Booker T. Washington, Early Black Leader and Educator

Booker T. Washington, Early Black Leader and Educator Booker T. Washington (April 5, 1856–November 14, 1915) was a prominent black educator, author, and leader of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into slavery, Washington rose to a position of power and influence, founding the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881 and overseeing its growth into a well-respected black university. Washington was a controversial figure in his time and since, criticized for being too accommodating on the issues of segregation and equal rights. Fast Facts: Booker T. Washington Known For: Born a slave, Washington became a prominent black educator and leader during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founding the Tuskegee Institute.Also Known As: Booker Taliaferro Washington; The Great AccommodatorBorn: April 5, 1856 (the only record of this birthdate was in a now-lost family Bible) in Hales Ford, VirginiaParents: Jane and unknown father, described in Washingtons autobiography as a white man who lived on one of the nearby plantations.Died: November 14, 1915 in Tuskegee, AlabamaEducation: As a child laborer, after the Civil War, Washington attended school at night and then school for one hour a day. At 16, he attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. He attended the Wayland Seminary for six months.Published Works:  Up From Slavery, The Story of My Life and Work, The Story of the Negro: The Rise of the Race from Slavery, My Larger Education, The Man Farthest DownAwards and Honors: First black American to receive an honorary degree from Harv ard University (1896). First black American invited to dine at the White House, with President Theodore Roosevelt (1901).Spouses: Fanny Norton Smith Washington, Olivia Davidson Washington, Margaret Murray WashingtonChildren: Portia, Booker T. Jr., Ernest, adopted niece of Margaret Murray WashingtonNotable Quote: In all things that are purely social we [blacks and whites] can be separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. Early Life Booker T. Washington was born in April 1856 on a small farm in Hales Ford, Virginia. He was given the middle name Taliaferro but no last name. His mother Jane was a slave and worked as the plantation cook.  In Washingtons autobiography, he wrote that his father- whom he never knew - was a white man, possibly from a neighboring plantation. Booker had an older brother, John, also fathered by a white man. Jane and her sons occupied a tiny, one-room cabin. Their dreary home lacked proper windows and had no beds for its occupants. Bookers family rarely had enough to eat and sometimes resorted to theft to supplement their meager provisions. Around 1860, Jane married Washington Ferguson, a slave from a nearby plantation. Booker later took the first name of his stepfather as his last name. During the Civil War, the slaves on Bookers plantation, like many slaves in the South, continued to work for the owner even after the issuance of Lincolns 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865 after the war ended, Booker T. Washington and his family moved to Malden, West Virginia, where Bookers stepfather had found a job as a salt packer for the local salt works. Working in the Mines Living conditions in their new home were no better than those back at the plantation. Nine-year-old Booker worked alongside their stepfather packing salt into barrels. He despised the work but did learn to recognize numbers by taking note of those written on the sides of the salt barrels. Like many former slaves during the post-Civil War era, Booker longed to learn how to read and write. When a black school opened in a nearby community, Booker begged to go. His stepfather refused, insisting that the family needed the money he brought in from the salt packing. Booker eventually found a way to attend school at night. When he was 10, his stepfather took him out of school and sent him to work in the nearby coal mines. From  Miner to Student In 1868, 12-year-old Booker T. Washington found a job as a houseboy in the home of the wealthiest couple in Malden, General Lewis Ruffner, and his wife Viola. Mrs. Ruffner was known for her high standards and strict manner. Washington, responsible for cleaning the house and other chores, impressed Mrs. Ruffner, a former teacher, with his sense of purpose and a commitment to improving himself. She allowed him to attend school for an hour a day. Determined to continue his education, 16-year-old Washington left the Ruffner household in 1872 to attend Hampton Institute, a school for blacks in Virginia. After traveling over 300 miles- by train, stagecoach, and on foot- Washington arrived at Hampton Institute in October of that year. Miss Mackie, the principal at Hampton, was not entirely convinced that the young country boy deserved a place at her school. She asked Washington to clean and sweep a recitation room for her; he did the job so thoroughly that Miss Mackie pronounced him fit for admission. In his memoir Up From Slavery, Washington later referred to that experience as his college examination. Hampton Institute To pay his room and board, Washington worked as a janitor at Hampton Institute. Rising early in