Economics Commentary - Russian Quota on US Pork and Indian Government Tax on cars Essay Example for Free

Economics Commentary Russian Quota on US Pork and Indian Government Tax on cars Essay A quota is a physical limit on the number or value of goods that can be imported into a country. This is one of the few protectionist measures that countries in order to protect their own domestic industries and is a measure that has been taken up by Russia, as seen in the article. Russia has reduced its quota for American pork from 750,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes. This is because Russia wishes to become more self-sufficient in producing pork and thus improve their pork industry. As said in the article, this will be a big blow to the American producers of pork who already trying to recover from poor demand and prices, as well as high input costs. The effect of this reduced quota can be seen in Fig.1 below. As can be seen, the quota has been decreased from QD2-QS2 at a value of 750,000 tonnes to QD3-QS3 at a value of 600,000 tonnes. The deadweight loss (represented by the shaded area) has, as a result, increased from ABC to EBD and this is partly where the problem of quotas lies. The shaded area represents the inefficiency of the domestic producers and by decreasing the number of US exports coming in, they are increasing the reliance on domestic producers who may be more inefficient in comparison to the American producers. What could be potentially seen is an increased loss of world efficiency as the domestic producers would produce pork for higher minimum revenue than the American producers. Furthermore, QD3-QD2 tonnes of pork are not now consumed (150,000 tonnes) and this is a reduction in the consumer surplus, which is the extra utility gained by consumers from paying a price that is lower than that which they are prepared to pay. However, there are advantages to the quota for domestic producers. The initial quota allowed domestic producers to supply 0-QS1 and QS2-QD2 tonnes of pork at a price of WP+Quota. This quota meant that their revenue had increased but they will see their revenue increased further with the implementation of the lower quota. This is because they will be able to supply 0-QS1, QS2-QD2 and QS3-QD3 at a price of WP+ Decreased Quota. Foreign producers will now supply their quota of QS1-QS2 and receive a price of WP+ Decreased Quota. This should usually result in a fall in income, which would be detrimental to the American producers who are already suffering economic difficulties, but in theory this does not have to be. An alternative option that could be used by the Russian government is a tariff. This is a tax that is charged on imported goods would cause the world supply curve to shift upwards because it would be placed on the American producers as opposed to the Russia producers. The effect of a tariff can be seen below. The advantage of a tariff is that whilst the deadweight loss (shaded in red) of caused by the tariff would be the same as the one caused by a quota, the Russian government would receive a revenue equal to C. Furthermore, the revenue of domestic, Russian producers would increase by A+B+C, though the revenue of foreign, American producers will fall by C. However, there will be a fall in consumer surplus by D, due to the extra pork that will not be purchased resulting in a deadweight loss of welfare. However, as stated before, this would be the same if a quota is used. Furthermore, the implementation of a tariff is less likely to lead to the creation of a black market. This is because with an import quota there is a chance that there will be massive shortages of pork. Therefore, criminal organisations would see smuggling pork as a lucrative business opportunity. However, with a tariff such shortages are unlikely as it does not set a limit on the number of products imported. That being said, if a tariff is set at an unreasonably high rate then there is still a chance that a black market will open up. Nevertheless either form of protectionism has its disadvantages. Firstly, it leads to less choice for consumers and the lowered competition will see domestic firms become inefficient without any incentive to minimise costs. Moreover, protectionism distorts comparative advantage and this leads to the inefficient use of resources thus leading to reduced specialisation and a reduced potential level of the worlds output. Indeed protectionism could potentially damage economic growth. INDIAN CAR TAX Externalities occur when the consumption or production of a good or service has a spill over effect on a third party. If an externality is negative, then this spill over effect is in some way harmful. Therefore there has to be an external cost i.e. one that is borne by a third party, to add to the private costs of the producer or consumer in order to calculate the full cost to society. In the article, the negative externalities which are occurring in New Delhi, India stem from traffic congestion and air pollution. Fig.1 below shows the external costs of using cars. As seen in Fig.1, consumers will enjoy some of the private benefits of car travel but there will be external costs in the form of air pollution and traffic congestion. Consumers maximise their private utility and consume at the level where MPC=MSC=MPB thus leading to over-consumption of vehicle travel by driving Q25, 000 vehicles at a price of 25,000 rupees. As can be seen in Fig.1, the socially efficient output, i.e. when the full opportunity cost of an extra unit is equal to the value placed by society on its consumption or production, is Q*, as a result there is over-consumption of Q25, 000 to Q*. Furthermore, as a result of MSC being greater than MSB, there is a welfare loss to society. This is an example of market failure. In order to combat the effects of the vehicle use, the Indian government is charging