Jack Horner - Profile of the Famous Paleontologist

Jack Horner - Profile of the Famous Paleontologist Name: Jack Horner Born: 1946 Nationality: American Dinosaurs Named: Maiasaura, Orodromeus About Jack Horner Along with Robert Bakker, Jack Horner is one of the most prominent paleontologists in the United States (the two men served as advisers for the Jurassic Park movies, and Sam Neills character in the original was inspired by Horner). Horners main claim to fame was his discovery, in the 1970’s, of the extensive nesting grounds of a North American hadrosaur, which he named Maiasaura (good mother lizard). These fossilized eggs and burrows gave paleontologists an unusually detailed glimpse of the family life of duck-billed dinosaurs. The author of numerous popular books, Horner has remained at the forefront of paleontological research. In 2005, he discovered a chunk of T. Rex with soft tissue still attached, which was recently analyzed to determine its protein content. And in 2006, he led a team that discovered dozens of nearly intact Psittacosaurus skeletons in the Gobi Desert, shedding some valuable light on the lifestyles of these small, beaked herbivores. Lately, Horner and colleagues have been examining the growth stages of various dinosaurs; one of their more stunning finds is that Triceratops and Torosaurus may well have been the same dinosaur. By the turn of the 21st century, Horner had obtained a reputation as being a bit of an eccentric, always eager (and perhaps a tad over-eager) to overthrow accepted dinosaur theories and hog the limelight. Hes not afraid to challenge his critics head-on, however, and lately has caused even more of a stir with his plan to clone a dinosaur by manipulating the DNA of a living chicken (not a far cry, technically speaking, from the controversial program known as de-extinction).

Study of Human Behavior 10 Facts That Will Make You Fall in Love with the Course

Study of Human Behavior 10 Facts That Will Make You Fall in Love with the Course Study of Human Behavior: 10 Facts That Will Make You Fall in Love with the Course Even the words â€Å"human behavior† make you yawn. But, it just sounds so dry and boring. Actually, you’re wrong. The study of human behavior is truly fascinating. The way we behave is unpredictable, weird, and sometimes wonderful. Here are 10 fun facts that will make you hungry to learn more. High levels of testosterone have been linked to pleasure in the expression of anger towards others. We all know that testosterone can make us more aggressive, but now the reason is clear. The expression of anger gives some of us pleasure similar to what we feel when having sex. After you die, your brain remains alive for 7 minutes replaying all the memories from your life. So it turns out that you really do â€Å"see your life flash before your eyes† when dying. Spooky, isn’t it? Studies have confirmed that publicly stating a goal to others makes it less likely that you will succeed. The added pressure of the expectations of others causes you to lose your motivation. So next New Year’s, try writing your resolutions down privately instead of posting them publicly on social media and see what a difference it makes. It has been found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to engage in acts to purposely humiliate others. It turns out Mom was right all along. Bullies really do just feel bad about themselves. When a person lies, he or she has a tendency to look to the left or upwards. Anywhere but directly in the eyes of the person they’re talking to! The last person you are thinking about before you fall asleep is either a root cause of happiness or pain in your life. Perhaps this also explains why they so frequently show up in your dreams at night, too. When we have negative opinions about others, we really believe that these opinions are true and unbiased. That teacher is just incompetent and everyone knows it. The fact that he gave you a failing grade on your last paper has nothing to do with it. Intelligent women are more likely to remain single. It turns out that women with a higher IQ usually prefer being alone to being with the wrong people. So, if you’re a girl who has been single for a long time, it could just mean that you’re smarter than an average one. When listening to boring speeches, we are constantly rewriting them in our minds to make them more interesting. It’s our own inner defense mechanism to help keep us focused when a lecturer drones on and on. And most of the time, we don’t even realize that we’re doing it. Physical sensations directly affect our behavior. For example, if an object feels physically heavy, we associate it with a feeling of seriousness. And it has been shown that contact with nature helps us cope with the stress better. Want to learn more intriguing facts about human behavior? There are plenty of them, and we guarantee that as you continue studying them, you will be endlessly fascinated and hungry to learn even more.

