Friday, August 7, 2020
#tbt MIT Cribs
#tbt MIT Cribs In a recent concentrated effort to create a professional Tumblr for myself, I found the old blog that I submitted as part of my blogger application way-back-when. Turns out that getting accepted as an admissions blogger as a sophomore has its perks. These freshman-year thoughts just sat unread in a tiny corner of the internet, so I can dust off the MIT-related musings (as opposed to the completely random posts or deep and sometimes angsty thoughts about life/the universe/everything posts) and reuse them in a snazzy little #tbt series. Its always strange to look back upon your past self, what you thought of things, and how little you knew of what was to come. Like in this post I was both excited and terrified to start fresh in a new dorm room, decked out with a couple personal touches from home (hence the cheesy title): MIT Cribs (September 2, 2012) My deepest apologies for the hiatus; now that Iâm not at home (where an abundance of free time was a given) Iâve been spending less time on the computer and more actually doing things (âthingsâ being a very broad term, itâs not like I became extremely extroverted over the course of a week). But now that the hectic times of Orientation have subsided, Iâll introduce the interwebz to my final resting place⦠in other words, my dorm room. Water bottles! The red one was given out by my high school and has an awesome phoenix design on it, while the white one has the Aperture Laboratories logo and a little spiel about dihydrogen monoxide. Portal and chem nerdiness ftw. Freshman 15, here I come? My dad left me with comfort food, namely Ring Dings or a different brand of Hostess Ding Dongs. Now itâs an ongoing battle between my resolve and my stomach. Art supplies⦠or some of them. I couldnât bring my colored pencils or paints, but all my fine point illustration pens, brush pens, and gel pens made the journey in case Iâm feeling creative. Pokemon headphones, which I painted. Awesome arrow magnets with profanity. Because Iâd prefer not to swear online but am endlessly amused by what these say. (My favorite is, by far, âDonât F*** This Upâ). New planner! Because Iâm all grown up and in college now, I selected a fancy Moleskine planner⦠featuring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts comic strip. Anyway, I love it and the cover reads (fittingly) âThis year things are gonna be different!â A book of easy crosswords so I can stick to my resolution, and actually finish the puzzles so I donât feel completely mentally inadequate. My Seattle Seahawks pillow. Even though Iâm on the East Coast and the closest NFL team is the New England Patriots, my family has raised me to be a die-hard Seahawks fan and Iâm not gonna stop supporting them. Beagles are the most adorable, droopy, (translate: slobbering, conniving but still lovable) little dogs there are and I miss Taffy (my beagle) a bunch. I get this type of calendar every year as a Christmas present. Girlfriend Application advertisement for one of my friends. He jokingly mentioned that his goal for the summer between Junior and Senior year was to nab himself a girlfriend, so we (myself and two other friends), took it upon ourselves to give him a hand. It was quite a success, he got numerous applicants (even a teacher, though most of the submitted forms were from men) and was also thoroughly embarrassed. Nametag? While volunteering at the Seattle Childrenâs Hospital with my schoolâs National Art Honor Society, the front desk scanned my ID and printed out this nametag with an unflattering picture of myself and the moniker âDob Ileycass ka.â Wtf is a âHello, my name is History Nerdâ button doing in my possession? Even though Iâve blatantly (and perhaps a bit narrow-mindedly) proclaimed my hatred of history class and memorizing people, dates, and events⦠this button is from National History Day, where Iâve had some of my greatest successes in academic competition and had the privilege of researching moments in time that actually interest me in the company of great friends. I had to choose some of my very favorite books and DVDs to bring along, because I couldnât very well pack my entire shelf. I would passionately recommend any of these titles to anyone, just ask my friends (who have heard me rave endlessly about any number of these.) Also, my copy of TFiOS is signed and hanklerfishâd, be jelly ;) Troy and Abed in the Mooooooooorning. âNuff said. Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch who watches over you, make a little birdhouse in your soul. The physical manifestation of the focus of the They Might Be Giants song Birdhouse in your Soul. Theyâre awesome. A blank deck of playing cards which I intended for friends to draw on so I have a completely unique deck. So far I have a grand total of⦠one. Just a few more to go, right? And lastly, this is the view out my window, a lovely vista of the Charles River. Plus I can see the soccer fields from here, so maybe Iâll spectate during a couple games. I think Iâd rather have several closer friends in my dorm than a million-dollar view, but I guess I canât be heartbroken over this (unless I really want to be a jerk). If anyone wants to hear a story behind any of the other things on my bulletin board (all of them do have stories of some sort), shelves, desk (which is pretty much empty right now, but will be gaining more clutter shortly), or room in general (like a picture of the other half⦠right now thereâs only one poster, another calendar, and some cabinets), feel free to ask and Iâd be more than happy to share! Despite how cringe-worthy some bits of the post are (what were you thinking, freshman-Ceri, using be jelly unironically!?), it brings back memories of what I was feeling at the time. I was excited for MIT, thats for sure. But I also had no idea what I was doing I remember going through the whirlwind of FYRE to switch from New House, where I was temped for all of 3 days, into MacGregor, where I arrived just in time for in-house rush and knew basically nothing about the dorm. I wasnt placed into my top choices for dorm or entry and I didnt really have friends, since it seemed like everyone else already knew each other from FPOPs (pre-orientation programs which have been blogged about plenty of times) and I dont do so well on the meeting-new-people front. This particular blog resulted from channeling all this nervous energy into organizing my stuff and writing, strategies I still use today to try and quell anxiety. I think trying to make my room look more like home, however barren those pictures are compared to my current room, helped me