Environmental Awareness Among Prospective Teachers Free Essays

Environmental Awareness among Prospective Teachers of Himachal Pradesh Dr. Ajay Kumar Attri Lecturer, Deptt. Of Education, MLSM College Sundernagar, Mandi (HP) ABSTRACT The present study was undertaken to compare the environmental awareness of male and female, science and arts and rural and urban prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh. We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Awareness Among Prospective Teachers or any similar topic only for you Order Now The sample comprised 260 (130 male and 130 female) prospective teachers. For the study Environment Awareness Ability Measure (EAAM) was developed and standardized by Parveen Kumar Jha (1998) consisted of 71 items was used. It was found that environmental awareness of prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh remains almost the same as far as effect of gender, stream and locale is concerned. This may be attributed to the fact that prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh were studying ‘Education for Human Value, Environment and Human Right’ as a compulsory subject during their B. Ed course. INTRODUCTION: India is one of the first countries where the constitution recognized the need for harmonizing environmental concerns with development. Article 48A specifically directs ‘The state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forest and wildlife in the country’ and Article 51A (g) enjoins upon Indian citizens a fundamental duty ‘to protect and improve the natural. The concept environment can be understood in totally of all components surrounding the man i. e. environment is the sum of all social, biological, physical and chemical factors which compose the surroundings of man. Each component of these surroundings constitutes a resource on which man draws with a view of promoting human welfare. According to a Report of a Conference of African Education at Nairobi (1968) â€Å"Environmental Education is to create an awareness and understanding of the evolving social and physical environment as a whole, its natural, manmade, cultural, spiritual resources together with the rational use and conservation of these resources for development†. CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: The issue of environmental awareness is becoming global in nature. It has also drawn the attention of common people as environmental degradation and pollution are causing a serious threat to survival of mankind. There are several factors like thinning of ozone layer, creation of ozone hole, over population of many developing countries, the ever-increasing natural and technological disasters and threat of chemical and radiation hazards are threatening to wipe out the humanity from the earth. There are four major and integrating components of environmental awareness–knowledge, real life situation, conservation and sustainable development. Himachal Pradesh Government is trying to promote the development of an economically and environmentally sound eco-system while endeavoring to improve the living standards of the people in the state. The government is conscious of the intrinsic value of the environment and of ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values there of further the government of Himachal Pradesh is trying to conserve and enhance the environment and follow a policy of sustainable development. Being aware of its central role in directing the development on a sustainable matrix, it calls upon people of Panchayatiraj, Local bodies, institutions and the organs of state for extending their full cooperation in this effort. REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH: The number of research studies has been undertaken by investigators on environmental awareness of students at various levels of education and findings of the same are as: Shahnawaj (1990) found that a very high level of awareness existed on the part of teachers and students and also found that environmental awareness was more in urban groups than in the rural group. Santipapwiwatana (1991) concluded that awareness of students was satisfactory with respect to environment. Gopalkrishan (1992) inferred that children were inspired from nvironmental education. Patel (1994) observed that the male teachers with long school experience of urban area are more aware about the environment education. Vashisht (1995) inferred that the level of awareness was found to be higher in case of boys as compared to girls. Bala (1996) indicated that level of awareness of university students especially university boys were satisfactory with respect to environment. Kumari (1999) fo und that private school teachers were more aware about environment as compared to government school teachers. Sharma (2000) indicated that urban students were more aware about their environment, about forests and environment component as compared to rural students. Owena (2000) concluded that the environmental literacy of urban middle school teachers were almost satisfactory. Thakur (2003) concluded that at primary stage both the rural and urban students are not much aware about environmental situation. Biasan (2005) concluded that both government and private school students have the same level of environmental awareness. Nagra and Dhillon (2006) inferred that Science teachers showed higher environmental education awareness than art teachers. Nagra, et. al. (2007) showed that secondary school teachers showed significant variation in environmental education awareness than elementary school teachers. The male and female secondary school teacher showed significant variation in environmental educational awareness. OBJECTIVES: 1. To find out the significant difference between mean scores of Male and Female prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. 2. To investigate the significant difference between mean scores of Science and Arts prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. 3. To study the significant difference between mean scores of rural and urban prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. HYPOTHESES: 1. There will be no significant difference between mean scores of Male and Female prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. 