citizens in New Delhi who own more than one car and are implementing a congestion fee. Two-wheelers that cost above 25,000 rupees will be taxed at a rate of four per cent whilst cars priced up to 6 lakh (600,000 rupees) will be increased to the same rate. Those costing between 6 and 10 lakh will be charged seven per cent tax. The effect that the increased tax should have on the use of two-wheeled vehicles is seen in Fig.2. As seen in Fig.2, the implementation of a tax will see the MPC curve move upwards to MPC + tax = MSC + tax. This will reduce consumption to the socially efficient output of Q* but the price will increase to 25,000 rupees plus tax. Therefore the government should receive more revenue which could be then used to further tackle the externalities. However, a problem that the Indian government will face is the fact that the demand for vehicle travel may be price inelastic. Therefore, the amount of people who will forgo vehicle travel will be insignificant and the quantity demanded will not fall to the socially efficient level. There are alternatives to congestion fees and taxes, with advertising being an example. The Indian government could fund positive advertising for substitute goods such as public transport or bicycles thus decreasing the consumption of vehicle travel. One of the problems with this solution is that the costs may be high and so taxes would have to be in place. Moreover, people may not care about the effects of vehicle travel and will therefore continue with their current mode of travel. Another solution could be for the government to restrict the number of driving licences. This is effectively a quota that would essentially see a decrease in the number of cars on the road. However, the problem of who to allocate these licences to arise and this could prove unpopular. Another alternative solution could be to heavily advertise public transport. This may reduce the number of cars on the road and would therefore see a reduction in the negative externalities created. However, for this to work, people would have to heed the advertisements advice and as it would not be compulsory, people may neither listen nor care to change their method of transportation. Overall, it looks like the Indian governments decision to implement a car tax and congestion fee is the most viable solution because it is less likely to alienate the citizens of New Delhi when compared to curfews and is also more likely to see a decrease in consumption when compared to advertising.

7TM Helix Protein Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin Comparison

7TM Helix Protein Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin Comparison Compare and contrast the 7TM helix proteins rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin at the molecular and cellular levels. Rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin both belong to the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family. They each have 7 alpha helical transmembrane domains which are embedded in their respective membranes. The two proteins are related but not identical and therefore contain many similarities as well as differences. Structurally the proteins are similar, while functionally, aside from being light-sensitive proteins and using light to initiate their processes, these two distinct proteins have a range of differences. Rhodopsin is a eukaryotic protein and it is the main photoreceptor pigment contained within the discs of the outer segment of vertebrate rod photoreceptors amongst other supporting proteins. Rhodopsin molecules have very high sensitivity to light and are the pigment responsible for enabling vision in dim light conditions and monochromatic vision in the dark. Exposure of rhodopsin to light causes the pigment to be photobleached, this initiates the transmission of the optical signal. The full regeneration of the human rhodopsin molecule occurs within approximately 45 minutes. Bacteriorhodopsin is a prokaryotic protein present in archaea. It is a light-dependent proton pump which is used to carry out phototrophy. Energy from light is utilised to move protons out of the cell, across the membrane, forming a large concentration gradient and making the inside of the cell up to 10000 times more alkali than outside. The subsequent proton gradient is converted into chemical energy. Both rhodop sin and bacteriorhodopsin maximally absorb light of the wavelength around 500nm which is the green colour range. Both rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin contain a retinal chromophore, although the two chromophores are not identical and rather, are isomers of each other. The retinal chromophore is comprised of a ÃŽ ²-ionone ring bound to a polyene chain. In both cases the retinal chromophore is positioned horizontally within the membrane. Rhodopsin is formed of the protein opsin and the reversibly and covalently bound co-factor 11-cis-retinal, which is the photo-reactive chromophore. Opsin consists of 7 transmembrane ÃŽ ± helices which are connected by polypeptide loops which occlude the agonist binding site. There is an 8th helix present in opsin however this is not transmembranous and plays a regulatory role in rhodopsin. The Æ -amino group of lysine 296 within the opsin molecule is covalently bound to the aldehyde group of retinal by a protonated Schiff base in a central cavity between the 6th and 7th helix. Bacteriorhodopsin is formed of the protein bacterio-opsin which is bound to all-trans-retinal in a covalent and reversible manner. Bacterio-opsin, as in rhodopsin, is formed of 7 transmembrane ÃŽ ± helices connected by polypeptide loops. The Æ -amino of lysine 216 within bacterio-opsin is covalently bound to the aldehyde group of retinal. Again this interaction occurs within a central pocket on the 7th helix. Rhodopsin exists as a monomer within the membrane of rod cells whereas