Response to Putins Way :: essays research papers

Putin’s Way After the fall of communism and the advent of democracy, the Soviet constitution was amended to delete the provision that the CPSU was the "leading and guiding" force in the political system. As a result, many political groups began to operate more openly in Russia. The constitution of 1993 guarantees further Russians' right to a multiparty system. Despite that â€Å"the Duma that results [today] is a democrat’s nightmare: three parties whose only ideologies are an almost slavish loyalty to President Vladimir Putin and varying degrees of nationalism, plus one made of the dregs of seven decades of totalitarian rule.† Putin’s Way examines why the â€Å"middle class did not vote as they were meant to.† In 1991, the majority of Russian people had the opportunity to cast a ballot that would truly be counted. The ballot allowed for the people to choose between Yabloko, the social-democrats, versus the Union of Right Forces (SPS), â€Å"the self-appointed guardians of Russian liberalism.† But, in the 2003 lower house elections, neither Yabloko nor the SPS received the 5% needed to get their party-list candidates into the Duma, the lower house. However, the â€Å"Liberal-Democrats,† an ultra-nationalist party led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky doubled their vote over the last election in 1999. In second place, Motherland, â€Å"a Kremlin-backed party,† led by ex-communist Sergei Glazyev, and modern nationalist, Dmitry Rogozin, won 12.7% of the vote. United Russia, the People’s Party, came in first place, winning 19 single-mandate seats and occupying 222 seats, nearly half of the seats in the Duma. The result of the 2003 elections: â€Å"three parties whose only ide ologies are an almost slavish loyalty to President Vladimir Putin and varying degrees of nationalism.† Having failed to amass votes, for the next few years, the two liberal parties will have nearly negligible influence. Putin’s Way provides a number of reasons for the unfortunate results of the election and for why the people voted the way they did. First, national/state run TV stations ignored the law that requires equal media coverage for all candidates. In secluded areas, local bosses forced government workers forced to campaign, threatening their jobs. Secondly, Yabloko and the SPS failed to raise topics such as healthy care and education, â€Å"unpopular with most Russians, but something that the newly affluent might agree with.† Thirdly, when democracy hit town, a vast separation was created between the haves and the have-nots. But, â€Å"the fact that economic growth under Mr.

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In the US alone a blood donation is needed every 2 seconds; that is 41,000 blood donations that are necessary every day (Blood Facts). The first successful blood transfusion was done in 1667 on a boy who was administered sheep blood, the boy survived. This alone paved the way for modern blood transfusions. The first human-to- human donations were done in the early 1800’s and were unsuccessful due to the lack of knowledge with blood types. Then in the 1900s blood types were discovered and from there blood banks were developed and research was done to progress the amazing transfusion system we have today (History). With all the advancement we have made throughout this vast time frame the truth of the matter is that even with the evolution only 10 percent of the 36 percent of people who have the ability to give blood actually do (Blood Facts). There are many unreasonable explanations as to why people don’t give blood some include their own unneeded fears, the excuse that giving is superfluous, the dangers and risks with transfusion, and the thought that it is bad for your overall health. These false accounts are preventing people from saving lives. Everyone who is healthy and able should save lives and donate their blood to better help someone who is in desperate need of it. Many people believe that donating blood is bad because of reasons such as wrongful doing by the nurses and professionals. A large number of individuals fear that too much blood might be taken, the person taking the blood might injure you and miss a vein and in general they are afraid of what might happen to them during the donating process. Phlebotomist nurses pass many tests, understand and perform their job to the best of their ability. It is import... ...you are healthy and able to donate blood you should do your part and save lives for people who are in need of transfusions. Giving blood has many positive aspects. Transfusions are safe and can actually help your overall heath, including your physiological well-being. Professionals follow standards and requirements to make the process very simple and easy. Also, blood is always in need so none of it goes to waste; whatever you donate will be put to good use. Many people have doubts, but if you look at the facts there are nothing but good things that come from donating blood. Do the right thing. Donate. Save Lives. By giving, you are not only helping save lives, but you will leave having a positive outlook on what you did to help with others health and in addition, your own. This is the opportunity for you to change someone’s life. Do your part and Donate.

