that are imported becomes expensive (Evans, 2004). As such, inflation increases will lead to deterioration of balance of payments since domestic inflation stimulates import spending provided that imports emerge comparatively cheaper, and diminish export sales, as exports emerge more expensive abroad (Levi, 2009). The association between inflation and exchange rate appears a s a double-edged sword whereby the rising inflation tends to render a currency to depreciate (owing to the reduced demand for the country’s demand). Mostly, depreciation aids exporters since prices paid by the overseas buyers decrease (Ulke & Ergun, 2011). Nevertheless, depreciation signifies that prices of imports increase, which is inflationary. The net impact of the devaluation in inflation hinges on the comparative price elasticity of imports and exports. Effects of Inflation on Imports and Exports Exchange rates bear a significant effect on a country’s economy. If the exchange rate drops, this alters the comparative prices of imports and exports. Exports are likely to become comparatively cheap in other currencies while imports become expensive. For instance, when the U.S. purchases imports, the imports are incorporated into the retail price index. In the event that the price of import rises, this could be inflationary, especially in cases where a country’s imports feature a lot of raw materials and semi-finished products (Levi, 2009). A gradual rise in prices will impact on a country’s trading performance mainly on the ration between imports and exports. The performance of a country’

Corporate finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Corporate finance - Assignment Example Stock market index is considered as one of the important economic indicators for the government to watch and formulate its economic policies and strategies to appropriately deal with the economic situation in a country. The benefits of capital markets in a country are multifarious. The capital markets play an important role in capital formation of the country which is essential for the governments’ plans with regard to investment in various sectors of the economy for a balanced economic growth. The governments are not in a position to effectively intervene in the economic process of the nations due to ever-increasing proportion of non-plan expenditure in the budgets. Government spending is very important for generating employment when there is slowdown in economy, to prevent recession. Therefore, the diminishing proportion of funds allocated to plan expenditure by the government should be compensated by private investment through stock markets for maintaining the pace of economic growth. Due to inefficiency of the public sector undertakings and their poor contribution to the economic development in spite of heavy investments made in these undertakings in countries like China and India there has been perceptible shift in policy making by the governments. Most of the public sector undertakings have been privatized by selling their shares in the open market by listing these companies in the stock exchanges by these governments. It has also been noticed that these undertakings’ performances have increased significantly after privatization. These companies are now competing with private companies and are able to mobilize funds for their expansion through the stock markets. This has reduced the financial burden of the respective governments considerably. The stock markets play a crucial role in developing the savings habit of the people. The stock markets are responsible to a considerable extent for entrepreneurial development

Teamwork and Trustworthy Working Relationship Essay Example for Free

Teamwork and Trustworthy Working Relationship Essay Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships (Michael Jordan). This is a quote from one of the greatest basketball players, emphasising the importance in teamwork as a group. It can also be used in terms of a group of people working together not in a sporting aspect. â€Å"A team is not a bunch of people with job titles, but a congregation of individuals, each of whom has a role which is understood by other members. Members of a team seek out certain roles and they perform most effectively in the ones that are most natural to them. † (Dr. R. M. Belbin). This definition is used to identify individual’s positives and negatives during a project or as a group; it can also be used to build a secure and trustworthy working relationship, choose and develop high-performing teams, increase self-awareness and personal efficiency, and finally build understanding. Building a secure and trustworthy working relationship is important in teamwork because it can help build individuals in the group’s self-confidence and morale and guarantee support from other members in the group. It can also build hope around the team, guaranteeing members can feel confident airing issues and concerns within the group. This is offered individuals a rich variety of tools and ways to manage, avoid and fix conflict to build a stronger and lasting relationships. During the lead up to the presentation, my team-mates and I had a few occasions where we disagreed about certain opinions but we did it in a respectable manner and understood the reason agreement. Majority of us who made up a group to put up a presentation on teamwork and the Eurozone play football together which automatically gave us that bond, we had the ability to voice concerns w no fear of getting shut down by a member of the team which is very vital as I mentioned above about teamwork.

