Environmental Factors Leading to Civilization Along the Nile Essay Example for Free

Environmental Factors Leading to Civilization Along the Nile Essay A. ) The two most significant environmental or physical geographic factors that contributed to the development and expansion of the United states had to be the Gold Rush, and the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish potato famine was devistating to Ireland and laid waste to its population, but ended up spurring Irish immigration to the United States, leading to both growth and expansion. The gold rush that took hold in the United States was one of the biggest factors that pushed people west and lead to a greater settlement of the west coast and all areas between. These two major events helped to shape the country that we know today. The Irish Potato Famine was one of the most significant environmental factors that helped develope and expand the United States because it not only lead to a population swell, but contrubuted to our work force due to the large number of immigrants that came to the U. S. as a result of it. Before the famine, the Catholic Irish peasents lived a very poor lifestyle and were constantly under fear of being evicted by their land lords as their farms were downsized and their rents were raised. They grew potato crops in the fertile Irish soil and used those crops to pay their rents and feed their families. This was many families sole source of income and nutrition. When the potato famine began in September of 1845, the potato crops failed universaly in Ireland, something that had never happened before. The poor Irish had been acustomed to a bad crop in a spot or two and they always had adjusted to circumstances before, and there was little loss of life over this previously. From 1845 and for the next 4 years, the crops would fail repeatedly and this caused wide-spread death, from both starvation and opportunistic infections such as typhus, that mowed people down by the thousands in their hunger weakend condition. There were many theories about just why the crops failed, both superstitious and religious, but we know now that it was the fault of a fungus, carried on the winds from England where it had been brough over by the North American ships. This fungus, phytophthora infestans, florished in the damp cool climate of Ireland and consistently ruined the potato crops. By 1847, two years into the Irish Potato Famine, people began to seek greener pastures either as a result of eviction, or the promise of a new and better life in the United States. There had been Irish imigration prior to this, but 1847 was really the first year where major waves of Irish families began to come to the United States. This lead to a population explosion on the eastern coast of the United States and the Irish immigrants who lived through the voyage found little welcome, often being taken advantage of and stolen from. The Irish immigrants brough with them new ideas about culture and religion and provided laborers for road work and other tasks that helped expand the United States. The Civil War is another event in wich the Irish took part. The immigrants joined the Union Army in droves and some atribute the northern victory in that war to the seemingly endless supply of Union troops, composed largely of the immigrant population flooding into the United States at that time. How different would our country be had the famine not happened and the immigrants not come? The other major event that contributed to the expansion and developement of the United States was the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush was an exciting time in the history of the United States. It lead to a huge amount of expansion and settlement of the western-most poritions of the United States that were largely under-explored wilderness at that time. In May of 1848 gold was found along the banks of the American River near Sacramento, California. By August of that same year the New York Herald published an article about these findings, and so the Gold Rush was born! Men flocked to California to seek their fortunes in the hopes of a better life for themselves and thier families. They left their wives and children and came over land and by sea via Panama. Prospectors seeking to strike it rich brought with them their American ideals and values, and are a big part of the reason that California became a state in 1850. The California gold fields were an exciting and dangerous place to be, with few laws and really no way to inforce those that they had. Prostitution and drunken brawls and shootings were common place and many-a-fortune was won and lost in gambeling at camp. Most prospectors did not, in fact, strike it rich and left disallusioned to either go back to their families, or to settle the area around San Francisco. As a result of the Gold Rush, Californias population swelled from just 25,000 people to well over 220,000, when all was said and done. The population increase helped to settle the area and made San Fransico a major trade port for the Western United States as well as a gateway of sorts for travel and immigration. The influx of interest and travel in the west also paved the way for industries such as mining for silver in Nevada and the building of a transcontinental railroad to the west. The Gold Rush played a huge part in the expansion and development of the United States in that it had such an impact on California and the west. California and the west coast as a whole just wouldnt be what they are today had the Gold Rush not taken place. B. ) The most significant environmental or physical geographic factor that contributed to the development of Egyptian society was the Nile river. The area in question is made up of harsh, sandy desert and mountains. The river Nile flows down through this area and, due to the run-off from melting snow in the mountains each spring, carries with it rich, fertile soil that is really the only soil in the area suitable for crop production. The people in the area could use this fertile soil to plant crops and, based this new-found dependability, begin to settle and build permanent dwellings and villages. Since the villagers could count on two harvests per year, in most years, this would create and excess of product that could then be used for trade. The area near the Nile river is the only area that is very suitable for a sustainable way of life. That is why civilization grew up there due to the ability to grow crops, domesticate animals, and build permanent dwellings. People no longer had to be nomadic and search out food, they could grow and raise their own! The Nile also had a big impact on the religion of the time. Egyptian religion was ploytheistic and Egyptians worshiped many gods, usually based on nature. They had a sun god, a water god, an earth god, and so-forth. Each year when the Nile river flooded, this encouraged the belief in such gods and their devine will. The destruction that the flooding could cause was thought of as punishment for wrong doing and people created rituals to ward off the anger of their gods. A good crop grown from the soil brought down by the flooding was considered a sign of the gods pleasure with their people. The Niles influence could also be felt in its natural ability to be a trade route for Egypt. The arid desert climate makes it anything but an ideal area to travel through, and many found the river was a swift and cool route over wich to do business. The waters brought not only fertile soil for farming, but a measure of wealth and prosperity that contributed hugely to the growth and developement of the civilization. B1. One example of cultural diffusion is the relationship between Egypt and Rome. After being defeated by Rome, Egypt prospered as a province and was the main residence of Augustus Ceaser. This had a huge cultural impact on Egypt because Augustus began to rule the city under Roman laws and this was a whole new way of doing things. There are also the effects on Rome to look at. Egypt was a boon to the Roman Empire due to the trade routes through the desert, the abundant desert minerals that could be mined and later used to make statues and ornaments, and the glass that could be found in Egypt as well. One would have to wonder how different Grecian art would have been without the natural contributions that were made by Egypt. There was a natural diffusion that took place simply by co-existence with people of a different culture and background. The depictions of Egyptian people and gods began to look more Roman in dress and features and, likewise, the Egyptian architecture such as Obelisks became popular in Roman art and architecture.