king :: essays research papers

Patriotism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patriotism. The very sound of the word brings to my heart feelings of loyalty and pride. I feel loyalty for my country and my country's ideals, and I feel pride for those before me who fought and sacrificed much for the freedom of my beloved country. I love and honor my country. I feel a sense of duty to this country that has been my home since my birth. As I turn the pages of our country's history, I am inspired by those who have spoken out and fought against those who have threatened our country's security and ideals. Our forefathers had dreams of a nation with liberty and justice for all. They gave all they had, every single ounce of strength, to make that dream a reality. They waged war against one of the most powerful empires of the time so that they could remain true to their ideals. Martin Luther King Jr. was willing to lead a movement against segregation in our nation. He had the courage to tell our nation that its policy of segregation was wrong. To me, that is true patriotism: not only being willing to fight for our country but willing to try to change it so that our ideals are preserved. I implore upon you, the youth of America, to fight to keep the flame of patriotism alive. We are the authors of our country's future. We must dig dip inside ourselves and find the courage and determination to dream of a greater and nobler country. We, as the future of this country, must dedicate ourselves to this cause and stay true to the ideals of those before us. Patriotism is defined as a love for or a devotion to one’s country. With the events that happened in America on

The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me

â€Å"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me† Reading â€Å"The Joy of reading and Writing: Superman and Me,† gave me a different perspective of reading and writing. Sherman Alexie, who grew up on the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, explains his life as an Indian boy, and how reading and writing helped his life to succeed. Alexie purposes is to discuss how he first learned how to read and write, his intelligence as a young Indian boy, and Alexie as an adult teaching creative writing to Indians children. Alexie learned not only how to read but to love reading. He used his love of reading to propel himself through the school system, removing himself from the stereotypical to be dumb, quiet, poor, and to fail in life. Alexie begins his essay with a self confidence tone. Alexie, while growing in the Indian Reservation, at the age of three he learned how to read by using Superman comics. Alexie taught himself how to read the comic books by looking at the pictures and dialogue and pretending to say aloud what he thinks the story might be saying. I look at the narrative above the picture. I cannot read the words, but I assume it tells me that Superman is breaking down the door. Aloud, I pretend to read the words and say, Superman is breaking down the door† (14). Alexie learned quickly how to read while many other Indian kids struggled to read basic words and vocabulary. â€Å"He reads Grapes of Wrath in kindergarten when other children are struggling through Dick and Jane† (15 ). After Alexie established his self confidence tone, Alexie shows his determination tone. Indian children were stereotypically supposed to fail in the classroom and most did. Indian boys who fail were accepted; those who did not were not accepted. Alexie was smart and he refused to fail, he never got intimidated, he always participated with the non-Indian peers in class. â€Å"I fought with my classmates on a daily basis. They wanted me to stay quiet when non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, for help† (15). Alexie loved to read, he read everything he possible could, even if they were not books. Alexie wanted to be educated and refused to fail. â€Å"I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky† (15). Alexie’s tone at end of the essay, he was proud and surprised of himself because he became a writer. Becoming a writer, Alexie started to write books for children and he started to teach creative writing at Indian Schools. Alexie is proud because he has the opportunity to help other Indian kids to succeed in life. â€Å"These days, I write novels, short stories, and poems. I visit schools and teach creative writing to Indian kids† (15). Most of the children in the Reservation read his books and write their own poems, and that makes Alexie proud of himself. But there are some of the children that who have already given up hope on themselves and sit in the back of the classroom and do not care anything for reading and writing. â€Å"Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision† (16). Alexie is trying to break down their locked doors, and he is trying to save their lives by teaching them to read and write. Alexie refused to fail, instead he read different kind of books and he became strong reader and a smart Indian. Alexie read everything and everywhere he went. This is probably one of the reasons Alexie never fail in school and his succeed life, because he loved to learn. He also committed to help other Indian in the Reservation by helping them to learn how to read and write. Alexie purpose was to try to save their lives. â€Å"I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives† (16).

Prose Written Before Nineteen Hundred Essay

This assessment objective requires students to respond to the question with views informed by the interpretations of others. By others is meant fellow students, teachers and, more obviously, professional critics. Others can also refer to cultural perspectives adopted from varying standpoints: religious, political, class, age or gender based. The requirement can be looked at in two ways: (i) as a request that we include the views of critics to illuminate a point, support an argument or as claims that needs to be challenged. Remember that external critical opinions need to be acknowledged ( and referenced where possible) in order to pre-empt accusations of plagiarism. (ii) as an invite to demonstrate awareness that we tend, as individuals, to interpret texts from within sets of personal and cultural frameworks: gender, age, class, race, nationality, creed, historical era and psychological make-up. For example, your sympathy or otherwise Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage may be influenced your gender age, class and political affiliation, creed, psychological make-up and the era in which you are rooted. General McClurg’s famous diatribe on the novel clearly relates to his upbringing, military experience and status and particular brand of patriotism. Other, more appreciative views of the work may have been constructed from within a different, more humanistic sphere. Coriolanus has been interpreted in different places and eras as military hero, fascist strongman and tyrannical opponent of democracy. It is obvious that at the present day one’s sympathy or otherwise for Coriolanus could relate to one’s politics. The question of whether King Lear implies the existence of an after life and an ultimate moral order may be determined by whether or not the reader possesses a religious sensibility. Whereas a Christian might see the plot as having a ‘redemptive pattern’, an atheist might view the conclusion as patently pessimistic. Again, attitudes to the sisters in the play could relate, at least partially, to the reader’s views on feminism and attitude to patriarchy.