feel a little more at home. One of my favorite bits is the fact that I highlighted my Seahawks pillow that pillowcase has seen so many tears of happiness and sorrow (football-related and otherwise) and still acts as a reminder that Seattle will always be home to me. Sorry, Boston. But enough with the reflections. The best way I can pay tribute to this throwback post is to recreate it with my current room! Itll be a little harder to choose individual stories to tell because Ive accumulated one or two (or twenty) more things But, without further ado: MIT Cribs II (March 5, 2015) After I moved into my room in B-Entry, Ive never really had a reason to move any of my stuff. Ive stayed on campus for two consecutive summers and MacGregor has stayed open, so thats the perfect recipe for laziness and (to some degree) hoarding. As a result, my once-barren room has accumulated a bunch of cooking supplies, wall decorations, books, and memorabilia. I guess this particular angle makes my room look a little messy, but I like covering all surfaces of my room with happy memories. I think thats what makes it feel a little more like home. Juice is a staple of my diet now, and mango lemonade (which is whats in this bottle) is definitely my favorite. Juice was kind of a staple at home, too, but now I think I might get most of my daily hydration through sugar water rather than normal water. Since I dont drink coffee or soda, my average beverage healthiness might be close to that of a normal college student? Bigger planner than the one from freshman year, decorated with a bunch of stickers I had lying around! All my assignments and to-do checklists throughout the week were getting illegible on smaller pages. Various wall decorations, including the 101 Things to Do Before You Graduate list (like this one, but for the 2016s), a cardboard rhinoceros head (my friend has a matching buffalo), a picture of my pup, an art print of all the scenes from The Way Way Back (one of my favorite movies) compressed down and squished side-by-side, and some motivational notes given to me by friends and family. An alarm clock, because I have somehow gotten more nocturnal and less willing to wake up than I was in high school. Seriously, how did I ever wake up at around 6am every day to get to school by 7ish. This clock sounds like a fire alarm, which causes me to wake up in a panic but is, unsurprisingly, quite effective. My Seahawks pillow is obscured in this picture but I have plenty of 12th Man flags hanging around my room. I have one in my window which conveniently corresponds to the fact that I live on the 12th floor of MacGregor. Ive acquired a lot of art books since coming here. These two in particular are from Tangled and Frozen, but I love looking at the art styles of everything from cartoons to comics to video games. Even though I cant really take storyboarding or animation classes here, art books like these fuel my desire to become a storyboard artist or work on animated movies. My dad sent me this Washington sticker in a recent care package. I miss the West Coast. The button from that one time my friend and I won the Wicked lottery and got cheap tickets to see it in Boston. Since then, Ive seen lots of theater in Boston and New York (mostly thanks to student rush) and its been wonderful. One of Lydias Valentines that she sent out to a bunch of friends. It was so sweet and surprising to find one in my mailbox, and definitely made my day. Shes the best Princess of the Internet ? These are two message-in-a-bottle type notes that two of my best friends gave me (one from high school and one from MIT). They both came with a similar instruction something along the lines of read me when you really need it, and I havent gotten to that point yet. I dont know when Ill need them, or if even if Ill ever need them. But these are some of the most thoughtful gifts Ive ever recieved. Partially obscured behind Baby Luigi, this is a vectorized picture of two of my best friends from high school and me when we visited the Crayola factory. I never colored it in with crayons, but its still a really great memory from freshman year Thanksgiving. Badges from the Penny Arcade Expo (aka. PAX East) from the past couple years. Its a huge video game conference where you can revel in nerdiness and play a bunch of games, and this year it starts tomorrow! I still have the Troy and Abed in the Morning mug, and acquired 13 more mugs through random gifts (MedLinks, the Edward Gorey mug, etc.) or impulse buys (the TARDIS, Elsa and Anna concept art mugs, etc.) Even though I never have a need for more than 1 or 2 dirty mugs at any one time, my friends and I can now mass-produce mug cakes which I guess is a plus. Before college, I never really liked tea I just thought of it as glorified flavored water. But now I have several kinds of peppermint and floral loose-leaf tea to help calm me down or keep me going during a long night of work. At the end of last year, I saw Big Hero 6, loved it, and learned that they had limited edition Baymax cups at Disney theme parks. I mentioned this random tidbit in the middle of a phone call home, and my dad remembered it and surprised me at Christmas with one that he bought on eBay. My family is pretty excellent at giving surprising and meaningful gifts. Again with the PAX, but during freshman year I met one of the artists/designers who worked on Castle Crashers, an arcade-style action adventure game that has a wonderful visual style. I bought the blue knight figurine from the booth and he signed it on the side of the display case with a little doodle. I, of course, blubbered and thanked him for his work and told him I admired his art (or something along those lines I dont exactly remember the interaction very well.) Playbills from some of the theater performances that Ive been to in New York. Specifically, these are from when I stage-doored If/Then and fangirled over Idina Menzel and Anthony Rapp and the rest of the stellar cast, and when I stage-doored Waiting for Godot and fangirled over Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart. Such good theater and its so close by. Time turner necklace, because if I could have a superpower it would definitely be to manipulate time. A figurine of Vitruvius from the LEGO movie! Dr. Horrible goggles, which I recieved from a friend my freshman year of high school after we discovered Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog together. Which everyone should watch. And heres the current view from my window, facing down dorm row instead of the other way down Memorial Drive. Its significantly snowier right now than it was in September, so the Charles is pretty much just a blanket of snow and ice. Sometimes I just stare out the window for a while as the sun sets, since I have a really beautiful view of the lights punctuating the Boston skyline and cars lined up across the Harvard bridge. This is by no means a comprehensive view of everything in my room, but its cool to see how some things have changed so much since freshman year (even though sometimes it doesnt feel like Ive done all that much since coming here). Post Tagged #MacGregor House
