Texting Essay Example for Free

Texting EssayTexting trading written messages over cellph adepts and other devices is changing the instruction good deal communicate, (Janet). editor in chief Debra Nussbaum writes in an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer that by the early 2000s Americans sent more than two trillion schoolbooks a year, by 2007, schoolbooking had exceeded phone calls by a long shot. This has definitely made a huge difference in the way pack communicate with each other. To get a letter in the mail is pretty r argon today especially knowing that a school text will reach a loved one tout de suite. This is most(prenominal) definitely the generation of instant gratification and having no patience, however, that can be a good intimacy in certain situations. Emergencies be also world relayed instantaneously as well along with important notifications from cell phone companies and colleges. Adults atomic number 18 jumping on the band wagon to await in inter-group communication with thei r kids, who ar most likely tho going to communicate in a timely manner via text. There are many good things that take for come out of texting, still as usual with all good things there can be mucklesides.Last year, David Miller, administrator of Iowa Homeland Security and compulsion Management, said 911 text messaging will spread around the state and that texting is one fundamental tool in the next generation of communication with 911. In todays ships company, texting is a part of our culture, and even though there are many situations where texting has turn out fatal, in a situation like this one, texting has proven to be a more effective and safe way to communicate.Originally 911 texting was promoted for the hearing impaired and people with speech impairments but has recently come in handy in situations where communication with 911 needs to be quiet. If a homeowners house was being broken into they could text 911 instead of calling and eliminate putting them in a more dang erous situation, like being heard by the intruder. Along with emergencies becoming text savvy, texting has also proven rattling helpful for parents trying to stay in touch with their college bound children.Many college students are busy studying or hanging out with their friends and dont have time to pick up the phone and call home. Kim Leonard writes in an article form the Pittsburg Tribune explaining that major cell phone companies reported more people in the 40s and 50s are utilise texting to communicate with their sons and daughters on the go. Texting is second nature for teens and young adults these days but more times than not it isnt for adults. To help the not so text savvy adults many cell phone companies are making dictionaries with text-ese abreviations.These features are making it easier for parents to be able to communicate and stay in contact with their children as well as stay cool with the new lingo and handgrip up with their kids text language. Texting has grown dramatically beyond the teenage and 20-something thumb generation over the past year, in part because parents are beginning to use the cellphone screen as another channel to communicate with children who otherwise might not have much to say, (Johnson). However, parents arent the only ones trying to communicate with their children using texting, colleges are catching on as well.A newspaper source said one college chose to use whats called JANET txt to stay closer and keep in touch with the students in their own language. By doing this the college has made it easier to get ahold of students to inform them about papers due or class schedule changes or emergencies on campus. Paul Taylor, Network and Corporate Data Manager at Gateway Sixth Form College explains, On one occasion, the college had to close when our water supply was cut off, and we sent texts early the next morning when the supply was restored to tell students that the college was re-opening, (Gateway Sixth Form College).Th ese notifications are a megabucks easier way to communicate with busy college students and are being used by more than just colleges, today many cell phone companies will text you a notification letting you know your cell phone bill is due or if youve gone over your minutes. Theyre promoting phone text messaging plans that allow in families hundreds of messages, or unlimited use each month, (Leonard). These unlimited usage of minutes gives teens and adults as much text time as they could want causing people to vex more dependent on their phones.Unlimited usage might not be such a prominent thing when it comes to parents knowing where their children are when they are with their friends or have an important message to relay to them while they are at school. While their faces may be glued to their phones at to the lowest degree parents know kids will see the message. Because young adults rely on texting most would actually prefer to text then call thus altering the way teens commu nicate with each other as well. Texting is also cheaper because most of the time its free making communicating between teens much more convenient.There was a point in the not-too distant past when students who wanted to communicate with each other at school passed notes,(Prater). Today teens arent passing notes in class, they are texting. Christina Porter, a senior at OHS, explains that she prefers to communicate with her friends by texting rather than calling. Teens are relying on texting so much it can also be a bad thing as well. Instead of paying attention in class they are looking at their phones and waiting for their friend to reply to their text. Walking and texting has become a trend as well.People arent paying attention to whats going on around them anymore because their noses are stuck looking down at their phones. Some people may say that texting has ruined this generations ability to have a normal face to face conversation, that they are more antisocial or lack proper co mmunication skills. That may or may not be true but one thing that is proving to be true is that people arent just paying more attention to their phones while walking but brainish as well. Texting while driving has proven to be fatal which has forced many states to ban the use of any cell phone usage while driving.This is one of the huge downfalls of using texting as a form to communicate. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that nearly 6,000 people were killed last year in accidents caused by distracted drivers, and 515,000 people were injured. People feel like they are getting away with using their cell phones while driving because the police cant see the phone in the drivers hands if they are texting. Talking or eating doesnt require that you look away from the road, but texting does.That restless glance can make a huge difference Texting truck drivers are 23 times more likely to crash, according to a Virginia tech Transportation Institute stud y, (Its dum). Talk or text is the question people should ask themselves if they just cant detach themselves from their phones long replete to drive to the local market for more milk. Unfortunately teens, because they tend to be more attached to their phones, are the number one offenders of this crime. 46% of teenagers say they text while driving, according to a 2007 AAA study.A new video, made by a British police department, graphically depicts a texting teen crashing her vehicle and has no doubt made an impression on its 1. 8 million YouTube viewers, (Its dum). Hopefully it wont take a million teens experiencing their friends dying in car wrecks caused by texting to quite the bad habit. While texting and driving have been the cause of numerous deaths on the road, some would argue texting has been the killer of solicit as well. Regardless if people want it or not, the digital age has generated a new expectation for modern romance.Natural selection may be favoring the text savvy, jokester rather than the self-assured alpha male, (Has Texting Killed Romance? ). People dont risk walking up to someone they find fetching any more when its much easier to find out what their number is from an outside source and text them. Texting has changed the smooth talker to the smooth texter. We havent lost romance in the digital age, but we may be neglecting it, (Has Texting Killed Romance? ). Some would argue that yes, texting has taken the art of formal, face to face communication out of society but we are a constantly evolving world.Now we can send a text with a picture or talk via video massage. composition is definitely not going away either its just developed into a new form, instantaneous digital delivery. Hopefully we can come upon to appreciate the good things that have come from texting and all the other forms of communication. Soon we will be sending 3D images of ourselves on some kind of projector and possibly even talking into our hands. All in all texting is not going away and so we must learn to make it work for the better and not the worst.

