Questions to Help with Brainstorming a Topic

Use the following list as a springboard as you develop your own connections. You can browse the questions below without a specific structure in mind and see what results from that free-association process. On the other hand, some people prefer to have more guidance as they brainstorm, and for those people we have ordered and grouped the questions into a logical structure.Each subtopic begins with a series of questions and then an explanation of their potential relevance to the big picture.PersonalGive an example of a time when you exhibited creativity in a personal or professional setting. Describe your thoughts and actions.Think of a time when you truly helped someone. What did you do? How did this impact the other person? How did your actions impact you?Give an example of a difficult interaction you had with someone. Describe the situation, what was difficult about it, and how you resolved it.Provide a candid assessment of your strengths and weaknesses.If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, living or dead, whom would you choose and why?What famous person do you esteem highest and why? This could be a remarkable statesman, scientist, businessperson, or anyone else.What person that you know personally do you admire the most? What person in your life has most inspired you?What value do you place on diversity and why?What creative work has influenced you the most (a piece of music, a painting, a film, etc.)? How? Why?If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be? What bad habits or personal faults are you currently working on?Think of a failure or a time when you disappointed yourself, whether personally, academically, or professionally. What did you learn from this experience? How did it change you? What did you do to correct this problem?Give an example of a time when you had an impact on a person, group, or organization. Describe the situation, your actions, and the results.How do your friends describe you? How would you describe yo urself?What values are most important to you?Do you have strong religious convictions that have influenced your academics or outside activities?Think of an occasion when someone gave you negative feedback. How did you respond, both initially and in the long term? How did this experience change you? Were you able to improve yourself as a result?Come up with unique combinations of your skills and characteristics, and consider how these have applied in past experiences or will apply to your future-both in college and afterward. Do not simply name skills for which you know the schools are looking, because that will detract from the unique portrait you are trying to paint. This exercise will help you to see yourself from different perspectives and recognize all that you have to offer.FamilyWhat is your most valued childhood memory?Have you been responsible for caring for family members? For an ailing parent, a sibling, a disabled or aging relative, or a child? How has this impacted your academics? Your goals and values?If different from your current place of residence, does your home country or place of birth have special meaning for you? Do you visit it often?What do your parents/other family members do for a living? How have they influenced/inspired you? How has your familys economic status impacted your education and childhood?Have you suffered any serious hardships that impacted your academic or professional performance?If you live in the U.S. but are not a native-born American: How did you deal with the challenges of moving to the U.S. from your home? Did you experience culture shock? How did you adapt? What was most difficult for you? What aspects of your new home did you enjoy the most?Although these questions may seem routine, your answers can give admissions officers more information than meets the eye. They can learn something about your life at home: whether both your parents work; if you grew up in a blue collar or a white collar environment; or if your parents (or brothers and sisters) are alumni of the school.You need to think about how your family has helped to shape you into the person you are today. Thinking about your parents and their character traits can help you identify some of your values and where they came from. You might realize, for example, that your interest in social work originates from your mothers concern for the welfare of others. Do not worry if your experiences do not seem earthshaking. Often, everyday living can be most influential—and most interesting—to an admissions officer.ActivitiesHow did you spend the majority of your time over the past year?To what non-academic activity did you give the most time over the past year? Or past several years?What has been your most significant service activity? Your most memorable one-time volunteer opportunity? Your longest regular volunteerism commitment?What has been your most significant cross-cultural experience? Why? How did it change your perspecti ve?What has been your most significant international experience?Can you identify trends in your commitments? What do they say about your values and abilities?Did you work during high school? If so, where did you work? How many hours per week? What were your responsibilities and duties? What did you learn?Do not feel obligated to bring up every activity you have ever done, especially if it has been sufficiently covered elsewhere in the application. Remember that depth is more important than breadth. Admissions officers want to gain insight into what you care most about, and to see how you have devoted yourself.As you think about why you joined an activity and chose to continue with it, look for trends or similarities. Sometimes there are links between different types of activities. For example, you may have joined the band and the soccer team because you like to contribute to a group effort. One way to determine your priorities is to imagine that you have time for only two or three a ctivities. The ones that you would want to continue doing under these circumstances are probably the most significant to you. In analyzing which activities are the most valuable to you and why, you may come up with an interesting idea for an essay.AccomplishmentsWhat achievement are you most proud of? Why?What significant challenges have you overcome?Describe accomplishments for which you have been formally recognized. What qualities did you demonstrate in your path to success? What does each accomplishment mean to you personally?Describe accomplishments for which you have not been formally recognized but that you are particularly proud of. Take even more time to reflect on why these have special meaning for you.Discuss an accomplishment in which you exercised leadership. How effective were you in motivating or guiding others? How did people respond to your leadership? What did you learn that you can apply to future experiences?Think of a time when you truly helped someone. What did you do? How did this impact the other person? How did your actions impact you?Give an example of when you exhibited creativity. Describe your thoughts and actions.Reflect on a time in which you failed to accomplish what you set out to do. How did you recover from that failure? How did you respond to your next challenge?What was an important risk that you took? Why did you