The War on Drugs Essay -- Essays Papers

The War on Drugs To fully understand the significance and the seriousness of a War one must first fully understand the reasons that caused it in the first place. In this specific case the solution begins with several important yet seemingly simple questions†¦What is marijuana? How is it used? And why is it so coveted and widely distributed in Jamaica as well as the rest of the world?†¦ All these questions help clarify the reasoning behind the war on drugs and further investigation shows how Jamaica ends up being an important country in this puzzle as well. Lets begin with the first question, (What is marijuana), of course the dictionary definition is simply put,-a preparation of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, for use as an intoxicating hallucinogenic drug; applied to a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem of the plant that is generally smoked. However, beyond this explanation is what is commonly known as weed, which is simply an alternative to tobacco that results in sensational relaxed feeling that is described as high. This drugs origin can be traced back to ancient days when it was used as a healing supplement to cure several different medical conditions; its been used as a drink as well as an eliminator of menstrual pain and even more ironic marijuana has served as a religious connotation as well. However, the most commonly known usage of marijuana (after its being outlawed in the 1930’s) is as a drug and smoked or consumed by other means. Now that an understanding of the drug has been clarified one must look at the next important question, (Why is marijuana so coveted and distributed in Jamaica as well as the rest of the world?) Although marijuana usage and distribution is illegal ar... ...oes not effect the economy in a harmful way unless it is rendered illegal. This drug problem is much larger than Jamaica and should be handled as such. Work Cited/ Bibliography 1. â€Å"The Ganja Culture.† Jamaica Gleaner 27 Jul. 2001 http://www.jamaica- gleaner.com/ 2. â€Å"Jamaica Mulls Legalizing Marijuana.† Las Vegas Sun 25 Aug. 1999 http://www.cannabisnews.com/ 3. Morrison, Tony. â€Å"Holy Smoke! Legalize the weed, say church officials† 6 Jul. 2000. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ 4. Kovach, Hill and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. 5. Williams, Lloyd. â€Å"US$ ganja cut—back.† 13 Mar. 2000. http://www.jamaica- gleaner.com/ 6. Ritch, Dawn. â€Å"Marijuana bringing a new dawn.† 5 Aug. 2001. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/

