Friday, January 24, 2020

Beatrix Potter: Not Just an Author of Childrens Stories Essay

Beatrix Potter: Not Just an Author of Children's Stories Helen Beatrix Potter was born at No 2, Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, Middlesex (now in Greater London), England on July 28, 1866. She was the only daughter of a well-to-do London family, and her parents were heirs to a cotton fortune [4]. Her family was a typical Victorian family, living in a large house with several servants. Beatrix's younger brother, Bertram, was born when she was six years old, and the children were schooled at home by a governess until Bertram was old enough to attend school. Beatrix stayed home and was cared for by a string of governesses who encouraged her to read and write, and introduced her to music and art [3]. Beatrix spent much of her childhood in solitude, only seeing her parents at bedtime and on special occasions. From a young age, Beatrix was fascinated by nature. Her family went on annual summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake District. It was here that she and Bertram collected animals, skeletons, and fossils together. They sketched and painted pictures of the plants and animals they saw, and often went to the Natural History Museum to learn more. As they traveled the countryside, Beatrix gained not only first-hand experience, but also a deep love and knowledge of the countryside. It was this combination that makes her books so special [2]. Although her parents were a bit overprotective and discouraged her from forming friendships with other children, Beatrix always had her brother for company, not to mention a whole menagerie of pets. The children kept the pets in their schoolroom, and carefully studied and drew them. Almost all of Beatrix's famous characters from her books are based on pets she had. For example, Benjamin... ... prize sheep, and a philanthropist. She is immortalized both through her books, which continue to bring delight to children, and through the lovely Lake District in England, which she helped to preserve [2]. The picture of Beatrix Potter came from http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,62630+1+61079,00.html?query=beatrix%20 Works Cited and Consulted 1. "Beatrix Potter and the Lake District." http://shoga.wwa.com/~cfox/fire/bp/bpld.htm (23 Sept. 2000). 2. "Beatrix Potter - More Than Just a Rabbit's Tale!" http://www.wwwebguides.com/authors/society/potter/beatr.html (23 Sept. 2000). 3. "Beatrix Potter's Life." http://www.peterrabbit.co.uk/uk/biography/printresource.cfm (23 Sept. 2000). 4. "Potter, (Helen) Beatrix." http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,62630+1+61079,00.html?query=beatrix%20potter (23 Sept. 2000).

Thursday, January 16, 2020

How to ‘save’ Ghana from Petrodollars?

