More testing, More Learning Essay

All students wish to finish their college year with a good grade. There is a lot to learn in every chapter of textbooks. Even if a student spends most of his time studying, he will get very stressed when a midterm or final comes. These exams will judge how well that student is doing for the whole entire semester. Patrick O’ Malley in â€Å"More Testing, More Learning† mentions that more testing provides students better learning opportunities because more testing forces students to have good study habits. It also helps students to focus on every unit in the textbooks and encourages them to learn from their mistakes. Providing exams more often makes students have good study habits. Students need good time management in order to balance between their college lives with their study lives. According to O’Malley’s essay â€Å"Greater frequency in test taking means greater frequency in studying for tests†. Giving students more exams is a way to keep them in track and force them to focus more on class. Although students are adults and should be able to manage their own lives, they still need a teacher to coach them. If professor gives students more frequency in-class exams, it will force them to do more practice and students will learn better. Having an exam at the end of the unit helps students deeply focus on what is in the classroom. There is a lot of information in a textbook and if students have a chance to have quizzes after the major chapters, it will help them to deeply understand the materials. From Patrick O’ Malley’s proposal â€Å" This solution would have the advantage of reducing students’ anxiety about learning every fact in the textbook, and it would clarify the course goals, but it would not motivate students to study carefully each new unit, concept, or text chapter in the course†. Students who understand the concept in their textbooks will do well in class and satisfy with their college lives. Having an opportunity to review the in-class exams benefits students to focus what they have missed. From O’ Malley suggestion â€Å"It makes sense that in a challenging course containing a great deal of material, students will learn more of it and put it to better use if they have to apply or â€Å"practice† it frequently on exams†. Student should be able to see how well they are doing in class before their major exams. Practicing with more exams releases students’ anxiety. Their lives are not depending on only one or two exams. More in-class exam gives students the opportunity to study and learn from the mistakes that they did in the past tests. Being a student is not easy. A good student is the one who can maintain the student activities, work and grades. There are many ways that professors can encourage students to study. Providing students more of the exams before midterm and final is a way to help student learn. More testing helps them to focus on the contents, decrease their anxiety, keep them focused in school and also helps students learn from their own in-class exam.

Endorsement Of Esol In The Educational System Of Institutions Essay

English for Speakers of Other Language or ESOL programs are considered one of the most important courses offered by learning institutions today whether on personal basis or through on-line teaching. In this manner, institutions are also encouraged handle ESOL programs to be able to meet the needs of a growing market of people who are expected to speak professional English. Hence, even business administrations are being invigorated to host an ESOL program even for their own employees alone. Many business administrators believe that this step of improvement would naturally bring their company great rewards especially with regards to being globally competitive. However, when it comes to the part of the learning institutions, taking this big step of adjustments towards providing adult students with professional business English basics may not be that easy to imply. Certainly, a certain level of motivation is needed to be able to meet this requirement of the growing market of people who are able to speak English as their second language. The utilization of the right motivation procedure is indeed the key to this factor of needed adjustments especially for the educators. ESOL students come form all ages and all races as well. This is the reason why teaching the said clients of education would not only require professional application of the standard teaching procedures, it also adds up the fact that there is a need for the educators to adjust with the people they are supposed to deal with during the class. They must be bale to recognize the existence of cultural diversity in the class. Thus, this means that the teachers should at least cater to the individual differences of the students as well. What motivation could be applied? Is there any way by which the educators could be moved to get along with the adjustments that are needed for the program? In this regard, the ESOL programs hosted in Toronto shall be examined in this paper. This is especially focused on how the educators were mainly encouraged to adjust themselves with the program and how the said motivations gave fine results for the educating processes of the said state. Problem Statement It has been mentioned earlier that there is a dire need of producing or formulating programs that suits the need of adults and young students as well to learn business English for them to be prepared in facing the real business world later on. Hence, the problem that is to be discussed in this paper is much related on the way that the educators were motivated to make the necessary adjustment for the said program applications. The following are among the questions to be answered: †¢ How could the educators be moved to take advantage of the current need of ‘producing’ students who are able to speak English as their Second Language, thus giving the business industries higher competencies in the future? †¢ How should the educators feel about the progressive teaching strategies that the program requires of them? †¢ Would there be progress in applying the necessary points of consideration in the said program, especially with regards to teaching strategies? These questions shall serve as guidelines for the author of this paper in completing the required data for this assignment. Review of Related Literature As mentioned earlier, it is indeed a certainty that the journals and books used by the author of this study is much related to the issue being discussed. The said journals are to be introduced herein. One of the basic factors of success in any organizational progress is the art of motivation. However, motivational procedures are not that easy to apply especially if the crowd to be dealt with is not that inclined or cooperative in the progress being implied in a specific organization. In this regard, Zoltan Dornyei talks about specific factors of concern especially on the part of the educators when they are dealing with their students. Here are some of the suggestions he mentions: †¢ Be leaders and become role models in class As the educators show their enthusiasm in teaching, the students too are able to have encouragement to learn the language with enthusiasm as well. †¢ Make the Classroom Environment Lively This could include the ability of the educators to encourage their students to speak out their ideas and their thoughts regarding the issues being discussed which should be of interest to the students depending on their age and their races. This would allow the students understand the language they are trying to learn while enjoying sharing their thoughts at the same time. †¢ Be Open to Suggestions from Students The fact that the students also want to have exposure to the language at a certain level, the educators should consider hearing what they want form the class to be able to help them participate more during discussions. This way, they could become more progressive with their studies as the classes continue. Discussions An ample amount of motivation in the Toronto ESOL program offerings have resulted in considerable successful final products. However, the question here is, how much motivation did it take before the educators were convinced to take on the challenges of teaching other races with the ESOL programs that has been formulated for the different institutions to include in their learning programs? Certainly, motivating people to take on the challenges of change is not an easy task. According to Andrew Duffy’s report on Canadian learning institutions, Canada’s failing of a number of students who are studying in the said country has been due to the fact that the seriousness upon the program that the students are ought to learn has not been realized much by the students themselves. As a result, educators handling this type of situation also loose their enthusiasm upon the application of the program, which they ought to offer to their students. This situation then called for much motivational processes on the part of the administrators of the learning institutions. The Motivational Procedures Specifically focusing on the institutions in Toronto, Canada, it has been reported that the staffing of ESOL teachers has been increased in a matter of time to be able to support the existing teaching force with the other educators that are needed to attend the needs of the students in Toronto. Notifying the educators on how to specifically help the students realize what they have to learn about their chosen courses have made so much difference for the reports which were once reported about Toronto. The Toronto Star reports that in a nationwide survey of some 9,000 high school dropouts in Canada, â€Å"three out of every 10 dropouts leave school because of boredom. † Good grades are no indicator that students will stay in school, as over 30 percent of those surveyed had high marks. Jim Livermore, vice president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation was not surprised. He stated: â€Å"Boredom is more of a factor today than it was 20 years ago because of television. To interest kids everything today has to be glitzy, high tech and showy. † Mr. Livermore feels that some of the brightest minds are not being challenged in school. He added that the â€Å"old way of teaching doesn’t work any more. Rather than lecture-style teaching, we have to get students more involved in learning. † Hence, it has been added in the motivational procedures the educators need to be educate themselves. This education includes teaching strategy enhancement as well as informing the teachers on the real need of the country of having English Speaking citizens. It has been stressed out that the production of students who are able to speak professional business English gives the country a greater chance of being globally competitive, as their employees become world class. Hence, the educators were able to realize the need for the said program. As a result, the educators were motivated to continuously assist their students to becoming highly competent when it comes to using the English language in a professional level. Results of Motivation After the motivational procedures have been implemented, fine results have been received by several Toronto learning institutions. Yes, the application of the learned strategies through the motivational programs, which were commenced, proved to be productive and successful for the students who were able to realize the need for them to progress on their own way. Certainly, it has been observed that much of the motivational tactics that the administrations used for these programs were indeed effective. The motivation that the teachers were able to gain during the training programs has directly affected the way the students view their need to learn their subjects. The fact that the teachers realized the need for the program in their place, the programs became much productive, able to give the students the ample training they need to be able to become competent enough in the usage of the English language. This then helps the Canadian employers to be more at ease as they hire students who were produced by the Toronto learning institutes. Conclusion With the details of ESOL development programs in Canada, specifically in Toronto, listed in this paper, it shows how much motivational procedures aimed towards the educators could contribute so much on the way the students progress in their studies. The effectiveness of the curriculum of English learning offered in institutions of education is highly based upon the enthusiasm of the educators to handle their classes while being able to meet the needs of each of their students. Indeed, teaching students with so much diversity among them is a great challenge to any educator in the learning industry. The consequences though of ample training and motivation with regards to the teaching strategies used by the educators is indeed fruitful and beneficial on the part of the students and the economic growth of the country basing from the competency of the employees produced by the institutions, regardless of the fact that they are native English speakers or not. In this manner, the certainties of the employers on the new graduates of learning institutions become stronger and the results of the job done by these students are much globally competitive as they re able to use the English language in professional applications. BIBLIOGRAPHY Internet Journal Sources: The Community Social Planning Council of Toronto. (2005). Community Voices, Perspectives and Priorities. http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:LHaAxJemZSoJ:www. inclusivecities. ca/publication/reports/Toronto-ICC-Report. pdf+ESOL+in+Toronto+Canada+reports&hl=tl&gl=ph&ct=clnk&cd=6. (June 25, 2008). The 2003 Atkinson Fellowship In Public Policy. (2003). Class Struggles: Public Education and the New Canadian. http://www. atkinsonfoundation. ca/files/Duffyrev. pdf. (June 25, 2008). A. H. Maslow. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. http://www. advancedhiring. com/docs/theory_of_human_motivation. pdf. (June 25, 2008). Frederick Herzberg. (2006). Human Relations Contributors. http://www. accel-team. com/human_relations/hrels_05_herzberg. html. (June 25, 2008). Books: Don Dinkmeyer. (1995). Leadership By Encouragement. CRC Publishing Company. Zoltan Dornyei. (2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press. Lewis E. Losoncy. (2003). The Motivating Team Leader. DC Press. Barbara Burnaby. (1992). Socio-Political Aspects of ESOL in Canada. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. JoAnn Phillion. (2002). Narrative Inquiry in a Multicultural Landscape: Multicultural Teaching and Learning (Issues in Curriculum Theory, Policy, and Research). Ablex Publishing. Devon Woods. (1996). Teacher Cognition in Language Teaching: Beliefs, Decision-Making and Classroom Practice (Cambridge Applied Linguistics). Cambridge University Press. Craig Chaudron. (1998). Second Language Classrooms: Research on Teaching and Learning (Cambridge Applied Linguistics). Cambridge University Press. HYBELS. (2003). Communicating Effectively. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Jere Brophy. (2004). Motivating Students to Learn (2nd Edition). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2nd edition. Irene M. A. Henley. (2004). Aviation Education and Training: Adult Learning Principles and Teaching Strategies. Ashgate Publishing Company. Ken Hultman. (2001). Balancing Individual and Organizational Values: Walking the Tightrope to Success. Pfeiffer; 1st edition. Ezdras Martinez. (1990). Management Theory and Practice. Rex Book Publishing Manila.

