Word Choice Hear vs. Here - Writing Tips from Proofed

Word Choice Hear vs. Here - Writing Tips from Proofed Word Choice: Hear vs. Here Spoken out loud the words â€Å"hear† and â€Å"here† sound identical, which may be why they’re often confused in writing. Unfortunately, on paper the difference is a bit more obvious! In this post, then, we’re looking at the differences between these words and how to tell them apart. Hear (Listen To) To â€Å"hear† something is to sense a sound (this is why we talk about having a sense of â€Å"hearing†): I was in the forest, so I could hear the tree fall. It can also mean â€Å"listen to† or â€Å"learn by being told,† such as when we receive news second hand: I hear that trees fall silently if there’s nobody around. We also see this word used in â€Å"Hear! Hear!† This is an old-fashioned phrase used to express approval of what someone is saying (as if you’re literally saying â€Å"Listen to this person!†). Here (In This Place) The word â€Å"here† can be a noun, an adverb, or even an adjective, but it always means â€Å"this place.† Typically, this is the location occupied by the speaker: Why are we here in this forest anyway? The tree will land here when it falls. In both cases above, â€Å"here† is used to point to the immediate surroundings or a point nearby. Closeness is important for this word; if we were referring to something further away, we’d say â€Å"there.† In addition, â€Å"here† can indicate a point in time or within a process: We’ll end the lesson here for today. It can also be used to refer to the previous sentence or passage in writing: Berkeley wrote that sense objects exist only when they are perceived. Here, we can see how he would have been interested in whether unobserved falling trees make a sound. This makes â€Å"here† a useful word for linking sentences in a paragraph. Hear or Here? An ear. Mixing up these words in your writing can look bad. However, there’s an easy way to tell them apart: The one about listening contains the word â€Å"ear† (i.e., the thing we listen with). So, if you’re writing about sensing a sound or listening to someone, the correct word is â€Å"hear.† On the other hand, if you’re writing about a place or position, the word you need will be â€Å"here.† Remember: Hear = Sense a sound or listen to Here = This place or point

Sima de los Huesos, a Key to Human Evolution

Sima de los Huesos, a Key to Human Evolution The Sima de los Huesos (Pit of Bones in Spanish and typically abbreviated as SH) is a lower Paleolithic site, one of several important sections of the Cueva Mayor-Cueva del Silo cave system of the Sierra de Atapuerca in north-central Spain. With a total of at least 28 individual hominid fossils now firmly dated to 430,000 years old, SH is the largest and oldest collection of human remains yet discovered. Site Context The bone pit at Sima de los Huesos is at the bottom of the cave, beneath an abrupt vertical shaft measuring between 2-4 meters (6.5-13 feet) in diameter, and located about .5 kilometers (~1/3 of a mile) in from the Cueva Mayor entrance. That shaft extends downward approximately 13 m (42.5 ft), ending just above the Rampa (Ramp), a 9 m (30 ft) long linear chamber inclined about 32 degrees. At the foot of that ramp is deposit called the Sima de los Huesos, a smoothly oblong chamber measuring 8x4 m (26x13 ft) with irregular ceiling heights between 1-2 m (3-6.5 ft). In the roof of the eastern side of the SH chamber is another vertical shaft, which extends upwards some 5 m (16 ft) to where it is blocked by cave collapse. Human and Animal Bones The sites archaeological deposits include a bone-bearing breccia, mixed with many large fallen blocks of limestone and mud deposits. The bones are mainly composed of at least 166 Middle Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus deningeri) and at least 28 individual humans, represented by more than 6,500 bone fragments including over 500 teeth alone. Other identified animals in the pit include extinct forms of Panthera leo (lion), Felis silvestris (wildcat), Canis lupus (grey wolf), Vulpes vulpes (red fox), and Lynx pardina splaea (Pardel lynx). Relatively few of the animal and human bones are articulated; some of the bones have tooth marks from where carnivores have chewed on them. The current interpretation of how the site came to be is that all the animals and humans fell into the pit from a higher chamber and were trapped and unable to get out. The stratigraphy and layout of the bone deposit suggest  the humans were somehow deposited in the cave before the bears and other carnivores. It is also possible- given the large amount of mud in the pit- that all the bones arrived in this low place in the cave through a series of mudflows. A third and quite controversial hypothesis is that the accumulation of human remains might be the result of mortuary practices (see the discussion of Carbonell and Mosquera below). The Humans A central question for the SH site has been and continues to be who were they? Were they Neanderthal, Denisovan, Early Modern Human, some mixture we havent yet recognized? With the fossil remains of 28 individuals who all lived and died about 430,000 years ago, the SH site has the potential to teach us a great deal about human evolution and how these three populations intersected in the past. Comparisons of nine human skulls and numerous cranial fragments representing at least 13 individuals were first reported in 1997 (Arsuaga et a.). A large variety in cranial capacity and other characteristics were detailed in the publications, but in 1997, the site was thought to be about 300,000 years old, and these scholars concluded that the Sima de los Huesos population was evolutionarily related to Neanderthals as a sister group, and could best fit into the then-refined species of Homo heidelbergensis. That theory was supported by results from a somewhat controversial method redating the site to 530,000 years ago (Bischoff and colleagues, see details below). But in 2012, paleontologist Chris Stringer argued that the 530,000-year-old dates were too old, and, based on morphological attributes, the SH fossils represented an archaic form of Neanderthal, rather than H. heidelbergensis. The latest data (Arsuago et al 2014) answers some of Stringers hesitations. Mitochondrial DNA at SH Research on the cave bear bones reported by Dabney and colleagues revealed