A radical democrat: King’s Last Campaign

The task of this paper is two-fold; first, this paper will trace and explain the evolution of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s belief that war, racism and economic injustice are all intertwined and can be dealt with the restructuring of society’s priorities and addressed the necessity of a revolution of values; second, this paper will also explain how he carried out his beliefs in the Memphis Strike and the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 [what the author and University of Washington professor, Michael K. Honey called â€Å"Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign†]. At the onset of this paper, it is important to note that King’s ‘background’ [which includes his race, habituation, education and religion among many others] is crucial in his struggle against racial discrimination, violence and economic injustice as experienced by blacks in the United States of America. The son of a minister, he was habituated in the teachings of Christianity and was able to attend and complete his formal education with degrees in sociology, theology and divinity. King was a pastor himself at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in the year 1953 prior to finishing his doctoral degree in systematic theology from Boston University on 1955. What prompted the Memphis Strike? Memphis in 1968 was ruled by a paternalistic â€Å"plantation mentality† embodied in its good-old-boy mayor, Henry Loeb. Wretched conditions, abusive white supervisors, poor education, and low wages locked most black workers into poverty (Honey, 2007). This characterization of the political, economic and social conditions of the blacks in Memphis in 1968 by Honey may be cited as cases of â€Å"manufactured and institutionalized oppression†. By manufactured and institutionalized oppression, I mean oppression which involves the mechanisms of law and power relations the basis of which is against the ‘natural law’. Natural law theorists, following the thoughts of St. Augustine that â€Å"an unjust law is not a law at all† and Aquinas’ notion of â€Å"law as an ordinance of reason†, view morality as essentially tied up with the very essence of law. How does King figure in all of this? How can we explain the evolution of King’s ideological perspective? The point is clear: Oppression and unfair treatment of individuals is not morally valid nor is it morally permissible most especially if the basis of such is the individual’s ethnicity or race. As the Kantians believed, each person has a capacity for rational deliberation and choice and as such, an autonomous being with dignity and therefore, ought to be respected by virtue of being human persons. The evolution of King’s ideological perspective may therefore be construed in such way that it is a product, both of his experiences as a black living in a white-dominated society and his philosophical and political development and this may be inferred from Fairclough’s book, â€Å"Martin Luther King, Jr.†, 1995. King’s speeches very clearly communicate his views: â€Å"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality†¦.I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits[†¦] (as cited by Carson, 1998). Three important points about King and his political thrusts, philosophical orientation and as to why he may be called a â€Å"radical democrat† may be inferred from the aforementioned quotation. First, as a leading figure in â€Å"civil rights movement† King believed in the tenets of democracy and liberalism in the sense that he believed that both white and black Americans must have fair treatment in the realm of the law, for the purpose of law itself is the administration of social justice. Second, he believed in the â€Å"non-necessity of violence†. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s â€Å"civil disobedience†, he believed that there are peaceful ways in and through which the problem of political and economic injustice may be resolved. It may further be inferred that for him, political, economic and social change can best be achieved not through violence [and that the government should not keep itself busy from going to war, as in the case of the Vietnam War] nor by transforming a portion or a sector of society but what is needed is a restructuring of the society as a whole. King believed that a â€Å"revolution of values† is a matter of strict necessity. King’s views may be identified as â€Å"radical† in this sense. He emphasized the need to restructure even how we think about black Americans or African Americans. It may be inferred that racism, the feeling of being superior over another race or ethnic group or nationality is grounded on the wrong premises; wrong modes of thinking and reasoning. It is by transforming our psyche and by appealing through reason and conscience that society as a whole may chart its rightful path towards genuine social change. Third, he believed and fought not only for civil rights but also for economic changes especially labor rights and lobbied for law reforms to be enacted to protect Negroes from exploitation and oppressive schemes adopted by employers. These include fair treatment and equal work opportunity, just compensation, etc. This is how he carried out his beliefs in the Memphis Strike and the Poor People’s Campaign. King served as a voice crying for the emancipation not only of black Americans but also of other human beings from the chains of oppression. Based on the above discussion, we can see why King believed that the problems and conflicts brought about by war, racism and economic injustice are all intertwined. What we can infer from his views is the interweaving and interconnecting patterns brought about by racism itself. But racism is not in itself the root of the problem; it is merely an effect of a traceable cause. This cause, this root of racism, is none other than a distorted value system, a wrong frame of mind resulting to feelings of superiority and even contempt and hate which further results to taking an unfair advantage of other human beings, plus a very materialistic market essentially driven by capital. The fault is, at bottom, deeply embedded with the minds of persons and a wrong value system, a wrong sense of pride and nationality, for it fails, in the Kantian sense, to respect persons for the sake of being human persons, not as mere means and tools that another person or race may use but as ends-in-themselves, possessing the capacity for rational thought, capable of making rational choices and thereby, beings that are autonomous and dignified and for the aforementioned reasons, deserve to be respected. References: Carson, C. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Warner Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 2002). Fairclough, A. Martin Luther King, Jr.: University of Georgia Press, c. 1995. Honey, M. Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign: W. W. Norton (January 15, 2007).   

