Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Review the Laws Related to Security and Privacy of Data Essay

Computer Misuse Act 1990  This act was introduced to prevent users hacking. This also stops them entering a computer, programs or files without authorisation, this act is in place to prevent users to use the internet without permission to cause an act of crime and also prevents unauthorised modifications to a computer. This act does not allow any attacks on a server as this is illegal. Hacking into a computer is not allowed as it can disrupt the business as personal information can be stolen and also be used in crime, this can cause a problem in the businesses finance sector. Anyone who knowingly hacks into a computer with intent to steal information is going against this act. Anyone who misuses the computer in this way is going against the law as they are using it for criminal acts. This act also does not allow anyone to use a fraudulent credit card or any other card to make a purchase via the internet. Hackers who overload networks with data to intently disable them can face a prison sentence for up to 10 years. This act makes it illegal for users to upload pornography of someone and children as people will find the offensive, having possession or viewing these types of materials could get the user in to trouble by the law. Users must not use the computer to harass or stalk a particular person, it is also the same when making telephone conversations as the user can not use offensive or threatening language they can face a sixth month imprisonment. This allows the organisation to take action and take back whats rightfully there and also punish the hacker as they are covered by this law, this bring a sense of security as this law ould put the hackers from obtaining information wrongly. Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 This is the current UK copyright law which has been created since 1988, it gives artist and creators of, musical and dramatic or any other artist have the right to control their work, this allows them to have control over how their material is used, this right covers broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public. It is not what has been created it’s the details within what has been created to be protected, for example if you have a idea for a book that would not be protected however the information and content within the book that is written will be protected. So someone else can write a book around your idea but they cannot copy your book or adapt your book to do so. This helps to protect security and privacy of data as it protects the effort money and time someone has put in to create their content, if this content is being copied the organisation will lose potential customers as someone is using their content to sell another product. Privacy and compensation requirements of Data Protection Act 1984 1998 2000 This legislation first was written in 1984 there are updated version of this data protection act and the one that is used and most updated is the 2000 version, the 1998 version was a broadened and replaced the data protection act 1984, the main purpose for this law is that it gives rights and privacy of individuals, this ensure that their data is not processed without the creators knowledge and is only process with the consent of the artist. This act covers personal data relating to living individuals and protects sensitive personal data of that individual. This act covers data held in electronic formats. This has been changed as over time new technology and items are able to store data this is now updated so that it can cover these items as they will contain sensitive and personal data to an individual. The 2000 version of this act contains added laws and have been updated. This protects the security of the individual as no one should be allowed to take private and sensitive data without the individual being aware of this. Copyrights This exclusive legal right that is given to the original artist to print, perform film, publish or record literary and authorize others to do so for heir material. This protects a physical expression of ideas , for example someone has an idea to write a book the content that is written in that book is covered by the copyright act as it will be unique to the creator. You do not need to register or claim copyright, this protection is automatic as soon as it is created. If someone steals information or wrongly sells other work or creation for their own financial benefit then this copy right act will protect the original creator and he can claim back the money that has been gained by the person who has taken the material without permission. This protects security and the use of private data as it does not allow anyone to take data or material without the author permission, if this does happen the user who has taken this material can be fined and prosecuted as the products does not belong to them, the author can also decide how his material has been used and if someone breaks his restriction they can also be prosecuted. Open Source  This is software or material that is available with the source, this allows users to copy the material and modify the material, the reason for this is because the creators would believe that if someone can edit the material for themselves it will be more useful to another persona and will also allow less problems to occur if the source is available, so organisation believe that it should not be given and source should not be shown, they usually give the compiled version this is so others cannot copy their material and modify this. Open source means that it is available to any one and they can modify it however they want, doing this will improve the security for a material such as software as this source code has been given to the users it will be less likely that someone would want to hack it and modify the code as it is already available. This does have some restrictions as it would like to preserve the name and authors of the material. Freeware  This is software that is offered free of charge and is downloadable off the internet, freeware is different to shareware as shareware would require payment. Even though freeware is available it does have a license this would have restriction as some freeware would not want the user to alter the program, repackage it or sell the freeware, redistribution is allowed of freeware but cannot be distributed for money purposes. The creators want to ive something to the community but want to retain control of any future development of the software, this allows users to have the material without making changes and is free to the users, this makes there coding private and cannot be used however as it is free hackers would not bother to steal or resell this type of material as anyone can get it online for free, this makes the software more secure as there is no risk as it does not hold any value. Shareware  This usually is software that is distributed, this allows users to use the product and then pay for the product after the trial version has finished, you can then only continue to use the full version if you feel like the product is good to use but will have to pay to get the full version, the user will then be covered for registration and then support for the software if they purchase, once purchased additional features are usually given as only who pay can have these. This is been protected under copyright, even though you are able to use this software without payment you are still restricted to what you are allowed to do with it which is selling this software or adding it to another. This allows users to use expensive and powerful software for free and a short period of time however will later need to pay as the trial reaches to its end. This relates to security and privacy as the creators do not mind users having a full version for a short period as they may see as an advantage to sell their product later, copyright protects shareware as users cannot manipulate or sell their product. Commercial Software This is a software that is designed for sale to meet a commercial need for a user, this type of software is only allowed to be used for commercial purposes, this is software that you would usually see in the retailers in a physical box and requires payment before it can be used, commercial software usually contain a registration key and when you purchase this you will acquire a licence to use it. You are still able to download commercial software and this can be often seen in sharewares. These are usually made available directly from the organisation website. This relates to security and privacy of data as the user has to purchase the software before they can use it as they will not receive a registration key not allowing them to use the software, this does make it a security risk as hackers will try to steal a registration key but the copyright act protects the organisation and can prosecute the hacker for stealing data from the organisation.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Sense of Identity

Developing a sense of self entity is an essential part of every individual becoming a mature person. Each person's self-conception is a unique combination of much identification, identifications as broad as woman or man, Catholic or Muslim, or as narrow as being a member of one particular family. Although self-identity may seem to coincide with a particular human being, identities are actually much wider than that.They are also collective — identities extend to countries and ethnic communities, so that people feel injured when other persons sharing their identity are injured or killed. Sometimes people are even willing to sacrifice their individual lives to preserve their identity groups. The Australians Aboriginal sense of personal identity is derived from only one context, the idea of place. Negara, sense of place, is a word of great importance that contains both physical and metaphysical connotations.Unraveling these apparent contradictions reveals a distance dimension of t he Aboriginal world view and sense of identity. The entire earthly environment is ngurraI, or â€Å"country†, â€Å"camp†, or â€Å"place†, as made by the Ancestor Spirits. The colonization' of Australia by Europeans has caused a lot of problem for the local Aborigines. It drastically reduced their population, damaged ancient family ties, and removed thousands of Aboriginal people from the land they had lived on for centuries.In many cases, the loss of land can mean more than just physical displacement. Because land is so much connected to history and spirituality, the loss of it can lead to a loss of identity. The issue of Aboriginal identity only became an issue after white settlement. However, that is not to say that there was no cultural identity pre-colonization, but more that colonization was the cause of Aboriginal identity to be threatened. There are several ways in which the colonists imposed themselves on Aboriginal society.Firstly, when they arrived t hey needed land to settle on and this of course meant they would take land away from local Aborigines. This action displaced thousands of people from their homeland and severed their spiritual connection to the land. From this point on, the idea of Aboriginal identity was simultaneously created and put at risk. Without land and place to connect people to their heritage, Australian Aborigines were forced to search for other symbols of Aboriginality to provide them with a sense of identity. t is hard to calculate how many aboriginals children â€Å"†¦have been forcibly separated from their families and communities since the very first days of the European occupation of Australia† (Australian Human Rights Commission, 1997) but that it could sit at between one in three and one in ten in the period from 1910 until 1970. Numerous stories outlined in the report that the environments these children were forced into after being taken from their parents were far from acceptable.On e example is the story of Jennifer who was taken from her parents and taken to Cootamundra Home where â€Å"Some of the staff was cruel to the girls. Punishment was caning or belting and being locked in the box-room or the old morgue† (BTH, 1997). This story is not in isolation, there are others. In Paul’s case no one in his foster family ever acknowledged or discussed his heritage and he was left to feel different based the observation that his skin looked different; he was 18 before someone mentioned that he was of Aboriginal descent.The importance of identity for many aboriginal people seems to be recognized on a broader scale than in recent years. The negative media images which drew a direct line between Indigenous people and violence and alcohol have been replaced with more realistic images, depicting vibrant and diverse people and cultures. As well, the importance of ‘place’ would appear to be slowly acknowledged as critical to Indigenous peopleâ₠¬â„¢s sense of identity. Place is used here to describe a belonging to and knowledge of country and kinship to its people.This was denied to many Indigenous people due to the assimilation policies introduced in the 1940’s. Indigenous people lost contact with their families, with their land, with their very essence. Children were taken from their families to be institutionalized or fostered with Anglo Australians. Aboriginal people were forced from their country and moved onto reserves. Anglo Australians made all decisions for Indigenous people, (including who was or was not aboriginal! ) Sense of Identity Developing a sense of self entity is an essential part of every individual becoming a mature person. Each person's self-conception is a unique combination of much identification, identifications as broad as woman or man, Catholic or Muslim, or as narrow as being a member of one particular family. Although self-identity may seem to coincide with a particular human being, identities are actually much wider than that.They are also collective — identities extend to countries and ethnic communities, so that people feel injured when other persons sharing their identity are injured or killed. Sometimes people are even willing to sacrifice their individual lives to preserve their identity groups. The Australians Aboriginal sense of personal identity is derived from only one context, the idea of place. Negara, sense of place, is a word of great importance that contains both physical and metaphysical connotations.Unraveling these apparent contradictions reveals a distance dimension of t he Aboriginal world view and sense of identity. The entire earthly environment is ngurraI, or â€Å"country†, â€Å"camp†, or â€Å"place†, as made by the Ancestor Spirits. The colonization' of Australia by Europeans has caused a lot of problem for the local Aborigines. It drastically reduced their population, damaged ancient family ties, and removed thousands of Aboriginal people from the land they had lived on for centuries.In many cases, the loss of land can mean more than just physical displacement. Because land is so much connected to history and spirituality, the loss of it can lead to a loss of identity. The issue of Aboriginal identity only became an issue after white settlement. However, that is not to say that there was no cultural identity pre-colonization, but more that colonization was the cause of Aboriginal identity to be threatened. There are several ways in which the colonists imposed themselves on Aboriginal society.Firstly, when they arrived t hey needed land to settle on and this of course meant they would take land away from local Aborigines. This action displaced thousands of people from their homeland and severed their spiritual connection to the land. From this point on, the idea of Aboriginal identity was simultaneously created and put at risk. Without land and place to connect people to their heritage, Australian Aborigines were forced to search for other symbols of Aboriginality to provide them with a sense of identity. t is hard to calculate how many aboriginals children â€Å"†¦have been forcibly separated from their families and communities since the very first days of the European occupation of Australia† (Australian Human Rights Commission, 1997) but that it could sit at between one in three and one in ten in the period from 1910 until 1970. Numerous stories outlined in the report that the environments these children were forced into after being taken from their parents were far from acceptable.On e example is the story of Jennifer who was taken from her parents and taken to Cootamundra Home where â€Å"Some of the staff was cruel to the girls. Punishment was caning or belting and being locked in the box-room or the old morgue† (BTH, 1997). This story is not in isolation, there are others. In Paul’s case no one in his foster family ever acknowledged or discussed his heritage and he was left to feel different based the observation that his skin looked different; he was 18 before someone mentioned that he was of Aboriginal descent.The importance of identity for many aboriginal people seems to be recognized on a broader scale than in recent years. The negative media images which drew a direct line between Indigenous people and violence and alcohol have been replaced with more realistic images, depicting vibrant and diverse people and cultures. As well, the importance of ‘place’ would appear to be slowly acknowledged as critical to Indigenous peopleâ₠¬â„¢s sense of identity. Place is used here to describe a belonging to and knowledge of country and kinship to its people.This was denied to many Indigenous people due to the assimilation policies introduced in the 1940’s. Indigenous people lost contact with their families, with their land, with their very essence. Children were taken from their families to be institutionalized or fostered with Anglo Australians. Aboriginal people were forced from their country and moved onto reserves. Anglo Australians made all decisions for Indigenous people, (including who was or was not aboriginal! )

