Barack Obama Essay

There is no doubt that President Barack Hussein Obama II has received much attention and interest from not only the United States, but international. He is not only praised because of his skin color, but because of the values he believes in and what he stands for. He represents something the country has needed for a long time. During his 2008 campaign for US president, he embodied the very meaning of the word â€Å"hope†. Obama’s election was truly revolutionary. His story can been considered a huge milestone in the United States’ history. The very fact that Barack Obama was voted in, and by a very large margin, shows proof that the country has abandoned its usual ideas on who is â€Å"fit† to run in high office. Barack’s multi-cultural background serves to represent the melting pot America is. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., and Stanley Ann Dunham, a Caucasian woman from Wichita, Kansas. He has gone through many hurdles and has climbed his way up a focused political ambition ladder. Being the first president of African American descent to the illustrious United States and also his many achievements have made him a person of much respect and high admiration. Obama’s presidency has gone through a series of success and accomplishments. After being elected, he successfully passed many legislations, such as the healthcare bill. The bill aimed for offering tremendous coverage while providing an affordable healthcare. Barrack’s presidency is also branded by other victories such as the $787 billion Stimulus Bill. The passing of this bill took place one month later after succeeding the presidency from George W. Bush. The stimulus bill helped boost the staggering economy. Two years later, he passed the Wall Street Reform to regain control of the economy after its practices which caused the Great Recession. This law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, requires that large banks provide â€Å"living wills† to avoid hectic bankruptcies, limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to catch abusive lending products and companies. He was heavily praised for ending the War in Iraq. All U.S. military forces were ordered out of the country, with the last troops leaving on December 18, 2011. With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, he reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. during the Bush years. From 2008 to 2011, favorable opinion toward the United States rose in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent. To summarize, Obama, with his qualities accompanied with key factors such as human approach, empathy, positive attitude, courage to take risk, and bravery to face challenges is a great leader, particularly for the US and generally for the world. His background and experiences in life, united with vibrant qualities of a good leader, make him a wonderful role model and universally acceptable. References: Glastris, Paul, Ryan Cooper, and Siyu Hu. â€Å"Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments.† The Washington Monthly. N.p., Mar.-Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Aug. 2013. â€Å"Barack Obama.† Organizing for Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2013. http://www.barackobama.com/about/barack-obama?source=footer-nav

