Hawksmoor :: English Literature

Hawksmoor - There are many puzzling features in this novel - Discuss three in detail, looking at the way they are communicated. 'Hawksmoor' as a novel is on the whole, puzzling. As it is a detective story, Peter Ackroyd uses different techniques of involving the reader in his plot so that even if the beginning is not fully understood, we have to go on reading it just to see what happens next. These different features, for example, the juxtaposition of the time periods between the chapters; the post-modernistic aspects of Ackroyd's writing; and the conflicts between reality and fiction all make the novel puzzling. Time in this novel is very confused, with two time periods (the modern day and the eighteenth century) being juxtaposed in alternate chapters throughout the novel. The theme of time is continued on this premise and there are many references to time by the characters themselves. For example at one point, Nicolas Dyer says: "..how do we conclude what time is our own." Nicolas Hawksmoor also asks: " 'Well, Walter, what do you make of that timing?' 'It's impossible, sir.' 'Nothing is impossible. The impossible does not exist'" Not only are there direct referrals to time, like this but also there are tenuous links and suggestions to it as a dominant theme. For example, Hawksmoor is looking for the zero meridian when he is in Greenwich and there are many others. The changes in time are highlighted by the interesting use of language for the chapters narrated by Nick Dyer. Many spellings are different from modern English, for example, corpse is spelt 'corse'. Ackroyd also uses capital letters for nouns in these chapters. The eighteenth century writing is a constant reminder to the reader of which time period is being read about and is particularly prominent when the chapter and therefore the time period changes. Furthermore, it means that the reader has to concentrate more and because of the different formation of sentences it is difficult for the reader to follow at times, which is consistent with the detective story theme. Ackroyd wants the reader to be actively involved in the plot and they need to pick up on any small threads that he drops. As the novel progresses, there is an increasing confusion with time, so much so that at points it seems barley present. Ackroyd highlights this with the abundance of flashbacks that both the main characters have and because of this the time is changing not only between the chapters but also within them. Dyer has many flashbacks to his past and they often come without warning or relevance to what was previously talked about.

How George Psalmanazar Escaped From History :: History Historical Essays

How George Psalmanazar Escaped From History Moravagine is an idiot, but he is also an idiom...a term whose meaning is established by usage, and not deducible from the meanings of its constituent parts. Idioms are the place where language shows signs of wear: those phrases have been said so many times they have fused into a single unit and can no longer be pried apart. -- Paul La Farge, "Idiots!," The Believer 1. In early 1703, a man named George Psalmanazar arrived in London and had a few discreet conversations. Within a year, he had a publishing contract and the ear of the British royal courts; not long after that he was given a post at Oxford. Psalmanazar's book, An Historical and Geographic Description of Formosa, describing the virtually unknown East Asian island society from whence he came, was read throughout Europe, and his beliefs - among them, that false accusations were worse than cannibalism, Jesuits were the ruin of pure societies, and the blood of snakes could keep a man alive for a century - were repeated as ethnographic dogma. In keeping with the traditions of his native land, Psalmanazar ate only raw foods and recorded the Lord's Prayer in an alphabet unknown to Western civilization (Aldington 44). His conversion from pagan heathenism to the Anglican Church fueled a thousand heated theological debates in learned society. Once ingratiated into European literary circles, he use d his unique firsthand knowledge of Formosa to help compile one of the greatest encyclopedias British society had to that point seen (Stagl 186). When at last Psalmanazar passed away in 1763, leaving behind a small estate, a room of empty laudanum bottles, and a request to be buried in a pauper's grave, it seemed that the idiom would never be pried open. The man from another world was modestly interred and there the matter appeared to rest. In 1764 his papers were given a more thorough examination, and the following facts were discovered: - The deceased man's name was not George Psalmanazar. - In almost no way did the actual island of Formosa resemble Psalmanazar's celebrated account of it. - Psalmanazar had, in fact, been born in Europe, and never left it in his lifetime. - The society, language, history, belief system, and culture of Formosa, right down to the calendar, were products of his own invention. The strange case of George Psalmanazar lies somewhere at the uncomfortable intersection of truth and credulity.