2. There will be no significant difference between mean scores of Science and Arts prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. . There will be no significant difference between mean scores of rural and urban prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness. METHOD AND PROCEDURE: In the present study descriptive survey method of research was used and following method and procedure was used. POPULATION: All the prospective teachers of private B. Ed colleges of Himachal Pradesh constituted t he population of the study. SAMPLE: For the selection of 260 prospective teachers (130 male and 130 female) from the 8 private B. Ed colleges, method of convenient sampling was adopted. VARIABLE STRUCTURE: Gender, Stream and locale constituted the independent variables whereas Environmental awareness was the criterion variable. TOOLS USED IN THE STUDY: Environment Awareness Ability Measure (EAAM) was developed and standardized by Parveen Kumar Jha (1998) consisted of 71 items was used. The value of Reliability co-efficient varies between 0. 61 to 0. 84. It was quite valid as the items in it had already been treated and their content made relevant by incorporating the suggestions of the various experts. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: To test the hypothesis of the study t-test was performed on the scores of environmental awareness. The summary of the obtained results has been presented in Table-1. It is evident from the table-1 that the ‘t’-value testing the significance of mean difference among the Male and Female prospective teachers was calculated as 0. 15, which is non-significant both at 0. 05 and 0. 01 levels of confidence, which reflects that mean scores of Male and Female prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh do not differ significantly on environmental awareness. Thus, the null hypothesis that â€Å"There will be no significant difference between mean scores of total Male and total Female prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness† is accepted. Thus it may be concluded that Male and Female prospective teachers don’t differ significantly in their awareness toward environment. Table 1 Summary of the Statistical Calculations for Obtaining ‘t’-values with regard to Environmental Awareness among Prospective Teachers of Himachal Pradesh on Gender, Stream and Locale |Group |N |Mean |S. D. |t-value |Result | |(Prospective | | | | | | |Teachers) | | | | | | |Male |130 |44. 20 |4. 52 |0. 15 |Non-significant at | | | | | | |0. 05 level | |Female |130 |44. 12 |3. 91 | | | |Science |130 |44. 8 |4. 88 |0. 44 |Non-significant at | | | | | | |0. 05 level | |Arts |130 |44. 05 |3. 45 | | | |Rural |65 |43. 94 |5. 10 | |Non-significant at | | | | | |0. 66 |0. 05 level | |Urban |65 |44. 46 |3. 87 | | | Further, Table-1 indicates that the calculated ‘t’ value showing the significant difference in the mean scores of Science and Arts prospective teachers came out to be 0. 44, which is not significant even at 0. 05 level of confidence thereby, accepting the null hypothesis that â€Å"There will be no significant difference between mean scores of Science and Arts prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness†. Hence it may be concluded that Science and Arts prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh don’t differ significantly on environmental awareness i. e. they have almost similar awareness toward environment. Table-1 further shows that the‘t’-value reflecting the significance of mean difference among the rural and rural prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh was calculated as 0. 66, which is non-significant at 0. 05 level of confidence. Thus, the null hypothesis that â€Å"There will be no significant difference between mean scores of rural and urban prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh on environmental awareness† stands accepted. Thus, it may be concluded from the above interpretation that rural and urban prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh don’t differ significantly at environmental awareness i. . locale does not show much effect on environmental awareness of prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh. Thus, on the basis of the conclusions, it is inferred that environmental awareness of prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh remains almost the same as far as effect of gender, stream and locale is concerned thereby showing that gender, stream and loc ale do not show much impact on their environmental awareness. This may be attributed to the fact that environmental education has become the integral part of school as well as college curriculum. Same is the case with prospective teachers of Himachal Pradesh who study ‘Education for Human Value, Environment and Human Right’ as a compulsory subject. This gives them complete awareness about environment in relation to both stream and sex. Also, our findings get support from the study of Thakur (2003) which reflected that sex groups had equal awareness regarding the environment. REFERENCES: Bala, I. (1996) A Study of Environmental Awareness among University Students, M. Ed. Dissertation, Department of Education, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Biasan, A. 2005) Comparative Study of Environmental Awareness Among Government and Private Secondary School Students in District Kangra of Himachal Pradesh, M. Ed. Dissertation, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla,. Constitution of India (Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy) †¦ Article 48A Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests. Gopal Krishan, S. (1992) An Impact of Environmenta l Education on Primary School Children, Fifth Survey of Research in Education (1988-92), Vol. II, NCERT, New Delhi. Kumari, S. (1999) A Study of Environmental Awareness among Elementary School Teachers. M. Ed Dissertation, Department of Education H. P. U, Shimla. Maheswari, B. K. and Sharma, B. L. (2004) Education for Values, Environment and Human Rights. Merrut: Surya Publication, PP. 1-4. Ministry of Education, Government of India (1985) Challenge of education: a policy perspective. Document C06370 Nagra, V. and Dhillion, S. Jaiswinder (2006) Environmental Education Awareness among Secondary School Teachers. Perspective in Education, Vol. 21, No. 3 Nagra Vipinder and Dhillion, S. Jaiswinder (2007) Environmental Education Awareness among School Teachers in Relation to Level and Gender. Perspective in Education, Vol. 3, No. 2 Nairobi(1968), Third Conference of Ministers of Education in African Member States (MINEDAF III) Owena and Marcia, A. (2001) The Environmental Literacy of Urban Middle School Teachers. Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 61. No. 4 Patel, Delip, G. , (1994) Environmental Awareness of Primary School Teachers in the Progress of Education, Dissertation Abstract s International, Vol. 58 (10-11), P. 234. Santipapwiwatana, Winyoo (1991), Knowledge and Opinions Concerning Environmental Conservation of Prathomsuksa, Six Students in Amphur, Chaiangkham, Phayao Province, Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 2. Shahnawaj, (1990) Environmental Awareness and Environmental Attitude of Secondary and Higher Secondary School Teachers and Students, Fifth Survey of Educational Research, Trend Reports, vol. I, New Delhi: NCERT. Sharma, Rajeshwar. (2000) A Study of Environmental Awareness among Primary School Students, M. Ed. Dissertation, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Vashisht, K. Narinder (1995) A Study of Environmental Awareness among Adolescent Students, M. Ed. Dissertation, Department of Education, H. P. U. , Shimla. How to cite Environmental Awareness Among Prospective Teachers, Essay examples