Are Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter Etc) Sites Effective Means of Literature review

Are Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter Etc) Sites Effective Means of Recruitment - Literature review Example The users of the social networking sites are able to engage in real time communication through text based or cam based or even voice based interaction irrespective of their location. The social networking sites are internet based applications that allow the users to engage into useful communication through the virtual platform that could be accessed with the use of electronic devices like computer terminals, notebooks, mobiles, etc (Zhang, Johnson and Seltzer, 2010, p.81). The social networking have brought about changes in the outlook of the society as they have inclined towards the online mode of communication due to the benefits in terms of time , cost, energy, etc. The young people of the society have shown the greatest interest towards the use of social networking sites (Henderson and Bowley, 2010, p.248). The social networking sites like the Facebook, Twitter, etc. not only form a part of their personal and private lives but also emerged as tools for fulfilling career aspiratio n. The people have started to increase their online presence in order to pursue the career that they desire (Backstrom, Huttenlocher and Kleinberg, 2006, p.42). Needless to say, the social networking sites have proved to be useful in the process of recruitment of the employers and, therefore, increase the chances of users in getting a job. The social networking sites offer the employers a wide range of information on the candidates who could be eligible for the process of recruitment according to the pre-set criteria. The availability of huge number of profiles which are easily accessible to the employers allows them to filter the apposite candidates to be called for the interview and further stages of recruitment. The social networking sites are also useful to the candidates as it provides wide range of information on the companies through the use of online media applications of Facebook, Twitter, etc (Diani, 2000, p.392). The applicants also get the opportunity to interact with th e existing employees who are available on the social networking platforms. The effectiveness of the social networking sites in the process of recruitment, its advantages and disadvantages could be clearly understood with the help of literature review. E-Recruitment The advent of the internet based applications in the form social networking sites have reinvented the ways of communication in which one engages with another and also in the way in which interaction takes place between the individuals and the organizations in the workplace. In order to keep themselves updated with the modern trend, the employers have also been required to embrace the modern communication practices and use the same in the process of recruitment. The growth e-recruitment or the use of virtual platforms in the social networking sites have taken place in order to keep up with the changing trend of communication (Pfeffer, 2008, p.67). Thus the e-recruitment methods have been adopted by the companies in order t o aid the traditional process of

The Relationship between Colonists and Native Americans Assignment

The Relationship between Colonists and Native Americans - Assignment Example It will show that history can reflect the time it is written in, and that word choice and grammar can influence the reader's attitude toward the subject. The overwhelming attitude towards Native Americans is, in the earliest extract (1877), one of hatred and violence. Words like savage and hostile abound, amongst descriptions of the Native American attack on Jamestown and other settlements as massacre, murder and exterminate (in-class exercise). The author writes that his contemporaries are fighting against Native Americans in Arizona and Montana (the Apache Attacks and Nez Perce War), which is almost something the reader does not need to be told, given how intense and hateful this piece seems. There is no mention of Native American culture, although the author does (begrudgingly) admit that the tribes could build shelters, grow crops, and hunt. Any reference to an exchange between European and Native American culture is hidden in whining laments that Native Americans appear to be in nately hostile to European culture, called here 'civilization'. By contrast, the 1885 piece comes across as slightly less impassioned. Whereas the 1877 text ends by saying that it is certain that Native Americans will have disappeared from the American continent within a few years, the 1885 text expresses hopes that the Native Americans will be 'Christianized' rather than dying out. The 1885 piece attempts to be fairer to the indigenous tribes, but still makes incorrect assumptions, such as the 'fact' that Native Americans lived very simplistic and uncivilized lifestyles. Non-neutral language is used to claim that the Native Americans were inferior to the settlers in the fields of arts and inventions, progress and education, disposition, and religion, and had been since their collision with European culture two hundred years before. The only area in which Native Americans are not lesser is 'endurance,' yet this achievement is still couched in terminology which makes these people see m not quite human. It is easy to suspect that the writers of the textbook 'knew' this through experience. The two extracts from nineteenth-century textbooks neither mention individuals, whether European or Native American nor refer to any sort of cultural exchange. Admittedly, this would be hard given that neither text admits the existence of a Native American culture. Nor does either piece suggest any possible explanation for the failure of the Jamestown settlement other than Native American savagery. Therefore these earliest passages reflect the real-life hostilities occurring at the time between Europeans and Native Americans. The Apache Attacks lasted until 1900 when the last fighting tribe surrendered, so it is understandable – if despicable – that the textbooks adhered to the image of Native Americans as an enemy which must be destroyed. It is more difficult to completely exterminate an enemy if there is evidence of the enemy's humanity, or that a valuable part o f human cultural history might be lost in their destruction, so it makes sense that contemporary textbooks were unconcerned with these subjects. The 1927 text is the first to recognize that at least some of the Native American tribes were fairly advanced and cultured.  