that, astonishingly, mitochondrial DNA had been preserved at the site, much older than any other found to date anywhere. Additional investigations on the human remains from SH reported by Meyer and colleagues  redated the site to closer to 400,000 years ago. These studies also supply the surprising notion that the SH population shares some DNA with the  Denisovans, rather than the Neanderthals they look like (and, of course, we dont really know what a Denisovan looks like yet). Arsuaga and colleagues reported a study of 17 complete skulls from SH, agreeing with Stringer that, because of numerous Neanderthal-like characteristics of the crania and mandibles, the population does not fit the  H. heidelbergensis  classification. But the population is, according to the authors, significantly different from other groups such as those at Ceprano and  Arago  caves, and from other Neanderthals, and Arsuaga and colleagues now argue that a separate taxon should be considered for the SH fossils. Sima de los Huesos is now dated to 430,000 years ago, and that places it close to the age predicted for when the split in hominid species creating the Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages occurred. The SH fossils are thus central to the investigations concerning how that might have happened, and what our evolutionary history might be. Sima de los Huesos, a Purposeful Burial Mortality profiles (Bermudez de Castro and colleagues) of the SH population show a high representation of adolescents and prime-age adults  and a low percentage of adults between 20 and 40 years of age. Only one individual was under 10 at the time of death, and none were over 40-45 years old. Thats confusing, because, while 50% of the bones were gnaw-marked, they were in fairly good condition: statistically, say the scholars, there should be more children. Carbonell and Mosquera (2006) argued that Sima de los Huesos represents a purposeful burial, based partly on the recovery of a single quartzite  Acheulean handaxe  (Mode 2) and the complete lack of lithic waste or other habitation waste at all. If they are correct, and they are currently in the minority, Sima de los Huesos would be the earliest example of purposeful human burials known to date, by ~200,000 years or so. Evidence suggesting that at least one of the individuals in the pit died as a result of interpersonal violence was reported in 2015 (Sala et al. 2015). Cranium 17 has multiple impact fractures which occurred near the moment of death, and scholars believe this individual was dead at the time s/he was dropped into the shaft. Sala et al. argue that placing cadavers into the pit was indeed a social practice of the community.   Dating Sima de lost Huesos Uranium-series and Electron Spin Resonance dating of the human fossils reported in 1997 indicated a minimum age of about 200,000 and a probable age of greater than 300,000 years ago, which roughly matched the age of the mammals. In 2007, Bischoff and colleagues reported that a high-precision thermal-ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) analysis defines the minimum of deposits age as 530,000 years ago. This date led researchers to postulate that the SH hominids were at the beginning of the  Neanderthal  evolutionary lineage, rather than a contemporary, related sister group. However, in 2012, paleontologist Chris Stringer argued that, based on morphological attributes, the SH fossils represent an archaic form of Neanderthal, rather than  H. heidelbergensis, and that the 530,000-year-old date is too old. In 2014, excavators Arsuaga et al reported new dates from a suite of different dating techniques, including Uranium series (U-series) dating of speleothems, thermally transferred  optically stimulated luminescence  (TT-OSL) and post-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IR) dating of sedimentary quartz and feldspar grains, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of sedimentary quartz, combined ESR/U-series dating of fossil teeth, paleomagnetic analysis of sediments, and biostratigraphy. Dates from most of these techniques clustered around 430,000 years ago. Archaeology The first human fossils were discovered in 1976, by T. Torres, and the first excavations within this unit were conducted by the Sierra de Atapuerca Pleistocene site group under the direction of E. Aguirre. In 1990, this program was undertaken by J. L. Arsuaga, J. M. Bermudez de Castro, and E. Carbonell. Sources Arsuaga JL, Martà ­nez I, Gracia A, Carretero JM, Lorenzo C, Garcà ­a N, and Ortega AI. 1997.  Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). The site.  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):109-127. Arsuaga JL, Martà ­nez, Gracia A, and Lorenzo C. 1997a.  The Sima de los Huesos crania (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A comparative study.  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):219-281. Arsuaga JL, Martà ­nez I, Arnold LJ, Aranburu A, Gracia-Tà ©llez A, Sharp WD, Quam RM, Falguà ¨res C, Pantoja-Pà ©rez A, Bischoff JL et al. . 2014.  Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos.  Science  344(6190):1358-1363. doi: 10.1126/science.1253958 Bermà ºdez de Castro JM, Martinà ³n-Torres M, Lozano M, Sarmiento S, and Muelo A. 2004.  Paleodemography of the Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos Hominin Sample: A revision and new appropaches to the paleodemongraphy of the European Middle Pleistocene population.  Journal of Anthropological Research  60(1):5-26. Bischoff JL, Fitzpatrick JA, Leà ³n L, Arsuaga JL, Falgueres C, Bahain JJ, and Bullen T. 1997.  Geology and preliminary dating of the hominid-bearing sedimentary fill of the Sima de los Huesos Chamber, Cueva Mayor of the Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain.  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):129-154. Bischoff JL, Williams RW, Rosenbauer RJ, Aramburu A, Arsuaga JL, Garcà ­a N, and Cuenca-Bescà ³s G. 2007.  High-resolution U-series dates from the Sima de  Ã‚  Journal of Archaeological Science  34(5):763-770.los  Huesos hominids yields : implications for the evolution of the early Neanderthal lineage. Carbonell E, and Mosquera M. 2006.  The emergence of  a  symbolic   Comptes Rendus Palevol  5(1–2):155-160.behaviour: the  sepulchral pit of  Sima de  los  Huesos, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain. Carretero J-M, Rodrà ­guez L, Garcà ­a-Gonzlez R, Arsuaga J-L, Gà ³mez-Olivencia A, Lorenzo C, Bonmatà ­ A, Gracia A, Martà ­nez I, and Quam R. 2012.  