Arab Spring Complete Research Work

Syed Muhammad Jalal Ud Din Asad Shah SMC Ba 5 (Journalism) Course Instructor Ma’m Rida Sohail International Mass Media and its Impact Mid-term Assignment – Arab Spring 16/11/2012 Introduction The Arab Spring, referring to the chain reaction of revolutions in the Arab world, is considered to have begun in Tunisia when a small produce seller lit himself on fire to protest the government taking away his job.Some say that this event, coupled with enough pressure from outside media sources, sparked the revolution of the younger generation in Tunisia that overthrew their prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi; others argue that the area was ripe for revolution thanks to the infusion of democracy in Iraq. Regardless of the initial cause, this single countries act started a snowball effect of democratic revolution that has rolled its way through Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Lybia, in a few smaller instances in other countries. Detailed Summary of â€Å"Arab Spring†On 17th December 2010 something occurred in the small Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid that should lead to a so-called â€Å"revolution†. On that day, a desperate Tunisian teenager, who tried to support the livelihood of his family with his vegetable stand there, lit himself. Again and again he was bullied and also harassed by the behaviour and conditions of the Tunisian police in this village. His self-immolation happened one year ago and he died of his injuries. This sad act sparked major protests by angry and frustrated young people in Egypt.Some followed Muhammad Buazizi example and also committed suicide after his sad death. The first so-called revolution in the Arab world has been triggered. Whether this â€Å"revolution† has been really triggered all alone from within Egypt by this sad act should be questioned. It wasn’t the first demonstration against the rise of food prices, but those protests were not able to overthrow the dictator. This changed with these protests in spr ing 2011. One should consider that these developments around these demonstrations have been driven from the outside, too.For example, the name of Former U. S. diplomat Jeffrey Feltman appears repeatedly in connection with these so-called revolutions in the Middle East. The events in Tunisia spilled over to other states and for example, the Tunisian dictator quickly left his homeland to find asylum in Saudi Arabia. Some say a bit too quickly. Even before the wave of â€Å"revolutions† (â€Å"Arab Spring†) reached Egypt, this interesting wave reached the both states Morocco and Algeria. Again, the people took to the streets in protest against rising food prices and against the corruption within the country.Of course, the people in Algeria and Morocco also protested against the injustice. Finally, the demonstrations in Egypt began on 25th of January. These protests in Egypt were primarily socially motivated demonstrations, in which the people wanted to give vent to their anger. Triggered by the financial crisis (U. S. is mainly to blame for this) the food prices and housing prices also increased in the Arab countries. Where the foreign/western countries did not intervene, the demonstrations disappeared again. Take a look at Algeria.It seems that nowadays hardly anyone reminds about Algeria that there people also protested against the government and that these demonstrations were brutally dispersed or even mowed down. It seems that the Western governments decided secretly that an Algeria under the lead of Bouteflika is safer for Europe than an Algeria, which is ruled by Islamists. Some experts of the Middle East talk about the beginning of these demonstrations and revolutions about an â€Å"Islamic revolution† (even Islamistic revolution) which is masterful ignored by the West till today.The West even ignores these statements about an â€Å"Islamic revolution† gladly. However, the results of the first elections in Tunisia and Egypt spea k for themselves: In both countries the Islamists have gained extremely more power and influence. Not surprising at all. For example, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt supported and still supports the protests against the power of the Egyptian military. It sometimes seems that the Muslim Brotherhood also forces chaos within these protests because it might be useful for their goals.Not to mention that the Muslim Brotherhood offered people money to vote for them at these elections in Egypt. A wonderful example of the democratic sense within the Muslim Brotherhood. Sure a lot of people are able to recall the 11th February. The Egyptian dictator Mubarak resigned at this day and handed â€Å"all† the power to the Western-backed military. At the moment, the Egyptian military clings to the power in Egypt and the Egyptians are not able to reach a break to rest after their â€Å"revolution†. But this revolution in Egypt was not the last revolution of this â€Å"Arab Spring† in 2011.The Yemenis were encouraged by the events in North African countries and started to take to the streets, also to demonstrate against their Yemeni government. Shortly before this outbreak of â€Å"revolution† in Yemen, the people were again humbled by the corrupt government and the proposed constitutional amendment, which would keep the Yemeni leader Saleh for some more years in office. The frustration of the Yemenis erupted finally. As far as we know, the Yemenis always have demonstrated in a peaceful manner against the government and military.The bloodshed started as the clan of Sheikh Ahmar began to act against the Yemeni government to enforce the interests of the clan and this Sheikh. After a longer period of a back and forth and a long stay in Saudi Arabia, Saleh finally agreed to the proposal of the Gulf Cooperation Council and left his post in Yemen. Nobody exactly knows the future of Yemen. What is only certain to say is that the near future won`t be easy for the country and that you are actually able to call Yemen a failed State. Yemen always was a â€Å"forgotten† country and the situation within the country is really getting worse.The Libyan revolution should not necessarily carry this title of a â€Å"revolution†. Viewing at Libya it is indeed clear that foreign countries supported those â€Å"rebels† to overthrow the ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Not to mention the clear statements about the events in Libya by independent journalists like Lizzie Phelan and others. Although both Western countries, France and Italy, extolled the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until early 2011 and both governments did everything in motion in order to impress the leader in oversee, it was above all France, which quickly forgot about the alliance and any agreements.It seems that the huge fear of an independent and more powerful Africa and a Libya with major projects was behind the intentions of the Europeans and the Americans. Some would al so say that this was behind the intentions of the West to destroy the structure and plans of this country. Not to mention the huge amount of important mineral resources, of course. The armed rioters were celebrated as rebels and supplied with arms and money by the West / NATO. First they helped to pass the Libyan city of Benghazi as a liberated ity to the rebels and afterwards they started a war, based on lies, to determine the fate of the finally murdered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. After Muammar Gaddafi’s assassination and the capture of his son, Saif al-Islam, it suddenly became very silent about the situation in Libya. It seems that they want to prevent, that the Western population learns something about this false revolution in Libya and above all, they want to create time to bury all corpses of innocent. So that there won`t turn up any unpleasant questions. The truth is sometimes very brutal. Libya is now exploited and finally ruled by al-Qaeda and CIA related people .Also people in Bahrain were at the beginning of this year encouraged by the events in other Arab countries and they went on the streets to protest. The majority Shiite population wanted to achieve more equal rights and above all, that the Bahraini opposition will lose their status as mute puppets in the government. In Bahrain, it was a brutal crackdown of the â€Å"peaceful demonstrations† by the government. And all words, which U. S. President Barrack Obama had about these violence by a regime, was a gentle criticism that the Bahraini ruling family should not act brutally against demonstrators. But this was not enough.The Bahraini ruling family asked for help with the crackdown of protesters and the friendly Saudis delivered tanks and their soldiers to â€Å"bring down† the demonstrations in the neighbouring state. After all, no one really outraged about that and no one spoke about a â€Å"humanitarian intervention† in Bahrain or even in Saudi Arabia. It`s a h ypocritically world, isn`t it? The reporting on the brutal events in Bahrain has been suddenly discontinued. They remained silent. The West and others did not want to risk, that the Bahraini ruling house loses its power. After all, the United States of America own an important military base in Bahrain.Furthermore, they couldn`t risk, that the Shiites in Bahrain are really successful in receiving more power and also co-determination in the country, because this would mean that the Iranian influence is increasing in Bahrain. Nothing, what the West really wants. If there will be a resume about the so-called Arab Spring in these days, it seems that nobody is going to mention Bahrain just as Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait The Saudi king tried to bribe his people with money, to buy it finally. But this strategy has not worked especially in the east of Saudi Arabia, on the border to Bahrain, where many Shiites live.Especially in this region a lot of Shiite people were constantly on the s treets to show their protest. By a new fatwa, which declared such demonstrations against the ruling family in Saudi Arabia as un-Islamic, this known ruling family has created an almost free rein in the suppression of the demonstrations. Of course, such a fatwa is used to ban protests against the ruling family in Saudi Arabia and to justify crackdowns of protests. Also such a fatwa does not seem to be very Islamic finally, but that’s nothing new in Saudi Arabia. The fool’s freedom for the Saudi ruling house is intensified by the looking away of the West.Who wants to lose Saudi Arabia as a partner in these days? After all, there are still many sources of oil which can be exploited. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is a good partner of the West in the fight against Iran – though this country is not necessarily a true friend and ally of the West. Saudi Arabia has a very strong interest to keep the power of Iran limited and to take care with every option that the power of I ran doesn`t increase. After all, it is often about the supremacy of Sunnis and Shiites in the Arab-Islamic world. Saudi Arabia isn’t interested in losing its (religious? power/influence to Iran. At the beginning of this year 2011 there were also demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and the police in Jordan. The people protested for a new government. The Jordanian prime minister was replaced. The frustration of the Jordanian people is still palpable and there, but you do not hear anything any longer about Jordan. They do not want to take the risk to overthrow a Sunni ruler – especially not in a country where the majority of the population is actually Palestinian. It would not be foreseeable, which reaction would be triggered.So while the West deliberately keeps silent about some regions, they are running on full speed when it’s about other countries which are not the â€Å"favourite children† of the United States, other countries and organ izations. One of the best examples is Syria. In Syria, the demonstrations began relatively late and were fuelled from outside. Not to mention the financially and other support for the Syrian opposition groups within and abroad by the United States – this support started already by the Bush administration and is still continued under the administration of Peace Nobel Prize-†owner† Barrack Obama.The demonstrations in Syria began peaceful, although foreigners were smuggled into the country to force violent situations within those protests. The peaceful protests were soon stopped because of this. The arming of several bunches of extremists, Islamists and criminals did the rest. The weapons were smuggled in quantities beyond the borders of the country – even before these demonstrations in Syria have started. A not to be underestimated role in the so-called â€Å"uprisings† in Syria may have played the comeback of an U. S. ambassador to the U. S. embassy ( Damascus) in February this year.Of course, this comeback of a questionable U. S. ambassador to Syria was also helpful with the policy against Syria This â€Å"Syrian unrest† is happening since nine months – although it is said that there is a horrible crackdown of protesters by the Syrian army and security forces. Not to mention that a real â€Å"unrest† looks different to the real events within