Emma & Clueless

Intro: C appropriates E’s 19th Century context into a contemp. Beverley Hill’s society embedded in material availability and conspicuous consumption. o Austen’s PURPOSE not changed ( C ( satire of context and human nature ( C has other purp. ( Question value and validity of texts ( POMO TRANSFORMATION THESIS: The transformation of a text helps develop and mold new meaning to its counterpart, and hence deepen the understanding of each text.However , it is important to note that for this meaning is to be conveyed, many of the themes within the original text must remain the same, it is the context and the values inherent within these themes that change. o Both texts present, deluded central character living in own upper-class microcosm. †¢ Emma living in C19th England ( ‘handsome, clever and rich’ woman of ‘one and twenty’ with ‘nothing much to distress or vex her’. ? Lives in a world based around inheritance, breeding, ma nners and respectability as means for social valuing. Cher is a 15 year old living in the ‘Noxema commercial’ ‘land of imagists’ that is Beverley Hills in the 1990’s. ? Social values based upon material availability, image and conspicuous consumption. o Both protagonists attempt to transform a protege of lower class and elevate them to their higher status. oEmma’s naive intention of transforming Harriet by refining manners and intelligence (not to mention elevating ego) = IRONIC. ( contradicts stagnant class mobility of C19th England. LINK ( sense of hierarchy retained in C. ? Cher introduces Tai to school cliques ‘Persian Mafia’ ( reflects sense of materialism and conspicuous consumption of society ( ‘you have to own a BMW to sit with them’. ( ALSO REFLECTED IN FIRST SCENE ( MONTAGE. o ‘Loadies that no respectable girl would date’ o LOADIES comment ironic because Cher tells Tai in the scene before that c hoosing a BF is a decision that ‘every girl has to make for herself’. o TAI ( her transformation is aesthetic (not like in E) through ‘Cher’s main thrill in life – a make-over†. ( reflects extent of importance placed on image and superficiality in modern context. When first presented with Tai she stands out dramatically wearing a flannel shirt, and with died red hair ( as opposed to everyone in gym scene wearing black and white ( she is an outsider, of another class. ?INTERESTING ( although she is supposedly moved up in class, she is always subtly dressed differently to Cher and Dionne ( collars, etc, o Ease with which Tai changes social status gives sense of social fluidity, as does fact that Tai talks back to Cher in confrontation ( â€Å"you’re a virgin who can’t drive†. LINK ((( more subtle in Emma where Harriet doesn’t confront Emma, but distances herself by communication through letters. (( Travis’ eleva tion of class also gives impression of social fluidity ( he gets off drugs, becomes serious about skateboarding and joins a rehabilitation program. THIS IS UNDERCUT BY COSTUMING IN WEDDING SCENE. AND ALSO THROUGH FINAL COUPLINGS IN FILM ( HECKERLING UPHOLDS AUSTEN’S SENSE OF HIERARCHY.( TELEOLOGY REFUTED. o Although idea of ‘coupling’ in C does not lead to marriage (as in Emma), important to note fact that marriage, or at least a ‘wedding’ is the ideal and final goal for women. RE: final scene ‘I want sailor hats’ o In C weddings are deemed more important than marriage itself ( ‘you divorce wives, not children’; ‘husband number five’. o Although marriage is not equally valued in both contexts, the idea of DOMESTICITY is. In the C19th context of Emma, there was an up rise of the bourgeois and of their domesticity-based values. o This is also reflected in C WHEN Cher’s father values her for the menial tasks she performs in the home ‘ who takes care of the house? Who makes sure daddy’s had his orange juice? ’LEADS BACK TO THE IDEAS OF FEMALE OPPRESSION AND THE REBUFFING OF THE NOTION OF TELEOLOGY. BOTH TEXTS ARE BILDUNGSROMANS o Both deal with the personal and character transformations of heroines. o Satirical social comment on composed contexts. o Transformation catalysed by male protagonist ( heroine has to submit to being wrong. CONTEXT CHANGED o Inherent themes same ( breakdown of high culture into POMO setting/society o COHERENT UNDERSTANDING OF E FOR SOCIETY EMBEDDED IN MATERIAL AVAILABILITY AND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION. oCHANGE OF MOP ( reflective of context ( change of narrative voice to voice over o Omniscient 3rd person is visual language in CLUELESS o EG. Emma : ‘we’re just friends’ (in respect to Mr Elton o Omniscient 3rd person :’had it been 10x more, 10x less, her companions admiration for her would’ve remained the same ’. o EG. Cher : ‘I have a way normal life for a teenager’ o Shot of her picking out her clothes from a motorised wardrobe. ? IRONY AND CONTRADICTION BETWEEN AURAL AND VISUAL. †¢ Both texts still satires of respective worlds. Conclusion. RE: POMO INTRO AND RELATE BACK TO QUESTION. ALL ABOUT VALUES AND ATTITUDES.HECKERLING IMAGINATIVE, ETC IN TRANSFORMATION OF TEXT BUT REMAINS TRUE TO AUSTEN’S PURPOSE ( TO QUESTION AND SATIRISE THE FOIBLES OF HUMAN NATURE. WHILST ADDING TO HER OWN; THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATION OF EMMA, HECKERLING HAS PROVEN THAT EVEN A ‘TEENPIC’ CAN BE VALUED, AND HENCE REINSTATES HER POST-MODERN BELIEFS WITHIN THE TEXT. EMMA AND CLUELESS CONTRIBUTE OT DEVELOPING AND RESHAPING THE VALUE OF EACH TEXT. EMMA ALLOWS CLUELESS TO BE VALUED, WHILST CLUELESS ALLOWS EMMA TO BE UNDERSTOOD AND ACCESSIBLE TO A COHORT GROUNDED IN A CONTEMPORARY CULTURE.

