Wooden Houses Vs Concrete houses in Saudi Arabia

Wooden Houses Vs Concrete houses in Saudi Arabia Introduction The choice of housing is usually determined by different factors. Climatic and weather conditions include some of the elements that inform potential homeowners. Observably, a cost benefit analysis of diverse housing alternatives must be conducted. Presently, people have recognized the need to erect different kinds of buildings. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Wooden Houses Vs Concrete houses in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These include both the concrete and wooden houses. However, it is crucial to note that the costs involved are an important factor in informing this decision. This essay compares the choice between wooden or concrete houses in Saudi Arabia. Some of the issues discussed include cost, compatibility and sustainability with the country and weather conditions, time efficiency and environmental friendliness. 1st Point: Cost There are obvious disparities between the wooden a nd concrete houses in Saudi Arabia. Homeowners consider the cost effectiveness of various architectural designs for their houses. Cost considerations play significant roles in the decision for proper housing. Observably, this also includes the basic materials to be applied in the construction process. Saudi Arabia is located within a desert. This area has a lot of sand and other natural material for concrete building. These materials are exploited and used directly or indirectly. It is apparent that it is easier to obtain the materials for constructing concrete buildings. Ideally, a desert environment lacks the natural capacity to support the practice of forestry. Therefore, forests are less likely to develop within the desert area. It is imperative that Saudi Arabia has no sufficient wood sources. Building a wooden house in Saudi Arabia would prove very expensive for most people. This is unlike the concrete buildings. There is a very high cost of importing timber for construction into Saudi Arabia. Notably, very few neighboring countries or states have the potential to produce enough timber for exports. This makes it hard and expensive for people to construct wooden houses. Sand is readily available within Saudi Arabia. This means that people can locally extract sand and use it for the preparation of concrete material. The people have applied locally available technology to initiate these processes. Apart from sand, there are other concrete materials such as stones and processed cement. Consequently, several cement-processing plants are located within different regions of the country. All these factors play a significant role in lowering the cost of constructing the concrete houses. The wooden houses lack adequate resiliency and resistance to last for a long period. Generally, they are more susceptible to abrasion, breakage and destruction. Majorly, these emanate from the harsh environmental conditions within the desert in Saudi Arabia. However, the concret e houses prove to be more resistant. Advertising Looking for report on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They are very resistant to abrasion and other destructive occurrences that might emanate from the desert environment. It is, therefore, deductable that there are negligible or lower maintenance costs involved. This is unlike the case of wooden houses that require a lot of attention, surveillance and maintenance initiatives. These elements might also increase the general expenses involved in the design and operation of wooden houses in Saudi Arabia. There might be limited or lack of adequate labor for the construction of wooden houses. The condition emerges because the desert faces a great level of timber scarcity. The scarcity of human resource increases the expenses used for hiring labor. Contrarily, the masons involved in the construction of concrete houses are readily available. This trend remains o bservable across the entire Saudi Arabia. There is minimal labor costs involved in the process. This makes the concrete houses cheaper to construct than the wooden houses. 2nd Point: Compatibility and Sustainability with the Country and Weather Conditions Saudi Arabia has variable weather conditions. There are different seasons within a year. These variable weather conditions affect physical structures in different ways. It is important to note that the country and weather conditions might affect the sustainability of the houses. Evidently, the concrete houses prove to be more durable and resistant to all weather conditions. Agreeably, they last longer and serve their basic purpose in an effective manner. However, this situation is not applicable for the case of the wooden houses. These variable weather conditions make the wooden houses more vulnerable to rapid destruction. The concrete houses are more compatible and sustainable to the country and weather conditions. Wooden houses are more likely to be destroyed through various processes. These processes originate from different weather and environmental factors. Physical processes cause breakages and destructions in the wooden houses. In addition, other notable chemical process might lead to gradual destruction of the wooden houses. Principally, these emanate from different environmental changes causing weather alterations and interactions. These factors make the owners of such houses to incur additional and high maintenance expenditures. Indicatively, this is not the case for the concrete houses. The composition of concrete is more durable and resistant to these weather changes. They can be occupied even during periods of adverse weather. Additionally, they are also suitable in Saudi Arabia because they help to prevent excess heat and cold from reaching the occupants. There are many weather-generated agents with negative impacts on the wooden houses. Certain animals such as ants, insects and rodents occupy human habitats. Wooden houses are mostly targeted in this aspect. Perhaps, unlike the concrete houses, wooden ones provide a readily available source of food for these ants. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Wooden Houses Vs Concrete houses in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They are more susceptible to destruction from the action of such animals. It is notable that the concrete houses are very sustainable within the desert conditions. The hard concrete surface acts as a critical guard and protection against the harsh weather conditions that prevail from the outside desert environment. Excessive and strong winds predominant within the Saudi Arabia desert environment might have detrimental implications on the wooden houses. There is a high probability of the wooden house being swept away by wind. This is majorly because the wooden house foundations might not be as strong and firm as the concrete ones. Foundations made from concrete material are very strong, firm and remain rooted to the ground. In this regard, they are most suitable for desert conditions that experience extensive and huge wind flows during all periods. Building wooden houses within such places would be dangerous to the life of occupants. Generally, the concrete houses are more appropriate within desert areas like Saudi Arabia. The wooden houses are not sustainable within such areas. 3rd Point: Time Efficiency There are many challenges associated with building wooden houses in Saudi Arabia. These challenges lead to the development of major inefficiencies. These might relate to the habitats and other processes taking place within the houses. Apparently, the concrete houses built within Saudi Arabia have limited cases of inefficiency as compared to other wooden ones. The wooden houses require a lot of time and concentration. These must be undertaken during the construction and maintenance stages. Normally, the hou se owner might need to utilize the services of an expert during the construction process. These initiatives always result into longer durations of consulting and hiring the appropriate personnel to complete the construction activities. Unlike the case of the concrete houses, the trained personnel are easily accessible. It is crucial to note that one might not even require integrating or outsourcing for the services of building experts. This saves a lot of time in the construction of these concrete buildings. As compared to the concrete houses, the wooden ones are easy to clean and maintain in a sanitary manner. In fact, the wooden one just needs to be wiped in order for the house to be clean and sanitary. Depending on the type of the concrete finish of a specific surface, it may be challenging to sanitize the concrete house. From these observations, it is noteworthy that the wooden houses are important and leading in times of time saving.Advertising Looking for report on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, this is only true during the cleaning operations. The concrete houses would need a lot of water to clean or sanitize. These also require several personnel and energy input. These factors combine to influence the length of time spent in attaining the maximum level of sanitation within these houses. The materials for constructing concrete houses are readily accessible within the country. This means that a lot of time is saved during the procurement and construction procedures. The building contractors do not have to travel for longer distances to search for these materials. There are also minimal cases or instances of imports. The overall implication is that it is more time saving and efficient to develop a concrete house in the Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, this is the opposite case for the wooden houses within this region. Timber meant for construction of these houses must be imported into Saudi Arabia. This means that there must be adequate periods allocated for identificati on, invoicing and negotiation initiatives. These also involve the normal procedures undertaken in procurement, including the clearance schedules within the customs duty departments. Therefore, sufficient time must be slotted for all these operations to be achieved. These usually lead to the realization of gross time inefficiencies. 4th Point: Environment Friendly Wooden houses prove to be more environment friendly as compared to the concrete houses. However, this argument only serves certain aspects of the wooden houses. For instance, they help to cushion the occupants or inhabitants from the harsh climatic and weather conditions within the desert. Most people consent that it is usually more comfortable to reside within the wooden houses. Particularly, this relates to specific places with poor environmental conditions such as the deserts of the Saudi Arabia. The concrete houses are more prone to negative climatic situations. These houses usually make the occupants more vulnerable t o these harsh conditions within their external environments. There have been negative arguments from most environmental conservationists about these wooden houses. According to these conservationists, wooden houses are made from timber. This practice results into massive deforestation that leads to the development of severe environmental impacts. Some of the impacts already noted and highlighted include the increased rates of global warming and ozone depletion. In this context, it is notable that the wooden houses are not environmentally friendly. In this regard, the concrete houses appear to be more environmentally friendly. Conclusion It is evident that the concrete houses do not encourage or propagate the impacts of global warming. Since man is part of the larger environment, the wooden houses provide a very conducive and moderated environment for habitation. The concrete houses are usually sensitive to the weather changes that emanate from the external environment. In most cir cumstances, they are not as environment friendly as the wooden houses. Notably the concrete houses have several advantages as compared to the wooden houses constructed within Saudi Arabia. In summary, it is better to construct the concrete houses in Saudi Arabia rather than the wooden houses.