Monday, July 29, 2019

Belgium devolution - rationale and mechanisms, relationship to Essay

Belgium devolution - rationale and mechanisms, relationship to national and local government, extent of powers - Essay Example The rationale for Belgium devolution is elaborated with the help of following points: These differences between groups had led to significant conflicts inflicting upon the economic growth of Belgium, hindering appropriate policy making, instability of government regimes and leading to financial crisis in the country. 9 The division between two broader groups viz. French and Dutch communities based on language was spotted all over the country. Flanders and Wallonia, in particular, exhibited significant social and economic differences.11 The process of devolution and federalisation was initiated as a means to resolve the conflicts among regions and communities, and to bring them in cooperation with the federal government by empowering them with the rights central to their activism. 12 The rationale for devolution involved the sense that the Communities were entrusted with responsibilities that they were more engaged with i.e., the individual and state services. The power encompassing territorial scenario was assigned to the Regions. The federal government, on the other hand, kept with it the critical and significant aspects of state affairs. 14 In this way, the devolution separated the Regions and Communities in terms of responsibilities and activities, it empowered them and allowed them much liberty to exercise their rights towards the betterment of their specific areas and competencies. It was based on the logic that the individual efforts of Regions and Communities would lead to the collective betterment of Belgian public. Asymmetrical i.e. the authority exercised by Regions and Communities in different areas are different. For example, in Flemish area, the Regions and Communities share single authority. In the French speaking area, on the other hand, the Regions and communities have separate authorities with different governments and councils.16 There is no hierarchy of standards i.e. the Regions and Communities are granted

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Conducting an environmental analysis Research Paper

Conducting an environmental analysis - Research Paper Example Since employer-assisted medical insurance, like, the Social Security Income fund, is collected from the monthly income of US citizens, it has led to a falling number of contributors and a rising number of claimants. As per a market research, the government expenditure on insurance programs, such as, Medicaid, has increased by around $3.5 billion in the year 2008 alone, owing to increasing number of claimants. This has led to many of the states opting out of the PPACA program that mandates them to increase spending on health insurance of citizens (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). The economic crisis has also had adverse impact on the financial performance of private insurance companies, in the form of less number of citizens opting for private insurers and higher operational costs due to rising inflation. This has also led them to take severe measures such as, initiating reductions in the extent of coverage and reimbursement of health expenses. Another major factor to be considered, during strategic planning of Jim’s Care Center, is the health care policy of the government. There has been a significant shift in the federal policy since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Under this act, both insured and uninsured American citizens are guaranteed rights to receive treatment and medical attention at lower rates. This has created a stir in the medical industry, since operational costs are incrementally rising, amidst an economic crisis. The PPACA act has also mandated state governments to increase spending towards medical care of citizens, who belong to the lower income bracket and cannot afford to bear personal health expenditures (Odom, Owen, Valley and Burrell, 2011). Since the implementation of the PPACA act, it has created a huge uproar among states as they are already cash-starved due to increasing unemployment and decreasing income. It led to participating in PPACA

The sudden economic crises of Dubai, a result of their own doing A Essay

The sudden economic crises of Dubai, a result of their own doing A critical perspective within the Michael Porter's diamond model for international businesses - Essay Example However with global recession hitting the world in 2008 all investments came to a halt. The market became bearish and infrastructure projects came to a halt. Dubai was adversely affected because the property prices during normal times were sky high but dropped immensely during recession. It was felt by analysts that Dubai was like a pack of cards and its fall was inevitable. It was regarded as a monument of greed and vanity. It is in this context that the report is prepared and it analyzes how the own doing of Dubai led to the crisis. The crisis is analyzed using Porter’s Diamond model and it has been found that Dubai largely depended on foreigners to avail its services. The domestic demand from locals was not very high. Porter has identified domestic demand as an important factor for a firm’s competitive advantage. This was Dubai’s weakness. As far as labor factors are considered there are not many local labors available in Dubai. Dubai depends on laborers from other countries which is a setback for Dubai. Moreover lack of education is also an important factor which Dubai needs to work upon in order to be competitive in future. The United Arab Emirates is divided into seven city states which has their own governments, own budgets, own legal structure and so on. Dubai has developed at a very fast pace but in the last decade it has increased it spending massively in major infra structure projects in order to develop real estate and to attract tourists. The Dubai problem started when Dubai World which is the state owned company having a liability of $60 billion, announced its bail out plans (Spencer, 2009). The uncertainty regarding Dubai sent down shivers across the globe. It led to more than $14 billion being wiped out of the British banks. Although the total debt of Dubai was around $80 billion, the uncertainty had a rippling effect all across the globe (Hosking & Robertson, 2009). The report tries to find out the main causes

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Health and Safety (Exposure to vibration ) Assignment

Health and Safety (Exposure to vibration ) - Assignment Example The oscillations may be regular or random, depending on the source. In determination of the health effects of vibration, overall pressure waves generated by the vibrating equipment must be measured. Vibration gets way into the body through the organ exposed to it. For example, vibration enters an operator of a chainsaw through the hands and arms. After prolonged use of the machine, the hands and arms get affected. Vibration is quantified by amplitude or intensity and frequency. Frequency is the number of cycles a vibrating object completes in a second, measured in hertz (Hz). Amplitude is the distance at which the object moves from a stationary position to the extreme position on either side, quantified in meters (m). Speed is used to determine the intensity of vibration and varies from zero to a maximum per cycle of vibration, quantified in meters per second (m/s). Acceleration measures the rate of change of speed with time, quantified in units of meters per second or meters per sec ond squared. It increases whenever a vibrating object moves further from its statutory position. Resonance also plays critical role in the impact of vibration on the human body. Since each organ has its own resonant frequency, when an employee’s body is exposed to a vibration of similar frequency to a body organ, risks are greatly increased. Types of Vibration Exposure to hazardous levels of vibration is linked to adverse health outcomes. Some of the health problems caused by vibration are back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and vascular disorders. Vibration injury is derived from outdoor activities such as farming, transportation, forestry, shipping and construction. Vibration exposure is divided into two categories: whole-body vibration (WBV) and segmental vibration or hand and arm vibration (HAV). Their sources differ as they affect different parts of the body, of different symptoms. a. Segmental vibration or hand-arm vibration This is a mechanical vibration transmitted to t he human being through part or segment of the body, mostly the hands or arms. Hand-arm vibration causes permanent adverse health effects collectively referred to as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and specific diseases like carpal tunnel syndrome. What is HAV? This term describes any kind of damage to blood vessels, nerves or muscles in the hands or arms caused by vibration from hand held tools or hand-guided machinery, or when employees hold materials under process by machinery. Most tools and processes vibrate at high levels that expose employees to risk of HAV. Some of these tools are concrete/road breakers, concrete pokers, sanders, disc cutters, hand held grinders and other rotary tools, hammer drills, jigsaws, polishers, sanders, chipping hammers, chainsaws, strimmers, brush cutters, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, mowers, scrabblers or needle guns, pressure washers, and wood machining equipment among others. Exposure to HAV depends on several factors. These are: The magnitud e and frequency of vibration, The duration called trigger time and frequency of use, Pattern of exposure, including rest breaks, Manner of handling of machines, i.e. magnitude of grip, Surface area of hand exposure to vibration, Environment of working condition like awkward posture, Temperature of exposure, and Individual susceptibility. How does HAV affect health? Employees are exposed to a number of incurable injuries to arms, hands and even damage to blood circulatory system (the so-called

Friday, July 26, 2019

Career Immersion Day Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Career Immersion Day - Assignment Example Economic analysts are hired by companies, organizations or even businesses for a specified length of time depending on the length of the assigned project. Their services are essential and important for the success of any project. The most prominent employer in this area is BNY Mellon. This is an exciting career as I will always remain updated on what is happening in the global market influenced by both the public and private sectors in the economy. Later in the future, I would love to establish my consultancy firm in this area in order to reach more clients in the global market.Cover LetterMy grades at all levels are excellent, especially in mathematics and business. My transcripts in the university are also good. Since I have specialized in financial economics; I believe that I have acquired the best in terms of knowledge and skills from the University. The learning environment is very challenging also exposes me to different situations and challenges in my line of study. The course outline provided during every semester has always ensured that I have been able to cover what is expected of me. Through the different case studies and researches issued by my professors and instructors, I have been able to explore the real situations in the global market by analyzing them and drawing up the conclusion. When it comes to the financial markets, analyzing different stock portfolios is quite interesting and challenging in all aspects.I believe that I also pose qualities that most employers are looking for.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Abstract for Conference paper about Energy Management 'Towards Essay

Abstract for Conference paper about Energy Management 'Towards Sustainable Energy for Developing Countries' - Essay Example By doing this, the water transmission and its various utilities will be at their best as excesses and irregularities are kept away. SSM is a strategic management tool whose goals is to improve on process eficiency and hence saves on money and other resources. This means that the SSM will creat an economical atmosphere that allows huge saving in water consumption. The water saved during transmission is used to bridge the shortage gap and hence people do not result to using ground water. In the wake of deregularization of the water transmission industry, the SSM policy becomes very important in sneaking back responsiveness of the industry. In this case, the SSM has become very crucial as it is the only remaining tool that can check on excesses and irregularities in the sector. Through implementation of the Policy Framework for SSM , the industry stands to increase its competitiveness in the market. The efficiency and check and balance in the water distribution will enhance proper management of water sources by reducing wastage as much as possible (Nwakanma& Mgbataogu, 2014). This paper deliberates on the enactment and implementation of the Policy Framework for SSM in water transmission that will ensure energy security in a country. By doing so, the paper will discuss how the policy framework will operate in the water energy sector regardless of the fact that the government has deregularized it, (Montanaro & Tonveronachi, 2012). Additionally, the projects seeks to recommend for a reduction of ground water abstraction to rates as low as 5MIG per day during the summer season. To do this, the article will establish effective methods of increasing the capacity for water storage to ensure long term water and power security especially during seasons of water shortage, (Niefer, 2014). In conclusion, this research will aim at setting the foundation of water supply to the entire country, devoid of inconveniences and

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

To compare and contrast Ebenezer Howard's ideas of town planning, such Essay

To compare and contrast Ebenezer Howard's ideas of town planning, such as The Garden City and that of Archigam, in particular The Waking and Plug In Cities - Essay Example Towards this direction, Ebenezer Howard has been considered as the person who ‘put forward a new physical form and structure for urban growth which would reintroduce a balanced and ecological relationship between the city-of limited size and population-and the countryside-of sufficient size to support the city with all necessary goods and material-as well as a balance between the varied functions of the city, again as a result of the strict limitation of its size and population’ (Frey, 1999, 18). One of the most known study of Howard has been the ‘Garden City’ in which Howard states his ideas regarding the town planning and its potential forms in the cities of his era – in his case the city under examination had been London. Apart from Howard, many other theorists have tried to respond to the increased need for innovative proposals regarding the urban planning mostly in big cities. In this context, a group of young London architects, created in 1961 a ‘magazine’ called Archigram which has ‘dominated the architectural avant garde in the 1960s and early 1970s with its playful, pop-inspired visions of a technocratic future’ (Design Museum, 2007). Archigram was published in 1961 on ‘a large sheet of the cheapest available paper; filled with Greene’s poems and sketches of architectural projects designed by Cook, Michael ‘Spider’ Webb and other friends, the magazine voiced their frustration with the intellectual conservatism of the British architectural establishment’ (Design Museum, 2007). Archigram had a significant influence on the urban design of the specific period (1960’s).Today Archigram’s proposals are still considered as unique and innovative plans for the urban design area. However, these plans have remained in the paper and have never been applied in real terms. Urban design has been developed throughout the years in accordance with the needs and the potentials of each particular

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Malcolm X and the United States' Civil Right Movement Term Paper