Does Your PSAT Score Qualify for National Merit

Does Your PSAT Score Qualify for National Merit SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you gearing up to rock the PSAT this fall and wondering what score you need to qualify for National Merit? This guide will give you 51 different answers to that question. Don't worry, it's not a complicated response. It's just that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) compares test takers on a state-by-state basis. To become a National Merit Semifinalist, you have to score in the top 1% of students in your state. This guide will fill you in on all qualifying cutoff scores from coast to coast (plus Alaska and Hawaii)for the PSAT. But first, let's review exactly who qualifies for National Merit. Who Is Awarded National Merit? Students who are US citizens, who plan to go to college, and who take the PSAT/NMSQT in their junior year are eligible to receive National Merit distinctions and scholarships. They also have to do really, really well on the PSAT. The top 3-4% of scorers arenamed Commended Scholars- an impressive distinction to put on college applications. The top 1%, or about 16,000 students across the country, are named National Merit Semifinalists. This is an honorin itself, and it also means you couldgo on to be named a Finalist and receive scholarship money. Some colleges also award their own merit scholarships to National Merit Semifinalists. To determine who qualifies for National Merit, NMSC uses a scale called the Selection Index. To get this, NMSC adds your Math, Reading, and Writing section scores, which each fall between 8 and 38, and then multiplies that sum by 2. Thus,the PSAT NMSC Selection Index ranges from 48 to 228. Using reports from individuals around the country who took the 2017 PSAT, we've compiled a full list of National Merit qualifying scores.(Note that since National Merit cutoffs don't vary much from year to year, this list should still be fairly accurate for those who take the 2018 PSAT!) Students who take the PSAT in their junior year are eligible for National Merit distinction. PSAT NMSQT Qualifying Scores for 2018 and 2019 Selection Indexcutoffs compare the scores of test takers in each state. You'll probably get national percentiles on your PSAT score report, butstate percentiles are the ones NMSC uses to award students. The chart below shows the National Merit Selection Index cutoffs for students who took the PSAT in October 2017 and were named Semifinalists in the fall of 2018: State Selection Index Alabama 216 Alaska 215 Arizona 220 Arkansas 214 California 223 Colorado 221 Connecticut 222 Delaware 222 DC 223 Florida 219 Georgia 220 Hawaii 220 Idaho 214 Illinois 221 Indiana 219 Iowa 216 Kansas 218 Kentucky 218 Louisiana 217 Maine 217 Maryland 223 Massachusetts 223 Michigan 219 Minnesota 220 Mississippi 215 Missouri 217 Montana 214 Nebraska 216 Nevada 218 New Hampshire 219 New Jersey 223 New Mexico 215 New York 221 North Carolina 220 North Dakota 212 Ohio 219 Oklahoma 215 Oregon 221 Pennsylvania 220 Rhode Island 220 South Carolina 216 South Dakota 215 Tennessee 219 Texas 221 Utah 215 Vermont 216 Virginia 222 Washington 222 West Virginia 212 Wisconsin 216 Wyoming 212 Average Score 218 The average of all the PSAT NMSQT qualifying scores is 218. Sorry to those students in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, DC: you'll have to aim significantly higher and get a Selection Index of at least 223. Any American students studying in international schools abroad will also have to meet whatever the highest state's cutoff score is. As for boarding school attendees? You'll be measured against a regional cutoff; it usually equals the highest cutoff of the state within your regional grouping. Again, these Selection Index cutoffs are estimates, and there's some fluctuation from year to year. To account for this, you should aim at least 2-5 points higher than your state's cutoff score. Want to improve your PSAT score by 150 points? We have the industry's leading PSAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: Stellar PSAT scoresdon't happen by accident, and the PSAT requires a good deal of preparation to master. If you're aiming for National Merit, how can you achieve the top PSAT scores you need to qualify? How Can You Achieve PSAT Scores in the Top 1%? Like with the SAT, anyone can improve their scores on the PSAT with dedicated and effective preparation. Besides helping you qualify for National Merit, studying for the PSAT will prepare you for the SAT! The three steps below lay the groundwork needed to qualify for National Merit. Step 1: Know Your State's (Approximate) Cutoff Score It's important to find your state's cutoff, figure out what scores you need, and aim even higher in case the qualifying score increases (remember, there is slight variation year to year). Before you even begin studying for the PSAT, look at the chart above to find your state's cutoff score. For example, let's say you're taking the test in Ohio. According to our chart, Ohio's Selection Index cutoff is 219, which roughly translates to a PSAT score of 1460. Since the cutoff score could rise slightly, adjust your goal score to be a little higher as well- let's say 1490 instead of 1460. After, write down your PSAT target score as well as your goal of being named a National Merit Scholar on a piece of paper. Tack this sheet up on your wall and look at it as you study to help youstay motivated. Step 2: Read PrepScholar PSAT Study Guides Once you've figured out your goal score, spend some time learning about the test by reading our various PSAT study guides. Our articles offer expert help with designing your study schedule and making the most of your prep. One of our most helpful guides talks about gettinga perfect PSAT scoreandgoes into detail about how you can analyze and drill your mistakesto make big score improvements. Step 3: Take Official Practice Tests Finally, you'll want to take official practice tests to help you prepare for test day. The College Board offerstwo PSAT/NMSQT practice tests, along withonline practice questionsfor each section on the PSAT. Two tests isn't that many, though, so I also suggest takingofficial SAT practice testsor usingKhan Academy's SAT prep program. Since thePSAT and SAT are such similar tests, you'll get a ton of extra help by taking SAT practice tests (though expect them to be slightly harder). In addition, you can useold PSAT practice tests, as long as you focus on relevant question types and ignore the ones no longer on the test, such as sentence completions. A lot of the fundamental skills and knowledge on the PSAT didn't change much during the2015 revision, so you can still use older practice tests and materials to practice effectively if you familiarize yourself with the changes andadapt your approach accordingly. National Merit might be hard to get but the distinction is well worth it and could lead you to some handy scholarship money. Plus, it communicates a lot about your academic commitment on your college applications! What's Next? What should you do once you get your PSAT scores? This guide fills you in on your next steps. Not only is the PSAT important for National Merit, but it can also predict how you'll score on the SAT.Learn how touse your PSAT scores to predict, and plan to improve, your SAT scores. Are you wondering how to divide up your time most effectively to prep for the SAT? This six-step guide answers your questions about how long you should study for the SAT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