The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews Essay Example for Free

The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews EssayIntroduction Walking through the Venda blank space shopping center in Thohoyandou, South Africa, R dai ae ta a ad a tm ,T aioe f Jws bo e . Gv g i a uznw vdo m n n si o e hts n o my e i rt r i n h d h hs i m pzl ytn i e l kh ep i da a l k e . cm f m I al l gi e uz d ei r ud o ,e xln ,Im Ba Jw We a er s eao t e tg o ae c o r n m aoT e hv poe iwt gns N t nowing what to say and non having heard nearly this g. hy ae rvdt i ee. o k h before, I let his statement pass. My time in South Africa was devoted to working with a victim empowerment program, but I continued to wonder virtually the idea of Black Jews.The Black Jew or Lemba population creates a blip on a cultural map of sub-Saharan Africa. When researchers discovered and studied them over the last fifteen years, the Lemba besides made a blip on the genetical map of sub-Saharan Africa. communicable compend of the Lemba has foc employ primarily on the Y chromosome, which is useful f or submiting variation among and distance mingled with populations. The Lemba genetic markers support the oral tradition which says the Lemba came from the north.This paper reviews biological and cultural studies of the Lemba and the correlation between genes and oral tradition to propose a biocultural history for the Lemba people. Biology Genetic Variation across Populations Much of the reflect of genetic variation has focused on dissimilarity between groups. Genetic variation over time is used to postulate about the federal agency and time of the origins of modern humans as tumesce as subsequent movement and migration. Genetic variation is the enceinteest in Africa, and it is reas angiotensin converting enzymed that the longer a group has been around, the to a greater extent variation it will stir in its gene puss.Additionally, the longer groups are apart, the greater their genetic distance (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Maps of variation order migrations ou t of, around, 1 and affirm in to Africa (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Based on comparison of genetic landscapes, maps by Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995) show the arrival of Neolithic cultivators in northern Africa 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. The migration of people continues down the east side of Africa, with groups mixing and moving.According to Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995), the Bantu arrived in South Africa 300 to 400 years ago, and the archaeological and linguistic data support the history of Bantu expansion. Cavalli-Sforzat e o py gnt r aosi a gnr e t og ae g sr s f hl eece t nh s r ee t h uh vr e e o i li p e ad r a linkage analysis. artificial maps are produced from principle-comp binglent analysis of multiple gene frequencies. MacEachern (2000), however, criticizes Cavalli-Sozsn eio gns fr s yt s f ee a h s and language for its assumptions about the nature of language and groups and its lack of cni r i o t d e i o hm n oii .A r a e n ui a n tone, os e t n fh i rt f u a sc ts fcn t i n s r obudd d ao e v sy ee i hc t e homogeneous monoliths either frozen in place since before A. D. 1492 or caroming around the continent like cultural-ba n b lr blMaE ce ,00 7) G nr sn ec as er g ii d as ( c ahr 20 0. ee lyt t m p i la l n 3 a hi provide a visual representation of variation, but they do not show how the variation came to exist nor do they reveal anomalies. The Lemba are an anomaly in the genetic patterns of Southern Africa. Variation and the Y Chromosome The primary genetic research on the Lemba has used the Y chromosome for comparison with other groups.The Y chromosome has many characteristics that look at it favorable for investigating lineage. Almost all of the Y chromosome consists of non-recombining regions and the info is passed intact from generation to generation, from father to son. The variations, called pleomorphisms, occur so infrequently that they are comm promote called unique(p) event polymorphisms (UEP s) (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). UEPs occur along male lines in 2 accreditable time intervals, thus the changes can be compared between and among groups to examine relatedness and age by identifying variations (Bradman and Thomas 1998).More changes on the Y indicate an older line, and more shared ecological successions between Ys indicate a more similar gene pool. one time thought of as mainly junk, researchers have identified 20 different genes on the Y (Lowenstein, 1999). The function of Y is related to imparting maleness and to grandness (see figure 1). Figure 1 The human Y chromosome (Quintana-Murci et al. , 2000173) Because most of the Y does not recombine, the Ycrm sm ise a a ui r tl ho oo es en s n a n l p e ay t nm tdi ae ru r s ie l kg gop which allows the history of the paternal line to be deduced (Poloni et a t n al., 1997 1015). The non-recombining section of the Y has the potential for a large number of different mutations (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). Because most variation in the Y is not expressed, changes are not selected for or against, which allows the record of these changes gets passed on (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Four types of changes can occur between generations microsatellites, minisatellites, snip and indels (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Microsatellites are a section of repeats of a short 3 foot sequence and minisatellites are a section of repeats of longer sequences. Snips refers to single nucleotide polymorphisms, meaning one nucleotide is changed. Indels are insertions or deletions of desoxyribonucleic acid in a particular location (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). An example of an indel is the Y chromosome Alu polymorphism (YAP). Alu is a sequence of about 300 base pairs which is inserted into a particular region of the deoxyribonucleic acid. There have been about half a million Alu insertions in human DNA and YAP is one of the more recent (Bradman and Thomas, 1998).Because they are unique event polymorphisms, YAP inserts and sni ps are un seeming to have arisen more than once in evolution (Thomas et al. 2000). An Alu can be copied, but it is not removed from a locus. After an Alu change, the YAP will accumulate bare-ass mutations at the same roll as surrounding DNA loci. One can think of an Alu insertion as a fossil, and patterns of new mutation allow the fossils to be sorted into lineages. (Dolan DNA Learning Center 2002). Different combinations of polymorphisms are known as haplotypes (Bradman and Thomas 1998).The more similar the haplotype frequencies of two populations, the more similar their biological history is likely to be (Bradman and Thomas 1998). Quintana-Murci, Krausz, and McElreavey caution that genetic drift, founder effects, and male-specific migration processes may lead to over-representation of specific haplotypes (2001). Genetic drift refers to random change in gene frequencies between generations which will cause frequencies to fluctuate up or down (Releford, 2003). After enough time an d if no other forces are acting on a population, variation within a population will be reduced (Releford, 2003).The founder effect is a type of genetic drift where a subaltern number of people form a new population, causing allele frequencies to deviate from the parent population (Releford, 2003). The Lemba Y 4 If Lemba migrated from Judea and Yemen and maintained the tradition of marrying only within the group, the Lemba Y haplotypes may be over-represented when compared to the neighboring populations. Thus, the Lemba Y is useful for comparison with African and Semitic populations their contribution to the Lemba. More genetic evidence of a non-Bantu origin for the Lemba is expected and found (Bradman and Thomas 1998).The Lemba Y has an additional genetic marker that indicates links to the Judaic priest human body Cohen. Members cannot be appointed to this class and priesthood can only be inherited, thus a possible Judaic marker will be preserved down the line (Bradman and Thoma s 1998 Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza 1995). Judaism began in Semitic tribes living about 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. In 586 B. C. , the Babylonian exile spread Jewish populations out of present-day Israel (pounding et al. 2000). Hammer et al. (2000) used Y chromosome haplotypes to trace the parental origins of the Jewish Diaspora.Multi-dimensional scaling (figure 1 ) of frequencies of 18 Y-chromosome haplotypes in 29 populations produced three main clusters sub-Saharan African, North African, and European. 5 Figure 2 Multi-dimensional scaling from Hammer et al. (20006772) The Jewish cluster appears in between the European and North African population clusters. The Lemba population is set middle(a) between sub-Saharan African and Jewish clusters (Hammer et al. 2000). Genetic and geographic distances were not correlated for other Jewish populations, which supports a recent dispersal and subsequent closing off model.Hammer et al. conclude that m j pro o N Yb ll d e i .. a e to a common Middle eastern source a a r ot n f R ili i rt . t cs o i aec v sy r ppli svr t uad erao (00 74. h iue lo ea an c i s f ou t n ee lh sn ya g20 7) T i s sf frvl t g lm o ao a o s 6 s u ui a Jewish origins as well as for supporting old ties to the Middle East. Once populations dispersed from the Middle East, gene flow with surrounding populations was likely. The Lemba present genetic markers identified with Bantu and Semitic populations (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996 Wilson and Goldstein, 2000).Wilson and Goldstein (2000) examined 66 markers on the X chromosome to study the effect of admixture of Bantu and Semitic populations on linkage disequilibrium. Recent mutations will tend to have more linkage d eu i i (D t n i o eoe ( l n n G l tn20) h s n i n i qib u L )h wl l r nsWio ad o s i 00. T e i ic t s lr m a ld s de, g fa difference between partially linked and unlinked loci rules out substructure as the touch on source of the LD in the Lemba . . . Ethiopian-Bantu different iation is not sufficient to produce the d eu i i osre it L m a ( l n n G l tn20 2.T e oc s ns i qib u be dn h e bWio ad o s i 00 3) h cnl i i s lr m v e s de, 9 uo that the Lemba LD has two sources parental population and admixture.Another examination on the worldwide distribution of Y haplotypes (Poloni et al. , 1997) found a significant correlation between genetic and linguistic distances. The picture of genetic affinities places the Lemba not with other sub-Saharan African populations but with Afro-Asiatic populations (figure 2 ) indicating admixture or a different parent population from other subSaharan groups. 6 Figure 3 Multi-dimensional scaling from Poloni et al.(19971019) Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) also looked at Bantu-Semitic variations to establish genetic affinities and offer a model for the origin of the Lemba. Their study analyzed allele frequencies of Y-linked Restriction Length Fragment Polymorphisms (RLFPs). Ht4 is a true Negroid haplotype and it is found in the Lem ba sample at a frequency of . 