Comparison of Edgar Allan Poes Annabel Lee and The Raven :: compare/contrast compare

Comparing Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Allan Poe's view on poetry is that all poems must be a "rhythmical creation of beauty". In his eyes, melancholy and sadness is beautful. He thinks that the death of a young beautiful woman is itself full of beauty. In both "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven", Poe writes about this so-called beauty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In "Annabel Lee", a young man is mourning the death of a beautiful young lady. Even though the woman had died quite some time ago, the man is still in melancholy. He misses her terribly and constantly thinks of how she was she was tragically taken from him by the angels who were jealous of their love, and by her family who didn't think the he himself was capable of bringing her to her final resting place. He loved Annabel Lee more than anyother human can love another. The following quote tells the reader how much he loves her and shows that he would do anything for her, even if that means sleeping by her tomb, each and every night. "And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling, my life and my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the side of the sea."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In "The Raven", a man, most likely older than the man in "Annabel Lee", mourns the death of his love whom he called "Lenore". Lenore, like Annabel Lee, had died several years earlier. In "The Raven", man hears tapping on his chamber door and sees the curtains slowly swaying. He believes that it can be no other than Lenore. Unfortunately for him though, it is only but a bird. A large, black bird known as the Raven. Although the men in these two stories are similar because they both mourn for their loved ones, they are also different.

Learning to read Malcolm X Compare and Frederick Douglass and Contrast Essay

Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X both were African Americans who struggled to be successful. Frederick was born a slave for life 1817 he didn’t go to school but wanted to have knowledge. He had a lot of obstacles in his path but the fact he wanted to learn to read and write keep him going though he wanted to give up sometimes. Frederick Douglass also wanted abolish slavery.Malcolm X was born in May 19, 1925 into a family. During his early years his family moved a number of times because of racism. At age 6 his father was murder mysteriously, their home was burned and four of his uncles were murder by white people. His family struggled economically and they were living off public welfare.His mother became ill and he was sent to foster home. At age 13 Malcolm X was charge with delinquency and dropped out of school at age 15. As a teenager later he began wearing flashy clothing and jumped into criminal acts, like doing drugs, gambling and burglary. Age twenty he was sentence to 1 0 years in prison for burglary. In there he began to transform his life.Frederick was against slavery while Malcolm was against racism. They both had a dream to fight for injustice for their people against racism and slavery. Both Frederick and Malcolm taught themselves how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was a slave and it was illegal for slave to have knowledge.He didn’t wanted to be a slave he wanted to be something better, wanted to have knowledge as he saw it as power. He educated himself using various strategies, like learning from the boys on the street by trading bread for knowledge. He would even go to the lumber yard and copied the letter that the carpenter would write on the timber the name of the place it was intended to go.Then later he would meet the boys challenging them that he can write better and they would respond saying â€Å"I don’t believe you† this way Frederick got a good lesson. Malcolm X also taught himself to read and write start ing with whatever knowledge he knew before dropping out of school. After being sentence to prison he began coping words from the dictionary everything on the page down to punctuationand began reading books on history, Philosophy and religion.Reading and writing kept Frederick and Malcolm alive through their struggles in becoming something better. Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X both realize how knowledge was great as they interest in reading and writing grew. Frederic knowledge made him a wiser and smarter man than being a slave like he was, he saw better things ahead with knowledge.the both He wanted to be something better than a slave not just for himself but also for his fellow slaves too. However reading and writing open up a new world for Malcolm X, it was better and different than when he was out on the streets with flashy cloths and committing crimes.Many thoughts had started appearing in his head. The thoughts ofbeing someone better as well, like Frederick, and to fight for his fellow black people too. They both used their knowledge to help fight justice for they fellow people in the exact situation as them that is slave and racism. Frederick Douglass used his own knowledge to write his own pass and escaped and became a public speaker.A brave speaker who spoke out against those who tolerated slavery. and he was able to help abolish slavery. Many doubted that he had been a slave as he was such an impressive public speaker. On the other hand reading changed the course of Malcolm X life forever with a better understanding of many things around such as, racisms around him.He had â€Å"little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness and blindness that were afflicting the black race† which meant he was able to understood the things that the black race was going through. With his knowledge he became a speaker as well. He became the most visible national spokesman for the black mulisms.anf fought freedom for other from the Christian religion, rac ism and violence against African American. However, one difference with both writers was that Malcolm X had his own organization while Frederick didn’t.Reading and learning about these two authors has inspire me with respect to my own goals by exposing to me and making me understand more how powerful knowledge really is. That knowledge is the key to many things. The more knowledge we gain through reading and writing the more we are able to understand thing in a different and positive way.I honestly never used to like reading but when I was then introduce to a book named â€Å"the walk series† as I was finishing the first series I then realize why Malcolm and Frederic had passion for reading writing I gained form reading and my interest began to grow as well.I can see that both writers had determination regardless of the circumstance/  obstacles in order to achieve what they had wanted. Not only had they had determination but they both also had love and interest for r eading and writing. This reminds me of myself being determine to complete all my homework and assignments on time regardless the obstacles I faced like having long travel hours and chores I had to get done with limited time as my mom wasn’t around at that moment.