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Incarceration Of Prison Policy - 913 Words
Imagine spending 23 hours a day locked in a tiny concrete cell, smaller than some closets. There is no human contact, no windows to look outside, and hardly anything to stimulate your senses. The other 1 hour you will spend in recreation, which is nothing more than a cage outside, barely larger than your room. There is no space to run, no view of the outside world. Youââ¬â¢ll never even see a blade of grass during your stay. This is solitary confinement, something many say is a sentence worse than death. In the United States today, there are over 80,000 prisoners currently in solitary confinement. It was originally proposed as a rehabilitative means, however, it has been proven to cause more damage than anything, ultimately provoking more violence and causing mental deterioration. Some prisoners may even end up spending an entire life sentence in solitary confinement, which defeats the purpose of rehabilitation. It is often viewed as a mere act of torture. According to the Prison Policy Organization, ââ¬Å"An estimated 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of jail inmates have a mental health problemâ⬠(Mental). Most inmates need help, not to just be locked away and kept apart from the world. Many can, and will with the correct treatment, function as a safe member of the community. As a society, we have come a long way in the area of mental health and have become more humane in the way we deal with societal issues, such as crime, and shouldShow MoreRelatedThe Incarceration Of Prison Policy1418 Words à |à 6 PagesGenerally, prison policy might lack saliency among most individuals. Prison policy seems to have that pattern where it is significant to some and not to others; that is also relevant in states because of their variety in issues. Prison legislation is like most legislation relevant to whom it affects. In this situation we see that prison overcrowding bothers a majority of inmates, some of the courts, a nd the states. Inmates do not vote, so it is understandable that congress lacks interest. In mostRead MoreThe Incarceration Of The Prison Policy Institute1369 Words à |à 6 Pages Attention TIA Credibility Thesis/ Topic statement INTRODUCTION I. According to the prison policy Institute there are currently 2.4 million Americans incarcerated in the United States with nearly 40% of that number being drug related offenses. Further the United states only makes up five percent of the worlds population, but we make up 25% of the worlds prison population and if you factor in the 40% of that 25% being drug offenders you can see that nearly a tenth of the worlds incarcerated areRead MoreMass Incarceration802 Words à |à 4 PagesAlexander identifies the racialized mass incarceration problem that we have in our criminal justice system. Reading the book, you can see that mass incarceration is a social problem. This means that the problem can follow the six stages of the policy process. If I were a claimsmaker, I could assert that mass incarceration is a problem by following the six stages. In the claimsmaking stage, I would claim that the War on Drugs creates the racialized mass incarceration in our society today. To show thatRead MoreRacial Disparities Of Mass Incarceration1572 Words à |à 7 PagesRacial disparities in mass incarceration Introduction Mass Incarceration in the United States has been a large topic of choice because rapid growth in the prison and jail populations, the long sentences the inmates face, and the inability for some inmates to incorporate themselves back into society. Since the 1970ââ¬â¢s the U.S. prison population quadrupled from 158 to 635 people per 100,000, causing the U.S. to gain the title of country with the highest incarceration rate. (Massoglia, Firebaugh, Read MoreMass Incarceration : A Major Problem Within The United States1695 Words à |à 7 PagesMass incarceration has recently become a major problem within the United States. Although crime rates have dropped since the 1990s, incarceration rates have soared. This trend is largely associated with increased enforcement of drug-related crimes. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, this problem involves racial discrepancies when regarding these mass incarcerations. Incarcerations appear to be the most prominent throughout urban areas and t he south, which happen to be the areas where AfricanRead MoreMass Incarceration : A New Form Of Slavery Essay1555 Words à |à 7 PagesMass Incarceration: A New Form of Slavery in the United States Lorena P. Ambriz History 12A Abstract Starting in the 1970s, the rising rate of imprisonment came to be known as Mass Incarceration. What was once an average of 100 people getting imprisoned for every 100,000 adults, prior to the 1970s, has now grown to become more than 600 individuals per every 100,000 adults imprisoned. With only five present of the total world population, The United States holds an astonishing 25 percent of theRead MoreThe Lack Of Reintegration Programs And Mass Incarceration Of African Americans912 Words à |à 4 Pagesreintegration programs and mass incarceration of African Americans in the United. Mass incarceration amongst African Americans has had a catastrophic impact on families and communities and continues to create a cycle of discrimination, which makes its nearly impossible as a race to progress. Because of the soaring incarceration rate in the United States, many prisons are over populated and lack resources and support to help inmates succeed once released from prisons. Since there is an insufficiencyRead MoreAmerican Incarceration : Where We Are, And What Can Be Done?1518 Words à |à 7 PagesYasir Choudhury Dr. Joà £o Vargas UGS 303 Mass Incarceration 5 October 2015 American Incarceration: Where We Are, and What Can be Done From its early inception as a necessary aspect of modern society to its broken state that can be seen today, the American penal system has changed radically in recent history from an institution that performed the duty of safeguarding the