20, which indicates significant Negroid male gene flow into the Lemba (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). Ht7, Ht8, and Ht11 are Caucasoid markers and the Lemba show high frequencies of these markers as well.These haplotypes seem to be typical of Jewish populations but also occur in Asiatic Indians, thus it is not possible to distinguish between Semitic and Asiatic Indian sources with these markers (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). The allele frequencies of the Lemba are significantly different from those of the Bantu-speaking Negroid population and the European population but not from those of the Jewish group. Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) conclude that 50% of the Lemba Y chromosomes analyzed appear to be of Caucasoid origin, and 36% appear to be of Negroid origin. 7.One possible method for distinguishing a Semitic origin, versus a general Middle Eastern origin, of the Lemba is to make comparisons with the Cohen modal haplotype, which is dominant in the Jewish prie sthood (Thomas et al. , 1998). There are three castes of Jewish males Cohanim, the paternally inherited priesthood Leviim, non-Cohen members of the paternally defined priestly tribe of Levi Israelites, all non-Cohen and non-Levite Jews (Thomas et al. , 1998). If the Lemba Y has Jewish origins, the Cohen modal haplotype is expected to be present. Thomas et al.(2000) continue the study of Bantu and Semitic markers in the Lemba adding the investigation of the Cohen modal haplotypes. Y chromosomes were analyzed for six microsatellites and six biallelic markers in the Lemba, Bantu, Yemini-Handramaut, YemeniSena, Sephardic Jews, and Ashkenazic Jews. The twelve polymorphic markers were characterized in multiple Jewish populations and identified single haplotypes (Thomas et al. , 2000). Genealogical trees were drawn based on microsatellite variation to explore possible origins of the Lemba Y chromosomes (Thomas et al., 2000).The trees can be used to assess whether severally Lemba haplotype has a close genealogical relationship with one or more haplotypes in the other five populations. Trees for the individual haplotypes were drawn for each UEP group by measures of average squared distance and proportion of shared alleles (Thomas et al. , 2000). Thomas et al. (2000) designate 67. 6% of Lemba chromosomes as having a Semitic origin and the other 32. 4% to have a Bantu origin.The high frequency of the Cohen modal haplotype in the general Lemba population supports a Jewish contribution to Lemba gene pool found. The Cohen modal haplotype is observe only moderately in Ashkenazic and Sephardic Israelites, in a single Yemeni, and is present in a very low frequency in Palestinian Arabs (Thomas et al. , 2000). The genetic evidence is consistent with the Lemba oral history of Jewish origins in a population outside of Africa followed by admixture with Bantu neighbors. 8 Culture verbal tradition and Origins of Lemba The Lemba people claim ancient Jewish origins. According to ora l history, they come from Judea, from whence they traveled to Sena.From Sena they crossed into Africa, moving down the coast, building great cities in Zimbabwe, and finally settling the northern part of South Africa. Additionally, the Lemba assert Jewish identity through their customs of food prohibitions, ritual slaughter of animals, and circumcision (Buijs, 1998 NOVA 1999 Parfitt 1992). These are not black people who have been recently converted to Judaism. Judaism is not a proselytizing faith thus conversion and intermarriage as an explanation for Jewish genes is unlikely (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995).However, many groups across the world claim connections to lost tribes of Israel (Parfitt, 1992). Furthermore, the surge in Lemba Jewish identity is connected to political economy and other favorable circumstances in South Africa in the last fifty years (Buijs, 1998). The Lemba say they came from the North, possibly from Judea. Then they went to Sena, they crossed Pusel a and came to Africa, where they broke the law of God and were befuddled across African nations (NOVA, 1999). Parfitt (1992) located Sena in a remote valley of Southern Yemen.Parfitt reasons that Pusela is similar to the Masilah River, which they would have had to cross to get from Sena to the sea. The port town of Sayhut was used for Arab exploration of Africa. In Hadramaut, the valley where Sena is located, tribes have the same names as Lemba tribe names (NOVA, 1999 Parfitt, 1992). Genetic samples of Lemba and of people in the Hadramaut showed similar features as well as the Cohen modal haplotype (NOVA, 1999). Lemba Identity in South Africa 9 The Lemba cost in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, but according to Buijs it is only in South Africa where one finds the belief of Jewish origins (1998).The Semitic identity was propagated by early white missionaries and colonial officials their writings emphasized differences of the Lemba by comparison with European Jewish communiti es (Buijs, 1998). T ee ri supr d a e o o a ii tdn t (u s19 1. u s19) o s hs w in have it away n t s f d t ci ty B i,98 6) B i (98 nt tg e h sn e i j 6 j e that the Lemba were aware of their distinct cultural heritage prior to colonization, but when ethnic identity became important in Apartheid, the Lemba pagan Association (LCA) became a m d mfrosut g peet a Jws H rae B i asr,T eniec ..n ei o cnt cn a r n dy e i e t . u s s t h i s ne .O u r i s h ig j es st their Jewish heritage is a direct result of the struggle for resources, initially land and later well-mannered sri j sit N r e Tasaln V na (98 6) Ietyi l i r i ad e c o , h ot r r vaad ed19 2. dn t n u n a a n ve b n e hn n 6 i, c d g c l ethnic identities, is not a static concept. Identity, especially during Apartheid, was tied to power.The Lemba heathen Association was founded in the 1940s when Europeans were encroaching o r or s T e C polm d spr e u uai n tadh L m a i pr ne n e uc .h L A rc i e a ea tcl r d ty n t e b m ot c s e a a t l ei e s a identified the Lemba with a non-African community (Buijs, 1998). During Apartheid, literally meaning separation, people were classified by race white, cl e,n b c. nsc laaits e df e acri tt s cnet( e o r ad l k O e oi cpb ie w r e nd cod go h e ocp s od a s a li e i n e se Mandela 1994 for a first hand description of the Apartheid system). The Apartheid government, the white minority, knew that if black people were united, the white autonomy would be threatened.They instituted a Bantu education system that further classified blacks according to tribe and encouraged local identity and rule in hopes of keeping blacks divided (Mandela 1994). In the 1980s, as the white hold on power was becoming more and more challenged, the gvrm nc a d i eednhm l d h h e stp uhhthy e sl oe etr t dpneto e ns w i w r eu sc t t w r tl n ee n a c e a e ei 10 overseen by South Africa but the government no longer provided money or serve to these areas. Lemba in Venda Vendaland was created and within these bounds were the Lemba.Before the independent hm l diw saoalfrBak e s ti n f t m e e ad e e o e n, a f r eo l Jw o d tyh sl s n b r a t v b c ei e v cognized as Lemba, because they were associated with whites and considered superior to other Blacks. However, in t l k o e n,w e b cseu t io n oe m n ibcm m rf oalt h Ba hm l d hr l k stph r w gvr et tea e oe a r eo e c a e a e n , v b be Black and not associated with whites. A highly placed civil servant in Venda government cm et i t V na e e a etgop I t s dy w w rl h o m n d t h ed w w r n le ru. nh e as e e i t e wh e e i o e g -skinned .. .V nar t u l e sro uprl s . t C oe pol (a i,92 8. h h ed t a d si a otf pec s.. e hsn ep Prt 19 ) T i e ee k a h e ft 7 s refers to the days of their arrival in southern Africa. At the beginning of the century, in spite of the dark skin, the Lemba were commonly called valungu white men (Parfitt, 1992). The civil srate a e, sog s vrt n ge j ti , y e g L m a osmatter . . . e nr r d l a ee h g osu f em bi a e b dent v m k A n yi s n n B tson sh g s rgi w ogiiar u do y e b oi n19 ) T e ua so a t nst to g rn, s ti t tm L m a r i (92 7.h i a n t tb e g 7 status and identity of the Lemba has not been fixed and it has not always been Jewish.Proclaiming a form of Judaism is an event of the 19th century, but it does come from an o e cm la d eg u i n f ao (a i 19) h L m a e e a a i l my l r o p ct r i osd ti t n Prt 92. T e e b si d prc a t d, i e li e ic i ft z tu r h and used it as a government agency of ridding themselves of a rather ancient ambiguity at a time when new ambiguities were being created every dy (a i,9225. T e e b igop i aPrt 195) h L m as ru wt ft h particular traditional practices, and some say they are not a religious group but a cultural one (Sand, 2002).The Lemba culture today points to ancient Hebrew origins but some Lemba practice Christianity and Islam (Sand, 2002). The practices they do ascribe to ancient Jews would 11 not be iden tified as Judaism in the West, however they have adopted more Jewish traditions in recent years (Sand, 2002). Lemba today In post-Apartheid times, the Lemba identity is flourishing. They continue to have LCA meetings (Buijs 1998). Websites about their heritage and culture are published on the Internet. People in South Africa can identify themselves with whatever group or groups they please.About 80,000 Lemba live in the Venda area of the Limpopo Province in South Africa as well as the Johannesburg township of Soweto (Buijs, 1998 Sand, 2002). Lemba are also found in villages in the southwesterly region of Zimbabwe (Buijs, 1998 Sand, 2002). In the Venda region, people speak TshiVenda. Another day when Rudzani and I were walking through the shopping center, he called up to a man with a phrase I did not understand. With a twinkle in his eyes, he told me that was the traditional greeting for a Jewish brother.Again, I let that pass, thinking he could translate it to mean whatever he want ed since I did not know TshiVenda (a favorite joke of my friends there). In reflection and after research, I do not doubt the old Jewish ties and if I go back to South Africa, I will be sure to find out more. death The problem with constructing the history of the Lemba identity is that it has been passed down through oral tradition. When it was recorded at the turn of the twentieth century, it is possible the outside visitors were biased or intercommunicate a Jewish identity on the Lemba.Genetic data support the oral tradition, and genetic research has identified anomalies in the Lemba population. Across the articles, the same information about the oral tradition and culture of the Lemba was offered. Ethnographic study of the Lemba traditions, not in contrast to Jews or other Africans, is needed to understand what being Lemba means today. Further research considering political 12 economy, as Buijs did, will continue to fill out the picture of constructions and projections of ident ity for the Black Jews of South Africa. 