bacteriorhodopsin in its wild type state is in a trimer of 3 identical protein chains each rotated 120 ° relative to the others. Bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin have no detectable sequence homology to one another, however due to the similarity of their tertiary structures it is believed they are evolutionarily related. In vertebrate rod cells light induces phototransduction by interaction with rhodopsin. Light is absorbed very efficiently by retinal due to its polyene tail. The retinal absorbs a photon which causes it to undergo an isomerisation reaction to the activated all-trans-retinal configuration from its initial 11-cis-retinal configuration. In order to accommodate the altered shape of the all-trans-retinal the rhodopsin molecule undergoes a series of relaxations which includes the movement of helices 5 and 6 outwards creating a cavity, this movement is around 5Ã…. Upon the absorption of a photon by the retinal chromophore the rhodopsin molecule is converted to photorhodopsin within 200 femtoseconds. The second intermediate forms within picoseconds following irradiation and is called bathorhodopsin, this has all-trans bonds which are distorted. The next intermediate is lumirhodopsin which forms within nanoseconds. Lumirhodopsin is converted to metarhodopsin I within milliseconds. During t hese steps the protonated Schiff’s base remains unchanged. Finally metarhodopsin I is converted to metarhodopsin II, within milliseconds, this causes the Schiff base to become deprotonated. Neuronal excitation is initiated by metarhodopsin II activating transducin, an associated G protein, triggering a second messenger cascade with cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), activating the visual phototransduction pathway. The activation of transducin is triggered by the exchange of GDP to GTP on the ÃŽ ± subunit of transducin. Activated transducin binds and removes the inhibitory subunits which inactivate cGMP phosphodiesterase. This process activatescGMP phosphodiesterase which subsequently hydrolyses cGMP. Hydrolysis of cGMP reduces the cellular levels of cGMP which leads to inactivation of the cGMP-gated cation channels in the cell membrane. This causes the photoreceptor cells to become hyperpolarised altering the rate of neurotransmitter release and resulting in neuronal sign alling. At each step of this process the signal is amplified. Deactivation of metarhodopsin II occurs by interaction with rhodopsin kinase and arrestin. Rhodopsin kinase phosphorylates the activated GPCR and arrestin desensitizes it. Regeneration of the rhodopsin pigment to its original state must occur in order to allow phototransduction to occur again.Multiple serine and threonine residues at the carboxyl terminal of metarhodopsin II are phosphorylated, this is catalysed by rhodopsin kinase, arrestin then binds to the altered metarhodopsin II preventing further interaction with transducin. The ÃŽ ± subunit of the transducin re-associates with the ÃŽ ²Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ´ subunits and its in-built GTP-ase activity hydrolyses the GTP to GDP, this returns the cGMP phosphodiesterase to its inactive state. cGMP is synthesised from GTP by guanylate cyclase increasing the cGMP levels to reopen the cGMP gated channels and this allows restoration of the cell to its original state. In bacteriorhodopsin, like in rhodopsin, it is the retinal molecule which absorbs a photon and changes conformation. The initial all-trans-retinal configuration is converted to 13-cis-retinal. This isomerisation causes the bacteriorhodopsin molecule to undergo a conformational change, via a number of intermediates, to accommodate the change in retinal structure. This change of conformation subsequently alters the proton pumping action of bacteriorhodopsin. Upon absorption of a photon the all-trans-retinal photoisomerises to 13-cis-retinal, this is almost the exact opposite of the cis-retinal to trans-retinal configuration change that occurs in rhodopsin. In bacteriorhodopsin the initial photo-isomerisation results in the intermediate J600, as in rhodopsin this first isomerisation occurs in a femtosecond timescale. J600 subsequently becomes K590 within 5 picoseconds. The next conversion of the K590 intermediate to the L550 intermediate happens within 2 microseconds. This conversion re sults in stronger hydrogen bonding between aspartate 85 and the protonated Schiff base within the extracellular channel. Conversion of L550 to the extracellular M410 intermediate occurs within microseconds, this process involves the translocation of a proton from the protonated Schiff base to the proton acceptor aspartate 85, within the extracellular channel, this takes microseconds. In order for the proton transport to occur out of the cell the Schiff base cannot be reprotonated by aspartate 85, otherwise no proton transport could occur. Instead, the access of the Schiff base must be altered to prevent reprotonation by aspartate 85. Next the extracellular M410 is converted to cytoplasmic M410, this allows the Schiff base to be deprotonated from the outside of the cell membrane and reprotonated from the inside of the cell and hence this change of access for the M410 intermediate from extracellular to cytoplasmic allows unidirectional proton transport out of the cell. This alteration repositions the access for the Schiff base from extracellular to intracellular. The cytoplasmic M410 is then converted to the N560 intermediate Following the earlier change in access for the Schiff base, it can then be reprotonated from aspartate 96 which is located within a channel from the cytoplasm to the membrane. This process occurs within milliseconds. The aspartate 96 is then reprotonated from the cytoplasm to allow the Schiff base to be reprotonated multiple times and allow the cycle to continue. To ensure one-way proton transport the Schiff