the morning to build the fires in the school rooms, Washington also stayed up late every night to complete his chores and work on his studies. Washington greatly admired the headmaster at Hampton, General Samuel C. Armstrong, and considered him his mentor and role model. Armstrong, a veteran of the Civil War, ran the institute like a military academy, conducting daily drills and inspections. Although academic studies were offered at Hampton, Armstrong placed emphasis on teaching trades. Washington embraced all that Hampton Institute offered him, but he was drawn to a teaching career rather than a trade. He worked on his oratory skills, becoming a valued member of the schools debate society. At his 1875 commencement, Washington was among those called upon to speak. A reporter from The New York Times was present at the commencement and praised the speech given by 19-year-old Washington in his column the following day. First Teaching Job Booker T. Washington returned to Malden after his graduation with his newly acquired teaching certificate. He was hired to teach at the school in Tinkersville, the same school he had himself attended before Hampton Institute. By 1876, Washington was teaching hundreds of students- children during the day and adults at night. During his early years of teaching, Washington developed a philosophy toward the advancement of blacks. He believed in achieving the betterment of his race by strengthening the character of his students and teaching them a useful trade or occupation. By doing so, Washington believed, blacks would assimilate more easily into white society, proving themselves an essential part of that society. After three years of teaching, Washington appears to have gone through a period of uncertainty in his early 20s. He abruptly and inexplicably quit his post, enrolling in a Baptist theological school in Washington, D.C. Washington quit after only six months and rarely ever mentioned this period of his life. Tuskegee Institute In February 1879, Washington was invited by General Armstrong to give the spring commencement speech at Hampton Institute that year. His speech was so impressive and so well received that Armstrong offered him a teaching position at his alma mater. Washington began teaching night classes in the fall of 1879. Within months of his arrival at Hampton, night enrollment tripled. In 1881, General Armstrong was asked by a group of educational commissioners from Tuskegee, Alabama for the name of a qualified white man to run their new school for blacks. The general instead suggested Washington for the job. At only 25 years old, former slave Booker T. Washington became the principal of what would become Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. When he arrived at Tuskegee in June 1881, however, Washington found that the school had not yet been built. State funding was earmarked only for teachers salaries, not for supplies or the building of the facility. Washington quickly found a suitable plot of farmland for his school and raised enough money for a down payment. Until he could secure the deed to that land, he held classes in an old shack adjacent to a black Methodist church. The first classes began an astonishing 10 days after Washingtons arrival. Gradually, once the farm was paid for, the students enrolled at the school helped repair the buildings, clear the land, and plant vegetable gardens. Washington received books and supplies donated by his friends at Hampton. As word spread of the great strides made by Washington at Tuskegee, donations began to come in, mainly from people in the north who supported the education of freed slaves. Washington went on a fundraising tour throughout the northern states, speaking to church groups and other organizations. By May 1882, he had collected enough money to construct a large new building on the Tuskegee campus. (During the schools first 20 years, 40 new buildings would be constructed on campus, most of them by student labor.) Marriage, Fatherhood, and Loss In August 1882, Washington married Fanny Smith, a young woman who had just graduated from Hampton. A great asset to her husband, Fanny became very successful at raising money for Tuskegee Institute and arranged many dinners and benefits. In 1883, Fanny gave birth to the couples daughter Portia. Sadly, Washingtons wife died the following year of unknown causes, leaving him a widower at only 28 years old. In 1885, Washington married again. His new wife, 31-year-old Olivia Davidson, was the lady principal of Tuskegee at the time of their marriage. (Washington held the title administrator.) They had two children together- Booker T. Jr. (born in 1885) and Ernest (born in 1889). Olivia Washington developed health problems after the birth of their second child and she died of a respiratory ailment in 1889 at the age of 34. Washington had lost two wives within a period of only six years. Washington married his third wife, Margaret Murray, in 1892. She, too, was the lady principal at Tuskegee. She helped Washington run the school and care for his children and accompanied him on his many fundraising tours. In later years, she was active in several black womens organizations. Margaret and Washington were married until his death. They had no