13 whole works Cited Bradman N, and Thomas M. 1998. Why Y?The Y chromosome in the study of human evolution, migration, and prehistory. Science Spectra, 14. electronic document, http//www. ucl. ac. uk/tcga/ScienceSpectra-pages/SciSpect-14-98. html. , accessed November 19, 2002 Buijs G. 1998 Black Jews in the Northern Province A study of ethnic identity in South Africa. Ethnic Racial Studies, 21661-682. Cavalli-Sforza LL, and F Cavalli-Sforza. 1995. The Great gentleman Diasporas. Reading, MA Addison Weasley Publishing Company. Dolan DNA Learning Center. Genetic OriginsAlu Insertion Polymorphism. 2002. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Electronic document, http//www.geneticorigins. org/geneticorigins/pv92/aluframeset. htm, accessed November 19, 2002. Hammer MF, Redd AJ, Wood ET, Bonner MR, Jarjanazi H, Karafet T, Santachiara-Benerecetti S, Oppenheim A, Jobling MA, Jenkins T, Ostrer H, and B Bonne-Tamir. 2000. Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 976769-6774. Hammer MF, Spurdle AB, Karafet T, Bonner MR, Wood ET, Novelletto A, Malaspina P, Mitchell RJ, Horai S, Jenkins T, and SL Zegura. 1997. The geographic distribution of human Y chromosome variation.Genetics, 145787-805. Lowenstein JM. 1999. Why the Y? California Wild. Electronic document, http//www. calacademy. org/calwild/spring99/counter. htm, accessed November 19, 2002 MacEachern S. 2000. Genes, Tribes, and African History. Current Anthropology, 41357-384. 14 Mandela, Neslon. 1994. Long Walk to Freedom the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston Little Brown Co. N V O l eL stbs fs e T dr a ir a alj re. 00( oe br O A n n. otr e o I al uo Prtse r b o ny20. N vm e i i r . ft m k e u 2000). Electronic document, http//www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/israel/parfitt. html, accessed November 19, 2002. Parfitt, Tudor. 1992. trip to the Vanished City Search for a Lost T ribe of Israel. London Hodder and Stoughton. Poloni ES, Semino O, Passarino G, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS, Dupanloup I, Langaney A, and L Excoffier. 1997. Human genetic affinities for Y-chromosome P49a,f/TaqI haplotypes show strong correspondence with linguistics. American Journal of Human Genetics, 611015-1035. Quintana-Murci L, Krausz C, and K McElreavey. 2001. The human Y chromosome function, evolution and disease. Forensic Science International, 118169-181. Releford, JH. 2003. The Human Species An Introduction to Biological Anthropology, 5th ed. Boston McGraw-Hill. Sand, JP.2002.The Jews of Africa The Lemba of Southern Africa. Electronic document, http//www. mindspring. com/jaypsand/lemba. htm. accessed November 18, 2002. Spurdle, AB. 1994. The Y-ALU polymorphism in Southern African populations and its relationship to other Y-specific polymorphisms. American Journal of Human Genetics, 54319-330. Spurdle A. and T Jenkins. 1996. The origins of the Lemba Black Jews of Southern Afri ca evidence from p12F2 and other Y-Chromosome markers. American Journal of Human Genetics, 591126-1133. 15 Stumpf MPH, and DB Goldstein. 2001. Genealogical and evolutionary inference with the human Y chromosome.Science. 2911738-1742. Thomas MG, Parfitt T, Weiss DA, Skorecki K, Wilson JF, le Roux M, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Y chromosomes travelling south the Cohen modal haplotype and the origins of the Lembathe Black Jews of Southern Africa. American Journal of Human Genetics, 66 (2) 674-686. Thomas MG, Skorecki K, Ben-Ami H, Parfitt T, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 1998. Origins of old testament priests. Nature, 394138-140. Wilson JF, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Consistent long linkage disequilibrium generated by admixture in a Bantu-Semitic hybrid population. American Journal of Human Genetics, 67926-935. 16.

Scottish Traditions And Cultures

Scottish Traditions And CulturesThis is my English assignwork forcet on Scotland. I am going to talk about the fib of Scotland, the culture and traditions of Scotland and about the Sports in Scotland. The Culture and Sports are very close but I think they have to be explained a part. I believe you and myself learn from this assignment and have fun with reading. (As long you can have fun)The history of Scotland.The land that directly forms Scotland was in the prehistory part of the continent that now forms North-America, so Scotland isnt really part of Europe but a part from Laurentia. During the last interglacial, around 130,000 and 70,000 BC, Europe was fightmer than now and the Neanderthals found that there was a mild spell in Scotland around 40,000 BC so they settled in Scotland, but no traces of early humans have been found. After 40,000 BC Britain was torn apart by glaciers and Scotland wasnt inhabitable any more. After 9600 BC the ice retreated and Scotland could be inhabit ed again. In 8500 BC there were hunter-gatherers in Scotland and several settlements have been found and the first permanent settlements were found in around 3600 BC. In 2500 BC the Bronze Age entered Scotland and there has been found just about hill forts from probably 900 BC which shows us that the people in Scotland were quite good in building settlements and monuments. Around 800 BC the Iron Age entered Scotland and boulder clay the invasion of Roman Empire Scotland was a peaceful inhabited by Celtic tribes. This was a short summary of the prehistoric history of Scotland but no written records were found work on the invasion of Scotland buy the Romans, now Im going to talk about the Roman Invasion of Scotland and what happened later that. England was invaded by Julius Caesar in 54 BC but Scotland fought more than 100 long time later because Caesar couldnt get to Scotland. In AD 43 Britain was invaded again and they lost a few battles heavy(p) ground to the Romans. Agricola w as the first one who attacked the people in Scotland itself and he got quite far but even though he had to let Scotland go after he didnt got re-elected for being the governor of Scotland. In 122 AD the Romans tried to protect themselves from the attacks of the Caledonians by the famous Hadrian wall. The Hadrian wall was started by governor Hadrian and ended six years later to protect them for the raiding tribes. The Romans tried to build a second wall to conquer more land called the Antonine wall but broke it polish off because it was unnecessary. When the Romans retreated from Britain in 407 AD Scotland of now was set in 4 split with each part its own king and people. They were the Picts, the Scots, the Angolans and the Britons. In 563 AD angel Columbanus, a monk, came to northern Scotland and Christianity spread rapidly. In 843 the Picts and the Scots united under king Kenneth MacAlpines reign in Alba (later Scotia). The weird thing was that the Picts just threw their culture away(predicate) to take the Scots culture. The Angolans went south to England and the Britons lived in the lowlands and since 890 the Vikings lived in the western Isles and operated from there their attacks on Scotland. The next kings and queens were crowned on the stone of scone (stone of destiny) in scone. In 1034 under Duncan I his reign Scotland was united except the parts of the Vikings. In 1040 Duncan I was killed by Macbeth, who got beaten by Duncan I his son Malcolm III. In 1066 England was overcome by William the Conqueror and in the years after that, Malcolms son David I Scotland conquered a part of north England. After that till 1268 Scotland started to grow economically and culturally. In 1268 Alexander III died and with no follower than 3 year old Margaret, forced Scotland to crown Margaret as queen. In 1290 Margaret died and non less than 13 men said they had right at the throne. But Edward I of England called David I as king of Scotland. David I and France started an alliance against England. As response on this Scotland lost parts of the lowlands to England . In 1290 Robert I tried to recapture them and In 1320 Scotland was announced as supreme country by Robert I but England didnt recognized this declaration till 1328. From 1371 till 1603 there were some conflicts with England and Scotland tried to increase their relation with France and it all happened under the reign of the Stuart family. The last Stuart king was Henry V who got the throne in 1603 but he made so much trouble with his lust for power that he had to flee to northern England, and caused a civil war in 1642. The civil war was won by Oliver Cromwell with his New Model Army. He called England, Ireland and Scotland as one republic without a monarchy. But in 1660 Cromwell was dead already and Charles II came on the throne. pile VII followed him when he died but was set off by the parliament and Willem of Orange was called to be king of Britain with his wife Mary. James V fled to France but some of the Scottish were still faithful to James VII (the Jacobites). The Jacobites on 27 juli1968 Willems army lost a battle from the Jacobites. In 1702 Anne followed Willem as queen of Britain but the parliament was determined to keep the Stuarts of the queen. So they parliament went to Sophie of Hannover the granddaughter of James VII and they told Scotland if they accepted her they would get trading privileges. But England and Scotland had to meet in one parliament. In Scotland there were some riots but in 1707 the offer was accepted and Scotland wasnt a state anymore and had no parliament. Economically it was a good case for Scotland but there were still people especially highlanders who wanted the Stuarts as kings and queens. Charles Edward Stuart was a grandson of James VII and he started a war with his Jacobites against England in 1745. But in 1746 he got defeated after the battle of Culloden and had to flee to Italia. After this battle it was forbidden to wear any skirts, play bagpipes and the clans were not allowed to exist anymore. They switched from livestock-farming to sheep cultivation and potatoes were the most important food in the highlands. When the potato harvest went wrong loads of people went to America (not the VS) and the big cities for work and food. This was a period of grow in economics, literature and culture so Scotland changed in the 18th century from one of the poorest countries in Europe to a normal economically growing land. In 1999 many years later Scotland got its own parliament again. It counted 127 seats in the parliament these are the partys who got seats 47 Scottish guinea pig Party,46 Scottish Labour Party, 17 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party,16 Scottish Liberal Democrats, 2 Scottish Green Party, 1 independent

Russias Economy During Yeltsin Era