Syria. But in favour of Western policy it is sure useful to sell these events in Syria to the Western population as a â€Å"peaceful unrest† of â€Å"peaceful demonstrators†, who just want freedom and democracy.The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be overthrown, without any foreseeing of the consequences. It is easy to see these attempts of overthrow the Syrian government and President in connection with the â€Å"Foreign Policy† of America, Israel and probably (mainly? ) AIPAC. It is written on the flags of America to protect Israel, which th e U. S. President Barrack Obama again made clear in the last days. Because of this and the powerful AIPAC lobby within the USA, they have on their agenda to destroy the so-called â€Å"Axis of Evil† – despite the probably consequences.An upcoming President of the United States needs a huge financially base to become president and he also needs the support of such Lobbies and positive opinions about his attitude to Israel. Real independence is sure something different. If you destabilize Syria, an important supply line between Iran and Hezbollah is interrupted. But the West has made up its plan without Syria, which still holds well against all sanctions, propaganda and lies of Western countries, organizations as the NATO and questionable media. But it is in the stars how long Syria will survive this.What is sold as â€Å"Arab Spring† is absolutely a huge lie. A lie, what is becoming increasingly obvious, especially after the Islamists won the non-independent & qu estionable elections in Egypt and Tunisia. A lie, which has the end, that the bloody crackdown on Shiite protesters in Bahrain and the situation and events in countries such as Jordan and Algeria are simply not included in the so-called retrospective analysis. A hypocritically sale of the so-called â€Å"Arab Spring† – a recapitulation, which is more than blind in one eye. A lie by which a war was fought in Libya (and there are still clashes, of course).With tens of thousands of casualties – with a big thanks to NATO and Western interests. Whether one can still speak of a â€Å"spring† is more than questionable. The Arab states became puppets of the West, even more than already in the past. The West has tried to use his influence and how this failed â€Å"Arab spring† will going to end will be sure turn out in future. The West still missed to reach all goals yet, because the government in Syria is still not collapsed and the majority of the Syrian population supports the President Bashar al-Assad and the promised reform process.Also the Iran is far too powerful to attack it, without fearing huge consequences. There still other Arab states where dictators are in power. The West just seems to be blind or is this behaviour a confirmation of the imperialistic lies and propaganda? If you want to sell the so-called â€Å"Arab spring† as a real pro-democracy movement of the Arab youth, then you should not keep simultaneously the dictators of the Gulf States, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco in office and power. The Arab Spring is a farce, which has plunged many countries into chaos.These countries will have to fight with the consequences for the next decades. The problems, why the Arab youth mainly protested on the streets, are still there – everywhere. The acts to solve these problems of the Arab youth and societies are not even started yet if you consider Iraq, which is served as an example of democracy in this region; yo u quickly recognize that this supposed democratic government is much more corrupt than the former dictator. How the Arab population and primarily the Arab youth are going to handle this is unclear.Maybe more â€Å"Arab springs†, maybe more victims and wars. Probably. One is clear – the Arab neighbours have been weakened and this is one of the main goals of Western interests, Imperialism and also of Zionism. It is said a picture explains better than 1000 words, but when picture muddle up with words then the following appears The Nature of the Arab Spring The Arab Spring is the name that has been given to the recent wave of protests and political unrest in the Arab region of the world.This phenomenon began with the Jasmine revolution in December 2010 that overthrew the authoritative Tunisian government and has spread to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Syria and Libya. The Arab Spring has exhibited a common demand for democracy and civil rights from the nations in volved and has already lead to revolutions in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and has caused political changes across many other Arab Countries. Shifting political attitudes and values regarding democracy amongst the Arabs can be seen in the following graphNote the Democracy preference and Reject strong Leader in the Middle-East column. This survey was taken a year before the Arab Spring. The data it shows predicts remarkably well the opinion of the Arab people and was a sign of things to come. The findings have undoubtedly been correlated with the events of 2011. What is ironic is the high preference for democracy in Middle East compared with Eurasia and the fact that Middle East & North Africa region had the lowest democracy index rating (3. 43, 2010) according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (2010).This highlights another great disparity between the desire of the people and the reality. Arab Spring and the youth It's often said revolutions eat their young, but rarely has it been such a feast. On the streets of Tunis and across the Middle East, the young revolutionaries have been taken aback. A movement that spread on Face book, Twitter and YouTube is today being run by a generation that lived without computers most of their lives. Now, if the Arab Spring fails to incorporate the younger generation, it could meet the fate that so many revolutions do – leaving out those who first sparked change TunisiaThe democratic process in Tunisia is very encouraging. Regime change took place almost with no victims compared with Egypt, Libya and Syria. The elections brought to government a moderate, enlightened Muslim party, which raised the fears of secularists but is trying by all means to assure its opponents that it is open to sharing power, accepting peaceful transition of power through the election polls and building a civil state. Morocco and Algeria The king of Morocco went far beyond that of Jordan. He does not have to deal with similar delicate internal elements .As a matter of fact, he started a process of internal conciliation several years ago, and trying to preempt a revolution in his country, he allowed a reformed constitution to be legislated in May 2010, and free democratic elections on Nov. 25 of that year. The Islamic movement won the majority as expected, but the change is taking place peacefully though seriously. The change will have an impact on Morocco’s relations with its neighboring Arab countries. A positive improvement in relations with Algeria is developing.If this continues, it will allow for opening the borders between the two countries, which have been closed for 17 years. The Arab Spring is changing the way of thinking among the new regimes. The political climate between Morocco and Algeria will have an impact on resolving the dispute over the Western Sahara. This may allow for the resurrection of the Maghreb Union, which was created in 1989 but crippled as a result of deteriorating relations between Algeria and Morocco. Elections are scheduled in Algeria for 2012, and the regime promises free and democratic elections.If this happens, and it most probably will, it will add a new dimension to the reform movement in North Africa. Syria The Syrian version over the protests is similar to that of the rest of the world in that the larger, general class of the country, in this case the Sunni Muslims, are protesting the rule of the elite sect, the Alawites in Syria – including the current President Bashar al-Assad, due to the apparent disparity between classes. The protests began in mid-March but have escalated as Assad backed down for original promises of peace-talks and reform and has begun to oppose the protests with force.The situation has since escalated as military members, once members of the elite sect, have begun to defect to the protestor's side, putting the country on the brink of civil war. These latest developments in Syria and the rest of the Arab Spring are important because they prove that international accountability can, in fact, produce large-scale change in a country. When enough people or media outlets that carry enough weight get behind even a single person that is willing to stand up to the injustice, enough momentum can be generated to cause institutional change.The average American must care because we are a part of that momentum. If the average citizen lacks care, the media lacks support over certain topics, and international accountability and pressure loses its power. The Arab Spring reminds us that individual people with the courage to generate change have power if a watching world is willing to respond. By staying up to date and active in the discussion of these events, the average American too can have a part in great change for millions around the world. Egypt What where the students’ goals? The Egyptian revolution began on the 25th of January.Tens of thousands of marchers occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against Preside nt Hosni Mubarak and his government. Egyptians had been growing angrier over a number of issues including government corruption, rising prices, poverty, and social seclusion. The major point leading to the revolution was the overthrowing of the Tunisian government by fellow Arabs. As the demonstrations in Egypt grew more violent, protestors rallied behind a common goal, the complete overthrow of the President Hosni and his government. How did they communicate? The protestors consisted mostly of young â€Å"tech-savvy† Egyptians.On January 28, in an attempt to prevent the protestors from communicating, the Egyptian government shut down internet access and some mobile phone services were shut down in certain areas. This only fuelled public anger with the government demonstrators begin using non-wireless dependent devices to communicate. Through fax machines, land lines, and radio broadcasts, the protestors have been able to still coordinate their movements and get information o ut of the country. What were their activities? Isolated pockets of protest erupted into country wide demonstration on January 28 as thousands protested the government in Tahrir Square.They were met with repressive opposition by police forces (Asser). The government responded to the protests by shutting down all internet providers in order to cut off communication among the protestors. This only fuelled public anger. Protestors turned to land lines connections, fax machines and in some cases dial up connections through foreign nations such as Sweden and France to spread information (Daily Mail Reporter). Quickly, police forces melted away and the army was called in to keep the peace. On February 1st the demonstrations in Tahrir Square had terminated into the â€Å"March of The Million. Looting soon became rampant through the streets and neighbourhoods set up armed night watch groups to protect their homes. The protestors had been relatively non-violent, but on February 2 pro-governm ent demonstrators marched in Tahrir Square to meet the anti-government forces. The Scene soon erupted into violence as both sides began throwing stones and petrol bombs. Since then, the anti-government Forces erected barricades around Tahrir Square and voiced their refusal to leave until President Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down from power (Asser). Were they successful? The Protestors were successful.Under mounting pressures, President Hosni Mubarak resigned from presidency, finally ending his nearly 30 year rule. Power was then given over to the military which began drafting a new government and constitution. What has happened most recently? Since the resignation of President Mubarak, power has been given to the military which has dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution. The military said that it would give up control after a parliamentary election in the fall and a referendum was released in March for the public to vote and ratify amendments to a new constitution.Si nce then however, the military has-been blamed for slowing the pace of democratizing the nation and remaining loyal to the core of President Mubarak’s government, leading to fresh protests in the recent months. In august, Hosni Mubarak was brought into court to be tried for the deaths of those who died in the protests. In October, the military released a statement saying that an election would be held for parliament in November followed by a separate election for president. The military also announced they would now retain power even after the elections in order to see the transfer to democracy through.The Parliament will play a subordinate role to the military council for the time being until the new government is fully established and a new constitution is ratified, a process which might last until 2013. At the moment