Fallacy

Racial Domination, Racial Progress Kareen Nalbandian Pasadena City College To look at racism through the Individualistic Fallacy is to look at racism as an individual’s own actions rather than a systematic problem. Throughout the day, choices that many make are dependent upon the beliefs they hold. For example, going to the store and asking the white employee for help rather than the black, to â€Å"feel more comfortable. This act is racist, however as per the Individualistic Fallacy, many who make these simple acts do not think of them as racist because their act was in the subconscious and â€Å"unintentional†, and they believe they held no malice in the act. However, one’s actions do not need to be intentional to be racist; racism is often â€Å"habitual, unintentional, commonplace, polite, implicit and well-meaning† (27).The Individualistic Fallacy focuses on the individual level of racism, where racism only exists in certain people and actions, rathe r than a systematic level, where racism exists in our â€Å"schools, political institutions, labor markets, and neighborhoods† (27). The problem with the Individualistic Fallacy is that although asking a white employee for help is one individual’s actions, that action is influenced by which school they attended, the neighborhood they live in, and by the stereotypes given to different races.The school one attends reflects the neighborhood they live in, and because of the segregation in many neighborhoods, some people do not interact with people of other races often, thus feeling more â€Å"comfortable† with the white dominant race. The stereotypes given to certain races are a result of the systematic level of inequality and oppression that that race has had to endure. Thus, the choices that many make throughout the day, though dependent upon the beliefs are hold, those beliefs are ultimately influenced by the systems of racism. Feagin, who has his Ph. D. n sociol ogy, said â€Å"racism is not in society, racism is of society†. In reference to the Individualistic Fallacy, it is difficult to look at racism as the â€Å"psychology† of persons, their beliefs, habits and prejudices, rather than the foundation (system) of society (Juge, 2013). If racism is in society, it should be easy to pick out racist individuals and stop racism, but when racism is of society, it means it is embedded into the systems of America. The Legalistic Fallacy is the belief that racism doesn’t exist because there are laws in place that make racism illegal.However, just as how laws against theft do not stop people from stealing, laws against racism does not mean that racism does not occur every day (28). There are laws set to ensure a fair and â€Å"colorblind† process of hiring employees in a business; however, statistics show nonwhites are much less preferred than whites, and more specifically, black men with no criminal record fared no bett er than whites with a criminal record when looking for jobs (Juge, 2012). Another problem with the legalistic fallacy is that laws are often political in nature.Many laws passed today, although do not explicitly state â€Å"racist†, give way for racism to exist i. e. The War on Drugs, New York’s â€Å"broken window† policy, Arizona’s immigration laws. The War on Drugs and â€Å"broken windows† policy both were passed to reduce deviance in the forms of drugs and criminal acts, however, there have been unequal enforcements of the law by the police department, which is reflected in the incarceration rates of blacks and Hispanics compared to whites.Arizona’s senate bill created to reduce the number of illegal immigrants has led to many unfair detainments and harassment of Hispanic citizens who live in Arizona. These government policies and laws not only refute the Legalistic Fallacy that racism does not exist because there are laws against it, b ut contradicts it a sense that there are now laws that fuel inequality and allow racism to exist. Schools are also segregated and unequal despite laws set against segregation (28). The area in which you live determines the type of education you will receive.Schools are used to ensure who will be doctors and lawyers compared to janitors and gardeners, thus, those who can afford to live in nicer neighborhoods where there are funds for better public education have better chances of future economic success. Consequently, those who live in poorer neighborhoods such as East L. A. where high school dropout rates reach 70-80% have less chances of reaching economic success. However, for those who graduate high school there are more obstacles in finding money to attend a university.This alludes to the fact that the cost of education is not to only get the best people in schools, but to keep some individuals out (Juge, 2012), which is racism in a certain form. School and education in oneâ€⠄¢s early life can determine a lot about the chances and obstacles an individual would have as he got older. For me, going to a private Armenian school in my younger years gave me the capital I needed to be successful throughout my high school and college years, which I otherwise would not have received going to the public school in my neighborhood.The Armenian culture stresses respect of elders, being close-knit to your family, and putting school and education of utmost priority. These ideas provided me with the knowledge I needed to be successful in the â€Å"real world†. Being respectful of your elders, an idea that would seem to be quite obvious, is not practiced by many teenagers in this generation, but because respect was so important for me to have when I was younger, I have the â€Å"know-how† to know how I should approach professors, law enforcement officers, and job employers, giving me an advantage when dealing with certain situations.High school and college are the years where you have fun and go crazy, which can result in less focus in school, and the domino effect of too much fun, terrible grades, using too much drugs, and then dropping out. Being raised in an Armenian family where your family is extremely close to you, although can’t prevent you from having fun, can prevent you from going too far down the hole to where you can’t get back out. When I transferred from the Armenian school to Pasadena High School in 10th grade, I spent the first year finding out of my surroundings, and in 11th grade, I was ready to experience things I hadn’t growing up in a private school.Through the end of my 11th grade year and halfway through my senior year, the levels of deviance I had reached had begun to get serious, and had it not for how I was raised and the support of my mom, I would have not graduated. Religion, specifically Christianity, is also a big part of Armenian culture. No matter which religion you follow in your current life, the religion you grew up with has certain effects on you. For me, the hope and the understanding of myself I learned through Christianity as I was growing up stuck with me even when I stopped following the religion.The same values I was taught from my culture as a child, along with the religious anecdotes, helped my transition from high school to college to be balanced. I know how to interact with different people, I understand myself in ways most people have not been able to find yet, and I have my family to push me back in the right path when they see I have strayed too far. In terms of Eurocentrism, the fact that there are many private Armenian schools in southern California, and because of what I know about the pride of Armenian people, I can see that what I was taught growing p reiterates the belief many Armenians hold that the Armenian culture is â€Å"better† than others. Many times when discussing things such as moving out from the family home, recent cr ime in our neighborhood, or the troubles many youths find themselves in, my mom would point out how other races do no support their family how Armenians do, certain crimes Armenians wouldn’t do that other races would, and how I should be thankful for being part of the Armenian culture for those reasons.My mom’s statements show her favor of Armenians before whites and nonwhites alike. References Desmond, M. , & Emirbayer, M. (2010). â€Å"Race in the 21st Century. † Racial domination, racial progress: The sociology of race in America (1st ed, pp. 27-28). New York: McGraw-Hill Juge, T. (2012-2013) Class Lecture Notes.