How Far Do You Agree That the 1867 Reform Act Was Sucessfulte Essay

Additionally, the 1867 Reform Act also had a significant impact on the issues that were being addressed by politics. Whereas before, the aristocracy had basically decided what happened in the country, the act meant that issues were being brought to light that had never been discussed properly in public before. This was very important as it not only changed public but it also changed society too. Issues such as the legislation surrounding drinking, education and taxation were now being impacted on by the public actually expressing their feelings about them and this determined that the act had changed entirely how people viewed politics by shifting their focus from the individuals within politics to the actually political interests that they represented. For the first time, the act seemed to allow working-class people to feel indignant at how they were labelled uneducated within society and how they were blamed for society. It could be said that the Reform Act’s most important outcome was encouraging people to now speak up for what they believe in and to create a true democracy by exposing the flaws of the current political system that had kept hidden a system of suppression underneath a pretence of democracy. On the other hand, this outcome can be seen once again to only be attributing more to the argument that the most important outcome of the 1867 Reform Act was that that it had on the political parties. Whilst it did change the people, it also meant that individuals like Gladstone and Disraeli had to develop stronger personalities, more influential public speaking and just generally a more recognisable persona to get attention off the people and this changed politics, starting to transform it to what we recognise today with politicians attending school fairs and opening museums to get positive publicity. Whilst all of these outcomes were extremely important at the time, perhaps the most long-term and recognisable of all of the outcomes was the effect that the 1867 Reform Act did have on the political system and in particular, on the Liberals and Conservatives parties. Source 7 supports this view by introducing us to the idea of the ‘political machine’. The source shows how the Reform Act of 1867 meant that the political parties had to actually properly compete and make, sometimes unrealistic promises, to appeal to voters. It shows how this means that electioneering, the way the parties portrayed themselves and presentation of issues became much more important as politics became national and rotated around moral issues. Indeed this view does have a lot of weight in an argument. The political parties now were having to tread a careful line and keep a balance between the conflict of alienating the people with revolutionary political ideas and immediate actions to secure themselves as the strongest political parties. This meant that the Liberals and the Conservatives had to become united and professional. This impact was important as it meant that the political loyalty was created that we can recognise in politics today. Previously, parties had split up and conflicted over issues but following the act, politicians were forced to admit that they had to remain loyal to their own political party in order to get any success within the political circumstances. This outcome is so significant as it created the strong link that still exists today between political parties and the voters. The two different parties had to go to what they saw as extreme lengths to secure voters’ loyalty and to encourage them to vote. This included the setting up of party clubs and trips to places such as the seaside as rewards for people who promised to vote for a certain political party. In a way, it shows how this outcome was significant in advancing political organisation and professionalism yet in other ways it just maintained the old influential schemes that politicians used but at last, they had to actually be clever to use these rather than to blatantly bribe and influence people. They could still influence people, just as they had done with the open ballots, but this time they had to do it with rewards and false promises. To a certain extent, this can still be seen to be happening in our political system today. In conclusion, there were many outcomes of the 1867 Reform Act and all of these were significant in their own way. The impact of these can be seen clearly by the fact that they have triggered features of our own political system today, such as strong political personalities for politicians and ‘image-conscious’ newspapers and magazines. However, these all contributed to allowing the Liberals and the Conservatives parties to change and whilst individually they were significant impacts, the effect that they had on electorate always corresponded with an effect on the political parties. In this way, the most significant outcome of the 1867 Reform Act was the impact that it had on the Liberals and the Conservatives parties yet this would not have been significant or even have occurred independently of the impact that the act on the electorate themselves. This means that whilst we can identify an outcome of the act as the most important, it simply would not have had the effect that it did have without the other outcomes of the act, meaning that collectively they are important and making it extremely difficult to label the importance of the outcomes.

