Earthquakes essays

Earthquakes essays The earth we live on consists of the ocean, and the continents. Below the ocean and continents we have the earths crust, which can very in length for miles. Under the earths crust we encounter small breaks in the earth, which is caused by the slow movement of mantle. With this movement we find the plates of the continent breaking apart and causing earthquakes (Nicholls, Bill 2). The earths mantle roughly extends about 1,798 miles. The density of the mantle changes because of pressure and heat. The further down the mantle is the more pressure and heat we encounter (Nicholls, Bill 1). The worlds lithosphere covers the entire earth (outer shell) and can be broken in many places to form what is called plates. These continental and oceanic plates are constantly moving and they never stop. With the concurrent movement of our lithosphere many mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes will be created because of these plates (Spall, Henry 1). Oceanic plates can also cause earthquakes. Although it seems odd we encounter earthquakes, under water they still occur. Small narrow ridges within the seafloor are cracking because the crust is in constant motion, and with constant motion the oceanic crust is breaking away. Volcanic eruptions from the earths mantle will eventually fill these cracks and form a replaceable crust (Spall, Henry 1). Below the earths crust we have what is called a magnetic field, which is created by the solid form of basaltic. Basaltic is a magnetized material that has reversed the earths polarity 170 different times within the last 80 million years. With the magnetic field being in occurrence this can aid plate tectonics into an earthquake (Spall, Henry 2). In our world we have what is called major crustal plates we now know that there are seven major crystal plates, subdivided into a number of smaller plates (Spall, Henry 2). The small plates are ab...

How to Celebrate Shakespeares Birthday

How to Celebrate Shakespeares Birthday Shakespeare was born and died on April 23 and over 400 years on, we are still celebrating his birthday. Joining up with a Bard birthday bash is the best way to celebrate, but if you’re unable to attend an event, throw your own party! Here, a few creative ways to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday. 1. Visit Stratford-upon-Avon If you live in the UK or are visiting the area in the month of April, then there is no better place in the world to celebrate William Shakespeares birthday than his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. On the weekend of his birthday, this little market town in Warwickshire (UK) pulls out all the stops. Hundreds of people travel to the town and line the streets to watch the town dignitaries, community groups, and RSC celebrities mark the Bards birth by starting the parade in Henley Street where the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust can be found. They then snake their way through the streets of the town to Holy Trinity Church, the Bards final resting place. The town then spends the weekend (and most of the week) entertaining its visitors with street performances, RSC workshops, world-class theater and free community theater.   2. Perform a Scene If you cant make it to Stratford-upon-Avon or one of the other Shakespeare birthday events happening around the world, then why not throw your own party? Dust off that old Shakespeare tome and act out your favorite scene. Couples can try the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, or the entire family can attempt the tragic ending from Hamlet. Remember: Shakespeare didn’t write his plays to be read they were to be performed! So, get into the spirit and start acting. 3. Read a Sonnet Shakespeare’s sonnets are some of English literature’s most beautiful poetry. It’s a delight to read aloud. Ask everyone at the celebration to find a sonnet that they like and read it to the group. If you’re not sure how to do justice to Shakespeares works by reading aloud, we have some advice to make your performance sparkle. 4. Visit the Globe This might be difficult if you don’t live in London or plan to be there. But it is possible to build your own Globe Theater  and keep the family entertained all afternoon print out all the parts you need and reconstruct Shakespeares wooden O. You can also take a virtual  photo tour of the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London. 5. Watch a Branagh Film Kenneth Branagh has made some of cinema’s best Shakespeare film adaptations. Much Ado About Nothing is arguably his most upbeat, celebratory film the perfect flick to round out the Bard’s birthday bash.