Stature estimation from complete long bones in the Middle Pleistocene humans from the Sima de  los  Huesos, Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain).  Journal of Human Evolution  62(2):242-255. Dabney J, Knapp M, Glocke I, Gansauge M-T, Weihmann A, Nickel B, Valdiosera C, Garcà ­a N, Pbo S, Arsuaga J-L et al. 2013.  Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of a Middle Pleistocene cave bear reconstructed from ultrashort DNA fragments.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  110(39):15758-15763. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1314445110 Garcà ­a N, and Arsuaga JL. 2011.  The Sima de  Ã‚  Quaternary Science Reviews  30(11-12):1413-1419.los  Huesos (Burgos, northern Spain): palaeoenvironment and habitats of Homo heidelbergensis during the Middle Pleistocene. Garcà ­a N, Arsuaga JL, and Torres T. 1997.  The carnivore remains from the Sima de  Ã‚  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):155-174.los  Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Gracia-Tà ©llez A, Arsuaga J-L, Martà ­nez I, Martà ­n-Francà ©s L, Martinà ³n-Torres M, Bermà ºdez de Castro J-M, Bonmatà ­ A, and Lira J. 2013.  Orofacial pathology in Homo heidelbergensis: The case of Skull 5 from the Sima de los Huesos site (Atapuerca, Spain).  Quaternary International  295:83-93. Hublin J-J. 2014.  How to build a Neandertal.  Science  344(6190):1338-1339. doi: 10.1126/science.1255554 Martinà ³n-Torres M, Bermà ºdez de Castro JM, Gà ³mez-Robles A, Prado-Simà ³n L, and Arsuaga JL. 2012.  Morphological description and comparison of the dental remains from Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos site (Spain).  Journal of Human Evolution  62(1):7-58. Meyer, Matthias. A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin from Sima de los Huesos. Nature volume 505, Qiaomei Fu, Ayinuer Aximu-Petri, et al., Springer Nature Publishing AG, January 16, 2014. Ortega AI, Benito-Calvo A, Pà ©rez-Gonzlez A, Martà ­n-Merino MA, Pà ©rez-Martà ­nez R, Parà ©s JM, Aramburu A, Arsuaga JL, Bermà ºdez de Castro JM, and Carbonell E. 2013.  Evolution of multilevel caves in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) and its relation to human occupation.  Geomorphology  196:122-137. Sala N, Arsuaga JL, Pantoja-Pà ©rez A, Pablos A, Martà ­nez I, Quam RM, Gà ³mez-Olivencia A, Bermà ºdez de Castro JM, and Carbonell E. 2015.  Lethal Interpersonal Violence in the Middle Pleistocene.  PLoS ONE  10(5):e0126589. Stringer C. 2012.  The status of Homo heidelbergensis (Schoetensack 1908).  Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews  21(3):101-107.

Frontlines Black Money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frontlines Black Money - Essay Example From the perspective of a high-end chauffeur, it then details the lavish expenditures that accompanied the lifestyles of the Saudi princes immediately after the arms deal was completed and how he was instructed to refer all expenses to BAE. It then discusses how the Foreign Corruption Practices (FCPA) was formed in the United States during the Carter administration and how it makes United States laws against bribery the most strict in the world. Later, because of competitive disadvantages American companies were experiencing, the international community created the OECD to make it a world-wide offense. Even with these policies intact, large companies, such as BAE and the German company Siemens still found ways to work around the system. It discusses the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 500 million dollar fine of KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, for breaking United States anti-bribery laws. Eventually, a full scale investigation is launched by British investigators into the BAE scan dal and unearths a world-wide multi-billion dollar series of slush funds. An investigation is launched into BAE practices in Switzerland. Just as the investigation is supposed to unearth potent information, Prince Bandar visits with Tony Blair and informs him that if the investigation continues then the Saudis will stop cooperating with the British on anti-terrorism laws. This information, coupled with an apparent blackmail plot against the investigator, results in the investigation being dropped, with the Saudi connections to the United States being investigated further by the DOJ. The film ends on a somber note, concluding that the rules for the use of this ‘black money’ are different for the large corporations -- who can get away with it -- and the small businesses that face OECD

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper - Essay Example t disease, high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, back pain, respiratory problems, kidney disorders, gallbladder problems, osteoarthritis, excess fatigue, sleep apnea, metabolic syndromes and urinary incontinence. There are various factors that could lead to obesity or an accumulation of body fat which occurs due to an imbalance in the calories consumed and burnt by the body. Other contributing factors include a lack of physical activity, increased consumption of fat, sugar, alcohol intake, overeating, chronic use of corticosteroids, hormonal imbalances and other related metabolic problems (Body composition and Health, 2002). Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating have serious effects on the physical and mental health of individuals and in extreme cases can also lead to life-threatening problems. This is mainly because such disorders do not exist for a particular period of time; rather they have the potential to become lifelong disorders in cases where they are not treated. In such cases they could affect the mental, emotional and physical well-being of individuals and also put tremendous strain on their relationships with other people. In the case of anorexia nervosa, in which individuals starve themselves the body becomes severely depleted of vital nutrients and hence there is a slowdown of metabolic process in order to conserve energy. As a result a number of medical problems arise some of which warrant immediate medical attention. The health consequences of anorexia nervosa includes an abnormal decrease in heart rate and blood pressure which increases the risk of heart failure, bone density reduction, loss and weakening of muscles, severe body dehydration increasing the risk of kidney failure, increased fatigue and general body weakness, dryness of skin and hair with hair loss and growth of lanugo all the body in an effort to maintain body temperature (Health Consequences of Eating Disorders, n.d; Eating

Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

Death Penalty Essay The Death Penalty The death penalty is a form of punishment in which a person who has been convicted of a serious crime is executed under the precept of the criminal justice system. The death penalty has been in existence for thousands of years and has gained wide acceptance in the United States since early colonial times. Even those who framed the Constitution specifically the Fifth Amendment approved of it though implicitly (McCord and Latzer 9). Despite the growing acceptance of the death penalty as an appropriate punishment for certain kinds of crimes such as first degree murders, there are still some people who argue against it on certain grounds. The debate as to the justification of the death penalty has raged on for a long time. On one hand, there are those who are of the opinion that the death penalty is a cruel punishment which is morally wrong and a violation of the right to life for its victims. Others defend their opposing views by citing the wave of abolition of other types of corporal punishment such as branding and flogging and propose that imprisonment should also replace the death penalty (McCord and Latzer 9). However, the death penalty has proved to be a punishment befitting certain crimes such as horrific murders as it is the ultimate punishment. It has taken many harmful elements off the streets besides acting as a deterrent for both the convicted criminals and other potential murderers out there. In essence, it has saved many innocent lives that otherwise would have fallen prey to the evil schemes of murderers. Indeed, there is no course more worthy than saving innocent lives. This essay presents an argument in support of the death penalty by considering its numerous benefits as backed up by ample evidence from credible sources. In order to build the argument, the essay shall also consider some of the opinions of those who oppose the death penalty. Death penalty is a good form of punishment considering that it prevents future murders by acting as a deterrent. Society has always employed different kinds of punishments in an effort to prevent potential criminals from committing crimes. In other words, there is always a drive to prevent future harm by learning from the mistakes of today. In this regard, the society has a fervent interest in protecting people’s lives from murderers. The best way to prevent murder is to use the strongest form of punishment which is the death penalty (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Evidence from numerous  studies has proved that the death penalty has an inherent ability to deter would-be murderers from committing heinous crimes. In fact, the incapacitative benefits of the death penalty occur in two ways. Firstly, by apprehending and executing convicted individual murderers, death penalty totally eliminates any possibility of the criminal going back to the streets and killing again (Ogloff and Honeyman). Apart from this aspect referred to as specific deterrence, the death penalty has even a wider scope of incapacitative benefits through general deterrence. This is because, by executing people convicted of committ ing horrific murders, potential murderers would be restrained from killing people since they are conscious of what will come over them (Cassell and Bedau 32). Some opponents of the death penalty are of the opinion that the concept of deterrence rests on a shaky ground since it assumes that people always think before acting, so that their actions depend on their rational evaluation of the consequences. According to them, the assumption made here is that murderers will always think rationally before committing a crime and thus will opt not to commit murder in view of the imminent outcome which is the death penalty. In this regard, opponents of the death penalty nullify this assumption by noting that not all homicides are committed under circumstances that allow rational evaluation of the consequences. They cite homicides that are committed out of passionate hatred in which murderers, overcome by hatred towards their victims, have no time to contemplate about the ultimate consequences of their destructive behavior (Dorpat 114). However, this opposing opinion can only gain support in light of the fact that the Supreme Court only approves of death penalty if a criminal is convicted of premeditated first-degree murder. Just because murders committed out of the heat of passion are treated as second-degree murders in which death penalty does not apply, it does not nullify the deterrent ef fects of the death penalty. It does not also imply that the presence of death penalty in the criminal justice system lack the capacity to prevent the so-called second degree murders (Cassell and Bedau 32). Moreover, it cannot be implied that despite having the death penalty, homicides continue to be committed in the country. The outstanding issue is not whether the death penalty prevents every murder, but rather, whether some murders are deterred by the death penalty. Logic, firsthand reports, and statistics have proved that the death penalty at least deters  some murders (Cassell and Bedau 32). For instance, an analysis conducted by Isaac Ehrlich in 1973 indicated that at least seven lives were saved for every execution of a convicted murderer. This is because prospective murderers were deterred from going down the same path. Follow-up studies have generated similar results (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Apart from acting as a deterrent, the death penalty stands out as the only punishment that can be equated with the crime of murder. It is worth noting that when a life is taken by another, an imbalance in the justice system is the outcome. If the imbalance is not corrected, society is left to a rule of violence. Therefore, in conformity with the requirement that the punishment accorded should be proportional to the magnitude of the crime committed, death