Philosophy of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Philosophy of Education - Essay Example Philosophical reflection informs the manner of instructive practices as well as the point to which instruction should do so. In the republic, Plato termed education as a practice which stands exclusively necessitating direction from the most embracing as well as refined metaphysics (Blake, Smith & Standish 2006). All past and current human societies have had a vested concentration on education and most of the people have claimed that most educational activities or teaching are the second oldest occupation. Almost every society allocates adequate resources in support of educational institutions and activities as they are very important. Learning institutions are one of the agents of socialization in most societies because all children are born innumerate and illiterate. They are also normally ignorant of the cultural achievements and norms of their society or community of which they are part of. However, with the assistance of teachers, the rest of the society and educational resources, they learn to read, write, and act in ways that are culturally appropriate. Most of the people learn these skills with more education facilities than other people. Education equips people with substantive knowledge and skills that enable them to identify and pursue their own aspirations and take part in their community life as independent and full-fledged citizens. In his educational philosophy, Plato argued that a person is served best when he or she is subordinated to a just society. Plato promoted the notion that children should be removed from the care of their mothers and raised as state wards with a lot of care being taken to t ell apart children suitable to the different castes, the highest attaining most education, to ensure that they act as city guardians and care for the less fortunate (Rozema 1998). Plato further argued that education would be holistic including physical discipline, skills, facts, art and music which he took as the utmost form of undertaking. He believed that talents were not distributed genetically and thus they had to be found in any social class. There have been other philosophies of education after Plato. Freire (2002) attacked the ‘banking concept of education’. In this concept, students are viewed like an empty account that should be filled by the teachers. Freire suggested that a deep reciprocity should be inserted into people’s idea of student and teacher. He rejected the teacher –student dichotomy and encouraged the role of participants in the classroom as the student teacher (a student who teaches) and teacher student (a teacher who learns). Freire (2002) kind of classroom was at times criticized because it can disguise the authority of the teacher rather than overcome it. Freirian education philosophy has been extremely important in academic debates over participatory development and overall development. Dewey (1916) argued that the basic ineluctable birth and death facts of every member of a social group make education a necessity because in spite of this genetic inescapability, the community has to continue. The immense societal significance of education is highlighted by the fact that when people are taken aback by a predicament, it is regularly viewed as a sign of fail and teachers and the system of education become scapegoats. On the other McLaren argued that education should bring about social and self empowerment. He criticized the conventional American tradition in which schools try to establish and develop an egalitarian and democratic society, with the conventional humanities curricula informing learners about the ethical standards and human values. McLaren saw modern schools as doing precious little to encourage the Western humanist traditionist. Schools produce economic and social which has to be weighed against a real record of serving the affluent interests. This condition by McLaren has been in latest conservative developments where the curriculum and aims are geared to the worldwide economic

High Speed Rail Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

High Speed Rail - Research Paper Example This type of rail system is preferable for passenger travel although it is also used for freight services in some countries. (Cox and Vranich) The purpose of this research paper is to give an overview of development of high speed rail transport, its benefits i.e. economically and environmentally, operation and maintenance and success or failure of such projects. Many policy makers in developed countries have backed the idea of a high speed rail transport. For instance, the Obama administration in the USA pledged to inject an $8 billion dollar fund to support high speed rail project as part of its economic stimulus program. This plan involved around 8500 rout-miles of high speed trains connecting about 33 states in 2009 and all the states connected by 2014. Â  (Vock, 2014) High speed rail is rapidly expanding across the world. Currently, more than 20 countries have a high speed rail transport with other 10 countries having such a system under construction. High speed rail transport has been operational in Japan for over 50 years with zero fatalities. Some policy makers argue that high speed rail train is expensive and only serve the elite in society. For instance, in the USA it is argued that the geography is unsuitable for such a system since its cities are less dense and far apart. (OToole) However, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with high speed rail transport in terms of sustainability, economically and environmentally. High speed trains can deliver passengers at a fraction of a second and costs and in all weather. It also provides convenient service to other forms of transport e.g. fast transport to airports hence allowing residents from lower societal level to benefit from a relatively cheap form of long-distance travel. Also, a single rail track and high speed train can carry many people at ago as compared to highways and this is not only convenient, but also saves time and cost. (Pettinger) With the adoption and running of a

Why Does Gender Pay Inequality Persist?

