Tragedy of Mariam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Tragedy of Mariam - Essay Example Today many wives always want to have same position with their husband, so that they always have conflict with each other. Why they always have conflict? There are number of answers for this question, but it very difficult for us to come on a final conclusion. When we look towards sixteenth century's society or even before that time it is seen wife and husband lived together very well. They had lesser conflicts. Many wives would obey their husband when their husbands order them to do everything. What different images of the wife between sixteenth centuries and today? In most societies during the twentieth Century, new ways of analyzing traditional gender roles have begun to evolve out of a variety of movements both within art and culture studies and communications. Semiotics, or the study of signs has emerged as one of the most "powerful cultural analysis tools of the twentieth Century†. Semiotics has been used to document and support traditional gender roles within a variety of cultures. The signs of Husband and Wife respectively, have undergone huge ideological shifts in some parts of the world, however within American society they still often used to represent a system of values and a distribution of power that have remained relatively unchanged despite recent eras of social progress. This is illustrated fairly well in the movie "Amores Perros" as the terms Husband and Wife are utilized throughout the movie as signs that represent and suggest traditional values and gender roles that are still based on signified characteristics from the time of the Conquistadors.

Ripple Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ripple Effect - Essay Example modern popular cultural texts have a major impact on the society because a number of aspects are now being talked about which was not the case in the past. It is a fact that media affects society and that too by a large proportion. This has been made clear by an understanding that gets its basis from the belief that media avenues and platforms in essence affect a great part of the society whether or not which likes to keep in touch with what is taking place on the media and the kind of attention society is being given to (Martin, 2011). This is one of the reasons why media is playing a significant role and hence the responsibility aspect has become bigger and better with the changing times nonetheless. What affects most of the society is how well the media is portraying the societal domains and this has been made sure of by the proponents and advocates that are making the rounds of the media circles and regimes (Hannabuss,

Critical Thinking For A Successful Student

Critical Thinking For A Successful Student Critical thinking is an important element of all qualified fields and academic disciplines (by referencing their respective sets of permissible questions, evidence sources, criteria, etc.). Within the structure of scientific skepticism, the process of critical thinking involves the careful acquisition and reading of information and use of it to reach a well-justified conclusion. The concepts and principles of critical thinking can be applied to any context or case but only by reflecting upon the nature of that function. Critical thinking forms, therefore, a system of related, and overlapping, modes of thought such as anthropological thinking, sociological thinking, historical thinking, political thinking, psychological thinking, philosophical thinking, mathematical thinking, chemical thinking, biological thinking, ecological thinking, legal thinking, ethical thinking, musical thinking, thinking like a painter, sculptor, engineer, business person, etc. In other words, though critical thinking principles are universal, their application to disciplines requires a process of philosophical contextualization. The key to seeing the significance of critical thinking in academics is in understanding the significance of critical thinking in learning. There are two meanings to the learning of this content. The first occurs when learners (for the first time) construct in their minds the basic ideas, principles, and theories that are inherent in content. This is a process of internalization. The second occurs when learners effectively use those ideas, principles, and theories as they become relevant in learners lives. This is a process of application. Good teachers cultivate critical thinking (intellectually engaged thinking) at every stage of learning, including initial learning. For students to learn content, intellectual engagement is crucial. All students must do their own thinking, their own construction of knowledge. Good teachers recognize this and therefore focus on the questions, readings, activities that stimulate the mind to take ownership of key concepts and principles underlying the subject. Critical thinking employs not only logic (either formal or, much more often, informal) but also broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, significance and fairness. One good advantage in critical thinking for university students is that ideas or information could be easily gotten from anywhere and anyone. It shouldnt be a surprise to know that even a madman could be responsible for the provision of valuable information needed in an important project. This means that anyone could be a source to unanswered questions that has proved difficult to find. Students who neglect peoples ideas end up missing a whole lot of valuable points which could have been of great assistance to them. Universities are known to be resourceful places where people could easily communicate with each other, meaning that it wont be difficult to extract information from people. Students could have group discussions, quiz and other social activity to extract knowledge from one another. So far, this aspect of critical thinking has critical thinking skills have helped a lot of students. In the process communicating with people, critical thinking can help students get along with each other. This is because if a person can evaluate a situation from a point of view other than his own, he or she will get a better knowledge on why people do what they do. Social conflict that is gotten from poor areas joining heads together can be avoided by this. This could widen a students social life and lead to better discussion with others. Conversely, the strong-sense critical thinker skillfully enters into the logic of problems and issues to see the problem for what it is without egocentric and/or socio-centric bias. Thus conceived, the strong-sense mind seeks to actively, systematically, reflectively, and fair-mindedly create insight with sensitivity to expose and address the many obstacles that compromise high quality thought and learning. Using strong critical thinking we might evaluate an argument, for example, as worthy of acceptance because it is valid and based on true premises. Upon reflection, a speaker may be evaluated as a credible source of knowledge on a given topic. Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically. Critical thinking is crucial to becoming a close reader and a substantive writer. Expressed in most general terms, critical thinking is a way of taking up the problems of life. Critical thinking seems to be very important and relevant in every aspect of a students learning in a university institution. This is so because a university is a place where learning and discussions of different sort takes place. It is necessary to make every enquiry and research needed for a sound education and not just depending on the teachers lectures. Most students accept all they hear because of the laziness they bore and do not bother to make researches, ask questions or make appropriate inquires for more knowledge. This is a very wrong approach for tackling issues or learning because not everything one is being told or thought is hundred percent right. Teachers tend to make mistakes sometimes and its the job of the student to make researches after every lesson to assure that everything thought in the lecture class is fully right. In the process of doing that, one could have the opportunity to learn new things and not just hanging on or sticking to what is being thought in le ctures classes. Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce consequences from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself. Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people. Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking can also play an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks. Critical thinking can help us acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments. We can use critical thinking to enhance work processes and improve social institutions. Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because it requires following the rules of logic and rationality, but creativity might require breakin g rules. This is a misconception. Critical thinking is quite compatible with thinking out-of-the-box, challenging consensus and pursuing less popular approaches. If anything, critical thinking is an essential part of creativity because we need critical thinking to evaluate and improve our creative ideas. When you ask students to define critical thinking, they will often refer to this type of puzzle or brainteaser. And although developing critical thinking skills will help students solve this puzzle, critical thinking skills will also help students as they face crucial decisions in education and in life. Students, and all of us, are bombarded with ideas and with people trying to persuade us to accept the ideas they are promoting. You only have to turn on a television talk show to see this in action. At least when watching a talk show, the viewer is given some background information about the speakers credentials or lack of credentials and is usually aware of the personal bias that the speaker brings to the topic. The advent of the computer information age has presented us with a new challenge: a wealth of information distributed with few restrictions and often limited information about the author of the material. With the increasing use of web-based technology to gather and interpret information, teaching critical thinking skills to students is even more important. Critical thinking skills can help nurses apply the process of examination. Nurses through critical thinking skills can question, evaluate, and reconstruct the nursing care process by challenging the established theory and practice. Critical thinking skills can helps nurse problem solve, reflect, and make a conclusive decision about the current situation they face. Critical thinking creates new possibilities for the development of the nursing knowledge. Due to the socio cultural, environmental, and political issues that are affecting healthcare delivery, it would be helpful to embody new techniques in nursing. Nurses can acquire critical thinking skills through the Socratic method of dialogue and reflection. Critical thinking also is considered important for human rights education for toleration. The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance adopted by UNESCO in 1995 affirms that education for tolerance could aim at countering factors that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and could help young people to develop capacities for independent judgment, critical thinking and ethical reasoning

Mine Okubos Citizen 13660 - Japanese Americans Have No Rights :: Mine Okubo Citizen 13660 Essays

Mine Okubo's Citizen 13660 - Japanese Americans Have No Rights â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Weiler). As stated in the Declaration of Independence, all American citizens are â€Å"endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Right †(Weiler) website. However, the United States did not hold true to this promise when removing all Nisei, Japanese Americans, from the pacific coast and transporting them to various relocation centers. In these relocation centers, the Nisei, also referred to as evacuees, were burdened to live in harsh environments, secluded from the outside world. The novel Citizen 13660 describes how the United States stripped the Nisei of their unalienable rights nor other rights entitled to United States citizens. All American citizens are entitled to the right to vote. While in the relocation centers the Nisei had very little contact with the outside world. In an act to solidify and come together as a camp, the evacuees decided they would try to form a type of self-government which would consist of a Center Advisory Council. For some this would be a completely new experience. â€Å"The election gave the Issei their first chance to vote along with their citizen offspring† (Okubo 91). The Issei, not being American citizens having emigrated from Japan, did not have the right under the United States Constitution to vote. However, their only chance at voting was shortly taken away when army orders said that only American citizens would be able to vote. Soon however, all forms of voting for the self-government were disassembled when army orders stopped the planning of the Assembly Center government. This goes against Amendment XV of the United States Constitution which stat e, â€Å"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude† (â€Å"The American Presidency†). Also, when taken to the relocation camps, the Nisei lost all representation in the United States government. They no longer had a representative to tell about problems with the camp or to even protest being there. By being relocated they lost their right to vote a representative. In the United States, it is illegal to hold a person against their will without probable cause yet the Issei and Nisei were both stripped from their homes and brought to a foreign location.