biological children together but adopted Margarets orphaned niece in 1904. The Growth of Tuskegee Institute As Tuskegee Institute continued to grow both in enrollment and in reputation, Washington nonetheless found himself in the constant struggle of trying to raise money to keep the school afloat. Gradually, however, the school gained statewide recognition and became a source of pride for Alabamans, leading the Alabama legislature to allocate more funds toward the salaries of instructors. The school also received grants from philanthropic foundations that supported education for blacks. Tuskegee Institute offered academic courses but placed the greatest emphasis on industrial education, focusing on practical skills that would be valued in the southern economy such as farming, carpentry, blacksmithing, and building construction. Young women were taught housekeeping, sewing, and mattress-making. Always on the lookout for new money-making ventures, Washington conceived the idea that Tuskegee Institute could teach brick-making to its students, and eventually make money selling its bricks to the community. Despite several failures in the early stages of the project, Washington persisted- and eventually succeeded. The Atlanta Compromise Speech By the 1890s, Washington had become a well-known and popular speaker, although his speeches were considered controversial by some. For instance, he delivered a speech at Fisk University in Nashville in 1890 in which he criticized black ministers as uneducated and morally unfit. His remarks generated a firestorm of criticism from the black community, but he refused to retract any of his statements. In 1895, Washington delivered the speech that brought him great fame. Speaking in Atlanta at the Cotton States and International Exposition, Washington addressed the issue of racial relations in the United States. The speech came to be known as The Atlanta Compromise. Washington expressed his firm belief that blacks and whites should work together to achieve economic prosperity and racial harmony. He urged southern whites to give black businessmen a chance to succeed in their endeavors. What Washington did not support, however, was any form of legislation that would promote or mandate racial integration or equal rights. In a nod to segregation, Washington proclaimed: In all things that are purely social, we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. His speech was widely praised by southern whites, but many in the black community were critical of his message and accused Washington of being too accommodating to whites, earning him the name The Great Accommodator. Tour of Europe and Autobiography Washington gained international acclaim during a tour of Europe in 1899. Washington gave speeches to various organizations and socialized with leaders and celebrities, including Queen Victoria and Mark Twain. Before leaving for the trip, Washington stirred up controversy when asked to comment upon the murder of a black man in Georgia who had been strung up and burned alive. He declined to comment on the horrific incident, adding that he believed that education would prove to be the cure for such actions. His tepid response was condemned by many black Americans. In 1900, Washington formed the National Negro Business League (NNBL), with the goal of promoting black-owned businesses. The following year, Washington published his successful autobiography, Up From Slavery. The popular book found its way into the hands of several philanthropists, resulting in many large donations to Tuskegee Institute. Washingtons autobiography remains in print to this day and is considered by many historians to be one of the most inspirational books written by a black American. The stellar reputation of the institute brought in many notable speakers, including industrialist Andrew Carnegie and feminist Susan B. Anthony. Famed agricultural scientist George Washington Carver became a member of the faculty and taught at Tuskegee for nearly 50 years. Dinner With President Roosevelt Washington found himself at the center of controversy once again in October 1901, when he accepted an invitation from President Theodore Roosevelt to dine at the White House. Roosevelt had long admired Washington and had even sought his advice on a few occasions. Roosevelt felt it only fitting that he invite Washington to dinner. But the very notion that the president had dined with a black man at the White House created a furor among whites- both northerners and southerners. (Many blacks, however, took it as a sign of progress in the quest for racial equality.) Roosevelt, stung by the criticism, never again issued an invitation. Washington benefited from the experience, which seemed to seal his status as the most important black man in America. Later Years Washington continued to draw criticism for his accommodationist policies. Two of his greatest critics were William Monroe Trotter, a prominent black newspaper editor and activist, and W.E.B. Du Bois, a black faculty member at Atlanta University. Du Bois criticized Washington for his narrow views on the race issue and for his reluctance to promote an academically strong education for blacks. Washington saw his power and relevance dwindle in his later years. As