public from those too dangerous to be left unsupervised to a business model concerned more with generating a profit for shareholdersRead MoreThe Sentencing Policies For Crimes1357 Words à |à 6 PagesWhen America changed the sentencing policies for crimes, primarily drug crimes, in America, the effect this change would have in the poor communities were impossible to imagine. The policies which were changed to get tougher on drug crimes on the federal level followed with mass incarceration in the prison system. This was especially true with young African American males in largely poor communities. So these policies not only created a mass incarceration but also racially targeted certain raceRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The Unit ed States Essay1264 Words à |à 6 PagesMass incarceration is a major problem in the United States. Since the tough on crime movement that began to emphasize more punishment and creating new policies such as; three strikes law, truth-in sentencing laws, mandatory sentencing, and determinate sentencing, our prisons and jails have become overcrowded. The three strikes law increases the prison sentence of an offender convicted of three felonies or serious crime. Usually the punishment ranges from a minimum of 25 years to life in prison. The
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
The Legacy of Louis Leakey Free Essays
The search for the explanation of human origins is the goal and often life long commitment of many Anthropologists. Every time a major discovery is made we move closer to discovering a piece of the puzzle that is human evolution. Major contributions have been made by a number of men and women. We will write a custom essay sample on The Legacy of Louis Leakey or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some of the more famous names like Raymond Dart, and Tim White are known for the huge discoveries they made. However, no name is more famous in the search for human origins then Leakey. The Leakey legacy began with Louis Leakey more then seventy years ago when he graduated from Cambridge University. Mary Leakey became part of the legacy with her marriage to Louis in 1934. Richard Leakey, son of Mary and Louis, and his wife Meave Leakey further added to the accomplishments of his family by following in his parents footsteps. It is the amazing dedication of each member in the Leakey family that separates them from other anthropologists, and makes them the greatest contributors in the search for an explanation to our past. Louis Leakey was born near Nairobi, Kenya in 1903. His birth was the beginning of a family legacy in Archeology that still continues today. Some people say he was born to be an archaeologist. L. Leakey went to school at Cambridge University, majoring in Anthropology. After graduating in 1926, Leakey got a job as an African expert on an archaeological mission to Tanzania. Afterward, he returned to Cambridge to continue his studies of Anthropology. While studying again at Cambridge Louis began to develop his view that early man had developed in Africa. Louis left Cambridge returning again to Tanzania to study the Olduvai Gorge and the Homo sapiens skeleton. He was amazed with his work at Olduvai but decided he could always come back so he left to go on his own expeditions. Louis Leakey was now 23 and studying many sites where he found many interesting things, such as tools, bones and other artifacts. A few years of this fieldwork gained Leakey honorable recognition from other archaeologists, and subsequently he was awarded with a two year Fellowship at St. Johnâ⬠s College in England. Louis was now a very busy man, he published his first book The Stone Age Cultures of Kenya Colony during this time. Also, while working at St. Johnâ⬠s Leakey got a grant to return to Olduvai Gorge. Louis Leakey was beginning to become a big name in the world of Archeology. Working at Olduvai Gorge he discovered the oldest Homo sapiens in the world. However, many people had begun to contradict his theories on human origins and their roots in Africa. Louis continued to make discoveries in Africa where he found older skulls that could be proved of their age. On returning to England, Louis was shocked to find out that his reputation was in great danger. However, these doubts did not last long after he argued his reputation back at a conference in Cambridge. People were once again starting to believe in his discoveries. Louis Leakeyâ⬠s problems were not over after the conference in Cambridge. In 1936 he encountered financial problems, so he was forced to write his autobiography, White Africa. That book along with another, about the Kikuyu culture, was enough to bring him out of debt. At this same time he met his wife to be, Mary Nicol. Mary was also interested in human origins and would go on to further enhance the Leakey legacy (see later section focused on Mary Leakey). In 1939 Leakey became a Civilian Intelligence Officer for the Kenyan government, and was later drafted to the African Intelligence Department. At the end of WWII his work included collecting information for the government as a spy. In June of 1947, Leakey returned to Archaeology at an excavation site on Rusinga Island. He discovered the first Proconsul skull with a complete face in 1949. Unfortunately for Leakey this was not the missing link, but it was a link between monkey and ape. The discovery also blessed Louis with an increase of research funds. With the much-needed money Leakey continued work at Rusinga where he found more artifacts, and more Proconsul remains. In 1951 Louis decided to return to the site were he began his work. He and Mary went back to the Olduvai site, here he searched for the man that created tools. This is where Louis would make his greatest discovery. In 1959 his excavations paid off, Leakey and his wife found a new skeleton that he called ââ¬Å"Zinjâ⬠. The skeleton was put on display at the fourth Pan African Congress where it caused madness among the people there. It also caused Louis and Mary some new worldwide fame, and a considerable amount of money to continue excavation work at Olduvai. In his final years Louis worked at the Corynkon Museum and Mary took over the excavation with Louis visiting in all of his free time. Louis died in 1972 of a heart attack at the age of 69. Louis had only begun to uncover the many mysteries that the Leakeys are known for. His wife Mary continued the work he started and began her own legacy with many new discoveries. Mary D. Leakey was born Mary Nicol on February 6, 1913 in London, England. She lived a difficult childhood which saw her