Malcolm X and the United States' Civil Right Movement - Term Paper Example Malcolm is considered as of the greatest and most influential black American in the history of America. At the age of twenty, Malcolm X was imprisoned where he joined Nation of Islam. After his parole in the year 1952, Malcolm rose to be one of the leaders of the Nation Muslims. Several years afterwards, he became a controversial figure in the public domain. However, disillusionment with Nation of Muslims in the year 1964 made him leave the nation match the same year. Later in 1964, he founded the African American unity organization and the Muslim Mosque, Inc. Malcolm believed that one day America would change in the way the whites treated the blacks. During his leadership tenure in the Nation Islam, Malcolm as the organization’s spokesperson, preached or taught black American supremacy and advocated for separation between the white and the black Americans. However, in his teachings, Malcolm contrasted the principles of civil right movement that emphasized on integration among Americans. Since 1952 when he joined the Nation of Islam until 1964 when he left the organization, Malcolm promoted the teachings of the Nation Islam (Walsh7). In his teachings, he emphasized that blacks were the original people of the entire world, and the white race belonged to the devils. In almost all of his speeches, he emphasized that the blacks or the white people were inferior to the black people, and the demise of the white people was imminent(Levy 98). Malcolm X immensely advocated for a complete separation of the African American from the white Americans, despite The Civil Right Movement’s fight against racial segregation. Malcolm had proposed separation of the black Americans to their own country. He considered the move as an interim measure that should be taken against the white until they could return to Africa (Cone 1). In addition, he rejected the nonviolence strategy that has put in play by the civil right movement. Instead, he advocated for self-defense amo ng the African Americans, and asked, them to use any necessary means and measures that were within their reach (Levy 99). His speeches were highly influential especially among the African American audients who lived in the western and northern cities. Notably, these groups were tired of the empty promises. They were ever being told to wait for justice, respect, freedom, and equality (Walsh 9). Therefore, the majority of African Americans felt that Malcolm was articulating their complaints and grievances in a better way than the strategies and moves that were being taken by civil right movement. Many of the white Americans among other blacks were perplexed with Malcolm’s ideals as well as the things he was saying. The Nation of Islam and Malcolm were later described as black supremacists, hatemongers, violence seekers and they were as well considered a threat to race relation improvement. The Civil rights organization afterwards dismissed the Nation of Islam and Malcolm becaus e of being irresponsible extremists where were not concerned with the welfare of the African Americans. Furthermore, Malcolm was accused of anti-Semitism (Cone 1). On the other hand, Malcolm equally criticized the civil right movement and described its leadership as a â€Å"stooge† that has been established by the whites. He as well described Martin Luther King, Jr. as being a â€Å"chump†. Additionally, he was opposed with the march that took place in 1963 and termed it "the farce on Washington". Malcolm claimed that he did not know why the black America

Monday, July 22, 2019

Russo-Japanese War Essay Example for Free

Russo-Japanese War Essay The Russo-Japanese war took place in 1904 to 1905 and began because of both Russia and Japans desire to expand their borders into places such as Korea. During this war, Russia was humiliated and had many defeats from a country which were considered to be inferior. The defeat of this war humiliated the people of Russia and therefore lost confidence in Nicholas II. Russia’s defeat in the war also caused problems in the Military, economic and political problems. This then means that the Russo-Japanese war was partly responsible for the 1905 revolution. The Russo-Japanese war created many huge military defeats which showed the Russian people how weak the military were which therefore caused national humiliation. With the people of Russia humiliated, they began the 1905 Revolution. An example of one of the most humiliating Russian defeats during the war was the Battle of Tsushima in May of 1905. The Russians sent 35 battleships from northern Europe to Japan. As the north of Russia was frozen over, the Russian fleet was forced to go past Africa and of an 8 month journey. When the Russian fleet finally arrived, they were overwhelmed and lost 25 of their initial 35 ships. The decisions made during this period lead to the military losing loyalty in the Tsar, for example, the strikes in Odessa. All of these problems and the fact the huge empire of Russia lose to a country that many had never heard of made Russians very humiliated. However, many argue that this did not cause the outbreak of the revolution, but only adding to the opposition of the autocratic Tsar and prolonging the revolution. The Russo-Japanese war also brought great economic problems for Russia. This meant there was a huge lack of money to try to solve the other problems which Russia was faced with which makes the Russo-Japanese war partly responsible for the 1905 revolution. The price of the war was huge due to the transport issues as Russia is a huge country, and with the war resulting in failure, nothing was gained from the territories. Russia was already had a huge economic problem as they had to borrow lots of from other empires like Great Britain and France. As Russia could not invest in her economy, and that Russia was borrowing from other great powers, it also made the Russians feel humiliated. The lack of funds also means that Russia could not improve  working and living conditions in both rural and urban areas. This reduced the Russians national pride. The economic problems meant that Russia could not sort out all of the other problems that the Russians faced in this period all because of the Russo-Japanese war which means that it was a huge factor in the 1905 Revolution. There were also many political reasons why the Russo-Japanese war may have been responsible for the 1905 revolution and what many people believe to be the most important. The war was fought on the eastern side of Russia near Japan, as the Russians wanted to capture Port Arthur, and was far away from where the majority of the population lived which is why many Russians felt left out of it as the news of the Russians progress was so slow to travel which lead to a lack of interest and enthusiasm for the war. This left people out of the issue which made public opinion turn against the war as they could see little justification for it. Even more important was the fact that the Russian military had a lack of resources due to the lack of transport and were not very equipped for the war. If this was the situation in any case, it would show weakness within the leadership and make people turn away from them. This is what happened between the Russians and the Tsar as they thought that he had fa iled his army. If the Russian people were to turn away, they would have to look somewhere else. Many looked towards political groups who were prepared to take action. The political implications of the Russo-Japanese war was a major cause of the 1905 Revolution as support left the Tsar and went to political groups which many believed could take his place. However, many people believe that the Russo-Japanese was not the only cause for the outbreak of the 1905 revolution. During this period, there were many growing political groups which many believed would be better than the Tsar because of their more radical thinking. The Russians mainly supported the Populists the Social Revolutionaries, the Social Democrats and the Liberals. Throughout the years the groups were slowly providing more opposition to the Tsar and each other. The most radical, and in some ways successful, group was the Social Revolutionaries (SR). The SR was heavily against the Tsar and his regimes. They opposed by assassinating many members of the government including the Minister of the Interior, Plehve in 1904 a nd Sergei. The SR became hugely popular due to their radicalism and the fact they are getting closer to their goal than many other political groups which lead to the  public supporting them as opposed to the Tsar causing the 1905 revolution. Another big reason why the 1905 revolution was cause was Russia’s lack of Political reform and the doubts in Russia’s Tsar. As Russia lacked a ‘democratic parliament’, it was only through extreme actions that the public’s voice could be heard. The lack of a nation parliament was due to Alexander II passing the Zemstva Act and the Statute of State Security Act. The people of Russia were also against Nicholas II as a character and leader. It was believed that Nicholas Ii did not have the personal attributes necessary to help get Russia out of their various problems. He was often described as â€Å"shy and quiet†. This may be because he was in power unexpectedly after the premature death of his father. Nether the less , these problems caused the public to lose faith in both Nicholas and the policies which is a strong cause for the 1905 revolution. Finally, one of the most important causes of the 1905 revolution was the economic troubles in the rural areas of the country. It was not only the peasants but the landowners too who were in deep economic problems. Russia used to have an agricultural side to it, however, during this period, agriculture was very behind that of other countries. Nothing had been done about this under Witte’s system. As the situation was never treated, the land became infertile and famines became quite regular, the worst case of this was in 1891. There were also more in 1902 and 1905 which may have triggered the peasants for revolution. In 1861, the Emancipation of the Serfs Act set the peasants free. However, they were tied to village communities and were not allowed to leave without permission. This inflated the peasant’s anger over the next few decades. The Landowners were also in huge debt after selling their land to the government. This strained the relationship between the Tsar and the peasants as Nicholas II has no funds to help any of them. This is a huge cause for the 1905 revolution. In conclusion, the Russo-Japanese war was a huge factor for revolution in 1905 as it leads to military, political and economic problems in Russian. However, there were also many problems in Russia before the War. However, many of the problems in the Russo-Japanese happened after the revolution had started, therefore either delaying the end or worsening the current situation. In my opinion, the Russo-Japanese war made the problems already which were existent in Russia worst, such as the economic problems, leading to the 1905 revolution.

Fahrenheit 451 Analysis Essay Example for Free

Fahrenheit 451 Analysis Essay The theme of Ray Bradburys classic Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles. First and foremost, the book gives an anti-censorship message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Yet, the protagonist Guy Montag is one of the few that is courageous enough to find out the truth for himself. This unexpected discovery on the corruption of society challenged traditional values, knowledge and beliefs. The personal freedom to the right of an individual having the freedom of expression when he utilizes the issue of censorship in Fahrenheit 451. In Bradburys novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess. Because of the trouble books may cause, they were banned altogether. For example, one group might think they had a really great idea and wrote it in a book, however, the other group might object to something that has been written, that means the book will have to be modified and therefore censorship begins. Soon, another group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited, eventually the original product will be lost. Because of this presented danger, no longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions for the people that the government cannot answer. The intellectual thinking that comes from knowledge can often be dangerous, yet, who would want to do that when they can take the easy route? â€Å"Ignorance is bliss† applies perfectly here. The government would rather rule the people orderly than have them start a revolution with knowledge. This philosophy, according to the book, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge. True, knowledge can cause disharmony because it causes people to ask â€Å"why†, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent mankind from making similar mistakes in the present and future. The society envisioned in Fahrenheit 451 is corrupted. As Captain Beatty explains, government control of peoples lives there was not a conspiracy of dictators, but a consensus of everyday people instead. The citizens are so weak-minded that they dont want to think for themselves and solve the troubling problems of the world. They don’t have much emotion, because they prefer pleasure over hurt. The only way they can do this is to not care. The parlor women, for example, cannot see past the surface. They are more interested in looks than reality; they are so shallow that they cannot see one’s true qualities. It is far easier to live a life of seclusion and a life where technology will provide you with all necessities. Yet more importantly, Fahrenheit 451 described the people in that society as anti-social. Clarisse, the only â€Å"normal† girl mentioned that people in that society doesn’t talk much, at all. They are â€Å"either shouting or dancing around like wild† (30), but the key point is, â€Å"people don’t talk about anything† (31), â€Å"they name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell!† (31) They do not quite live in the reality, only using abstract things to entertain themselves. â€Å"They all say the same things and nobody says anything different† (31) because in their eyes, technology and the government is always correct. This is very similar to our world today, almost everyone some kind of technology: television, computer, hand held devices. When we have a choice between technology or nature. It is almost certain that technology wins. We are on the computer three to four hours a day, doing work, checking email, social media, or just simply surfing the web. Our everyday life is technology; we depe nd on it so much that it is almost impossible to live without it. People in the novel are afraid of themselves, of what their minds are capable of doing. They fear the thought of knowing, which leads them to depend on others, such as technology and the government to think for them. The best example would be the protagonist Guy Montag. His entire view on life shifted as the book progressed. He was originally a normal fireman, but when he met his neighbor Clarisse McClennen, who was considered a misfit in the society, he began to see things differently. Instead of burning books because it’s useless information to the public, he now wants to share its knowledge with the whole world. Montag is at war with the society, he’s battling against the â€Å"common knowledge† and laws, trying to shine some light on the people. Thus, the book successfully advocates the idea that men should think for themselves, not let technology or any outside sources decide for them. Technology may provide you with joy, but to live life to the fullest, you have to try everything, and there are no substitute for the treasure you can find in books. It’s like Montag said, â€Å"I went around doing one thing and feeling another.† (131) as he reflects on all the trouble that he has gotten into because he has not been true to himself. Although this path might not be easy, it is necessary for any society that doesnt wish to repeat the mistakes of the past to earn knowledge. Our society today needs to realize that before it is too late.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Victorian Decade of Crisis: An Overview