Lenin in accounting for Stalins defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Essay

How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Stalin, throughout the fierce fight for power exploited his attributes to the best of his ability, however his tactics were not the only factor in his eventual success. Perhaps what’s more interesting is the systematic fails, one by one of all of his contenders – which was due to their individual personalities. Many argue this is the more significant reason for Stalin’s rise to power, and that if this had have been changed Stalin’s success would have been entirely different. Stalin’s opponents, understandably had very different personalities. However looking in hindsight none of them seem to create a difficult situation for Stalin. This could be due to Stalin’s natural ability to change and use his opponents strengths and weaknesses, or perhaps the general naivety of many in the politburo. One main example of this is Trotsky, and his rather egotistic and arrogant personality. This intern made people weary of his power, and made him completely oversee Stalin as a contender for power. Lenin in his testament says himself he is â€Å"not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution† and the politburo completely over saw this cautious remark for their own reputation. The evidence seems to suggest members of the Bolshevik party didn’t use their personality’s to the best if their potential. Furthermore Trotsky seemed very trivial about the whole situation. In 1924 he didn’t make Lenin’s funeral, eventually blaming that on Stalin. In the successive years after he didn’t make important politburo meetings and refused to make alliances. In 1926 he did eventually see light forming the ‘united opposition’ however by then it was too late and Stalin’s fan base was too large in the central commission. Another example of this is how Bukharin in 1925 decided to stay strictly to the Bolshevik rules. This perhaps shows how good a man he is, but not how good a politician he is. In that situation he has seen his fellow socialist members being taken over by Stalin, but does very little to stop this. Furthermore he says himself Stalin is â€Å"an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything for his appetite for power† The evidence here suggests he saw the dilemma, but does very little about it. In hindsight we now know he allowed Stalin to use his powerbase for his own political marketing. This shows the true naivety of Bukharin and how Stalin’s personality completely overshadowed anybody else’s in the politburo. Moreover this shows how truly significant the personalities of every one of Stalin’s contenders were, in allowing and creating a path for Stalin to walk to power. Perhaps if other people in the politburo were willing to play underhand tactics like Stalin, the end would have been different. In retrospect we can see personalities might not be a main factor – perhaps the individual ideologies played a larger role, but it’s the way people acted towards Stalin, completely overshadowing him that makes personalities so significant. Other peoples personalities did play a vital role, but now in stark contrast we begin looking at Stalin’s personality strengths, and how he uses them to the best of his ability. He, from the very beginning was a ‘yes man’ following Lenin till the very end. However one major strength that Lenin foresaw was Stalin’s ability to challenge his thoughts and ideologies. Stalin from the very beginning has ‘a very strong personality’ (Lenin) and this was used this in the July days (a troubled time for the Bolshevik party) when Lenin needed this unique quality from him. Arguably this is Stalin’s biggest asset. Furthermore Stalin’s ability to change tactics and ideologies, particularly in the later stage of the power struggle was, down to an incredibly versatile personality. Moreover his ability to look into the future and plan his actions to aid his accent was stunning, as if he planned every move meticulously and almost in hindsight. Looki ng at the evidence, Stalin’s personality was vital in his accent, but perhaps if the others had been different the overall outcome would have drastically changed. Personalities were vital in the success and failures of the struggle, however Stalin’s under hand tactics played an equally important role. Before and during the 5 year struggle he implemented many tactics to undermine his opponents, and one by one remove them from the possibility of power. Lenin saw this in his final years, and discussed it in his testament, however Stalin persuaded Kamenev and Zinoviev to fight his side, and intern keep his job. Furthermore his ability to switch ideologies and allies is a testament to his versatile personality. An example of this is in the later stages of the struggle, when only him and Bukharin were left for the job. Stalin suddenly rejected NEP because it was failing and turned radically left. This sudden maneuver allowed left wing supporters and nationalist war communists to support him, as well as gaining the support of anti NEP politicians. In all this he managed to leave Bukharin to pick up the pieces of NEP. Furthermore Stalin re introduced grain requisitioning in early 1928 to make sure NEP was a complete fail. Its these quite brilliant tactics that formulate into a plan that make Stalin truly versatile and incredibly shrewd and devious. In everything Stalin did there always seemed to be a very formulated plan, and in this was surrounded by brilliant political tactics. However these tactics were merely ways of getting rid of political opponents, and due to personalities as whole, arguably tactics are not as important as other factors. Alternatively the power bases’ of other opponents could be as significant as personality in the war struggle for power, and the defeat of all his opponents. All Stalin’s opponents had important roles within the Bolshevik party, and in many ways – more significant roles than Stalin. One in particular is Trotsky. Head of the Red army, and an incredibly influential role within the Politburo. Lenin says himself â€Å"personally he is, to be sure, the most able man in the present Central Committee† His power base is remarkable, with huge amounts of Kudu’s within the Bolshevik party. However – arguably as well as him being too â€Å"self-confident† Stalin used this wealth of power base to his advantage by forming the Triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev. When we turn to other members such as Bukharin, we see that generally their powerbases, although more significant for policy making were not as useful for gaining power as Stalin’s, and perhaps this was a significant reason for their in individual defeat. Stalin’s role within the party was General secretary and head of enrolment and promotions. This involved the inner workings of the Party. The evidence indicates that Stalin used his role, from 1922 to strengthen his fan base within the party and Central committee, which later in 1925/26 seemed to secure his position within the party, in 1923 it was up to 30%, and steadily rising. This seems to indicate his role and power base far out saw anyone else’s within the party, and that actually he was in the perfect position to take up power, even foreseeing this in 1924 – by controlling what Lenin saw from the politburo, and vice versa. Stalin took up a highly administrative role, and this worked in his advantage, however the evidence suggests that if other factors were stronger, such as opposition personalities that Stalin still wouldn’t have made it to power. Arguably in this light personalities seem more significant. Ideologies of the opposition and Stalin play of key significance in how arguments were won and lost. For example, Trotsky stayed far left with all his ideologies – perhaps in a more noble way than Stalin, and eventually he was engulfed by Stalin’s devious tactics. Another example would be Zinoviev and Kamenev, in the triumvirate staying right of the spectrum. However when they rejoin to form the left and united opposition – they lose huge respect for changing ideologies within the party. Interestingly this seems like an incredibly vital point – leading onto Stalin’s ideological viewpoints. Throughout the start of the political struggle, he sways right – but doesn’t involve himself in any main arguments about, for example rapid industrialisation. This tactic to stay the middle man has its disadvantages. For example he is described by members of the Bolshevik party as ‘a grey blur’. However it also has its advantages. Stalin was then able to sway from his very Right views within communism – to left views with not much notice – he was able to move ideologies to strengthen his fan base and his viewpoints. For example when the NEP failed – he removed himself from it, thus allowing Bukharin to take the blame – and him stay in the positive public spotlight. It’s this very middle ideological viewpoint that the evidence suggest allowed Stalin to change as he did, allowing him to use it to his great advantage. Despite this, other arguments perhaps suggest it is not the most significant factor in Stalin’s accent within the government, and that actually his deceitful, arrogant and shrewd personality was the true reason that allowed him to flourish the way he did. In conclusion, looking at all the evidence it is clear a combination of factors were involved in Stalin’s accent of power. On one hand it seems Stalin’s powerbase seems to be the primary factor, that despite anyone’s efforts his place within government allowed to build a vast fan base in such a short amount of time. Furthermore others power base didn’t seem to match the superiority of his, even though on the forefront they seem more important, Trotsky is a prime example of this. On the other hand his tactics seem the obvious significant factor – looking at how he manipulated allies and oppositions, such as Bukharin and Zinoviev. More over his ability to control the politburo with his allies over the testament suggests that this could have been a primary turning point for Stalin’s direction on how to achieve power. However diving into the muddle of linked causes, personalities seems to come out on top. The tactics and moral high ground was generally taken by his opposition, but it seems they didn’t play hard enough. They didn’t morally want to use underhand tactics and switch ideologies – because they believed in what they were fighting in. It’s this decorum that contributed more than anything else. Looking at the other side of the spectrum Stalin’s fierce personality, with no conscience seems to be the perfect mix to manipulate not only the communist party – but the general public as well. It is this sheer inhumane ability to be deceptive in this way that allows the evidence to suggest, on the top, personality is the most significant factor in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929.

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Comparison Essay

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were two of America’s finest Romantic writers. These two writers have stood the test of time and are read as much today if not more than they were in their own time. The major reason that both author’s were as popular as they are is because of the fact that they delved into the human mind to create their psychological literature. Edgar Allan Poe’s life spanned from eighteen nine until nineteen forty-nine, the years that were the beginning of the Romantic Movement. Poe was considered an educated man for his time. He attended the University of Virginia and West Point. Since West Point is a military school, he no doubt studied psychology because one who would be a commander in the army would need to know about the way the enemy thinks. Poe did not use this knowledge as a military officer, but used it to create excellent psychological terror in literature. During a time when the arts focused on the supernatural, Poe looked to the character’s own mind to provide terror. The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart is so terrified by his guilt that he reveals the murder he has committed to the authorities, as does the narrator of The Black Cat. In the famous short story The Cask of Amontillado, the reader experienced the terror of one’s condemnation to be walled up in a small cellar room to die and to have the time to think about what is to happen in total darkness and isolation. The Fall of the House of Usher also leaves the narrator completely terrified, not because of his safety, but because of the information that his mind must process and the knowledge that he may begin to suffer from the same madness that Roderick Usher is doomed to endure. Nathaniel Hawthorne was also an expert in delving into the deepest regions of a character’s mind. The Scarlet Letter, one of Hawthorne’s best works is about a woman who must wear a scarlet A because she is an adulterer. The town minister is the man who is also responsible for the sin. However, because he is a male and cannot get pregnant, the community does not know of his guilt. Instead he punishes himself much more than his female counterpart until the sin takes on a supernatural quality. It does so only through the guilt that he must endure. The Minister’s Black Veil is about another minister who physically punishes himself for a psychological sin that he has committed. This penance has bothered the congregation to the point that they isolate the minister. Again, it is their psychological fear and guilt that is their terror. Hawthorne, in his attempt to prove that all are sinners and that all wrestle with good and evil in their minds, proves his point in Young Goodman Brown. In this short story, a young man must decide whether to sell his soul to become a successful man or to remain free. The resolution of the story is that the horrid scene the young man had witness the night before was only a dream, yet he is not sure that it took place in his mind or if it was real. Reality and what one perceived as reality was something that Hawthorne was a master. Both Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne made use of the human mind as an instrument a person’s demise rather than actions. They understood the power of the human mind even though they did not know what we do today. They are shining examples of psychological literature as an instrument of terror and guilt.

Critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of England being a mixed economy rather than a pure command or completely free-market. The WritePass Journal

Critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of England being a mixed economy rather than a pure command or completely free-market. Abstract: Critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of England being a mixed economy rather than a pure command or completely free-market. ). The government does not nationalize any industries and does not interfere in the production of goods or services. The free market economy is also known as the â€Å"laissez’faire† economy and producers operate upon the profit motive as the economy is in a state of pure competition (Baylis, Smith, Owens, 2013). The advantages of a free market economy include that consumers are provided with a variety of products at potentially low prices as there are many producers competing for market share. Consumers are also likely to benefit from high quality products as producers would be competing with one another on the basis of factors such as quality and price. Consumers would also benefit from additional advantages such as convenience, variety, and availability of choice. Also, consumers would easily be able to find the products which they are demanding as the market would be operating according to the price mechanism (Polak, 2013). There would be higher investment in research and development and more chances of larger technological breakthroughs as firms would be competing to gain a competitive advantage in the design of their products /services and/or gaining a cost advantage in their production processes. The free market economy may also mean higher productivity levels, higher wages, and more w ork opportunities for individuals. This is because the economy would be in a state of rigorous competition, making room for more workers to gain higher incomes as businesses would also be competing to recruit the most talented and skilled workers. An economy may prosper and increase its GDP when operating upon a free market economy system, yet it is often considered that the disadvantages of a free market economy system outnumber its advantages (Bremmer, 2010). The disadvantages of a free market economy system include the fact that there is likely to be a high level of inequality in the distribution of income as the rich would be likely to get richer and the poor would be likely to get poorer. Additionally, as there would be no or little government intervention, the public would not be provided with benefits such as welfare schemes, pension schemes, and may not even be provided with fair pay according to the cost of living. Problems such as inflation and the occurrence of monopolies would also not be prevented by the government as the government would have no major role in the economy. There may be wastage of resources as the economy would be in a state of pure competition and expenditure would be incurred on activities such as advertising, marketing, and continuous innovation of products/services (Coates, 2014). Essential services would not be provided to the public such as free medical care, police and army services, and education (Robert son, 2013). De-merit goods such as drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other products would be produced without interference or control from public authorities. Public goods which are not produced for a profit but are produced because they are necessary such as street lighting, water, roads, and other such products/services are either priced very high or not produced at all. Accordingly, a free market economy may be beneficial for the rich but may be highly detrimental for the poor. There is no example of a complete free market economy in the world but the USA comes closest to the definition of a free market or capitalist economy. This is because the USA has approximately 30% government spending in its GD, one of the lowest figures in the world, with 70% expenditure incurred by the private sector (Coates, 2014). A pure command economy is the opposite of a free market economy and will be explained in the next section of this paper. Command/Planned Economy: A planned or command economy is the opposite of a free market economy and is an economic system which is completely controlled by the government. In a planned economy, most or all resources are owned by the government and the government decides what is produced in the economy and the price charged for the products/services. Consumers have little or no say in what is produced and all industries are nationalized. A planned economy also sets out the wages of workers and may also impose quotas upon the number of goods purchased by a single household. Command or planned economies are sometimes imposed by governments in order to maintain control and to attempt to make better use of resources. However, the command or planned economy has not been a highly feasible system to adopt in the current economic environment, resulting in countries, such as China and Russia, to have to evolve or change their economic systems (Hummel Stringham, 2010). The advantages associated with a planned economy include a reduction in the wastage of resources and a more equal distribution of income between people of that country. Moreover, the population would be provided with services such as education, roads, water, medical care, and other facilities upon the government’s budget. Governments often wish to adopt this system in order to prevent riots or unrest in the country as most of the people in the country would be at the same social level and would not feel that the system is unjust. Therefore, it allows the government to have more control on the economy and control economic problems such as inflation, deflation, unemployment, poverty, and other similar issues (Calomoris, Fisman, Wang, 2010). There are many disadvantages associated with a command economy which include the inefficient allocation of resources as resources are not allocated according to the price mechanism. Thus, resources may be wasted in producing things that consumers may not want. Likewise, producers and workers do not have any incentive to work hard as they are not allowed to own wealth and are simply working for the government which would stunt the prosperity and progress of that country. Consumers would also have little choice or variety and would also have lower standards of living as they would have a lack of products/services to choose from. Additionally, it is difficult for the government to provide all goods and services efficiently themselves and this may mean that the provision of some important goods/services may be prevented or may be provided inconveniently. Countries with planned economies may suffer in global trade and other such factors as they would not be able to motivate their citizens to exert their best efforts into production and trade without giving them personal incentives. Thus, this also causes a lack of foreign investment and a high tax rate for the provision of government-funded services. Also, it is difficult to determine how the government would decide what should be produced in the economy and how they can easily anticipate consumer demand (Warner, 2011). Accordingly, the planned economic system has become outdated as previous communist or planned economies such as China, Russia, and even Sweden are now in transition towards a more mixed economic system which will be explained in the next section of this paper. Mixed Economy: The mixed economic system is a combination of the free market economy and the planned economy as this system has both a public sector and a private sector. As mentioned before, most of the countries of the world are mixed economies as they have a public sector and a private sector. The mixed economy allows the government to intervene to provide essential goods and services such as police, medical care, education, welfare and pension schemes, and other similar services while the private sector is free to produce goods and services as well (Castells, 2011). However, the government will intervene where needed and prevent the production of de-merit goods and prevent producers from charging unfair prices amongst other things. Consumers receive the benefit of variety and choice in goods and services and are given an incentive to work hard while they are also facilitated by the government in the form of free goods (public goods) and services (Meyer, 2011). The mixed economy combines the advantage of the free market economy and the planned economy and also shares some of the disadvantages of both respective economies. England is a mixed economy and thus benefits from the advantages associated with not being a complete free market economy or a pure command economy, but also suffers from a few of the disadvantages of not being either of these economies (Meyer, 2011). England’s Economic System: England, while previously being one of the strongest economies in the world, is currently plagued with several economic problems, which have slightly weakened its economic system. Being a mixed economy, England’s government spends about 40% of its GDP upon government spending while the remaining 60% belongs to the country’s private sector. The 40% of government spending is 10% more than what is spent in the USA as a percentage of GDP (Cleaver, 2013). This is because England’s government spends a larger proportion of its tax revenue upon the provision of more comprehensive health services, unemployment, and welfare schemes for the poor, and the transport system of the United Kingdom (Castells, 2011). The country is benefitting substantially by not being closer to a pure free market economy as the government of the country plays a vital role in stabilizing several economic aspects of the country. First of all, the unemployment rate of England is increasing rapidly, which means that it is essential for the government to provide support for the unemployed. If the government had little or no role to play in the economy, the unemployment rate may have even been higher and the number of people that were currently out of jobs may have been out on the roads without provision of basic facilities (Gillespie, 2011).Moreover, as the country is currently in a state of recession, without government intervention, the living standards of people would have decreased substantially, putting the economy in further turmoil and in a possibly irreversible situation (Gillespie, 2011). England is also home to a large number of immigrants and students who form a large part of the GDP in the country annually. If the country had been a complete free market economy, the country was likely to be in a state of chaos as there would be no control upon the immigrants entering the country and there would be no provision of facilities for these immigrants and students which would further burden the country with increasing crime rates, further unemployment, and increasing numbers of homeless people filling the streets. Besides, with increasing numbers of immigrants and an increasing unemployment rate in the local population, the country is also benefitting from government spending upon free health services which keep the citizens and visitors of the country under high quality healthcare and helps prevent the spread of dangerous diseases from people who cannot afford expensive medical treatment. The implications of this control imposed by the government include a better and fai rer distribution of income along with the provision of unemployment benefits, free education, pension and welfare schemes, and high quality healthcare for all people alike (Cleaver, 2013). Furthermore, another essential part of the government’s role in the economy includes the transport system which is subsidized for students, senior citizens, and people with lower incomes. Thus, the government is responsible for the provision of essential public goods and services which are needed to promote the welfare of the citizens of England and make them a prosperous economy (Bohstedht, 2010). Conversely, the disadvantages associated with England being a mixed economy rather than a free market economy include the fact that some services may be provided more efficiently by the private sector including healthcare, as the National Health Service is taking up a substantial part of taxpayer’s money and the standards of the service are also slightly deteriorating resulting in long waiting lists for patients who require treatment. Moreover, if the government privatized several more industries and promoted an environment of pure competition, it may result in the creation of additional jobs and help decrease the unemployment rate. Additionally, increased consumer spending and investment may also attract further foreign direct investment into the country and help bring the country out of its current recessionary state as England’s foreign direct investment rate has decreased over the years and UK’s own companies have increased their investment in other emerging markets. The public has also been highly verbal and rebellious regarding the increasing tax rate in the country which would have been non-existent had the country been a free market economy (Cleaver, 2013). On the other hand, while there are advantages and disadvantages associated with the country being a mixed economy rather than a free market economy, there are also advantages and disadvantages associated with the country not being a pure command economy. The advantage that England has of not being a pure command economy is that it has been able to motivate its population to work hard and become a progressive state as workers are allowed to accumulate wealth instead of limiting the growth of its citizens and nationalizing all its industries. While there is some inefficiency in the allocation of resources, the country’s private sector does operate upon the price mechanism thus allowing the efficient allocation of resources according to the market forces of demand and supply (Boaden, 2010). England has also been able to encourage high amounts of foreign direct investment and the immigration of skilled labour which would not have been possible if the country had been a pure comman d economy. Consumers are also provided with a variety of high quality goods and services which has increased the country’s standard of living and has also enabled it to be an active participant in global trade (Boaden, 2010). Yet, there are certain disadvantages that the country has of not being a pure command economy and being a mixed economy which include the unequal distribution of wealth amongst its citizens which is causing increasing unrest. Moreover, there is ample wastage of resources in the economy because of increasing competition between firms and the country is suffering from several scandals in the realms of corporate social responsibility, quality, unfair pricing, and other problems in its private sector (Bohstedht, 2010).The country has also had to face immense problems because of the large number of immigrants entering the country each year and if the country had been a pure command economy, it would have not had so many potential immigrants to deal with (Boaden, 2010). Conclusion: England is best suited to be a mixed economy like most of the other economies of the world as this economic system enables the economy to combine the advantages of both the complete free market economy and the pure command economy. Additionally, while the country is progressing in the private sector, government intervention is essential for the provision of necessary public goods and services, without which the economy would substantially deteriorate the conditions of the poor. However, while the country has nationalized many of its essential services, the country should consider allowing privatization in the healthcare industry as the burden of taxes to pay for the NHS is increasing while the quality of the service provided by the NHS is deteriorating. Moreover, this is an essential industry which cannot be plagued with delays as is currently happening with the NHS. Thus, being a mixed economy, England should slightly further reduce its government spending to allow the private secto r to benefit further while the government can exert legal control over the activities of firms in the private sector. Furthermore, the government must encourage private industries to increase employment, incomes, and consumer spending, and thus lead to a higher GDP and a more progressive nation. The country would also easily be able to pull itself out of its current recessionary state and reduce the tax burden on its citizens. References Baylis, J., Smith, S., Owens, P. (Eds.). (2013).  The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Oxford University Press. Boaden, N. (2010).  Urban policy-making: influences on county boroughs in England and Wales. Cambridge University Press. Bohstedt, J. (2010).  The Politics of Provisions: Food Riots, Moral Economy, and Market Transition in England, C. 1550-1850. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Bremmer, I. (2010). â€Å"The end of the free market: who wins the war between states and corporations?.†Ã‚  European View. Vol.  9(2) pp. 249-252. Calomiris, C. W., Fisman, R., Wang, Y. (2010). â€Å"Profiting from government stakes in a command economy: Evidence from Chinese asset sales.†Ã‚  Journal of Financial Economics. Vol.  96(3) pp.399-412. Castells, M. (2011).  The power of identity: The information age: Economy, society, and culture  (Vol. 2). John Wiley Sons. Cleaver, T. (2013).  Understanding the world economy. Routledge. Coates, D. (2014). â€Å"The UK: Less a liberal market economy, more a post-imperial one.† Capital Class. Vol.  38(1) pp.171-182. Gillespie, A. (2011).  Foundations of economics. Oxford University Press. Hummel, J. R., Stringham, E. P. (2010). â€Å"If a Pure Market econoMy Is so Good, Why doesn’t It exIst? the Importance of changing Preferences versus Incentives in social change.†Ã‚  Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. Vol.13 pp.31-52. Meyer, M. W. (2011). â€Å"Is it capitalism?.† Management and Organization Review, Vol.7 (1) pp.5-18. Ostrom, E. (2010). â€Å"Beyond markets and states: polycentric governance of complex economic systems.†Ã‚  The American Economic Review. pp. 641-672. Polak, J. J. (2013).  An international economic system  (Vol. 7). Routledge. Robertson, P. E. (2013).  Does a Free Market Economy Make Australia More Or Less Secure in a Globalised World?. University of Western Australia, Business School, Economics. Warner, M. (2011). â€Å"Labour markets in China: Coming to terms with globalization.†Ã‚  The dynamics of Asian labour markets: Balancing control and flexibility. New York, NY, Routledge. pp. 134-147.