he traveled around the globe giving speeches, Washington seemed to ignore glaring problems in America, such as race riots, lynchings, and the disenfranchisement of black voters in many southern states. Although Washington later spoke out more forcefully against discrimination, many blacks would not forgive him for his willingness to compromise with whites at the cost of racial equality. At best, he was viewed as a relic from another era; at worst, a hindrance to the advancement of his race. Death Washingtons frequent travel and busy lifestyle eventually took a toll on his health. He developed high blood pressure and kidney disease in his 50s and became seriously ill while on a trip to New York in November 1915. Insisting that he die at home, Washington boarded a train with his wife for Tuskegee. He was unconscious when they arrived and died a few hours later on November 14, 1915, at the age of 59. Booker T. Washington was buried on a hill overlooking the Tuskegee campus in a brick tomb built by students. Legacy From a slave to the founder of a black university, Booker T. Washingtons life traces the vast changes undergone and distances traversed by black Americans after the Civil War and into the twentieth century. He was an educator, prolific writer, orator, adviser to presidents, and considered the most prominent black American at the height of his career. His accommodationist approach to advancing the economic lives and rights of black in America was controversial even in its own time and remains controversial to this day. Sources Harlan, Louis R. Booker T. Washington: The Making of a Black Leader, 1856–1901. Oxford, 1972.Wells, Jeremy. â€Å"Booker T. Washington (1856–1915).† Encyclopedia Virginia.

The Great Permian-Triassic Extinction

The Great Permian-Triassic Extinction The greatest mass extinction of the last 500 million years or Phanerozoic Eon happened 250 million years ago, ending the Permian Period and beginning the Triassic Period. More than nine-tenths of all species disappeared, far exceeding the toll of the later, more familiar Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. For many years not much was known about the Permian-Triassic (or P-Tr) extinction. But starting in the 1990s, modern studies have stirred the pot, and now the P-Tr is a field of ferment and controversy. Fossil Evidence of the Permian-Triassic Extinction The fossil record shows that many lines of life went extinct both before and at the P-Tr boundary, especially in the sea. Most notable were the trilobites, the graptolites, and the tabulate and rugose corals. Almost completely exterminated were the radiolarians, brachiopods, ammonoids, crinoids, ostracodes and conodonts. Floating species (plankton) and swimming species (nekton) suffered more extinctions than bottom-dwelling species (benthos). Species that had calcified shells (of calcium carbonate) were penalized; creatures with chitin shells or no shells did better. Among the calcified species, those with thinner shells and those with more ability to control their calcification tended to survive. On land, the insects had severe losses. A great peak in the abundance of fungus spores marks the P-Tr boundary, a sign of massive plant and animal death. Higher animals and land plants underwent significant extinctions, though not as devastating as in the marine setting. Among the four-legged animals (tetrapods), the ancestors of the dinosaurs came through the best. The Triassic Aftermath The world recovered very slowly after the extinction. A small number of species had large populations, rather like the handful of weed species that fill an empty lot. Fungus spores continued to be abundant. For millions of years, there were no reefs and no coal beds. Early Triassic rocks show completely undisturbed marine sediments- nothing was burrowing in the mud. Many marine species, including the dasyclad algae and calcareous sponges, disappeared from the record for millions of years, then reappeared looking just the same. Paleontologists call these Lazarus species (after the man Jesus revived from death). Presumably they lived on in sheltered places from which no rocks have been found. Among the shelly benthic species, the bivalves and gastropods became dominant, as they are today. But for 10 million years they were very small. The brachiopods, which had completely dominated the Permian seas, nearly vanished. On land the Triassic tetrapods were dominated by the mammal-like Lystrosaurus, which had been obscure during the Permian. Eventually the first dinosaurs arose, and the mammals and amphibians became small creatures. Lazarus species on land included the conifers and ginkgos. Geologic Evidence of the Permian-Triassic Extinction Many different geologic aspects of the extinction period have been documented recently: Salinity in the sea fell sharply during the Permian for the first time, changing oceanic physics to make deep water circulation more difficult.The atmosphere went from very high oxygen content (30%) to very low (15%) during the Permian.The evidence shows global warming AND glaciations near the P-Tr.Extreme erosion of the land suggests that ground cover disappeared.Dead organic matter from the land flooded the seas, pulling dissolved oxygen from the water