External Analysis of the Casino Industry free essay sample

One of the top industries in the US is the casino industry, which is in the process of expanding into new states and increasing its market availability. There are many factors that play into the growth of the casino industry such as different rules and regulations from both the federal and state governments to go along with the business factors of technology, social acceptance and target demographic. The companies within the industry also have to look at Porters five forces to determine whether or not that the company they are in is a strong or weak one. An industry consists of a group of companies that have similar products/services, and have a similar way of delivering them to the consumer. There are many companies that make up the casino industry. In 2012 the total revenue for the casino industry is $98. 4 billion. (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) The top five companies that make up the revenue are Marriott International, Las Vegas Sands, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, MGM Resorts International, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Marriott International brought in $12,317 million in revenue, Las Vegas Sands brought in $9,410.7 million dollars, Caesars Entertainment Corporations brought in $8,834. 5 million dollar in revenue, MGM Resorts International brought in $7,849. 3 million dollars in revenue, and Starwood Hotel and Resorts brought in $5,624. 0 million in revenue. (CNNMoney) The casino industry would be considered an oligopoly due to the fact that there are only a few strong companies within the industry. The company would be considered concentrated because the top five companies are containing fifty percent of the market value. The casino industry would is vertically integrated. The companies within the industry own the casinos, which are close to the customer making the industry forward vertically integrated. There are seven factors that can affect an industry. The casino industry, like every other industry, must take these factors into consideration when deciding whether they should expand, or where they should move towards in the future so they can strive. These seven factors are demographics, social forces, general economics, rules and regulations, natural environment, technological, and global forces. One factor that closely affects the casino industry is regulatory factor. The casino industry doesn’t only have to follow state rules and regulations, but also federal rules and regulation. Currently there are casinos in 36 out of 50 states. Every time a casino decides to open up within a state they have to look at what laws and regulations each state has. For example in New York right now casinos can only open up with Video Lottery Terminals and Electronic Table Games currently. There are no casinos in the state of New York that have actual table games due to this law. A federal law that all casinos must abide by is the age for gambling. The current age for gambling in casinos is 21 years old. In New Jersey the New Jersey Casino Control Act was signed in 1977, which restricted the issuance of casino licensing to major hotels. By doing this it ensured that the existing nature of hospitality in the state would be preserved. (New Jersey Casino Control Commission) While rules and regulations is the main factor of the seven factors of the casino industry, another factor that is important to the casino industry is the changes in technology. With technology changing everyday, the casino industry has to take that into effect. More and more people don’t have to leave their homes anymore if they want to play the same games that they can find in the casinos. With online gaming starting to grow more and more the casinos within the industry have to think of new ways to get people back into their casinos. â€Å"Gambling in the U. S. is controlled by a few land-based casinos and some powerful Indian casinos,† said Chris Griffin, chief executive of Betable, a London gambling start-up that handles the gaming licenses and betting mechanics of the business for developers. â€Å"What potentially becomes an interesting counterweight is all of a sudden thousands of developers in Silicon Valley making money overseas and wanting to turn their efforts inward and make money in the U. S. † (The New York Times) By seeing how well this part of the industry is doing overseas, many states are trying to adapt this within their state to help raise tax revenue for their state. By introducing electronic slot and table games into the casinos, the industry has found a way to adapt the changes of technology. Electronic slot machines and video games revolutionized the casino business, and the industry wants to exploit this cash cow to the fullest. One proposal gaining a lot of attention is the idea of a universally configurable game machine that downloads the gaming â€Å"software† a new slots game, or pretty much anything else thus eliminating the need to constantly bring in new machines and shuffle out the less popular ones. Variations on networked game play locally, nationally and globally will become more commonplace. In addition, some table games are even getting mechanized, with automated versions of roulette and craps popping up in Europe and set to test soon in the United States. (TODAY. com) By having these new electronic slot machines and other electronic games, the casino industry is able to cut down cost on having to switch out the games every time one goes out of style. Even though technology is changing everyday and is keeping some people out of the casinos, the industry as a whole is taking advantage of these changes in order to cut down costs. Technology is also a driving force for the casino industry today. With it always changing, it forces the industry to keep up with it to change as well. The natural environment is another factor that the casino industry has to take into consideration. Recently Hurricane Sandy wiped out part of the industry that is in New Jersey. Atlantic City has some of the top companies within the casino industry, and was destroyed when Hurricane Sandy hit. With this natural