Slavery In US Essays (3396 words) - Slavery In The United States

Slavery In US The Slaves' And The Slaveowners' Views Of Slavery "That face of his, the hungry cannibals Would not have touched, would not have stained with blood;-- But you are more inhuman, more inexorable, Oh! ten times more than tigers of Hyrcania." Shakespeare I chose the topic about slavery for my research paper because I thought it would be an interesting experience doing research about slavery. It is American history and the more we know about it, the better we can understand what is going on today in our country. I think that because slavery was abolished very recently in terms of historical periods of time, it still has an impact on today's economic and political life. Searching for the writings by slave owners was a more difficult task then searching for the writings by slaves. However, I found a lot of useful material in various sources. The slavery in the United States is no doubt a shameful history of our country. White people transferred the slaves living in Africa to the New Land and treated them as their property, not as human beings. The living and working conditions of slaves and their food were extremely poor. Those were inhuman conditions in which the slaves had to survive. Endless executions of the slaves made the situation even worse. Slavery was a period of time when one race treated the other race as animals, things, property, but not as people. Unfortunately, not everyone saw the situation as it was in reality at that time. As we can see from many different sources available today, the points of view of slaves and slave owners on slavery were the opposite to each other. That can be seen in various slaves' and slave owners' descriptions of slavery. Slaves described their dwellings, food, clothes, labor, and the terrible treatment of slaves by their masters. On the other hand, slave owners described the relationships between slaves and their masters in a very positive way. They argued that slavery is very beneficial for the slaves and the slaves are very happy to live with their masters. Let us now consider both these points of views in details. First of all, let us look at the slaves' description of the cloth they wore. The clothes supply was as minimum as possible and the quality of the clothes was very bad. Here is how one of the slaves describes it. "Our dress was of tow cloth; for the children nothing but a shirt; for the older ones a pair of pantaloons or a gown in addition, according to the sex. ... In winter, a round jacket or overcoat, a wool hat once in two or three years, for the males, and a pair of coarse shoes once a year"(Lester 65). This scanty list of items was the only things available to the slaves. Certainly, it was not enough for the people who worked very hard for more than ten hours a day. The clothes were very dirty and with holes all over the place pretty soon. Imagine if you have to wear the same shirt day after day for the long time. The masters did not care about slaves' children; they did not distribute much clothes for them either. According to the slaves, it was their problem what to put on their children when it was cold outside (Feldstein 45). However, some slaves say there were some masters who gave some extra material for the children, but it was not sufficient any way. Others gave any additional clothes only for extra work (Feldstein 45). As for the slave owners' seeing the slaves' situation, one of the slaveholders reveals that he used to distribute new clothes once a year (Feldstein 45). This testimony by the slave owner actually testifies the slaves' descriptions of the slavery that makes us believe to the slaves even more. However, there were a lot of slave owners who saw the situation quite differently. One anonymous slave owner in his letter to Lord Brougham argues that "...as a slave, he [a black person] would have at least the protection of one master interested in his welfare; as a freeman, almost beyond the pale of government protection, with no one to take care of him, of a despised and inferior race, a stranger in a land of strangers, how miserable would be his fate!"(Williams 41) That is what this person really believes, and he was not alone. The slave owners really believed that slavery was very beneficial for the slaves, and they clothed