and leaving it anoxic at all levels.A geomagnetic reversal occurred near the P-Tr.A series of great volcanic eruptions was building up a gigantic body of basalt called the Siberian Traps. Some researchers argue for a cosmic impact at P-Tr time, but the standard evidence of impacts is missing or disputed. The geologic evidence fits an impact explanation, but it does not demand one. Instead the blame seems to fall on volcanism, as it does for other mass extinctions. The Volcanic Scenario Consider the stressed biosphere late in the Permian: low oxygen levels restricted land life to low elevations. Ocean circulation was sluggish, raising the risk of anoxia. And the continents sat in a single mass (Pangea) with a reduced diversity of habitats. Then great eruptions begin in what is Siberia today, starting the largest of Earths large igneous provinces (LIPs). These eruptions release huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur gases (SOx). In the short term the SOx cools the Earth while in the longer term the CO2 warms it. The SOx also creates acid rain while CO2 entering the seawater makes it harder for calcified species to build shells. Other volcanic gases destroy the ozone layer. And finally, magma rising through coal beds releases methane, another greenhouse gas. (A novel hypothesis argues that the methane was instead produced by microbes that acquired a gene enabling them to eat organic matter in the seafloor.) With all of this happening to a vulnerable world, most life on Earth could not survive. Luckily it has never been quite this bad since then. But global warming poses some of the same threats today.

Organizational Behavior Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Behavior - Term Paper Example It is mainly the human resource department that has to develop diversity related program. However, organizational diversity is not possible without the support of the senior management. Firms that are able to embrace this diversity and over that realize the benefits from it are the ones that benefit from such workforce diversity. Large multinational today are working with employees coming from different culture and countries and they are successful at the same time. Communication is the exchange of information or ideas from one party to another. Organizations cannot operate if there is no effective communication. It is the life source in any company because the organization is made of people who need to interact in order to work together. It creates mutual trust and understanding among the management and the employees else the production can come to a halt with ambiguous information and miscommunication (Daft, 2001). Effective communication helps to promulgate and clear the goals and interests of the organization in all the workers. For example if there is no effective communication then the employees would not know the goals therefore they will not work hard to achieve them which will impact the productivity. They will not know their responsibility, the supervisor will not be able to give feedback to the employees, and the manager will not be able to train the employees. The effects of absence of effective communication are endless, as the organization increases in size communication can end up being part of diseconomies of scale. This is why firms tend to focus on the communication channels in an organization be it a small or large business. Business ethics is the behavior of the firms in dealing with their day to day operations. This is related to morals and principles. This principle is not confined towards the interaction of a business enterprise towards the economy as a whole but also towards a single individual. The concept gained more popularity in the 21st century due to the awareness in people as well as the emergence of pressure groups who are taking an active role in standing against such corporations who are violating the laws pertaining to their business ethics (Robbins & Judge, 2004). There are many top global brands around the world that have been fined millions of dollars as they have broken the ethical and antitrust laws. Apart from that they have a negative reputation among the consumers. The problem is that the amount of dollars that they get fined is way less than what they earn therefore they continue with their way of doing business. This indicates that money is the driving force in all this. The businesses gain in the short term but on the whole it undermines the economy. US Rep. David Scott was fined by the state ethics commission $7500 for the use of campaign money for the personal use. This was against the ethics commission.Change management is a common word used in organizations these days. It is a systematic way of incorporating the change within an organization for the most effective outcomes. An organization has to implement the changes in the

U.S. Adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards Research Paper