Victorian Decade of Crisis: An Overview Why have the 1880s been viewed by historians as a decade of crisis for London? Great city of the midnight sun, Whose day begins when day is done.[1] The late Victorian era was a time of many developments, and much progress. After a number of short trade depressions in the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, the situation stabilised and then increased from the mid-1840s. This was largely due to the massive spread of railways at the time. This period of increasing industry was complemented by the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of High Farming; when agriculture enjoyed similar successes, despite the repeal of the corn laws in 1846. This Golden Age was followed, however, by a period of prolonged depression which spanned over twenty years from the early 1870s until the mid 1890s. It was only in 1914, with the outbreak of the Great War, that the relative decline of Britain as an industrial power became apparent. Why were the 1880s such years of crisis, and what was the extent of this crisis? Although the decade falls in what is usually described as the Great Depression, export and production figures for the period suggest the industrial situation was not as bad as some believe. The steel industry continued to expand, as did the coal and cotton textiles industries. The amount of cotton cloth exported was 3573 million yards between 1870-79, while between 1880-89, this figure increased 4675 million yards.[2] As Burnett states, â€Å"by the decade of the 1880s, it was clear that the growth both of the cotton and woollen industries had fallen off sharply†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [3] There were, however, other aspects of the period which warranted the description more. Prices were falling, for example, which meant the value of exports was reduced, thereby reducing profits. Unemployment in the decade averaged 5.4% compared to 4.6% in the twenty years before 1874. In 1886, the figure rose for that year to 10%.[4] The cause of the depression has been attributed to the reduction in railway building which started. In each five year period between 1845 and 1870, an average of 2000 miles of new track were laid, while between 1885 and 1900, this figure fell to 750 miles.[5] This affected one of the major growth industries of the earlier period; the steel industry, as demand fell. It was also during this period that the competition from other countries began to be noticed. This came most acutely from Germany and the USA. German coal production rose from 34 million tons in 1870 to 59 million tons in 1880, while US coal production rose to 64.9 million tons in the same period. While British production was still ahead at 149 million tons, competition was growing. The case was similar in pig-iron and steel production.[6] In the US, machines such as the typewriter and the sewing machine were being developed. Having been the first nation to industrialise, much of the machinery and equipment used in British industry was becoming outdated and surpassed by technology which the newly industrialising nations were utilising. It was in this period, and during the 1880s in particular, that the extent of this relative decline began to be noticed, and this was a major contributory factor to the decade being seen more generally as one of crisis. As Harris points out, â€Å"one of the striking facts that emerges from the Census of 1871 is that, a hundred years after the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the topography of Britain was still in many ways that of a predominantly rural country.†[7] Britain, as well as falling behind in technological developments, was being pushed out of her traditional markets by these newly industrialising nations. The US could increasingly meet her own needs, while the European markets were being flooded with cheaper, often better quality goods from other countries. Belgium, for example, developed cheaper, better quality methods of glass production, while the Germans were able to introduce Siemens furnaces for steel production. While these other nations increasingly introduced tariff systems to protect their domestic markets, this was anathema to the British laissez faire approach. Consequently, the British markets remained unprotected and were flooded with imported goods. Another industrial problem in Britain during the period was the failure of British management systems. These, too, were becoming outdated and surpassed by competitors’ newly-developed systems. Often based around the family firm, management positions were often filled by familial connection rather than ability. Coupled with this was the lack of investment in new machinery and industrial apparatus which in turn contributed to the lack of competitiveness in British industry generally. There was a general lack of initiative and failure to get involved in the newly developing industries such as the petro-chemical and electrical engineering industries, which would soon come to dominate industry. During the 1880s, imports of wheat and flour into the United Kingdom increased to 70,282 thousand cwt from just 50,406 thousand cwt the previous decade.[8] These imports often came from the US, where the vast prairies were developed by trans-continental railway. The imports were helped by the development of large merchant steamships. The cost of imports fell dramatically, making it much more viable to import larger quantities of foodstuffs. The average annual wheat price fell from 47.67 shillings per quarter between 1875-9 to just 31.58 shillings per quarter in 1885-9.[9] An important development in the 1880s was the introduction of the refrigeration ship, which enabled meat products to be imported from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.[10] Despite this gloomy economic and industrial situation which was afflicting the country generally, London itself was not amongst the worst hit area. The flux of imports affected the agricultural sector, not many of whom were to be found in the metropolis; particularly those who relied on wheat and cereal growing. Again, the refusal of the government to introduce a tariff system to protect the domestic market did nothing to help the situation. A benefit of the depression, particularly for those not dependent on agriculture, was that it meant food was cheaper. This in turn meant that those who were employed actually enjoyed a higher standard of living. In 1888, the Conservative government set up the London County Council. This was a response to the political activism of the great reformers of the decade, but it marked a positive step in the battle against poverty and want. It involved direct election of 118 councillors, which allowed public opinion to have a say. Although struggles for power even within this new body continued, it moved the battle to political ground. This development was complemented in the 1880s by the growth and development of more organised trades unions in London. This attempt to organise labour often involved the transport workers, and therefore focused on London. While this was undoubtedly a positive development, giving many workers, for the first time, an authoritative voice bout their conditions, it can be said that this led to increased struggle and clashing between workers and employers, which contributed to the idea of the city being in crisis. The most spectacular manifestation of this was the riots in Trafalgar Square in 1886 and 1887, which although they involved the unemployed rather than unionised workers, highlighted the animosity felt towards the privileged and propertied people of London. This culminated in ‘Bloody Sunday’ on 13 November 1887. Mackail described the events. â€Å"No one who ever saw it will ever forget the strange and indeed terrible sight of that grey winter day, the vast sombre-coloured crowd, the brief but fiery struggle at the corner of the Strand, and the river of steel and scarlet that moved slowly through the dusky swaying masses when two squadrons of the Life Guards were summoned up from Whitehall.†[11] Another positive development for London during the period, which counters the impression of London as a city in crisis during this period, was the effect on the great city of the railways and steamships. Having already assisted the growth and development of the empire, by the 1880s, they had considerably magnified the importance of London itself. As well as being a great international seaport, the increasing rail network focused on London also. In 1880, the total value of London’s trade was greater than that of its nearest rival, Liverpool.[12] London also became a symbol of free trade, as it was the centre of the great importing warehouses. This, of course, was not as positive as it may have seemed, given the negative effects on the rest of the country of the massive growth in imports during the period. The flip-side of these developments in transport was the social cost. People often had to be turned out of their homes in order to build the new terminals. Industrial conditio ns amongst the workers were less than adequate also. This was most marked in 1889, the year of the great dock strike at the London docks, as the workers struggled to achieve the ‘dockers’ tanner’. This event can be seen to encapsulate much of the perception about the decade as a whole; one of struggle and conflict between workers and their managers. Urbanisation was a major factor during the period. Much of this was concentrated in London and Middlesex (as well as Lancashire, Durham, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, west-central and parts of south Wales). Increasing ground rents in the period were beginning to drive many of the middle and upper classes to the city limits. The term ‘Greater London’ was used for the first time in the 1881 Census; an area that was growing the most rapidly.[13] During the 1870s, rural population experienced an absolute decline for the first time since records began while urban population increased by 75% in some cases. In response to this there was a building boom in London during the 1880s. By the middle of the next decade, in London and Middlesex, nearly half of the population had been born elsewhere.[14] While this massive urban growth was positive for the city in many ways, it also meant more crowding, insufficient housing, increasing rents and costs and the dangers of disease that acco mpany such conditions. Harris discusses the fall in fertility during the 1880s. Commentators at the time put it down to the strain of urban living and the modern education system â€Å"eroding human procreative powers†.[15] This fall in the birth rate concerned many contemporaries at the time, and it has been debated at length by historians ever since. It is interesting that it coincided with the Great Depression, and another, later drop coincided with a fall in real wages in 1900. This general atmosphere of depression, economic an social, was perhaps at its most acute during the 1880s, and although it actually spanned over twenty years, it is this decade in particular that is remembered as a decade of crisis. During the 1880s, Charles Booth began his great survey of the London poor entitled London Life and Labour. this would become an important work in drawing attention to the want of the working class in the capital. It marked a realisation, or appreciation, of what was becoming a serious problem of poverty and low living. In one passage, he describes the typical working woman (who was often only partly-employed) as â€Å"generally elderly, infirm, penniless and a widow †¦ she is nervous and timid, and takes work at whatever price it may be offered to her.†[16] A major reason why the decade is seen as one of crisis, then, is that it was one of the earliest times that the poverty and dire situation of the working classes in London was forced to the attention of the wider public. Poverty was the â€Å"biggest single fact of contemporary existence.†[17] Poverty, poor sanitation and over-crowding were nothing new to the 1880s, but with Booth’s work, and the later wo rk of Rowntree, the situation was increasingly recognised. Booth’s work was followed quickly by other similar studies such as Andrew Mearn’s The Bitter Cry of Outcast London (1883) and General Booth’s In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890). In 1887, Henry Hyndman published a pamphlet entitled A Commune for Socialism which was a plea for municipal socialism. This was a cry that was increasingly being taken up, as the importance of local government as a means of social reform was being recognised. Joseph Chamberlain was one of the members of the government of the day to realise this importance, and indeed introduce it into the national debate. He spoke about this in 1885. â€Å"Local government is near the people. Local government will bring you into contact with the masses. By its means you will be able to increase their comforts, to secure their health, to multiply the luxuries which they may enjoy †¦ to lessen the inequalities of our social system, and the raise the standard of all classes in the community.†[18] It was, then, increasingly brought into the national debate, and this bears large responsibility for the impression of the 1880s being a decade of crisis. This was, however, a positive step, as it l ed to increased activism and political developments favouring the working classes. In Victorian Cities, Briggs describes London as ‘the World City’. This captures how London was seen, both domestically and abroad, throughout much of the Victorian era. By the closing decades of the nineteenth century, then, why was the greatest city in the world experiencing a crisis? During the 1880s, the Quarterly Review described the â€Å"complete separation of the residences of the different classes of the community.†[19] This was referring to the contrast between the East End and the West End of London, and the effective segregation of the population of London into rich areas and poor areas. It has been said that the residents of each respective part of London knew and cared little about the other area. In another work important in stimulating the better-off into action called Tales of Mean Streets Arthur Morrison asked â€Å"who knows the East End?† The description that followed in answer reflected the common perception of the situation in the East End: â€Å"an evil plexus of slums that hide human creeping things; where filthy men and women live on penn’orths of gin, where collars and clean shirts are decencies unknown, where every citizen wears a black eye, and none combs his hair.†[20] The situation in London, then, was not homogenous throughout the great city. There were pockets of serious depravity, while other areas enjoyed great wealth and luxury. It was this juxtaposition of the East End with the bright lights of the West End that highlighted the dire situation in the East End, and did more than anything to contribute to the impression of London as a city in crisis during the 1880s. The stark difference was that although poverty was present in parts of the West End, for example around Belgrave Square, it was largely hidden from view, while in the East End it was clearly visible for those who cared to see it. During the 1880s, however, as London was increasingly being seen as a world city, as the capital of the greatest empire in the world, it was the ostentatious and dazzling aspect of the city’s situation which was emphasised. Here, then, is an interesting paradox. Although the 1880s saw some of the early social commentators and reformers recognise and draw attention to the ills of the poorer classes in London (as well as other industrial cities of England), to many London remained one of the greatest cities in the world. In 1883, for example, an Australian writer described London in New York’s Century Magazine. â€Å"We may talk of our Western empire and our admirable ports, of our growth and our growing wealth; but here is, and will remain for generations, the centre of the commercial and political world, the focus of intellectual activity and the mint of thought.†[21] The 1880s were a decade of great struggle in London. There was much poverty and want, with disease rife, and sanitation poor. The dire situation did not affect the whole of the city, however, and it was the wealth and opulence of the West End which highlighted how bad the situation elsewhere had become. It was also a decade of increasing social comment and investigation. The middle classes were, for the first time, taking an interest in their less fortunate neighbours. The decade was not the first in which London was in crisis; it was simply one of the earliest that the situation was recognised. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baycroft, T., Nationalism in Europe 1789 1945 (Cambridge, 1998) Briggs, A., Victorian Cities (London, 1968) Burnett, J., Useful Toil (London and New York, 1994) English, R., Kenny, M. (Eds), Rethinking British Decline (New York, 2000) Feldman, D., Englishmen and Jews (New Haven and London, 1994) Fraser, H., ‘Municipal Socialism and Social Policy’, in Morris, R.J., and Rodger, R. (Eds), The Victorian City (London and New York 1993) Harris, J., Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain 1870 1914 (Oxford, 1993) Lowe, N., Mastering Modern British History (London, 1998) Mathias, P., The First Industrial Nation (London, 1969) Morris, R.J., Rodger, R. (Eds), The Victorian City (London and New York, 1993) Pugh, M., State and Society (2nd edition) (London, 1999) Taylor, A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe (Oxford, 1971) Footnotes [1] Richard le Gallienne (1895), quoted in Briggs, A., Victorian Cities (London, 1968), p311 [2] Mathias, P., The First Industrial Nation (London, 1969), p468 [3] Burnett, J., Useful Toil (London and New York, 1994), p15 [4] Lowe, N., Mastering Modern British History (London, 1998), p216 [5] Ibid, p216 [6] Taylor, A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe (Oxford, 1971), ppxxix xxx [7] Harris, J., Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain 1870 1914 (Oxford, 1993), p41 [8] Mathias, pp472-5 [9] Ibid [10] Lowe, p221 [11] Quoted in Briggs, p329 [12] Briggs, p318 [13] Ibid, p312 [14] Harris, pp41 44 [15] Ibid, p47 [16] Quoted in Burnett, p35 [17] Briggs, p313 [18] Quoted in Fraser, H., ‘Municipal Socialism and Social Policy’, in Morris, R.J., and Rodger, R. (Eds), The Victorian City (London and New York 1993), p263 [19] Quoted in Briggs, p314 [20] Quoted ibid, p315 [21] Hogan, J.F., Century Magazine (1883), quoted in Briggs, p317

Saturday, July 20, 2019

A Comparison of Da Vincis and Tintorettos The Last Supper Essay

A Comparison of Da Vinci's and Tintoretto's The Last Supper The two paintings and artists I am going to compare and contrast are "The Last Supper" by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) and "The Last Supper" by Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594). Although I am not a religious person, the sight of the painting by Tintoretto amazed me for the simple fact that it is so different from "The Last Supper" I grew up with. The first, and most obvious, difference between the two is the color. The work done by da Vinci is bright with lighter colors, and you can tell it takes place during the day. On the other hand, the work done by Tintoretto is dark-lightened only by fire, and the time of day is not as obvious. The painting's surrounding is almost in a bar-like place, and the picture is not as intimate as da Vinci's. The placement of the Last Supper's table is different. Da Vinci places his table in the center, with the main people facing the viewer. On the contrary, Tintoretto places his table to the left hand side of the painting, and the main people are looking towards the other "r...