Dryland production systems in Africa Essay Example

Dryland production systems in Africa Essay Example Dryland production systems in Africa Essay Dryland production systems in Africa Essay How useful is the concept of desertification to understanding the sustainability of dryland production systems in Africa? Man is both the cause and victim of desertification; a process which is continuing or even accelerating in Africa. action is needed now to alleviate the plight of the large populations affected. If these people are not helped, they will exert more pressure over a weak natural system. Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues (1986: p15, 111) Desertification is perhaps the best example of a set of ideas about the environment that emerge in a situation of scientific uncertainty and then prove persistent in the face of gradually accumulating evidence that they are not well founded. Swift (1996: p73) At the interface of environment and society relations, the productive use of African drylands has been both a source and testing ground for the theory and practice of key environmental issues. Dryland areas are characterised by aridity and the variability of precipitation, with growing periods of 75 to 179 days a year (Mortimore, 1998). Often perceived to be on the brink of sustainability, analysis of drylands has variously drawn upon Malthusian ideas of carrying capacity, Hardins (1968) idea of the tragedy of the commons in terms of property rights and land tenure, and broader themes such as the colonial mindset and native irrationality, post-colonialism and development (Mortimore, 1998). Desertification has been the dominant conceptualisation through which these ideas have been reformulated and refracted in dryland regions, leading to its consecration in international law as a discrete chapter of Agenda 21 (Adams, 2003). Although the process of desertification has been the subject of over eighty years of scientific research and policy intervention, it remains hotly contested (Thomas, 1997). The term was coined by Aubreville in 1949, yet over 100 definitions have since been published (Glanz Orlovsky, 1985). In 1995, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) defined desertification as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities. The evolution of the concept of desertification, however, embodies much more than any definition of its process. By identifying and delimiting an environmental problem, the term has been used to legitimate the study and identification of its causes, the attribution of blame and the need for policy intervention to remedy its effects. Therefore, as the term of choice in most discussions of dryland sustainability, it is critical that desertification presents an accurate and useful method to conceptualise ecosystem change. In the last decade, there have been a number of calls to debunk the myth of desertification and to expose the winners and losers in its narrative (Thomas Middleton, 1994; Swift, 1996). In the context of such claims, the extent to which desertification can inform our knowledge of dryland production systems and their sustainability will be examined in this essay. The validity and utility of any concept may be considered to rest upon mutual understanding of its meaning and the accuracy of its description and explanation of process. Judged against these criteria, I will argue that desertification (and the narrative that has built up around it) is unhelpful in explaining the sustainability of dryland production systems for three interrelated reasons. Firstly, at an abstract and theoretical level it is poorly conceptualized and ill-defined, mixing symptoms and causes in continually shifting boundaries of what processes it does and does not include. Secondly, the scientific work that has been used to support the concept has serious flaws and has failed to adequately represent the problem of sustainability in dryland areas. And lastly, the narrative has effectively blocked more accurate and progressive understandings of dryland sustainability. It will then we suggested that although desertification does not serve as a particularly useful lens to continue to analyse dryland sustainability, a knowledge of its history may yet prove useful in illuminating the relationship between science, policy and action. At an abstract level, the definition of desertification offers a number of problems for clear and objective understanding. Firstly, rather than a unitary process in itself, desertification is an amalgam of drought, desiccation and degradation which are three interrelated but discrete phenomena (Warren, 1996). Each of these has different causes and feedback mechanisms but has a similar outcome, and therefore desertification creates operational difficulties for assessment and subsequent intervention (ibid. , 1996). Pinpointing the exact cause of similar short-term physical manifestation is important to provide an effective solution (Warren Khogali, 