disaster hitting the casino industry has to see how much it would cost to rebuild and if it would be worth to rebuild once disaster hits. Another factor of the natural environment the casino industry takes into effect is the â€Å"going green† initiative. Currently Las Vegas is soon to be home to the largest concentration of environmentally friendly hotel rooms. (American Gaming) By going green in their hotels, the casinos in Las Vegas are able to cut down costs while still being efficient. Another factor that always affects an industry is the general economic factor. Right now the country unemployment rate is at a high. This affects the casino industry because with people out of jobs, not many people can afford to go to the casinos and spend money. In some states they are using the casino industry to help lower their unemployment rates. â€Å"In Mississippi, the Legislature legalized gambling, in part to promote development in the Mississippi delta. One county, Tunica, was the poorest county in Mississippi, the poorest state. Tunica was once called Americas Ethiopia. Since gambling was made legal, the welfare rate was cut by a third and the proportion of people receiving food stamps has fallen. Unemployment is down to 4. 9 percent, its lowest rate in nearly two decades. † (Economic Impacts of Gambling. ) Seeing how the casino industry helped Mississippi, other states are starting to introduce the casino industry into them to help the unemployment rate. With the unemployment rate down helps the casino industry also, because it can drive people into coming back to the casinos. A social factor that may affect the casino industry is how some people do not want casinos within their city due to the way crime and gambling is related. â€Å"But the casinos also lead to a plethora of social ills, including increased substance abuse, mental illness and suicide, violent crime, auto theft and larceny, and bankruptcy. The latter three all increased by 10 percent in communities that allowed gambling. † (Washingtonpost.com) Not only does this affect how the people see the casino industry not wanting them to be a part of their city, it also affects the casino industry because they are unable to expand. With serious social issues such as crime and suicide increasing once a casino is brought to their city, it can turn away other states from allowing the casino industry to emerge into theirs. The demographic factors that the casino industry ha s to deal with are what age they are presenting to, be they trying to loure in the males or the females of the household. â€Å"The data suggested, for example, that women devote more of their spending to slot machines than to table games like blackjack, and that men have a higher level of skill at the gaming tables than women. † (KnowledgeWharton) The casino industry can see how the demographics of the city are spread out to know whether or not to put more table games for the men or slot machines for the women. Also in states with older people, such as Florida, the casino industry would want to start to build in. Studies are showing that more and more senior citizens are going to casinos to gamble. (CasinoWatch) Casinos in certain states are taking hold of this opportunity and gaining competitive edge over the others. This factor can be a key success factor for some of the casinos within the industry. The last factor the can affect the casino industry is global forces. Changes in the global market can affect how well the casino industry doesn’t just do in the United States, but all in the entire world. Global economic downturn impacted adversely the land-based casino markets in Canada, US, UK and Japan as the credit markets considerably tightened, and money inflows became a major concern. A number of entertainment industries suffered losses as disposable income declined. Las Vegas and Atlantic City in the US were both severely affected by the recession. Las Vegas even offered lucrative deals for flights and hotel stays to attract casino gamblers as lesser people traveled during the slowdown period. However the online casino industry continued to display steady growth, even during the period of financial crisis, as they offered extended periods of entertainment for relatively lower stakes. While large online casinos are expected to witness a healthy growth, the relatively smaller ones are projected to exhibit negative growth rates in the near future. (Global Industry Analysts) With the recession, the physical casinos in the United States have been losing customers because of the higher stakes people have to make while there. Unlike the online casino industry, which hasn’t really been affected by this recession because, its consumers do not have to bet as much as they would in the actual casino. This factor can also be a driving force, because now the casino industry has to find ways to make its consumers to leave their house and come back into the physical casino at a lower cost to them. The five forces impact every industry on earth, either restricting or facilitating growth. The United States casino industry is no different. Porters’’ five forces help to determine whether the casino industry is a strong or weak one by looking at the buyer power, degree of rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, and supplier power. Buyer power of the five forces consists of backwards integration, buyer independence, buyer size, financial muscle, low-cost switching, oligopsony threat, price sensitivity, product dispensability, tendency to switch, and undifferentiated product. In 2012 all but buyer independence was moderate to weak. Buyer independence was a strong force within the buyer power. The consumers of today have many different ways of being able to gamble. Whether it is by slot machines or card games, the buyer has the power to choose which medium it wants to be present in. Overall this sector of the five forces tends to be moderate. (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) The degree of rivalry within the casino industry is a moderate one. The casino industry has a large number of faces within it. For the larger faces of the industry their casinos are their sole activity, making them maintain those revenues. Other companies within the industry have more than just their casinos bringing in their revenue which can weaken this sector of the industry because it makes exiting so easy. With exiting the industry so easily, the degree of rivalry will go down because there are fewer companies to compete against. (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) The new entrants force of the five forces is an important one to focus on. If companies can just enter into an industry easily than the new entrants