Susan Glaspells A Jury of Her Peers :: Jury Her Peers

A Jury of Peers In   A Jury of Peers   by Susan Glaspell, the story revolves around the sudden death of John Wright. There are five characters that participate in the investigation of this tragedy. Their job is to find a clue to the motive that will link Mrs. Wright, the primary suspect, to the murder. Ironically, the ladies, whose duties did not include solving the mystery, were the ones who found the clue to the motive. Even more ironic, Mrs. Hale, whose presence is solely in favor of keeping the sheriff s wife company, could be contributed the most to her secret discovery. In this short story, Mrs. Hale s character plays a significant role to Mrs. Wright s nemesis in that she has slight feelings of accountability and also her discovery of the clue to the motive.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states,   Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold.   The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but   now   she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic,   I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year.   Then she goes on to explain,   I liked her well enough. Farmers   wives have their hands full,   it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The two women were left in the kitchen while the men were investigating inthe crime scene. Mrs. Hale noticed the   half done   work in the kitchen. She hated unfinished things. For example, her unfinished kitchen that she had to leave. Therefore, she made a connection between her unfinished business and the one at hand. Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers :: Jury Her Peers A Jury of Peers In   A Jury of Peers   by Susan Glaspell, the story revolves around the sudden death of John Wright. There are five characters that participate in the investigation of this tragedy. Their job is to find a clue to the motive that will link Mrs. Wright, the primary suspect, to the murder. Ironically, the ladies, whose duties did not include solving the mystery, were the ones who found the clue to the motive. Even more ironic, Mrs. Hale, whose presence is solely in favor of keeping the sheriff s wife company, could be contributed the most to her secret discovery. In this short story, Mrs. Hale s character plays a significant role to Mrs. Wright s nemesis in that she has slight feelings of accountability and also her discovery of the clue to the motive.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states,   Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold.   The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but   now   she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic,   I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year.   Then she goes on to explain,   I liked her well enough. Farmers   wives have their hands full,   it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The two women were left in the kitchen while the men were investigating inthe crime scene. Mrs. Hale noticed the   half done   work in the kitchen. She hated unfinished things. For example, her unfinished kitchen that she had to leave. Therefore, she made a connection between her unfinished business and the one at hand.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Attending High School Essay -- Education Papers, high school experienc

High School Do you remember your high school days? High school for me has proved to be a learning experience and also a challenge. There are many lessons that can be learned. You can learn more about yourself, who your friends are, what kind of help is offered to you, and what your strengths and your weaknesses are. Attending High School helped build my confidence because my classmates were supportive, my teachers taught me how to study for tests, and the math tutors helped me overcome my fear of math. My classmates were supportive in many ways. I used to attend study groups for the subjects that I was struggling in. In these meetings with each other,we would study our notes and review the chapters that we would be tested on. My classmates would also tutor one another in subjects that they were strong in and others were weak in. My classmates would even talk and try to comfort me when I was having personal problems and help me get my priorities straight that took place outside of school. So without my clas...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Role of Youth