take this risk? What was the outcome? Would you do it again?The important point here is that you develop insight into your accomplishments beyond their face value. Your essay should not merely list your most significant successes, nor is it enough to say that you are proud of them. You need to dig deeper to discover what these accomplishments mean to you, what they say about you, and how you learned from them. Also, reflect closely on your path to achievement rather than the result itself.GoalsWhat are your career aspirations, and how will college help you to reach them?What specifically do you hope to gain from t he college to which you are applying?What unique skills and experiences do you have to offer the school, your fellow students, the faculty, the broader community?Why do you think you will succeed in college?What is your dream job? What would you ideally like to be doing in five years? In ten years? In twenty years?Are there specific faculty members at this college whose work interests you? With whom would you most like to study or conduct research?What attracts you to this particular school?How did you become interested in your intended field of study?Name a current obstacle to the realization of your goals. What causes this problem? What are you doing to change it?The questions concerning your academic experiences, special programs, and extracurricular or work activities may have triggered some thoughts about your future. While colleges are interested in your academic and career plans, they do not expect you to know exactly what you want to do or stick with this course of action fo rever. If you cannot put down a specific interest, you can narrow the field down to a few. In this way, you can show the admissions committee that you have a sense of where you are going without committing yourself to a particular destination.When you respond to questions about your career or major on your application, be sure your answers are compatible with your abilities. Do not, for example, say that you want to write the great American novel if your grades in English are mediocre or poor.Next:Â  Topic Selection

Social psychology seems to have many origins; critically discuss the historical and philosophical roots of modern social psychology The WritePass Journal

Social psychology seems to have many origins; critically discuss the historical and philosophical roots of modern social psychology Introduction Social psychology seems to have many origins; critically discuss the historical and philosophical roots of modern social psychology IntroductionConclusionRelated Introduction There are many explanations for the origins of modern social psychology. It is therefore important to consider that social psychology cannot be traced back to one single source of origin (Burr, 2003). Hence, this is the reason why there are debates of what social psychology is. Allport (1985) described social psychology as â€Å"the study of people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours which are influenced by the actual, imagines, or implied presence of others†. As seen from this definition there is a direct link between social science and the individual psychology (Sewel, 1989). Social psychology cannot be seen as a linear phenomenon. This is because social psychology has derived from combination of influences. The development of social psychology can be discussed in two different ways. Firstly, social psychology is argued to be found upon political movements and social philosophies in the United Stated of America (US). Secondary, it can be argued that social psychology developed due to the response of social and political needs. 3. There have been debates regarding whether social psychology should be dealt as a natural science or not. The ideology of natural science is very important as it affects the way the social psychologist deal with situations. For example, if there are specific scientific objectives then the study is laboratory based and uses experimental procedures in order to gain knowledge. Psychologists who use this positivistic method are classified as experimental social psychologists. On the other hand, critical-social psychology has competed with experimental-social psychologists. The strength of the critical-social psychologists is that they use a range of different methods in research, and are not limited to scientific knowledge. This includes both qualitative and quantitative methods. Overall, critical social psychologists are described as having a critical ideology in order to uncover meanings of social phenomena (Gough McFadden, 2001). Both critical and experimental social psychology for m the modern social psychology due to their important historical context. Experimental-social psychology is argued to be derived from the American tradition, and critical-social psychology has been argued to be derived from the European tradition. Although this has formed two distinct approaches in the use of methodology in psychology, there are still on-going debates over psychology as a science or not. 4. An important contribution that has made a great impact on the modern social psychology was from William McDougall. McDougall proposed for an evolutionary psychology, which was influenced by Darwin’s theory. Especially with the dominant fields of sociology and anthropology, McDougall was able to link science, sociology and psychology (McDougall, 1919). However, McDougall’s research in social evolution was also interpreted as radical due to the racism involved in behaviour gene inheritance. This shows that even though McDougall’s work has been a start point to the origins of social psychology, it has also led to misconcepts especially in the Western society. Another person who contributed to the origins of social psychology was William James which developed the theory of ‘stream of consciousness’. The strength of the ‘stream of consciousness’ was that it was not only using the introspect technique. The reason why James made an influence in social psychology is due to the step taken from introspection, in order to understand the human’s behaviour by their emotions and thoughts. 5. Although both McDougall and James made a great contribution to social psychology, especially in the context of theories and research, their interpretations are different. This difference is due to the discussion of human nature of free will. Overall, McDougall can be described as the origin of the European tradition of social psychology. This is because he believed an individual lacks free will due to the social and cultural forces. Whereas James can be described as the origins of the American tradition of social psychology. This is because James explained that individuals are conscious of their own decisions. Furthermore, James is an influencing figure in the philosophical movement of Pragmatism. Pragmatism approached ideologies and propositions with practical ideas, e.g. experimental validity. 9. The emergence of experimental social psychology is very different to critical social psychology. Rogers (2004) clarified the first social psychology experiments to be Triplett’s study on dynamogenic influence. In basic terms Triplett’s noticed that children performed better when in competition with others. Triplett’s study can now interpreted as social influence. However, Hogg Vaughan (1998) argues that Triplett’s study cannot be explained as the first social psychology study because it was recognised later on when the study was reformed. Nevertheless, Triplett’s study established the use of experimental methodology in his investigation. 