Diversity of the World for Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Diversity of the World for Children - Essay Example Gay marriage is often discussed by contemporaries. Whether homosexuality is a sexual or psychological deviance or is it a norm, should it be public or not and many other issues are high on the agenda nowadays. The children’s literature is another sphere, which is properly considered in the modern world as a really important phenomenon of the modern life. In the book â€Å"Daddy’s Roommate† by Willhoite (1990) these issues are correlated. Whether children literature should illustrate phenomenon of homosexuality or not is argued further on. Thesis: In spite of different stereotypes, gay relationships are present in the modern world and there is no need to avoid this demonstration of the world’s diversity. It is better to position gay relationships as another kind of love, which is the way to happiness, as the author of the book claims. Summary The book â€Å"Daddy’s Roommate† by Willhoite shows to the modern readers a challenging problem of living in family of two gays. Basically, homosexual parents do not differ from heterosexual parents. There is a strong emotional bound between two parents and a boy. They go shopping, gardening, making trips to the zoo. There are affectionate relationships between these two parents and boy is growing up surrounded with a great care and tolerance. There is a friendly atmosphere in their family. For this small boy being gay is just another kind of love. It is not a socially perverted representation of love it does not violate moral norms and it is not against social stereotypes. Analysis There are equal incongruities between gay couples and heterosexual couples: the author presents that there are even fights between two gay parents (Willhoite 1990, pp.8-12), but it is possible to underline that heterosexual couples are often quarrel and even fight. Moreover, the book does not promote gay love, it tells about gay love as about another kind of love. There is a story about two adult men, who are gay. They are not young and their relationship is stable. There is a tendency to establish short-term love relationship among heterosexual young people, as well as among homosexual young people. The point of the book is different. It informs about gay relationships, it neither criticizes nor promotes it. Gay relationship is shown as is. The book shows that in the course of time there is a natural necessity to appreciate the beloved person and there is a need to contribute much into the development of mutual happiness. Gay family is positioned as a final point of two lonely hearts’ wanderings. Both men are pacified and put their mutual efforts into social development, social activity etc. The ban In spite of criticism against the book, there are also proponents of the book and they argue against the book’s ban. On January 20, 1998, the Hays (K ansas) public library board showed antagonistic moods against the book’s ban. Their main claim coincided with the main claim of a small boy, the main character of the book. This book was another depiction of love and a homosexual life style did not differ much from life style of other couples. In accordance with the moods of the Library Director Melanie Miller: â€Å"I do not believe in restricting access to those child library patrons who would benefit from the book because there are parents who do not believe that their children should have access to the material† (Nava and Dawidoff 1995, p. 34). Another claim is made by the Brevard County (Florida) Library Board, which removed the book from the library shelves. The members of the Christian Coalition made an emphasis on the absence of necessity to leave the book in the library. As a result, de facto censorship was criticized by the readers. There is an evident struggle against the book and in 1999 the Nampa (Idaho) L ibrary Board decided to leave  Daddy’s Roommate  and  Heather Has Two Mommies  in the juvenile nonfiction section. The staff of the library claims that there is no book, which would be acclaimed by all parents to the

Nullity of a Company in English Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nullity of a Company in English Law - Case Study Example The essay will then discuss whether such concept is used in English Law as illustrated through cases. Lastly, the essay will then assess, based on the use or lack of usage of the concept of nullity on English Law whether there is a need for such concept. Nullity is a concept that renders an entity, in this case a company, insignificant and non-existent, such that any act made by or in behalf of that company will be rendered invalid as well. This declaration, as recognised by the First Council Directive 68/151/EEC ('First Directive'), is imperative to protect the company in question and their shareholders, as well as third parties that transact with them because of the possible retroactive effect it will have on these parties' actions. Hence, as called for by the First Directive, countries must limit the cases of nullity to decisions by a court of law, and on the grounds that (a) that no instrument of constitution was executed or that the rules of preventive control or the requisite legal formalities were not complied with; (b) that the objects of the company are unlawful or contrary to public policy; (c) that the instrument of constitution or the statutes do not state the name of the... al to be paid up; (e) the incapacity of all the founder members; (f) that, contrary to the national law governing the company, the number of founder members is less than two.1 In this sense, the concept of nullity of a company, as proposed by the First Directive, has a two-fold objective: it is meant to protect companies from trivial and unlawful declarations of nullity, which can be to the detriment of its operations by limiting the grounds for declaring it; and it is meant to protect a company's creditors, as well as the public, by preventing transactions for unlawful and fraudulent acts of unregistered or unlawfully registered companies. Thus, the effect of such declaration is a crucial aspect of company law because companies, as an artificial legal entity, have legal rights and obligations, which will be rendered null and void upon declaration of nullity. The status of companies as a legal entity is embodied in the company's corporate personality, which as stated in Salomon v. Salomon & Co (1897), a company in compliance with regulations of the Companies Acts are distinct legal entities, capable of incurring debts, limiting the liability of its members to the amount invested as prescribed by the companies Act.2 Thus, by virtue of its corporate personality, a company's shareholders and members, as a consequence, have limited liabilities. In addition, a company's corporate personality also accords to it the capacity to enter into legal contractual relations with other persons.3 However, while companies have limited liabilities to its shareholders, its shareholders are also limited in their ownership, such that they do not have ownership of the company's assets, as well.4 In this regard, it is important to note that not all companies have limited liability. As