growing up in a number of different countries, and finally in Dorgogne. It was there at the age of eleven that her interest was sparked in prehistory after meeting Abbe Lemozi, who was excavating at the Cavrerets. Upon her fatherâ⬠s death in 1926, Maryâ⬠s life changed drastically. Her mother sent her to Catholic convent after convent where she was repeatedly expelled. Although Maryâ⬠s childhood education was not all that impressive, she vowed to earn a degree in prehistory after seeing the caves of Dorgogne. As a result of amazing determination, she began attending lectures at the University of London concerning archaeology and geology. Maryâ⬠s first opportunity to enter the field occurred when her incredible drawing skills were discovered by Dr. Gertrude Canton-Thompson who asked her to illustrate her book The Desert Fayoum. Dr. Canton-Thompson changed Maryâ⬠s life forever by arranging for her to meet Louis Leakey while he was giving a talk at the Royal Anthropologists Institute. Mary impressed him with her illustrations from The Desert Fayoum and he in turn asked her to illustrate his book, Adamâ⬠s Ancestors. Her acceptance was the beginning of a relationship that only grew from there. In May of 1934, Mary began her first important excavation at Hembury Fort in Devon. Mary learned many things from her leader Dorothy Liddell, who was an expert in excavation techniques. In the September of the same year, Mary began her own excavation at Jaywick Sands near Clacton in Essex and also published her first scientific paper. Mary joined her husband to work at Olduvai Gorge from 1935 to 1959. Together they worked to reconstruct many Stone Age cultures dating as far back as 100,000 to two million years ago. Their documentation of stone tools covered primitive stone-chopping instruments to multi-purpose hand axes. In 1947, Mary and Louis unearthed a Proconsul africanus skull on Rusinga Island. The twenty million-year-old skeleton led to Mary and Louis jointly being awarded the Stopes Medal from the Geological Association. Mary continued work with her husband making numerous discoveries. In 1959 they discovered a 1. 75 million-year-old Australopithecus boisei skull. Not long after that discovery, a less robust Homo habilis skull and bones of a hand were found. Both fossils were believed to be of stone-tool peoples. Continued efforts blessed them with the uncovering of a Homo erectus cranium in 1965. The sample is thought to be one million years old. Mary made her first trip to the United States in March of 1962, when she and Louis once again jointly receive honors with the Gold Hubbard Medal (the highest honor from the National Geographic Society). Mary continued her amazing career by earning her first Honorary Degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Maryâ⬠s life was turned upside down in 1972 when Louis died. Mary decided to continue the work her husband loved so much, and proceeded on with work at Olduvai and Laetoli. It was at Laetoli where she discovered Homo fossils more than 3. 75 years old, fifteen new species and one new genus. Maryâ⬠s greatest achievement was the discovery of the famous Laetoli hominid footprint trail, which was left in volcanic ashes 3. 6 million years ago. Mary and her staff worked for years to uncover the footprint. The find at Laetoli was huge in the argument for bipedalism in hominids. The years that followed were filled with research at Olduvai and Laetoli, the follow-up work and preparing publications. Mary retired in 1984, and spent the rest of her time writing until her death in 1996 at the age of 83. Maryâ⬠s death could have signified the end of the Leakey legacy. However, Mary and Louisâ⬠s son Richard has followed right behind his parents and continued the Leakey tradition. Richard Leakey was raised by the worldâ⬠s best-known archaeologists. He grew up observing and tracking Africaâ⬠s rich diversity of wildlife while his parents were discovering ancient pre-human bones in Tanzaniaâ⬠s Olduvai Gorge. Richard left high school at the age of seventeen to begin a career working with wildlife and leading a photographic safari company. Richard eventually began to focus more on Archaeology and in 1968 he made his first important fossil finds when his team uncovered unusually well preserved ancient human remains in Kenyaâ⬠s Lake Turkana region. In the same year, Leakey, then only 23, was hired as director of the National Museum of Kenya which, over the course of 21 years, he was to build into one of the most respected museums in Africa. In 1984, Richard and his ââ¬Å"Hominid Gangâ⬠of fossil hunters discovered fragments of a boyâ⬠s skull that were more then 1. 5 million years old. They soon unearthed virtually the entire skeleton of what was dubbed the ââ¬Å"Turkana Boyâ⬠, which is recognized as one of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries of all time. In 1970, Richard married Meave Leakey who he had worked with for about a year at the Koobi Fora site on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana. They had two children, Louise and Samira, in 1972 and 1974 respectively. Meave became the final ingredient in the Leakey legacy. As well as continuing with the fieldwork at Turkana, Meaveâ⬠s research has focused on the evolution of east African fossil mammals and mammalian faunas as documented in the Turkana basin. Meave became the coordinator of the National Museumâ⬠s palaeontological field research, when Richard Leakey left his job as Director of the National Museum to take over the management of Kenyaâ⬠s wildlife. She has focused her work on sites between 8 and 4 million years old. Her work led to the 1994 discovery of the earliest known hominids. These finds represent a new species, Australopithecus anamensis, likely an ancestor of afarensis. Richard and Meave still to this day are carrying on the Leakey tradition of excellence in Archaeology. Louis, Mary, Richard, and Meave Leakey truly are the greatest Anthropologists to ever share one name. Between them they have made countless discoveries which each dramatically contributed to our understanding of human origins. The Leakey tradition is one of dedication, honor, and amazing accomplishment. Their involvement in our search for an explanation of human evolution has truly become a legacy. The Leakey legacy will always be remembered as the greatest contribution to the search for answers. How to cite The Legacy of Louis Leakey, Essay examples
Friday, May 1, 2020
Effect of Social Media on Consumer Buying Behavior