base must be accessible to either aspartate 96 or aspartate 85 during different stages of the cycle and therefore the positioning of the Schiff base must be switched dependent on which aspartate requires access and the stage of the cycle, aspartate 85 needs access to deprotonate the Schiff base on the extracellular side and aspartate 96 is used to reprotonate the Schiff base from the cytoplasm. Aspartate 85 and aspartate 96 are now both protonated in the N560 intermediate and this leads to a subsequent thermoisomerisation reaction. During this thermoisomerisation The N560 intermediate is converted to the O640 intermediate. In this step the activated 13-cis-retinal configuration is thermally isomerised back to the original all-trans-retinal configuration. To complete this cycle the aspartate 85 must be deprotonated. The final step involves the conversion of the O640 intermediate back to bacteriorhodopsin. The Schiff base is again repositioned switching the access to it back from the cytoplasmic side back to the extracellular side of the membrane, aspartate 85 is then deprotonated to restore the bacteriorhodopsin molecule back to its original state which facilitates the continual pumping of protons out of the cell across the membrane. The protons in the extracellular matrix are allowed to flow back into the cell via ATP synthase down the concentration gradient, this allows the synthesis of ATP which provides the ene rgy to power the archaea cell. There are a large number of differences ranging from the amino acid sequences to the functions of bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin, however in spite of these vast differences there are still many similarities including the 3 dimensional structure and the presence of a photon absorbing retinal chromophore. These similarities have led to the 2 proteins being grouped together in the Structural Classification Of Proteins and they provide relevant structural information about other 7 transmembrane proteins in order to make structural predictions and associations about other similar proteins.

The History Of Education

The History Of Education Education is one of the most important aspects of society and benefits the individual and society as a whole. It benefits society through economical, political and cultural means. But what has to be assessed is whether the aim of education is to benefit each individual, whether it is to further the development and production in society, or whether it is to do both, but in a fair and equal manner without causing separations and problems within society. Modern day society is ever expanding and globalization, which Coatsworth says is where the movement of people, goods or ideas among countries and regions accelerates, increasing. This then results in the world requiring a global workplace of people working for TNCs (Trans-National Corporations) across multiple continents in order to create the biggest amount of profit and spread of goods. Whether globalization is a good thing is one question but what is central, is whether education needs to be transformed to prepare children for this e ver developing market. Arguably, there are many different purposes of education. The Functionalist view is that education unifies and stabilizes society, it benefits society as a whole and is based on a meritocratic system. Education contributes towards social cohesion through shared experiences and a common curriculum. The expansion of education, for Functionalists, is directly linked to the requirements of industrial production. Therefore, the essential purpose of education for Functionalism is to keep society going by creating workers and people who can benefit society economically. The Functionalist belief is that each individual childs achievement is based on how hard the individual works (meritocracy) and whether they want to achieve highly. This is a very positive view of education but unfortunately, Functionalism fails to notice any negatives within society and education. It fails to recognize any exterior or genetic factors that can affect a childs achievement within education such as poverty, gen der or ethnicity. Karl Marx would argue that the purpose of education is to reproduce inequality and social hierarchy (keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor). What Marx says is that children are being labelled in school according to their social class and then the education system makes sure they are kept in that class to produce low-skilled workers and manual labourers for means of production within society. The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation into a mere money relation (Marx, 1848). Making profit is more important to the capitalist society than the effective development and education of our future generations. One of the ways children could be kept in their social class within education is through language. Basil Bernstein said that humans use a restricted and elaborated language code depending on what social situation they find themselves in and with which types of people. The Restricted code is a simple understanding of language used with family and friends whilst the elaborated code is more abstract and complex and would be more commonly used within institutions. Bernsteins research found that working-class children had access to the restricted code whereas middle-class children had access to both the restricted and the elaborated code. It is the dominant use of the elaborated code within education though, that is disadvantaging working class children by affecting their understanding and ultimately resulting in lower achievement from them.