Analysis on the characteristics and features of Facebook that promotes narcissism on the Filipino Youth Essay

ANALYSIS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES OF FACEBOOK THAT PROMOTES NARCISSISM ON THE FILIPINO YOUTH THESIS STATEMENT: Although social networking sites open different opportunities for the users to socialize effectively, communicate faster and relatively cheap, and gatherinformation, the medium of communication promotes psychological incapacities, specifically narcissism.   Introduction With 93.3% of the nation signed up in Facebook in 2011, Philippines was named as the â€Å"Social Networking Capital of the World† (Russel, 2011). Filipinos, as citizens of the country, are proud of this achievement, but everything has consequences. Although Social Networking Sites (SNS), like Facebook, open different opportunities for the users to socialize effectively, gather information, and communicate faster and in relatively cheap venues, the medium of communication promotes psychological incapacities, specifically narcissism. A narcissist view himself/herself in a positive but unrealistic self-concept. It also results in lack of interest in forming relationships, and a commitment in regulating one’s self to ensure a positive view (Campbell & Foster, 2007). Narcissists tend to live with this style of life which is a result of wanting to be safe by living all by themselves, and to develop high self-esteem. Every SNS has its unique features that attract users. These features contribute to the increasing number of adolescents and young adult narcissists in the Philippines. Some SNSs have technical and functional features that allow the user to show his list of â€Å"friends†. Most SNSs require users to have a profile picture. Other SNSs have a feature that focuses on â€Å"about me† of the user, some let the users tag photos, post photos and create status posts and updates. (Boyd & Ellison; Davenport, Bergman, Bergman, and Fearrington) SNS as web-based service allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site (Boyd &  Ellison, 2007). In 1997 the first SNS, SixDegrees.com, was created and introduced to the public. SixDegrees.com created a feature that allows the user to communicate with â€Å"friends† by helping the user to connect and send messages.(Due to the increasing number of users, the website was shut down in 2002 because it failed to generate income for its maintenance (Boyd & Ellison). Since then, hundreds of SNS were created, and Facebook is one of them. Despite being called as â€Å"social networks†, user activity on networking sites is focused on the self (Gentile, 2007). Gentile (2007) found out in her study that people present themselves in SNSs in a socially and desirable, but not realistic idealized self-view. History of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004 as a local social networking site for Harvard students; it was first named as â€Å"My Facebook† (The Social Network, 2010). Before signing in into the website, students need to have a harvard.edu email address. This requirement was a key to keep Facebook a private community. In 2005, when Mark Zuckerberg and his team started expanding â€Å"My Facebook† to nearby universities, high school, corporations, and eventually to everyone, they changed its name to â€Å"Facebook† and removed the initial requirement in signing up but changed it to a valid email. Facebook adapted SixDegrees.com’s unique feature of messaging, and like SixDegrees.com, the feature (messaging) and other new features (e.g. profile picture, microblogging, photo sharing, wall post, applications and etc.) attracted millions of users. Based on a model created by Ashwini Nadkarni and Stefan G. Hofmann in their research titled â€Å"Why do people use Facebook?