Violent video Games Essay Example for Free

Violent video Games Essay There is perhaps no bigger or more important issue in America right now than youth violence. Our children are being fed a dependable daily dose of violence-and it sells. The affects on childrens behavior from violent video games is a newly, well-researched topic for psychologists. Violent video games are giving our children the practice and experience needed to act out these aggressive behaviors in the real world. Alienated, disaffected youths, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, vent their anger to get famous by shooting up their school. On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, these two young men carried out a shooting rampage. They killed twelve fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding twenty-four others, before committing suicide. It is considered to be the deadliest school shooting, and the second deadliest attack on a school in US History (DeGaetano 47). Both of these boys were drowning in a violent pop culture of bloody movies and video games. High on the morning of April 20, 1999, before the massacre, Dylan and Eric filmed their own back story videos, explaining their aims and motives. Its going to be like f**king Doom! Harris said on one of the tapes, referring to his favorite shoot-em-up video game. Tick-tock, tick, tick? Ha!? Straight out of Doom! (qtd. in Steyer 70). These two young boys had played this game very often and were so used to the violence of killing innocent people with no remorse. They gained the experience and knowledge from this video game on how to kill other human beings while getting a sense of satisfaction. A direct link between violent video games and increasing rates of violence among children is right in your backyard with this chilling story. In Paducah, Kentucky a fourteen-year-old boy, Michael Carneal, steals a gun from a neighbors house, brings it to school, and fires eight shots into a student prayer meeting that is breaking up. Prior to stealing the gun, he had never shot a real handgun in his life. The FBI says that the average experienced law enforcement officer, in the average shootout, at an average range of seven yards, hits with approximately one bullet in five. So how many hits did Michael Carneal make? He fired eight shots; ho got eight hits, on eight different kids. Five of them were headshots, and the other three were upper torso. The result was three dead and one paralyzed for life. Nowhere in law enforcement or military history can an equivalent achievement be found. And these from a boy on his first try. How did Michael Carneal acquire this kind of killing ability? Simple: practice. At the age of fourteen he had practiced killing thousands of people. His simulators were point-and-shoot video games he played for hundreds of hours in video arcades and in the comfort of his own home. His superhuman accuracy, combined with the fact that he stood still, firing two handed, and firing only one shot at each target, are all behaviors that are completely unnatural to either trained or native shooters, behaviors that could only have been learned in a video game. If you do not think these games resemble the real thing, you should know that the military and law enforcement communities use video marksmanship training simulators to supplement their training. And the most popular simulator the United States Army uses in a minor modification of a popular Super Nintendo game. Across America we are reaping the bitter harvest of this training as ever more kids are shooting other individuals that they have a grudge against. A horrific development in this is that rather than just stopping with their intended target, these kids keep firing- and a simple grudge turns into a mass murder (DeGaetano 4, 9, 74). As a player in the video game your goal is simply to rack up the highest score as quickly as possible. And, many of the video games (such as House of the Dead, Golden-eye, or Turock) give bonus effects for headshots (Gerdes 61). These kind of video games provide the motor reflexes responsible for over 75% of the firing on the modern battlefield. In addition, they provide violent suggestions and reinforcement for violent behavior. These games teach young people to kill with all the precision of a military training program, but none of the character training that goes along with it (Gerdes 62). For children who get the right training at home and who have theability to distinguish between real and unreal consequences, they are still games. But for children who are especially vulnerable to the lure of violence, they can be far more. Even more than violent television and movies, violent video games have been shown to increase aggression among those who play them. It seems as if even a brief exposure to these games can temporarily increase ones aggressiveness. Researchers stated that Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. New aggression-related scripts can become more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise (qtd. in Steyer 90). One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games (Violent). Violent video games have stronger effects on childrens aggression because the games are highly appealing and interactive. Also, the games are rewarding violent behavior, and because children repeat these behaviors over and over as the play. The more often children rehearse violent acts; the more likely they are to commit them in real life. This is what makes electronic games different from more inactive experiences of violence, in movies and on television. Through practice, the use of violence can become a learned response- a scripted reflex like the trigger rate effectively refined by the army (Steyer 90-91). There can be intense psychological effects from playing interactive video games. Recent research has begun to find connections between childrens playing of violent video games and later aggressive behavior. A research review done by the National Coalition on Television Violence found that 9 of 12 research studies on the impact of violent video games on normal children and adolescents reported harmful effects. In general, while video game playing has not been implicated as a direct cause of severe psychopathology, research suggests that there is a short-term relationship between playing violent video games and increased aggressive behavior in younger children (Steyer 130). Violent video games appear to also put the human brain in a mood to fight, according to a new study from Michigan State University. In the study, 13 males played the first-person shooter game Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) system, which measures brain activity. The brain scans of 11 of thesubjects exhibited large observed effects, a characteristic of aggressive thoughts. The researchers said the pattern of brain activity could be considered to be cause by virtual violence. fMRI monitors the brain and examines how different types of physical sensation or activity stimulate it. Sight, sound, touch and other physical sensations show up on an fMRI image. Increased blood flow to a section of the brain indicated increased activity. Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Combat can increase a persons aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to two studies. Furthermore, violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor, say the researchers. Psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph. D. , and Karen E. Dill, Ph. D. said, One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games. The other study reveals that even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants. The first study involved 227 college students who completed a measure of trait aggressiveness and reported their actual aggressive behaviors (delinquency) in the recent past. They also reported their video game playing habits. We found that students who reported playing more violent video games in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior, said lead author Anderson, of Iowa State University. We also found that amount of time spent playing video games in the past was associated with lower academic grades in college. In the second study, 210 college students played either a violent (Wolfenstein 3D) or nonviolent video game (Myst). A short time later, the students who played the violent video game punished an opponent (received a noise blast with varying intensity) for a longer period of time than did students who had played the nonviolent video game. Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations, said Dr. Anderson. In the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts. Longer-term effects are likely to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and practices new aggression-related scripts thatcan become more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise. One major concern is the active nature of the learning environment of the video game, say the authors. This medium is potentially more dangerous than exposure to violent television and movies, which are known to have substantial effects on aggression and violence (Video 220-235). Violent video games can increase aggressive behavior in children and adolescents, both in the short- and long-term, according to an empirical review of the last 20 years of research. These findings are presented at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. According to researchers Jessica Nicoll, B. A. , and Kevin M. Kieffer, Ph. D. , of Saint Leo University, youth who played violent video games for a short time experienced an increase in aggressive behavior following the video game. One study showed participants who played a violent game for less than 10 minutes rate themselves with aggressive traits and aggressive actions shortly after playing. In another study of over 600 8th and 9th graders, the children who spent more time playing violent video games were rated by their teachers as more hostile than other children in the study. The children who played more violent video games had more arguments with authority figures and were more likely to be involved in physical altercations with other students. They also performed more poorly on academic tasks. Violent video game players tend to imitate the moves that they just acted out in the game they played, said Dr. Kieffer. For example, children who played violent karate games duplicated this type of behavior while playing with friends. These findings demonstrate the possible dangers associated with playing this type of video game over and over again. The authors also found that boys tend to play video games for longer periods of time than girls. Boys may play more of these types of video games, said Kieffer, because women are portrayed in subordinate roles and the girls may find less incentive to play. But those girls who did play violent video games, according to the review, were more likely to prefer playing with an aggressive toy and were more aggressive when playing. Both Nicoll and Kieffer say that the recent changes that put age limits and rating systems on games make it more difficult for young children to purchase and play these video games. But, say the psychologists,future research needs to explore why many children and adolescents prefer to play a violent video game rather than play outside, and why certain personalities are drawn to these types of games (Playing). The observational studies looking at childrens free play, tended to show that children become more aggressive after either playing or observing a violent video game. At a theoretical level, these evidences suggest empirical data supporting the social learning theory. As others have cautioned, the validity and reliability of the procedures used to measure aggressions should be questioned (Griffiths, 99; Cooper Mackie, 19). The limiting conditions under which video games may have an affect that were considered were gender, age, and class/level of education. With regards to gender, although few studies looking at the differential effects were found, the study mentioned above suggests that females are more affected by video game violence than males. Cooper and Mackie, which inexperience with video games led to greater arousal, suggested one hypothesis for this difference. Another possibility may be that since males have been found is have more experience with video games; they may have become more desensitized to the violence than females. Once again, more research is necessary to draw conclusions on the differential effects of video game violence on gender. When age was look at it was discovered that age played no significant part in determining if a player was affected by the content of video games or not. The difference of age showed up in the manifestation of its affect. Herz introduces an interesting explanation of this increase in aggressive behavior of children. A large number of the studies involved adolescent children; these children are at an age when they are naturally violent, aggressive and moody. So when put in a situation with increased agitation like many of the studies involved, increases in aggressive behavior may be natural regardless of stimulation. While this particular situation is not true of older students the method of study does need to be questioned. The effects of education levels and economic class have not yet been looked at, possibly due to a lack in conclusive evidence showing an overall relation (Herz, 51-59). I couldnt make myself clearer when I say that there is a deadly link between this kind of graphic imagery and the escalating incidence of youth violence. Violent video games are giving our children the practice and experience needed to act out these aggressive behaviors in the real world. If you dont think that these games resemble the real thing, you should take some time to play one of these games once. You will be absolutely shocked as to what our children are seeing on a daily basis. Works Cited Cooper, Joel, Mackie, Diane. Video Games and Aggression in Children. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Vol. 16, No. 8, 726-744. DeGaetano, Gloria, and Dave Grossman. Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill. New York: Crown, 1999. France, Bill. Violent video games are training children to kill. HeraldNet 18 Nov 2003. 19 Oct 2005 . Gerdes, Louis. Media Violence. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2004. Griffiths, Mark. Violent Video Games and Aggression: A Review of the Literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior. Vol. 4, No. 10, 203-212. Herz, J. C. Joystick Nation: HowVideogames Ate Our Quartes, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds. Toronto: Little, Brown Company, 1997. Steyer, James P. The Other Parent. New York: Atria Books, 2002. Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life, Craig A. Anderson, Ph. D. , Iowa State University of Science and Technology and Karen E. Dill, Ph. D. , Lenoir-Rhyne College, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 78, No. 4. Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression. Science Daily. 25 Apr 2000. American Psychological Association. 02 Oct 2005 . Willenz, Pam. Playing violent video games can heighten aggression. Medical News Today 21 Aug 2005. 25 Nov 2005 .