Question: Discuss about the Effect of Social Media on Consumer Buying Behavior? Answer: Introduction Background to the study Social media has been playing an effective role in different aspects like business, advertising and education. Consumers have progressively utilized technology in particular as an effective source for online shopping process (Tuten and Solomon 2013). In this research, the focus of the topic would be to assess social media on consumer behavior of Apple. Research problem The major problem in this research is that due to lack of proper advertising, the consumers are not satisfied with some products of Apple. Moreover, the software quality is not improved. Consumer analysis is highly predicted because effect of social media increases product distribution of Apple accessories and phones (Tuten and Solomon,2013). Research aim The aim of the research is to identify the effectiveness of social media on consumer buying behavior in Apple. Research objectives To identify how social media has affected consumers of Apple To evaluate the effect of social media that has a link on consumer buying behavior To recommend practices of social media for increasing consumer buying behavior in Apple Literature review Characteristics of Social media Social media is a process that attains gaining attention of target audience through social media site (Albarran 2013). In case of Apple, social media would be helpful because it will attract the consumers through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others. On marketing social media, consumers find various types of messages, tweets, news feed instantly through social networking sites. However, social networking websites allows the individual and other businesses to interact in building relationships. In order, when the company joins social channels, the consumers directly interact with them. Additionally, social networking sites would act as word of mouth (Dagher and Itani 2014). This will follow different types of posts and tweet according to connections made through social networks. It is also seen that social networks is associated by building viral communities. It allows the consumers to express their thoughts, needs, and values through online. Moreover, if a model is devel oped on social media, then there needs to be followed like definition of financial plan, promotion, performance, organizational structure, and potential resources of products and services (Estelami 2014). Generic theory of buying behavior It is observed for different purchases that consumer follows a generic model of decision-making process. Here, the buyers have to recognize a need that will make purchasing factors. It also develops pricing and products in the current market. For example, the decision of buying an iPhone would come if there would be a process of repair. It would also develop the cost of the item relatively. However, the consumers would also have to investigate the washing machines that have come into the market. Ultimately, the main point would be to evaluate pricing, benefits and features of the product in the market area for making a decision-process (Martins, Yusuf and Swanson 2012). Moreover, it would also help to purchase items that would be beneficial. Thus, if the consumer is satisfied with the performance of the product, then the purchase of the brand will be phenomenal in future. Research Methodology Research philosophy It provides the researcher to face obstacles to collect the data from different sources. Following a single philosophy for the research study, the investigator could get better path towards the exact results of the research. For this reason, the research philosophy is divided into four sections, which follows Positivism, Realism, Post-Positivism, and Interpretivism. Among these sections, the investigator has selected Positivism research philosophy to bring the full output of the study (Zanutto 2013). Although, the application of this research philosophy noticed different issues that will be discussed for clear understanding. Research Approach For the ultimate outcome, the investigator must organize the data in a most efficient way. It is differentiated in two sections namely Inductive and Deductive research approach. Among those inductive and deductive research approach, it is clear that both have different functions. The deductive one helps the investigator to gather crystal and transparent information that are relevant to the topic (Love 2012). Research strategy The investigator marks out a suitable strategy for developing the study. Here, the strategies include survey, case studies, experiments, etc. This topic needs an in-depth knowledge to access a good position (Goodson, Loveless and Stephens 2012). The investigator has selected Survey strategy. It has a scope to collect some helpful information and utilize various opinions concerning the research issues. Data collection procedure This procedure is allowed to collect the data from the marked population. Same as above it is of two kinds namely primary data collection and secondary data collection. The primary data collection process includes collection of data from those marked population. For executing the quantitative process, the investigator has conducted the survey procedure. It is seen that every question contains four to five options and among those, the candidates just have to select one option for each question and in case of qualitative data collection the investigator take appointment and interview session from those managers of the company to collect the data (Al, 2013). Here, the investigator has taken 50 respondents of Apple and 3 mangers to interpret quantitative and qualitative data collection method. Sampling method The investigator chooses the population in a very organized way because the probability of getting quality data is very high. In this process, the investigator chooses the managers to gather knowledge about the topic. In probability sampling process, the population is chosen in random (Love, 2012). Ethical considerations The collections of data through qualitative process are very confidential because the investigator has never published the data. The managers of the organization hide some data to maintain confidentiality. In order, this issue blocks the investigator to access good quality research (6 and Bellamy 2012). Moreover, the investigator confirms that these data will only be used for academic purpose and not for commercial one. Time Horizon Activities 1St Week 2nd week 3rd week 4th week 5th week 6th week 7th week Introduction Literature review Aims and Objectives Research approach Research methodology Secondary data analysis Evaluation on data Research monitoring Final Submission Table 1: Gantt chart Reference List 6, P. and Bellamy, C. (2012). Principles of methodology. London: SAGE. Al, S. (2013). Interpretive research design: concepts and processes. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 16(4), pp.351-352. Albarran, A. (2013). The social media industries. New York: Routledge. Dagher, G. and Itani, O. (2014). Factors influencing green purchasing behaviour: Empirical evidence from the Lebanese consumers. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 13(3), pp.188-195. Estelami, H. (2014). An ethnographic study of consumer financial sophistication. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 13(5), pp.328-341. Goodson, I., Loveless, A. and Stephens, D. (2012). Explorations in narrative research. Rotterdam: SensePublishers. Love, K. (2012). Ethics in social research. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. Martins, J., Yusuf, F. and Swanson, D. (2012). Consumer demographics and behaviour. Dordrecht: Springer. Tuten, T. and Solomon, M. (2013). Social media marketing. Boston: Pearson. Zanutto, A. (2013). Handbook of constructionist research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 16(1), pp.87-89.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Native Essays (804 words) - Ethics, Native Son, Behavior, Literature
Native Son By Right Bigger Thomas has been shaped by various forces. Forces that have changed the life completely for Bigger Thomas. In Native Son, Bigger Thomas seems to be composed of a mass of disruptive emotions rather than a rational mind joined by a soul. Bigger strives to find a place for himself, but the blindness he encounters in those around him and the bleak harshness of the Naturalistic society that Wright presents the reader with close him out as effectively as if they had shut a door in his face. In the first book, Wright tells the reader "these were the rhythms of his life: indifference and violence; periods of abstract brooding and periods of intense desire; moments of silence and moments of anger -- like water ebbing and flowing from the tug of a far-away, invisible force" (p.31). Bigger is controlled by forces that he cannot tangibly understand. Bigger's many acts of violence are, in effect, a quest for a soul. He desires an identity that is his alone. Both the white and the black communities have robbed him of dignity, identity, and individuality. The human side of the city is closed to him, and for the most part Bigger relates more to the faceless mass of the buildings and the mute body of the city than to another human being. His mother's philosophy of suffering to wait for a later reward is equally stagnating -- to Bigger it appears that she is weak and will not fight to live. Her religion is a blindness; but she needs to be blind in order to survive, to fit into a society that would drive a "seeing" person mad. All of the characters that Bigger says are blind are living in darkness because the light is too painful. Bigger wants to break through that blindness, to discover something of worth in himself, thinking that "all one had to do was be bold, do something nobody ever thought of. The whole things came to him in the form of a powerful and simple feeling; there was in everyone a great hunger to believe that made them blind, and if he could see while others were blind, then he could get what he wanted and never be caught at it" (p.102). Just as Bigger later hides himself amidst the catacombs of the old buildings, many people hide themselves deep within their minds in order to bear the ordeal of life and the oppression of an uncaring society. But their blindness allows them something that Bigger cannot achieve: it allows these people to meld into the society that is the city, while Bigger must stand at the outside of that community alternately marvelling and hating the compromises of those within. Bigger is alone; he is isolated from every facet of human affection. Max tells the court that Bigger cannot kill because he himself is dead, and a person without empathy or sympathy, without the deep, steadying love of family or faith in anything. When he lashes out in violence it is in a way a search for what hurt him; he hurts others because it is a way of hiding that he is hurt and afraid.). If one considers life to be a period of growth and learning, recognition of self-worth and of the worth of others, then Bigger has not been given the chance to live. Book Three is called "Fate", and indeed Bigger seems to be controlled his entire life by ambivalent outside forces who could care less about him. He has been lied to until he believes the lies he tells himself. He has no place in society. His own mother believes in him no more than the billboard reading "you can't win" that he sees each day outside his apartment. He has grown up in an environment where enormous rats fester in holes and water is a maybe situation, where meals are precarious and money is almost nonexistent, and where he is told time and time again that he has no worth, no dignity, no intelligence or creativity. Is it any wonder that Bigger is violent? It seems more fantastic that all of the people around him are not. When he says, upon reading the paper "No! Jan didn't help me! He didn't have a damned thing to do with it! I -- I did it!" (p.283) he is clinging to the act of violence he performed as an affirmation of self. He is isolated by a blind society, he is loved by no
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Example
Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Example Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Regulatory Angolaââ¬â¢s ordinary corporate tax is 35 percent, with a reduced rate of 20 percent for agricultural and forestry enterprises. The government offers a variety of corporate tax exemptions, reductions, and exemptions from real estate taxes on land and buildings as investment incentives. Income tax for individualââ¬â¢s ranges from 1-40 percent for employees, and 3-60 percent for self employed professionals. Inheritance and gift taxes are also added along with a payroll tax for social security. The main indirect tax is manufactureââ¬â¢s sales tax with rates ranging from 5 percent to 50 percent on listed product (nationalencyclopedia. com). Taxation: Companies carrying out industrial and commercial activities in Angola are subject to income tax on all profits resulting from Angola. If the company has its headquarters in Angola, it will be hit with industrial tax on its profits derived from Angola and 1/3 of its gross income earned abroad. Under the new tax legislation, any income obtained outside of the country