6. Volkerpsychologie was a movement in Germany in the late nineteenth century. The Volkerpsycholgie disciple tried to explain the reasons behind social groupings as collective dimension (Rogers, 2003). The social groups in Germany where mainly dominant of specific German nationalist character. From these German characters it was proposed that language and culture had a role in individual perception and thinking. This led to Wundt’s proposition of using experimental psychology in order to investigate language and culture. Hence, Wundt is described as the ‘founder of experimental psychology’ (Burr, 2004). As an experimental psychologist Wundt believed psychology was a natural science, which is the reason why Wundt used introspection technique to interpret the consciousness, inner-thoughts, desires and sensations of individuals (English, 1921). However he did not ignore the philosophy of psychology, particularly with the rise of crowd-psychology. The history of crowd psychology links to the French Revolution in 1789-1799.   Crowd psychology can be described as a collectivist approach, in which the term ‘social’ is critical to our understanding, largely due to group influence and culture. 7. Between the periods of French revolution a lot of philosophical thinkers, including Comte and Durkheim, became interested on how the society and individuals influence each other. With the vast amount of literature emerging in France on social ideas the French-social theory began to develop. The French-social theory introduced Positivism, as of Comte. The doctrine of positivism allowed philosophy and science to be separated in order for science to become distinguished. However, the positivistic approach also was a major factor in the separation of American and European social psychology (Farr, 1996). This is why Comte can be perceived as the founder of social psychology (ALLPORT 1954). Comte’s work was influenced but also debated by Durkheim (Poggi, 2000W). Durkheim’s addition to French-social theory was the method of comparative, which is devised of observation (Randall, 1975W). The study of social representation became very famous in the French revolution period, pa rticularly Durkheim’s research that showed collective representation within a society (Farr, 1996). One of the major influences that this had on the modern social psychology is from Moscovici study. Moscovici noted Durkheim as his influence for his study in social representation (Farr, 1996). Social representation theory brought a new development to the social psychology, which is now described as critical social psychology. 8. With the French revolution the philosophical era of Enlightenment emerged. Enlightenment era brought civilisation to individuals, away from the religious authority of the church (Burr, 2004). This allowed individual’s to search for truth of reality, by means of reasoning. The ‘search for truth’ allowed individuals to explore social phenomena. For example; the ideology of Marx on social class and labour, Piaget’s reasoning of child development. Within the period of Enlightenment two different theoretical concepts arose; Modernism and Postmodernism. The assumption of science as the foundation to knowledge is constructed by modernism. The principles of modernism are described as; democracy, liberal individualism, liberal humanism, and science (Roger, 2003). The science established by modernism, brought a progress from the knowledge gained from the religious beliefs to the knowledge gained from scientific methods. However, postmodernism argues that knowledge is not discovered but rather constructed. Postmodernism also argue that there is multiple variety of knowledge, which the individual constructs by means of reasoning. The individuals construct their knowledge’s due to situation factors including culture and society in different locations. For example, the psychological illness of depression cannot always be diagnosed with the same scientific tests in different cultures. The principle of the postmodernisms has had a key impact on critical social psychology. Even though modernism and postmodernism are opposite terms, critically speaking both have established a European tradition of collectivistic approach. 9. The emergence of experimental social psychology is very different to critical social psychology. Rogers (2004) clarified the first social psychology experiments to be Triplett’s study on dynamogenic influence. In basic terms Triplett’s noticed that children performed better when in competition with others. Triplett’s study can now interpreted as social influence. However, Hogg Vaughan (1998) argues that Triplett’s study cannot be explained as the first social psychology study because it was recognised later on when the study was reformed. Nevertheless, Triplett’s study established the use of experimental methodology in his investigation. 2. One of the most significant event is social psychology is the World War 2 (WWII). Post war issues of social warfare arouse, which had an influence on social science applications. This event of WWII made the start of social psychology in the US in 20th century (Cartwright, 1979). This is mainly due the large amount of research conducted to investigate the reasons behind the Nazis attack on the Jews in WWII. Some psychologist including Lewin immigrated Germany to the US in order to conduct research on the areas of organisations and groups. He is now generally described as the ‘founder of social psychology’. Another researcher who also immigrated to the US was Moscovici who presented revolutionary findings in social representation in the field of minority influence. However, the main aim of social psychology research in the US was on government regulations of propaganda. Throughout this period the American tradition of social psychology started to emerge. The American tr adition was an individualistic one which emphasises on individual importance, e.g. the society is made up of individual 1, individual 2, individual 3, ect. Conclusion Overall the American tradition can be interpreted as the historical roots of social psychology. Whereas the European tradition can be interpreted as the philosophical roots of social psychology. The American root of social psychology now has a great impact on social cognitive approach. Social cognition includes attribution, stereotypes, autism, (Striano Reid, 2008). The European roots of social psychology have led to social constructionism and social representation. The modern social psychology is now constructed with the American and European doctrines. However, due to the political events and developing researches in social psychology, the disciple has only been able to contain within America (Cartwright, 1979). On the other hand, Gergen (1973) argued that social psychology cannot be interpreted as a science because social psychology is historically and culturally specific, which is the reason why the discipline is continuously changing. Critically speaking, there is an advantage of different approaches to social psychology, as it views dilemmas in different perspectives.