penalty is the right way to go (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Moreover, the U.S justice system is used to the trend of escalating punishments which then qualifies that the most heinous crimes should receive the most severe punishment. Some opponents of the death penalty have argued that death penalty is cruel and denies the person the right to life. However, many forget the extent of cruelty with which the victim was subjected to by the murderer. The pain that a murderer causes to the family of the victim is immense and death penalty is the most appropriate punishment that can guarantee justice. This is not forgetting that it will still not be enough since the affected family will not get back their loved one (Siegel 513). Some opposing arguments have implied that the death penalty is a costly venture which overburdens the taxpayers. This argument does not represent the truth since more expenses are incurred by locking up killers for their entire lives. When these prisoners grow old and become vulnerable to many illnesses, the taxpayers are overburdened even further by the medical expenses. No one wants to spend his/her resources suporting killers when there is a justified means of preventing such costs and delivering justice (Guernsey 62). The death penalty is morally correct as it is even mentioned in the Bible. At the time the U.S constitution was drafted, the death penalty was widely accepted and does not qualify as unusu al. According to opponents of the death penalty, the punishment amounts to revenge and that a mature society should not respond by inflicting immediate pain to the point of death. They argue that the response to murderers should be more measured as the death penalty is too extreme,  violates respect for life, and encourages violence (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). However, they forget that allowing murderers to live degrades the value that the society places on lives and perpetuates imbalance in the justice system. It creates a society where the families of the victims suffer psychological torture trying to understand how they could lose their loved ones in the hands of criminals who continue to live. Therefore, death penalty is a way of bringing murder crimes to a closure (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). It serves to underscore that murder is one crime which when committed, amounts to the murderer forfeiting his/her right to live (Siegel 513). The debate on the legitimacy of the death penalty has also seen hot contention regarding what opponents term as discriminative application of the penalty, where the blacks seem to be targe ted than the whites. They argue that even in cases where whites have committed a similar crime for which blacks receive the ultimate punishment, they end up being given lesser punishment. Some have pointed to the findings of Baldus which alludes to these kinds of racial disparities in the 1970s particularly in Georgia (Hill 190). However, recent studies have indicated that Baldus findings cannot be used to represent the current situation where cases are scrutinized more closely to avoid partial or discriminative justice. Moreover, the argument that similar crimes should receive the same sentence is untenable if not misguided. This is because; prosecutors and juries have the right to their own discretion so that the details of similar crimes may be interpreted differently. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has asserted that it would be unconstitutional to have a death penalty that universally applies to all first-degree murders (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Statistics show that contrary to previous trends where it seemed like the death penalty was racially discriminative, more whites are actually executed than black people. In addition, death sentence cannot be overturned on the basis of disproportionate representation of blacks who are on death row since this might only indicate that more murders are committed by blacks (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Another argument that has dominated the corridors of justice in relation to the death penalty is the opposing opinion that there is a significant chance of an innocent person being executed by mistake. Thus, opponents regard the death penalty as an unreliable punishment by alluding to statistics that  date back to the 1970s when such incidences were notable though rare. The fact of the matter is, given the system of appeals that has been set in place through numerous federal and state courts, it is almost impossible to see such mistakes being made (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Moreover, there are better methods of scrutinizing evidence such as DNA profiling in forensics which are widely used to make the justice system achieve greater efficiency. Opponents of the death penalty cannot provide a solid argument on the grounds of innocent people being executed since there is no proof to this effect. Even if such incidences occurred, they are extremely rare. In an effort to build their case, some opponents of the death penalty rely on the claims of innocence propagated by those who have been pardoned from death row after many years. However, most of these people are re leased due to legal technicalities and can never be taken to mean that they are actually innocent (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). From this argument, it is clear that the death penalty is a valuable tool in our criminal justice system whose legitimacy cannot be downplayed by any amount of opposing views. It is the ultimate punishment that is founded on the U.S Constitution. By acting as a deterrent, it saves many lives every time a convicted murderer is executed. It is also a punishment that restores balance in the universal justice system and underscores the high value that the society places on human lives. Opponents of the death penalty fail to present a solid argument that innocent people may be or have been executed by mistake and that the application of the death penalty is racially discriminative. It would be unnecessary to rely on statistics accumulated 4 or 5 decades ago and overlook the current improvements that have been made to refine the justice system. The death penalty remains a morally and constitutionally legitimate punishment.