Violence in the Media and how it Affects Society Essay Example for Free

Violence in the Media and how it Affects Society Essay The effect of media is profound and far-reaching. All over the world, the media influences our values and intrudes upon our deep-seated ideologies and beliefs. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and more importantly, their behavior as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for their campaigns and support for certain policies and legislations. Indeed, the power of the media to affect our behavior has long been proven. Among the most pressing issues about media nowadays is how the proliferation of media violence can affect society. People have long believed that constant and chronic exposure to violence through various forms of mass media can erode the values of an individual, especially if the person does not have a strong system of moral support. (Croteau Hoynes 23) However while it is easy to say that violence in media has an adverse effect in society, there are scholars who argue that it is not media per se that causes the negative effects, rather it is a complex interplay of many elements in society, and media is but one element in the issue. (Freedman 54) Media violence and its effect on society cannot be separated from these other factors and therefore, media alone cannot be held responsible for violence in society. As such, this paper intends to understand media violence and its effects on society by understanding the issues that underlie the argument. Violent behavior has long been a source of confusion among sociologists, psychologists and society in general. While there have been many extensive researches that have attempted to study, understand, and explain criminal acts, none thus far has been found to satisfactorily explain all the complex processes and the interplay of factors that pushes an individual to commit violence. Among these theories, the most widely-accepted is the constitutive criminology. According to this theory, violent behavior is the result of the complex interplay between man and the social structures that he interacts with on a regular basis. (Sanders Ferrell 146) As such, perpetrators of violence cannot be analyzed separately from the social processes that they interact with. Following this theory, it is easy to understand why media has often been implicated in the increase of aggressive or violent behavior. Media has been growing more powerful and omniscient by the minute. In particular the Internet, has amplified the power of the media to effect change and influence society’s behavior. The effects of these technological advances have been discussed by Croteau and Hoynes, â€Å"The increase in media options in recent years has even led to an increase in ‘multi-tasking’- using more than one form of media at a time. † (5) With the ubiquitous media surrounding us in all aspects of our lives, it is easy to realize that the media is a big and indispensable part of contemporary life. Indeed the media has become the most dominant and powerful force in our modern world, displacing religious and educational institutions as the primary molder of our individual and collective ideologies. (Croteau and Hoynes 6) And if media can be used to influence buying, voting, and other forms of behavior, it follows that is also affects violence and aggressiveness among people. How media influences people may be explained by Bandura’s social learning theory. According to Bandura (1977), the need to be accepted and conform to society is the main driving force for an individual’s actions. If media then creates the image of what is acceptable and popular, then it is only logical that society acts in accordance to this media-created image. The following figures are taken from the official website of the National Institute on Media and the Family (2006): ? Based on average viewing time, an individual would have seen some 200,000 acts of violence including 40,000 murders on television by the time he or she is eighteen years old (Huston, et al qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family). ? Children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend more time exposed to various forms of media (TV, computer, game consoles, music, etc) than any other activity in their lifetime. (Kaiser Family Foundation qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family). ? Of over a thousand studies that have been done on the effects of violence in television and movies, majority of them conclude that individuals, especially children who spend significant time watching violence on TV and movies are more likely to display aggressive or violent behavior, attitudes and values. (Senate Committee; Congressional Public Health Summit qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family) According to these figures, the younger the age of the individual, the more susceptible they become to the adverse effects of exposure to media violence. (Trend 93) The aggressiveness are often latent and presents later in life which is adds to the difficulty of measuring the actual effects of media violence. (Freedman 137) Women who spend long hours watching TV violence are more likely to respond violently towards their spouses. There is an increase in physicality among women with higher media violence exposure. (Partenheimer) In the same vein, men who watched more media violence exhibit increased physical violence and aggressive behavior towards others as well. Both men and women who watch violence on the Internet, movies, and TV are three times more likely to commit traffic violations and other misdemeanors and felonies. Regardless of any theory, there is no denying the fact that any violent actions or aggressive behavior is a product of a highly complex process, the mechanics of which may forever elude social scientists. However, while violence may indeed be just the end product of a series of interactions between the perpetrator and the world around him, the question still remains why some people who grow up watching the same levels of media violence grow up to be normal people while others become social deviants. As the individual makes the choice to commit an aggression, how much of this is because of media influence and other social and physical factors, and how much of this is purely the individual’s choice? For social scientists the challenge is to create theories that will help prevent violence rather than analyze the aggressive after the fact, after the harm has been done. As previously mentioned, learning does not take place in a vacuum; it does so within a social context. Young children are very impressionable, and they need constant supervision and explicit direction from their parents. Children should be made to realize what behaviors are acceptable and those that are not. Parents should exhaust all efforts to monitor what their children see and hear and provide proper and consistent guidance Indeed the media is very powerful and highly influential. But it is a neutral instrument and can be used for both good and bad. By virtue of its platform of delivery, films and television are highly accessible and are able to reach an enormous audience within a short span of time. The elements of compelling narrative, appealing characters, vivid imagery, and technological achievements, make a powerful combination that is able to stir deep emotions and leave lasting impressions in the psyche of the individuals who are watching. Shows and music that carry positive themes of justice, equality, and honor are very effective in shaping public opinion, and by extension, positive behavior as well. A well-made film or TV show can galvanize a society into action and initiate positive change. Media should temper violence by featuring shows that promote values as well. Works Cited Bandura, Albert. Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall. 1977 Croteau, David. Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2003. Freedman, Jonathan. Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. University of Toronto Press. 2002. Partenheimer, David. Public Affairs Office. Childhood Exposure To Media Violence Predicts Young Adult Aggressive Behavior, According To A New 15-Year Study. 2003. Retrieved on March 7, 2008 from http://www. apa. org/releases/media_violence. html