Introduction to Studying French Verbs

Introduction to Studying French Verbs Most French students are impressed with French verbs. So let’s talk about them, and the terms used to explain how we should  conjugate French verbs. What is the  Verb? A verb indicates an action. It can be physical (to walk, to run, to go), mental (to think, to laugh)  or a condition or a state (to be, to have). A verb is conjugated to agree with (to match) its subject: He does, she has, they were, as opposed to the incorrect he do, she have, they be. What is Person in Grammar? In grammar, person refers to the different pronouns used to conjugate a verb: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Read more on French  subject pronouns to understand  this concept better. What is Agreement? In French, some words are said to â€Å"agree† with each other. Its the same in English; you add an â€Å"s† to the end of the verb for he / she/ it, as in: She singS. In French, it gets a little more complicated. In French, you have to change some words or parts of words (like the endings of verbs) to match other words related them.  Ã‚   What or Who is the  Subject?   The subject is the person or thing that does the action of the verb.   There is an easy way to find the subject of a sentence. First, find the verb. Then ask: â€Å"who verb† or â€Å"what verb.† The answer to that question will be your subject. A subject is a noun (Camille, flower, room) or a pronoun (I, you, they). A noun can be a person, thing, place or idea. Examples:  I paint.Who paints?Answer: I paint. â€Å"I† is the subject. Camille is teaching French.Who is teaching?Answer:  Camille is teaching.â€Å"Camille† is the subject.   What is happening to Camille?What’s happening?Answer:  What is happening.â€Å"What† is the subject (This one was trickier, wasn’t it?)   What is a Conjugation? Conjugation is the way a subject changes a verb so they agree (match). In English, the conjugation of verbs is quite simple. The verbs don’t change much: I, you, we, they speak; he, she, it  speakS. An exception: the verb to be (I am, you are, he is). It is not this way in French, where the verb form changes with almost every different person. Some verbs are called â€Å"regular† because they follow a predictable conjugation pattern, such as adding an â€Å"s† to the 3rd person singular, as in English). Some are called â€Å"irregular† because their conjugation pattern is not predictable, like the verb â€Å"to be† in English. The way French verbs are written and their pronunciation  are also very different, this is why I highly recommend you train with audio drills when learning French verbs. What is the Infinitive? The infinitive is the form of the verb before it is conjugated. It’s the verb name, for example, â€Å"to speak.† In English, the infinitive is usually preceded by â€Å"to† as in â€Å"to study,† but its not always this way, for example: â€Å"can.†) In French, there is no â€Å"to† before the verb. The infinitive form is one word, and the last two or three letters of the infinitive will identify the type of conjugation pattern it follows, if the verb is regular. These letters are  usually -er, -ir or -re.   What is a Tense? A tense indicates when the action of the verb is taking place: now, in the past, in the future. A simple tense consists of only one verb form (â€Å"I speak†).A compound tense consists of one or more verbs, including an auxiliary verb a main verb (â€Å"I am speaking,† â€Å"I have been thinking†). What is Mood? The mood indicates how the verb relates to the subject: Is the action a statement of fact (indicative mood) or something else like a command (imperative mood) or a wish (subjunctive mood). This will affect the conjugation of the verb. and, likewise, the conjugation will communicate the mood.    Whats the Best Way to Learn French Verb Conjugations? Learning French verbs is a long process, and you shouldnt learn everything at once. Start by learning useful conjugations in the present indicative of the most common irregular and regular French verbs. Make sure you get the pronunciation right. French is full of liaisons, elisions and glidings, and it is not pronounced as it is written.   If you are serious about learning French, start with a good French audio method. Read about how to select the right tools to self-study  French. Your next step: Learning about French Subject Pronouns.