Thematic Issues in Nine Muses by Wim Coleman Essay -- essays research

Many thematic issues are found in modern plays from classic myths in the book Nine Muses by Wim Coleman. Long ago, when life was full of mysteries, myths, or explanations, helped people make sense of a perplexing world. Myths also explain deeper questions. Such as, how did the world itself come to be? How did life begin? How were human beings created and why? And why is there suffering and death in the world? People of ancient cultures all over the world puzzled over such questions, and they created stories to answer them. One of the main thematic issues in Nine Muses is the tragic effect of engaging in actions which are forbidden. Some plays which express this thematic issue are â€Å"Pandora†, â€Å"Phaeton and the Sun Chariot†, and â€Å"Eros and Psyche†. One of the plays found in Nine Muses is â€Å"Pandora†. This play is about Hesoid, a Greek poet, who describes the creation of the universe of gods and humankind. He shares a story about â€Å"a gift for humankind† (P.22) or in other words, the first woman Pandora. As she enters the mortal world, she becomes the wife of Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, a titan. Epimetheus’s brother told him he is not to have anything to do with the gods, and when he found out that Pandora was a gift from the gods, he told her he told her that he could not accept her- a gift from the gods. Pandora finds a beautiful clay jar hidden behind a curtain, while searching for the â€Å"wife† of Epimetheus. Pandora reaches to open the jar assuming it has Epimetheus’s wife in it but Epimetheus stops her explaining that there are terrible things in the jar. Being a curious girl, as soon as Epimetheus leaves the room to attend his daily chores, Pandora walks over t o the jar and opens the lid letting the terrible thi... ...s talk and the two sisters become awfully jealous of her. After they try to find out the truth of Psyche and her husband, they leave with some jewels. The night after the two sisters leave, Psyche can’t sleep at night and order her servants to bring her a lamp. She sneaks into her husband’s room, to find a beautiful creature with great, white folded, feathered wings. He is the son of Aphrodite’s, Eros – she says. As she quietly moves away, her oil lamp drops oil on Eros burning him and waking him up. He explains to Psyche that â€Å"mortals and gods are forbidden to marry† (p.137) that’s why she couldn’t see him and now he must go away from her. In this play we see that Pandora should’ve listened to her husband, Eros, and it caused herself bad in not listening to Eros, but we see that things can work out after something terrible occurs, such as the birth of a child.

Market research

The company/brand selected for the research proposal project Is Wall-Mart. INTRODUCTION Wall-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Wall-Mart, Is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. Headquartered In Bonneville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 55 different names. It operates in India as Best Price.The company is the world's largest public corporation, the biggest private employer in the oral with over two million employees and the largest retailer in the world. Wall-Mart is a family-owned business, as the company Is controlled by the Walton family, who own over 50 percent of Wall-Mart through their holding company, Walton Enterprises. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies and is also the largest grocery retailer in the US. The partnership between Birth Enterprises and Wall-Mart has been dissolved.Now Walter India Private Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall-Mart Stores Inc. Walter India owns and operates 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in 8 states across India. Division of wall-mart: Neighborhood Markets (groceries) Cam's Club (membership) Discount stores (FMC & apparels) Wall-Mart superstructures (groceries) THE PROBLEMS FACED BY WALL-MART Late entry Overlook competitors Destroy small businesses Joint venture & Nationalism Culture difference Suppliers Government Regulations The problem which is looked at In this research project is government regulation.The statement of the problem- The problem which Is looked at In this research project Is the government for retail global companies makes it difficult to make any development in India so Wall-Mart wants to launch e-commerce. Objective of the study- it is to see how Wall-Mart will make a difference in the economy by online purchases. To see how the Indian market responds to e-commerce and wil l it help in increasing sales of the company. What will India do for Wall-Mart?Wall-Mart needs India, and it needs success in India. At the same moment as the Joint venture in India was announced this weekend, Wall-Mart announced something stunning about its November financial performance. In the US, in stores that have been open at least a year, sales actually fell compared to last year. Same-store US sales fell Just 0. 1% – the decline comes to about $mm. It wouldn't have been a decline at all if each US store had sold Just $1 ,250 a week in additional merchandise.The performance is chilling because it's only the second time in 25 years that Wall- Mart's same-store sales haven't grown. The truth is that while the US still accounts for more than 70% of Wall-Mart's sales, the country is full up with Wall-Marts: 53% of Americans already live within five miles of a Wall-Mart, and 90% live within 15 miles. If an American wants to shop at Wall-Mart, he or she already is. So if Wa ll-Mart is going to continue to grow, it must tap new and receptive markets like India. What will Wall- Mart do to India?The mood about Wall-Mart in the United States is conflicted, at best. For two years, there has been a noisy national debate about Wall-Mart's impact – low prices, yes, but also low wages, poor working conditions, small merchants swept away, manufacturers squeezed. In the recent Congressional elections, prominent Democrat politicians routinely attacked Wall-Mart, despite the fact that millions of Democrat voters shop there every week. In developing nations, in contrast, the arrival of Wall- Mart stores is still greeted with gratitude.But will Wall-Mart bring with it to India exactly the kind of business practices that cause resistance to it in the US? Indian's retail market is likely to be transformed over the next 10 years, and Wall-Mart is determined to be part of that. When a superstore opens that can do $1 m or $mm in business a week, it's going to vacuu m sales away from small merchants. Yes, Wall- Marts, and all hyper marts, create hundreds of Jobs. But there is a big difference between being a shopkeeper, and working in a store for mega-corporation.But at this Indian's elected officials want to understand what happens when Wall-Mart arrives, hey