Introduction Resources haven’t always been linked to wealth, as the management of resources in a country is always subjected to politicking. Ghana’s resources have been recently discovered, thus space for maneuver regarding how to make the best out of the natural supplies is given to the government. What is known so far is that â€Å"oil discoveries in many countries have led to the erosion of democratic processes and insitutional structures† (Van Gyampo, 2011: 49). In other words, wealth generation does not equal resource abundance, and, by any means, an increase in the standard of living of the entire population. Moreover, the Ghanian exampe is illustrative on account of the government increasing its opacity. This can result in higher level of corruption and social unrest, as an inequality in the wealth distribution can generate social pressure. Countries with abundant resources and weak political systems are prone to having an authoritarian government or to face social disruption. The pre-oil Ghana was â€Å"praised for its steady progress toward democratic consolidation† (Gyimah-Boadi & Prempeh, 2012: 94), with five elections being held under democratic principles, and autonomy being guaranteed to key institutions such as universities, mass-media, etc. Economically speaking, Ghana has an estimated influx of Petrodollars of about USD 1 billion (Kapela, 2009) per year, which constitues a great potential for development. This should be the focus of further research on the impact of oil discovery on Ghana, as development plans have the potential of generating economic wealth in a sustainable manner. The main question is ‘how to generate wealth from resource abundance, and how to invest Petrodollars in something sustainable for Ghana?’ Research proposal The paper should focus on oil industry as a generator of wealth in Ghana, and try to tackle ways in which this could be made possible. Classically, transforming oil money in wealth is done through infrastructure development. What is more, the type of infrastructure that has to be developed differs from country to country. Nonetheless, even if infrastructure of any type is built, this doesn’t automatically create sustainability (Wood, 2007). This is caused by the contextuality determined by political and social factors. Of particular importance is to note that Ghana’s democracy is fundamentally different than other African counterparts dependent on oil exportation, with a political system that has developed into a relatively stable one. This creates a fertile ground for sustainability projects. First, the disseration should focus on researching and outlining the modes in which the Ghanian government can use the influx of Petrodollars to enhance development, despite other bad examples in the region. Here are some areas of development that can attract funding from oil industry. a) start-ups: Economic growth is striclty related to entrepreneurship. Can Ghanian government find a way to foster a capitalistic climate that can potentially generate wealth b) infrastructure development: When we talk about infrastructure, we think about motorways construction, airport connectivity, etc. In fact, developing countries struggle to finalize those projects and often find that the expected positive externalities are overwhelmed by the negative ones. Roads can prove to be good connectors between two cities, but don’t generate wealth per se. A type of infrastructure with positive outcomes is IT infrastructure. c) education: Sustainability is about creating a long-lasting positive effect over the next generations. Education is an important node of the wealth-creation network. The main concern is whether Ghana has the political will to use oil money for projects that can create wealth organically. Therefore, the thesis should approach the topic of Petrodollars and how Ghana can be the first positive example of good resource management in Africa. This would relate oil industry to the broader picture of wealth creation and development. How to tackle the research topic? The methodological apparatus that should be employed here is diverse, however discretion is advisable. First of all, an extensive literature review on Ghana’s oil industry should be done in order to understand the underpinnings of the ‘newly created economy’. Second, the literature review should seek to understand the political system and how this was altered by the resource profusion. A comparative approach should be used here, especially a comparison between Ghana and Nigeria regarding institutional redesign in the light of resource abundance. Second, there are more ways in which the study can be developed. a) an empirical analysis of economic indicators that measure wealth and economic growth post and ante the oil discovery. This can take the form of an econometrical analysis that should test the correlation between Petrodollars cahsflows and development. The most accessible option is to run a multiple regression having as the dependent variables the economic growth, standard of living, and income inequality, and independent variables, revenues from oil indsutry, tax revenues, etc. Two patterns can arise. First, a positive correlation between the formers and the latters, thus the Ghanian government can be rendered as a good example of ‘oil revenues manager’. Second, a negative correlation can be found, confiriming the theory of fragiles democracy falling apart because of resource abundance. In any case, the assumptions made should be supported by a rigorous theoretical framework. b) a fieldwork approach using structured interviews with local entrepreneurs that have benefit ed from or were disadvatanged by the emergence of the oil industry. If this approach is taken, a good guide can be provided by Hart (2007). This method can provide rich data about the micro implications of oil industry in Ghana and can allow for ground-up theoretical development. Conclusions and recommendations The discovery of the oil field in Ghana is still recent, thus not a lot of academic writing has focused on it. There are still many areas left unexplored, some of them presented above. The recommendation is to focus on oil industry as an agent of change that has the power, in the right hands, to drive economic growth and wealth creation. Also, Ghana is a particular example in Africa, therefore careful attention should be given to details such as political stability and institutional systems. The author should rely, if possible, on local access to information, and use the local language to bring to light some new information that otherwise would be impossible to discover. The recommended design of the research is a grounded theory approach, where the author will attempt to use a mix of secondary data analysis (e.g. Official documents, public discourses of government regarding oil industry, etc.) and structured interviews with local entrepreneurs. References Van Gyampo, R.E. (2011), Saving Ghana from Its Oil: A critical Assessment of Preparations so Far Made, Africa Today, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 48-69; Gyimah-Boadi, E., Kwasi Prempeh, H. (2012), Oil, Politics, and Ghana’s Democracy, Journal of Democracy, bol. 23, no. 3, pp. 94-108; Hart, K. (2007), Small-scale entrepreneurs in Ghana and development planning, The Journal of Development Studies, vol. 6, no. 4 Kapela, J.M. (2009), Ghana’s new oil: cause for jubilation of prelude to the resource curse, Master’s project, Duke University Wood, T. (2007), The Natural Wealth of Nations: Transformation of Oil- and Gas-Producing Economies, Cisco White Paper, 2007

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Jodi Arias - 1164 Words

Jodi Arias: Admitted Killer Topic: Jodi Arias General Purpose: Informing about the Murder Case Specific Purpose: I want to inform everyone on Jodi Ariass background, the murder incident, and her fate. I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Some of you may have heard of a woman named Jodi Arias who killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander on ABC News, Nancy Grace, or some mainstream news reporting shows. One thing I can say about learning this case is that you need to be careful about who you choose to lay in bed with at night or who you date because looks, emotions, and physical attraction can be deceiving. It doesnt matter how innocent someone looks or how fast you two connect, there could be an axe murder penned up inside of them.†¦show more content†¦Until she told him that they were from a restaurant she bartended at called Margaritaville which later court found was a lie and that there was no such restaurant in the area. C. Main Point III: Discovery June 9, 2008, Traviss group of friends came over to look for him and found him deceased in his bedroom shower. They called 9-1-1 and explained what they had found. Traviss body was found stabbed nearly 30 times, slit in the throat nearly decapitating him, and shot in the head. Transition- Everyone was shocked but most of Traviss friends knew it was Jodi. IV. Body III. A. Main Point I: Friends turned in Jodi When his friends called 9-1-1, they told the authorities that Travis had been complaining about Jodi stalking him, slashing his tires, and hacking his Facebook which then made her the culprit. B. Main Point II: Traviss last blog Two weeks before the murder, his last blog said This type of dating is like a very long interview. Desperately trying to find out if my date has an axe murderer penned up inside of her. I assumed that would come from either paranoia of dating other girls, after he saw what Jodi became when they had broken up. Or it could have been that he was talking about Jodi herself and referring to her stalkerish, jealous, and out-of-control behavior. Transition: Travis had amazing family and friends who demanded justice . V. Body IV. A. Main Point I. The fate of Jodi Arias AsShow MoreRelatedJodi Arias Trial Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of the Homicide Trial of Jodi Arias By Robert Davis Professor Lauren Burke CCJS 100 6382 University of Maryland University College March 8, 2013 â€Æ' Robert Davis Professor Burke CCJS 100 March 8, 2013 Analysis of the Homicide Trial of Jodi Arias The criminal justice system ensures the safety and protection of society from criminal offenders. The process of the criminal justice system begins when a criminal offense is reported to law enforcement officials. 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