U.S. Adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards - Research Paper Example Both US GAAP and the IFRS serve the same purpose of providing relevant financial information to the users of it, the only difference being in the objectives for which they operate. The US GAAP has separate sets of objectives for business firms and non business users while the IFRS has the same sole objective for all of it users. The following paper examines the pros and cons of the IFRS standards which is about to be implemented in the United States and tries to establish which one of the two is better from the overall perspective (IFRSUSA, 2011). The US GAAP based accounting system is based on a rule based method of accounting which might have both advantages as well as disadvantages. However, when compared to the IFRS method of accounting practice, the GAAP principle is more of a strictly controlled approach which requires that each transaction is recorded as per the rule stated for its accounting even if such maintenance might be misleading and does not allow for comparison between various industries even if the type of transactions are similar. GAAP accounting also increases the risk of non compliance of the stated rules of accounting because it is extremely difficult to defend your position whenever a GAAP rule is not followed. IFRS might be based on principles of accounting rather than stated rules mandated to be followed. This format certainly has more advantages associated with accounting practices more because principles provide a base for a basis of accounting allowing the freedom to companies to choose from among the best way of accounts maintenance possible. Defined and clarified principles allow for a more clear way of accounting and reporting transactions such that making comparisons between companies and similar transactions is facilitated. Such principle basis does not differentiate based on industries and also allows companies to defend their accounting reporting

British Television Essay Example for Free

British Television Essay Soap opera is the most popular genre of television programming across the globe and has been the leading favourite of British television for the past forty-six years. The trend evolved from the radio soap operas of the 1930s and 1940s, surfacing first in the United States and later spreading across the world. It attracted large audiences consisting mainly of female listeners and with the growing popularity of television it soon became firmly rooted on the screen. The long running Coronation Street was the first British soap opera to make a significant impact on UK drama in 1960s. Its aim was to target mainly working class people in creating a microcosm of the working world we live in, focusing on realism as opposed to the escapism forms of the American soaps. In order to conclude on whether the dominance of this genre is beneficial or detrimental to the future welfare of British drama, Im going to study the pros and cons of soap opera as a form of British Television. Over the years soap operas have been continuously praised and condemned by the general public and despite of its popularity the genre continues to carry the connotation of a degraded cultural form of television drama. There is the common belief that soap operas are for those with simple tastes and limited capacities, for the content and style of them are unable to truly challenge the viewers in the same way that the more serious single drama can. However, it is a known fact that soap opera is the most complex narrative form of all television drama requiring prior knowledge from its audience. David Buckingham (Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience) mentions the mental demands that soap operas require from a viewer focusing on the ability to recall past events when cued, to look into the future and speculate about forth coming events and to use the multi-plot narrative for lateral reference. Hence although the content may not be truly challenging it would be wrong to say that soap operas require nothing from their audiences for it is a general assumption that the average viewer is a fan of the show. Yet, it has been labelled as little more than chewing gum for the eyes (Richard Kilborn in Television Soaps), a harmful and corrupting product of broadcasting that feeds the soap viewers addictions with the so-called mindless forms of entertainment they offer. Issues of influence over audience and the affects that the content may have on its viewers cause much controversy. There is the belief that as an active audience we are in control and therefore choose whether we watch something more challenging or something that we can watch unfold in front of us, no questions required. For this reason we also have the ability to see whats real and what isnt, and yet, we have the concern of cultivation differential, where the viewer begins to accept the values portrayed in the soap operas as their own, or more so than the values of the world we live in. We must ask ourselves then whether soap operas are an accurate portrait of life today and with regards to this, how harmful can the programmes be if the audience begins to take the soaps values as their own? British soaps are watched for their realism having become our virtual communities, doing more to break down social and class boundaries than any government leader could ever do (Mal Young, BBC Televisions head of drama series). They cover a diverse range of issues, in particular domestic, from storylines of health, relationships, business and family, to the