need only consult local officials in China or Mexico or Missouri. And if Indian officials want to both usher in a new consumer era, and preserve some of the traditional aspects of Indian commerce, they need to act now – with zoning laws, with rules on the size of stores and the hours they may be open – before the hyper marts roll in. Once they dot the landscape, as we've discovered in the US, it's too late to do anything but mourn the traditional ways of shopping.SECONDARY RESEARCH FINDINGS Wall-Mart will open 50 cash-and carry-stores in the country in the next 4-5 years, a eve that will strengthen the presence of the retail major in the wholesale segment. The announcement c omes a day after the Bops manifesto declared that the party will not allow foreign direct investment (FAD) in the multi-brand retail segment if it forms the next government. The BGP, in its manifesto unveiled Monday, said that it is not in favor of FAD in the multi-brand retail sector, though it was open to FAD in all other sectors if it led to Job and asset creation.However, the company has refrained from entering the sector, citing stringent conditions related to mandatory 30 per cent local rouging. Given that 100 per cent FAD is allowed in the cash and carry segment, this sector presents an opportunity to the company to make in-roads in the vast Indian market. In a statement, Walter also said that it will launch business-to-business (BIB) e-commerce platform for members of its cash and carry ‘Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores'. â€Å"Walter is committed to India and we are excited about our growth plans.We will continue to focus on the cash and carry format as we are very happy with the way it has shaped up in the last few years. The format is also poised o grow in India and we would like to serve the growing customer base by opening 50 new cash and carry stores over the next four-five years and extend the e-commerce platform to our cash and carry members with a virtual shopping opportunity,† Scott Price, president and CEO, Walter Asia, said, in the statement. The retailer currently has 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores in the country.The first store opened in Marital in May 2009. Currently, 100 per cent FAD is allowed in single brand retail, and 51 per cent is allowed in the multi-brand retail sector. Also, 100 per cent FAD is allowed in BIB e-commerce, but not in BBC e-commerce. Price also said that the company will take â€Å"a number of important steps to strengthen compliance so that we do the right thing everyday'. â€Å"We are evaluating and reinforcing procedures and programs relating to all compliance areas†¦ And responsibl e sourcing among others,† Price added.PEST ANALYSIS Strong opposition to FAD in Indian's retail sector Taxation police – VAT Low access to banking facilities Economic analysis: GAP growth Foreign investments Money supply Inflation Social analysis: Corporate social responsibility Environmental safety Ease of shopping Technological analysis: Retail media network ERP system Online shopping CRM system CONSUMER ANALYSIS What will Wall-Mart do for Indian consumers? Wall-Mart will be a sensation in India – as it has been in China and in Mexico.At the moment, there is Just a single hyper mart in the whole country, in Iambi. Indian's rapidly growing middle class has more money to spend than any previous generation – but no place to spend it. Just 7% of retail spending in the country is in what westerners would consider â€Å"organized† retail stores. Even in China, that number is 20%. So Wall-Mart's acres of low-cost merchandise from around the world, gather ed under a single roof, will be like a carnival for a slice of Indian consumers.Wall-Mart store openings in developing nations are frequently huge events – tens of thousands of Chinese show up when new stores open there – and with good reason. People everywhere are grateful to have the products of the world delivered to their doorstep at affordable prices. Competitors are competitors within an industry. Competition in the industry can be weak with few competitors that don't compete very aggressively or it can be intense tit many competitors fighting in a cut-throat environment.Key competitors of Walter in the retail sectors are: VA Barilla Group- It has a strong presence in apparel retail and owns renowned brands like Allen Solely, Louis Phillips, Trouser Town, Van Houses and Peter England. The company has started to expand aggressively to compete with other players. Trend- It is subsidiary of the Data group, operates lifestyle retail chain, book and music chain consum er electronics chain etc. Landmark Group K Rajah Crop Group Reliance Pantaloon Others stores are: Big bazaar Spencer Careful & metro are the main wholesale cash-and-carry brands. Market research The company/brand selected for the research proposal project Is Wall-Mart. INTRODUCTION Wall-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Wall-Mart, Is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. Headquartered In Bonneville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 55 different names. It operates in India as Best Price.The company is the world's largest public corporation, the biggest private employer in the oral with over two million employees and the largest retailer in the world. Wall-Mart is a family-owned business, as the company Is controlled by the Walton family, who own over 50 percent of Wall-Mart through their holding company, Walton Enterprises. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies and is also the largest grocery retailer in the US. The partnership between Birth Enterprises and Wall-Mart has been dissolved.Now Walter India Private Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall-Mart Stores Inc. Walter India owns and operates 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in 8 states across India. Division of wall-mart: Neighborhood Markets (groceries) Cam's Club (membership) Discount stores (FMC & apparels) Wall-Mart superstructures (groceries) THE PROBLEMS FACED BY WALL-MART Late entry Overlook competitors Destroy small businesses Joint venture & Nationalism Culture difference Suppliers Government Regulations The problem which is looked at In this research project is government regulation.The statement of the problem- The problem which Is looked at In this research project Is the government for retail global companies makes it difficult to make any development in India so Wall-Mart wants to launch e-commerce. Objective of the study- it is to see how Wall-Mart will make a difference in the economy by online purchases. To see how the Indian market responds to e-commerce and wil l it help in increasing sales of the company. What will India do for Wall-Mart?Wall-Mart needs India, and it needs success in India. At the same moment as the Joint venture in India was announced this weekend, Wall-Mart announced something stunning about its November financial performance. In the US, in stores that have been open at least a year, sales actually fell compared to last year. Same-store US sales fell Just 0. 