Dreams on of mice and men :: essays research papers

Dreams, although often cut off are always necessary to keep the hope of people alive to fight against the inadequacies of the economic and social perils of life. Dreams are one of the most freely experienced actions by humans, and still it is the most rigid and unrealistic thought process that is part of our lives. The dream of most American’s at this time period surrounding the book â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was only a large cesspool of dying hopes that were kept alive by wishes and aspirations even without success. They often have no power fulfillment or credence to them even though we as humans put so much belief and effort in them. Joesph Fontenrose comments that the novel I about â€Å"the vanity of human wishes† (Fontenrose 375). Dreams and willpower are necessary to keep hope alive in people. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair. Sometimes these dream s become nightmares because of the hardships that are endured through the trials of life and society. Many immigrants from Europe coming to America in hope of prosperity and easy living found themselves in conditions that were paralleled by the conditions in the European slums of the inner city. Howard Levant made the statement after a critical reading of the novel that â€Å"the good life is impossible because humanity is flawed† (Owens 146). The horrors of the American Civil War and the growth of towns with slums as bad as those in Europe, and the corruption of the American political system led to many shattered dreams. For society as a whole the American dream ended with the stock market crash on Wall Street in 1929.This was the start of the Great Depression that would affect the whole world during the 1930’s. However the dream kept some hopes alive and could not be suppressed by the heartbreaking circumstances endured by all Americans. Many moved to the west in Cal ifornia to escape from their land in the mid west. Californians who lived through the 1920s and 1930s must have felt as though they were on a roller coaster. In a dizzying cycle of boom and bust, a decade of spectacular prosperity was followed by the worst economic collapse in the state's history. Ramshackle encampments, such as Pipe City in Oakland, filled with forlorn unemployed workers and their families.

Analysing and improving form: Badminton Essay

Good attributes. * Greg plays a range of shots well and has good tactical knowledge * Greg has good reflexes and is therefore able to reach and play shots all around the court * Greg has a good level of fitness and can keep playing for long periods of time Bad attributes. * Greg lacks excellent knowledge about the sport and tactical knowledge is also lacking and needs improvement * Greg’s shot execution also needs improving to gain better results * Greg lacks good acceleration which is vital for net shots * Greg lacks self-confidence Ways of improving. * Greg could improve his tactical knowledge by revising study guides and coaching manuals for badminton. This could also then be conferred with coaches or trainers, as this will then help him incorporate the coaches and the manuals points into one. This would help him drastically improve, as the improvement in results would be very noticeable. This would then improve his self-confidence, which is another thing that lacks in his game. This would get better as his performance and results improved. * Greg’s shot execution is another thing that would need improvement. This would be done by coaching and practising. Greg doesn’t whip his wrists, which is where power is generated and therefore he is clearly unable to play some match winning shots like the over head clear or even the smash. Practise is the only thing that would help him improve these attributes. * Greg’s acceleration is also poor. He needs to improve this, as then his ability to reach shots all over the court will be bettered. He would improve this by doing 15 metre shuttle runs. He would do twenty repetition runs at full pace. First he would warm up, as this would prevent injury. This would help his leg muscles strengthen and therefore improve his overall pace as well as his acceleration.