Chemistry Assignment Essay

Metals are mined from ores, considering yield to see if it is economically viable for a business to mine at a particular site. However, due to environmental damage and global warming, recycling has increased globally to create a sustainable future. By examining the cost and energy expenditure of recycling and extracting aluminium we can understand why recycling is a better choice than extracting metal from its ore. Discuss the importance of predicting yield in the identification, mining and extraction of commercial ore deposits Yield is the amount of product obtained or in mining terms how much (amount) a particular metal can be extracted from an ore (a deposit of minerals in which a commercial metal can be extracted from). Predicting yield in the processes of identification, mining and extraction is vital to the success of a business. For a business to compete with the global markets, the investment must be profitable and in some cases sustainable to last year’s into the future. Percentage composition is used widely in the mining industries to calculate and measure the yield of particular metal from an ore. For example, haematite (Fe2O3), a compound consisting only of iron and oxygen, can theoretically produce around 70% iron while chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), consisting only of copper, iron and sulphur can produce theoretically 35% copper. However if we express yield as a percentage of the ore dug out, an iron ore would only contain about 16% iron and for a copper ore only contain 1-5% copper. This is because an ore dug out of the ground contains unwanted minerals like dirt, rocks and other waste products which add to the mass of the required mineral ;giving a low yield percentage. Since compounds like chalcopyrite and haematite have uniform composition, ores are mixtures of useful minerals and other waste products which have variable composition (different location will yield different amounts of metals). This will affect if it is economical to mine the ore at a particular location and hence demonstrate that predicting yield is important. Predicting yield in the process of mining and extraction is important, whether extracting the metal from the ore or actually mining it, because it can determine if it is profitable or not. Extraction techniques must be efficient and sustainable. Copper is extracted through roasting it with oxygen before smelting it to form liquid copper. It is then reduced by bubbling air into the liquid copper to reduce copper sulphide to copper metal. Since this sulphur dioxide doesn’t escape fast enough, it forms blister copper with is 98% copper. Electrolysis is used to refine it. Due the significant amount of energy required and the cost involved it may seem copper is unprofitable. Yet if the copper price is high, the consumption is high, location is not far from refinery plants and factories that use copper, if there is a steady sustainable source(abundance) of copper ore and the extraction technique is efficient plus cost effective then a profit can be gained from the high cost of extraction, transport and the money needed to pay for the energy consumption. For a copper ore site to be economical it must contain at least 5% of copper or more. Haematite is extracted through reducing it with carbon monoxide to form iron (metal) which falls to the bottom of the blast furnace. Limestone is also heated in the blast furnace which decomposes and reacts with silica to form a slag that floats on the liquid iron, hence stopping iron from reacting with oxygen. High heat is needed to separate iron from oxygen since iron is reactive to oxygen and sand and limestone is needed to prevent the union of these two elements. Hence for haematite to be economically viable an ore must contain at least 20% iron as the energy needed to extract the metal is large and the world’s demand for iron is great. Since iron ore price is relatively high, a profit can be obtained from deposits of iron ore that contain more than 20% of iron. Hence predicting the yield of ore deposits is important to determine if it is profitable to mine. Justify the increased recycling of metals in our society and across the World Recycling is a process that changes waste materials into new products. In recent years, recycling of metals has increased dramatically in Australia and across the world. This is because we are more aware that recycling metals saves money, energy and causes far less pollution compared to extracting metals from ores. This is also spurred on by the fact that our metal ore deposits are depleting (going to run out) if we mine and extract metals at this rate. Hence recycling has been encouraged by organisation like Planet Ark and this has helped spread the message of the benefits of recycling instead of putting money into extracting and mining ores. ‘Reusing and recycling’ metals allow us to conserve these precious commodities so it would be available for the future generation. Demand for metals will increase as new technology will be discovered. Hence recycling is needed to return back old and useless appliance so it can be made it new useful products. Figure 1: It shows froth floatation Note: The vast amount of water used during the process Generally recycling metals use less energy (melting material requires the breaking of weak intermolecular bonds), water and cost less (less energy is needed to break the intermolecular bonds hence the cost will be minimised and new products with recycled material would be cheaper). Energy used in metal extraction comes from coal, oil or gas (as high temperatures are needed to break strong Intramolecular bonds). These fuels are non-renewable and are limited. It also releases large amounts of greenhouse gases when burnt which can cause global warming. Water is used extensively in mining during froth floatation (figure 1). This water can be better spent for human consumption as some countries are experiencing drought and this can cause famine (Africa). Also, harmful chemicals used in the extraction of some metals can seep into the soil and water making it toxic to fauna, flora and humans (figure 1. 