force would be a strong one. If it is hard, such as the casino industry is, than the force would be a weak one. The casino industry is a little tougher than most industries to just break in to. There are many laws and regulations, which every potential new casino must take into consideration before opening up. Also when opening up a new casino the potential casino owner must require a large amount of capital to establish it. With these forces acting against the entrants of new casinos, this part of the five forces would be a moderate to weak force. (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) Threat of substitutes is a strong force within the casino industry. With technology growing everyday, online casinos threaten the casino industry. Technology can easily substitute anything for the consumer today. Today all we need is either a tablet or a smartphone and we can do virtually anything with it, among which is going online to an online casino. This threat is strong do to that. Technology is making it cheaper for the consumer to gamble, and also making it more beneficial for the consumer since they don’t have to leave their house. (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) The supplier power of the casino industry varies along with the player. Most casinos today are positioning themselves with hospitality. They are looking to locate themselves where there is popular tourism along side with hotels. The larger casinos, but the machinery or services that they provide are important to the success and functioning of the casinos, which they provide to, do not recognize the companies, which supply the equipment to these casinos. â€Å"Larger suppliers diversify geographically to guard against over-dependence on just one particular market; however, most manufacturers of gaming machines tend to specialize in this sector. Since the gaming industry is highly important to their survival, this weakens supplier power. † (Casinos Gaming Industry Profile) The supplier power for the casino industry would be considered at moderate to weak one with all of these different factors taken into affect. The casino industry today is one of the top industries within the United States. With casinos spreading all over the country it is increasing its market availability. The industry is made up of many different companies that perform/serve the same duties to the consumer creating an oligopoly. The seven factors that every industry must look into to see how they should move towards the future also intertwine with the driving forces and they key success factors of the industry. Overall the casino industry would be a moderate one with the five forces ranking from weak to strong.

The Syrian Protests and American Intervention

It is now over one year since the Syrian protests, which kicked off in Dara’a, a small agricultural town in the country, begun. The Syrian police met the small uprising, which brought together a handful of people, with ruthlessness and brutality beyond the expectations of many people, thereby inciting more people to join the course.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Syrian Protests and American Intervention specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today, barely all towns in the country have experienced violent protests against the long reigning president Bashar Assad and his family. According to the United Nation’s estimates, approximately 9000 people, most of them soldiers, have died in the violence that has continued to rock most parts of the country[1]. However, human rights groups and journalist put the estimates much higher at 30, 000 people by October 2012. They claim that governmentâ€℠¢s efforts at hiding the real happenings in the country have led to a serious clamp down on any forms of journalistic access, thereby denying the international community any chance of getting up-to-date information on deaths, property destruction, and atrocities against women and the minority. As a result, the international community has treated Syrian case slightly to the disadvantage of the country’s innocent citizens, especially women and children who are subjected to heinous acts such as rape, torture, and forced labor. Therefore, Mr. President, if your government is to make any decisions based on the recommendations provided in this letter, I will be glad if you considered the possibility of worse things happening in Syrian beyond the grainy streaming media footages who may have watched, as they do not capture even half of what is happening on the ground. As a nation founded on sound democratic principles and respect for human life and dignity, we have been drawn into th is mess by our desire to give to the people of Syria, a democratic government, and an environment free from abuse, violence, and intimidations. So far, our attempts to institute a democratic government in Syrian and to end the suffering of the people have been futile. Worst still, the rebels who have been fighting the government are ill-equipped to make any significant process towards toppling the government[2]. Their activities have remained limited to Damascus. This calls for drastic measures. Our ultimate goals in Syria are driven by both morals and concerns for the suffering civilians. We need to defend the civilians against military abuse.Advertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More We need to assist in the creation of a democratically elected government that is representative of the people’s wishes. However, the process of instituting a democratic government ca n never be easy. In most cases, it involves war and sanctions against doctorial regimes. Nevertheless, the Syrian people have spoken boldly of their desire for change, which makes any options available, regardless of the costs involved, worth pursuing. Additionally, we need to prevent Syria’s situation from dragging it into a failed and war-ridden state like Somalia. If this trend continues unchecked, then the nation could end up in a situation like that of Somalia. Finally yet importantly, we should strive to ensure that the country’s chemical weapons do not end up in the hands of extremist Islamic groups who are known for â€Å"terrorist activities† in the world today[3]. The United States of America suffered severely in the hands of terrorists and should not spare any efforts in fighting them.[4] The 9/11 attack has and will remain in the minds of many people who lost their loved ones for many years to come. In that single attack, the U.S lost millions of dol lars and thousands of lives.