Why Does Gender Pay Inequality Persist? With the increasing trend of the remarkably importance of the gender pay equality during the past few decades, organisations and many commentators have been paying particular attention to the relative trends, legislations, news, economy and global labour market as a whole to address the persistence of the gender pay inequality occurred nowadays. Pay equity is defined as a particular strategy for reducing or eliminating the wage gap between or among groups such as women and men, or various ethnic groups (Thomas 2006). It was mentioned in the CONSAD Research Corporations paper (2009) that there have been significant increase for women to participate in the labour force, to acquire higher education level and to make substantial real earnings. For instance, Lander ONeill (1991) indicated that Australian women participation rate in the labour force has doubled since 1947. Moreover, it was showed in the Education Internationals report (2010) that the average female graduation rate in high er education in OECD countries is 16 percent more than the male graduation rate. Yet the challenge is that women have been earning less than men all through the developed countries around the world even they are well educated and actively participate in the workforce (Hatt1997). Taking an example in Australia, women earn approximately 80 percent of mens wages (Lander ONeill 1991). The persistence of the gender pay gap is puzzling although the gender pay equity ratio has been steadily rising and a wide range of legislations such as Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action were implemented to address the issue (Smith 2009; Lander ONeill 1991). This paper will briefly demonstrate the historical overview with respect to the topic. It will proceed to identify the comprehensive reasons for the existence of gender pay inequality. It will then illustrate the advantages of having pay equality worldwide. Last but not least, the paper will recommend some of the strategies which or ganisations can best address the challenge by utilising appropriate non-discriminatory workplace practices and policies. Historical Overview The ancient time of keeping women staying and working at home while men were responsible for earning a living had passed after the World War II (Amaram 2010). The participation rate of women joining the labour force has greatly boosted due to the establishment of some legislation to remove obstacles of womens employment and to allow women working in certain kinds of work such as metal industry (ODonnell Hall 1988). The booming economy and labour shortage triggered the fact that women were encouraged to replace men, who were resisting in the war, in the labour market (ODonnell Hall 1988). Campaigns were also formed by many womens organisations to fight for the equal pay between men and women (ODonnell Hall 1988). Some supporters advocate the theory of comparable worth that there should be equal pay for jobs entailing similar skill, effort, responsibility and work conditions, and that this parity should occur regardless of respective job market values (Grider Toombs 1993). However, even there were legislation, theories and womens organisations to protect women from getting unequal pay; the gender wage gap has been existed for many years. To explain this gap, there are a couple of complex reasons which directly and indirectly result in the gender differences in pay. Occupational Segregation One of the primary reasons for the gender pay differences is due to occupational segregation. Men and women are not evenly allocated in all occupational categories. Women tend to be distributed in low-paying industries or occupations which directly affect their average earnings (Smith 2009; Hatt 1997; McAuley 1981; Mumford 1989; Lander ONeill 1991; Education International 2010; Curlew Weber 2010). It was pointed out that women were mainly employed in community services, the wholesale and retail trade, clerical work and catering; whereas men were generally employed in mining, electricity, gas and water, manufacturing as well as construction industries where men are more likely to receive well above average pay (ODonnell Hall 1988; Hatt 1997). The consequence of setting women apart in certain occupations with low-status and low-paid partially results in the gender pay gap. Vertical Segregation Rather than constraining women in particular occupations or industries, vertical segregation occurs in both public and private sectors when women are located in lower positions and men are placed in more senior positions such as executive or managerial roles (Mumford 1989). Women are given very few opportunities to engage in promotion to higher positions, and therefore women are constrained their mobility upwards to the organisational hierarchy and they are under-represented at senior positions in all occupations (Hatt 1997). This phenomenon is closely related to the glass ceiling effects for women that refer to those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organisational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organisation into management-level positions (U.S. Department of Labour 1991). Hence, vertical segregation is another factor that leads to the gender pay gap. Family Responsibility As a result of the family obligation to give birth as well as take care of the children and elders at home, there has been a greater percentage for women to participate in more flexible