DROPPING OF ATOMIC BOMBS essays

DROPPING OF ATOMIC BOMBS essays President Truman faced a hugely difficult decision when he had to make the choice of whether or not to drop two atomic bombs over Japan. After much thought and consideration on his part, he came to the conclusion that the bombs would be dropped. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the chosen places, two residential and productive areas of Japan where several innocent civilians lived. Although that may have seemed like the only way to end the war quickly, there could have been another less destructive, rational, and morally right way to do so than dropping the two atomic bombs over those areas. The question shouldnt be Did President Truman make the right decision in having the two atomic bombs dropped? because that is something only he can find the correct answer to. So instead, the question should be: Can the dropping of the two atomic bombs, including the destruction of large productive areas and over a hundred thousand innocent lives of civilians be justified? Warfare alone is difficult to justify, even when both sides have a fair chance and opportunity to protect them-selves, because of moral issues. However, the atomic bomb doesnt even give the victims a chance for protection or even recovery after its been used. It would be one thing to drop the bombs over life-less land where no people and productivity were to just scare the Japanese as a warning, but thats not what was done. Instead the bombs destroyed an innumerable amount of things in Japan, most of which were innocent civilians who didnt even have anything to do with the war other than being part of the enemy country. No matter how much of an enemy a country is, it does not give the opposing country the right to do to them the destruction that an atomic bomb can do. Just because American lives were at risk in the war also, does not make it all right for them to kill over a hundred ...

Managing Ascii (Text) Files From Delphi Code

Managing Ascii (Text) Files From Delphi Code Simply put, text files contain readable ASCII characters. We can think of working with a text file in Delphi as analogous to playing or recording information on a VCR tape. Although it is possible to make changes to a text file, jump around when processing information or add some data to the file other than at the end, it is advisable to use a text file only when we know that we are working with ordinary text and no such operations are necessary. Text files are considered to represent a sequence of characters formatted into lines, where each line is terminated by an end-of-line marker (a CR/LF combination). The TextFile and the Assign Method To start working with text files you have to link a file on a disk to a file variable in your code - declare a variable of type TextFile and use the AssignFile procedure to associate a file on a disk with a file variable. var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile; begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, FileName) Reading information From a Text File If we want to read back the content of a file into a string list, just one line of code will do the job. Memo1.Lines.LoadFromFile(c:\autoexec.bat) To read information from a file line by line, we must open the file for input by using the Reset procedure. Once a file is reset, we can use ReadLn to read information from a file (reads one line of text from a file then moves to the next line) : var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile;    buffer : string;begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\autoexec.bat) ;    Reset(SomeTxtFile) ;    ReadLn(SomeTxtFile, buffer) ;    Memo1.Lines.Add(buffer) ;    CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ; end; After adding one line of text from a file to a memo component SomeTxtFile needs to be closed. This is done by the Close keyword. We can also use Read procedure to read information from a file. Read works just like ReadLn, except it does not move the pointer to the next line. var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile;    buf1,buf2 : string[5]; begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\autoexec.bat) ;    Reset(SomeTxtFile) ;    ReadLn(SomeTxtFile, buf1,buf2) ;    ShowMessage(buf1 buf2) ;    CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ; end; EOF - End Of File Use the EOF function to make sure that you are not trying to read beyond the end of the file. Lets say we want to display the content of the file in message boxes - one line at a time until we get to the end of a file: var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile;    buffer : string;begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\autoexec.bat) ;    Reset(SomeTxtFile) ;    while not EOF(SomeTxtFile) do    begin   Ã‚   ReadLn(SomeTxtFile, buffer) ;   Ã‚   ShowMessage(buffer) ;    end;   CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ;end; Note: It is better to use While loop than the Until loop to take into account the (unlikely) possibility that the file exists but does not contain any data. Writing Text to a File The WriteLn is probably the most common way to send individual pieces of information to a file. The following code will read a text from a Memo1 component (line by line) and send it to some newly created text file. var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile;    j: integer; begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\MyTextFile.txt) ;    Rewrite(SomeTxtFile) ;    for j : 0 to (-1 Memo1.Lines.Count) do   Ã‚  Ã‚   WriteLn(SomeTxtFile, Memo1.Lines[j]) ;    CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ; end; Depending on the state of the file provided to the Rewrite procedure it creates a new file (opens the file for output) with the name assigned to SomeTextFile. If a file with the same name already exists it is deleted and a new empty file is created in its place. If SomeTextFile is already open, it is first closed and then re-created. The current file position is set to the beginning of the empty file. Note: Memo1.Lines.SaveToFile(c:\MyTextFile.txt) will do the same. Sometimes well just need to add some text data to the end of an existing file. If this is the case, well call Append to ensure that a file is opened with write-only access with the file pointer positioned at the end of the file. Something like: var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile; begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\MyTextFile.txt) ;    Append(SomeTxtFile) ;    WriteLn(SomeTxtFile, New line in my text file) ;   CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ;end; Be Aware of Exceptions In general, you should always use exception handling when working with files. I/O is full of surprises. Always use CloseFile in a finally block to avoid the possibility of corrupting a users FAT. All the previous examples should be rewritten as follows: var    SomeTxtFile : TextFile;    buffer : string; begin    AssignFile(SomeTxtFile, c:\MyTextFile.txt) ;    try   Ã‚   Reset(SomeTxtFile) ;   Ã‚   ReadLn(SomeTxtFile, buffer) ;    finally   Ã‚   CloseFile(SomeTxtFile) ;    end;end; Manipulating With Structured Files Delphi has the ability to handle both ASCII files and files that hold binary data. Here are the techniques for working with typed and untyped (binary) files.