1). Figure 1. 1: Acid mine water pollution For example, Bauxite (aluminium ore) is mined near tropical forest. This can cause irreversible damage to the environment as natural vegetation is destroyed, leaving soil bare and subjected to erosion. It can scar the land(figure 2)(removing so much soil and rock that leaves a gigantic hole in the landscape) and since many chemical process need to take place before aluminium is extracted, slag (unwanted metals) are left behind and pollutants are released into the atmosphere adding to global warming. Figure 2: Shows a mine that is extracting metals Note: The extensive invasion of the land and that it is irreversible. But recycling aluminium on the other hand doesn’t scar the land. Little to no pollution occurs and natural vegetation and fauna are not disrupted. Large amounts of rubbish are no produced and water is not needed. For every 1 tonne of aluminium that is recycled, 5 tonne of bauxite is conserved. Metals make up a small percentage of the ore. A large percentage of the ore is the gangue (consisting of dirt, sand and other material) which ends up in landfills. This reduces the space for cities to expand, limiting the number of farms and communities that can be developed and cause overcrowding. Recycling metals doesn’t take up space; hence reduces landfill, as scrap metals are mostly recycled back to make new products. Since ores are non-renewable resources (created by the Big bang and there is no way of returning it to Earth’s crust) it is conserved, reducing the amount of mines opened and environmental impacts that it is associated with. As ores high in metal concentration decrease, the cost of processing ever less pure ores increase. To compensate for the increase in less pure ores, more must be mined. This increases the price of ores making it a valuable resource which is expensive to the consumer. Recycling metals helps to lower the prices of these ores, as the metal is reused without having to mine for new ores. Metals are used worldwide for a variety of purposes from soft drink cans to aircraft bodies. Australia has recycled 63% of aluminium cans; nearly two billion cans a year with a total value estimated to be 33 million dollars. America has recycled in excess of 62. 6 billion cans in the year 2004, worth more than one billion dollars back into the economy. Since recycled aluminium is exported to other countries, Australia benefits as it generate large amounts of money; positively impacting on Australia economy and its benefit flowing into society. However, recycling can only be done if used material is collected from scattered location. The ore on the other hand is confined to one location (the mining site); where factories are often close by to produce products from the freshly extracted metals. But once the product hits the shelves it is scattered across many different countries and throughout communities. It is hard to keep track of all these products as some end up in landfill, waterways or in the people’s backyard. Collecting used material for recycling would cost money as trucks are needed to transport scrap metal to recycling centres. Hence energy (fuel) is needed to operate this machinery. In recent years (figure3), the media has focused on recycling aluminium drink cans because they are widely used and commonly dispersed inappropriately throughout the community. E. g. In waterways, storm drains and in the ocean. Recycling of others metal like iron, steel, copper and lead have always been significant but never reported as it is mainly used at an industrial/commercial level rather than by consumers. However since iron rust, it can be returned to the environment, but aluminium doesn’t corrode (if it does, it forms an oxide layer that actually protects it from further oxidation) it ends up in landfill; taking up space. The only way to ‘get rid of it’ is to recycle it so it can be made into new products. Notice that recycling of lead and ferrous materials have decreased Figure 3: Shows recycling metals Notice that when metals are recycled they can be reused to make different products. Recycling is a sustainable process, saving the environment from pollution, money, conserving natural resources and reduces landfill. Energy is also reduced as recycling requires less energy than extracting a metal from its ore. This will ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy a better standard of living. Analyse information to compare the cost and energy expenditure involved in the extraction of aluminium from its ore and the recycling of aluminium The recycling of aluminium is cost-effective and uses less energy compared to extraction of aluminium from bauxite. To extract bauxite, land must be cleared for mining. Heavy equipment like bulldozers, hydraulic excavators and explosives are used to clear and mine the ore. These equipment cost considerable amount of money and use vast amount of energy (fuel) to operate. Transporting trucks, ships, railway cars are used to transport ores to extracting facilities or shipped to other countries; cost money and again energy (fuel) is needed to power these machines. Notice the size of the person compared to the truck.