Immigrants - Just Let Them In :: Immigrants Immigration Essays

Immigrants - Just Let Them In America is the land of the free, and a life full of opportunities for every American. The United States leads the world in its power and is seen by many as a way to escape the hardships of their countries. Would it be inhumane of a rich country to not help the other countries and people, who struggle in the world? But for an immigrant to enter the United States, he or she must have a one to two-year processing time, a three hundred and ten dollar fee, and a ten page form stating their reasons for entering the U.S. Most immigrants do not want or can find time to go through this process. Instead, they could come into the U.S. illegally and still receive a job without a problem. Immigrants help America prosper by increasing the purchasing of goods. This in turn makes the economy grow by demanding more jobs. Immigrants help America flourish and create a wide variety of people living the American dream as one nation. Most Americans relax in a state of comfort zone. They live their nice lives and forget about the world outside their eyes. Studying other countries gives a clear example of what horrible lives others live. Currently eighty-nine percent of Mexico lives in poverty. The average Mexican worker slaves all day for a pathetic forty pesos, (Mexico Child Link. http://www.mexico-child-link.org/mexico-factfile-statistics.htm). That is two dollars a day in America. If an American had a family with a wife and a couple kids, they could not support a family with such a lack of income. The American needs to put himself or herself in a position of an immigrant and asked the question what they would do. They would try to leave and go to a land where they hear of riches and luxuries. They would leave to a place where they could raise a happy family and obtain a steady job paying wages that they could support their family. The dream of any human being is not to suffer, but to live a joyful li fe. Many immigrants flee their countries because they seek asylum in the United States.