the future of Egypt has promising potential, but is still unclear. What would I have done? I would have joined the protestors in the streets. I love that I li ve in a democracy and if I lived in country like Egypt that limited my rights, I know I would jump at a chance to change things.However, if I heard that looters were out, I think would go home and help be part of a neighbourhood watch to protect my friends and family because I feel that they should come first before government. Libya What were the goals of the students? The major protest credited with starting the revolution was a demonstration held in the city of Benghazi. The protestors were angry over the imprisonment of a human rights activist named Fethi Tarbel. Tarbel openly spoke out against the government, especially in regards to the 1996massacre at Abu Salim prison where more than a 1,000 prisoners were executed.The protestors were met by police forces that used water cannons to break up the crowds and eye witnesses reported that police were driving their cars at high speeds into the crowds. The situation quickly erupted into an anti-Gaddafi protest that spread to neighbou ring towns. Public anger over the nation’s rampant unemployment, poverty, civil rights violations, and lack of free speech fuelled the protests which demanded an end to Gaddafi and his regime. How did they communicate? Revolutionaries had to be careful about communicating online because the government was monitoring sites like face book, twitter and other social networking sites.Some groups adapted and began using Mawada, one of the biggest dating sites in the Middle East, to secretly recruit new members and communicate. They would pose as couples on Mawada and swap coded messages to each other disguised as poetry and love letters. For the most part however, Libyans did not embrace the internet for communication as Egypt and Tunisia did in their revolutions. According to Nasser Wedaddy, a civil rights outreach director for the American Islamic Congress, Libyans were very afraid of the government monitoring the internet.What got information spread around was actually people ou tside of Libya who, free from Libyan jurisdiction, were able to take what photos and videos were uploaded and spread them around the media, creating much of the support for the anti government forces. What were their activities? The protests that began in Benghazi evolved into a revolution and soon rebel forces consisting of civilian recruits and army personal that had defected made the city of Benghazi their base and quickly forced all security forces out of the city.Riots spread to neighbouring cities and rebel forces burned down police stations and seized local radio stations to spread propaganda against the government. Pro Gaddafi forces moved to open war with rebel forces, engaging in ground assaults and bombing raids. Anti-government rebels were forced to retreat from the better armed pro-Gaddafi forces. Due to attacks on civilian targets, the western nations of the world gave their support to the rebel cause and began launching air raids on government strong holds and militar y groups.With military advice and equipment provided by NATO forces, the rebels began slowly advancing on the capital of Tripoli and held the city of Misrata in western Libya which was under heavy siege. After months of little progress, the rebels pushed forward with a new offensive and captured Tripoli. The rebels established the National Transitional Council which was recognized as the new legitimate government of Libya. Rebel forces went on to capture the rest of the loyalist held cities which finally resulted in the death of Gaddafi. Were they successful?The rebel forces were successful. In their last major offensive, which took place from August 13to October 20, they captured the capital city of Tripoli and all other cities still held by loyalist forces and on the 20th of October Gaddafi was finally killed in a rebel attack on his strong hold Role of Women As the world hurries to analyze and understand the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011, numerous factors will be considered, most of them highly relevant and perhaps with more of a demonstrable effect on events than the levels of female subordination.It is for this very reason that it is necessary to conduct research into the effects of female subordination. There has been talk of women’s rights in the context of the uprisings of the different Middle Eastern and North African countries, but there needs to be real, in depth analysis of the relationship between the treatment of women and the changes occurring in societies as a whole. In analysis of the events that occurred in 2011, I expect there will be much made of the nature of the previous regime, the personal styles of each of the dictators, and the economic situations of the countries, including the role of resources.I strongly believe that the factors, as well as the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the threat of terrorism and the presence of oil, are factors that affect women acutely and intensely, and that we can learn more abo ut these different factors by examining them through the lens of the treatment of women. While it is difficult to establish whether it is a case of causation or not, there is a strong correlation between the treatment of women and the repression of society as a whole. Studying the way women are affected in these situations will provide further insight into societies and prospects for the future.I have proposed analysis of specific events with the aim of developing this line of analysis further. I propose examining the relationship between the subordination of women and the level of protest experienced in varying countries knowing that it is possible that it the relationship I have predicted may not be accurate, but secure in the knowledge that it will lead to a better understanding of the factors shaping the situation in the Muslim world and potential developments in the future.It is my hope that this research would contribute not only to the study of women’s rights and the i mportance of gender equality, but also to the field of democratization studies as we observe countries that uphold the rights of women making successful, peaceful transitions to consolidated democracy. The â€Å"Social media revolutions† We have seen so far what the most important phenomena on the Arab Internet were in the years before the revolutions. But when it comes to gathering people, fast-paced communication, and – ultimately – performing a revolution, both blogs and forums are fundamentally flawed.Here comes the unique role of modern â€Å"actual† social media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. , with their widespread and mass usage, free access and equal rights. Through social networking sites, a single message – regardless if it is a manifesto, the date, time and place for a gathering or a video showing defenceless citizens killed by the army – can reach thousands of people within minutes, each and every one of them being abl e to express their opinion on the matter, gives a suggestion or share an idea, everybody being able to become an activist and organizer.As far as it is possible – because they are in many cases very intertwined – I'll try to examine separately the role played by the different channels of the social media online ecosystem. Facebook Facebook is, probably, the biggest site on the Internet now – it is almost as frequently visited as Google’s search engine page; as of September 2011, it is confirmed to have as many as 800million accounts (which is more the 1/10 of the entire human population).Naturally, it is the most popular social networking platform in the Middle East and North Africa as well for example, Egypt alone has more than 7 million Facebook subscribers; in Tunisia they form a rough 1/5 of the population of the country, and that ratio is typical for most of the countries, with the exception of Libya, where there are only around 50,000 accounts (this fact can be attributed to the heavy censorship and restrictions by the country's previous regime).This figures are the main reason why Facebook was the most important communication tool in most of the Arab spring revolutions; even though it is impossible to say that the access to the social network per se has become the reason for the revolution, it is completely impossible to tell the story of events preceding and following the iconic January 25th 2011 without accepting the crucial role that Facebook played in them. The driving force of these events is much older, and it was encoded in the very nature of the Egyptian pre-revolution regime and social structure of the country.However, it is safe to say that the revolution itself was sparkled in, and with some reservations, by Facebook. That revolution revolves two â€Å"pages†, one created in protest to the murder of Khalid Said, tortured and killed by Egyptian police for posting materials exposing corrupt officials – â€Å"We are all Khalid Said†, which is English-speaking and for that reason has drawn to itself not only Arabs, but many western supporters of the Egyptian cause, and â€Å"The April 6 youth movement†, which is in Arabic; the second is far older and originally emerged around a protest action in 2008, but kept its popularity.Combined, at the time of the protest, the two major groups consisted of more than half a million people, which grew literally in a few days after they were founded. Basically, there were no events that directly preceded the protest of the 25th; there was just an idea for a peaceful demonstration that circulated through the community pages; the rally itself was simply the act of moving the anti-government protest from the online world to the physical one.That was the very role played by Facebook – it was where the protest brewed, and when it was ready to move on the streets, it managed to gather some 50,000 people on the very first day, due t o the good organization and widespread information on the social network.The follow-up of that event did not differ from any other people's uprising – more and more attended every next protest, clashes with the police and the army occurred, and, ultimately, the Mubarak government was overthrown. The important and new parts here are the methods of organization and spreading of information, which amplified and facilitated the process of overthrowing the regime.Egypt is the most clear example of the use of Facebook during the Arab Spring, it being the place where the ideas and organization grew; in Tunisia, for example, as the first country to start the chain of revolutions, no such simple and differentiated organization existed; of greater importance there was the online presence of the members of an informal group called â€Å"Takriz†, who have been doing their activist work online for the past 10 years, and just embraced Facebook as a new operational space, very useful when it comes to rapidly sharing information and reaching a broad audience.Members of this group even admit that the organizations of football club supporters were equally important to Facebook groups and â€Å"Facebook activism†. The crucial importance of Facebook is very well expressed in the words of one of the members of Takriz: â€Å"Facebook is pretty much the GPS for this revolution. Without the street there's no revolution, but add Facebook to the street and you get real potential. For that reason, when the drastic event which could be used as a pretext for mass protest activity happened – in this case, the self-inflammation of Muhammad Bouazizi – the organization was already laid, the contacts were already built and the signal for the protest was given, they grew extremely fast. Here, if not on the same scale, it served exactly the same role it did in Egypt – a public sphere in which to discuss new ideas and find followers, n organizational net work to coordinate common actions, as well as a source of inspiration, proof that the activist is not alone in his quest. In the Middle Eastern countries in which anti-government protests are now ongoing organization through Facebook is not such a common phenomenon: the only example is Syria, where the biggest protest group (in Arabic) has no less than 320. 