Russias Economy During Yeltsin EraAnalyse the principle conundrums cladding the Russian frugality at the residuum of the Yeltsin era. How take a crap these problems been tack conduct?AbstractThe following dissertation will analyse the principle problems veneering the Russian delivery at the end of the Yeltsin era. In many a(prenominal) view these principle problems face up the Russian economic system stemmed from the sparing and establishmental disintegration of the Soviet Union combined with how effectively or ineffectively the Yeltsin institution had attempted to deal with those problems. As will be discussed the principle frugal problems that faced the Russian Federation in 1992 were daunting, and therefore it is non surprising that or so of these problems remained unsolved and were bequeathed to the incoming Putin judicature after Yeltsins surprise resignation at the end of 1999. Yeltsin had seemed to be Russias policy-making saviour in terrific 1991 when he led the resistance to the attempted coup of Soviet hard-liners a pipst Gorbachev. The failure of that coup inevitably accelerated the demise of the Soviet Union. However, the Russian economy would experiment very much harder to tackle than desperate Soviet generals and KGB chiefs.1 The principle problems of the Russian economy can be arguably traced back to the inefficiencies of the Soviet Unions drop economy and its massive military expenditure during the Cold War. These economic problems accelerated the demise of the Soviet Union itself and made it difficult to make the economic spiritual rebirth to capitalism without major economic implications.2The Soviet Union for either its economic faults had at least bring home the bacond a basic standard of living, which meant that none of its people voracious or were in severe economic distress. This was despite a stagnant economy, although its economic stableness crumbled with remark up to(p) speed. For much of the Yeltsin era the Russian economy could non match the basic living standards of the old Soviet Union for many of its citizens.3 It could be argued that the transition to capitalism contributed to the worsening of the principle problems outlined below, and that ill suasion out economic policies since have made it more difficult for those problems to be effectively tackled during and after the Yeltsin era.Among the main themes of this dissertation is that the Yeltsin governing did non have a consistent set of economic and semi policy-making policies to solve the principle problems of the Russian economy, which in turn hampered the effective tackling of those problems. The so called young re occasions led by Yegor Gaider and Anatoly Chubais had the some thought out strategies for the Russian economy, thus far they did not have a constant control over the governments economic policy passim the Yeltsin era.4 Besides not all the economic strategies advocated by the young reformers prove to b e effective once the Russian government put those strategies into practice. The ways in which all the principle problems of the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era were all interconnected are arguably obvious and apparent. To a certain extent it will be argued that Boris Yeltsin himself did not help the Russian government to tackle the principle problems of the Russian economy. The link between principle problems in the Russian economy and political ones plus social factors will be discussed when and where appropriate.This dissertation will seek to examine the reasons for the Russian economy winning over a go to achieve real growth, despite following the policies that it was advised would promote stability, liberalised and privatised economy. This dissertation will attempt to analyse whether the economic transition achieved anything at all to excuse an estimated 47 % decrease in living standards between 1991 and 2000. How many Russians believed that the detrimental eff ects of the principle problems of the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era could have been averted or tackled earlier?5When Boris Yeltsin assumed the presidency of the Russian Federation it was still part of the Soviet Union and not even a sovereign severalize in its own right also it did not have control over economic policy. Yeltsin presided over the dismantling of Communist control in Russia, yet he found it very difficult to construct capitalism from virtually non-existent foundations as any form of capitalist economic activity had been illegal for much of the previous 75 years after the Communist Revolution.6 By the time Yeltsin left his prexyial office, the Russian Federation was a plenteousy independent enjoin that nominally, if not completely become a liberal democracy with a capitalist market economy. However, the dual Russian transitions to liberal democracy and capitalism from an despotic Communist State proved difficult and many have argued that those tran sitions remain incomplete. The incompleteness of the transition to capitalism and the political and economic make up of the Russian federation had a strong influence upon the principle problems veneering the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era. Russia had been used to authoritarian government with state controlled primeval be after for the economy so the process of ease had been uneven and had unwelcome social and economic consequences across Russia. The legacy of misguided Soviet economic planning took much effort and a great deal of suffering for the poorest sections of the Russian society to break, it seemed to help a minority of Russians make their fortunes, whilst leaving the rest to baulk for themselves. In Russia the correlation between political and economic weaknesses arguably helped to make the post-communist economic and democratic situation imperfect and even corrupt.7 The move to loan capitalism to Russia in less than a decade was as revolutionary as Sta lins attempts to achieve industrialisation during collectivisation, yet the opposite aims of privatising the economy. The aim of the Yeltsin government to bring capitalism was a sensible notion, yet the ways that it was implemented caused controversy as well as arguably increasing the impact of the principle problems that untune the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era.8Decline and signs of recovery 1992 1998The initial bout of economic shock therapy administered in 1992 brought about hyperinflation, the closure of many factories and enterprises, which led inevitably to mass unemployment. Gaider and the other young reformers in the Yeltsin government had to end state subsidies to factories and intoduce the lifting of price controls at one go rather than to introduce reforms gradually. It was gravelly economic medicine for a country burdened with the consequences of communisms profound economic and political failures, although Yeltsin did not have the political strength o r motivation to carry out shock therapy as extensively as Gaider and the other young reformers had originally intended. Through much of the 1990s the young reformers and the richest entrepreneurs cognize as the oligarchs competed for political influence and effect, whilst contending to gain control of the Russian economy or a share of its greatest spoils. Neither the young reformers nor the oligarchs were popular with the bulk of the Russian people, yet none of them particularly cared. They were not involved in popularity contests, they were arguing over power and riches. Sometimes they might do things that were good for the Russian economy, yet they were mainly interested in achieving their own agendas than serving the national interests of Russia.9The weakness of the Russian economy further weakened the position of the Russian government at the start of the Yeltsin era. These were political as well as economic weaknesses that still existed when Yeltsin left office. Yeltsins firs t term was at a lower placemined by political disputes with the Russian Supreme Soviet, which Yeltsin eventually closed down and replaced with a new parliament, the Duma. Yeltsin had to maintain his political position whilst attempting to prevent the Communists and nationalists making sufficient electoral gains to restrict his political room to manoeuvre. Yeltsin was able to maintain his hold on power, despite a strong challenge from the Communists after his re-election in 1996. Yeltsins second term in office highlighted his inability to find a Prime Minister that was politically reliable, could manage, or even reduce the weakness of the Russian economy and who did not in heroicct request to assume the presidency as Yeltsins replacement before Yeltsin was due to leave office in June 2000. Yeltsins second term witnessed his problems with ill wellness worsen, which in turn meant that the Russian economy as well as the Russian government was not as effectively managed as they needed to be. When Yeltsin positive the virtually unheard of Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister he believed that he had found a man that could fix the Russian economy and solve its political problems. Perhaps more importantly for Yeltsin and his family, Putin was unwilling to prosecute either him or his relatives for their links to the corruption and inefficiency of the Yeltsin era.10The Russian economy did show signs of revival towarfareds the end of Yeltsins first presidential term, yet in many respects such a revival was more apparent than real. The vast majority of Russians were economically worse off than they had been before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Declining inflation and unemployment rates did not benefit most of them, especially those that lost their jobs, their savings, and all hope with the shock therapy of 1992 which resulted in inflation rates of about 2,000%. The new Russian economy seemed to benefit former Communist party officials bureaucrats, factory, and state f arm managers that managed to gain control of former state owned enterprises. The other main beneficiaries were the handful of entrepreneurs, subsequently known as the oligarchs that had become very wealthy through their links with Yeltsin. The Russian economy for the first time also had millions of shareholders eager to show their capitalist credentials. The Russian government did not however, share in the beginning of the Russian economy during the inwardness of the 1990s, the strength and capabilities of the Yeltsin government to deal with economic problems was undermined by falling revenues. Government revenues had been reduced through the economic contraction of the early 1990s, higher outlay on social security, lower global prices for Russian oil exports, plus extensive tax evasion. Not that anybody had to deliberately evade give their taxes given the massive surface of the tax arrears owed to the Russian government. The breakdown of the Soviet Union led to other problems s uch as lower exports to the other former Soviet republics and the inability of countries such as the Ukraine to wage for Russian gas and oil.11The table below that shows the annual changes in Russias Gross Domestic Product (gross domestic product) figures between 1992 to 1999 amply demonstrates the inglorious state of the Russian economy throughout much of the Yeltsin era.12Stock market set and Government weaknessThe perilous financial position of the Yeltsin government itself proved to undermine the revival of the Russian economy as it directly contributed to the collapse of the Russian stock market in 1998. The crash of 1998 ruined millions of small-scale shareholders in Russia and reduced the scale of foreign coronation in the Russian economy. Russian investors were in effect made to suffer due to the ineptness of the Russian government in raising enough taxes to run the country and avoid bankruptcy.13 Under Yeltsin the Russian State had lost out in terms of revenue and econo mic independence to the oligarchs, profits that should have lined the coffers of