Compare two poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Compare two poetry - Essay Example As â€Å"The Snow Man† opens with lines â€Å"One must have a mind of winter / To regard the frost and the boughs / Of the pine-trees crusted with snow†, the speaker in the third person viewpoint seemingly expresses personal belief on what snow or winter is about. To him, it is essential to have a ‘mind of winter’ so that one perceives more than the feeling of cold. During cold season, our natural tendency is to respond by covering ourselves with thick hides or cloth to be protected from the extremes of low icy temperatures but the poet indicates through the speaker that we ought to recognize the strength born by the pine trees ‘crusted with snow’. Paying regard to the boughs of the trees that remain unbreakable despite the frost summons us to the thought that no matter how intense the degree of coldness is of the snowy winter, a ‘snow man’ that becomes of us would know and acknowledge the climate’s heart. So instead of prev enting the snowiness, we would rather be among the pines that hold and keep the wintry sensation of burning cold without putting on fire or any opposite element against it. Through the second stanza which consists of the lines â€Å"And have been cold a long time / To behold the junipers shagged with ice, / The spruces rough in the distant glitter†, our critical reading is further brought to realize the significance of ‘cold’ in our lives. ‘Cold’ being that which stands for loneliness, suffering, emptiness, or any similar condition of distress is something that can refine a man to a resolute state of well-being having a kind of beauty that radiates in and out. Equivalently, a person who values hardships and perseverance for the sake of establishing a meaningful existence, in the process, walks a path that leads to wonder. The terms ‘shagged’ and ‘rough’ may be associated with an unfavorable load or burden yet either the â₠¬Ëœjunipers’ or the ‘spruces’ occur to bear a proud imagery of delight that can sparkle even from a distance. This scenario is quite symbolic of a manner by which an individual takes good pride upon earning dignity and respect made firm via continuous deeds of righteousness and constant struggle to avoid the complacent ways of evil in the world. Good acts may be often unseen but the fruit of pure joy and the absence of guilt are adequate signs of one’s glowing beauty from within just like the coniferous plants of winter which are altogether a sight of marvel. Stevens’ â€Å"The Snow Man† proceeds with â€Å"and not to think / Of any misery in the sound of the wind, / In the sound of a few leaves, / Which is the sound of the land / Full of the same wind / That is blowing in the same bare place†. To this extent, the speaker likely conveys for us to distinguish between the snow and the sound of the wind under the sun’s heat which i s capable of swaying merely ‘few leaves’ that embody the petty worries of living. It is not quite worth our precious time to be toiling for things of material composition or those that are perishable in nature for we can never count on them to build an inner foundation of courage and reason to work out concerns based on several aspects of life. What the wind causes turns out to be a plain influence of breeze which everyone in our planet can cope with at any rate or level. In reality, for instance, working to achieve a

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 15

English - Essay Example Thus he learns that money cannot buy happiness even if it might give all outward appearances of doing so. Having finally discovered the location of his old friends, Candide emancipates them all from their Turkish slave owners only to find that even luxurious togetherness is not sufficient to keep everyone happy. Although they have a beautiful country home, they find themselves only fighting amongst themselves and making each other very unhappy. In the end, the story indicates that despite any optimism felt by the characters, or the attainment of their hopes and dreams, happiness or contentment does not follow. Voltaire’s book illustrates the evils he felt were most prevalent in his society. Produced during the Enlightenment era, the novella illustrates many of the prevailing themes of the times, which often revolved around questions of human values and â€Å"inherited intellectual authority.† â€Å"By the time the Enlightenment reached its maturity †¦ there was a rough consensus among its leading thinkers in regard to certain key themes: rejection of orthodox, scriptural Christianity †¦; conviction of the superiority of modern over ancient thought †¦; extension of this natural-scientific model to a host of new social sciences †¦; and a proto-liberal political program, aimed at protecting what were now seen as the equal natural rights of individuals† (Wright 15). While Candide presents itself as a satire against optimism, it has been argued that this satire is instead a more in-depth look at how that optimism, so often associated with the Enlightenm ent, could be realized – by concentration on freeing oneself from an unhappy past, as the characters do when they wholeheartedly devote themselves to the cultivation of their garden rather than allowing themselves to wallow in their misery or luxury. Thus, when Candide says at the end

Is Climate Change Natural Or Man Made Environmental Sciences Essay

Is Climate Change Natural Or Man Made Environmental Sciences Essay Climate is the long term average weather conditions of different regions on earth. Some places are hot while others bear a cold climate. The different types of climates are namely, tropical, midaltitudinal, subtropical, arctic, subarctic, humid continental, Mediterranean, monsoon, desert and tropical wet-dry. The climate of the world is continuously changing. This change is not something new it is a very old concept perhaps since the birth of the universe. The factors or reasoning for the climate change can be divided into two sides. One side is of the view that this is a natural process that will and has to occur whereas the other side claims that the change has occurred because of the human activities on the earth. later in our essay we will be discussing these reasoning in more depth and with the help of some facts and figures. Literature Review: Definitions: Distinction between climate and weather. Most of the people use climate and weather terms synonymously, but the two terms have a difference between them. Climate is the long term average weather conditions of different regions on earth whereas weather is how the atmosphere behaves in a shorter period of time. Hence we can say that the distinct feature between weather and climate is the measure of time. What is Global Warming and Global Dimming? Global