000 members, and it is updated hourly with information, pictures and videos from the protests.In Bahrain and Yemen the groups are negligibly small and not much visited; in these cases the fact must be kept in mind that the revolutions here are more isolated and involve much less people than those in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, and the use of Facebook is not so widespread, so the need for an online public sphere is not so acute. Twitter Twitter is a completely different social network; where Facebook has complexity and many different ways to communicate and organize, Twitter has only one – simplified messages shared with the entire world, no preferences given.While Facebook can hold an entire manifesto, Twitter is limited by its 140 characters for a single message (called â€Å"tweet†); it has no pictures or video service by its own but is forced to use third-party applications to achieve that functionality. For these reasons, even though it is the second biggest social network in the world, it has only a fraction of Facebook’s user count. The Arab countries make no exception: there are only 5 million Twitter users, and almost half of them are from the UAE that is the primary reason why it was never used as a primary tool for organizing protests or gathering supporters â€Å"in the field†.Yet, Twitter played an equally important role in the uprisings. Due to its simplicity, this network is extremely well-suited to use through smart phones and mobile devices; usually the content of user profiles is updated on hourly, if not minutely basis. For that reason, while Facebook was used in the long-term planning and announcements, Twitter was the â€Å"in-the-field† tool, which allowed fine coordination between the protesters. Furthermore, an even more important role played by Twitter was bringing information on the protests outside the countries where the uprisings took place.One of the first things the regimes did when the revolutions started was to suppress all possible media channels and prevent the proper covering of the events. For example, the reporters and crew of Al-Jazeera, which is deemed to be the biggest, and actually one of the few truly independent broadcasting media in the Arab World, were forbidden to enter the country the moment when the unrests started, and for that reason the television had to rely entirely on a network of â€Å"credible and reliable† people, who had previously assisted the media, tweeting and updating information from the scene of events on minutely basis.Thus, these â€Å"twitters† turned out to be the key so urce of information for the covering of the protests and the development of the events; in Tunisia, for example, reporters of many media were allowed free passage only after president Bin Ali stepped down. Finally, Twitter was also the place where all the supporters of the Arab Spring uprisings throughout the world were exchanging news, opinions and analyses; #Egypt (with reached over a 1 ? million mentions only in the first three months of 2011) was the most used hash tag for 2011, which denotes the events in Egypt as the most discussed topic worldwide.So, Twitter was also the place where the news was spread, and keeps being spread even today. It also served as platform of the liberation campaigns, which were previously carried mainly by blogs – a fresh example comes from October 2011 when Twitter was the main space where the campaign â€Å"Alaa took place†; it called for the liberation of an Egyptian blogger who was â€Å"held for questioning† by the temporary military rule for more than two weeks, but at the end was released under popular pressure. YouTubeThere is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words; if that is true, then a video is worth a thousand pictures. There is a reason why YouTube's own search engine is second only to Google’s in terms of daily searches, and videos can sometimes reach over a few million views in a few days – the so-called â€Å"viral video† phenomenon. Video materials from the period before and during the Arab Spring period make no exception to this rule: they accumulated a lot of attention. Technically, we can separate the videos from the period into two different categories.One is what I would call â€Å"propagandist† videos: usually very graphic videos, depicting actions of the regimes, like torture, murder of civilians, bribery etc. , which were distributed and uploaded by activists aiming to raise awareness of both the Arab public and the world audience about these issues ; an iconic example here is the story of Khalid Said himself ,who was dragged out by the authorities from an Internet cafe, while he was uploading a video showing a government official taking bribe.Often, such videos were driving force powerful enough to organize mass protests, unite and focus the will of the crowds – a good example of that is Syria, where, in the end of May, a video was uploaded to YouTube showing â€Å"The corpse of a 13-year-old boy who appears to have been sexually and physically tortured by Syrian security officials†. On the very next day, mass protests of women and children broke out in the entire country, ultimately leading to a counterattack by the Syrian army, which took 15victims, and thus escalating the conflict.A similar example comes from Tunisia: a video from the days following the beginning of the revolution, showing â€Å"Kasserine's hospital in chaos, desperate attempts to treat the injured, and a horrifying image of a dead you ng man with his brains spilling out, filmed by a medical student working in the hospital. The footage was so graphic that according to a member of Takriz â€Å"That video made the second half of the revolution† Rallying large number of people shocked both by the state of the patients and care offered in the state hospital and the brutality of the government attempts to suppress the protests.The popular videos from Egypt represent the other case, or what I call â€Å"journalistic â€Å"videos: footage from the protest itself, used as a channel of spreading information about the uprisings outside Egypt itself, which have gained relatively big popularity on YouTube; for example, a hobbyist video of the first day of protest has been watched over 600. 000 times, and even simple political analyses of the current situation made inside the country have reached over 300. 000 views.Such videos were also the main source of footage for many media, since those were prohibited from enter ing the â€Å"hot zones† or the countries whatsoever and taking any recordings of the events. That also worked the other way around – YouTube was the only way protesters could access the news coverage and analyses made by various media, which were otherwise banned in their countries, for example Al-Jazeera or BBC Miscellaneous The three websites discussed above are the channels with the biggest significance for the Arab Spring; it is impossible to enumerate all the various sites and connections used during the revolutions.Photographers, both media-employed and hobbyists, shared photos on sites like Flickr and 500px; discussions were carried out on boards like 4chan, and personal communication was carried out via peer-to-peer online services like Skype etc. Conclusion for Social Media While reviewing the role of social media in the Arab Spring, one fact is obvious – it is an over-exaggeration to state that â€Å"the media is the massage†. Regardless of the amplifying effect that social media gave to all that took place, the events were invariably based on a real-world fact which reverberated in the virtual space.Still, there are at least three main functions which social media performed during the Arab revolutions 1. ) Public sphere – it was the place where ideas were discussed, information was spread and through which public awareness was raised in the first place 2. ) Organizational space – it was where the uprisings were planned and an invaluable organizational tool during the protests; 3. ) Information source – it was the only way information could â€Å"leave† the countries and reach the world publicity and conventional media.The significance of social media consolidated by the fear with which they were treated by the pre-revolution regimes. Each of them, at some point, tried to sever the access to such sites, ultimately blocking the entire Internet access or even stopping cell phone service (in the c ase of Egypt). The regimes were afraid of a medium which they could not control, and, in the end, their fear turned out to be well-grounded: the dictators were ousted by the wrath of their peoples, â€Å"amplified through Facebook†.My personal opinion is that the Arab Spring is not going to be the last â€Å"Social network revolution†. There is a good reason why the leading figure of the unrests now taking place in Russia after the parliamentary elections, Alexei Navalny, is a well-known oppositional blogger, and the organization of the protest took place in Facebook; so did that of the currently popular â€Å"Occupy†¦ † movements happening all over the world. Who knows where the opposition is brewing the next uprising in their twitter personal messages†¦ The Ultimate Conclusion The Arab Spring was not a surprise.The surprise was why it took so long to come. Many reasons came together to produce these drastic developments: the refusal of the regimes to accept the principle of the transition of power through elections and their insistence on a monopoly on power, as well as corruption, poverty, unemployment and the marginalization of youth and ethnic groups. The young generation, which represents 70% of the population, was the common element in leading the revolutions in these countries, whereas the aged ruling leaders of these countries belonged to only 7% of the population.And finally, the collective awareness, as witnessed in Tunisia when a young man protested by setting himself on fire and when a youngster died in a police station in Egypt brought masses to the streets. Arab dictatorships ruled with an iron fist and disgraced their own people to the extent that their arrogance went far enough for them to believe that they could pass their reign by inheritance to their sons. Their countries’ resources were exploited as their own and were shared between their family members, relatives and friends, while their people were l eft in poverty and underdevelopment.The U. S. and Europe knew the reality of these regimes, but for their own interests cooperated with them and turned their eyes from their severe violations of human rights and democratic values. The Arab Spring cannot be compared with the European Spring in Eastern European countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Eastern Europe’s culture, mentality and proximity to Western European countries enabled a smooth change and transition there, while these elements do not exist in the rebelling Arab countries.We all know the results: Arab dictators in Yemen, Libya and Syria declared, â€Å"It’s either me or to hell with them† and launched a war against their own people. The war in Syria is still on; no one can predict its results, but one thing we can be sure of: The people broke the barrier of fear and came out in a massive protest that will not be turned back. Masses went out to the streets and public squares in a peaceful protest and civil disobedience. But the rulers confronted it with excessive power and violence, which led to a violent reaction from protestors, pushing some of them to seek foreign intervention.No one can predict where these revolutions are heading. They all are speaking about democracy, free elections, dignity, justice, human values, etc. But translating this into reality is another issue. So far, Libya, Yemen and Egypt have proven that this will not be an easy task. The U. S. and Western European countries fear a real change in the rebelling Arab countries which may threaten their interests and concerns, and are trying to contain these revolutions.The fact that these Arab countries control the world’s largest oil reserve, located in a central strategic junction between the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and that any change may threaten the future existence of Israel can explain this. Many fears are expressed now by Arab intellectual circles about the fate of these revolutions which raised so many hopes in the beginning but soon faded as result of bloodshed, destruction and failure to make the transition to democracy smoothly and within a reasonable amount of time. The Arab Spring may not blossom soon.Good governance, transparency, democracy and rule of law have not been realized yet. Hatred and suspicion of the intentions of Western countries is growing. Conspiracy theories have become a fashion. Past experiences with the West and its relations with the former regimes are not forgotten but instead strengthens the fears that what’s going on is a new return of colonialism with new faces and new regimes. The Arab people have tried Western methods and values, and their bitter memories about their past cooperation with the former regimes are still fresh. The U.S. , the supposed leader of democracy, is losing its credibility due its double standard policy— calling for democracy and human rights for one people and denying it to another, by supporting the Israeli occupation and denying the Palestinians’ right to statehood. The recent position in the Security Council against Palestine’s membership in the UN is used as strong evidence of the U. S. ’ biased position against the Palestinians. The Arab revolutions are inspiring revolutions worldwide — even against the corruption and failure of the Western economic system.The double standard policy of the West, together with the failure of the Western system, discourages Arabs from adopting Western values, and has made them focus on the necessity of change. This change, for many people, could be achieved only by adopting the modern pragmatic Islamic approach. The Islamists seem to be the future. Whatever the U. S. or Europe may try to do to hinder this development, it will not succeed. Replacing the dictators of the past with new ones with the blessings of the West will not survive for long. The masses have learned their lesson and wil l not give up until they achieve their rights. S