Free Essays on Sears Tower

SEARS TOWER The Petrona Towers in Malaysia may hold the world’s tallest building title, but the Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America. . (BENNET p.40) The functions of skyscrapers are usually for commercial use. The Sears Tower is a fine example of it, not only for being the headquarters for Sears it was named the â€Å"Home Insurance Building.† The Reliance Building in Chicago was built in 1895, it was fifteen stories high, and it used a semi rigid steel frame. The rigid steel frame was held together with steel beams and connected by rivets. (BENNET p.44) Over the years steel and concrete productions and new technologie reach a higher level, architects use these new materials to reach a greater height in the designs of skyscrapers. The Sears Tower is studied by architects and engineers for it is extraordinary architectural design. The Sears Tower became the tallest building in the world in May of 1973, in Chicago, Illinois when the final beam was positioned and bolted in place. It was an exhilarating day for every person who had a love of skyscrapers. The Sears Tower surpassed the previous record holder, the World Trade Center in Manhattan that was done in 1972 and before that the Empire State Building held the record since 1931. The Sears Tower was built for Sears Roebuck & Company the world’s largest retail store. Sears was growing at an enormous rate and needed more office space for the company’s growing popula... Free Essays on Sears Tower Free Essays on Sears Tower SEARS TOWER The Petrona Towers in Malaysia may hold the world’s tallest building title, but the Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America. . (BENNET p.40) The functions of skyscrapers are usually for commercial use. The Sears Tower is a fine example of it, not only for being the headquarters for Sears it was named the â€Å"Home Insurance Building.† The Reliance Building in Chicago was built in 1895, it was fifteen stories high, and it used a semi rigid steel frame. The rigid steel frame was held together with steel beams and connected by rivets. (BENNET p.44) Over the years steel and concrete productions and new technologie reach a higher level, architects use these new materials to reach a greater height in the designs of skyscrapers. The Sears Tower is studied by architects and engineers for it is extraordinary architectural design. The Sears Tower became the tallest building in the world in May of 1973, in Chicago, Illinois when the final beam was positioned and bolted in place. It was an exhilarating day for every person who had a love of skyscrapers. The Sears Tower surpassed the previous record holder, the World Trade Center in Manhattan that was done in 1972 and before that the Empire State Building held the record since 1931. The Sears Tower was built for Sears Roebuck & Company the world’s largest retail store. Sears was growing at an enormous rate and needed more office space for the company’s growing popula...