1% – the decline comes to about $mm. It wouldn't have been a decline at all if each US store had sold Just $1 ,250 a week in additional merchandise.The performance is chilling because it's only the second time in 25 years that Wall- Mart's same-store sales haven't grown. The truth is that while the US still accounts for more than 70% of Wall-Mart's sales, the country is full up with Wall-Marts: 53% of Americans already live within five miles of a Wall-Mart, and 90% live within 15 miles. If an American wants to shop at Wall-Mart, he or she already is. So if Wa ll-Mart is going to continue to grow, it must tap new and receptive markets like India. What will Wall- Mart do to India?The mood about Wall-Mart in the United States is conflicted, at best. For two years, there has been a noisy national debate about Wall-Mart's impact – low prices, yes, but also low wages, poor working conditions, small merchants swept away, manufacturers squeezed. In the recent Congressional elections, prominent Democrat politicians routinely attacked Wall-Mart, despite the fact that millions of Democrat voters shop there every week. In developing nations, in contrast, the arrival of Wall- Mart stores is still greeted with gratitude.But will Wall-Mart bring with it to India exactly the kind of business practices that cause resistance to it in the US? Indian's retail market is likely to be transformed over the next 10 years, and Wall-Mart is determined to be part of that. When a superstore opens that can do $1 m or $mm in business a week, it's going to vacuu m sales away from small merchants. Yes, Wall- Marts, and all hyper marts, create hundreds of Jobs. But there is a big difference between being a shopkeeper, and working in a store for mega-corporation.But at this Indian's elected officials want to understand what happens when Wall-Mart arrives, hey need only consult local officials in China or Mexico or Missouri. And if Indian officials want to both usher in a new consumer era, and preserve some of the traditional aspects of Indian commerce, they need to act now – with zoning laws, with rules on the size of stores and the hours they may be open – before the hyper marts roll in. Once they dot the landscape, as we've discovered in the US, it's too late to do anything but mourn the traditional ways of shopping.SECONDARY RESEARCH FINDINGS Wall-Mart will open 50 cash-and carry-stores in the country in the next 4-5 years, a eve that will strengthen the presence of the retail major in the wholesale segment. The announcement c omes a day after the Bops manifesto declared that the party will not allow foreign direct investment (FAD) in the multi-brand retail segment if it forms the next government. The BGP, in its manifesto unveiled Monday, said that it is not in favor of FAD in the multi-brand retail sector, though it was open to FAD in all other sectors if it led to Job and asset creation.However, the company has refrained from entering the sector, citing stringent conditions related to mandatory 30 per cent local rouging. Given that 100 per cent FAD is allowed in the cash and carry segment, this sector presents an opportunity to the company to make in-roads in the vast Indian market. In a statement, Walter also said that it will launch business-to-business (BIB) e-commerce platform for members of its cash and carry ‘Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores'. â€Å"Walter is committed to India and we are excited about our growth plans.We will continue to focus on the cash and carry format as we are very happy with the way it has shaped up in the last few years. The format is also poised o grow in India and we would like to serve the growing customer base by opening 50 new cash and carry stores over the next four-five years and extend the e-commerce platform to our cash and carry members with a virtual shopping opportunity,† Scott Price, president and CEO, Walter Asia, said, in the statement. The retailer currently has 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores in the country.The first store opened in Marital in May 2009. Currently, 100 per cent FAD is allowed in single brand retail, and 51 per cent is allowed in the multi-brand retail sector. Also, 100 per cent FAD is allowed in BIB e-commerce, but not in BBC e-commerce. Price also said that the company will take â€Å"a number of important steps to strengthen compliance so that we do the right thing everyday'. â€Å"We are evaluating and reinforcing procedures and programs relating to all compliance areas†¦ And responsibl e sourcing among others,† Price added.PEST ANALYSIS Strong opposition to FAD in Indian's retail sector Taxation police – VAT Low access to banking facilities Economic analysis: GAP growth Foreign investments Money supply Inflation Social analysis: Corporate social responsibility Environmental safety Ease of shopping Technological analysis: Retail media network ERP system Online shopping CRM system CONSUMER ANALYSIS What will Wall-Mart do for Indian consumers? Wall-Mart will be a sensation in India – as it has been in China and in Mexico.At the moment, there is Just a single hyper mart in the whole country, in Iambi. Indian's rapidly growing middle class has more money to spend than any previous generation – but no place to spend it. Just 7% of retail spending in the country is in what westerners would consider â€Å"organized† retail stores. Even in China, that number is 20%. So Wall-Mart's acres of low-cost merchandise from around the world, gather ed under a single roof, will be like a carnival for a slice of Indian consumers.Wall-Mart store openings in developing nations are frequently huge events – tens of thousands of Chinese show up when new stores open there – and with good reason. People everywhere are grateful to have the products of the world delivered to their doorstep at affordable prices. Competitors are competitors within an industry. Competition in the industry can be weak with few competitors that don't compete very aggressively or it can be intense tit many competitors fighting in a cut-throat environment.Key competitors of Walter in the retail sectors are: VA Barilla Group- It has a strong presence in apparel retail and owns renowned brands like Allen Solely, Louis Phillips, Trouser Town, Van Houses and Peter England. The company has started to expand aggressively to compete with other players. Trend- It is subsidiary of the Data group, operates lifestyle retail chain, book and music chain consum er electronics chain etc. Landmark Group K Rajah Crop Group Reliance Pantaloon Others stores are: Big bazaar Spencer Careful & metro are the main wholesale cash-and-carry brands.