Air cargo pkomot

The Boeing Company is one of the best companies providing a comprehensive and resent overview of the air cargo industry. It provides the biennial World Air Forecast. The findings summarise the major air trade markets in the world, giving the major trends and projects on the future improvements and performance of the world’s cargo airplane.Forecasting and planning are two synonyms which normally create confusion yet they have different meanings. Forecasting is the task of predicting the short term or long term future events by keeping statistics. The important element in forecasting is that it’s based upon some assumptions which are general.These assumptions may or may not be true and does not necessarily reflect the company’s expectations.Planning on the other hand is the creation and maintenance of a flow of events in an organisation and the process of coming up with the procedures necessary to create the desired goal in the organisation.Forecasting is a very im portant aspect in cargo industry. Some of the purposes of forecasting include: ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To identify the alternative possible futures. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To get a justification on the plans and decisions we make. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To provide information on possible futures so that realistic planning can occur. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To raise awareness of the possible futures so that we have choice over which the future will support.These are just a few of the purposes of planning but overally its meant to give us a direction on the future happenings so that we get prepared.Forecasting can either be short term or long term. Short term forecast includes any current or recent past records that form a basis for the forecast. An example is the use of precipitation, thunderstorms and winds.Long term forecasting is the use of a wide range of facilities for forecasting especially that which covers a long period of tim e e.g. the use of cloud computing. This is the use of the software’s to compute the forecasts of a particular company.The use of forecasting in the companies involved in air cargo has increased over the years. One of the major contributions of forecasting is in planning.Air cargo companies have had to have an efficient plan making them set aside resources to tackle the future outcomes of the company. It has also aided in analysis. Several companies can compare themselves and know there stand. This has tremendously caused improvements in the air cargo industry.The accuracy of forecasting in the modern world necessitates the controlling process. The forecast error is currently estimated to be very small and is calculated by getting the difference between the actual value and the forecast value.The air cargo companies were affected by the traffic growth in 2008 and 2009 edition. World air cargo went upto 6% in 2007, following the previous 4% in 2006. This has declined in the yea rs 2008 and 2009 consecutively approximated to be about 3.4% in 2008. This analysis relates to the Boeing air cargo company.2009 will however be a grim year for the air cargo industry because of the magnitude at which the occurrence of global slump in trade growth is doing. Seabury forecasts indicate that 2009 will be a tough year for the air cargo companies getting 3.1% in air trade.It predicts however that this will improve in 2010 and rise to 5.1% forming a basis for further improvement in the subsequent years.Growth projections and highlights indicate the air cargo company picking up to 5.1% to 5.9% from the year 2011 to 2012. These projections are based on the fact that the change of the food and fuel prices will have a major change in the future. These two factors form the basis of the air cargo company market pricing.The success of aeronautical engineering requires several materials in its programming. As opposed to the past where the products were not of the standard the pre sent day aeronautical engineering requires enough materials.These include the use of digital and print equipment. The current data aeronautical companies utilize the geospatial machines which can decode the geospatial-referenced digits, and data which has been fused with other information.Reference:Kress, G. (1994) Forecasting and Market analysis techniques: a practical approach, London: Quorum books.

Economic, Political, and Social Factors Related to Aids in Africa

Without a single doubt, one can say politics has been the main driving forces in the spread of this disease. Once the â€Å"triple cocktail† was discovered by doctors, it managed to signal an era in which AIDS was no longer a fatal disease. Nevertheless, the high costs of this drug meant that it was unaffordable to patients from the undeveloped countries where stigma and desperation flourished. Additionally, patients in developed countries such as America were incapable of being introduced to this remedy if they were incompetent in affording health care.Patients felt defeated, restless, isolated, and accepted that there is a social disorder accommodated with this disease. There was a political conflict in subordinating the expenses of this medicine in countries such as Brazil where health care is guaranteed for all its citizens. South African government further encountered a tragic failure in battling with this epidemic that was overwhelming its country. President Mbeki came i nto power with an unconventional message and promised solutions for AIDS.When Mbeki was leading a nation with more infections than any country in the world, he affirmed throughout his speech that HIV is not the causation of AIDS but an environmental or social condition such as poverty, and banned the cocktail claiming it was toxic for the population. Hence, the fundamental proposition that arose was if HIV doesn’t cause AIDS, then how would anti-HIV drugs lead to such dramatic improvement in one’s well-being and how does AIDS get passed on to a child from a mother who is infected with HIV.This evidently proved that denial and neglect in African government for covering the cost burden of these drugs in order to save the lives of its citizens. Indubitably there is a monumental controversy regarding the funding for AIDS drugs globally. If our mission is to reach equity and justice in our society, we must ensure funding for AIDS drugs and also ensure practical preventative factors are provided for all our citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status.