Essay Religious Study

Essay Religious Study Essay Religious Study Max Weber, the German Philosopher and an author, in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, theorizes the relationship between the Protestantism and the emergence of capitalism. Weber argues that the religious ideologies of group such as the Calvinist Protestantism paved the way for the rise of the modern capitalism. According to Weber, the two significant theological differences between the Protestant Reformation and the Roman Catholic Church that which brought changes in people’s belief during the 16th century were concerning the value of works and ideas of vocation. In Catholicism, the ideas of value of works require one to perform good work in order to attain salvation. In contrast, Weber found motivation in radical form of Protestantism - Calvinism - and its doctrine of predestination. Calvinist Protestants believe that God has already chosen each person for either eternal salvation or for eternal damnation. Therefore, if a person performed good deeds and were successful it was simply because they were predestined. Unlike in the Catholic practice in which one may also earn salvation through a monastic lifestyle and performing good work for others, Calvinist doctrine of predestination stated that the salvation could not be earned and there was no need of a mediator because of the preor dained fact of being saved or dammed. Weber theorizes that people could make sure, if they were among the elect through worldly activities. Weber interpreted these worldly activities as one being successful at whatever they do. The Calvinist emphasized that for a person to be successful they must invest, make profit, and reinvest all of the profit while living a frugal life. For example, a fruit vendor he re invests his profits back into his business and he was successful in his business, therefore he was chosen for salvation. However, the overall objective for an individual was to achieve the inner satisfaction and assurance that he/she is the one chosen for salvation. Weber argued that

Donne John essays

Donne John essays To say that Blake and Donne do not write uplifting poetry is a great injustice to their works. Although some of their poems discuss themes of depressing nature, on a wider scale both Blake and Donne write poetry which is not only uplifting but also inspiring and extremely worthwhile to read. The two main themes covered by these two writers are love and death. The poems which use love as the main theme inspire the reader and offer hope that true love exists and is not a fragment of their imagination. The feelings that are discussed in these poems are feelings that all people can experience but are difficult to describe and put into words. This is what makes the poetry so worthwhile to read, to see how the feelings that relate to love are expressed and how they are shown with images and other writing styles. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne was written to express his feelings for his lover. The poem talks about the feelings of love being so intense that nothing will ever dull the bond between the two souls. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is uplifting because Donne talks of a love so refined that ourselves know not what it is, in other words a love so perfect it cannot be explained. This is what makes the poem because Donne has said the love cannot be explained but then he goes on to explain what the two people are feeling and it is done in a way that can never be reproduced or attempted by other poets. This poem is as perfect as the love it describes. Donne explains how the love that is shared by the two is a love that is not affected by sensory things. care lesse eyes, lips and hands to misse, or dont think that being apart dulls this love, because the love is so strong that even the non-existence of one or both partners cannot bring an end to the intense love felt by both. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is also talking about death however it does not affect the uplifting na ...