Best College Acceptance Calculator Learn Your Admission Chances

Best College Acceptance Calculator Learn Your Admission Chances SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Anyone who’s applied to college remembers the fear of getting that dreaded rejection letter. (For the record, I got two- and they both stung. A lot.) But what if you could calculate your chances of college acceptance before you applied? The good news is that you can! Ourcollege acceptance calculator uses your GPA and SAT/ACT score to estimate your likelihood of getting accepted to a particular school.But aside from GPA and test scores, what other critical factors affect your chance of admission?Read on to learn what schools look for during the admission process as well as how you can raise your chance of acceptance by submitting a strong application. What Factors Affect Your Chance of Acceptance? College applications have several components, with each part playing a crucial role in determining whether or not you'll be admitted. But just how important a role one part plays ultimately depends on where you're applying. Below, we go over the major factors that can influence your chance of admission to college, starting with the most important ones. #1: GPA and Rigor of Coursework Many experts agree that your GPA and the rigor of your course load are the most important factors in the college admission process. According to theNational Association for College Admission Counseling's (NACAC)2017 State of College Admission report, 77% of the schools surveyed rated grades in college prep courses, as well as grades in all courses, considerably important, and52%said the same for the overall strength of a student's high school curriculum.As these statistics indicate, most colleges consider grades and rigor of coursework extremely significant factors in admission. Good grades are so important because they emphasize your overall diligence as a student. But it'snot always just about getting straight As; rather, schools want to see that you're consistently challenging yourself to learn complex concepts. Your ability toperform well in upper-level classes indicates your preparedness for college-level coursework. So for some colleges, a B in an AP class might be viewed just as highly as, if not higher than, an A in a regular class. #2: SAT/ACT Test Scores Another critical factor for admission- ranked considerably important by 54% of schools in the NACAC survey- is SAT/ACT test scores. Generally speaking, admission test scores are just as, or nearly as, important as grades and rigor of coursework. But according to a US News interview with college-admission experts, the overall significance of SAT/ACT scores varies depending on the school. Some schools, particularly highly selective ones, largely emphasize test scores during the admission process. As a result, being able to hityour goal score on the SAT/ACT is often necessary for admission to these schools. Nevertheless, not all schools believe SAT/ACT scores are that important. In fact, many liberal arts colleges and national universities (even some highly ranked ones!) are test optional, meaning you are not required tosubmit test scores. #3: Personal Statement/Essay Next up is the admission essay, or personal statement.This essay is a critical component of your application, as it offers a personal glimpse into who you are as a person- something your transcripts and test scores can’t do alone. By allowing you to address and explain specific challenges you’ve overcome and accomplishments you've made, either in your personal life or academic career, the personal statement gives you the opportunity todistinguish yourself from your peers. This is especially helpful as many applicants often look alike on paper, with similar grades and test scores. In the NACAC survey, 55% of schools rated the personal statement either moderately or considerably important for admission. Clearly, you'll need to write a great essay if you hope to raise your chances of admission! Extracurriculars? Well, for one, I was the slowest runner on my cross-country team. #4: Extracurricular Activities/Resume Most schools will require you to submit a resume or evidence of any extracurricular activities (e.g., sports, clubs, etc.), volunteer work, and/or part-time work you’ve completed outside of school. What this resume does is introduce to schoolsyour general interests and non-academic accomplishments. As you create your resume, remember the key motto: depth over breadth.Basically, you’re far more likely to stand out as an applicant if you're deeply focused on honing a certain skill or contributing to a certain cause than if you're simply jumping from one activity to another. More than anything, schools want a resume that highlights your ongoingpassion and commitment. According to NACAC, nearly half of the schools surveyed considered extracurricular activities moderately or considerably important.So hopefully you've got a couple of interesting hobbies or experiences you can add to your resume! #5: Letters of Recommendation Letters of recommendation are often a vital component of college applications. If required, you'll usually need to submit two letters.However, many large state schools, such as the University of Washington and the University of Texas, do not require letters of recommendation, so make sure to check your schools' application requirements to see whether you'll need to submit any. Your letters should come from teachers whose classes you've taken (core classes, such as math and English, are preferable) and/or your school counselor. Althoughyou won't be able to read what your teachers have written about you, a good letter will positively address key aspects of your personality and work ethic in a detailed and thoughtful manner. You should always choose letter writerswho know you well enough to comment on specific accomplishments you've made.Teachers who don’t know you that well are more likely to write lukewarm letters that don’t say anything unique about you and don't mention anything that isn’t already explicit on your transcripts and resume. Letters of recommendation can play an important role in the admission processbut are generally secondary to transcripts, test scores, and resumes. According to the NACAC survey, alittle more than 40% of schools considered both teacher recommendations and counselor recommendations moderately important, while less than 20% considered them considerably important. #6: Additional Test Scores (AP, IB, SAT Subject Test) Subject-specific tests, such as AP tests, IB tests, andSAT Subject Tests, differ from the SAT/ACT in that they showcase your mastery of particular skills and subject areas. The NACAC survey reports that 61% of schools said AP and IB tests were oflimited ormoderate importance. So whileAP and IB test scores aren’t usually requirements for admission, scoring highly on them could give a small boost to your application. Fewer students take SAT Subject Tests, however, which are only required by certain (selective) schools for admission. NACAC states that 70% of schools rated SAT Subject Test scores as having no importance at all, indicating that most schools do not ask for these scores. But for the schools that do require (or strongly recommend) SAT Subject Test scores, you should aim to get high scores on them, particularly if you’re taking any Subject Tests in the field in which you’re planning to major. Our guide offers a complete list of schools that require or recommend SAT Subject Test scores. I wasn't ranked No. 1 at school, but I'm always No. 1 in Mario Kart. #7: Class Rank Class rank is an admission factor that’s actually decreased in importance over time, as fewer high schools are beginning to calculate it. In 2006, 23% of schools surveyed by NACAC regarded class rank as considerably important, but by 2016 this number had dropped to just 9%. Despite this, if your school doescalculate class rank, your rank will likely be fairly important to your colleges. Even with its drop in importance over the past decade,33% of schools still consider class rank moderately or considerably important. #8: Other Factors Several additional factors can influence your chance of getting accepted to college. These factors vary with different schools, but here are some of the most common ones: Supplemental essays:Some schools might ask you to supply a supplemental essay detailing why you want to attend this particular school(we call this a â€Å"Why This College† essay). Portfolio: A portfolio is generally only required if you’re applying to an art-oriented program or school. For example, Champlain College in Vermont requires portfolios for undergraduate applicants in certain BS and BFA programs. Interview: Not many schools require interviews, but those that do want to see that you’re enthusiastic about the school and are as strong a candidate in person as you are on paper. Most Ivy League schools require evaluative interviews, while other selective schools might require or strongly recommend them. Legacy: Many schools, such as Harvard and Brown, will take into consideration whether you are a legacy student. (In most cases, "legacy" means that one or both of your parents attended the school for undergrad.) Legacy can be a tipping factor for schools trying to decide between two equally qualified candidates. Ethnic background: Many schools practice affirmative action and will therefore take into account your racial and/or ethnic status with the intention of increasing student diversity. Geographic location: Schools might also take into account where you come from so as to create a diverse class of students from a variety of states and countries. Athletic skills: Yourathletic skillsmight play a role in admission at certain schools. Some schools even recruit highly successful student-athletes based on their high school athletic careers. First-generation college student:Being afirst-generation college student means that your parents did not attend or complete college (regardless of whether your siblings did). Much like legacy, this can be a tipping factor in your favor during the admissions process. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Feeling lucky? College Acceptance Calculator: What Are Your Chances? While you can’t know for sure whether you’ll get into a school or not, you can use our college acceptance calculator tool, along with what we know about admission factors, to roughly calculate your college acceptance chances. First, go to Google and search for â€Å"[School Name] PrepScholar† or â€Å"[School Name] PrepScholar admission requirements.† You’ll want to find your school’s admission requirements page in our PrepScholar database. For example, here’s what came up when I searched for â€Å"pomona prepscholar†: Once you've clicked the link to your school’s admission requirements page, scroll down to the section titled â€Å"Admissions Calculator.†You can also use ctrl + F to search for â€Å"calculator† to jump to the section more quickly. On Pomona's admission requirements page, here's what the admissions calculator section looks like: As you can see in this screenshot, our calculator takes your SAT/ACT score and (weighted or unweighted) GPA to give you a percentage estimating your chance of acceptance. Note that this percentage, though helpful, is based only on your GPA and test scores anddoesn't take into account other critical admission factors, so itcan't be considered 100% accurate. The default SAT score and GPA on the calculator will be whatever the averages are for your particular school. (The default SAT score uses the old 2400 SAT scale, but you can change this to the current 1600 SAT scale by clicking "New SAT.") In my example above, the average (old) SAT score for students admitted to Pomona is 2160, and the average GPA of admitted students is 4.05. To calculate your chances of college acceptance, choose your test (old SAT, new SAT, or ACT) and then toggle the calculator so that it shows your test score.You can also type your score directly in the box to the right. Next, repeat these steps for your GPA. Note that the GPA scale here goes up to 5.0 to account for weighted GPAs. Input your GPA exactly as it is, regardless of whether your school uses a weighted or unweighted scale. So if your school uses unweighted GPAs (i.e., out of 4.0) and you have a 3.5, input 3.5 on the calculator. If, on the other hand, your school uses weighted GPAs and you have a 4.2, then you'd input 4.2. Let’s say I took the (current version of the) SAT and got a relatively high score of 1430. In addition, my (weighted) high schoolGPA is 4.5. According to our tool (and based purely on GPA and test scores), my chance of admission to Pomona would equal about 15%: As you can see, it'd be particularly tough for me to get into Pomona based on my current GPA and SAT test score alone. Even though my GPA and SAT score are quite high in this example, Pomona is an extremely selective school with only a 10% admittance rate. Therefore, in orderto increase my chances of admission,I'd need an extremely impressive SAT score and GPA (not to mention quality letters of recommendation, a strong personal statement, and a great resume!). Despite my low chance of admission, there's no guarantee that I couldn't get into Pomona with my current SAT score and GPA. What our college acceptance calculator shows is thatit's simply unlikelyfor me to get accepted with my current stats. As you use our college acceptance calculator, be aware thatyour test scores and GPA are not the only factors schools will consider during the admission process. Unfortunately, no college acceptance calculator can take into account the strength of non-quantifiable application components, such as your personal statement and resume. The best thing to do, then, is towork on ensuring that the rest of your application is equally strong, if not stronger, than your GPA and test scores. What's worse than a low chance of acceptance? A constant low battery. What If Your Chances of College Acceptance Are Low? What's considered a low chance of admission will vary depending on where you're applying. As we saw above, with highly selective schools- even if your SAT/ACT scores and GPA are quite high- your chance of admission could be low due to the low acceptance rate of the school. If you've used our college acceptance calculator but discovered your chances of admission aren't as high as you'd hoped they'd be,you’ll need to put extra effort into your application to increase your chances of getting accepted. Here are five ways you can improve your applicationand give yourself a better shot at admission: #1: Retake the SAT/ACT Though you can't change your GPA all that much, you can make big gains on your SAT/ACT test score with a little- OK, a lot- of elbow grease. Let's look back at myexample with Pomona. You can see that my initial chances of admission- with a 1430 SAT score- are about 15%.But let’s say I retake the SAT and score far higher the second time around. How much would my chances of admission increase as a result? The answer to this depends on how big of a point improvement I'm able to make. If I were to improve my SAT score by 100+ points and get a near-perfect score of 1580, my chance of admission, according to our calculator, would increase by a whopping 32%! Ultimately, what this means is that you might be able to dramatically increase your chances of admission by simply retaking the SAT/ACT and scoring higher on it. This is partly because SAT/ACT test scores are such an important part of college applications. (Remember, as the NACAC survey revealed, test scores are usually one of the most important factors, along with GPA and coursework difficulty.) But getting a higher SAT/ACT score isn’t always easy. To help you out, we offer completely customizable SAT and ACT prep programs. You can also read our guides on how to improve your SAT orACT score, and on how to get a perfect SATorACTscore. #2: Get Feedback on Your Essay Sometimes an excellent personal statement or â€Å"Why This College† essay can sway an admission committee’s decision in your favor, so it’s imperative you write acompelling and technically correct essay. Getting separate pairs of eyes to analyze your writing is key to ensuring your college essay is high quality. Ask yourteachers, parents, and/or counselor to look over your essay and offer detailed feedback on how you could improve it and what you could change to make it more impactful. Make sure you, too, meticulously check your essayfor any glaring errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation before submitting it. For additional help,our guide offers 100+ samples of stellar personal statements. These essays will give you ideas as to what you should discuss in your essay and how you might want to organize your thoughts. #3: Get Letters of Recommendation From Teachers You’re Close With For your recommendations, askteachers who know you well and who are guaranteed to write passionately and enthusiastically about you in their letters. Ideally, you’ll have already pinpointed the teachers with whom you get along best and have forged a solid relationship. You should also have received consistently high marks in their classes. The best letters are those that can speak to positive qualities you possess and achievements you’ve made- in other words, elements about you that aren’t evident in your transcripts and test scores.You should aim to obtain letters from primarily (if not only) core-class teachers, including one whose field you're interested in studying in college. Remember, although letters of recommendation won't necessarily be the most important part of your application, they still play a valuable role in showcasing your accomplishments to colleges. In the end, a glowing letter can really boost your application and might even help get you into some of the toughest schools out there, such as Harvard. The teachers you're close with = those whom you can take cool, hipster, Inception-y photos with. #4: Get High Scores on AP, IB, and/or SAT Subject Tests If your SAT/ACT test scores aren’t as impressive as you would've liked, you can try to make up for them by submitting high AP, IB, and/or SAT Subject Test scores. Most schools do not require AP scores but will view them if submitted. You’ll usually self-report these on your application, whichallows you to select the specific AP scores you want (and don't want) to report to your school. For example, if you scored 5s on AP US History andAP English Literature and Composition but only a 2 on AP Bio, reporting only your highest scores- and omitting your AP Bio score- will let you present yourself in a more flattering light. On a related note, if you scored relatively high on an AP or IB test whose field is related to the major you want to do, definitely report this score on your application.This score will indicate to your school that you have the basic knowledge and skills necessary for success in your chosen field of study. As for SAT Subject Tests, only certain (selective) schools will require these scores. Schools that want SAT Subject Test scores usually require (or strongly recommend) you to take two or three tests. If you’re already taking AP courses, it might be easier to opt for Subject Tests in the same fields as your AP classes. Doing this should give you a higher chance of securing solid SAT Subject Test scores since you’ll already be studying the material full-time in school. #5: Ace Your Interview (If You Have One) As is the case with SAT Subject Tests, most schools do not require evaluative interviews. But if your school is one of the few thatrequires or strongly recommends an interview, doing well on it can strengthen your application and produce a clearer, more well-rounded picture of who you are and what you hope to accomplish in college. Treat the interview as an opportunity to showcase your demonstrated interest in the school. According to NACAC, half of respondents ranked â€Å"Student’s Demonstrated Interest† in a school as moderately or considerably important for admission. So as youanswer questions during the interview, be clear about how the school will help you attain your academic goals and why you’ve chosen this particular school. Most of all, be sincere. Recap: What Are Your Chances of Getting Accepted? There are many factors that affect your chances of getting accepted to college. Generally speaking, the most important factors are your GPA, the rigor of your coursework, and your SAT/ACT test score. Secondary factors include your personal statement, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and class rank. To (roughly) calculate your college acceptance chances, look for your school’s â€Å"Admission Requirements† page in our PrepScholar database and use its â€Å"Admissions Calculator† to see what your chances of getting in are, based on your current GPA and SAT/ACT score. Note, though, that our college acceptance calculator can only give you a rough estimate of your chances of acceptance. Because there's no way to take into account non-quantifiable factors such as your personal statement and letters of recommendation, no college acceptance calculator can ever be100% accurate.That said, you can use our calculator to help determine whether you might need to work on strengthening other areas of your application. If your chances of admission are low, try to improve your application as best you can. Some options to consider are retaking the SAT/ACT and aiming for a higher score, obtaining strong letters of recommendation from teachers who know you well, and getting feedback on your essays. In the end, it's impossible to know for sure whether you’ll get accepted to a certain school or not.But by putting forth your best application possible, you can give yourself a far higher chance of acceptance- not to mention the satisfaction that you gave it your all! As Tim Allen once said, "Never give up, never surrender." What’s Next? Need help applying to college? Start by reading our extensive guide onhow to apply to college. After,get tips onhow to build a versatile college application so that you can apply to a broad range of colleges without getting overwhelmed. What's a good SAT score for college? A good ACT score?A good GPA?Our guides offer tons of information on how high you'll need to aim in order to get into the schools you wish to attend. Aiming for a super selective school?Get expert tips in our guide to getting into Harvard- written by an actual Harvard alum! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