(Bernstein, 1977). Marxism would argue that social class is based on the possession of means of production but in the modern day society class is based upon knowledge and wealth. Capitalism has created a society where knowledge creates wealth and power. Overall, the Marxist view would be that education is already preparing children for the global workplace by reproducing inequality and manual labourers who will be underpaid and mistreated in the workplace so that Trans-Na tional Corporations can make the biggest profits; whilst the middle class children shall become the management of the companies and the hierarchy shall be present in the global workplace as it was in school. Webers Interactionist theory examines how individuals and groups create patterns of behaviour which shape the systems. Beckers labelling theory explains how if a teacher labels a pupil negatively in school then a pupil will go on to fulfil that label. Labelling is an effect of the characteristics of a pupil on a teachers views of the student. If a child is labelled in school by a class teacher because they appear scruffy or lazy, this can be down to relative poverty in the home which could cause the child to be frequently tired and without the necessary resources to assist their learning. This can result in a teacher labelling a pupil as lazy, unenthusiastic or simply unwilling to learn, which then goes on to affect the childs achievement within school and possibly even later life. Labelling is potentially a major factor in working class children going on to perform manual labour jobs, making up the majority of a national and global workforce and remaining in their social class. Marx ism would maintain this is true and would state that this is the sole aim for the education system, to produce a global workforce that can benefit society economically. The world is in a transformation that means there is no longer a clear distinction between international and domestic, external and internal affairs (Rosenau, 1990). This statement by Rosenau explains how the world through modernisation is now merged into one global workplace. Globalisation has created a world where each individual country is now reliant upon one another for goods and services and so act not alone, but more as one. Globalisation has integrated rich, affluent, and educated classes, but has fractured working classes and marginalised the poor, who do not have the skills and economic clout to profit from open markets (Shalmali Guttal 2007). This statement from Guttal shows how Globalisation may be positive in terms of benefitting the rich and providing opportunities for the middle class but at the expense of the working class. Therefore if a student struggles academically and cannot go on to higher education, they should not suffer in todays society by not benefitting from the gains of globalisation. This is one way that Globalisation is creating inequality in society and if the education system was to prepare students for the global workplace then this would simply be reinforcing inequality in school. The purpose of education is to benefit the lives of all children in school not just to progress the lives of those children who have already been born into the middle and upper classes. Economic gain is not the vital target for the result of education. Globalisation enters the education sector on an ideological horse, and its effects on education and the production of knowledge are largely a product of that financially-driven, free-market ideology, not of a clear conception for improving education (Carnoy, 1999). Bowles Gintis explain how school relates to the workplace via the overt and the hidden curriculum. Orders are given by the teacher/boss to the student/worker to follow. The person in charge of the student/worker will have to give permission for the individual to use the toilet, when to go and return for fixed time breaks, will assign work tasks to the individual/group, give rewards for hard work, place emphasis on attitude towards tasks, give work to be done at home and discipline the students/workforce. Nearly every single thing a person will experience when they enter the workplace is imitated within the schooling system to prepare students for the global workplace. The restricted and elaborated language code explained by Bernstein not only puts working class children at a disadvantage in the schooling environment but also in the working environment and especially in the multi-national corporations of todays global workplace. If a working class child is underachieving in school because of the dominant elaborated language code used by teachers, then that student will not secure themselves a well-paid job in the management sector of TNCs because of their achievement academically and because of their dominant use of the restricted language code. In the global workplace, as well as in education, the elaborated language code is used. Therefore, the use of the elaborated language code in education and the global workplace is reproducing inequality by keeping the working class limited to the restricted code which results in them only gaining manual labour jobs and becoming the primary workforce of the global workplace. As a result of this, more emphasi s needs to be put on teaching children the elaborated language code in school before they reach the workplace, but in a gradual, subtle way so they can pick it up rather than being at a disadvantage right from the beginning of school. This is one major way that education needs to prepare students for the global workplace simply so that inequality is not being reproduced as a result of the schooling system. Bourdieus forms of capital can link to Bernsteins language codes in terms of class and social structure. Bourdieus says that a group or an individuals position in the social structure depends on three forms of capital: Economic, social and cultural. Economic capital is everything with a monetary value a person owns, social capital is what types of groups the individual may belong to and cultural capital is the way a person may have been cultured such as frequenting