part-time and casual employments than men who tend to have full-time employments (Smith 2009; CONSAD Research Corp 2009; Curlew Weber 2010; Amaram 2010). It was indicated in Amaram (2010)s study that pregnancy leading to the absence of women is 36 percent more than men and married men are more likely to work longer hours to make up the loss of the earnings for the family. Undoubtedly, it was claimed by many reporters that part-time employment pays relatively less than full-time employment, thus the unbalanced participation in part-time works causes women to be classified in lower level of income groups without adequate chances for skill advancement and promotion opportunities (Education International 2010 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia 2009). Womens Tendency of Education and Work Choices and Patterns The educational paths that men and women decide for their majors in higher education or universities are different, indirectly affect the real earnings between men and women in the workforce (Amaram 2010). Amaram (2010) showed in his paper that men generally prefer sciences as their majors whilst women prefer humanities and education. The assumption is that men and women are likely to choose their desired majors at colleges or universities that can reflect what they are going to choose for their careers in the future, which leads to the conclusion by Hartmann (2004) that the pay of the male-nominated occupations tends to be higher than female-nominated occupations. One of the explanations can be attributed that women tend to choose a safer work environment such as being a secretary, teacher or receptionist and they are willing to accept less-paid jobs (Education International 2010 Farrell 2005). In addition, based on the GAOs report (2003) showing that women normally work fewer hour s and take more breaks away from work than men, women are therefore less work experience and human capital at work that brings about the consequence of earning less income. Historical and Social Stereotypes of Under-Valuating Womens Work and Skills Based on the historical overview mentioned in the first section, up until the Second World War, women were supposed to stay at home for cleaning and bringing up the children while men were taking the main role to be the breadwinner for the whole family (Amaram 2010; Elias Purcell 1988). According to Press (2006), companies advertised for job vacancies in the newspapers listed separately for men and women, as well as womens pay was greatly lower than men. In no doubt, the historical factors generated the hypothesis that womens works are semi-skilled and unskilled (Smith 2009). This hypothesis was supported by Lander ONeill (1991) and Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (2009) that womens skills and works are always under-valuated and unrecognised, which causes the social stereotypes on the perception of females capability to work in certain occupational categories. In other words, women may earn less than men as a result of their skills and works were devaluated by the commu nity and organisations based on the social stereotypes. Direct Gender Discrimination There are many theorists agreed that direct gender discrimination partly account for the gender wage gap (Curlew Weber 2010; Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia 2009; Hatt 1997 McAuley 1981). It happens when women and men are treated unequally facing the same job requirements with the same educational level and work experience (Education International 2010). Although it is unlawful to discriminate women from being recruited in male-nominated occupations in most of the developed countries, gender discrimination indeed moderately initiates the gender pay differences. It was even reported that gender discrimination and bias comprise half of the gender pay gap (Lander ONeill 1991). Consequently, no matter the organisational and societal sex discrimination is intentional or unintentional, it is clear that gender bias is an essential element of the persistence of wage gap between men and women. Other Reasons Apart from the major factors brought up previously, there are other reasons which should account for the wage gap as well in terms of the problem of the merit-type payment systems, union affiliation, and womens value on non-wage benefits such as health insurance. Firstly, it is important to understand the rise of the individual contracts together with the meaning of less collective bargaining like the decline of trade unions at workplaces (Bamber, Lansbury Wailey 2004). Also, merit-type payment including merit increments and merit bonuses is the most popular individual performance pay plans that are widely used in the USA and many other Western countries today (Shields, 2007). One of the disadvantages of the merit-type payment systems is that it lacks of transparency of the pay structure, hence, it is always up to the managements discretion of any individual performance and pay where there are probably the existence of discriminatory components (Grider Toombs 1993). Secondly, it wa s claimed that the formation of a trade union will bring a wage rate of 17.6 percent up for union members (Hatt 1997, Amaram 2010). With the significant rising trend of women participating in part-time and casual employments stated earlier, it is less possible for women to become union members that they comparatively earn less than men who normally work as full-time employees and are union