warming refers to the continuous warming of worlds surface. It occurs when the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) traps the heat and light from the sun around the atmosphere of Earth which forms the root cause of the temperature increase. Some of the green house gases are, Carbon Dioxide, water vapor, methane etc. Whereas Anup Shah said, Global dimming is the opposite of global warming and should not be confused with it. It is the average reduction in heat that is reaching the earths surface. Pollutants from the fossil fuels in the air results in the larger number of droplets which makes the clouds more reflective. More of the suns heat and light is therefore reflected back in the space. (Anup Shah, 2005) Climate Change History Timeline: Earths climate is unstable and is continuously changing. It has experienced several ice ages and warmer periods. To make things simpler and focused we can split the history of climate change into several phases. These phases are briefly discussed below: If we look at The Big Bang Theory which is about the creation of the entire solar system. The temperature of the earth was very high because of which it expanded rapidly, and then it cooled down enough for rain, which became the source of the very first ocean on earths surface. Then from 3.8 to 2.5 billion years ago, the first land masses appeared and life developed on the planet. The atmosphere was still toxic and mainly consisted of ammonia and methane, the sun was only 75% as bright as today, this may depicts that the surface was covered with ice, but in reality it was warmer, scientist justify this situation by saying that this was because of the greenhouse gases i.e. methane which prevented freezing. Next phase is of about 2.5 to 500 million years ago. In this era the oxygen level on the surface started to increase, accompanied by the photosynthetic algae. There are enough evidences of glaciations periods in this era and scientists still discuss this scenario. The Earths core finally cooled down to level comparable to today about 500 to 250 million years ago. The volcanic eruptions became rarer. Earth generally saw a lot of glacial activity in this period because of the two poles known as South and North Poles, which received very less solar energy. The rapid development of photosynthetic organisms made the air more breathable. About 250 to 65 million years ago the climate of Earth became dry and seasonal with high temperature differences. More land came into contact with the oceans and therefore the humidity increased. This was the era of dinosaurs. Then the dinosaurs went extinct and mammals took over around 65 to 2.7 million years ago. The planet experienced sudden warming during this period. The global temperature shot up by 5-8 degree Celsius. This warming was enhanced by the methane bubbles which were previously hidden beneath the ice sheets. About 33 million yearn ago the very first glaciers started to form in Antarctica; this means that the sea level fell and ice grew. Than from 2.7 million to 12000 years ago a lot of the surface of Earth was covered with ice. It is been estimated that there were 25-30 Ice Ages in the history. Around 12000 years ago the last Ice Age ended and the Earth again entered to a warmer phase. From 950 to 1250 the Vikings started to emigrate from Iceland, Greenland. Excellent weather in many regions of the Earth gave a boost to the population growth. The things then rapidly changed in the 20th century when industrialization took place. It increased the temperature of Earth on a average of 0.7 degree Celsius. The British Meteorological Office predicts that 2010 will become the hottest year since the beginning of temperature records in 1880. The Debate: There are two sides of the debate as we have stated this earlier in our essay. One group supports the idea that the major causes of the global climate change are the activities by humans themselves. These activities include burning of fossil fuels, deforestation etc. the other group challenges this view with their research that the change is the natural process and it is occurring since the birth of the earth. The world temperature is increasing and it is occurring due to the activities of the people living in this world. The major culprits of this process are the developed countries of the world whose economies significantly rely on industrialization which results into the excessive emissions of carbon in the atmosphere. United States was the leader in this case followed by UK, Germany, France etc, but now China is taking over the lead and becoming the number one cause of global warming. Pearce said, Chinas annual carbon dioxide emissions have indeed recently surpassed those of the US (Fred Pearce, 2010). He further clarifies that this does not means that the whole blame should be given to China because industrialization is new to China and if we revise the statistics of carbon emissions we will come to know that major role in degrading the environment is played by other countries like US , UK, Germany and other countries of Europe. An International team headed by Nikla Hohne from the Cologne, Germany, office of Ecofys. An international climate change consultancy came up with the findings from the country by country analysis of who has contributed to the climate change and to what extent. The team also look upon other green house gases i.e. methane which is second most important after carbon dioxide. Methane is also produced by human activities from draining marshes and deforestation to cattle farming. Once methane was added to the analysis the team came up with evidence that the poor countries of the world play a much greater part in global warming. Hohne says, Others do worse. (Nikla Hohne, 2010). For instance Brazils contribution rises from1 percent to 5 percent of global total. Indonesia which extensively practices deforestation rises by a factor of between 10 to 90. The studies in this analysis estimated Indonesia as a third greatest contributor to global warming after China and US. To over come these problems and justify themselves developed countries claims that they are taking action to cut carbon emissions into the atmosphere. On example of this action is the Kyoto Protocol 1997. This protocol required the developed countries to start cutting emissions by almost 5 percent by 2008-2012. In this protocol certain quotas were assigned to industries. With in the limits of the quota they can pollute the environment. Larry Lohmann called it The Magic of the Market, (Larry Lohmann, 2002) because the a certain clause was added by the US elites in The Kyoto Protocol which allowed Northern countries to meet the emission targets by trading carbon dioxide with countries that had surplus. The trading of carbon did not solved the problem