will be fully taxable. All companies, no matter if they have a permanent business in Angola, that perform contracts or subcontracts, are subject to industrial tax if the amounts paid to the companies are considered expenses for Industrial tax purposes. This will most likely be changed, because of the new definition of permanent establishment. This new definition also considers, as permanent establishment, the simple interpretation of services, if made by the presence in Angola of hired personnel, for more than 90 days within a year. This means that those companies that render services will be taxable under the general rules of the industrial tax code. Under the new legislation, capital income tax imposed on taxable dividends was raised to 10 percent. However, exemptions form industrial tax can be obtained from the Minister of Finance for new industries and investment projects in fundamental areas. The tax year is the same as the calendar year. Companies other than Angola companies operating abroad must file tax returns together with their financial statements by May 31st in the year following the tax year. Angolan companies operating abroad must file by July 31st, with advance payments of at least 50 percent of the prior years tax liability must be made by December 10th of the tax year. Final payment of tax is due on September 15th of the following year (somalipress. com). Personal income tax ââ¬â All individuals receiving employment income for working in Angola are subject to income tax. Taxable income includes all employment income, like wages, salaries, leave payments, fees, gratuities, bonuses, premiums or allowances paid or granted b reason of employment, in cash or check. Directorââ¬â¢s fees are usually treated as individual taxable income, regarded in the same way as compensation income. Under the tax reform, members of the boards of Angolan companies will always be considered as residents in Angola for tax purposes. Employer withholding satisfies income taxes on employees, and employees do not need to file returns. No resident individuals are assessed on only Angolan source income. The employer or other payer withholds the amount due and is liable for the tax (somalipress. com). Intellectual Property: Angolaââ¬â¢s legal system is very inefficient, and corruption plays a major roll in that. Legal fees are high, and most businesses avoid taking commercial disputes to court. The state owns all land, but long term renewable leases are available for most urban and some non urban land. Property registration is a long process and very expensive. Angola is ranked 114th out of 155 countries in the 2009 International Property Rights Index (heritage. org). The Ministry of Industry protects trademarks, patents, and designs under Law 3/92. The Minister of Culture administers Law 4//90, protecting authorship, literary, and artistic rights. Angola is part of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) convention, as well as the Paris convention for the protection of Industrial Property and the patent Cooperation Treaty (overseasnews. nsf). Tariff: Import tariffs are based on the cost, insurance, and freight value of goods at the point of entry. Here is a look at Angolaââ¬â¢s tariffs for textiles, apparel, footwear, and travel goods. Tariff Rate Range (%) -silk |2 | |-wool |2 | |-cotton |2 | |-other vegetable fiber |2 | |-man-made fiber |2 | |-silk |5 | |-wool |5 | |-cotton |5 | |-other vegetable fiber |5 | |-man-made fiber |5 | |.. | | |Knit Fabric |5 | | | |Non Woven Fabric |5 | | | | |Industrial Fabric |2 5 | | | | |Apparel |15 | | | | |Home Furnishings |5 15 | |including: bed, bath, kitchen linens, etc. | | | | |Carpet |20 | | | | |Footwear |0 12 | | | | |Travel Goods |20 | (new. nsf. com) Angolaââ¬â¢ s weighted average tariff rate was 7. 3 percent in 2008. Despite progress in trade reform, restrictions on some imports, variable and high customs fees and taxes, import licensing, government import authorizations, the regulatory environment, subsides, inadequate customs capacity, and issues involving enforcement of intellectual property rights add to the cost of trade (heritage. org). [pic](Tradingeconomics. com) Technical Infrastructure: Infrastructure has been ruined due to the extensive warfare. Millions of land minds were set, and there has been little effort to remove them. These landmines are not only destroying roads and hampering the process of putting up new buildings, but are killing civilians. There are 11,903. miles of paved roads and 1,834. 4 miles of rail tracks. There are 32 airports with paved runways and 217 with unpaved runways (nationalencyclopedia. com). Transportation: Transportation has taken the biggest hit from the war. More than 60 percent of the paved road network needs repair. The government estimates that it will take 10-15 years to restore the road network to how it was before the war. The economic sectors will not be able to grow with the road, railway, and bridge networks being up and running. They link the main cities in the country and get protects from one end of the country to the other (nationalencyclopedia. com). [pic] (google. com) Phone system: Telecom dominated the phone industry for fixed lines until 2005. Demand however, outstripped capacity, prices were high, and service was poor. Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angolaââ¬â¢s fixed line telephone network. By 2010 the number of fixed line providers had expanded to 5; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network had been extended to larger towns. There are only about two fixed lines for every 100 people; combined fixed lines and mobile cellular lines are about 65 telephones per 100 persons in 2009 (cia. gov). Angola Information on Economic Freedom | Facts, Data, Analysis, Charts and More. Conservative Policy Research and Analysis | The Heritage Foundation. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . Angola Infrastructure, Power, and Communications, Information about Infrastructure, Power, and Communications in Angola. Encyclopedia of the Nations Information about Countries of the World, United Nations, and World Leaders. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . Angola Investment Guides Angolan Investment Profile. Somali Press. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . CIA The World Factbook. Welcome to the CIA Web Site - Central Intelligence Agency. 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . (OTEXA) Market Reports/Tariffs. Market Reports/Tariffs. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. 9
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