†, Nadkarni and Hofmann discovered that people use Facebook for two primary needs: first is to satisfy their need to belong, and second, to satisfy their need for self-presentation. Baumeister & Leary (1995) said that humans are highly dependent on social support, and exclusion from a social group may have negative effects to one’s self-esteem. Humans also cannot live without social interaction (Sullivan, 1957). These findings explain the first need of an individual why he/she uses Facebook; the need to belong. The second need of an individual for using Facebook, the need for self presentation, is motivated by the â€Å"continuous process of impression management† as stated by Nadkarni and Hofmann. Why Facebook and Youth? The research is focused on Facebook because it has over 1.1 billion users worldwide, almost 16% of the world’s population. With this number of FB users worldwide, Facebook is considered as the most popular SNS in the whole world. In 2011, a research used Facebook usage as a measurement to determine the world’s capital for social networking. Researchers concluded that Philippines has the highest percentage of SNSs users with 93.6%. Since almost 95% of the Filipinos use Facebook, it is the most effective SNS to use in this research paper. Another thing is that, 83% of Facebook users are young adults. Youth presents themselves online with different aspects of life, such as their real self, ideal self, and false self. With this modern world, they can present themselves using different medium, especially Facebook since most of its users are young adults. The Needs of a Narcissist and his/her way to compensate for it through Facebook. Narcissists regulate their self-presentation to ensure positive self-view, they also tend to lack in interest to form relationship. Unique feature and characteristic on Facebook is perfect to aid these traits of a narcissist. The unique features of Facebook are mostly technical features (e.g. applications, photo, news feed, friend list, poke, status, video, group, chat, and like), some of these unique technical features satisfy the needs of a narcissist for exhibition/self-presentation (e.g. friend list, status, photo and video). Another feature of Facebook is its unique way of adding friends. Narcissists are afraid of forming strong bonds; they are attracted to Facebook because they can create relationship with loose or â€Å"weak ties†. A person with high personal preference for exhibitionism/self-presentation feels free to take the center of the stage and to attract attention (Bulatao, et. al.). Exhibitionism is defined as calling an attention to oneself and leaving an impression (Hall. et. al.). SNSs, like Facebook, allow users to control their self-presentation. This unique characteristic attracts narcissist because they will have more opportunity to alter their appearance and personality in online SNSs than in face-to-face interaction. Given that users of SNSs have almost full control over information disclosure, they can be more strategic in managing self-presentation. Profile picture is the most important aspect or part of self-presentation because they represent the individual in most of his online actions and activity. To affirm their positive but unrealistic, idealized and inflated self-view, narcissists tend to make their profile pictures more attractive and self-promoting. They choose profile pictures where they look more physically attractive; they also edit and refine their photos to hide their flaws. In a research done by Laura E. Buffardi and W. Keith Campbell, they found out that narcissists post in their â€Å"about me† section and status updates are mostly self-promoting. They do this by posting less entertaining but much more intelligent quotes. In the same research, they also found out that narcissists’ photos are more attractive that those of the nonnarcissist. They also post photos in which they look more attractive and self promoting. Narcissists are also afraid of creating strong bonds. The unique â€Å"Friend list† of Facebook creates â€Å"weak ties† since the friendship of the two individuals in Facebook is imaginary. It means that some of a narcissist’s friends may be friends in real life, but other, most likely most of the FB friends, relationship or bond is only on the online entity, or simply imaginary. In the same research by Buffardi and Campbell, they found out that  narcissist have more Facebook friends than nonnracissistic individuals. Narcissists seek attention and approval, they do this to gain or maintain their self-esteem. In this world where SNSs dominate the lives of most people, especially the youth, it is not surprising to observe that narcissist fulfill their needs through SNSs, particularly Facebook. Conclusion Social Networking Sites, like Facebook, help people in many ways especially in communicating, but it also