An Evaluation of CRM Strategy at Ping An Life Insurance, China Dissertation

An Evaluation of CRM Strategy at Ping An Life Insurance, China - Dissertation Example Ping An has been recognized and awarded for its customer relationship management approach but an evaluation of data suggests the adoption and implementation of CRM is not professionally and strategically adequate. Emphasis on salesmen appears to a hindrance to growth and accountability is lacking at Ping An. After evaluation of the available data, recommendations have been made on how CRM can be effectively implemented at Ping An Life Insurance. China Insurance industry Life insurance business in China is huge and intensely competitive, according to Binder, Bowers and Yung (2004) of The McKinsey Quarterly. China is now the world’s fastest growing major life insurance market. The drivers of growth in the sector include 40 percent household savings rate, limited and deteriorating public-pension and health schemes that have heightened the demand for personal retirement savings and protection tools. Consumers sought investment options but the choice was limited. No attractive mutual funds offers are available and consumers cannot invest overseas. Bank yields are very low compared to typical savings policy. This helped to stimulate growth in the insurance sector in 1990 when foreign insurance companies were allowed to enter China either in joint venture with 50:50 partnership or with a maximum of 25 percent ownership. However, within 15 years more than 90 percent of insurance sector is with three domestic insurers – China Life Insurance, Pi ng An Insurance and China Pacific Life Insurance. The insurance industry is among the fastest growing industries in China and is the core business of the Ping An Group (Annual Report, 2012). However, the Chinese insurance business is in transition and hence has to adjust for sustainable and healthy growth (Market Review, 2012). This is critical since China’s economy is growing and personal wealth is expanding and hence sustainable growth becomes essential. Besides, competition is setting in as foreign insurers’ operational areas have expanded, which means they can operate in geographical regions they were earlier barred from. Besides, despite the three domestic insurers having large number of agents, the productivity on an average is less than one-fourth of Hong Kong agents. It has also been found by Binder, Bowers and Yung (2004) that these agents give misleading information and poor customer service. Such issues would allow the foreign insurers to increase their mark et share of the affluent and mass-affluent segment. 1.2 Customer

Double- spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, Term Paper

Double- spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, headers and footers. You are required to adhere to the 7 - Term Paper Example According to OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, U.S draws approximately 85% of its energy from fossil fuels. This is an alarming fact since global fossil fuel reserves are dwindling at a very fast rate. Consequently, this has caused an increased cost of energy thereby affecting the economic drivers. Nuclear energy comes in handy in solving this energy crisis (OECD, 2008). Low input cost Arguably, setting up a nuclear energy power plant requires a lot of capital investment. However, the overall running costs of the plant are relatively cheap. The main input cost when harnessing nuclear energy is production of nuclear rods. Once a good supply is established, a constant supply of energy is guaranteed. Unlike fossil fuel which is bulky to store and transport, nuclear materials are less bulky and can thus be prepared and stored to ensure constant supply of energy without the need of large storage. Constant and Consistent Supply Nuclear power plants can be set up in any convenient place that meet s the safety standards. This implies that U.S does not have to depend on imported fossil fuel energy, which is usually affected by global political climate. For instance, the current political crisis that has affected northern African oil producing countries such as Libya has greatly affected fuel supply to U.S (Herbst and Hopley, 2007). Having nuclear power plants in U.S would ensure constant and efficient supply of energy to the whole population. Nuclear energy offers a long-term supply of energy enough to drive the U.S economy for many years. Therefore, nuclear energy offers not only a solution to the current overdependence on fossil fuels but also offers a long-term viable energy supply. Power Output Efficiency One of the main advantages of nuclear energy is the efficiency in power output. Nuclear energy is obtained from nuclear reactions in the atom of elements such as uranium. A very small amount of uranium is enough to produce a lot of heat energy during the nuclear reaction. This energy is used to drive steam turbines, which in turn generates electricity. Energy from fossil fuels requires extraction and refining of a very large amount of fossil ore to come up with a refined usable energy product. This comparison makes nuclear energy the preferred choice when it comes to power output efficiency. Effective interchangeability Advancement in Technology has made it possible to transform electric energy to a wide variety of forms. Hybrid and electric cars are increasingly becoming a reality. This makes electric energy to be the most preferred form of energy due to its wide variety of applications. Transforming fossil fuel energy to electricity requires burning of the fuel thereby contributing to environmental pollution. This does not come by surprise since the greatest percentage of global pollution comes from burning of fossil fuels in the process of transforming it from one form to another (Holt, 2008). Nuclear energy comes in as the best alternative. Prod uction of nuclear energy does not cause environmental pollution and the electric energy produced comes in a form ready to use in an environmental friendly way. Integrating Saint Leo’s Core Values The primary objective of any leadership is to serve the community with best interest in mind. When leadership provides the U.S community with efficient, safe, affordable, and stable supply of energy, the community will develop and advance. This is concurs with Saint Leo’

Monique and the Mango Rains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Monique and the Mango Rains - Essay Example A major cause is that women in Mali are deprived of child custody rights. Kris discusses Monique in her book stating that she is more educated and skilled than her husband, they both speak different languages and they both belonged to different cities. As Kris gets to know more and more about Monique, it is revealed that she is unhappy with her married life and that she was having an affair with a man she wanted to marry. Because of the cultural practice of arranged marriages, she was forced to live with a man she never wanted to marry. (Holloway, 35) Forced marriages are a common society trait in Mali, though they have been influenced by western culture too, but they try to stick to their centuries old traditions of arranged marriages. No woman is allowed to marry the person of her own choice. It is important for the girls to maintain their virginity till marriage or else it is stated as to bring a bad name to their parents and their tribe. Gifts are paid from the groom to the girl’s family on marriage which is considered no more than the price of the girl. Such kind of marriages are not only uncivilized but also a cause of mental torture for the poor women. Arranged marriages are considered to bring honor to the family. In education, women are also at a disadvantage. Parents think of boys’ education as a better investment than a girl’s education which results in gender difference in education. Statistics show that at the level of primary education the girls ratio is 33% whereas that of boys it is 48% , in secondary schools this ratio is as much as double than that of girls Early forced marriages resulting in pregnancy keeps women away from continuing their education. Many girls are only dropped out of school only because boys of their families are preferred since they are the ones who live with their parents all their

Influence of Hollywood Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Influence of Hollywood - Research Paper Example as the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission got together to conduct a thorough study of how â€Å"entertainment firms market violence to children† (Cain, p1, 1999). But more importantly, it is an unequivocal acknowledgement of the negative influence of Hollywood on society in general and teenage boys in particular. Violence and anti-social behavior shown in Hollywood movies had even united the usually bipolar American polity, as both Republicans and Democrats hoped to â€Å"hold Hollywood accountable for its gratuitous violence in movies, television shows, video games and recordings†. (Cain, p1, 1999) Douglas Lowenstein, former head of the Interactive Digital Software Association put the core issue succinctly, when he said â€Å"What kind of values are we promoting when a child can walk into a store and find video games where you win based on how many people you can kill or how many places you can blow up? The nation should not lose sight of the fact that parents, not kids, buy most games. And therefore, keeping games not appropriate for children out of their hands starts and ends at home". (Cain, p1, 1999) Hence, while Hollywood is the instigator of this unsavory tendency among teenage boys, skillful parenting can keep a check on their children. The concerns raised by the country’s leaders are not without merit. For example, several studies have shown a positive correlation between violent programs (including movies, television and digital media) and violent behavior among children. Furthermore, â€Å"children under the age of 18 were the victims in nearly 20 percent of the violent crimes committed by criminals now in state prison, and that more than half of the juvenile victims were 12 or younger† (Smith,, 2001, p.321). Children who come from a dysfunctional family environment or have been abused physically or sexually are particularly prone to be affected. The gravity of the situation can be learnt from the fact that the Office of Juvenile

Deforestation Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Deforestation Crisis - Essay Example However, money has influenced activities that lead to deforestation. In the US landowners are lured by the money generated from logging. They have sold forested acres to logging companies and developers aim at building housing complexes to form urban sprawl. Kenya is a periphery country, which according to world’s system theory, may be controlled by other states and has the weak central government. Just like other periphery countries, it depends on and exports raw materials to the superior states known as the core countries. However, Kenya suffers from deforestation just like the US. Over 100,000 hectares of its largest Mau forest is a victim of deforestation. The largest driver of deforestation in the region is the growing demand for construction timber due to infrastructural development in the country. However, factors like the need for charcoal fuel, expanding farming land and demand for settlement have also contributed to the deforestation in Kenya (Spilsbury 12). Kenya an d United State of America have correspondingly taken steps to help restrain the issue of deforestation. For instance, both governments have passed strict rules regulating the harvesting of trees in the forest and tough penalties for those who disobey the rules (Spilsbury 32). Similarly, the non-governmental organizations have also joined in the fight to curb deforestation in the two countries. The Green Belt Movement founded by the Nobel Prize winner Wangari Mathai has played a huge part in reducing deforestation of the Mau forest in Kenya.