Exam is Not Everything Consideration Essay

Exam is Not Everything Consideration Essay Exam is Not Everything Consideration Essay Sample Exam is Not Everything Consideration Essay Sample From the time immemorial, exams have been used as the main way of assessment. Exams have turned out to be an important segment of human lives. Since I was in the junior school, I have been taking exams. The same case has happened to anyone who has been in the school system. Since exams have been a part of our lives in almost all instances, people have developed a strong mentality that the only way to succeed in life is by passing exams. This mentality has developed in people’s mindsets and since every person wants to succeed in life, they fear exams and take them seriously. The most amazing thing is that the same mentality has developed in the society. Individuals who pass exams are seen as successful, while those who fail are encouraged to work hard. Seriousness that people have during exams raises more rhetoric than answers. I tend to question whether exams measure what they are meant to measure. This kind of thinking provokes me to think otherwise. I argue that exams do not measure what they are intended to measure. I find gaps in the way exams assess individual abilities and skills. I also blame exams as a key contributor to challenges that we have today. There are people who have useful skills, but they cannot be captured by exams and, thus, such skills get wasted (Little). Exams and Alternative Method of Assessment In this paper, I shall extensively argue on proposition that exams should be replaced with an alternative method of assessment. Firstly, I do not believe that exams measure what they are meant to measure. They do not achieve their intended goals. Real intentions of exams are to help a teacher and a student to achieve certain objectives. Exams allow the teacher to assess what students have learned. Such kind of information is very helpful to the teacher since the teacher will realize weak areas that need to be revised. The teacher will be able to engage students and identify the best ways of covering certain areas. If this is done, learning will be exciting and it will remain quality-oriented. Unfortunately, this does not happen. On the one hand, teachers focus on administering exams just because it is mandatory. They never take exams as a way of assessing weak areas so that they can assist students to improve them. If students fail exams, teachers conclude that students are foolish or they never take their class work seriously. The whole issue is forgotten and the teacher continues with the syllabus. Students have no chance to prove their abilities (Morris). Students, on the other hand, end up discouraged since they believe that they are failures. From the above perspective, it can be argued that exams are not beneficial to students or teachers. The same proves the argument that exams should be replaced with alternative methods of assessments. It also proves that exams do not measure what they are intended to measure. Exams are just a cause of trauma to students. I tend to argue that teachers do not even care what they test. They are out to ensure that they have something that they can make grades from. They do not care whether what they test is helpful to students so long as it is an exam (Gnad). Secondly, I totally agree with the notion that exams are a way of assessing student’s performance. However, the question of how accurate exams can evaluate students in terms of their ability and intelligence makes me believe that exams should not be used as a way of assessment. I tend to concur with Albert Einstein’s argument that everyone is a genius and individuals should not be judged using only one method since it may discourage them. In relation to the above case, I argue that we should not judge students’ abilities by exams only. If exams are used as the only way of assessment, it will be impossible to capture abilities and skills that students possess. Their real potential and ability would remain unrealized. Moreover, exams tend to pose a very wrong assumption. Exams assume that a single method can be used in assessing students accurately. Such an assumption is very incorrect. Student population presents a lot of diversities. Students possess different le arning styles; however, exams are inefficient in capturing differences in learning and it calls for different ways of assessing their abilities and potential. The same argument poses another critical question. If teachers clearly understand that students have a lot of differences and they cannot be assessed in the same way, why are exams still used as a way of assessing students’ potential and ability? The same argument justifies the reason there should be different methods of assessing potential of students (Dowling). Thirdly, I believe that exams should be replaced with an alternative method of assessment because exams are more of a mind game than assessment. Exams are aimed at testing whether students can easily recall what has been taught in class. While some students require a lot of time to study and understand, some will read a textbook the day before the exam and pass it, while others who cannot do that fail. Moreover, some students may perform poorly in exams, but they can easily demonstrate what they have learned through presentations and applications (Gnad). However, such capabilities are not captured in exams and such students end up failing. It is thus right to state that exams do not measure individual ability and skills, but rather they test the ability to recall. In the end, a student with the strongest ability to recall and memorize is classified as intelligent. From the above revelations, exams are a way of gambling and it does not test the ability of an individual nor skills that one has. In addition, exams have resulted in a scenario where there are many people who can pass exams, but they cannot be able to translate their learned skills into practice. The same calls for the need of having an alternative way of assessing abilities of students in a more comprehensive