Children and Television Essay

Nearly every household has access to television programming. With the variety of programs available children are exposed to many factors concerning choice. These choices can lead to a wide array of results depending on the type of content which is viewed. Positive programming can promote the learning of valuable skills and knowledge to enable success in life, while negative programming may have diverse opposite effects. The contents of television programming affect the health, behaviors and learned life skills in children. First, a discussion of physical health concerns. Television viewing by children can cause a variety of physical health concerns. Children face physical health issues because of the amount of time they spend watching television. A couple of these physical concerns are eyesight and eating disorders. The length of time children focus on the television screen, and the proximity they sit from the television screen, causes them to develop eyesight problems. Ideally, children should sit approximately â€Å"five feet away† from the television set according to McWilliams and Moulder. (1999) On the contrary, The Nemours Foundation explains the fallacy of children sitting close to television screens is not a cause of eyesight problems because children have the ability to focus at a closer distance than adults. (2010) In either event whether the sitting close to the television is the cause or a sign of an eye problem caution should still be used in not allowing children to sit too close to the television screen. Children also face problems with eating disorders from watching television. Children become fixated on programs causing inattention to their eating habits. Some children will not eat at all while others tend to overeat. These eating disorders are influenced by the content children are viewing through specific programming. One factor of this programming is that the advertisements target children encouraging them to desire specific products, such as how McDonalds offers toys to attract sales of their products. Findings of Zimmerman and Bell conclude, â€Å"Television viewing may be a sedentary activity, but it is not for that reason that it is associated with obesity in children. The relationship between television viewing and obesity among children is limited to commercial television viewing and probably operates through the effect of advertising obesogenic foods on television† (2010 p338). Children also face psychological health concerns in relation to television viewing. As children advance in age their minds become more developed giving them a better understanding of the environment surrounding them. Some content available on television causes specific phobias which â€Å"include fear of insects, snakes, and dogs; escalators, elevators, and bridges; high places; and open spaces† as well as many others† (Healthofchildren. com, 2012). The development of these phobias causes elevated anxiety levels in children. Children who watch many hours of graphic content such as horror movies, nature programs, and news broadcasts which implant images in their impressionable, young minds providing them with a sense that the world is an unsafe place. These anxieties influence different behaviors in children. Generally the negative content that can be viewed on television causes children to mimic behaviors and actions of the characters they see. â€Å"Repeated exposure to TV violence makes children less sensitive toward its effects on victims and the human suffering it causes† (Boyse, 2010). Children use their imagination during play. Children will oftentimes play games such as cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, or even mimic their favorite wrestling star causing harm to each other. These behaviors are viewed as unacceptable in society and can overflow into situations where the actions are inappropriate such as in school, grocery stores, or movie theaters. As children may not have a complete understanding of the motives of the content which they were presented though television, they may accept them as reality. However, the acceptance of this reality can cause positive behaviors as well. â€Å"Children imitate their parental role models that they love and trust; then they imitate other role models that might not be so worthy† ( Jagers, 2007). Depending on their understanding of the consequences of an action, children may choose a different mode of behavior concerning situations they encounter throughout their lives. A child who views someone getting burned may take caution when they are in a similar situation themselves. If a child observes someone calling 911 seeking assistance in an emergency situation, when confronted with this type of situation they will think to use this to their advantage. Some television shows for children encourage positive behaviors such as empathy, kindness, and helping others. These television shows encourage emotional development allowing children to display positive behaviors. One show that has these qualities is â€Å"Dora the Explorer† which highlights characters helping each other, helping other characters to achieve tasks, and being kind by using polite language such as please and thank you. Shows like â€Å"Dora the Explorer† provide children with a foundation of necessary life skills. Children learn various life skills such as social roles and interactions through the content of television programming. Television characters through their interactions teach children how to behave within certain situations. Viewing these interactions give children a guideline of social behaviors in a variety of situations that allow children to react to real life situations in a similar manner. The roles are not limited to specific situations in childhood, but reach across the lifespan. Children use television as an expectation of real life situations. A child who views family based programs will conclude a model of functionality within a family. Some shows portray families that are functional whereas other shows portray dysfunctional families. These programs provide children a model to relate their personal experiences. If a child comes from a dysfunctional family they may envy the lives of characters in functioning television families. In other ways, when viewing a dysfunctional family on television, a child may find new methods to solve problems within their own family. Television shows such as â€Å"Reba† may give children who are subject to divorce and remarriage of their parents a way to deal with the new family life they encounter. Also the gender roles highlighted on television provide children with expectations they should follow in their own lives. For girls, television may portray female roles of characters as mother, caregiver, and oftentimes business women. For boys, male character roles may be portrayed as father, disciplinarian, and supporter of the family. These expectations learned provide a productive model a child should attain in the eyes of society. Consequently, later in life a child’s impression of social rules and roles become part of their personality and can become individualized. This allows a boy who wishes to become a nurse not to view this decision as deviant. Another source of skills for success in life learned through television is the acquisition of knowledge and academic skills. â€Å"Children imitate their parental role models that they love and trust; then they imitate other role models that might not be so worthy† (Kirkman, Wartella, and Anderson, 2008, p. 47). One area of knowledge present in television shows targeted toward children is the recognition and association of letters, numbers and words. Children can be taught at a young age the association between what they are presented and hat they perceive, such as the #1 and the letter A. Through the elementary impression of these concepts a child learns secondary concepts such as reading, writing, and more. Some programming encourages the learning of foreign languages such as Chinese Spanish and French by exposing children to these languages making these concepts fun to learn. The acquisition of all these skills through television occurs in a passive manner. A child does not realize they are learning the content they perceive making television an effective outlet for teaching. Another skill set taught through television is problem solving through visual examples. As children view others making decisions concerning real life situations they can refer back to the outcome of a similar situation they may have previously viewed. This allows for them to make educated choices within their own lives or experiences. Such programs show the process one must take in problem solving, empowering them with the skills to decipher between right and wrong. Television also presents a less desirable outcome for successful life skills. Children who view content inappropriate for their age struggle with academics as well as face specific challenges later in life. As children gain an understanding of the content they are watching on television the presence of these struggles begins to decrease in their influential strength. An effect previously mentioned of children mimicking behaviors viewed on television, if a child learns and reflects defiant behavior toward authority the effect will not only cause poor grades but also dropping out of school. The child will avoid homework assignments because of the commands and deadlines made by the teacher. This defiance of authority leads to reprisals from administrators such as principals and academic counselors. Another challenge to the academic lives of children is the presence of structure in schools. This struggle exists because television can be accessed at any time whereas school has a specific schedule. A child struggles to focus during these times. A major cause of this inattention is that television produces a higher level of activity than school. Naturally the child would choose the more stimulating activity, which in the eyes of the child is television.