but in fact increased the climate change effect. Jens Stoltenberg who led a UN- commissioned task force to identify ways to raise finances which could be used in poor countries to deal with the climate change effects said, Carbon pricing h as a double climate effect- its a huge source for revenue, but also gives the right incentive for reducing emissions by making it expensive to pollute, (Jens Stoltenberg, 2010). The Kyoto Protocol gave an other benefit to the industries that hey can have a trade with the people who grow plants and trees as well. But it was impossible to calculate the intake of carbon by trees which make it ineffective. Larry Lohmann said that 30 more protocols with twice the level of Kyoto protocol are needed to rectify the situation. Otherwise the impact will be devastating. According to a special report more than 1000 scientists globally are changing their opinion and saying that the process of change is natural. These scientists also included people from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). the report included comments by some well known people. for instance, Nobel Prize-Winning Stanford University Physicist Dr. Robert B. Laughlin, who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1998, and was formerly a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said Please remain calm: The Earth will heal itself Climate is beyond our power to controlEarth doesnt care about governments or their legislation. You cant find much actual global warming in present-day weather observations. Climate change is a matter of geologic time, something that the earth routinely does on its own without asking anyones permission or explaining itself. (Dr.Robert, 2010). The scientist said that green house effect is not permanent and the predictions of global warmin g are not supported by the reliable data by IPCC. The economic crisis in 2009 which was very severe and affected almost every nation in the world resulted in the reduction in the carbon emissions. A report from Nature Geo science supports this statement by giving the figures like 1.3 percent reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the global financial crisis. The article by Hoffman says that estimated carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation have also been reduced. Doug L. Hoffman said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦carbon dioxide will rise by 4.8% In 2010, proving that what should be treated as good news is not welcomed in climate change circles. Doug L. Hoffman, 2010). Discussion: After analyzing the both sides with reference to the articles. I am of the opinion that climate is changing because of the anthropogenic global warming i.e. made by the human activities. It is the humans themselves who are threatening their own home. They have increased the activities which involve the emission of greenhouse gases. Increased industrialization is the root cause of the problem in which dangerous gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapors etc are emitted in the atmosphere. On the other hand I we consider third world countries were there is less industrialization we come to know that they are also the major contributors in degrading the environment. They emit methane which is second most dangerous after carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere in the process of deforestation which is required for the agricultural needs to grow food and other cash crops. A classic example of this earlier given in this essay is of Indonesia and Brazil. All these emissions give rise to the greenhouse effect in which the greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulate around the surface of earth and block the rays from the sun. some part of these rays are reflected back into the space and the remaining enter the atmosphere were again some of it is reflected back by the intersection with clouds and other part reaches the surface. The surface of the earth also reflects back some rays which are than trapped by these GHGs. This whole process gives a boost to the temperature of the Earth. The more the emissions of GHGs the more the impact will be. The image below illustrates the situation more clearly. The carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 0.5 percent per year and it is a major contributor in the greenhouse effect with almost 60 percent of share. The emissions of CFCs are also increasing because of the increased use of refrigerators etc. These anthropogenic activities will cause an average increase in the global temperatures between 1.5 °C and 6.8 °C from 2000 to 2100.   From my point of view we are unable to rectify the devastating impacts of global warming and other anthropogenic activities with the help of Protocols like Kyoto Protocol because they are bias and are in the interest of only certain parties. Although we have placed the price on the carbon that is being emitted in the environment but have given industries some benefits as well that in this cause can be quasi property rights. We have designed the protocol but we are almost unable to implement it because the measurement required is very difficult. Whereas on the other hand I do not oppose the second group complete because there is to some extent reality in their piece of work. When they say that the anthropogenic global warming is not supported by the accurate data by the concerned organizations they are right. Some of the changes in the climate also occur because of the natural changes in the conditions, for instance. Hurricanes, floods etc. some scientist also claim that the change in the climate is because of the uncertainty in the earths orbit. Conclusion: In the end I would like to conclude by saying that from my point of view the major cause of the climate change is the anthropogenic activities i.e. global warming and global dimming which are caused by the increased use of fossil fuels. It is we humans who are responsible for this and at the same time it is we who are unable to control its devastating impacts on our climate. If the process will continue with the same pace, one day we will have to bear a lot of problems the ice in the south will start melting which will increase the water level of the world. Higher temperature will cause increased earthquakes, the rare species on earth will extinct, their will be food shortages which will affect our increasing population. Increased sea levels will cause tsunamis. All these consequences have there own further impacts on the economies of the countries. Therefore more practical steps should be initiated by the related agencies in controlling the problem. As an individual we people also have to bear some responsibility towards the climate. We should try to adopt environmental friendly techniques in our daily routine work.