museums and art galleries as a child. These three forms of capital are something a child is either born into or not and as a result is crucial to the individuals position in the social structure as they grow up. It is also important to mention that economic capital can be converted into cultural and social capital by means of paying for a University degree from Kings College, London, and influencing the right to membership of an esteemed social group. A further form of capital that Bourdieu also explains is linguistic capi tal. If an individual is raised in a higher class family where the elaborated language code is used on a daily basis and the child even comes into contact with another language such as Greek or Latin, then that is going to raise their position in the social structure right from a young age (Bourdieu, 1986). Consequently, it is easy to see what role that child shall go on to take in terms of hierarchy in the global workplace and what role a child who has grown up without that form of capital will take. Harbison and Myers say that the role of education Unlocks the door to modernization. In terms of capitalism though, it is debatable whether modernization is a positive thing when it is reproducing inequality and reinforcing the class system. However, inequality is being reproduced not just now in a national sense, but a global sense where the poverty-stricken underclass are being exploited for cheap labor in third world countries by capitalist countries such as America. In conclusion, education is crucial to the development of society but not at the expense of the majority of individuals within that society. The rise of the global workplace through Globalization has created possibly more inequality and greed within the world and to prepare students for that in school would be ethically and morally wrong. It would be right to prepare students for the global workplace by dismissing social backgrounds, treating all equally and assisting those in more need. This could go on to reduce the gap in social class to create equal opportunities for all within the hierarchy of the global workplace. School already prepares students for the world of work in terms of its discipline and rules, and with the world becoming an ever increasingly multi-cultural place, schools are teaching children about other cultures. This therefore, is already preparing children for the global workplace. However, when there is so much inequality and exploitation in the global workplace , simply to enable cheap labour costs and higher profits, it is more important to focus on creating equality in the classroom and trying to make sure all children can achieve what they desire. Karl Marx- (1848), The Communist Manifesto. Margaret L. Andersen Howard F. Taylor, (2005) Sociology: understanding a diverse society. Fourth edition. Howard F. Taylor, (2007). Sociology: The Essentials. Cengage learning, P.425 S. Bowles H. Gintis, (1976). Schooling in Capitalist America. Basic Books Ltd. Shalmali Guttal, (2007). Development in Practice, vol 17, numbers 4-5. Taylor Francis Ltd. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. Reproduced in Ball, S. (ed.) (2004) The RoutledgeFalmer reader in sociology of education. London: RoutledgeFalmer, pp.15-29. Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J.-C. (1977). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage. Layard, R. Dunn, J. (2009). A Good Childhood; Searching for Values in a Competitive Age. London, Penguin. Paul Willis, (1977). Learning to Labour: how working class kids get working class jobs. Columbia University Press; Morningside edition. Bernstein, B., (1977). Class, codes and Control vol 3. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, P., (1986). The forms of capital. Reproduced in Ball, S. (ed.) (2004). The RoutledgeFalmer reader in sociology of education. London: RoutledgeFalmer, pp.15-29.

Intervention in the Rwandan Genocide Essay -- Rwanda History Essays Ge

The Hutus and Tutsis were not traditionally different, and ethnicity in Rwanda only became important during Belgium colonization when the more European-looking Tutsis were chosen as the aristocracy to rule over the Hutus. After Rwanda's independence in 1961 the Hutu majority, comprising roughly 85% of the population, ruled the country. Between 1961 and the outbreak of genocide in 1994 many Tutsis fled the regime due to its discriminatory practices and anti-Tutsi policies. Even after gaining control of the country, however, Hutus had been scared of a Tutsi coup or an invasion from the Tutsi refugees in neighboring Uganda. The regime of president Habyarimana played on these fears in order to distract Rwandans from failing policies and keep their declining party in power. It was the assassination of the president that precipitated the implementation of ethnic cleansing, although not the cause; plans for such an event had been planned out by Colonel Bogasata the previous year, the assass ination of the country's Hutu leader just happened to be a convenient event for his clique of extremist Hutus to exploit. In October of 1993 the UN Security Council authorized the UN Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) following a period of strife between the Rwandan Patriotic Front and the Hutu regime of Rwanda. When the government ordered assassinations were carried out in Kigali on April 6, 1994 there were about 2,500 UNIMAR peacekeepers in Rwanda. Soon after the violent outbreak Hutu government forces executed ten Belgian UNIMAR peacekeepers. On April 14 Belgium announced that it would be withdrawing its UNIMAR battalion, an action that unnerved other involved states and led the U.N. Security Council to cut the number of troops to a mere 270 the following week. Only after a month of vacillation did the UNSC vote to send 5,500 troops back into Rwanda, but it still dragged its feet and as of July only 