have consequences like promoting narcissism. Facebook promotes narcissism because its unique feature and characteristic stated in the body of this paper (e.g. SNSs’ giving the users almost full control over information disclosure, and Facebook’s unique â€Å"Friend list† that create â€Å"weak ties† which a narcissist seeks) aid their needs for exhibition/self-presentation and formulating connection of weak ties to boost their self-esteem. This unique characteristic and feature of Facebook promotes narcissism of the Filipino youth. Limitation This paper only focuses on the Filipino youth. The findings in this research paper may not be plausible to other sectors. This may affect by the culture, etnicity, age, gender, and other external and internal factors. Bibliography Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Vinitzky, G. (2010). Social network use and personality. Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) 1289–1295 Bergman, S.M., Fearrington, M.E., Davenport, S.W., Bergman, J.Z., (2011). Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why. Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011) 706–711. boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 210ï† |230. Buffardi, L. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2008). Narcissism and social networking web sites. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1303–1314. Bulatao, J.S.J. (1965). Personal Preference of Filipino Students. Symposium on the Filipino Personslity, p. 7. Carpenter, C.J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences 52 (2012) 482–486 Cheung, C.M.K., Chiu, P.Y., Lee, M.K.O. (2011). Online social networks: Why do students use facebook?.Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 1337–1343 Gentile, B., Twenge. J.M., Freeman, E.C., Campbell, W.K., (2012). The effect of social networking websites on positive self-views: An experimental investigation. Computers in Human Behavior 28 (2012), 1929–1933. Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G. (1957). Social Physchological Theories: Alfred Adler. Theories of Personality. 116. Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G. (1957). Murray Personology. Theories of Personality. 157. Lima, E.N. (2007). The Association Between Narcissism and Implicit Self-Esteem: A Test of the Fragile Self-Esteem Hypothesis. The Florida State University DigiNole Commons Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations, 6-25-2007 Mehdizadeh, S. (2010). Self-Presentation 2.0: Narcissism and Self-Esteem on Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking 13. Michikyan, M., Subrahmanyam, K., Dennis, J. (2014). Can you tell who I am? Neur oticism, extraversion, and online self-presentation among young adults. Computers in Human Behavior 33 (2014) 179–183 Nadkarni, A., Hofmann, S.G., (2012). Why do people use Facebook?. Personality and Individual Differences 52 (2012) 243–249 Ong, E.Y.L., Ang, R.P, Ho, J.C.M., Lim, J.C.Y., Goh, D.H., Lee, C.S., Chua, A.Y.K., Narcissism, extraversion and adolescents’ self-presentation on Facebook. Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011), 180–185. Pempek, T.A., Yermolayeva, Y.A., Calvert, S.L. (2009). College students’ social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 30 (2009), 227–238. Russel, J. (2011). Philippines named social networking capital of the world . Retrieved 15.04.14. Sà ¡nchez-Franco, M.J., Villarejo-Ramos, A.F., Martà ­n-Velicia, F.A. (2011). Social integration and post-adoption usage of Social Network Sites: An analysis of effects on learning performance. Procedia Social and Beha vioral Sciences 15, 256–262. Seto, E. (2012). Associations Between Self-Reported Narcissism, Self-Esteem, and Social-Emotional Functions of Facebook. Steinfield, S., Ellison, N.B., Lampe, C., (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29 (2008) 434–445 Winter S., Neubaum,G., Eimler, S.C., Gordon, V., Theil, J., Herrmann, J., Meinert, J., Krà ¤mer, N.C. (2014). Another brick in the Facebook wall – How personality traits relate to the content of status updates. Computers in Human Behavior 34 (2014) 194–202 Vazire, S., Naumann, L.P., Rentfrow, P.J.,Gosling, S.D. (2008). Portrait of a narcissist: Manifestations of narcissism in physical appearance. Journal of Research in Personality 42 (2008) 1439–1447