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Seismic Base Isolation Technology From Okumura Corporation Research Proposal

Seismic Base Isolation Technology From Okumura Corporation - Research Proposal Example Construction companies are required to meet building specifications by authorities to ensure safety in times of seismic activity. This threat to business may be transformed into an opportunity to achieve and maintain market leadership by Platinum Builders Inc.  through importation of the best technology against seismic activity; base isolation devices, from Okumura Corporation in Japan. The challenges that exist in international trade especially in terms of communication and legal considerations are all surmountable. Base isolation devices from Okumura Corporation are of high quality and meet the accreditation standards in Japan hence they are safe for import. They assure safety, low insurance charges and continuity in businesses and livelihoods; qualities that a construction company should aim to be associated with. It is recommended therefore that Platinum Builders Inc. seizes this opportunity to develop into an industry leader in construction. Introduction Leading companies strategically position themselves to achieve and maintain market leadership through SWOT analyses. Spotting opportunities for growth in the environment is an important aspect of business strategy especially in the construction industry where differentiation and overall cost leadership may be difficult to achieve in the bid to generate and maintain the competitive advantage. Platinum Builders Inc. may, however, find that an analysis of its threats presents an opportunity for growth when an international perspective is drawn into consideration. Background: Platinum Builders Inc. and the California Constructions Industry Outlook The outlook of the building  construction industry in California tends to incline towards considerations of seismic activity in the construction of structures. This is understandable considering the fact that the State of California lies in a region that is earthquake prone.

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Utility and Demand Theory - Term Paper Example   Marginal utility is an important concept when analysing the demand theory, marginal utility refers to the additional utility derived from the consumption of one extra unit of a good.  Ã‚  From the above chart and table it is evident that total utility increases but at a decreasing rate, this is because there is a decline in the marginal utility or the additional utility gained from the consumption of one extra unit of a good.The utility theory is based on a number of assumptions and they include the following: I. Consumers aim at maximising their utility level. Consumers will prefer more of a good than less. When we have good Y and X the consumer will prefer X to Y or Y to X.IV. If the consumer prefers Y to X, and that he or she prefers X to K then the customer prefers Y to K.V. The consumers experience diminishing marginal utility when the number of units of a good increases  The number of units of goods consumed will be determined by the level of income, the level of income will determine the maximum number of units that can be purchased and therefore this aids in the development of a budget line. The opportunity cost will also determine the number of units consumed of a good, and finally, the number of units consumed will be determined by the level of utility derived. (Neumann, J, 2000)Given two goods Y and X and given that the price of X = 10 and price of Y = 15, also given that the level of income is 150 then the budget line will be determined as follows.