5 Tips on How to Run a Writing Group

5 Tips on How to Run a Writing Group 5 Tips on How to Run a Writing Group 5 Tips on How to Run a Writing Group By Mark Nichol You’ve got your writing group up and running. All the hard work’s over, right? Wrong. Just like any smooth-running machine, a writing group requires maintenance. Here are some tips for tender, loving care: 1. Construct Criticism Model proactive and up-front critiquing etiquette. Advise everyone to start positive with a compliment, then offer honest but objective, well-supported, and practical advice, and then conclude with another commendation. Continuously reinforce the message that no one is served when criticism is withheld; only focused, writing-centered (not writer-centered) commentary will help the writer grow. 2. Vary the Routine Some people might be ready to email a writing sample a week ahead of time to give others a chance to read and critique before the next meeting. Those selections don’t need to be read aloud before the group; you can go straight to discussion. (Hand the writer an annotated hard copy or return by email, with inserted notes, the file they sent you.) Others can pass around copies of a cold read and read it aloud while others jot down notes, then go to discussion. Yet others might simply read a shorter passage for a moment’s worth of specific advice, ask a few general questions without reading at all, or pass altogether that week, participating only in discussion about others’ work. (You may not have time to go over every group member’s project at each meeting anyway.) But don’t let any one member get away with following the same routine every time. Suggest a writing session every now and then: Everybody comes to the meeting, writes for an hour, then convenes to take turns reading part or all of their resulting selection for five minutes and getting one minute of feedback from each member. 3. Do Your Homework Establish expectations for criticism: When you read the writing of other group members, take notes, writing down questions, suggestions, and compliments. Be specific when you critique, praising a vivid description in particular or recommending more character development with detailed advice. Focus, however, not on telling others what to do but on asking questions to help them decide what to do. If you don’t understand something, or you feel that details are lacking, ask for an explanation or background information. Then, gently advise the author to incorporate their response into the narrative. Your homework also involves setting your ego aside and acting on others’ critiques. What’s the use of investing so much time and energy in this process if you don’t take feedback to heart? 4. Take a Break At regular intervals, step back from the critiquing cycle to meet just to advise or brainstorm about how to organize notes, do research, or work on character, plot, tone, and so on. Several times a year, go to a book reading together, or watch a movie or a play together and, for homework, draft a â€Å"novelization† or a rewrite of a scene and bring it to the next meeting. Compile a list of prompts for when members hit the wall. 5. Check In Periodically evaluate how the group is going. Are your meetings too often, not often enough, or just right? Too long, not long enough, or ideal? Is someone missing too many meetings or wallflowering, or does one person dominate them? Is everybody getting what they want out of the experience? What’s the procedure when somebody’s not fitting in? What do you do when one or more members drop out, or one or more members feel like increasing the number of people in the group? How do you recruit, and how do you decide whether to accept candidates? Establish and review your membership policies. Above all, remember that although the group is a democratic body that should operate by consensus, you, as the founder, must continue to moderate the proceedings and nudge everyone to always honor its principles and purposes. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeHomonyms, Homophones, Homographs and HeteronymsForming the Comparative of One-syllable Adjectives