1992). The inclusion of a subjective causal element such as human pressure in the definition also leads to problems delimiting the identification of desertification from its measurement (Mortimore, 1998). For example, in its attempts to map desertification hazards in 1977, UNEP added the parameter of high human and animal pressure to a map of aridity (ibid, 1989). However the duality of human action and natural changes is not necessarily so distinct and defined, and this obscures the mutual constitution of the two (Thomas, 1997). Secondly, and possibly as a result of this complexity of process, a definition of desertification has been problematic (ibid. , 1997). As noted earlier, there are more than 100 published definitions of desertification, which variously include or exclude the range of ecological processes within its boundaries (Glanz Orlovsky, 1985; Swift, 1996). Mainguet (1991) has argued that the term has been rendered obsolete by the extent of the confusion over its meaning. At a purely conceptual level therefore, the usefulness of the desertification may be severely compromised by the ambiguity over its definition, and within this the inclusion of both causal mechanisms and identification factors. Possibility related to the problem of definition of desertification, the theory and evidence used to support the concept has also been questioned (Mortimore, 1998). In this section the accuracy of the received narrative will be shown to have been challenged on three bases, the physical form of its occurrence, the processes that lie behind this form and the structural mechanisms that account for the continuation of these processes. The history of the narrative has been comprehensively reviewed by Swift (1996). Analysis of the process (without reference to the term) of desertification began in earnest in the late 1920s and 1930s, following a period of severe drought in the Sahel. One of the most influential writers on the subject was Stebbing, a forester who carried out fieldwork in the British and French colonies of West Africa in 1934. Stebbing asserted that the Sahara was moving southwards and estimated that this had occurred at a rate of 1km / yr for the previous three centuries (Stebbing, 1937 cited in Swift, 1996). Desiccation was ascribed as the process responsible for this change, with the increase in the use of indigenous agricultural land use through population pressure as the structural mechanism (ibid, 1937). This process was thought to have a subsequent feedback effect on rainfall, making it more intermittent (ibid, 1937). Although Stamp (1940) raised the severe shortcomings of Stebbings research, a number of elements of his argument can be traced in current consideration of desertification. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the desertification issue was revived, once again following a period of intense drought (Swift, 1996). The work of Lamprey (1975) and Ibrahim (1984) proved particularly important during this period, despite seriously flawed data analysis (ibid, 1996). Lamprey used ground surveys and aerial reconnaissance to compare contemporary boundaries on Kordofan and Darfur with those of a 1958 botanical survey. However, this distinction did not take account of the fact that the contemporary data was taken in a series of exceptionally dry years, whilst that 1958 represented a relatively wet period in the Sahel (Mortimore, 1998). In terms of the physical manifestation of this process, Lamprey (1975) concluded that ecological boundaries were shifting southwards and that sand was encroaching and threatening farmland. The work of Ibrahim (1984), based on observations in Darfur, Sudan over the period of 1976 1982, supported Lampreys conclusions and suggested that desertification had claimed over 650,000 kmi of productive land in the previous fifty years. In both of these studies, man was seen as the cause of desertification, with the rate of the process controlled by the increase in population pressure. Actions such as excessive use of agriculture in unsustainable areas, extensive pastoralism and high herd numbers and the indiscriminate collection of firewood were suggested as the triggers for this process (Swift, 1995). In combination the ideas of Stebbing (1937), Lamprey (1975) and Ibrahim (1984) became the scientific basis of a received narrative in terms of the form, process and causation of desertification. These ideas were reflected in policy circles, culminating in the UN Convention on Desertification in 1977. The main elements of the desertification concept may be thus identified as the expansion of the desert at a measurable rate, with desiccation is main process of this change and that man (driven by population pressure) is its agent. A Malthusian spiral of population growth, resource mismanagement, environmental degradation and a reduced carrying capacity may then be extrapolated (Mortimore, 1998). Many aspects of this conception have been the subject of critique.