Instructional leadership and Curriculum Assignment

Instructional leadership and Curriculum - Assignment Example The comparison holds true both for the student in the same school and in different schools. The implication of this fact may be lack of proper access to relevant resources by the poor students. The race of student also affects the curriculum and schooling. There is an observation that the African-American and the Latin America students performs poorly than the Native American students. The white students technically shows higher comprehension of science subject, have a higher comprehension ability and are basically brighter than both African and Latin America students The social class is also major factor in schooling and curriculum. For instance, different teachers, specifically music teachers holds themselves in a higher social class than the other teacher. They view the subject as already standard and thus no need to further standardize it (Carnoy, Elmore, & Siskin, 2003). In comparison of the Urban District Schools and other school, the urban schools have raised test scores as compared to the other schools. The effect is increase in the number of school drop outs in such schools. The consequence of such is evident, for example, in New York and Texas. In order to contribute to the positive and upward achievement of all students, the districts should embrace and fully comply with the standard based accountability policy that takes into consideration the potential of students from secondary schools (Porter, Polikoff & Smithson, 2009). Porter, A. C., Polikoff, M. S., & Smithson, J. (2009). Is there a de facto national intended curriculum? Evidence from state content standards. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31(3),

Critical Thinking for Managers Questions Assignment

Critical Thinking for Managers Questions - Assignment Example 2. Peyton Manning makes millions of dollars a year for throwing a football. Why does he make so much more than teachers who educate our children? Why does he make more than doctors who could save your life? In a capitalist world, the demand and demand for a product dictates its price. In this case, it is evident that the demand for entertainment by consumers from people extraordinary skills like Peyton Manning is high while the supply is short. Hence, Peyton Manning and other athletes who provide entertainment with extraordinary skills earn more than teachers and doctors whose skills are not as extraordinary as athletes’ skills. Milk is strategically placed at the back of a convenient store by virtue of the product being a necessity item whose consumption is high. Hence, placing milk at the front in a convenient store cannot tempt consumers to buy other products since they will only pick the necessities and leave the convenient store without spending more than they would if they shopped on impulse. Conversely, convenient stores have the â€Å"pay at the pump† option in order save the time and money of the customers who would carry out extra shopping if they were to pay inside the convenient store. These two answers are not consistent since one promotes impulse buying while the other does not. With the rising cost of health, the company created a corporate wellness program in order to motivate workers to stay healthy. However, there was complacency on the part of the employees in adopting the wellness program, which witnessed a few employees following the training regime. These two outlets put blue jeans on sale in order to attract customer who eventually buy other brands of jeans. In this case, these outlets recognize the role of conducting a sale in one commodity will eventually attract customers who will not only purchase the blue jeans on sale, but also purchase other commodities that the outlets sold. Pantyhose are not

Today's College Students Are Serious Minded When It Comes To Academics Essay

Today's College Students Are Serious Minded When It Comes To Academics - Essay Example In this topic the main problem says that today’s students are serious minded when it comes to academics. Many dictionaries define academics as a part of higher education. Hence it is strongly argued that academics does not relate to the education alone that the students receive within colleges, it can also be linked to other curricular activities that are being offered within an large educational institute such as a University. Author says, that nowadays academics become very challenging and it is difficult to obtain an admission in well renowned Universities because of very high concurention between applicants. Autor refers to the Ivy League. This hard competition leads to the shifted focus towards excessive education from students. However, students became far more serious in academics. Reduced job opportunities in the global market have also led to the aumentation of the student’s interest in the proceeding of further academics in universities/colleges. Author agrees with the statement that nowadays grades/ GPA has a great impact for every student with respect to scholarships and future employment prospects after graduation. Grades and GPA’s are associated with scholarships and jobs. If a student is unable to attain a prescribed level of GPA, he may not be entitled to scholarships offered within a university. These scholarships are considered really helpful because of the fact that education has become really expensive in recent years and there is a reduction in the number of people who can actually afford to get their children enrolled at the current surcharge offered by universities.

Philosophy And Modernity Essay Example for Free

Philosophy And Modernity Essay The conflict between Philosophy and Modernity is a never ending topic. Each of the terms is individually supported by the corresponding generations. But those who support modernity, at least at some point of life will surely support philosophy. That is the power of philosophy. Let us take a mishap as example that shows us how these two issues conflict with each other. The terrorist attacks of September 11 still haunt the minds of Americans unnerved by the enormity of the crime. We need to know what could have inspired someone to do such a thing. It is bad enough to experience such a monstrous event; to feel it is inexplicable, an act with no conceivable motive, only adds to the sense of unreality. What is the source of this hostility? What ideas, values, and attitudes give rise to it? Lewiss observation contains the seeds of the two leading schools of thought about the answer to this question. Both schools place Islamist hatred of the USA in a larger cultural and historical context. Both are plausible, and in many respects they are compatible. But they differ in what they see as the essential terms of the ongoing conflict, and in their implications for the future. One school holds that the war on terror reflects an underlying conflict between Islam and the West as civilisations. Each is united, as a civilisation, by the loyalty of its people to a narrative of their past, a common religion, and shared ideas, values, and ways of life. The current tensions between Islam and the West are only the latest of the conflicts that have occurred over the centuries. The USA is a particular object of hostility now because it is the most powerful Western country. Those who reject modernity are to be found in every nation and civilization. The second school holds that terrorists hostility is directed at the principles and values of the West. On this view, what they hate is not the West as a society or a civilisation per se, but rather the culture of modernity. Modernity was born in the West, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it is not inherently tied to the history or customs of any one society. It is a constellation of universal values the secular culture of reason, science, individualism, progress, democracy, and capitalism that have spread worldwide in different forms and to varying degrees. By the same token, those who reject modernity, who fear and wish to destroy it, are to be found in every nation and civilisation. And invariably they hate the USA as the fullest, most persuasive, and thus most dangerous embodiment of that culture. There are as many battles within civilisations as between them. Muslims saw military success as a mark of Allahs favour. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a prominent Iranian philosopher and historian, observes, During the first twelve centuries of its historic existence, Islam lived with the full awareness of the truth and realisation of Gods promise to Muslims that they would be victorious if they followed His religion. Such verses as There is no victor but God, which adorns the walls of the Alhambra, also adorned the soul and mind of Muslims. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, the tide turned. The scientific and industrial revolutions vastly increased the wealth and the military power of the West. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Middle East was taken over by European nations and broken up into colonies and protectorates. Today, despite decolonisation, the countries of this region remain poor and backward by comparison not only with the West but also with the booming economies of East Asia. Oil revenue has showered wealth on the region, but economic growth has been held back by layers of regulations, wasteful government enterprises and investments, not to mention corruption. Because of their strategic location, Middle Eastern countries were pawns of the Cold War but were rarely true partners or friends of either power. Now, Muslims feel they are at the mercy of a global economy driven by Western capitalism. They feel invaded by Western popular culture, which they regard as morally decadent. Israel is the salt in all these wounds a nation of people who came from the West, tore a patch of land from Islam, turned it into a vibrant, wealthy economy, and acquired the military prowess to defeat its Arab neighbours. The result of all this, is a feeling of humiliation a growing awareness, among the heirs of an old, proud, and long-dominant civilisation, of having been overtaken, overborne, and overwhelmed by those whom they regarded as their inferiors. Having tried to take on Western ways, with dismal results, they are increasingly drawn to the idea that the solution is a return to the pure Islamic faith that reigned in the days of their former greatness. The clash-of-civilisations school doubtless represents part of the truth of the matter. But it is not the whole truth, and not the fundamental truth. Its chief shortcoming is that it exaggerates the extent of agreement in outlook, values, ideas, and loyalties among people who share the common history and culture that define a civilisation. In fact, there are as many battles over these issues within civilisations as between them especially in the West. The hijackers target was a temple of modernity. At the level of fundamental philosophical principles, however, the Enlightenment period was much more important as a turning point in the West, and in a way created a new civilisation. Anti-modernism Modernity was born in the West in a radical transformation of its past. The world of the Middle Ages, built around the world-view of Christian Scholasticism, was a society of religious philosophy, feudal law, and an agricultural economy. Out of this soil, the Renaissance and Enlightenment produced a substantially new society of science, individualism, and industrial capitalism. When we examine the wider context of Islamic terrorism, it is clear that a hatred of modernity is its driving force. The cultural foundation of this new society, if we state it as a set of explicit theses, was the view that reason, not revelation, is the instrument of knowledge and arbiter of truth; that science, not religion, gives us the truth about nature; that the pursuit of happiness in this life, not suffering in preparation for the next, is the cardinal value; that reason can and should be used to increase human wellbeing through economic and technological progress; that the individual person is an end in himself with the capacity to direct his own life, not a slave or a child to be ruled by others; that individuals have equal rights to freedom of thought, speech, and action; that religious belief should be a private affair, tolerance a social virtue, and church and state kept separate; and that we should replace command economies with markets, warfare with trade, and rule by king or commissar with democracy. It is therefore misleading to call our civilisation Christian, even though that remains the largest religion in terms of adherents. The West may still be a culture of Christians, by and large, but it is not a Christian culture anymore. It is a secular culture. And that is what the Islamists hate most about us. The al-Qaeda hijackers did not target the Vatican, the capital of Western Christianity whose leaders launched the Crusades. They did not attack the British Foreign Office, which directed colonial policy in the Middle East after World War I. They attacked the World Trade Centre, the proud symbol of engineering audacity and global commerce, where businesses from scores of countries (including many Muslim countries) worked in freedom and peace, creating wealth and investing in material progress. Their target, in short, was a temple of modernity. The culture of modernity is not a Western good but a human good Modernity meant people changing their relationship with both the world and themselves. For the first time, through science, they realised that many things, such as certain weather patterns or illnesses, were not a matter of fate. The social order no longer seemed impossible to change either. Revolutions could sweep away despots and people could improve their living standards. The threat posed by the Islamist terrorists derives not from their Islamic background but from the ideas, values, and motivations they share with anti-modernists everywhere-including in the West. In that regard, they have not merely assaulted our civilisation. They have attacked civilisation as such. Civilisation is the condition a society attains when it emerges from prehistoric barbarism and begins to apply intelligence systematically to the problems of human life, by creating technologies of production like farming, technologies of cognition like writing, and technologies of social order like cities and law. The culture of modernity is one of these permanent contributions the most important. Though Western in origin, it is not a Western good but a human good. It has vastly expanded our knowledge of the world; brought a vast increase in wealth, comfort, safety, and health; and created social institutions in which humans can flourish. Anti-modernism is not simply loyalty to pre-modern stages of civilisation on the part of people who have not yet discovered reason and individualism. It is a postmodern reaction by people who have seen modernity and turned against it, who hate and wish to destroy it. This is a profoundly anti-human outlook, and there can be no compromise with it. As we take aim at the terrorists who have attacked us, we must also take intellectual aim at the ideas that inspire them.