How are characters presented as disturbed in Macbeth, Laboratory and My Last Duchess? Essay

It is important to be able to define what ‘disturbed’ actually means in order to answer this question to a high standard of explanation. Disturbed is an adjective and it is the showing of symptoms of mental illness, severe psychosis and neurosis. It is also useful to consider the audiences of each poem or play to elaborate on explanations. Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is set during the eleventh century is about the emotional manipulation of individuals and the lust for power and the upmost authority over a victorious Scotland featuring an Elizabethan audience whereas Robert Browning’s poems, Laboratory and My Last Duchess, is about the overcoming of jealously and betrayal set during the Victorian era with a Victorian audience. Macbeth in the beginning of the play is a noble, humble and honourable person who, without question would sacrifice his life for the liberty of his King, Duncan. As the play progresses he attitude towards life in general changes completely, mainly due to the pressure that Lady Macbeth inflicts on him. However, Lady Macbeth has quite a surprising personality as she is not the stereotypical Elizabethan woman. Lady Macbeth is expected to be fragile, meek, innocent and comforting but in this unusual circumstance Lady Macbeth would very much rather â€Å"dashed the brains out† of an infant child. This is plain evidence to suggest that Lady Macbeth is of no stable condition. In addition to this surprising fact Lady Macbeth is cunning and bloodthirsty. She demands Macbeth in Act one, Scene Five to â€Å"look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t†. It is very common for a man to demand a female to pursue tasks but for a woman to demand a man, especially of something like sacrilege, is very unusual. This could mean two things, Macbeth is weak and is unable to depict his own decisions or/and that Macbeth is mentally deteriorating. Macbeth reason with Lady Macbeths orders in his soliloquy in Act one, Scene seven and from the things he points out such as â€Å"his faculties are so meek† gives the reader/viewer sympathy for Macbeth suggests that Macbeth is of a stable condition and is able to rationalize his views and interpretation â€Å"we will proceed no further in this business†. Lady Macbeth realises that herself and Macbeth in Act one, Scene Five are â€Å"too full o’th’ milk of human kindness† and therefore aggressively requests to the spirits â€Å"unsex me here and fill me here from the crown to the toe-top full of direst cruelty†. The tone and images that are tagged along with this quote are very dark and ‘cold hearted’, also notice the word used to describe the type of cruelty, ‘full of direst cruelty’. Not only does Lady Macbeth want to be cruel but she wants to be completely ‘full of’ the ‘direst cruelty’. It is at this exact point when it becomes possible to claim that Lady Macbeth is at the top of the spiral to insanity. The choice of language is compelling as if she felt no sympathy for King Duncan. Lady Macbeth uses harsh and violent sounding vocabulary to stress her ambitions â€Å"Hie thee hither†, the use of alliteration attracts the attention of audience signifying that she purposely wants people to know really how serious she is similarly in Laboratory the persona demonstrates her willingness to commit a felony â€Å"Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste, pound at thy powder†, there is a use of harsh and violent sounding vocabulary and there is a use of alliteration to make an appeal to the audience. During the Elizabethan era a particular doctrine was in place because of the religious relationship involved with that patriarchal society, a feudal system was in place meaning that Sacrilege was unfaithful to such an extent that Hell was certain to be your destination. The fact that Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to commit sacrilege is, without saying, disturbing because the King (especially at that time) is Gods representative and killing God just to achieve power is so insane that you could argue that she is ‘demon possessed’. Macbeth and the poem Laboratory are both similar in terms of the unusual language used, â€Å"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow†, a quote by Macbeth in his final soliloquy, in act five, scene five, before to his soliloquy Lady Macbeth had committed suicide which was inevitably an act of sin and therefore ‘the afterlife’ would be spend in hell for eternity â€Å"We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgment here†, which meant Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (at least Macbeth) were both aware that they had committed felonies during their current life including sacrilege giving the idea that Macbeth was aware of his wrongdoings telling us that Macbeth was not psychotically weak but instead attempted to improvise the situation so at least he had something to live for. This also gives the audience sympathy for Macbeth because he is able to rationalize his opinions and justifications. The persona uses similar unusual language to Macbeth â€Å"And her breasts and her arms should drop dead! † Stanza six, the repetition of the connective ‘and’ in the Macbeth and the Laboratory poem is used to emphasis their feelings and emotions. In addition to this the persona in Laboratory uses an exclamation mark at the end of her sentence revealing to us that she is certain that she wants this devil orientated scenario to occur in reality, on the other hand, Macbeth says his quote (mentioned above) in a calm, soothing manner. I am able to say this because Macbeth uses no form of extreme punctuation to object otherwise. This obviously is a difference suggesting that Macbeth is in fact sane because he is clearly pointing out that he has realised that â€Å"life’s but a walking shadow†. There are indeed multiple differences that make Laboratory and Macbeth very unalike indeed. The largest and most obvious variance between these two highly interpreted pieces of literature is that Laboratory is actually a poem of emotion and the outburst of frustration. The persona in Laboratory can be argued to be neurotic because of her intentions but these are just intentions whereas in Macbeth Lady Macbeths intentions are fulfilled, the killing of King Duncan. Laboratory is very much an extreme retaliation of revenge and hatred.