[5] Given the circumstances surrounding the Syrian case, American intervention is in complete interest of the nation and its citizens. The U.S government’s principal interest is to protect its citizens. However, protecting Americans, does not only involve securing the country’s borders, but also toppling all governments that are sympathetic to terrorists and regimes that promote the use of chemicals and illegal atomic weapons. Bashar Assad’s government trades in these unfriendly territories and the U.S government should not sit back and watch from the sidelines as it furthers its monstrous activities. The people of Syria have a right to determine their own future since the country is a sovereign state[6]. However, its leadership has ignored the people’s plea for regime change, thereby necessitating external intervention. The U.S is perceived by many states as the international watchdog. Therefore, it should take a center stage in securing a solution for Syria’s problems. However, our intervention in Syria should be wise and well calculated. Considering Bashar Assad’s close association with the Iran and Russian regimes, any form of military intervention could worsen the bad situation[7]. The most viable option is the involvement of the UN Security Council to give a mandate on the issue. Our direct involvement should be through the provision of troops to secure civilian population from harm.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Syrian Protests and American Intervention specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Even though most Arab Nations are reluctant to join the Syrian debate, the U.S should try to reach out to them to seek their support in rescuing innocent civilians. The rebels fighting Bashar Assad’s government share many common interests with the United States. As such, the U.S should provide them with logisti cs to enhance their chances of overthrowing the dictatorial regime. Currently, they are ill equipped and lack experience of fighting; hence, their chances of success are thin. The decisions we make today define us as a nation. The freedom our citizens enjoy today was earned by both sweet and blood. Therefore, by assisting the people of Syria, we are showing them away to a better life. By actively championing for a regime change in Syria, we will obviously be attracting more responsibilities to our great nation, but we cannot afford to sit back and watch innocent people die in the hands of merciless and selfish leaders. The minority and the weak always look up to us for help in such times, and we cannot afford to disappoint them. Our failure to intervene will be viewed as a sign of weakness, which might encourage other regimes to cling onto power against public will. After the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world has not been good[8]. Therefore, many of the Muslim states cannot welcome any form of intervention in Syria. Even though military intervention can absolutely spark wide opposition, many, especially civilians, could view humanitarian aid and provision of logistics as pure and sincere assistance. Our involvement in Syria should only end when the country has attained democratic leadership. Military personnel deployed to help civilians should however, stay behind for some time to assist in the transition process. Up to now, the atrocities committed against civilians in Syrian are intolerable, but the U.S must trade carefully. However, if death toll from the uprisings continue to rise and other nations, especially Muslim nations, keep their distance, then, the U.S may be left no other choice but to intervene with a fully-fledge military battalion. This could be more involving and costly, but worth the lives of innocent Syrians used as punching bags by government soldiers and rebels. Disregard for human lives by the Syr ian government will leave us no options, but to pull together our resources, monetary, logistics, and personnel, to rescue the civilians. When it comes to such a level, the Security Council’s decisions will be of little effect to the U.S intervention in Syria. The cost of the war in Iraq has been expensive and we must avoid adding further expenses to our already burdened public. However, when it comes to saving lives, our options are limited.Advertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Works Cited Bowen, Jeremy. â€Å"BBC News – Syria rebels gain foothold in Damascus.† BBC – Homepage. N.p., 28 Jan. 2012. Web. Breakingnews.com. â€Å"Syrian Violence Kills 36; Arab Leaders Back Peace Plan.† VOA – Voice of America English News – VOA News. N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web. Celmer, Marc A.. Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Print. Davies, Nicolas J.S.. Blood on our hands: the American invasion and destruction of Iraq. Version 1.0. ed. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books, LLC, 2010. Print. Goodarzi, Jubin M.. Syria and Iran: diplomatic alliance and power politics in the Middle East. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2006. Print. Madu, Ifeanyi V.. Islamic Extremism and the West: Expounding the Negative Implications of the Clash Between Islamic Extremists and Some Western Nations. London: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Quigley, John B.. The statehood of Palestine: international law in the Middle East conflict. Camb ridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Sidhu, Surinder Singh. 9/11: The Inside Story. Washington, DC: Strategic Book Publishing, 2012. Print. Footnotes Breakingnews.com. â€Å"Syrian Violence Kills 36; Arab Leaders Back Peace Plan.†Ã‚  VOA – Voice of America English News – VOA News. N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web. Bowen, Jeremy. â€Å"BBC News – Syria rebels gain foothold in Damascus.†BBC – Homepage. N.p., 28 Jan. 2012. Web. Ifeanyi Madu,  Islamic Extremism and the West: Expounding the Negative Implications of the Clash Between Islamic Extremists and Some Western Nations (London: ProQuest, 2008) 105. Celmer, Marc, Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. P. 47 Print. Surinder Singh Sidhu,   9/11: The Inside Story (Washington, DC: Strategic Book Publishing, 2012) 29. John B. Quigley,  The statehood of Palestine: international law in the Middle East conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 2010) 45. Jubin M. Goodarzi,  Syria and Iran: diplomatic alliance and power politics in the Middle East, (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2006) 11. Nicolas J.S. Davies,  Blood on our hands: the American invasion and destruction of Iraq (Version 1.0. ed. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books, LLC, 2010) 32. This research paper on The Syrian Protests and American Intervention was written and submitted by user Anna Q. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Are You Wondering What High School Student Essay Examples Is?