Compare Two Theories of First/Second Language Acquisition

A3 Compare two theories of first/second language acquisition. The process by which humans acquire the capacity to distinguish properly as well as produce and use words to understand and communicate with others is known as first language acquisition. It focuses mainly on how infants pick up their native language, including syntax and some extensive vocabulary items, having so little input. We can distinguish many theoretical approaches towards the first language learning process.Behaviourists, for instance, whose main motto is ‘Say what I say’ claim that learning of the language is the result of habit formation, imitation practice and feedback on success. Children naturally imitate what they hear in their environment, then if they receive positive reinforcement, they are able to form ‘habits’ of proper language use. On the other hand, a linguist Noam Chomsky holds that language development may be compared to the most basic biological functions such as an abil ity to walk as â€Å"every child will learn to walk as long as adequate nourishment and reasonable freedom of movement are provided† (Lightbown and Spada 1999:15).Both theories emphasize the importance of the environment which plays a crucial role when stimulating child’s language development. Hence, in order to pick up the language in a proper way the child must be exposed to the language given. However, contradictory to the behaviourist theory, Chomsky claims that the language is, to some degree, confusing and the provided information is not sufficient for a child to learn the language only by imitating particular words and phrases.That is to say, the environment fails to provide all necessary information which the child needs. To sum up, the greatest difference between behaviourism and innatism is the opinion about child’s mind. Behaviourists claim that child should be, in some way, programmed by the environment, meaning child’s mind is a blank slate t hat has to be filled. However, Chomsky is of the opinion that every child comes to this world with a special ability to discover all language rules by itself. Bibliography: Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. 1999. How Languages are Learned. Oxford: OUP.