Causes And Effects Of Earthquakes Engineering Essay

Causes And Effects Of Earthquakes Engineering Essay Earthquakes are one of the most destructive mother-nature disasters in the world. An earthquake is defined as quake or tremor which there will be a slipping or movement of earth`s crust as a result of a sudden release of energy, accompanied and followed by a series of vibration on the ground that causing damages. The series of vibrations is known as seismic waves and can be measured using seismometer, a device which also records the seismic waves known as seismograph. This disaster may happen naturally or caused by human activities and very difficult to predict (Wikipedia, 2009). Earthquake can be grouped into three categories based on the depth of their foci that are shallow focus (300 km) Geological faults, volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts and nuclear experiments will caused an earthquake. Strong earthquakes can cause severe damages and great loss of life in several ways, including fault rupture, tremors flood caused by tsunami and landslides. Earthquakes are generated b y either tectonic activity, the movement of large rock plates which underlay the earth’s surface, or volcanic activity (GEO.101-02, 2006). The areas that experienced the most active seismic are related with the plate tectonics that located on the ground. When the plate tectonics tend to moved, there will be faults that may be detectable on the ground surface, but they are often out of sight below layers of soil deposits. There is about 90 percent of the earthquakes case worldwide which occur at faults along the boundaries of earth`s major crustal plates. Deformation will occurred which resulted from the movement of tectonic plate. The type of deformation that takes place during earthquake generally occurs along zones where rocks fracture to produce faults that cause tremors (Stephen A.N, 2010). The faults will cause a stresses that form a movements of adjacent plates therefore energy will released. Within the earth rocks are constantly subjected to forces that end to bend, tw ist, or to fracture them. When rocks bend, twist or fracture they said to be deformed or strain. This deformations are the energy that been released from the fracture. The energy released in the form of ground shaking will result of tremors and trembling of the ground (NAHB Research Center, 1994). Figure 2.1 shows the location of earthquakes with different magnitude and depth. Figure 2.1 Locations of Earthquakes 2.2 Causes of Earthquake Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy along faults plane. The strain that builds up in the rock will ruptures when the elastic limit of the rock is exceeded thus released the elastic energy as seismic waves. The greater released energy, the greater strain that stored in the rock. A sort of the energy that released by and earthquake will travels through the earth`s crust which caused damages to life and structures. The earthquakes can be even smaller and even larger (W.Spence, S.A.Sipkin, & George L. C, 1989). Earthquakes are three di mensional events which the waves will move outwards, horizontal and vertical plains. This condition produces three different types of waves which can be defined through its distinct behavior and some of this wave only travel through certain stratums within the earth. The three forms of these shockwaves that cause an earthquake are (Geography Sites, 2006):