way (Dowling). Exams are highly susceptible to teaching. Despite strict penalties that exist, it is eminent that exams are still susceptible to cheating. Students can easily sneak exam materials and cheat in exams. Furthermore, some teachers can easily provide their favored students with questions that appear in exams. The same proves that exams are susceptible to cheating. When such a scenario happens, some students end up having the upper hand and they acquire merit that they do not deserve. Furthermore, computer systems that store exam results before release are also vulnerable to hacking. Such a scenario calls for an alternative method of assessing students. A method that is not susceptible to cheating or hacking need to be put in place (Morris) Exams shift mentality of a student from seeking knowledge to seeking grade. Students do not bother to add more knowledge that is not in the syllabus since they believe that it is useless. Their main intention is to obtain a good grade and not to attain new knowledge. This form of mentality hinders creativity and exploration of new knowledge. It is unfortunate that teachers only encourage students to read past papers so that they can master questions that will appear in exams, but they do not encourage them to get additional knowledge on the topic. This form of mentality is against the main goals of education. Exams only tie up the mind of students to certain principles that are unclear instead of setting them free so that they can explore new knowledge (Gnad). Furthermore, although exams are marked using the same standards, it remains eminent that different examiners may grade the same paper differently. Cases of favoritism are also evident in exams. Students can also coerce teachers to change their marks. These kinds of inefficiencies prove that exams do not measure what they are meant to measure. While I do not advocate for a system that is totally perfect, I believe that inefficiencies presented by exams as a way of an assessment prove that the method is very ineffective. The method needs to be replaced with an alternative method that can capture various aspects in a more comprehensive way (Morris). From the various arguments presented above, it is undisputable that exams need to be replaced with another alternative method of assessing students. Inefficiencies revealed by exams prove that exams cannot assess students fairly. Inconsistencies and inefficiencies prove that exams do not measure what they are intended to measure. End results are students who cannot apply what they have learned in class, but they can pass exams. These students will be irrelevant in the job market since they cannot apply theoretical skills (Little). Nevertheless, opponents paint a different scenario Firstly, they argue that different variables such as intelligence and competence cannot be measured accurately by any method since they are not straightforward. As a result, there is a need for a formal system that will help in measuring such variables so that the education system can remain relevant. There is a need of accessing differences that exist in the levels of knowledge as well as experience. Opponents strongly argue that there is no other method that can test students in an impartial manner like exams. Exams have clear and measurable outcomes and, thus, they are not vague. For this reason, exams should not be replaced with alternative methods of assessing students (Dowling). Secondly, opponents argue that exams are still relevant. They argue that proponents do not appreciate the fact that exams are better off than the lack of any test. According to opponents, although exams are not perfect, they help to some extent. Opponents agree that cheating prevails in exams, but they also reiterate that exams do not cheat. They pose a strong argument that these are prevailing conditions that allow cheating, but the exam does not cheat. Opponents argue that individuals should focus on ways of improving existing conditions so as to ensure that cheating does not prevail instead of doing away with exams. Opponents challenge proponents to accept the hard reality that there is no alternative method that can be perfect and, thus, the focus should be on improving on exams (Morris). In addition, opponents challenge proposed alternatives such as discussions and group works as ways of assessing students. They discredit such alternatives by arguing that cheating also prevails in such methods. Students are more likely to copy from other students in a group work than when they are in the exam since there is supervision. Moreover, group works can promote laziness in one way or the other. Students can take advantage of hard working students and they fail to do their work since they know that they will be graded as a group and they will get equal marks. In case of exams, they are very specific. They gauge individual capacity and, thus, it is possible to get more accurate results than when people are assessed as a group (Dowling). Opponents also believe that exams provide an excellent way of measuring understanding and knowledge. In addition, exams measure the ability of an individual to express him or herself. What an individual writes in an exam is a clear indication of what an individual has learned. If there were no exams, individuals would not even bother working hard since they would hold an assumption that they know everything while that may not be true. Opponents challenge proponents to recognize that without exams education system will be irrelevant (Gnad). In conclusion, I believe that exams should be replaced with an alternative method of assessment. Exams do not provide a fair playing ground. They do not recognize diversity among students. Teachers do not focus on ensuring that exams are useful to students, but they only administer them since they are mandatory. Cheating is prevalent in exams and, thus, the main aim of exams is undermined. It is unfortunate that exams produce students who cannot apply theoretical skills into practice. Students always read so that they can excel in their exams, but they never seek knowledge.