10% of the promised force had been deployed (Economist, 1994). The RPF, meanwhile, had launched into Rwanda and by mid-July, it had ousted the genocidal regime from Rwanda. Preceding the Rwandan genocide, numerous western states made claims of their willingness to intervene in a humanitarian crisis, and this kind of rhetoric has proved counterproductive in the past by encouraging insecure regimes to act hastily. Alan Kuperman said ?If the West is unwilling to deploy such robust for... ...city in the genocide. This has further damaged relations between the ethnic groups, and has deepened the preexisting cleavages. The presence of a peacekeeping force to maintain order and accountability of the new regime could have hampered such atrocities. The Rwandan situation highlights the limits of intervention, and unfortunately as long as the duty of intervening lies in the hands of slow-responding multinational bodies and democracies too scared of a plummeting public opinion to risk troops for less central or non-state interests, it appears that humanitarian crises run the risk of progressing unacceptably far before the situation can be brought back under control. Works Cited The Economist. Learning from Rwanda (U.N. Peacekeeping Operations). April, 1994. Alison Des Forges, Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda (New York: Human Rights Watch/FIDH, 1999). Kuperman, Alan J. Rwanda in Retrospect. Foreign Affairs 79, no. 1 pp. 94-118 Jan/Feb, 2000. Report of the Independent Inquiry Into the Actions of the United Nations During the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, 15 December 1999, accessed December 17, 1999 at http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/rwanda.htm.

Mexico :: essays research papers fc

Mexico   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico, the United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south by Belize and Guatemala; on the east by the United States of America, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico's borders stretch approximately 1,958,201 square kilometers or 756,066 square miles. That figure includes 5,363 square kilometers or 2,071 square miles of outlying islands. From north to south its longest distance is 1,250 miles. From east to west its longest distance is 1,900 miles. Mexico's coast line covers about 6,320 miles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of Mexico is just an immense elevated plateau, flanked by mountain ranges that fall sharply off to narrow coastal plains in the West and East. Much of Mexico's Central Plateau is a continuation of the great plains through the southwestern United States. The highest point in all of Mexico is Mount Onzaba (Citlaltepetl). It is 18,707 feet above sea level. Mexico's lowest point is near Mexicali. This area near Mexicali is thirty-three feet below sea level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. The metropolitan area of Mexico City is home to about 14,987,051 people of Mexico's total population of about 93,670,000, according to a 1990 census. Although most of Mexico's population is from Mexico City, which is the biggest city in the world, Mexico's other cities include Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puebla. Most of Mexico's population lives in urban areas, about seventy-five percent, and the population density is about forty-eight people per square kilometer, or one-hundred and twenty-four people per square mile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico's official language is Spanish, although another language that is fairly widely spoken is Native American. Mexico's ethnic groups can be broken down into three major groups: Mestizo, Native American, and European. Mestizo's are people of mixed European and Native American ancestry. Mestizo's make up about sixty percent of Mexico's population, while Native American's makes up about thirty percent, and European's make up about nine percent. There are many religions being practiced in Mexico, but the biggest by far is Roman Catholicism, which is practiced by about ninety percent of Mexico's population. The other fairly big religion, while nowhere near as widely practiced, is Protestantism, practiced by about five percent of all people currently going to church in Mexico.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of Mexico's big Cities lies within the Tropic of Cancer. Mexico City averages about fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit and twelve degrees Celsius in January, and it averages about sixty-three degrees Fahrenheit and seventeen degrees Celsius in July. Monterrey, which is above the Tropic of Cancer, averages about fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit and fourteen degrees Celsius in

Critique: the Scottsboro Boys – an American Tragedy

The Scottsboro Boys: An American Tragedy The author or producer of this documentary film was smart in setting the scene for the viewer. He showed scenes of the area and described the sounds of the train, gravel, and attempted to give the viewer a snapshot of the attitude of the inhabitants of Northern Alabama. This takes you from the comfy surroundings of your home, the accessibility to transportation to the hardships of the 1930’s and the dismal state of life for blacks, especially poor blacks. The theme of Scottsboro: An American Tragedy was that blacks were so hated that one well-placed lie destroyed the lives of nine young men.Only one of these boys lived long enough to have a family and to fight for a pardon. The judicial system of that time was so terribly flawed (not that it isn’t now) with racism and bigotry that when facts were presented they were not heard because they wanted the boys to be guilty. Clearing the Scottsboro Boys were not in the plan! The key pla yers were the Scottsboro Boys but historians, relatives of Judge Horton, citizens of the