The Influence of the Columian Exchange throughout North America Research Paper

The Influence of the Columian Exchange throughout North America leading up to the Revolutionary War - Research Paper Example Europeans started this contact and habitually decided its terms. For Africans and Native Americans, their life in America was to be steeped in tragedy for the next three centuries. Disease The most devastating consequences of the lengthy isolation of the American continent were to be biological. Africans, Asians and Europeans had been exposed to each other’s maladies for centuries because they frequently came into contact with each other through trade practices (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). By 1500, these three ethnic groups had acquired immune systems that moderately protected them from most illnesses. Native Americans, who remained unexposed to other ethnic groups, were larger in body size and healthier than Columbus and his co-partners in 1492, when the two groups first met (McNeill, 2012). However, their long isolation from other ethnicities meant that their bodies had no immunity against the diseases that other ethnic groups quickly mastered. European and African maladies would soon begin ravaging the American Indian tribes. Smallpox quickly became the largest killer, even though influenza and measles also decimated huge populations of American Indians. The native population of Mexico, for example, was approximately 17 million, when in 1519 Cortes and his men reached the land (McNeill, 2012). A century later, there were less than a million natives remaining in Mexico, simply as a result of communicable diseases. It has been estimated that the entire Native American population was reduced by 90 percent within the first 100 years after European travelers first reached the American shores. This fact hugely contributed to the subsequent European domination of the continent. The Introduction of Food Crops One of the few advantages of the Columbian Exchange era was the exchange of knowledge of different crops between different ethnic groups. Prior to the Columbian Exchange, there had been no potatoes cultivated in Europe (Hughes, 2003). The Columbian Exch ange also hugely expanded the scale of the production of some well-liked drugs as well as crops such as sugar, coffee and tobacco use to many Europeans (Crosby, 2008). In the next few centuries potatoes would grow to be a major ingredient of Russian Vodka and the staple food in Ireland (Hughes, 2003). Chocolate, a plant only previously grown in the Americas, soon became a favorite in Europe. Plants like peanuts and maize were also transported to Africa by Portuguese. These robust crops could be cultivated in arid regions that hardly sustained any other type of edible plants (Hall, 2003). There are many historians who believe that the introduction of maize in Africa resulted in an increase in population. Before Columbus reached the American shores in 1492, the Americas had many different domesticated crops such as cassava, maize (corn), squashes, potatoes and different types of beans. Other plants that were less actively cultivated included papaya, sweet potato, avocado, pineapple, t omato, guava, chili peppers, peanuts, and cacao (McNeill, 2012). In spite of maize’s success in readapting to the African climate, the potato did not do as well in Africa. The potato would have a stronger impact in developing the Eurasian populations (Bond,

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

INTELLIGENCE - Essay Example However, the legislations pending offers CIA director with ways of prohibiting its Inspector General from handling the matters when reviewing poses a threat in the security of the nation and that is a risky loophole. Other bills that were recently introduced also have useful provisions. A single bill required that the committees of intelligence be provided prior notice for covert actionsi. It highlighted that in certain specific cases where time is important and the head of state determines the actions is crucial to the interest of national security of the US, the president may spearhead a covert operation with no notice. But when in those scenarios the president need to notify the panel within 48 hours, and the bill will prohibit the funds expenditure when actions are necessary but needed that record be made and that the outcomes be confined to the writing within 2 days. Additionally, the prohibited finding to incorporate requests from the US 1 Government to other nations or private members to carry out the covert action on behalf of the nation. Consequently, the expanded current reporting needs regarding the transfer of covert to include the transfer reporting within one financial year of the collection of items worth a million dollars or more. The provisions do not incorporate other attempts in legislating the fidelity or iigood judgment to the law. Rather, they are confined in practical consideration. Meaning they are important to making the proper foreign policy and the efficient functioning of the nation. A conventional theory of the rules and guidelines is that the policies formed through the democratic process and consultations are normally better than those developed through other mechanisms. The analysis is based in the balancing questioniii. The nation needs to balance the implication that may arise from disclosing the secret against and