the Kremlin lined the pockets of Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Potanin, and the other oligarchs. All of these factors combined to make the insolvency of the Russian State as principle problem of the Russian economy. Restoring the solvency of the government would increase its scope to solve the other principle problems of the Russian economy, as well as restore the political authority of the state.14 When Vladimir Putin assumed power his government was faced not only(prenominal) with the task of restoring the solvency of the Russian state, he also had to restore the faith of Russians and foreigners that the government would not default on its loans. The crash of August 1998 had led to the Yeltsin government defaulting on $40 billion worth of foreign loans. The crisis in confidence also saw the rouble decline to a third of its pre-crash value.15 The Russian economy was not helped by international bodies suc h as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or foreign governments most notably the United States by the amounts of capital as the Russian government would have liked.16As Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had already shown his commitment to restoring the solvency and the power of the Russian State. Putins strength of character plus his determination to succeed contributed to Yeltsins decision to resign and maximise Putins chances of retaining the presidency after the 2000 presidential election. Putin was elected president in 2000 and claimed the credit for Russias improving economy as well as apparent victory in the war against Chechen separatists. Putin put himself off as the man capable of curing Russias profound economic, social, and political problems. If confidence alone was the sole key to solving the principle problems of the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era, then Russia should have been a prosperous state the day Putin entered the Kremlin.17Principle Problems of th e Russian EconomyThe first principle problem facing the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era was the incomplete nature of the transition to a capitalist market economy. The support of Boris Yeltsin for the measures needed for a full transition to a market economy was not consistent throughout his time in office. The economic reforms introduced in 1992 hit the Russian economy harder than the resembling reforms introduced in former Communist states such as Poland and Hungary. Russia had a larger economy, more state enterprises and factories plus a much longer period under communist control than any of the former communist states Central and Eastern Europe had. The Yeltsin government received plenty of advice as to whether to introduce economic liberalisation all at once or gradually, although at that point there was no hard evidence as to which approach would be the most roaring in the long run. In the short run economic contraction was expected before the Russian economy w ould show signs of improvement and growth.18 However, the period of economic contraction was longer than many experts had predicted, although the sheer scale of the problems facing the Russian economy throughout the Yeltsin era were enormous. A healthy Boris Yeltsin, despite his leave out of experience concerning capitalist economics, might have given the government more urgency in tackling those economic proms it could. However, during his second term as president Yeltsin suffered from the affects of heavy boozing and a severe heart condition. Given the prominence of presidential power in the Russian political system having an incapacitated president was detrimental to the tackling of Russias economic problems. Not only was Yeltsin frequently ill he would intervene in the government at some inopportune moments. Yeltsin had a tendency to turn on Prime Ministers and cabinets on a whim. If a Prime Minister proved incapable of tackling the countrys many social, economic, and politic al problems they would be re go. Paradoxically if a Prime Minister was too successful in resolving those problems or appeared to be more popular than Yeltsin they were also removed from office.19A principle problem facing the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era was that a proper banking system similar to those operating in more established capitalist economies had not been fully veritable to aid the Russian economys transition in to a capitalist economy. There are various reasons why the lack of a fully developed banking system became a principle problem facing the Russian economy. The lack of such a properly developed and regulated system hindered and deterred foreign businesses from spend in the Russian economy, as potential investors could not be sure of where their money was going. The lack of foreign investment slowed down economic growth in the financial sector of the Russian economy. Growth in the financial sector was needed to compensate for the contractions in t he industrial and agricultural sectors of the economy.20 The lack of a properly regulated banking system also aided the money laundering of illegal profits from the unionised offensive gangs that seemed to grow after the Soviet Union collapsed. Organised crime gangs had been able to take advantage of the Russian governments struggle to maintain full political and economic control of Russia. The unregulated nature of the Russian banking system did not help stem the flow of financial capital out of the Russian economy during the Yeltsin era. The Yeltsin government seemed unable or unwilling to take effective measures to stop the flow of capital that was so detrimental to the Russian economy. If the Russian government had been able to attract as much investment into the Russian economy as there was capital exported away from it then the economy would have achieved greater stability and growth. However, the IMF made economic aid and loans to the Russian government conditional upon th e Russians on improving the Russian banking system to international standards of performance and regulation. The Russian government could in return claim that Russias economic problems would have decreased if the Russians had received all the international aid and investments that had been promised in the early 1990s. Whilst aid was slow in coming forward the foreign debts owed by Russia from $97 billion in 1992 to a burdensome $152 billion by 1998. During the same period the amount of GDP the Russian government had to use to service its foreign debts doubled to 60%. That was money that the Russian government could have spent in more fruitful ways such as increasing spending on non-military research or tackling the social and economic problems that were reducing the performance of the Russian economy.21A principle problem facing the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era was organised crime. Organised crime gangs, as previously noted, took advantage of the lack of political and economic control in Russia. The way in which the transition to a capital economy in Russia had been attempted had benefited organised crime gangs. Organised crime had existed in the Soviet Union due to the people wanting consumer goods as well as drugs that were not available through state enterprises. Under the Soviet economy system all private economic activity had been illegal. Organised crime gangs find post-Communist Russia an easy place to operate with little fear of macrocosm caught, rival gangs were more of a threat to each other than the Russian police were to them. If the gangs could not bribe the police they could frequently outfight them. The financial dire straits of the Russian government meant that there were not enough police or customs officials to deter, let alone catch organised crime gangs and their members. ill or infrequently paid police and customs officials had little motivation in stopping criminals, including those that resisted the temptation to take bribes.22Another principle problem facing the Russian economy at the end of the Yeltsin era was the informal economy in which employers paid in cash, whilst neither they or their workers paid taxes on their pay or profits. However, the informal economy had in many respects helped to maintain the Soviet economy, despite its in efficiencies and stagnation. The economic reforms introduced at the start of the Yeltsin era offered chances and opportunities to organised crime gangs and individual entrepreneurs to make their fortunes. Previous experience of working in the informal economy did prove advantageous to many Russians wanting to make their fortunes or faced with the more mundane task of surviving.23 The Russians have a long tradition of people who know the right people within the bureaucracy being able to further their own position. Corruption, bribery, and the calling in of favours could make all the difference between success and failure during the Yeltsin era. The informal e conomy grew due to the greater economic freedom and the unregulated nature of the Russian economy once market liberalisation had occurred. For many Russians being part of the informal economy was the only way to make ends meet. The Russian government had drastically reduced the number of state owned enterprises, whilst cutting subsidies to the newly privatised enterprises. Private enterprises in Russia would frequently not pay their workers for months to try to stay in business as they found it very difficult to survive against foreign competitors. Not being paid for months or only been paid in kind prompted workers further into the informal economy. Due to the lack of money available to the Russian government public sector employees were not always paid either. Desperation forced many Russians into holding two or three jobs to make ends meet. Without the informal economy the social and economic problems facing Russia could have been worse. 