[pic] Prepared by: Jennifer Corriero Date of Release:January 2004 Lead Organization: TakingITGlobal Special Thanks: Advisors: Professor David Wheeler, PhD Joseph Amati, Masters Student Ellen Ratchye, Research Analyst, Fallon; Shelley Smith and Robert Bernard, DCODE Technology Support: Martin Kuplens-Ewart Data analysis and research support: Jacob Bleakley, Noor Alibhai, Hugh Switzer Final Edit: Huss Banai and Michael FurdykTable of Contents: |1 |Executive Summary |3 | | | | | |2 |Introduction |5 | | | | | |2. 1 |Demographic Force |5 | |2. |Democracy on the Rise |5 | |2. 3 |Culture of Leadership |6 | |2. 4 |A Shift in Power Dynamics |7 | |2. 5 |TakingITGlobal Online Community and Vision |8 | |2. |Youth as Key Stakeholders |9 | |2. 7 |Youth as Engaged Citizens |10 | |2. 8 |From Student to Teacher |10 | |2. 9 |Young Employees as a Source of Innovation |11 | |2. 10 |The Interactive Consumer |12 | |2. 1 |The Need for a Holistic Perspective on Youth |13 | | | | | |3 |Role of Youth S urvey: Key Objectives |14 | | | | | |4 |Role of Youth Survey: Methodology |15 | | | | | |4. |Promotion of Survey |16 | |4. 2 |Analysis of Survey Results |17 | |4. |Demographic Profile of Respondents |20 | | | | | |5 |Defining Youth |22 | | | | | |6 |Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Youth |26 | | | | | |7 |Issues of Importance to Youth |29 | | | | | |8 |Participation in Decision-Making |31 | | | | | |9 |Factors Influencing the Changing Roles of the Youth |34 | | | | | |10 |Youth as Agents of Change |37 | | | | | |11 |Conclusion |40 | | | | | |12 |General References |42 | 1. Executive SummaryThis report is the outcome of a larger process, building on months of reading and research of secondary materials, years of personal experiences meeting with and understanding the issues and perspectives of young people around the world. This research seeks to demonstrate that globally, young people today have more power and potential to create change than any previous generation of y outh. It seeks to discover the ways in which young people define themselves, how they are perceived by society, how they are best engaged in decision-making, and the role of technology in facilitating the shifting role of youth. This report is based on a survey designed by Jennifer Corriero, based on five prevalent categories: Defining Youth, Perceptions and Attitudes towards Youth, Youth Participation in Decision-Making, The Role of Technology, and Youth as Change Agents.Conducted in partnership with an international NGO, TakingITGlobal (TIG), the electronic survey was promoted and filled out by over 1,400 respondents, after which qualitative and quantitative questions were separated, organized, grouped, and analyzed, with the assistance of a number of individuals. Finally, this report was created to communicate the values and trends underlying the statistics and statements of respondents from around the world. The question of how youth is defined resulted in an interesting array o f suggestions. Age led with over half of the responses, followed by suggestions that youth represents personality characteristics or outlooks on life. A young female in India suggests that youth are those who are vivacious, full of energy† – people who â€Å"want to make a mark in life†. The idea of youth being a life stage between dependant and independent was another major grouping of responses, suggesting that youth are â€Å"starting to enjoy freedom for the first time†, according to a young man from Zimbabwe. As the perceptions and attitudes towards youth were investigated, it was discovered that the majority of youth (62. 3%) have a lot of reasons for hope for the future. In regions such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, a stronger sense of optimism could perhaps be attributed to the need for a positive outlook to survive in many of the developing countries in those regions.Consumer culture was consistently felt around the world to have too much influence of today’s youth, according to 76% of respondents. Education was seen as meaningful and important by 89% of survey participants, with 62. 2% feeling that youth are not equipped with the skills they require for jobs. Education, employment, friends, music and various social issues were stated as the top areas of concern and interest of youth within their communities. Sustainability only made it into the top 10 in Africa and Asia, suggesting that the rest of the world has yet to make sustainable living a priority, or even something that people are aware and confronted with as an important issue.Employment was in the top 3 in every region, and was first in South America, with many young people expressing concerns about ensuring that they have the necessary skills and experiences to be employed in their field of interest at a sustainable wage. As youth participation in decision-making was explored, it was discovered that the highest area of youth participation takes plac e within local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with national NGOs close behind. Youth were least involved with national governments, which in most countries have yet to engage in meaningful strategies to encourage or facilitate youth participation, evidenced by the low voter turnout rates amongst youth, especially in North America.As Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota put it once on CNN â€Å"Youth don’t vote because they say politicians don’t care about their issues. Politicians don’t care about their issues because youth don’t vote! † It appears that NGOs have the best relationships with youth and thus are best positioned to meaningfully engage youth in various political processes. Respondents were very positive about the role of technology in transforming the role of youth in society and organizations. The majority see technology as an enabler for information to be shared and meaningful communication to be had. A variety of concerns wer e also brought up such as the digital divide, and how technology helps those who have access to it.Many examples were highlighted discussing the various ways that young people have made a meaningful impact in their communities and how they would change or improve the world, their countries and the role of youth in their communities. Overall, the sample of youth in this survey uncovered an optimistic, forward-looking generation encompassing young of age and youth-minded individuals. They are comfortable with and enabled by technological progress and change, interested in engaging in local and global decision-making, and they are already having significant impacts in their communities, countries, regions, and around the world. They want to be educated, they recognize gaps in their skills, and in many cases they can clearly identify the needs of not just themselves but of their peers.The sample was respectful of the wisdom of the elders that have led them to where they are, but also re ady and willing for the challenges that await them as they mature and discover the complexities of our global ecosystem. 2. Introduction Young people growing up today have far more power and potential to create change than any previous generation of youth growing up. Much of this shift is a direct result of the information revolution and access to opportunities that have been provided to people of all ages, especially to those growing up in the information age. This report will discuss prevalent demographic and political trends, the nature of youth in today’s global information society, and will provide reflections on the changing roles and responsibilities of youth in this new setting.A discussion concerning youth as stakeholders will look at how traditional perceptions of the role of youth as passive citizens, students, employees, and consumers are actively challenged and questioned today. An empirical narrative providing background on my experiences most relevant to this t rend, moreover, will be shared to provide personal context to this research. Lastly, the results and key findings from a survey conducted on the Role of Youth will be shared. 2. 1 Demographic Force Young people are also an ever-growing demographic force. According to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), there are more than one billion people between the ages of 15 and 24 on the planet. [i] In the developing world, where 80 percent of young people can be found, youth comprise up to 70 percent of some nations’ populations. ii] In the United States of America, the baby boom generations of the 1940s 1950s made possible the subsequent echo boom (those born between 1977 and 1997), of which today’s young people are a substantial part – 80+ million strong[iii]. 2. 2 Democracy on the Rise The transformation of many authoritarian states to democracies (as shown in figure 1 below) has further improved and provided the essential conditions and environment for young peopl e to explore their interests, express themselves, take action on issues they care about, and access information. [pic][iv] As a result of the Internet, population growth, and rise of democratic societies, a new paradigm in the role of young people is beginning to emerge, resulting in the recognition of youth as citizens, students, employees and consumers.As many as 620 million people have access to the World Wide Web and related information and communications technologies (ICTs) worldwide, with the majority of Internet users based in the non-English-speaking countries. [v] English comprises 36. 5 percent (230. 6 million) of the world online population language, while the non-English-speaking world represents 63. 9 percent (403. 5 million). [vi] According to 2000 statistics from Forrester Research, 56 percent of 16-22 year-olds are online in the United States. They spend an average of 9 hours online, 38 percent more than the average wired adult and are involved in a wider variety of online activities compared to adults – 20 percent more. vii] The same survey found the majority of Internet users in the United States to be in the 18-49 age-group (63 percent), with only 37 percent of users in the 50+ age-group. [viii] 2. 3 Culture of Leadership The culture of leadership for much of the twentieth century was influenced, and modeled after, centralized structures of governance and rigid forms of authority. The onset of the Industrial Revolution unleashed a series of uncontested norms and universally-accepted orthodoxies that associated centralized management systems and constant decision-making with effective leadership. The social consequences of mass production and centralized management of many industries reduced the traditional family into solitary unit of production.As observed by one of the foremost theorists of management theory, Peter F. Drucker, the massive standardization of production methods and operating procedures (‘machine bureaucracy†™) also served to loosen the some conventional familial characteristics, ultimately culminating into the â€Å"crisis of the family†: On the farm and in the artisan's workshop husband, wife, and children worked together. The factory, almost for the first time in history, took worker and work out of the home and moved them into the workplace, leaving family members behind — whether spouses of adult factory workers or, especially in the early stages, parents of child factory workers. [ix]This centralized view of management in latter half of the past century, however, gradually conceded to more diffused and informal structures of governance; as more theorists and practitioners arrived at the common conclusion that â€Å"the better a business firm [organization] is organized, the more naturally decision rights gravitate to the spot where the best information is available about the specific decision that has to be made. †[x] The emergence, and mainstream influence of, the Internet in the past decade, moreover, has had a profound impact on the way a given society manages its daily affairs – socially, politically, and economically – bringing with it new, and never-before-heard-of industries, such as biotechnology and IT telecommunications.Whereas we may make the case that the rigid structures of the industrial age had a number of indirect negative impacts on families as a result of its emphasis on standardization and mass production, many believe that the information age, with its focus on integration and wide-scale distribution of information, has served the family by highlighting the importance of local communities and inter-cultural communication. [xi] Under the centralized form of governance, and prior to the Information Revolution, those with the most power and experience effectively possessed a monopoly over access to sources of information, and, therefore, tended to act as leaders within their communities. The â€Å"decisi on rights† of the younger and more inexperienced people were virtually non-existent and often viewed as being connected to those of women and the less advantaged in the society.In many ways, this paradigm still persists today in the sense that young people are seen by many as having passive roles in society, such as the student who is there to learn rather than teach, the young employee who needs to do what he/she is told rather than provide a source of creative and innovative input, the consumer who is viewed as a target to influence rather than to truly support, the child who needs to learn how to ‘grow up’, and the citizen who is disengaged because he/she either cannot vote or is part of a population whose voice matters little. In addition, because young people (defined as those between the ages of 13-30) are at the frontlines of change from being dependent on older generations to being independent, they have been especially vulnerable to external influences an d often lack a sense of empowerment because they suffer from the lack of essential resources, and limited involvement in decision-making. 2. 4 A Shift in Power DynamicsThe emergence of the Internet and other ICTs (Information & Communication Technologies) has been a catalyst for change, especially within the context of shifting traditional power dynamics. Increasingly, leadership is based on effective networks of collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Transforming leadership strategies from what they were during much of the past century has, to state it mildly, a challenge for most organizations and companies. More inclusive methods of governance, be it in the corporate world or the bureaucracy of the state, have been implemented in order to encourage, or project the image of, socially responsible behaviour. [xii] This transition, however, has almost been a foreign concept to youth growing up in the digital age.The advent of the Internet offered an opportunity to young people – most of whom are much well-versed in using computers and digital devices than their parents’ generation – to develop new virtual interests, relatively unknown and foreign to previous generations. This new medium no longer involved complex and rigid forms of management and communication that were associated with previous power-centric models of governance. The diffusion of the hierarchies and power structures also meant the decentralization of information and the formation of simple, and easily-managed, networks of people, accessible at the click of the mouse worldwide. In this new environment, sources of influence do not simply come from the top, but are inspired or affected by the views, ideas and perspectives of many stakeholders who are affected by the decisions being made.Governments and other formal decision-making bodies have been challenged to hold higher levels of transparency and accountability in order to gain institutional trust. Companies are increasingly interested in what their employees, customers and general public think about their business practices and increasingly aspire to become more socially responsible in order to address the needs and concerns of their stakeholders. [xiii] Instantaneous access to information and online resources has enabled the ‘common person’ make a contribution to organizations and society at large, while being able to demand a greater level of participation and involvement in decision-making.More than ever, young people growing up with technology have the opportunity to empower themselves using their unprecedented access to real-time information and knowledge sources that can be attained through ever-expanding social networks, new alliances, businesses, protests and advocacy campaigns, and websites expressing divergent views and perspectives. 2. 5 TakingITGlobal Online Community and Vision The TakingITGlobal. org Online Community provides: †¢ A pathway to support local action †¢ A platform for the voices of young people to be heard †¢ A framework for understand global challenges and issues †¢ A connection to resources and opportunities †¢ A network of interesting, dynamic and diverse young people †¢ A virtual space to showcase cross-cultural perspectives and expressions.In addition to engaging members of the online community, TakingITGlobal supports the needs of youth-led initiatives, educators and international organizations through its thematic, educational and organizational engagement strategies. TakingITGlobal’s 2010 Vision includes the following: †¢ To realize the potential of at least 5 million young people as leaders for the benefit of their local and global communities. †¢ To bridge the ‘continuity gap' enhancing the effectiveness of youth action by connecting all major youth activities, events, programs and initiatives in a global network. †¢ To mainstream recognition that young people are key stake holders in all national and international policy making. †¢ To produce the world’s most comprehensive and powerful knowledge resource – pushing the boundaries of online community and technology as a tool for social empowerment. To instigate significant evolution in the present concepts of school-education by increasing global connection, meaningful use of ICT’s (information, communication technologies) and inspiring student engagement. †¢ To demonstrate innovation, excellence, creativity and professionalism in the management of a new style of international organization that is entrepreneurial, technology-enhanced, and youth-driven. 2. 6 Youth Are Becoming More Engaged as Key Stakeholders When key stakeholders are brought together to share a vision for the future, it is critical to recognize that although most young people are unable to formally represent a business, government or non-profit institution as a key stakeholder, they do have the largest sta ke in the future and can often help to revive and refresh various perspectives being shared. Youth participation often requires changes in the way adults perceive and deal with adolescents, since the rights of young people and their capacities to make decisions for themselves are often unrecognized and undervalued. †[xiv] Increasingly, institutions are recognizing the importance of bringing the voices of young people to the forefront. On a global level, there are numerous summits that have brought together various leaders and decision-makers and have included young people as a key stakeholder or ‘major group’. For example, as a participant at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was part of what the United Nations considers to be a ‘Major Group’ within the overall process of the summit along with women, indigenous people, farmers, business etc.According to Agenda 21, involving each of the major group s in the decision-making process was recognized as being a â€Å"fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development†[xv] The Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development states that the process is inclusive of youth: 34. We are in agreement that this must be an inclusive process, involving all the major groups and Governments that participated in the historic Johannesburg 170. Promote and support youth participation in programmes and activities relating to sustainable development through, for example, supporting local youth councils or their equivalent, and by encouraging their establishment where they do not By promoting, supporting and involving youth as a major group, a statement is made about the importance of recognizing youth as key stakeholders.At the recent World Summit on the Information Society Preparatory Meetings which have been held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Youth Caucus is one of the strongest and most active groups, participating in the process alongside government, industry and other NGO groupings. 2. 