The Riemann Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

The Riemann Hypothesis Essay The Riemann Zeta Function is defined by the following series: Here s is a complex number and the first obvious issue is to find the domain of this function, that is, the values of s where the function is actually defined. First of all, it is a well known result in calculus that, when s is real, the series is convergent for s1 (see [2]). For example, a simple application of the theory of Fourier series allows to prove that . For s=1, the series diverges. However, one can prove that the divergence is not too bad, in the sense that: In fact, we have the inequalities: Summing from 1 to , we find that and so which implies our claim. As a function of the real variable s,   is decreasing, as illustrated below.   for s real and 1 The situation is   more complicated when we consider the series as a function of a complex variable. Remember that a complex number is a sum , where   are real numbers (the real and the imaginary part of z, respectively) and , by definition. One usually writes   There is no ordering on the complex numbers, so the above arguments do not make sense in this setting.   We remind that the complex power   is defined by and Therefore, the power coincides with the usual function when s is real. It is not difficult to prove that the complex series is convergent if Re(s)1. In fact, it is absolutely convergent because where |z| denotes as usual, the absolute value: .   See [2] for the general criteria for convergence of   series of functions. Instead, it is a non-trivial task to prove that the Riemann Zeta Function can be extended far beyond on the complex plane: Theorem.   There exists a (unique) meromorphic function on the complex plane, that coincides with , when Re(s)1. We will denote this function again by We have to explain what ‘meromorphic’ means. This means that the function is defined, and holomorphic (i.e. it is differentiable as a complex function), on the complex plane, except for a countable set of isolated points, where the function has a ‘pole’. A complex function f(z) has a pole in w if the limit   exists and is finite for some integer m. For example,   has a pole in s=1. It is particularly interested to evaluate the Zeta Function at negative integers. One can prove the following: if k is a positive integer then where the Bernoulli numbers   are defined inductively by: Note that : the Bernoulli numbers with odd index greater than 1 are equal to zero. Moreover, the Bernoulli numbers are all rational. Of course, the number   is not obtained by replacing s=1-k in our original definition of the function, because the series would diverge; in fact, it would be more appropriate to write   where the superscript * denotes the meromorphic function whose values are defined, only when Re(s)1, by the series . There is a corresponding formula for the positive integers: 2 It is a remarkable fact that the values of the Riemann Zeta Function at negative integers are rational. Moreover, we have seen that   if n0 is even. The natural question arises: are there any other zeros of the Riemann Zeta Function? Riemann Hypothesis. Every zero of the Riemann Zeta Function must be either a negative even integer or a complex number of real part =  ½. It is hard to motivate this conjecture in an elementary setting, however the key point is that there exists a functional equation relating   and   (in fact, such a functional equation is exactly what is needed to extend   to the complex plane). The point   is the center of symmetry of the map It is also known that   has infinitely many zeros on the critical line Re(s)=1. Why is the Riemann Zeta function so important in mathematics? One reason is the strict connection with the distribution of prime numbers. For example, we have a celebrated product expansion: where the infinite product is extended to all the prime numbers and Re(s)1. So, in some sense, the Riemann Zeta function is an analytically defined object, encoding virtually all the information about the prime numbers. For example, the fact that   can be used to prove Dirichlet’s theorem on the existence of infinitely many prime numbers in arithmetic progression. The product expansion implies that   for every s such that Re(s)1. In fact, we have: and it is not difficult to check that this product cannot vanish. The following beautiful picture comes from Wikipedia. Bibliography [1] K. Ireland, M. Rosen, A Classical Introduction to Modern Number Theory, Springer, 2000 [2] W. Rudin, Principles of Mathematical Analysis, McGraw Hill, 1976 [3] W. Rudin, Real and Complex Analysis, , McGraw Hill, 1986

Does Life Have Meaning?

Does Life Have Meaning? Danny Irwin   Since the beginning of time people have been asking the universal question of What is the meaning of life? Answers from people today may vary greatly from that of thousands of years ago. However, two key philosophers, Camus and Nagel, have both contributed greatly to what we believe gives life value. Nagels stance is that no matter what, we can always doubt that the world has any intrinsic value, or that everything we do matters. Camus, however, focuses on the idea of the confrontation between mans demand for meaning/sense/value/rationality and the worlds intrinsic lack of these same values. Personally, I side with Camus and his beliefs due to the fact that each decision we make on a day to day basis is somehow correlated with each demand. One of the key differences between Camus and Nagel is Camus maintains in The Myth of Sisyphus that the absurd arises because the world is unable to meet our demands for meaning. This suggests that the world might satisfy those demands if it were different. This idea depends on not only people but the world, similar to the idea of Sir I Exist. One cannot be without the other. If people did not demand meaning, or if the world wasnt meaningful enough there wouldnt be any absurd. Then if you look at Nagel, his absurd is entirely contained within people, and the fact that people can always doubt that the world is meaningful, so, therefore, the absurd is an essential fact to that of human existence. While each viewpoint is important, I am more interested in the response that each philosopher, especially Nagel, has to the absurd. Camus response to the absurd is naturally, rebellion: the idea of being honest with yourself about the true meaninglessness of the world, but not giving up on your mandate for meaning. This, however, doesnt erase the absurd nothing short of suicide can do that but instead, it allows us to live with honesty, dignity, and integrity. Then there is Nagels response, irony. Which, to me, appears that it is simply an attempt at Camus rebellion, but it falls short and ends up amounting to philosophical suicide. Which can be explained by two opposing tendencies that lie within ones self. Nagel argues that the sense of the absurd result from two opposing tendencies within us: To start, we take our lives, or at least activities and projects within lives, seriously, and we cannot avoid doing so. On the flip side, we are also capable of undermining the reasons for any of our projects. Nothing we do can be justified from a point of view radically outside human interests. Nagel condemns the idea of rebellion for being melodramatic and histrionic. He compares it to shaking ones fist at the world and deems it pointless, nothing more than a ridiculous spectacle.   What does Nagel then recommend? When discussing life through his eyes Nagel ultimately says that, if there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that doesnt matter either, and we can approach our absurd lives with irony instead of heroism or despair (Nagel, The Absurd) However, that begs the question what is irony? Is it not in and of itself detachment and denial, essentially saying what one doe snt mean? This is what irony looks like, knowing that you may have absolutely no meaning in life, but you continue on your merry way with a grin on your face. Irony is taking life too seriously while also laughing at yourself because you are fully aware of the fact that you are taking it too literally. This is the kind of philosophical suicide that Camus would consider to be a humiliated reason. Irony attempts to weaken, and even, therefore, eliminate the fundamental demand for meaning. Irony reduces the demand for meaning into a simple human desire, which can then be modified or suppressed, at least to some degree. However, meaning is not a desire; but instead is a need. We need meaning almost like we need simple physiological human needs like food and water. We cant simply laugh off meaninglessness and say, I didnt really need objective meaning anyway. That doesnt solve the problem of the absurd as Nagel says it does. That escapes the problem. To be ironic is to not be honest with oneself. While Nagel and Camus each have their own point of view on the world, I believe that Camus perspective is far more logical and is better interpreted for everyday life.