24 When private and public sector workers were paid, the high inflation at the beginning of the Yeltsin era meant that most Russians had to find extra sources of income or face economic ruin. It is difficult to have an accurate idea of the informal economy within framework of the Russian economy in terms of its share of GDP and its authentic size. Statistics from the Russian government were even in the 1990s domestically or internationally known for their accuracy. Given the lack of resources available to the Russian police, customs officials, and bureaucrats it is not surprising that few people were caught for their involvement within the informal economy or that Russian officials could be bribed to turn a blind eye. During the Yeltsin era, the Russian government estimated that 25% of Russias GDP was generated by the informal economy. Other sources such as the IMF and the Russian press put the figure as high as 80%.25The harsh economic realities of life in Yeltsins Russia meant that corruption and unregulated economic act ivity increased dramatically. Organised crime gangs were able to gain from peoples misery and desperation in terms of increased levels of drug taking and prostitution. The collapse of Soviet authority and the difficulty of Russia and its neighbours had in securing their shared borders had given the organised crime gangs the opportunity to expand their activities as well as their profits.26 These increases in gang activities lead to higher levels of crime, as people had to fixture to desperate measures to feed drug habits and gangs fought each other. Although the outbreaks of gang warfare witnessed in cities such as St Petersburg can mainly be regarded as a constabulary and order issue, such events did have an economic impact during the Yeltsin era. Economic hardship, drug taking, and prostitution have heavily contributed to declining life expectancy rates. Many of the people that should be the most economically active in Russia are either working informally and therefore not payi ng taxes or they have died prematurely. Drug taking and prostitution have increased the spread of AIDS so that Russia has one of the highest infection rates in the world. The demographic decline in Russia, if left ungoverned could have major implications for the Russian economy as well as disastrous effects on its society. Organised crime may help many Russians survive from day to day, yet it makes some gang members very wealthy whilst depriving the Russian government of much needed revenue and leaving the cost of pick out out serious law and order as well as health problems. Organised gangs were also able to take advantage of the Russian governments wars in Chechnya during the Yeltsin era by selling drugs and weapons to both Russian troops and Chechen rebel fighters.27 Overall the effect on the population of the Russian Federation was an sightly annual decrease in the population of around 750,000 people throughout the entire 1999s.28At the end of the Yeltsin era another principl e problem facing the Russian economy was the uncompetitiveness of many industries and businesses. Again the legacy of the economic system of the Soviet Union plays its part in the weaknesses of the Russian economy. The Soviet system had not produced words that Russian consumers or potential foreign consumers had wanted. Instead the Soviet economic planners had determined return levels and the types of goods produced. Once state subsidies were removed all factories and enterprises and the Russian economy was open to unrestricted foreign imports. Russian enterprises were forced to close, drastically cut their workforces, or not pay their workers for long periods. Some businesses resorted to not paying their taxes as part of their efforts to stay operative.29 One of the leading oligarchs, Mikhail Khodorkovsky estimated that upwards of a million Russian enterprises should have been declared bankrupt. In 1996 the Yeltsin government stated that around 35% of Russian factories and busines ses were on the verge of bankruptcy. The Russian government estimated that 80% of Russian factories and businesses were in financial dire straits.30 The instability of the rouble and a lack of foreign currencies and investment also made it difficult for Russian enterprises to remain competitive. De-valuations of the rouble would briefly aid competitiveness, yet did not offer a semipermanent solution. Lack of foreign investment and profits made it more difficult for Russian factories to replace obsolete equipment or the latest training for their workers. The standard of bringing up in Russia tended to be high, although there was a lack of people trained in Information Technology and more advanced industrial procedures, especially impertinent of the military research establishment.31 The Yeltsin government and the young reformers had hoped that large-scale foreign investment would revive even the most outdated enterprises in the Russian economy. Although, not all of the potential fo reign investors were put of by the lack of market regulation, the less than welcoming reception received from officials, Russian businesses, and the Russian public deterred many investors from investing in Russia.32The young reformers had hoped that their policies would only lead to a short-term contraction of the Russian economy, with a more competitive and modernised Russia emerging from shock therapy. They and Yeltsin were caught by surprise when the affect of shock therapy lasted throughout the Yeltsin era. A sharp contraction in the production levels of Russian heavy industries was expected and indeed occurred. However, the biggest falls in production witnessed during the Yeltsin era was in the production of consumer goods rather than in the more traditional heavy industries. Whilst production in those heavy industries of coal, steel, oil and gas declined by 45% during the 1990s that was not as bad as the decline in production of consumer goods. The move to a capitalist market economy had been expect to provide stimulation for increases in the production of Russian made consumer goods such as colour television sets, personal computers, and video recorders. Instead production of these consumer items declined dramatically, by 80% for television sets, 60% for personal computers, and 99% for video recorders. A section of the Russian economy that the government had believed would promote economic growth and provide jobs for those that lost their jobs in other sectors of the economy ceased to exist to any meaningful extent. There are two fairly straightforward explanations for the slump in the production of consumer goods. Those Russians that could generate television sets, personal computers, and video recorders brought more reliable and fashionable imported foreign brands. Through the liberalisation of the Russian economy and the efforts of the informal economy such goods became more widely available if not affordable throughout the Yeltsin era. For the poor est sections of Russian society that had their savings wiped out by inflation and their prospects diminished by unemployment or underemployment throughout the Yeltsin era there were little prospects of them buying the essentials to live let alone Russian or non-Russian consumer goods. The poor could not even afford the low quality and cheaper Russian made goods.33A principle problem of the Russian economy closely related to its uncompetitiveness was the increasing shortages of workers, skilled ones in particular. At the start of the Yeltsin era the severe contraction of the Russian economy meant that unemployment had increased. It was not only capital that left the Russian economy once the country moved to a market economic system. Some of the brightest and most capable people working in the Russian economy left the country for better pay and prospects abroad. Of course, not everybody was able to take the opportunity to earn his or her future in exile. In some respects the most harm done to the Russian economy was by the calibre of academics and technicians that left the country. The Yeltsin government could not do as much to halt the brain drain as it had to cut spending on higher education, health services and most notably on defence projects and research. Cuts in defence spending could be justified, as a war with the United States and its NATO allies seemed impossible. The shortage of skilled workers was worsened by the reduction in life expectancy, especially amongst men. The effects of lower life expectancy were mult

Phonetics in learning English

Ph anetics in learning faceIntroductionThe core of phonetic is to identify the characteristics of the honests which human begins fag end use in language. Sounds can basically be divided into ii types vowel unspoilts and harmonizeds. Vowels be produced by altering the shape of the vocal tract by spatial relation of the tongue and lips. Consonants argon sounds which be produced by the partial or complete construction of the vocal tract.The picture of how your address looks when you say sounds. (Sharon Widmayer and Holly Gray) image of articulatorsYour lips, teeth, tongue, nose, and roof of your mouth be all important for orthoepy. The epiglottis is also important. That is the thing that you use to hold your breath and to swallow. It closes your windpipe so the argument cannot come out.The components of teaching the sound of side1. VowelsVowels are usually described by reference to five criteria, and these are adequate as a basic token of reference, although some vowel soun d require more specifi reproduceionthe height reached by the highest point of the tongue (high, mid, low) ,the part of the tongue which is raised (front, center, back),the shape mannequined by the lips (unrounded or spread, rounded)the couch of the diffused palate for oral vowels, lowered for nasal vowels,the duration of the vowel ( in short, long)Some Generalizations (Not Rules) about English vowels and spellingEnglish vowels corroborate long and short forms.The long form is the name of the letter The short form is as followsLong vowels are usually ( merely not al modes) indicated by a second (silent) vowel in the same syllableShort vowels usually stand alone within a syllable and are lots followed by double conformables2. Consonant soundsConsonant sounds have three basic features in their articulation place of articulation, manager of articulation, and voicing.Consonants produce sounds that are more consistent and easier to identify than vowels. at that placefore, they mak e a good commencement point for learning to read.Initially, work should be done on identifying beginning consonant sounds (ex t-t-t tulip).After that, activities can focus on identifying concluding consonant sounds (ex cat ends with the t-t-t sound)When children learn to recognize the sounds of consonants at the beginning and end positions of words, they gain the ability to look at a word and make a reasonable work out as to what it might be. Viewing the word in the context of a picture will help reinforce this skill.