Are You Wondering What High School Student Essay Examples Is?High school student samples are some of the best documents you can find to get an idea about what is expected from your essays. It will also give you some idea about whether you are doing things correctly or not.There are many websites that provide high school student samples. The good thing about these samples is that they provide some basic guidance on how to write an essay.But a question always lingers in your mind whether the advice in the sample student essay is effective. Therefore, you need to check out each and every thing to make sure that your essay is being written by someone who knows what he/she is doing.When you browse through these samples online, you will be able to see many things that will allow you to know what is expected of your essay, and what should be included in it. In addition, you will also see a great deal of information on essay writing that will help you come up with the best essay that you can possibly write.You can use the same information for your own students. This will help them know what is expected of them, as well as what should be included in it. Remember, this is a good way for students to brush up on their writing skills.One of the best parts about the online high school student samples is that it allows you to preview the whole document, and you can change the content as well as the structure of the essay before you actually write it. You just have to be sure that everything is being written by a professional. Make sure that the guidelines and samples provided are accurate.If you are using a different format to compile your document, you have to be sure that your students know how to modify it according to the new format. Although this may seem difficult, the benefits of doing so is that it allows you to make changes without having to rewrite or redo the entire document. Just make sure that the document has enough information so that your students can utilize it effectively.You can always get these student essays from one of the many websites that provides these documents for free. It is also possible to have the original document made into a booklet. The booklet is meant to contain the curriculum in different formats.

Foreigners in their own country Professor Ramos Blog

Foreigners in their own country Christine Sun Kim’s Tedtalk presentation introduces us to her world. A world without sound. She was born deaf and for some time, she felt excluded from the hearing world because of her deafness. She learned very early that everything she does makes noise, and because of this she became hyper aware of sound. Her self awareness of living in a hearing world makes every action a conscious thought to maintain hearing etiquette. Like not to scrap your utensils, don’t slam doors, don’t burp in public etc A world we don’t even give a second thought, because as hearing individuals this is the world we live in. In Kim’s Tedtalk, she presents to us not only inspiration in her art work but something hidden in-between the lines. The deaf community is a large and very over looked minority group that most hearing individuals simply don’t understand how to interact with, foreigners in their own country. Kim explains in the eyes of society, without a voice, y ou hold no social currency. So in order for her to be seen as an equal or to even be taken seriously by others in the art community, she needs to seek out interpreters that WILL see her as an equal and become her voice. Kim teaches us about deaf culture and encourages us to go out and learn more about the deaf community and its rich diversity. She encourages us that ASL isn’t just for the deaf, just like how music isn’t just for the hearing. This is still an issue that is very much present and dealt with poorly because the lack of education and understanding of deaf awareness. This is a truth most deaf individuals simply live with, for instance going to the movies is un-enjoyable because of outdated equipment and most theaters refuse to have separate show-times for movies to include subtitles. Going out to eat can be exhausting if the server doesn’t know how to interact with someone who is deaf, or worse interacting with a police officer who has never encountered someone who is deaf, the list goes on and on. The ASL sign for â€Å"hearing† is the same sign for â€Å"publicâ€Å". This is something I find disheartening because this implies the public isn’t for the deaf. I have two questions I want everyone to ask themselves, have you ever met someone who was deaf? And what could we do to help deaf individuals feel more included in today’s society as equals without taking away their culture.