7 Youth as Engaged Citizens On a national level, one of the basic conditions of a healthy democracy is having a population that votes. However, those under 18 are unable to participate – and not effectively inspired to vote once they’re able to, which has been leading to a large decline in youth voter turnout. In the US, only 60% of eligible voters under 25 have registered, and only 24% of those eligible to vote and over 20 say they â€Å"always vote† during elections. At the same time, many young people are civically engaged in many other ways – 40% of U. S. outh 14-24 have volunteered, 38% have participated in a boycott, and 44% have done some type of fundraising for charity, all within the last year. [xvi] There is a need to increase awareness and trust in political process, while also validating and supporting other forms of civic participation. There are a growing number of re gional, national, and local youth councils and networks sprouting up due to interest, support, and demand. Increasingly, different youth councils are strengthening their efforts through forging more partnerships and raising their profile. An example of this is the European Youth Forum, ‘a platform organization, it is the representative body for its members towards the institutions and partners active in the youth field.The 89 member organizations of the European Youth Forum represent a wide range of interests: student organizations, political organizations, organizations concerned with environmental protection, minorities, young rural organizations, conscripts organizations and many more. The European Youth Forum has member organizations including both national youth organizations and international youth organizations, drawn from throughout the European continent. The highest decision-making body is the General Assembly, which elects a Bureau made up of volunteers every two ye ars. The Bureau meets monthly to assess political priorities, implement its work plan and advises the Secretariat in its work. ’[xvii] Increasingly, youth councils are being formed and strengthened in order to provide opportunities for young people to have a stronger voice. 2. 8 From Student to TeacherDue to the rapid revolution in Information and Communication Technologies over the last decade, young people growing up as these technologies evolved have become innately comfortable using them, and have become neighborhood authorities on computer technologies. As the education system began to introduce computers in the classroom, young people were often frustrated as they were forced to re-learn skills they already had developed, such as BASIC programming and keyboarding. Over time, students’ expertise with technology has become accepted by teachers, and a variety of programs, such as Generation YES, have been developed to harness the skills and enthusiasm of students fo r technology to assist teachers in more meaningfully integrating it into the classroom. Young people are also learning from a wide variety of sources, and are increasingly deriving knowledge from their peers and non-school sources.As Don Tapscott cites in his 1998 book â€Å"Growing Up Digital†, many young people growing up in the late 80’s and early 90’s have learned basic skills from educational software like â€Å"Reader Rabbit† and video games. Thanks to online communication tools like ICQ, students are able to collaborate in real-time with their friends and peers across town or across the ocean, and share knowledge and ideas with each other. All told, this amounts to quite a challenge for the average teacher to cope with – a variety of students all with varying levels of technology access and external influences – as early as junior kindergarten! Of course, to meet the needs of these wired students as they progressed through the school system, Universities began to experiment with online course delivery and some now offer complete degree programs using a combination of ICTs.The role of a teacher has also evolved in these situations to more of a mentor and coach as needed, versus needing to hand-hold students through courses, enabling them to provide maximum value in supporting the course content versus needing to focus on content delivery. This generation of youth also enjoys sharing opinions – and teachers can’t escape! Websites like RateYourTeacher. com and RateMyProfessor. com showcase the ratings of teachers by thousands of students, opening up the previously untouchable teacher relationship to transparent feedback and criticism by ‘consumer’ students. 2. 9 Young Employees as a Source of Innovation There are a variety of implications for human resource departments in companies and organizations as they begin to hire and integrate new talent into their workforce.Because there is a lar ge population of youth who are entering the workforce and who carry a range of unique skills and perspectives (especially technology-related), the existing strategies that attempt to attract, retain and develop the next generation of talent need to adapt to a different set of needs, expectations and opportunities. Young employees, especially those doing internships, can provide an incredible source of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and creative potential. In an organization where having many years of experience is valued, young people can be an overlooked, untapped resource. In the context of trying to solve problems in new ways, it is important to engage those who have not yet been institutionalized and are unfamiliar with the way that things have always been done.It is critical for organizations to develop new strategies that can allow them to more meaningfully involve young people in both problem-solving and decision-making processes, in order to respond to the complex and ev olving organizational challenges being faced. As it was mentioned above, the onset of the Information Revolution, coupled with the period of massive decentralization across-industries, had a profound impact on the way young people identify with the work environment. In the knowledge-based industries, rigid and strict structures of the past are largely associated with inefficiency, and are largely thought of as counterproductive to personal development.Having grown up with this mindset, young peoples’ perceptions toward decision-making and effective problem-solving are mainly derived from their experiences in the digital world, where interaction and inclusion of perspectives are essential, if not required, for achieving common goals. Therefore, in dealing with this new technologically-empowered demographic, new knowledge-based industries will have to reinvent many of the old approaches toward this new generation. This, in fact, means that they (industries) would have to appeal to their knowledge-workers â€Å"by satisfying their values, and by giving them social recognition and social power† which they have grown accustomed to. [xviii] 2. 10 The Interactive ConsumerDue to the nature of the Internet as a medium which allows for and is based upon networks and interactions, young consumers have the opportunity to be creators of media and content rather than simply consume what is produced for them. â€Å"Broadcast technology, like television, is hierarchical. It depends upon a top-down distribution system. Someone somewhere decides what will be broadcast and our role is limited to what we choose or do not choose to watch. There is no direct feedback from the viewer to the broadcaster†¦The internet depends upon a distributed, or shared, delivery system rather than a hierarchical one. The distributed, or shared, power is at the heart of the culture of interaction. [xix]† (p79)Due to the nature of the medium that young people are enabled by, they are able to demand a greater level of information, interactivity and involvement when it comes to products, services and the overall customer experience. Shopping comparison websites such as MySimon. com and BuyBuddy. com allow for intelligent and informed purchasing decisions to be made based on product-reviews and price comparisons. As a result, consumers are more empowered and can make more informed purchasing decisions. The Internet has provided other opportunities for consumers to be empowered by providing a vehicle for complaints to be expressed to large numbers of people. An example of this includes websites that are developed to discuss how a particular company ‘sucks’. Many URL’s have been purchased that say CompanyNameSucks. om and provide an avenue for disgruntled customers to share their complaints and concerns. Over half (55%) of survey respondents report boycotting a company or product at some point in their life, with 38 percent saying they h ave used their stick as a consumer in the past 12 months. And boycotting — buying a product or service because they like the social or political values of the company which produces it — is only slightly less prevalent. Just under half (45%) report having done so at some point in their life, while 35 percent have used the consumer carrot in the past 12 months. [xx] Bad experiences for unhappy customers can quickly become devastating experiences for a company’s image.This demonstrates that consumers have the opportunity to become more engaged and influential through the opportunities for interaction that the Internet provides. Because 85% of teens in Canada have Internet access and are online for over 9 hours per week[xxi], young people are especially in a position to become empowered consumers, as they frequently and simultaneously combine the process of learning, working, and play/entertainment, allowing them to constantly observe and share opinions and best pr actices. 2. 11 The Need for a Holistic Perspective on Youth as Stakeholders While looking through various reports, studies, books and other secondary sources – all of which offer a variety of insights related to the interests, needs and experiences of young people, a clear research gap became evident.Much of the research that exists on young people does not involve a global perspective, and often focuses on youth in the context of consumers in order to support business decisions, or youth who are ‘at risk’ and are a segment of the population vulnerable to a variety of social problems. Rarely are youth examined in the context of having the potential to be agents of change, problem-solvers, or leaders of the information society. In addition, major studies do not involve youth in the process of survey design, which can affect the potential bias of the research. In trying to examine if and how the role of young people has changed as a result of technology, the need f or a unique study involving youth leaders and influencers from around the world who have access to technology became clear. 3. Role of Youth Survey: ObjectivesIn order to gain a deeper understanding of how the role of young people is currently perceived and how it has changed over the last 100 years, a survey was designed to explore the following: Defining Youth ? How is ‘youth’ defined? Are notions of ‘youth’ associated with positive or negative connotations? What are key differences between the perceptions of youth vs. perceptions of adults? Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Youth ? Is this generation of youth perceived to be enabled and engaged or disadvantaged and disengaged? Are they optimistic or pessimistic about the future? What other perceptions and attitudes towards youth exist and are there regional differences? Participation in Decision-Making ? How important is it for young people to be involved in decision-making?What is the current perceived level of youth participation in decision-making on local, national and global levels? The Role of Technology ? Has technology played a role in transforming the role of youth in society at large and within different organizations and institutions? What impact has technology had in transforming the role of youth? Youth As Change Agents ? Are there interesting examples of young people having a meaningful impact in their communities? If so, what factors appear to enable this to take place? What are the hopes and ideals held by today’s generation of youth leaders? What recommendations can be offered in terms of the conditions that must exist for youth to become leaders? 4. Role of Youth Survey: MethodologyThe following is an Overview of the Survey Questions: Demographic Information: for people to fill out their gender, date of birth, city, country, educational background, employment status, volunteer status and Internet usage. Defining Youth: open-ended questions about what images and phrases come to mind when they hear the word ‘youth’ and ‘adult’ and a question asking how youth is defined. Key Issues and Interests: participants were asked to identify the key issues and interests of youth in their community. They had to select from drop-down lists and rank the top 3 in order of priority. Words included: Arts, Business/Entrepreneurship, Community, Education, Employment,Environment, Friends, Fundraising, Globalization, Health, HIV and AIDS, Human Rights, Leadership, Media, Music, Peace, Political Action, Religion, Romance, Sports, Sustainable Development, Technology, Travel, Volunteering, War. Attitudinal Characteristics: respondents were asked to rate 14 statements related to whether or not people agreed or disagreed with statements about youth on a scale of 1-5. Statements explored whether or not youth are perceived to be motivated, connected to opportunities, knowledgeable, inspired, informed, skilled, interested in being involved , focused, influenced by consumer culture, supported or lacking support from adults, optimistic or pessimistic.Additional questions about education and age were asked. Role of Youth – Today: participants were asked to give their opinion on the role of youth in their community. They had to select from drop-down lists and rank the top 3 in order of priority. Words included: Students, Workers, Members, Mentors, Trend-Setters, Activists, Citizens, Victims, Leaders, Criminals, Technologists, Volunteers, Artists, Role Models, Soldiers, Children, Innovators, Peace-keepers, Consumers, Trouble-makers, Employees, Entrepreneurs Participation in Decision-Making: a question about the importance of being able to participate in decision-king was asked (on a scale of 1-5).The second part of this question asked how involved young people are in decision-making on local, national and global levels for Business, Government and Non-Profit Organizations. Meaningful Impact: participants were asked to identify an example of how a youth within their community was effective at having a meaningful impact. Role of Youth – Historically: respondents were asked to identify whether or not the role of youth has changed over the past 100 years, and if so, has it been positive or negative. The response was based on a scale of 1-5. They then explained their response. Impact of Technology: respondents were asked to identify whether or not technology impacted youth in their community, and if so, if the impact has been positive or negative.They were given a scale of 1-5 and were then asked to explain their answer. Creating Change: A series of open-ended questions were asked about how survey respondents would create change in the world, their country, and the role of youth in their community, along with what conditions need to exist for youth to become leaders 4. 1 Promotion of Survey On December 23, 2002, the survey was sent out to over 15,000 people from over 190 countries. There wer e a variety of ways in which the survey was promoted. An automated, personalized e-mail was sent out to all members of the TakingITGlobal online community (which included over 13,000 people from over 190 countries at the time).The e-mail explained that as a ‘valued member of TakingITGlobal’, they were invited to participate in an ‘online survey to help determine their view on the role of youth in society’. The e-mail stated that it would take approximately 10 minutes to complete and that all of the information shared would be kept confidential and anonymous (meaning that their name would not be used without their permission). Although the survey was completely voluntary, an incentive for participating included having their name entered into a draw to win TIG t-shirts and mouse pads. In addition, each survey respondent would receive a free electronic copy of the final results once compiled.All survey participants were given until January 21st 2003 (approxima tely 4 weeks) to fill out the survey. In order to avoid an overwhelming amount of replies to the e-mail, the letter was signed from TakingITGlobal’s Research Team as opposed to coming from a specific individual. A modified version of the e-mail invitation to participate in the Role of Youth Survey was created and sent out to all of the organizations listed in the TakingITGlobal organizations database (over 1,000), along with youth mailing lists for various organizations and youth caucuses, and other personal networks. People were invited to pass the information along and invite others to participate in the survey.In order to maintain high levels of integrity, survey participants did not need to become a member of TakingITGlobal in order to fill out the survey, and did not need to fill out their name. If they were interested in receiving a copy of the final results, they were invited to provide their e-mail address. It is important to note that due to the nature of how the sur vey was promoted, all survey respondents have access to the Internet and are connected to existing networks that attract youth who are engaged. Thus, there exists some bias in the sample of survey respondents. In addition, there was no age restriction in order to participate which means that people of all ages were invited to fill out the survey, which was done for the purposes of comparison between different age groups.The views, opinions and perspectives that have emerged as a result of the survey findings are not a representation of international youth in its entirety, but rather, a reflection from a targeted sample of engaged youth who have some access to the Internet and are able to read and write English. With this in mind, based on the goals and objectives of this study, it is an appropriate audience to survey as the focus is on trying to better understand the views and perspectives of youth who have access to technology. If there were greater resources available for this stu dy, an offline component would exist and the survey would also be made available in multiple languages. This may be something to consider as a follow-up opportunity in the future.Once the survey responses were sent in through the online survey application, Martin Kuplens-Ewart exported the compiled responses into various files for analysis. The quantitative responses were sent in SPSS format for graphs and frequency tables to be generated. The extensive qualitative responses were formatted and printed in charts and tables. 4. 