Comitia Curiata

Comitia Curiata Definition The Comitia Curiata was an archaic political assembly in ancient Rome that survived in vestigial form until the end of the Republic. Most of what is said about it is supposition. Curiata comes from the term curia, a place of meeting. This location term was applied to curiae, which refers to the 30 kinship groups into which the Roman families were divided and that provided men for the military. These curiae were split among the three tribes of the period of the first king, Romulus. The three Romulan tribes were the Ramnenses, Titienses, and Luceres, supposedly named for: Romulus and connected with the Palatine Hill,the Sabine Titus Tatius and connected with the Quirinal Hill, andan Etruscan warrior named Lucumo, associated with the Caelian. It acted on the votes of its constituent members (the curiae). Each curia had one vote that was based on the majority of the votes of the members of that curia. The function of the Comitia Curiata was to confer imperium and to play certain formal roles, like witnessing adoptions and wills. It may have played a role in the selection of kings. The power of the king and the Senate dwarfed that of the Comitia Curiata during the Regal period. Examples Edward E. Best writes: [The] functions [of the comitia curiata] by the last century of the Republic had become a formality performed by 30 lictors representing each of the curiae. Sources: Literacy and Roman Voting, by Edward E. Best; Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Bd. 23, H. 4 (4th Qtr., 1974), pp. 428-43.A History of the Roman World 753-146 B.C., by H.H. Scullard; 1961The Beginnings of Rome, by T.J. Cornell; 1995The Servian ReformsHugh LastThe Journal of Roman Studies Vol. 35, Parts 1 and 2 (1945), pp. 30-48.

Juvenile Recidivism Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Juvenile Recidivism - Research Proposal Example The following review covers a relevant time span, a wide range of factors that have an impact on recidivism amongst juveniles, a wide variety of peer-reviewed articles, and guidance on what areas should be considered to support further inquiry factors impacting juvenile recidivism. Moreover, a plethora of methods in multiple regions of the world are considered to illustrate the common links in treatment for juvenile offenders and what role that plays in recidivism. Patterns are identified throughout the articles as well as unique aspects of study and focus. Kevin Minor, James Wells, and Ear1 Angel compiled a 2008 study that explores how release from residential placements impact juvenile recidivism depending on multivariate predictors and gender differences. The data indicated that â€Å"only gender, age, victimization history, and presence of special education needs significantly predicted recidivism† of the variables that were tested (Minor, Wells, & Angel, 2008). The research span over an 18-month time span and tested a sample of 580 juvenile offenders that were released from out-of-home placements. The article’s strengths can be attributed to the method testing 33 possible predicators for juvenile recidivism. That provides a wide range of factors and may demonstrate how the factors relate to one another. The results state that males are impacted significantly by certain variables in comparison to females. Yet, both genders’ recidivism rates are directly impacted by out-of-home placements. Moreover, the authorsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ implications for further research are offered as well as a critique of the shortfalls of other research on juvenile recidivism. Also, the role of residential treatment has allowed clinicians to play a role in answering what impact recidivism rates amongst juveniles. Nancy Calley and Emily Richardson (2011) examined the influential factors related to the