What are the Standard Book Sizes in Publishing • Your Guide to Trim Sizes

What are the Standard Book Sizes in Publishing Your Guide to Trim Sizes What Are the Standard Book Sizes in Publishing? Glance at the nearest bookshelf. Have you noticed that books come in all shapes and sizes? Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t because publishers are out to obliterate the perfect symmetry of our bookshelves. The truth is that book sizes vary based on each individual book - and publishers determine these sizes based on economic, practical, and artistic factors.If you’re a self-publisher planning to produce physical copies of your book, you might be wondering if this should matter to you. The answer: yes. Your choice of book size will not only affect how you go about typesetting your manuscript  but your audience’s reading experience and your potential profit margin.In this post, we’ll take you through the standard book sizes in the industry, why they’re important, and what should be on your mind as you pick out the best trim size for your own book.What is trim size?â€Å"Trim size† is essentially the publishing term for â€Å"book size .† After each copy is printed and bound, the book is mechanically â€Å"trimmed† so that the size of every page is uniform. The trim size relates these dimensions, in Width x Height format.In the U.S., the trim size is denoted in inches; in Europe, it’s in millimeters. For future reference, we’ll be using the U.S. format and talking about U.S. book sizes in this post.Why does trim size matter?Asking why you should care about your book’s trim size is akin to asking, â€Å"Why do people make a big fuss over the iPhone’s shape?† You want a phone that’s sleek and a joy to grip - not an awkward clunker. In much the same way, you can boil the importance of trim size down to three things: reading experience, marketability, and cost.Trim size determines a book’s presentationIf you imagine your physical book as a house, then the trim size is its footprint. It bolts in the size of your â€Å"real estate,† and influences bot h the interior and exterior of your book. If your physical book is a house, then the trim size is its footprint In a nutshell, the trim size dictates your page count. The smaller your trim size, the more pages will be required for your content. It also impacts your book’s spine: the more pages in your book, the thicker its spine will be - and the more substantial it will appear on the bookshelf. Your choice of trim size will also assert a ripple effect on most aspects of your book’s interior. How many words will fit comfortably on a page? How wide can your margins go?When you’re typesetting your book, you’ll need to maneuver a number of ingredients on the page: everything from the baseline grid to the size of your font. The page trim size is one critical part of this complex balance - and the first you'll need to decide - that will create a beautiful book. For our review of four major print-on-demand services, check out this post.If you want to experiment with book sizes and the way they might impact your typesetting choices, the Reedsy Book Editor allows you to do so for free. The Editor also provides four popular trim sizes for formatting (4.25 x 6.87 in, 5 x 8 in, 5.5 x 8.5 in, 6 x 9 in).Having some real-life examples at your side, you should get a better sense of which trim size is best for your book. And if you find yourself truly struggling to pick between book sizes (particularly for those working on illustrated content or unique products that require the right paper and format), why not reach out to a professional book production manager for some advice? Their expertise in these matters is unmatched, and they’ll be able to polish your project - especially if you’re working on an image-dependent book that must appear professional on bookshelves.Trim sizes, with all their complicated, similar-sounding numbers can b e confusing - but they're worth wrapping your mind around if you keep the end product in sight: a beautiful book.

Cambodia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cambodia - Essay Example This is what will be dissertated in the following. One of Cambodia's major natural resources is its forests, but illegal logging has severely hurt this industry. Both the environmental groups Global Witness and Friends of the Earth have collected videotape testimony of logging officials admitting to the illegal exportation of timber. Vietnam stated that the government "firmly respects the forestry policy of Cambodia and has advised all provinces and competent authorities to carry out the Vietnamese Prime Minister's order to ban logging exports to Vietnam." (Vietnamese 'Furniture' Plundered from Cambodian Forests, p.2). The issue of deforestation in Cambodia is a major one, not only because of the fact that their forests are one of their major natural resources, but also because the act of deforestation takes away from another problem they are experiencing, which is wildlife extinction. Many measures have been taken in an attempt to at least cut down the element of deforestation, considering how terribly damaging it is to Cambodia as a whole. In February of 1999, the Prime Minister of Cambodia even tried to pass measures to crack down on illegal logging, and as well he asked for donors to give money in order to help protect the forests. "But despite the measures taken and an estimated 1.3 billion dollars in aid, Global Witness says that the illegal logging and exportation continue." (Leggett, n.d.). The root cause of the deforestation which is taking place in Cambodia seems most likely to consist of many elements. Not only a combination of governmental mismanagement and corruption and economic development, but also the ever-widening gap between classes continue to cause deforestation across Cambodia. The significance of forests both for their natural resources as well as for their innate beauty continues to decline, and environmental protection remains undervalued. Although there is not one sole cause, the element of guerilla factions can for the most part be considered as the root cause of Cambodia's deforestation. In regards to these guerilla factions, we are speaking namely of the Party of Democratic Kampuchea or Khmer Rouge. "During the Cambodian conflict, guerilla factions and the State of Cambodia used logging to finance their war efforts. The SOC exported timber to Thailand. Thailand depended on neighboring countries like Cambodia for timber as it had to adhere to a 1989 logging ban." (Think Quest, 2005). Another major environmental problem in Cambodia is that of their wildlife extinction dilemma. This issue includes the wildlife of many different species, including the freshwater dolphin. Wildlife preservation officials are extremely worried that Cambodia's rare freshwater dolphin species will be extinct in the next 10 years; with most of these dolphins dying in fishing nets. Studies have shown that an estimated 10 dolphin calves are born a year, but Fisheries Department data shows that 14 died in 2003, 18 in 2004 and 13 in 2005. Tourism Ministry Secretary of State Thong Khon said the ministry has begun patrols along the river and is further investigating the reasons behind the deaths of the dolphins to prevent their extinctions. Hunting is widely considered to be the greatest immediate threat to wildlife in the Dry Forests, as well as throughout the rest of Cambodia. Although people primarily hunt for