Business Impact Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Impact Analysis - Essay Example ing the postal system is the Office of Inspector General (OIG) whose chief officer reports directly to the Postal Office’s Governors and not subject to any supervisory jurisdiction to any other Postal Service in the country (USPS OIG: David Williams, 2010). Due to the delicate nature of the tasks, responsibilities, and accountabilities accorded all personnel working for USPS OIG, a business impact analysis is most useful in assisting management in determining which functions are critical to the continued operation of the organization. According the its official website, the mission of the office is to assist in the maintenance of confidence through safeguarding the organization’s bottom line concurrent with undertaking both audits and investigations. It was specifically stated that â€Å"audits of postal programs and operations help to determine whether the programs and operations are efficient and cost-effective. Investigations help prevent and detect fraud, waste, and misconduct and have a deterrent effect on postal crimes† (USPS OIG: Mission, 2010, par.1). In this regard, the OIG is tasked with focusing on the following strategic goals which are considered relevant as giving direction to the organization: generation of revenue, improving and increasing the organization’s efficiency in performance, focusing on improvement of service, emphasis on a culture which focuses on the customers, increasing awareness on sustainability efforts, and regular monitoring and apprising on regulatory studies and obligations to report (OIG: Semi-Annual Report to Congress, 2008, 7). Business impact assessment is one of the steps incorporated in business continuity planning. Since OIG undertakes audits and investigations, the initial step to identify critical areas that would ensure the accomplishment of identified objectives entails reviewing the STEEP (social, technological, economic, ecological, and political) factors that impact its operations (Van der Heijden, et.al.,

Deforestation Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Deforestation Crisis - Essay Example However, money has influenced activities that lead to deforestation. In the US landowners are lured by the money generated from logging. They have sold forested acres to logging companies and developers aim at building housing complexes to form urban sprawl. Kenya is a periphery country, which according to world’s system theory, may be controlled by other states and has the weak central government. Just like other periphery countries, it depends on and exports raw materials to the superior states known as the core countries. However, Kenya suffers from deforestation just like the US. Over 100,000 hectares of its largest Mau forest is a victim of deforestation. The largest driver of deforestation in the region is the growing demand for construction timber due to infrastructural development in the country. However, factors like the need for charcoal fuel, expanding farming land and demand for settlement have also contributed to the deforestation in Kenya (Spilsbury 12). Kenya an d United State of America have correspondingly taken steps to help restrain the issue of deforestation. For instance, both governments have passed strict rules regulating the harvesting of trees in the forest and tough penalties for those who disobey the rules (Spilsbury 32). Similarly, the non-governmental organizations have also joined in the fight to curb deforestation in the two countries. The Green Belt Movement founded by the Nobel Prize winner Wangari Mathai has played a huge part in reducing deforestation of the Mau forest in Kenya.