area, photos, video clips, and newspaper articles all came together to tell the historical story which spanned from the 1931 to 1976.This may have been the best way to tell the story since none of the Scottsboro Boys were still alive when this was filmed. Several men of Scottsboro were interviewed and it was interesting that they wished the incident had happened 30 miles away (Huntsville) so the stigma that is associated with their little town would belong to another town. Jokingly, they said then they would have been called the Huntsville Boys and that would have been fine with us.So from those statements, I believe that many of the town’s citizens are embarrassed of the notoriety this incident has placed upon their little town. One aspect, I found missing and would have liked to known more of the effect that the trials and imprisonment had on their families, especially their siblings an d mothers. I, however, was most intrigued with Judge Horton and the stand he finally took regarding the boys and the political fallout for him. The Scottsboro Boys case, how it began, handled, and ended is really scary to me.Now that I know more of the details, it reminds me of the recent execution of Troy Davis of Georgia. In several ways, the two cases are similar. The tragedy in the Davis case is that he did serve around 17 years and he did die for a crime that he may not have committed while the Scottsboro boys served time and were eventually freed and/or broke parole. Due to support given them by northerners, they were allowed to remain free as long as they stayed in the North. Ruby Bates recanted her accusations of rape and later helped the mothers fight for the sons’ release.Seven of the nine that testified against Troy Davis recanted but he exhausted all his appeals and was executed anyways against the number of organizations that protested against it. We can also go back a few months, to where a black woman was charged more time for jaywalking than the man that was driving drunk that hit her, her daughter, and killed her son. He was black but it since it was black on black crime, the young mother was treated as an example. In general, the judicial system is not a friend to the black American. This is 2011, isn’t it?Has anything really changed? Are we going backwards? This is supposed to be a different day. We have a black president which, in my opinion, has only given certain groups in our country to more openly exhibit their racism and bigotry. Since they cannot get to him, any black that runs afoul of the law become enemy number one just as the Scottsboro Boys were the enemy of the time back in 1931. This film was not entertaining to me at all but it was educational and eye-opening in that no matter how much we like to think that times have changed so much is still the same.I can see in many ways how far we have come but once you liste n to the news and see just what is going on around you, you can almost see the 1930’s again. That is why I used the word â€Å"scary† earlier in my critique to describe the Scottsboro Boys story. Concern about the future for the black community, myself, and more importantly, our children, has increased and we must become better informed about the world in which we live, the judicial system we must work within, and the consequences of it all.

Computer Motherboard (Descriptive) Essay

Motherboard Motherboard acts like the arteries of a human taking the blood all over allowing the blood to travel. It has many line-like structures that are like the veins and the arteries. These lines are the wires mounted on the motherboard that keep thousandths or even millions of connection. Motherboard is a small yet powerful device inside the computer system. The motherboard has three cards on it. First, the graphics card, it is like the eyes of the computer, it acts like the eye that saw and reflects images to the screen. Second, the sound card it is the mouth of the computer, it sends sound to the speaker, it shouts what the computer says. And the third, the modem, the nose of the computer. It sniffs messages from the wires coming from the telephone lines. If there’s a blood, there’s also the heart. The processor of the computer acts as the heart of the computer. It has a square-shaped chip that has many pins. It sits on the motherboard controlling all the cards including the motherboard. It controls, allows, and restricts information that is being disseminated into the system like the heart. It also has a heat sink and a fan keeping the processor cool. To be able to complete the system, it also has the brain. Hard disk serves as the brain of the computer. It is rectangular in shape. Inside it, there’s a mirror-like disk where all the information are stored. The disk spin at greater speed, depending on the information /data is being written into the disk. Motherboard is also consists of chips, transistors, and capacitors. It is the other component of the motherboard that acts like the organs of the system. These chips may be small as a grain of rice and bigger as a coin. Transistor is a small, black in color and rectangular in shape. It is sometimes recognizable because of its three metal legs attached on it. Transistors is consists of thousand or even million of IC (Integrated Circuit) packed in one part. And the capacitors are like tanks attached in the motherboard. It varies in size; it may be small, medium or large depending on the voltage and its capacitance. Motherboard is consists of millions of chips, transistors and IC’s. It acts like the body of the computer. Without it, the computer will not work. It is like the trunk of a tree. It is an amazing thing that has millions of wires attached in a small board. It is powerful and fundamental part that the computer will not work without it. Reference: * Motherboard. Retrieved from http://www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/motherboard