How Foreign Direct Investment Affects the Economy

How Foreign Direct Investment Affects the Economy According to the International Monetary Fund, foreign direct investment, commonly known as FDI, ... refers to an investment made to acquire lasting or long-term interest in enterprises operating outside of the economy of the investor. The investment is direct because the investor, which could be a foreign person, company or group of entities, is seeking to control, manage, or have significant influence over the foreign enterprise. Why Is FDI Important? FDI is a major source of external finance which means that countries with limited amounts of capital can receive finance beyond national borders from wealthier countries. Exports and FDI have been the two key ingredients in Chinas rapid economic growth. According to the World Bank, FDI and small business growth are the two critical elements in developing the private sector in lower-income economies and reducing poverty. The US and FDI Because the US is the worlds largest economy, it is a target for foreign investment AND a large investor. Americas companies invest in companies and projects all over the world. Even though the US economy has been in recession, the US is still a relatively safe haven for investment. Enterprises from other countries invested $260.4 billion dollars in the US in 2008 according to the Department of Commerce. However, the US is not immune to global economic trends, FDI for the first quarter of 2009 was 42% lower than the same period in 2008. US Policy and FDI The US tends to be open to foreign investment from other countries. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were short-lived fears that the Japanese were buying America based on the strength of the Japanese economy and the purchase of American landmarks such as Rockefeller Center in New York City by Japanese companies. At the height of the spike in oil prices in 2007 and 2008, some wondered if Russia and the oil-rich nations of the Middle East would buy America. There are strategic sectors which the US Government does protect from foreign buyers. In 2006, DP World, a company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bought the UK-based firm managing many of the major seaports in the United States. Once the sale went through, a company from an Arab state, albeit a modern state, would be responsible for port security in major American ports. The Bush Administration approved the sale. Senator Charles Schumer of New York led Congress to try to block the transfer because many in Congress felt that port security should not be in the hands of DP World. With a growing controversy, DP World ultimately sold their US port assets to AIGs Global Investment Group. On the other side, the US Government encourages American companies to invest overseas and establish new markets to help create jobs back home in America. US investment is generally welcome because countries seek capital and new jobs. In rare circumstances, a country will reject a foreign investment for fears of economic imperialism or undue influence. Foreign investment becomes a more contentious issue when American jobs are outsourced to international locations. Outsourcing of jobs was an issue in the 2004, 2008, and 2016Â  Presidential Elections.

Structure, properties and treatment of steels Assignment

Structure, properties and treatment of steels - Assignment Example The first three methods change the chemical composition, carburizing by the addition of carbon, nitriding by the addition of nitrogen, and cyaniding by the addition of both carbon and nitrogen. The flame hardening and induction hardening processes do not change the chemical composition of the steel and are essentially shallow-hardening methods. In flame and induction hardening the steel must be capable of being hardened, therefore the carbon content must be about 0.30 percent or higher. So in case of 0.6 % plain carbon steel we have got only two surface hardening processes left and these are flame hardening and induction hardening process. These two are essentially the shallow hardening methods. Selected areas of the surface of a steel are heated into the austenite range and then quenched form martensite. Therefore, it is necessary to start with a steel which is capable of being hardened. Generally, this is in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 percent carbon. So depending upon the other required properties of the steering shaft the most appropriate method of surface hardening is induction

Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems Dissertation

Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems - Dissertation Example 2 Introduction The telecommunication engineering is considered as the most specific and high technology service industry. The constricted integration and Information technology applications related to the business procedures are its main characteristics. Moreover, in order to promote competition in this industry, the telecommunication industry is constantly deploying Information technology applications. The telecommunication environment is determined Due to its unique characteristics such as, distribution, continuous enlargement in network size and specific fault tolerance techniques. The application procedures are defined by the above characteristics. However, in telecommunication, the software systems need to overcome with a new variety of telecommunication protocols and a number of hardware platforms and network architectures. In fact, these systems consist of other characteristics for example, high cost, concurrency, high reliability needs, diversity and complexity (Patel 2002). The telecommunication operations are facing different challenges nowadays, for instance globalization and creative technology procedures. Thus, the industry would become more competitive in order to endure global market along with other competitors. Thus, in order to enhance the quality of services we need to increase cost. The developing economics and state-owned operators are basically privatized. This will help to provide improved and better services to the customers. On the contrary, several larger operators fortunately grab the best opportunities that are offered by the global telecommunication providers. For example, BT and Vodafone, this is due to the economies of scale factor present in the telecommunication networks. However, the technologies that are related with the Internet has been developing immensely thus contributing towards growing future of Internet and IP services and applications. In modern days, the clients are allowed to choose their own vendor and service prov iders according to their needs and can assemble their personal solutions. The new technologies such as 3G and mobile Internet speed up the production of new services. Therefore, the unchanging market has been converted into an increasingly user-driven market place. This change in telecommunication depends upon the operator’s capability to generate services and applications that are demanded by the customers. There is a vast range of software platforms, innovative variety of services and an increased customer based operations are available in order to manage an effective telecommunication infrastructure basics. The telecom operators must have the capability in order to develop themselves promptly, to implement and to maintain services for the customers demand anytime and anywhere. In addition, the artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are initially implemented to the telecommunication industry ages ago. During 1988, the artificial intelligence technique (IA) was first implem ented in telecommunication industry. Moreover, it was initially explained by the Macleish who describes the relationship between the two rapidly evolving technologies i.e. artificial intelligence (AI) and telecommunications. During that time, the major utilization related to the artificial intelligence (AI) in telecommunications was considered as the initial system that is designed for diagnosing complex equipment in all off-line modes. Currently, the DSS are integrated with artificial neural networks. The ANN is defined