Water Pollution in China Essay Example for Free

Water Pollution in China Essay River like blood in Roxian, Guangxi About one third of the industrial waste water and more than 90 percent of household sewage in China is released into rivers and lakes without being treated. Nearly 80 percent of Chinas cities (278 of them) have no sewage treatment facilities and few have plans to build any and underground water supplies in 90 percent of the cites are contaminated. Water shortages and water pollution in China are such a problem that the World Bank warns of â€Å"catastrophic consequences for future generations. † Half of China’s population lacks safe drinking water. Nearly two thirds of China’s rural population—more than 500 million people—use water contaminated by human and industrial waste. In summer of 2011, the China government reported 43 percent of state-monitored rivers are so polluted, theyre unsuitable for human contact. By one estimate one sixth of China’s population is threatened by seriously polluted water. One study found that eight of 10 Chinese coastal cities discharge excessive amounts of sewage and pollutants into the sea, often near coastal resorts and sea farming areas. Water pollution is especially bad along the coastal manufacturing belt. Despite the closure of thousands of paper mills, breweries, chemical factories and other potential sources of contamination, the water quality along a third of the waterway falls far below even the modest standards that the government requires. Most of China’s rural areas have no system in place to treat waste water. A study by China’s Environmental Protection Agency in February 2010 said that water pollution levels were double what the government predicted them to be mainly because agricultural waste was ignored. China’s s first pollution census in 2010 revealed farm fertilizer was a bigger source of water contamination than factory effluent. water pollution by Caijing Water pollution—caused primarily by industrial waste, chemical fertilizers and raw sewage— accounts for half of the $69 billion that the Chinese economy loses to pollution every year. About 11. 7 million pounds of organic pollutants are emitted into Chinese waters very day, compared to 5. 5 in the United States, 3. 4 in Japan, 2. 3 in Germany, 3. 2 in India, and 0. in South Africa. Water consumed by people in China contains dangerous levels of arsenic, fluorine and sulfates. An estimated 980 million of China’s 1. 3 billion people drink water every day that is partly polluted. More than 600 million Chinese drink water contaminated with human or animal wastes and 20 million people drink well water contaminated with high levels of radiation. A large number of arsenic-tainted water have been discovered. China’s high rates of liver, stomach and esophageal cancer have been linked to water pollution. In many cases factories fouling critical water sources are making goods consumed by people in the U. S. and Europe. Problems created by China’s water pollution are not just confined to China either. Water pollution and garbage produced in China floats down its rivers to the sea and is carried by prevailing winds and currents to Japan and South Korea. Water pollution and shortages are a more serious problem in northern China than southern China. The percentage of water considered unfit for human consumption is 45 percent in northern China, compared to 10 percent in southern China. Some 80 percent of the rivers in the northern province of Shanxi have been rated â€Å"unfit for human contact. † A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center before the 2008 Olympics found that 68 percent of the Chinese interviewed said they were concerned about water pollution. Effects of Water Pollution in China Waters that used to team with fish and welcome swimmers now have film and foam at the top and give off bad smells. Canals are often covered layers of floating trash, with the deposits particularly thick on the banks. Most of it is plastic containers in a variety of sun-bleached colors. Deformities in fish such as one or no eyes and misshapen skeletons and a decreasing numbers of rare wild Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze has been blamed on a paint chemical widely used in Chinese industry. China is the largest polluter of the Pacific Ocean. Offshore dead zones — oxygen-starved areas in the sea that are virtually devoid off life — are not only found in shallow water but also in deep water. They are mainly created by agricultural run-off—namely fertilizer—and reach their peak in the summer. In the spring freshwater creates a barrier layer, cutting off the salt water below from the oxygen in the air. Warm water and fertilizers cause algae blooms. Dead algae sinks to the bottom and is decomposed by bacteria, depleting oxygen in deep water. Water Pollution and Health and Protests Nearly two thirds of China’s rural population—more than 500 million people—use water contaminated by human and industrial waste. Accordingly it is not all that surprising that gastrointestinal cancer is now the number one killer in the countryside, More than 130 residents of two villages in Guangxi Province in southern China were poisoned by arsenic-contaminated water. Arsenic showed up in their urine. The source is believed to be waste from a nearby metallurgy factory. In August 2009, a thousand villagers gathered outside a government office in Zhentouu township in Hunan Province to protests a the presence of the Xiange Chemical factory, which villagers say has polluted water used to irrigate rice and vegetables and caused at least two deaths in the area. Sources of Water Pollution Major polluters include chemical factories, drug manufactures, fertilizer makers, tanneries, paper mills. In October 2009, Greenpeace identified five industrial facilities in southern China’s Pearl River delta that were dumping poisonous metals and chemicals—such as beryllium, manganese, nonylphenol and tetrabromobisphenol— into water used by local residents for drinking. The group found the toxins in pipes that led from the facilities. In February 2008 the Fuan textile factory, a multimillion dollar operation in Guangdong Province that produces enormous quantities of T-shirts and other clothes for export, was shut down for dumping waste from dyes into the Maozhou River and turning the water red. It turned out the factory produced 47,000 tons of waste a day and could only process 20,000 tons with the rest being dumped into the river. It latter quietly reopened in a new location. Polluted Chinese Rivers and Lakes China has some of the worlds worst water pollution. All of Chinas lakes and rivers are polluted to some degree. According to a Chinese government report, 70 percent of rivers, lakes and waterways are seriously polluted, many so seriously they have no fish, and 78 percent of the water from Chinas rivers is not fit for human consumption. In a middle class development near Nanjing call Straford a polluted river has buried underground in giant pipe while a new ornamental river, rally a lake, has been built above it. According to one government survey, 436 of China’s 532 rivers are polluted, with more than half of them too polluted to serve as sources of drinking water, and 13 of 15 sectors of Chinas seven largest rivers are seriously polluted. The most polluted rivers are in the east and south around the major population centers with the pollution getting worse the further downstream one goes. In some cases each city along a river dumps pollutants outside their city limits, creating increasingly more pollution for the cities down stream. Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun said, ‘What’s not receiving attention is the destruction of the river ecosystem, which I think will have long-tern effects on our water resources. ’ Many rivers are filled with garbage, heavy metals and factory chemicals. Suzhou Creek in Shanghai stinks of human waste and effluence from pig farms. There have been devastating fish kills caused by the release of chemicals into the Haozhongou River in Anhui province and Min Jiang River in Sichuan Province. The Huai flows through densely populated farmland between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Bottlenecks and elevation changes make the river both prone to flooding and collecting pollutants. Half the checkpoints along the Huai River in central and eastern China revealed pollution levels of â€Å"Grade 5 or worse, with pollutants detected in ground water 300 meters below the river. The Huai river in Anhui province is so polluted all the fish have died and people have to drink bottled water to avoid getting sick. Some places have water that is too toxic to touch and leaves behind scum when it is boiled. Here, crops have been destroyed by irrigation water from the river; fish farms have been wiped out; and fishermen have lost their livelihoods. The South-North Water Transfer Project—which will travel through the Huai basin—is likely to deliver water that is dangerously polluted. The Qingshui River, a tributary of the Huai whose names means â€Å"clear water,† has turned black with trails of yellow foam from pollution from small mines that have opened up to meet the demand for magnesium, molybdenum and vanadium used in the booming steel industry. River samples indicate unhealthy levels of magnesium and chromium. The vanadium refineries foul the water and produce smokes that deposits a yellowing powder on teh countryside. The Liao River is also a mess. Gains made with new water treatment facilities have been canceled out by higher than ever levels of industrial pollution. In May 2007, 11 companies along the Songhua River, including local food companies, were ordered to shut down because of the heavily-polluted water they dumped into the river. A survey found that 80 percent exceeded pollution discharge limits. One company turned off pollution control devices and dumped sewage directly into the river. In March 2008 contamination of the Dongjing River with ammonia, nitrogen and metal-cleaning chemicals turned the water red and foamy and forced authorities to cut water supplies for at least 200,000 people in Hubei Province in central China. Cancer Villages and Polluted Waterways in China According to the World Bank, 60,000 people die each year from diarrhea, bladder and stomach cancer and other diseases directly caused by water-borne pollution. A study by the WHO came with a much higher figure. Cancer village is a term used to describe villages or towns where cancer rates have risen dramatically because of pollution. There are said to be around 100 cancer villages along the Huai River and its tributaries in Henan Province, especially on the Shaying River. Death rates on Huai River are 30 percent higher than the national average. In 1995, the government declared that water from a Huai tributary was undrinkable and the water supply for 1 million people was cut off. The military had to truck in water for a month until 1,111 paper mills and 413 other industrial plants on the river were shut down. In the village of Huangmengying—where a once-clear stream is now greenish black from factory wastes—cancer accounted for 11 of the 17 deaths in 2003. Both the river and well water in the village—the main source of drinking water—have an acrid smell and taste produced by pollutants dumped upstream by tanneries, paper mills, a huge MSG plant, and other factories. Cancer had been rare when the stream was clear. Tuanjieku is town six kilometers northwest of Xian that still uses an ancient system of moats to irrigate its crops. The moats unfortunately don’t drain so well and are now badly contaminated by household discharges and industrial waste. Visitors to the town are often overwhelmed by the rotten egg smell and feel faint after five minutes of breathing in the air. Vegetables produced in the fields are discolored and sometimes black. Residents suffer from abnormally high cancer rates. One third of peasants in the village Badbui are mentally ill or seriously ill. Women report high numbers of miscarriages and many people die in middle age. The culprit is believed to be drinking water drawn from the Yellow River downstream from a fertilizer plant. The waters around Taizhou in Zhejiang, the home of Hisun Pharmaceutical, one of China’s largest drug makers, are so contaminated with sludge and chemicals that fishermen complain their hands and legs become ulcerated, and in extreme cases need amputation. Studies have show that people who live around the city have high cancer and birth defect rates. Polluted Yangtze, Pearl and Yellow Rivers Chinas three great rivers—the Yangtze, Pearl and Yellow River—are so filthy that it is dangerous to swim or eat fish caught in them. Parts of the Pearl River in Guangzhou are so thick, dark and soupy it looks like one could walk across it. In recent years pollution has become a problem on the Yellow River. By one count 4,000 of China’s 20,000 petrochemical factories are on the Yellow River and a third of all fish species found in the Yellow River have become extinct because of dams, falling water levels, pollution and over fishing. More than 80 percent of the Hai-Huaih Yellow river basin is chronically polluted. In October 2006, a one kilometer section of the Yellow River turned red in the city of Lanzhou in Gansu Province as result of a â€Å"red and smelly† discharge from a sewage pipe. In December 2005, six tons of diesel oil leaked into a tributary of the Yellow River from a pipe that cracked because of freezing conditions. It produced a 40 mile long slick. Sixty-three water pumps had to be shut down, including some in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province. The Yangtze River is polluted with 40 million tons of industrial and sewage waste. Half of China’s 20,000 petrochemical factories lie on its banks. About 40 percent of all waste water produced in China—about 25 billion tons—flows into the Yangtze, of which only about 20 percent is treated beforehand. The pollution has taken its toll on aquatic life. Fish catches from the river declined from 427,000 tons in the 1950s to 100,000 tons in the 1990s. The Yangtze is in danger of becoming a â€Å"dead river† unable to sustain marine life or providing drinking water. According to report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences released in April 2007 the Yangtze is seriously and largely irreversibly polluted. More than 600 kilometers of its length and almost 30 percent of its major tributaries are in critical condition. Sections of the Grand Canal that have water deep enough to accommodate boats are often filled with trash sewage and oil licks. Chemical waste and fertilizer and pesticide run-off empties into the canal. The water is mostly brownish green. People who drink it often get diarrhea and break out in rashes. Polluted Lakes, Canals and Coastal Areas in China Dead fish in Hangzhou pond Studies have showed that the quality of coastal waters are deteriorating quickly as a result of land-based pollution. The study found that 8. 3 billion tons of sewage was released in Guangdong Province’s coastal waters in 2006, 60 percent more than five years earlier. Altogether 12. million tons of polluted â€Å"material was dumped in waters off the southern province. Some lakes are in equally bad shape. China’s great lakes—the Tai, Chao and Dianchi—have water that is rated Grade V, the most degraded level. It is unfit for drinking or for agricultural or industrial use. Describing Chinas fifth-biggest lake a Wall Street Journal reporter wrote: The slow, hot days of summer are here, and sun-fed algae is starting to clot the milky surface of Chao Lake. Soon a living scum will carpet a patch the size of New York City. It will quickly blacken and rot  The smell is so terrible you can not describe it. † Canals, See Changzhou, Places Apple Accused of Making a River Runs Black In March 2012, Peter Smith wrote in The Times, Beyond the brick cottages of Tongxin runs Lou Xia Bang, once the soul of the farming village and a river where, until the digital revolution, children swam and mothers washed rice. Today it flows black: a chemical mess heavy with the stench of China’s high-tech industry — the hidden companion of the world’s most famous electronics brands and a reason the world gets its gadgets on the cheap. Source: Peter Smith, The Times, March 9, 2012] The article then goes on to describe how the town of Tongxin was being affected by chemical waste from local factories that, as well as turning the river black, has caused a â€Å"phenomenal† increase in cancer rates in Tongxin (according to research by five Chinese non-governmental organisations). The factories have grown up in the last few years and make circuit boards, touch screens and the casings of smartphones, laptops and tablet computers. As usual in these cases, Apple as mentioned – although the evidence appears to be a little sketchy as to whether these factories are actually players in the Apple supply chain. [Source: Spendmatter UK/Europe blog] Smith wrote in the Times: â€Å"Workers at the Kaedar factory, five metres from a kindergarten where children have complained of dizziness and nausea, have secretly confirmed that products had left the factory bearing the Apple trademark. † Red Tides, Salt Tides an d Algae Bloom in China Algae blooms, or eutrophication, in lakes are caused by too much nutrients in the water. They turn lakes green and suffocate fish by depleting the oxygen. They are often caused by human and animal waste and run off of chemical fertilizers. Similar conditions create red tides in the sea. The government estimates that $240 million worth of damage and economic loses was caused by 45 major red tides between 1997 and 1999. Describing a red tide near the town of Aotoum that left the seas blanketed with dead fish and fishermen badly in debt, a fisherman told the Los Angeles Times, The sea turned dark, like tea. If you talk to the fishermen around here, theyll all break into tears. In some places the Chinese have tried to minimize the damage caused by algae blooms by pumping oxygen into the water and containing the blooms by adding clay which acts as a magnet for algae. A lack funds keeps China from tackling the problem using more conventional means. A severe drought in 2006, caused large amounts of seawater to flow upstream on the Xinjiang River in southern China. In Macau salinity levels in the river jumped to almost three time above the World Health Organization standards. To combat the problem water was diverted into it from the Beijiang River in Guangdong. Water Bodies Struck by Algae Blooms in China Red tides have increased in their numbers and severity in coastal areas of China, particularly in Bohai Bay off eastern China, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Large red tides have occurred around the Zhoushan Islands near Shanghai. In May and June 2004, two huge red tides, covering a total area size of 1. 3 million soccer fields, developed in Bohai Bay. One occurred near the mouth of the Yellow River and affected an area of 1,850 square kilometers. Another struck near the port city of Tianjin and covered nearly 3,200 square kilometers. It was blamed on the dumping of large amounts of waste water and sewage into the bay and rivers leading into the bay. In June 2007, coastal waters off the booming industrial town of Shenzhen were hit by one the biggest ever red tides. It produced a 50 square kilometer slick and was caused by pollution and persisted because of a lack of rain. There were large algae blooms in freshwater lakes throughout China in 2007. Some were blamed on pollution. Others were blamed on drought. In Jiangsu Province the water level in one lake dropped to its lowest level in 50 years and became inundated with blue-green algae that produced smelly, undrinkable water. Lake Tai Pollution Lake Tai is often choked with industrial waste from factories producing paper, film and dyes, urban sewage and agricultural run-off. It sometimes is covered with green algae as a result of nitrogen and phosphate pollution. Locals complain of polluted irrigation water that causes their skin to peal, dyes that turn the water red and fumes that sting their eyes. Dams built for flood control and irrigation have prevented Lake Tai’s from flushing out pesticides and fertilizers that flow into it. Particularly damaging are phosphates which suck out life-sustaining oxygen. Starting in the 1980s a number of chemical factories were built on its shores. As of the late 1990s there were 2,800 chemical factories around the lake, some of which released their waste directly into the lake in the middle of the night to avoid detection. Lake Tai Algae Blooms Algae bloom in Lake Tai In the summer of 2007, large algae blooms covered parts of Lake Tai and Lake Chao, China’s third and fifth largest freshwater lakes, making the water undrinkable and producing a terrible stench. Two million of residents of Wuxi, who normally rely on water from the Lake Tai for drinking water, couldnt bathe or wash dishes and hoarded bottled water that rose in price from $1 a bottle to $6 a bottle. Some turned on their taps only to have sludge emerge. The bloom on Lake Tai lasted for six days until it was flushed out by rain and water diverted from the Yangtze River. The bloom on Lake Chao did not threaten water supplies. Reporting from Zhoutie, near Lake Tai, William Wan wrote in Washington Post, â€Å"You smell the lake before you see it, an overwhelming stench like rotten eggs mixed with manure. The visuals are just as bad, the shore caked with toxic blue-green algae. Farther out, where the algae is more diluted but equally fueled by pollution, it swirls with the currents, a vast network of green tendrils across the surface of Tai Lake. [Source: William Wan, Washington Post, October 29, 2010] â€Å" Such pollution problems are now widespread in China after three decades of unbridled economic growth. But whats surprising about Tai Lake is the money and attention thats been spent on the problem and how little either has accomplished. Some of the countrys highest-ranking leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao, have declared it a national priority. Millions of dollars have been poured into the cleanup. And yet, the lake is still a mess. The water remains undrinkable, the fish nearly gone, the fetid smell lingering over villages. [Ibid] At Tai Lake, part of the problem is that the same industrial factories poisoning the water also transformed the region into an economic powerhouse. Shutting them down, local leaders say, would destroy the economy overnight. In fact, many of the factories shut down during the 2007 scandal have since reopened under different names, environmentalists say. † [Ibid] â€Å"Tai Lake is the embodiment of Chinas losing fight against pollution. This summer, the government said that, despite stricter rules, pollution is rising again across the country in key categories such as emissions of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain. Just months before, the government had revealed that water pollution was more than twice as severe as previous official figures had shown. † [Ibid] The algae bloom on Lake Tai was caused by toxic cyanobacteria, commonly called pond scum. It turned much of the lake florescent green and produced a terrible stench that could be smelled miles away from the lake. The Lake Tai bloom became a symbol of China’s lack of environmental regulations. Afterwards a high-level meeting on the lake’s future was convened, with Beijing closing down hundreds of chemical factories and promising to spend $14. 4 billion to clean up the lake.