How to Read and Write Binary Numbers

How to Read and Write Binary Numbers When you learn most types of computer programming, you touch upon the subject of binary numbers. The binary number system plays an important role in how information is stored on computers because computers only understand numbers - specifically, base 2 numbers. The binary number system is a base 2 system that uses only the numerals 0 and 1 to represent off and on in a computers electrical system. The two binary digits 0 and 1 are used in combination to communicate text and  computer processor instructions. Although the concept of binary numbers is simple once explained, reading and writing binary is not clear at first. To understand binary numbers, which use a base 2 system, first look at the more familiar system of base 10 numbers. Writing in Base 10 Take the three-digit number 345, for example. The farthest right number, 5, represents the 1s column, and there are 5 ones. The next number from the right, the 4, represents the 10s column. Interpret the number 4 in the 10s column as 40. The third column, which contains the 3, represents the 100s column. Many people know base 10 through education and years of exposure to numbers. The Base 2 System Binary works in a similar way. Each column represents a value. When one column is filled, move to the next column. In a base 10 system, each column  needs to reach 10 before moving to the next column. Any column can have a value of 0 through 9, but once the count goes beyond that, add a column. In base 2 or binary, each column can contain only  0 or 1 before moving to the next column. In base 2, each column represents a value that is double the previous value. The values of positions, starting on the right, are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and so on. The number one is represented as 1 in both base ten and binary, so lets move on to the number two. In base ten, it is represented with a 2. However,  in binary, there can be only a 0 or a 1 before moving on to the next column. As a result, the number 2 is written as 10 in binary. It requires a 1 in the 2s column and 0 in the 1s column. Take a look at the number three. Obviously, in base 10 it is written as 3. In base two, it is written as 11, indicating a 1 in the 2s column and a 1 in the 1s column. This becomes 21 3. Binary Number Column Values When you know how binary works, reading it is simply a matter of doing some simple math. For example: 1001:  Since we know the value each of these slots represents, then we know this number represents 8 0 0 1. In base 10, this would be the number 9. 11011:  Calculate what this is in base 10 by adding the value of each position. In this case, this becomes 16 8 0 2 1. This is the number 27 in base 10. Numbers at Work in a Computer So, what does all this mean to the computer? The computer  interprets  combinations of binary numbers as text or instructions. For example, each lowercase and uppercase letter of the alphabet is assigned a different binary code. Each is also assigned a decimal representation of that code, called an  ASCII code. For example, the lowercase a is assigned the binary number 01100001. It is also represented by the ASCII code 097. If you do the math on the binary number, youll see it equals 97 in base 10.

Critical evaluation of Fuchs, Fuchs & Karns (2001) article Essay

Critical evaluation of Fuchs, Fuchs & Karns (2001) article - Essay Example (Pagani et. al. 2006) Considering all these, there is growing importance placed on understanding those stages of life. This report aims at critically analyzing one of such researches done on children’s mathematical development. In this process, views of external critics are taken into account and the choice of the method applied is critically analyzed along with its results and outcomes. The other aspect that is discussed in this report is the benefits that are obtained in implementing this method and the probable ethical issues that might arise if this is to be implemented in practical scenarios. Research problem The background for this research is based on the results obtained from the analysis done by Griffin and Case in 1997. (Griffin & Case, 1997) According to them, children, when they attain the age of six, should have developed a ‘mental number line representation’ by combining the two basic concepts of mathematics – counting and comparison. (Fuchs e t. al. 2001) Once they achieve such a line, the required ground work gets established and with that as base, they can build on it to solve further problems in mathematics and understand the concepts better. But, many of the children who come from poor financial backgrounds and from utter poverty fail to achieve this line of understanding and hence wound up facing long term mathematical failures. The research under discussion aims to improve the students from high poverty background to achieve this mental line representation before they move on to higher studies. The research is actually an extrapolation of the research works done by the authors, Griffin and Case in the year, 1997. (Griffin & Case, 1997) Based on the three research exercises that they had done on a select number of students grouped under experimental and control group categories, they received high percentage of success, with many of the guided students who underwent this study were able to cope up with the middle le vel students, thus allowing them to compete equally and subsequently improve their mathematical knowledge. (Fuchs et. al. 2002) Research methodology Peer Assisted Learning Strategies of (PALS) is the method followed here to achieve the goal of this research. It is a method where the teachers deploy a program that allows them to identify and assist students who lack in specific set of areas. (Ashwin, 2003) Did their hypothesis/research problem correspond to the adopted collection and analysis of the research design? The aim of their research is to improve the understanding level of the students in mathematics. The purpose of the research problem is to extrapolate the previous results in three ways. 1. To expand the research area. That is, to involve more numbers of students, whose levels of understanding varies drastically. This is to present the teachers with details about how to proceed with the treatment in diversified classrooms. This dimension of the problem was addressed during the design phase of the research by identifying and including students with different performance levels and from both disabled and nondisabled sections. 2. To evaluate the capacity of the teachers. The need for this result was to identify the response from students, to explore the fidelity of their teaching method and to generate an informative feedback about the treatment. This dimension of the problem was addressed by choosing teachers who were from different demographical