ever so popular murder and death. Based, for the most part, on problems experienced within personal relationships and family life the content of the soap is fundamentally humanised, and thus we find the lifestyles led on screen are not so different from our own. They attempt to represent the realities of a working class life and confront many of the problems faced in our society, exploring all the different possibilities and affects of such struggles but never claiming to offer a single solution. The realism of these soaps is emphasised more so by the reasonably slow pace at which the narrative is allowed to progress appearing more or less to be unravelling in real time. Viewers can often identify with the stereotype characters of the drama series that become almost existent to them. However, there are much bigger dramas in our world than domestic murder and by resorting to melodrama its as if we are choosing a more safe and cosy view of society. So, should our soap operas be more demanding of their audiences, and should they be tackling greater issues becoming more like the golden ages of television when the programmes were revolutionary, making an impact on the viewers? I would argue that times have changed and soap operas, whether focusing on realism or glamorous escapism, are a form of harmless therapy for viewers to turn to, becoming a part of that world and forgetting theirs. It is in single drama that we look to be challenged and if soaps began to address the more serious issues, encouraging us to question and think then I feel the need for single drama would soon disappear. Its not so much the form or content of soap operas that may be detrimental to future welfare of British drama, but the way is dominates our television schedules. The real danger is that other forms of drama with perhaps more important/ meaningful messages may be overlooked and that is where we may lose revolutionary television. Its alarming how many hours of soaps and docu-soaps (reality programmes) are choking up vast swathes of airtime like pondweed (Adam Sweeting: Soap Springs Eternal: Guardian website). The former values of Lord Reith seem almost non-existent, for the once precious airtime to show variety is now seen as a mere tool for audience shares. The domination of this phenomenon has led television companies to believe that the somewhat cheap and open ended formats of soap operas are a much safer option than striving to make new original programmes with a challenging voice. The soaps do what they do well, but that doesnt mean that should be the only form of drama on T. V, or that they should be the only sources of good, interesting actors (Christine Geraghty ). Soap operas are beneficial in that they tackle the smaller issues in our society leaving room for other forms of drama to make greater impacts with more challenging storylines, confronting the greater political issues like terrorism and racism. The fact that soap operas are continuous and avoid narrative closure would make it more difficult, I believe, to create a strong drama series about a deeply serious and ongoing issue. They are good at showing the domestic issues that many encounter and should rest at that. What is destructive to the welfare of British drama is that television companies are now avoiding more challenging storylines and forms of drama with the fear that they will lose money. Soap operas can easily recover but a single drama either works or flops. I feel that a balance is needed in that we have our intake of soap operas but there are so many crowding our television airtime that any more would be a waste and hinder other forms of more serious drama. I find myself also questioning the continuity of its popularity, for if there are too many soap operas then we see the same issues occurring again and again. The interest may soon die as we seek for more challenging material and thus, the necessity for a balance is vital, in having airtime for escaping into another world, realistic or not, without having to think to much, and having time for the more serious programmes where we are left questioning.

The History and Objectives of Sex pre-Selection Essay -- Exploratory E

The History and Objectives of Sex pre-Selection Scientists have been aware for many years that dominant X-chromosomes produced females and sperm dominate Y-chromosomes produced males. However, it wasn’t until 1975 when scientist Ronald J. Ericsson, PhD. Began studies to determine whether or not enriched sperm samples would aid in the offspring of a desired gender. Sex pre-selection literally means the selection or induction of the gender of a child prior to conception. Sex pre-selection was first established in the 1970s which scientists stained X and Y sperms to successfully identify them. Rigorous work has been complied on this treatment in the last three decades due to increasing demand from society for the â€Å"balanced family† and â€Å"planned pregnancy† with regards to the â€Å"chosen baby.† The concepts pf sex selection can easily be traced back to the ancient times of China, Greece, Egypt and India. People of these communities had their own methods of convincing a baby of a desired gender. Many methods and approaches used during the ancient times are still u...