2 Analysis of Survey Results The process of analyzing the survey data was far more extensive, complex, lengthy and overwhelming than what was initially expected. A variety of people were involved as part of the research team in order to assist in the initial process of compiling, reviewing and making sense of various sections of the survey.A special thanks goes to Noor Alibhai, Jacob Bleakley, Hugh Switzer and Huss Banai who were all part of the research team a t TakingITGlobal. Much of their involvement was in the initial phase of reviewing the thousands of responses which were given for the various qualitative questions. They helped sort responses into various categories and tallied up similar responses in order to generate graphs which provide a glimpse at the nature of the responses. Once initial pie charts were generated, the results were discussed as a team and I was able to continue further analysis. The following is an overall break-down of the data analysis process: ? Phase 1 – PowerPoint Presentation Including Initial GraphsThe program used to analyze the quantitative survey results was the SPSS Educational Version. After an initial tutorial session with Joseph Amati who has a lot of experience in working with SPSS, a 44 page PowerPoint presentation was put together with support from Noor, which included graphs for each of the survey questions. The deck of slides was presented to advisors for feedback. The key learning was that all the labels which included N/A or 0 as the description needed to either be removed or modified. In most cases, the information provided by this column was one that reduced the quality and overall effectiveness of the graphs. This decision meant that all the graphs needed to be regenerated.Various other lessons were learned including analysis of frequency tables. ? Phase 2 – Regional and Age Break-Down of Graphs After a great deal of experimentation and technical support from Martin at TIG, appropriate labels were modified and new forms of categorization was implemented within the survey file to allow the data to be sorted by region and age. Graphs were regenerated for each of the questions in order to include the appropriate break-down. All of the new graphs compiled were put together in a Final Results word document. Since Microsoft Word and SPSS are not entirely compatible, a lot of time was wasted in regenerating and reformatting new graphs for the final results d ocument.In addition, certain graphs involved greater levels of complexity. Those questions which asked survey respondents to rank words on order of priority involved three sets of data which had to be added up in Excel prior to being able to generate the graph. Appropriate steps were taken to generate these graphs for global and regional responses. ? Phase 3 – Qualitative Results Initial Categorization of Responses ? In total, the survey involved over 10 open-ended qualitative questions which each had their set of over 1,000 responses per question. The overwhelming amount of data collected through these questions involved extensive hours of interpretation and results compilation.The first phase of this process involved a team of researchers from TakingITGlobal tackling a specific question and developing different categories for the responses based on frequent responses. The categories established are quite subjective and as different people were involved in the process, certa in categories were modified. Initially, a larger ‘other or inapplicable’ section existed for the various categories. A second review of questions involved breaking-down the ‘other’ responses into further sub-categories in attempt to further identify key patterns and occurrences. In addition to categorizing responses and generating pie graphs in Excel to reflect the overall responses, a series of summaries were created for each of the qualitative questions.Each summary included a description of the category identified and a general overview of the responses that were placed in the category. Beneath the description included a few selected quotes which offered a general idea of the types of responses included within the identified category. A variety of challenges were encountered throughout this process, including the fact that many responses could have easily been placed in multiple categories. To adequately deal with this challenge, in the final tally, they were often placed in both categories and the total number increased. In the final graphs, the ‘other’ category has been removed from the pie chart in order to leave room for smaller categories which emerged from the initial other category.Rather than view the final pie charts as conclusive or statistically accurate, it is important to see them from the perspective of general categories of responses from highest to lowest frequency. ? Phase 4 – Advice, Suggestions and Feedback from Advisors The compiled graphs for quantitative results and qualitative survey results summary pages became the first version of the Final Results document which was 60 pages. This document was then shared with a variety of advisors including Robert Bernard and Shelly Smith from DCODE, a strategy and market research firm based in Toronto. A variety of suggestions and recommendation were provided by D*CODE in order to strengthen the overall impact of the survey results. Many lessons were learned through the feedback shared.Some of the advice was integrated; however after then speaking to my academic advisor, I was able to distinguish which changes were most appropriate to make for the purposes of my final report. One of the suggestions made included grouping the age categories differently in order to have fewer categories. The suggested age groupings include 14-19, 20-24, 25-30 and 31+. This proposed grouping addresses a few issues. Since there is a very small sample under the age of 14, it eliminates their responses from the results. Since youth is defined as up to the age of 31 and there are a smaller number of respondents over the age of 31, it helps to create one category of ‘adult’ or the purposes of comparison. This change was not made due to time constraints and in order to avoid over-simplifying the results. Another suggestion included removing the ‘neutral’ responses from graphs and clumping the ‘somewhat’ and ‘v ery’ categories together. Although this would have helped to provide clearer contrast between how the responses were weighted, it would have also reduced opportunities of noticing situations where many people were ‘neutral’, which is an observation in itself. In reviewing the charts which identify the top issues and concerns of youth, D*CODE suggested that it would be helpful to have them listed from the highest to lowest priority.Additional tables were created which identify the top 10 issues in each region in order of highest to lowest. In addition, percentages were added on existing bar graphs. Another major distinction was made between what was necessary to include in the results compared to the discussion about the results. The results of the survey are presented in the order that the questions were asked. Each graph includes a brief description. The discussion of the results is categorized in a way that makes the most overall sense, especially in terms of t he flow. In addition, only the most interesting patterns, trends and observations are highlighted in the discussion about the results. ? Phase 5 – In-Depth Reflection and Analysis of Qualitative ResponsesThe amount of qualitative responses meant that several ‘passes’ at reviewing the data were necessary. Members of the research team who were initially involved with analyzing particular questions were involved in a discussion about the results and each had an opportunity to present their findings to one another in front of an audience of other TakingITGlobal staff members. As a group, general patterns and trends were discussed and further areas of exploration were identified. After that, I spent quite some time re-reading and reviewing all of the raw qualitative results along with survey summaries. I tried to extract patterns and conclusions from the categories f responses, to better explain the impact of the data. A variety of new charts and summaries were develo ped for questions based on an additional review through the various responses to qualitative questions. These were then shared with a few other groups of people for feedback. ? Phase 6 – Written Descriptions for All Graphs Presented in Final Results After evaluating the many graphs included in the report, I looked through the data in greater detail and produced written descriptions to accompany the graphs, both to provide additional information and insight, but also to help the reader more quickly discover the wealth of data each chart had to communicate.Throughout this process, certain graphs were regenerated in order to further improve the quality of labels, the ability to view responses from both age and regional break-downs, and to include percentages where appropriate on selected graphs. ? Phase 7 – Review Final Results for Key Findings ? With the final compilation of updated graphs, descriptions and survey response summaries, a comprehensive overview of the Final Results document took place. With the editing assistance of Hussein Banai and Michael Furdyk, this final report was created. 4. 3 Demographic Profile of Survey Respondents Region: The Role of Youth Survey involved a total sample of 1443 respondents from 126 countries. The majority of respondents reside in North America (29. %) and Africa (27. 4%). There were 16. 9% of respondents from Asia and the Middle East, 14. 3% of respondents from Europe, 7. 1% from Oceania and 4. 3% from South and Central America. Gender: A higher number of respondents were male (58. 7%) compared to female (38. 7%). There were notably more female respondents compared to male respondents in North America and Oceania, whereas in Africa, there were a greater number of male participants. This may be because it is less culturally appropriate for women to have access to computers in Africa. Age: A larger number of survey respondents were under the age of 30 (75%) compared to those who are age 30 and over (25%).Thi s is likely because the survey was about youth and was promoted throughout many networks that are specifically intended to connect youth. The average age (mean) of the sample was 26 years old. Employment Status: The majority of survey respondents are currently employed (63. 7%), while 36. 4% are unemployed. Many of those who identified themselves as unemployed are in the under 25 age-group, while those with a job are mainly in the 26 and up age category. Volunteer Status: There was a relatively even number of respondents who identify themselves as volunteers (53%) compared to non-volunteers (47%). There were more volunteers in the under 30 age category compared to the 31 and up age category.Educational Status and Background: Only 40% of the respondents identify themselves as students compared to 59% of respondents who are not currently students. The are a higher number of respondents who identify themselves as students in the 16-20 age category. The survey sample is fairly educated in the sense that they are literate, they are able to speak and write in English (many also speak other languages fluently), and a large number of respondents have completed primary and secondary education. 55. 2% of respondents have completed or are attending University or College and 20. 9% of respondents have completed or are pursing Post Graduate Studies.Online Activity: All survey respondents have basic access to the Internet, whether it be through an Internet cafe, library, school, work or home computer. 46% of the respondents stated that they are online between 1-10 hours per week. 22. 9% of respondents are online between 11-20 hours and 24. 5% are online for more than 21 hours each week. When asked what they do online, they key reoccurring themes involved communication, research & information searching (including working on projects and employment), music, games & entertainment. The following is a summary of the major online activities respondents are involved in: †¢ Co mmunication: Almost every response made reference to checking e-mail, if not instant messaging and/or chat room use. †¢ Research and information:Most users identified reading various newspapers, searching background information on their interests and using online information resources to aid completion of their work and/or homework as frequent uses. †¢ Work – on projects, employment: Work was often cited as NGO involvement, general employment and the development and maintenance of personal web-pages. †¢ Music, games and entertainment: On-line time is shared among downloading music, playing games and generally related to any other media/entertainment purposes. 5. Defining Youth In looking at how the concept ‘youth’ is defined, there are different notions and interpretations that can be grouped into three major areas.The most common conceptions present youth in the context of having bountiful energy, a sense of leadership, curiosity and vision for th e future. â€Å"Period of the life when we are still dreaming;† said a 30-year-old male, Skopje, Macedonia. Just over half of the survey respondents expressed that ‘youth’ is defined by the age of a person; with most of the respondents in the 13-30 age-group. The next major interpretation of how youth are defined was expressed through various personality characteristics and outlooks on life. â€Å"Vivacious, full of energy, want to make a mark in life, impulsive and one who are not scared to take risks;† said a 19-year-old female, Pune, India. Many descriptions shared by survey respondents clearly define ‘youth’ in a positive and idealistic light.The third major category defining youth focuses on the particular life stage that people are situated in while in transition from being dependents to being independent. â€Å"A person who is starting to enjoy freedom for the first time†¦;† said a 26-year-old male, Harare, Zimbabwe. A key t heme that is frequently repeated throughout this stage of transition is the freedom and lack of constraints that exist compared to older adults who are weighed down by greater responsibilities and societal pressures. Societal institutions develop various mechanisms to train and nurture the development of young people who are at a life stage that allows them to be open-minded, free-spirited, creative and imaginative.There exists a clear correlation between the social conditioning of young people who need to prepare to become adults and the aspirations of adults to re-connect with their ‘youthful creative energy’ in an age where creativity and innovation are highly valued and a scarce resource in large bureaucratic institutions. However, there is both a strong contrast and a connection that exists between notions of ‘youth’ and ‘adult’. A common thread is that both involve age as part of the definition. The following chart highlights the contrast that exists between the most frequent expressions that emerged in response to the questions ‘What words, images and phrases come to mind when you hear the word ‘youth’ and then asked the same question for ‘adult’: Associations with the word ‘Youth’ |Associations with the word ‘Adult’ | |Lack wisdom, need guidance |Caregivers, Standard Setters | |Dreamers, Visionary, Hope for the Future |Critical, Dream-Killers, Few Idealists | |Freedom, Experimentation, Playfulness |Burdened, Busy, Responsibilities | |Open-Minded, Flexible, Innovative |Rigid-Thinking, Stuck, Conservative | |Rebellious, Free-spirited |Professional and traditional | |Innocence, Naive, Potential |Greedy,Corrupt, Selfish | |Disadvantaged, Vulnerable, Unheard Voice |Decision-Makers, Positions of Authority | In reflecting on the nature of the responses to this question, it is important to note that the overall perceptions of ‘adults’ are negative com pared to perceptions of ‘youth. ’ This bias may exist as a result of the sample size which involved 75% of people under the age of 30. It is possible if more adults were surveyed, especially those adults who are less involved and connected to youth networks, there may have been more negative categories for youth. It is also important to keep in mind that certain words and phrases can have both a positive and negative interpretation.For example, depending on the context of the situation, being rebellious can be seen as something that involves creating trouble or struggling towards positive change. Being a dreamer may imply that one has a strong sense of imagination while at the same time, having the potential of being caught up in a fantasy which is never actualized. A variety of the characteristics which describe adults involve ideals which youth often aspire towards attaining such as being a decision-maker or someone in a position of authority. These are perceived atti tudes however there may be more instances where adults feel powerless and that they are not in a position to make decisions. This may help to explain the sense that people have of ‘adults’ being busy and burdened with responsibilities.Overall, there appears to be an interesting generational relationship and potential communication gap that exists which involves both tension and aspiration. The survey results suggest that ‘youth’ can be a great source of energy, vision, hope and potential, while at the same time being vulnerable, voiceless and rebellious. The results also demonstrate that although ‘adults’ can be conservative, critical and rigid in their thinking, ultimately, they are relied on as care-givers, decision-makers and sources of knowledge and authority. The challenge for youth is to find their voice and become empowered without losing their sense of spirit and optimism.The challenge for adults is in finding ways to handle increasing amounts of responsibility and power in a way that doesn’t exclude, ignore or disengage youth, while also reconnecting their own sense of youth. While exploring and more deeply understanding the role of young people in the context of today’s society, it is important to note that generational barriers have existed and persisted throughout the course of history. It is possible that this generation of youth will have greater opportunities to empower themselves to have a voice as a result of the many forums which are emerging, however it is also clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to allow for positive intergenerational partnership.When we asked the survey respondents to identify the role that they saw youth having within their communities, the most common response across all regions was youth having the role of the student. This makes sense for a variety of reasons. Those participating in the survey are either currently students or have g raduated and feel that since a great deal of time as a young person is spent on learning, whether it be in school or in other contexts such as the home or workplace, it is appropriate that the role Role of Youth The role of youth in realising the dreams of Dr. Kalam â€Å"Dream, dream, dream, your dreams will transform into thoughts, thoughts lead to honest work, work results in action and you will succeed† has been rightly said by Dr. Abul Pakir Jainul Abideen Abdul Kalam. Dreams can be accomplished by youth as they have commitment to action. To quote Jean Ingelow â€Å"Youth! Youth! How buoyant are the hopes; they turn, Like marigolds, towards the sunny side†.Students’ life is meant for studies to become true and responsible citizens, formidable leaders and esteemed legislators as India entails such intellectually alert and adroit disciples. A nation of disciplined youth can travel in the path of progress. They play a crucial mantle in the endeavours for equality and justice. They must assimilate from the very beginning- the lessons of self-help, self-reliance and self-sacrifice. Youth should be jawans and take up arms against the corrupted people and spill the beans o n to the public so as no person ever never has the nerve to indulge in any illegal activities.As sizeable part of Indians are unscholarly and backward who are unknown regarding the new-fangled evolutions, the allegiance falls on us to empower and bring perception to them with latest trends, technologies and scientific inventions. As Shankaracharya says, â€Å"The springs of patriotism are deep rooted in Indians†, we should show it beyond the desire. â€Å"Janani janma bhoomischa swargad api gariyasi† said lord Sri Rama to Lakshmana when the latter, attracted by the opulence of Lanka, expressed an ardent desire to settle down there. Your mother land, great or not, are forsooth greater than a paradise. † Hence, we should comprehend that our mother land is the only place where we can reach maximum glory and recognition. We should also look for jobs within the country and strive for its progress. We must play a paramount role in safeguarding our country by involving ourselves in politics. We are the best judges as we have mentally matured minds to differentiate between good and bad which is prevailing in the society.India being the country of many races, languages, religions and beliefs we should have unity. Thus, said Mark Twain â€Å"India is the cradle of human race, the birth place of human speech, the mother of human history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition†. But despite of this diversity the social structure there has been an unstable unity and affinity which had bound the people of this vast country into a well-knit nation throughout its chequered history.The requisite of maintaining this unity in diversity and national integration is all the more indispensable. We should make people inculcate the ideal â€Å"One flag, one nation, one land, one hand, one heart, evermore! † which eventually leads the country to the pinnacle of success. Women constitute the most pivotal role for the upliftment of our country. The strength of our country depends on them. â€Å"Next to God we are indebted to women first for life itself and then for making it worth living. We should accept equal participation of women in all fields to make the country economically amiable. We should all create a nation which is one of the best places to live in and which brings smiles to the billion faces and also to realize the dreams of our former President, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a dynamic and versatile person. Therefore, always be ready to walk in the unexplored path as to succeed in life everyone must understand and master three mighty forces- desire, belief and expectation.