Incidence of ill effects from exposure to the radio frequency Essay

Incidence of ill effects from exposure to the radio frequency emissions emitted from wireless cell phones - Essay Example It is also generally believed that children are at a greater risk of being effected from the RFR since they are in the process of growth. Research has also shown that the Radio Frequency Radiation could also be dangerous for the unborn child during pregnancy. Since mobile phones are a new technique, there is a need to study the long-term ill effects caused by the RF emitted from the mobile phones. Further study in this field is also needed to clarify certain inconclusive research. Over the past few years, there has been a rapid growth in the use of the mobile phones, wireless local area networks (WLANs) and other wireless devices all over the world. Such wireless devices emit Radio Frequency/ Electromagnetic waves that, under certain conditions, can have undesirable effects on human health. Different individuals, in particular, use cell phones in different ways. Some people use the mobile phones for an extended period of time due to which their head is exposed to radiation. However, people seem to ignore the safety measures due to the lack of awareness of the ill effects caused by exposure to such radiation. There has been no conclusive research published on the ill effects caused by exposure to Radio Frequency emitted from wireless cell phones. Still in various countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the governments have made it necessary that the cell phones carry a health warning about their ill effects. Although no possible links have been found of the relationship between the RFR emitted from the wireless cell phones and the major ill effects. However some research carried out in this field has shown that the RFR emitted from wireless cell phones could interfere with the pacemakers, could effect the blood brain barrier, could damage the DNA which could lead to abnormal genetic changes. Research has also shown that the radio frequency could also

All Shooting Is For Editing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

All Shooting Is For Editing - Essay Example Editing is important to ensure the footage has been used to the level best, there is proper pictorial continuity and the goal of the film has been met. In regard to editorial judgment, it â€Å"is exercised before shooting by means of advance planning† (2006, p. 53). For editing to be done properly and thoroughly, a complete footage is crucial. The main goal of editing is to remove unwanted footages, selecting the best footage, creating a systematic flow, adding effects, graphics and music, and giving the film particular angles. Although the process of filmmaking can be regarded as a traditional one since it began decades ago, editing implements digital technology today. The editing process is classified into three stages, that is, the selection of takes and their lengths, the arrangement and timing of shots, scenes, and sequences. Editing begins immediately after the film has been shot. Occasionally, the actors are given a chance to view their early scenes. The directors ofte n prevent showing actors the edited scenes for fear that it will affect their performance. The first editing is called rough cut and can take approximately three months to finish. The sound designers and music composers make the final stage of editing. When the editing is said to be complete, it means that the directors and producers have approved the final version of the video. In the past, editors worked with negatives called work prints. These were plain films, scenes, and transitions. Once an editor got satisfied with the final film.