members. Lastly, research was also done by the CONSAD Research Corporation (2009) that there is a greater probability that women may relatively value more on non-wage benefits and other employee benefits such as childcare, health insurance and advisory services when comparing to men. Accordingly, women may value other aspects of benefits other than wage that may cause the gender wage differences. Advantages of the Existence of Gender Pay Equality Despite the limitations acknowledged which block the way to gender pay equality, there are a series of advantages for individuals, families, organisations and economy as a whole provided that gender pay equity exists. Pay equality increases the empowerment of women and reduces the chances of womens experience to harassment, violence and exploitation at work (Cornish 2008). Additionally, it brings positive effects to the well-being and wealth of the families as a result of the increased income, which ultimately improves the situation of poverty, economy and social justice (Lander ONeill 1991; Education International 2010 Curlew Weber 2010). For the organisations, staff morale and productivity will be increased and absenteeism will be decreased if gender pay equity exists in the workplace because employees feel fairness among others (Curlew Weber 2010). Thus, organisations should proactively take actions to address the problem of the persistence of gender pay inequality in order to benefit itself, employees, community and other stakeholders involved. Organisational Strategies for Tackling the Challenge Although governments intervention of implementing fair pay legislations among male and female employees is indispensable, as Smith (2009) claimed that the legislative reform alone is not enough. Strategic non-discriminatory workplace practices and policies should be carefully planned, designed, implemented and monitored at the organisational level in order to build positive images to the public without violating any relative discriminatory issues, as well as maximise the benefits of balancing the gender pay differences. Therefore, human resource management teams play major roles in making every single decision to align with the organisational strategies. First of all, it is recommended to use objective, systematic and consistent process of job evaluation systems to deal with gender-based inequities in pay (Lander ONeill 1991). De Corte (1993) suggested a model-based approach to job evaluation to calculate the probability to gender bias related to pay at work. Secondly, male and fema le recruiters should be involved in the recruitment and selection stages so that female candidates will not be excluded in a discriminatory way. Thirdly, training and development should be regularly provided to all employees with the intention that women are given chances to promotion in a higher hierarchical level in the organisations. Fourthly, mentoring programs with professional consultants or management should be offered to female employees, who have competent knowledge and capabilities, to encourage them participating in senior positions (Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency 2010). Fifthly, flexible workplace arrangements such as home-based assignments as well as childcare services should also be available to allow female employees having work-life balance (ODonnell Hall 1988). Lastly, organisations should conduct a gender pay audit annually, which provides detailed information regarding the gender pay structure and figures of the whole organisation and the per centage of female employees being promoted to the senior positions (Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency 2010). The strategies proposed above are only few subtle pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle; beyond doubt organisations should proactively look for other approaches to address the problem of gender pay inequality. Conclusion The condition of gender pay inequality has been steadily improved in the last few decades. However, in reality it does persist due to an array of complex reasons in terms of occupational and vertical segregation, parenthood, womens propensity of education and occupation choices and patterns, historical stereotypes and under-valuation of womens skills and work, direct gender discrimination, the setback of the merit-type payment systems, union affiliation, and different values on wage and non-wage employee benefits between men and women. These factors illustrated are merely the key causes and further research should be done to elaborate the thorough formation of the wage gap. It is clear that the pursuit of gender pay equality brings individuals, families, organisations, community and economy positive effects. Consequently, organisations should better equip themselves and contribute to the attainment of eliminating the gender wage gap. Systematic and appropriate non-discriminatory work place practices and policies should be well implemented to encourage fairness among male and female employees in pay and promotion according to their knowledge, skills and competencies. On account of the increased staff morale and happiness at work, organisations can also build a healthy and positive public image that in turn increasing the organisational attractiveness and competitive advantages in the labour market. In conjunction with the practical support by government, community and unions, it is believed further reduction of the gender wage gap is feasible.