Organic Food vs Genetically Modified Food Essay

AWARENESS of organic products has come a long way over the past 12 years, according to Billy Bond, owner of Organic Larder. The Malop St grocery store, which sells high-quality certified organic and bio-dynamic produce, was opened in 2000. Business is booming. Mr Bond said he opened the business when organic products were â€Å"a bit of an unknown† in Geelong but his store was thriving as consumers switched to sustainable living. â€Å"Now there is a lot more education and media coverage about being sustainable and doing something for the environment,† he said. â€Å"People are much more conscious of their environmental footprint. † Mr Bond said the focus on organic food was particularly important, because it related directly to consumers’ health. â€Å"A lot of young mums decide to pay specific attention to the food intake of their kids these days because they are starting to realise that environmentally-sustainable choices are usually healthy choices,† he said. Another reason for choosing organic food was knowing exactly what you’re eating. â€Å"Supermarkets these days have very loose labelling guidelines,† he said. â€Å"If all the ingredients in a product come from overseas but it’s just put together in Australia they are allowed to say it’s made here, but that’s very deceiving. † A large focus of Mr Bond’s business is placed on supporting local producers and growers, with an emphasis on quality and nutritional value. â€Å"We want people to know what they’re getting when they come here so they can make sustainable choices,† he said. He believes the increasing popularity of organic and sustainable items will lead to supermarkets being held accountable for their products. â€Å"People are starting to ask questions and they want to know more about the products they are using. Hopefully this will lead to labelling laws being changed and big supermarkets selling more organic products,† he said. More classrooms, labs focusing on research, instruction Section: Money, Pg. 02b The organic food industry, which has more than quadrupled its sales in the USA in the last decade, is getting more attention in university classrooms and research labs. The U. S. Department of Agriculture has put an unprecedented $117 million into organic research in the last three years. Advocates are pushing for a bigger share in a new five-year farm bill Congress expects to pass this year. The amount of research on organics still is dwarfed by the more than $10 billion annually spent on public and private agricultural research in the USA. A new report by the Organic Farming Research Foundation says the number of states that have devoted land for organic research nearly doubled from 2003 to 2011 to 37. Universities offering academic programs in organic farming jumped from zero to nine, says the OFRF, which supports organic farmers and processors. The group says the universities of Florida, Tennessee and Minnesota, and Washington State, Michigan State and Colorado State universities are doing the best among 72 schools it judged on eight measures of organic farming research and instruction. â€Å"The organic industry is just the fastest-growing sector in agriculture right now,† says David Butler, an assistant professor of organic, sustainable and alternative crop production at the University of Tennessee. â€Å"There are a lot of small producers interested in organic crops, just to capture the greater dollar for their crops and make a living on a smaller piece of land. † About 14,600 farmers are certified under USDA organic regulations for agreeing not to use synthetic fertilizer or genetic engineering, among other requirements. The USDA hopes to increase that number by 20% over five years. Recruiting more organic farmers is also part of the USDA’s efforts to replace an aging farmer population with at least 100,000 new farmers overall. The Organic Trade Association says sales of organic products rose from $7. 4 billion in 2001 to $31. 4 billion in 2011 and increased from about 1. 4% to 4% of total U. S. food sales. The rise in demand comes from health and environmental concerns and what Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan calls â€Å"this growing desire of people wanting to know how their food was produced, and who produced it. † Maureen Wilmot, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, which has awarded about $2. 75 million in small research grants in the last decade, says public universities are not meeting research needs for rising organic demand. Merrigan says the organic industry’s growth has led to innovations for non-organic producers. â€Å"Organic farmers in many ways have been research pioneers,† she says.