The Role of the Congress in U.S. Foreign Policy

The Role of the Congress in U.S. Foreign Policy As with virtually all U.S. government policy decisions, the executive branch, including the president, and Congress share responsibility in what ideally is a collaboration on foreign policy issues. Congress controls the purse strings, so it has significant influence over all kinds of federal issues including foreign policy. Most important is the oversight role played by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The House and Senate Committees The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has a special role to play because the Senate must approve all treaties and nominations to key foreign policy postings and make decisions about legislation in the foreign policy arena. An example is the usually intense questioning of a nominee to be secretary of state by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Members of that committee have a great deal of influence over how U.S. foreign policy is conducted and who represents the United States around the world. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has less authority, but it still plays an important role in passing the foreign affairs budget and in investigating how that money is used. Senate and House members often travel abroad on fact-finding missions to places deemed vital to U.S. national interests. War Powers Certainly, the most important authority given to Congress overall is the power to declare war and to raise and support the armed forces. The authority is granted in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution. But this congressional power as granted by the Constitution has always been a flashpoint of tension between the Congress and the presidents constitutional role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. It came to a boiling point in 1973, in the wake of the unrest and divisiveness caused by the Vietnam War, when Congress passed the controversial War Powers Act over the veto of President Richard Nixon to address situations where sending U.S. troops abroad could result in involving them in armed action and how the president could carry out military  action while still keeping Congress in the loop. Since the passage of the War Powers Act, presidents have viewed it as an unconstitutional infringement on their executive powers, reports the Law Library of Congress, and it has remained surrounded by controversy. Lobbying Congress, more than any other part of the federal government, is the place where special interests seek to have their issues addressed. And this creates a large lobbying and policy-crafting industry, much of which is focused on foreign affairs. Americans concerned about Cuba, agricultural imports, human rights, global climate change, immigration, among many other issues, seek out members of the House and Senate to influence legislation and budget decisions.

Portrayal of women or the experience of femininity Essay

Portrayal of women or the experience of femininity - Essay Example Sexual relationship between a man and a woman has always been a very interesting yet controversial subject, and has conventionally invited a lot of debate with respect to their respective roles in the sex. In the lack of marital commitment, the regime in sexuality lies in the hands of man, whereas the woman follows him to gain the basic level of pleasure in sex. Marriage lays the basis of morality in the physical relationship between a man and a woman, and men generally respect this fact. When a man gets married to a woman, he accepts her wholeheartedly and shares his pleasures and sorrows with her. He considers the woman as his real life partner and shares everything he has with her, including property and all bounties of life. This is portrayed in several parts of Happy Ending by Margaret Astwood. With the passage of time, the two get used to each other and can not live without each other. They may have individualistic interests, but they derive satisfaction from the fact that they are committed to each other. Their sex life is quite normal, and wives do not have to be slaves to their husband to derive sexual pleasure and physical satisfaction. They may have sex quite often or they may not have sex at all, though, in no case, does the husband supersede the wife on the ground of sex. Commitment of sexes towards each other is fundamental to their equality in sex. In the sexual relationship between John and Mary explained in the part B of Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood, Mary is enslaved to John. This part depicts the psychology of cohabiting that is increasingly becoming a practice in many modern societies. Owing to high divorce rates, and the general tensions associated with marriage, women tend to look for the right man to whom they can get married. In their attempt to avoid a displeasing marital experience, they resolve to cohabit with men, and tend to make the men love them and get used to them before both of them can enter the sacred institution of marria ge. In the practice of cohabiting, men take maximum benefit of their privileged position. They take advantage of the weakness of women and use them for physical satisfaction and that too, in the most indecent manner. Men are far more decent towards women in marital sex as compared to sex out of marriage. This can be estimated from the order in which John undresses himself to have sex with Mary in the part B of Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood. A person with shear common sense and humanity will expect any kind of decent sex to start with emotional stimulation of both the partners. Decent sex is smooth and full of fantasies, feelings, emotions, and respect of both genders towards each other. Respect is fundamental to the decency in sex. In decent sex, whoever initiates the sex seeks approval from the partner. The two enter into sex through mutual consensus and the sex is driven by acknowledgement and encouragement of each other’s sexual fantasies. In such a sex, both of the par tners would fully undress and would like to stimulate each other to the apogee of orgasm. The man in a respectful sexual relationship would like to see the body of his partner, and would appreciate the beauty of it both verbally and physically, whereas in the part B of Happy Endings, John does not show the slightest interest in looking at the body of Mary. He never asks her to take her clothes off. He doesn't take off Mary's clothes, she takes them