(for example, a picture of a quest after with the word DOG underneath. The ability to sound out the D and G letters will help the child identify that the word is DOG, not puppy or dalmation)The ideas and activities presented in this section will help children develop the following skillsidentifying beginning consonant soundsdistinguishing between two or more beginning consonant soundsidentifying ending consonant soundsdistinguishing between two or more ending conso nantschoosing words that have a particular beginning or ending consonantThe following diagram shows the names of the various parts of the mouth involved in the production of English consonantsA = nasal cavityB = alveolar rooftreeC = hard palateD = soft palate or velumE = lips and teethF = tongue 1 tip 2 blade 3 bodyG = uvulaH = larynx and vocal cordsvFor each consonant, two parts of the mouth are involved, and the name given to it reflects this. Starting from the front, some consonants are made using both lips try saying /p/ /b/ /w/ and /m/ and these are called bilabial consonants (bilabial = two lips)Now try /f/ and /v/. This time its the bottom lip and top teeth which are involved. These are labiodental consonants (labio = lip, dental = teeth).For more or less all the other consonants, the tongue will interact with another part of the mouth. The name of the consonant doesnt include a reference to the tongue however, just the point of the mouth which it meets. So for instanc e, sounds made by an interaction between the tongue and the teeth are just called dental sounds. These are /t/, /d/ and the voiced and voteless th sounds / / as in this and // as in thick .If you run your tongue back behind your teeth, you come to a bony ridge called the alveolar ridge. Several sounds are made on or just behind the ridge /s/ /z/ /t/ /d/ /n/ /r/ and /l/Moving back from the alveolar ridge you come to a similarly hard but smoother zone the hard palate. /j/ as in yellow is a palatal sound, are as the highlighted consonants in the words sheep, measure, cheap and jeep. There is also a palatal version of the /r/ consonant. If you found it strange that it was classed before as alveolar, you may have been saying the palatal version.Notice that there is now a difference in the focusing the tongue is used. For the dental and alveolar sounds, it was the tip of the tongue which was involved. For palatal sounds, however, its the blade of the tongue, and as we move further b ack to the velum (the soft part of the palate, closest to the throat) its the back, or body, of the tongue. The velar sounds are /g/ and /k/ and the final consonants in sing and in bottle often called the dark l.This leaves only the consonant /h/ which is produced by air passing from the windpipe through the vocal cords, or glottis. Its therefore a glottal sound.Place of Articulation tells us where the consonants are produced, but we also need to consider Manner of Articulation how they are produced. The most important categories arePlosives Plosive sounds (also called stop sounds) are formed by the air being completely blocked in the mouth and then suddenly released. For example, /k/ and /g/ are formed when the back of the tongue rises to the velum and momently blocks the air. These are therefore velar plosives. The other plosive consonants of English are the bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/ and the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/. Some varieties of English London English for examp le also include a glottal stop which substitutes for the /t/ consonant between vowels. Imagine a London orthoepy of butter, for example.Fricatives Fricatives are formed when the two parts of the mouth approach each other closely, not completely blocking the passage of the air, but forcing it through a confined space. The air molecules start to bump against each other causing audible friction. Try the palatal fricative the sh sound. You can feel your tongue up close to the alveolar ridge and the air passing through the small space left. The full list of English fricatives is labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/ dental fricatives the two th sounds alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ palatal fricatives // as in in sheep and // as in measure and the glottal fricative /h/.Affricates Affricates are really a plosive and a fricative combined. The air is initially blocked, and then released through a narrow passageway like a fricative. English has two affricates, the initial sounds in cheap and jeep / / and //. These are usually classed as palato-alveolar affricates, as theyre made in a position half way between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.Nasals when a nasal sound is produced, the air is prevented from going out through the mouth and is instead released through the nose. There are three English nasals the bilabial nasals /m/ and /n/ and the velar nasal // the final consonant in sing.Approximant Approximants are a bit of a hotch-potch category, and contain some of the most problematic sounds in English. Well look at them in detail another time, but for now will dissever them together as sounds produced when the airstream moves around the tongue and out of the mouth with almost no obstruction. The English approximants are the alveolar approximants /l/ and /r/, the palatal approximant /j/, as in yes, and the dark l the velar approximant as in bottle. Keep in mind, however, that this is a simplification.This leaves the third distinguishing category whic h we discussed in the outlive article voicing. If the vocal cords are vibrated when the sound is made, the sound is voiced. If the are not, it is unvoiced. Several of the English consonants come in pairs. They have the same place and room of articulation and are distinguished only by voicing (1). For example /t/ and /d/ are both alveolar plosives, but /t/ is unvoiced while /d/ is voiced. In the summarizing chart below, where pairs occur the unvoiced sound is always given first.3. Sounds in connected linguistic processSounds are seldom produced in isolation. In connected speech (that is, any sequence spoken at natural speed), many sounds tend to be altered of modified by the sound immediately before of after them, especially at the boundaries between words.According to the Excerpt from Study Guide, Connected Speech is the key to gaining a natural, smooth-flowing style of speech. populate do not speak in separate words they speak in logical connected groups of words. Even native speakers sometimes stumble everywhere their words because they are unaware of the little tricks for avoiding the pitfalls. Trained actors, of course, are able to deliver lengthy, complex, and even tongue-twisting passages flawlessly. This is not a gift. They have simply learned the rules for linking one word into another with intention. When youve finished this tape, youll know the rules, too and with practice youll become a fluent, polished speaker.These are the steps for speaking in connected speech Direct Linking Linking final consonants directly into vowels Play and Link Linking final consonants fully played and linked to fully played non-related consonants. Prepare and Link Prepare for the final consonant, and execute related consonant that it is linking into. Weak Forms A lot of the very small connecting words in speech are so de-emphasized, or unstressed, that they often take on a Weak Form. Contractions We use these words so much that, we usually contract them together. Wor d Endings and Contractions Common Word Endings (Suffixes).These are for the most part unstressed, and should be treated like weak forms. Dialogues Practicing Word Endings and Contractions These dialogues have a double emphasis. Practicing both Word Endings and Contractions within a context.ConclusionIf other aspects of pronunciation are dealt with efficiently, sounds do not present such a problem. Again, much of the difficulty which students have when pronouncing English sounds comes, not from a physical inability to form them, but from language interference. This occurs when the student knows how an English word is spelt and pronounces it as if was written in his own language.It is important for a teacher to know how sounds are formed so that he understands what his students are doing wrong.ReferencesJohn Haycraft. (1978). An introduction to English language teaching. Longman Longman Group Ltd.1978Jones, D.(1998). The Pronunciation of English. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. http//www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/consonants-intro.htmKelly, G.(2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Harlow Peason.Ladefoged, P.(2005). Vowels and Consonants Oxford Blackwell.Steele,V.(2005) Connected Speech (Onlline).http//www.teachingenglish.org.uk/(2005, May 29)

Computer Education Should Be Compulsory :: Argumentative Persuasive Technology Education

Students spend five years at high school learning more things, but how much of what they learn is really useful? For example, many students forget a lot of what they learn or so history and calculus because they have no practical use for what they have learned. Computers, however, are now a part of our everyday lives. Therefore, students should be required to learn how to use reck unrivaledrs because they will benefit in both their personal and professional life. In particular, learning about computers can help you to organize you finances better, to gather information easily, and to enjoy a variety of recreation activities. (103) For both personal and professional needs, a computer is of great help in taking care of financial matters. One way that computers help is in paying bills. Almost all bills, such as electric and telephone bills for the home, credit card payments, and installments on a car can be give usi ng a computer. Of course, one needs profit access for this. Another financial convenience offered by computers is paying for purchases. In a similar way to paying bills, purchases can be ordered and paid for using the Internet and a credit card number. Then the item purchased can be delivered directly to your front door. Finally, a student at university, or someone who has graduated from high school, can take care of banking by computer over the Internet. In this case, one can transfer money from one bank account to another without going to the bank, sending a fax, or even making a telephone call. (155)

Tensions in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening :: Stopping Woods Snowy Evening

Tensions in Stopping by Woods     The poem as a whole, of course, encodes many of the tensions between popular and elite poetry. For example, it appears in an anthology of childrens make-up alongside Amy Lowells "Crescent Moon," Joyce Kilmers "Trees," and Edward Lears "Owl and the Pussy-Cat." Pritchard situates it among a number of poems that "have ... repelled or embarrassed more highbrow sensibilities," which suggests the question "havent these poems The Pasture, Stopping by Woods..., Birches, Mending Wall been so much exclaimed oer by people whose poetic taste is dubious or hardly existent, that on these grounds alone Frost is to be distrusted?" The views represented--and the representations of the poem itself, affiliated with the recreate of Dickinson, Longfellow, Dante, and the Romantics--range from emphasis on its gentility to its modernist ambiguity. Nevertheless, more than one critic underscores its threat to individualism, its "dangerous prospect of boundarilessness," which suggests the masculine conception of poetic selfhood with which the poem is commonly framed.   Seasons were a conventional means to illustrate feelings, as in Helen Hunt Jacksons "Down to Sleep" November woods are bare and still     November days are clear and bright separately noon burns up the daysprings chill     The mornings snow is gone by night     Each day my steps grow slow, grow light, As by dint of the woods I reverent creep, Watching all things breathe "down to sleep." I neer knew before what beds,     Fragrant to smell, and soft to touch, The forest sifts and shapes and spreads     I never knew before how much     Of human sound there is in such Low tones as through the forest sweep When all wild things lie "down to sleep." Each day I find new coverlids     Tucked in and more sweet eyes shut tight Sometimes the neutral mother bids     Her ferns kneel down full in my sight     I hear their chorus of "good night," And half I smile, and half I weep, sense of hearing while they lie "down to sleep." November woods are bare and still     November days are bright and good Lifes noon burns up lifes morning chill     Lifes night rests feet which long have stood     Some warm soft bed, in field or wood, The mother will not fail to keep, Where we can "lay us down to sleep."