The Lance :: Essays Papers

The Lance The lance, a staff weapon was used during the chivalric era. The lance was mainly used during a tournament. Tournaments were held as a type of competition for knights. The tournaments served as a source of entertainment and also a means to keep knights fit and in practice. During the tournament if the lance began to break or splinter one point was scored. If the lance broke it would be replaced with a new one. If the lance broke again, the two knights would dismount horses and begin to fight with swords. The tournaments were encouraged to contain chivalric behavior and attitude. The lance was also used in warfare. At the beginning of any battle the two sides would line up and begin to charge at each other holding out a lance to knock the opposition off of their horses. The jousting was primarily done at the beginning of a battle, and then the knights would dismount and charge with swords, daggers, or axes. The lance could also the used on the ground, but not nearly as successful as it would be used on a horse. A lance was used in jousting. It was about 11 feet long with a 6-inch blade, and the blade was shaped like a leaf. It was used to throw the other knight off his horse. More armor was created after the wide use of the lance. The vamplate was created to protect the hand and arm, and breastplates to help stabilize the knight as he galloped on his horse. The lance itself is very chivalric. It's large length, and weight made it challenge for knights to fight with one. It was a challenge in itself to use a lance, and anyone who could do so with elegance was considered chivalric. It took great practice to use a lance successfully. A quintain was used as target practice for the one using the lance. As most chivalric weapons a great deal of practice was required to become successful with a lance. The chivalric era contained many weapons, but the lance truly symbolizes the chivalric era.

Parties’ Policy Platforms

With the voting date for the 2000 elections approaching, Americans are being bombarded with the policy platforms of the candidates. The two front runners and their lesser known rivals use every medium available to spread their ideas on major issues. It is because of their use of the media that voters are able to compare and contrast policy views of multiple parties. Using two important policy areas (for the purposes of this essay, we will continue to use public education and social security) we will discuss and analyze the views of the two major parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, and a Public education is a headlining topic during elections. The current public education system has allowed the United States to have one of the highest standards of living in the world, but could use some improving. The republicans believe that by providing public school students with private school vouchers, every child will have access to a high quality, indeed, a world-class education. (the Republican National The democrats believe that the republican idea of private school vouchers would offer too few dollars to too few children to escape their failing schools. The feel that vouchers would be pulling bucks out of the schools that need them most. Instead of vouchers, the democrats want to invest more in Americas crumbling schools, even if that means providing less tax cuts for American citizens. (the Democratic Committee The green party also is against vouchers, but believes in Equalize School Funding with Federal Revenue Sharing: Federal financing of all public education (instead of by regressive local property taxes) so that every school has the resources it needs to provide he highest quality education for every child. The Green Party website: Social Security is another publicized issue. While all 3 parties have expressed interest to save social security, the way they will go about doing it varies. The republican party platform says that they will continue to stop the annual raids on the Social Security trust funds by balancing the federal budget without that program†s surplus. (the Republican National Convention website: www. rnc. org) The democratic platform states that to build on the success of Social Security, Al Gore has proposed the creation of Retirement Savings Plus – voluntary, tax-free, personally-controlled, privately-managed savings accounts with a government match that would help couples build a nest egg of up to $400,000. Also, separate from Social Security, Retirement Savings Plus accounts would let Americans save and invest on top of the foundation of Social Security's guaranteed benefit. Under this plan, the federal government would match individual contributions with tax credits, with the hardest-pressed working families getting the most assistance. (the Democratic Committee On the issue of Social security, the green party platform does not go into much detail stating: The actuarial protection of social security is essential to the well-being of our seniors, and the maintenance of the system†s integrity is an essential part of a healthy community. (the Green Party website: www. greenparty. org) While they do not offer their plan for improvement, it is clear that they do not plan on letting the program die out. While the basic, raw ideas of improving education and saving social security are shared by the 3 parties, their plan of execution varies.