Paul Muldoon: Biography and Essay :: essays research papers

Oxford and Princeton University professor Paul Muldoon was born in County Armagh, Northern Ireland in 1951 and has been touted as â€Å"the most significant English-language poet born since the second World War† by The Times Literary Supplement. He has also won numerous and prestigious national awards. Therefore, it may come as a surprise to learn that Muldoon grew up in a home with very few books. â€Å"Believe it or not,† he writes, â€Å"the only reading material we had in the house was The Junior World Encyclopedia, which I read and reread as a child. Other books must have come from the local lending library†¦ but the Encyclopedia was my text of texts.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Muldoon, who is married with two children, has written eight volumes of poetry in addition to many chapbooks, plays and children’s books. His first collection of poems, New Weather, was published in 1973 and his most recent book, Hay, was published in 1998.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a child, Muldoon began writing poems to get around a teacher’s weekly essay assignment. From there, he says, he just kept on writing. Of the process of writing, he says, â€Å"I do absolutely think of it as a mystical experience.† Muldoon is a poet who is obsessed with the details of the world, and this is evident in his poetry, particularly in the poems of his that I read. I chose to research Paul Muldoon for no particular reason. I don’t particularly like poetry; I can recognize a good and a bad poem, but I can’t for the life of me write one. I prefer to say what I mean, mean what I say, and leave little room for interpretation. Sometimes I think that poets take the easy way out by writing ambiguously about dinosaurs, and then people read and think that the poet is really talking about social injustice or sending their child off to the first day of school, when in fact, the poet just really likes dinosaurs. Sometimes I think that if I wrote a simple sentence about, say, a red wheelbarrow, and chopped it up into lines and told people it was very deep, they’d be impressed. And so that’s why I chose Paul Muldoon. I read a few poems of his, could understand pretty well what they were about, liked how they sounded, and enjoyed that a respectable poet ended a line with â€Å"the.† Plus, I was running short on time.

Guns: Firearm and Gun

Gun related crimes kill thousands of people every day. We see it in the news and on the streets. When will it stop? What can we do to help? Already this year, the shootings in Chicago have broken records. Kids and bystanders are getting injured by guns. Guns are easily obtained and can Just as easily take someone's life. In order to get to the bottom of this issue, one need to take into consideration statistics, Obama's thoughts, the effects of enforcing guns in schools, new laws dealing with gun control, Homicides and accidental or suicidal deaths that is caused by a firearm.The statistics on gun related violence and homicides are showing a decrease through recent years. The data is based on gun related crimes and homicides that have occurred in the past years to the recent years. However, some communities in Chicago area and surrounding suburbs still see large amount of guns in their neighborhood illegal or legal. There are plenty more guns than shown in the media. According to Sta tmasters. com, Illinois firearms death equate to 9. 7% for every 100,000 deaths in America.This percentage is very low compared to District of Columbia who olds the number one ranking of gun related deaths by a whopping 31. 2 percent. Alaska has the second highest deaths by firearms at 20 percent. The lowest is Hawaii with 2. 8 percent and the second lowest is Massachusetts with 3. 1(Crime Statistics > Firearms Death Rate per 100,000 (most recent) by state. N. p. : StateMaster. com, 2002. Web. 10 Dec. 2012). While these numbers are from 2002 there hasn't been any changes in rankings much.What statistics show about gun violence is beneficial to everyone because it shows us what is really going on in the world? It allows people to e more aware of their surroundings and understand what is happening in their neighborhoods. When a leader expresses their opinions, I feel people would actually take this topic into consideration. The person we call our leader is President Obama. President O bama's thoughts on guns, is in order to prevent gun crimes, we should limit the people we give guns too.By doing background checks and/or psych evaluations, we will discover if they are mentally stable to possess a gun (Shen, Aviva. Obama: Gun Control ‘Should Be Common Sense'. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012). Some people might think that this is conflicting with their constitutional right to bear arms; however they have not given thought to if the person's mental capacity is or isn't stable and if they are prone to violence or not. Ask yourself, would you rather have a stable person with a gun around you, or an unstable person with a gun?Did you know that there are schools that allow college students to bare arms on campus? Arizona College is trying to pass the law for guns to be allowed. They think knows that guns or provoking violence makes things so much worse. Arizona's three tate universities estimate that a bill that would allow guns on campus would cost million s of dollars in one-time and annual expenses. (Ryman, Anne. N. p. : n. p. , 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012) the legislation would result in an additional $13. 3million in one- time expenses and an additional $3. million in annual operating costs at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. There are people who oppose that proposal, and won't accept it. But on the other hand, there are people who support this decision and feel it would keep them free from danger. There are people in this country who think having guns will solve all their solutions. Well through what data that is collected, it hasn't. There are laws in different states that say you should ‘stand your ground' and shoot first if threatened, that law got a kid named Traywon Martin killed.Traynv'on Martin was born February 5, 1995 and died February 26, 2012, by a man who was 28 year old man named, George Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman felt he was doing that law Justice by shooting the 17 yea r old boy in his chest, but all the boy was doing was walking around a neighborhood where he isited his father and his fianc ©s home only holding a bag of skittles (Traywon Martin Case (George Zimmerman). N. p. : The New York Times, 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012). By this law a man is not serving the appropriate time for murdering a child.The law needs to help prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands by having people who own guns actually have legal permits and the guns shops that are selling them need to have background check on the owners. The law also needs to ban the selling of firearms on the internet. I feel greater about the selling the firearms online, because of recent events. On July 20, of 2012, a man named James Eagan Holmes, Killed 12 and injured 58 People in Aurora, Colorado at a premiere of The Dark Knight Rise (Almasy, Steve.

The Holocaust A Disturbing Element Of European History...

The Holocaust was a disturbing unique element of European history; it refers to the period from 30th January 1933 when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany to 5th May 1945 when the Second World War officially ended. â€Å"The Nazis, who came into power believed that Germans were â€Å"racially superior† and that the Jews, deemed â€Å"inferior,† were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community.† The Holocaust was responsible for murdering six million of the Jewish residence in Europe, the deaths represented two-thirds of the European Jewish population; the Jewish public was the Nazi regime’s primary target and the regime sought to wipe out the entire Jewish populace. The Nazi’s claimed that the Jews corrupted Germany and illustrated Jews as evil, Nazi’s believe that they could justify their treatment of Jews based on their racial theories. The Jewish inhabitants of Germany were murdered with the cruelest methods; they suf fered from forced labor, starvation, disease, mass shootings, and the most notorious was gassing. Men and women experienced related traumas, while being held imprisoned in the concentration camps and or death camps; however, women endured incomparable circumstances that we cannot expect men to apprehend. In Michael R. Marrus’s book â€Å"The Holocaust in History† he discusses that historians â€Å"fear that they might diminish the horror evoked by the event, or lessen the respect accorded the most traumatic experience of the Jewish people living in memory.† IShow MoreRelatedEssay on Gypsies1623 Words   |  7 Pagesother people’s wars, and more than half a million were slaughtered in the Holocaust. Roma misfortune can be attributed to the vicious cycle of poverty that paralyzes so many minorities situated in an unforgiving society. 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