Homeschooling: A Growing Trend Essay -- Education, Parents, early edu

Introduction Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially. Parents have been teaching their children at home for centuries. During the 1970s, the interest in homeschooling increased. Legal advocates had lots of opposition when pressing for the legal right to educate their child at home and change compulsory school attendance. The National Education Association fought to place restrictions on home schooling. However, most of the efforts have failed. As a result, homeschooling is legal in every state. Reasons for Homeschooling Growth There are numerous reasons why parents turn to homeschooling. Changes in the families and public schools drive the increase. Public schools grew larger, more bureaucratic, and more impersonal. Parents felt more alienated as the school was less responsive and less adaptive to cultural needs. This was combined with the loss of the Christian culture and curriculum the parents found offensive or against their social values (Gaither, 2008). The major reasons for homeschooling cited by two-thirds of the parents interviewed are concern about the school environment, dissatisfaction with the academic programs, and the desire for religious or moral instruction (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2004). Parents feel ... ...ated, this was not true of the homeschoolers. The homeschoolers also tended to vote more often. They were also involved in more community service than the general population. The homeschoolers were not isolated, but politically and socially active (Ray, 2004). Conclusion There are a growing number of homeschooled students and it appears homeschooling is successful. Most parents homeschool because of the environment, both academic and moral. The states need to insure all children are being educated. However, the requirements vary by state. Michigan is the most liberal, not even requiring homeschoolers to report to the state. The internet has expanded the types of homeschooling. Combined with the availability of the public school system for specialized programs, homeschooling is now a more popular option. Homeschooling will continue to be a growing area.

Analysis of UK and Pakistan Education System Essay

UK is one of the renowned trading power and financial hub of the world, stands at third position in European Union following Germany and France. The agriculture sector of the region is particularly strong and mechanized. Its efficiency can be ensured through the production of 60 percent food needs with only 2 percent of workforce. The region has significant energy resource but due to increasing demands it is importing energy from 2005. The insurance and financial institutes in addition to bank are generating the largest portion of GDP of the region. The recent financial crises particularly influenced the economy of the region during 2008 because of the financial sector of the region (www. cia. gov). Literacy rate of the region is 99 percent while 5. 5 percent of GDP is fixed for the development of education sector. According to such percentage of GDP it stands at 44th position as compare to other countries (www. cia. gov). There were 89 universities and 131 higher education institutes operating till August 2011 (www. universitiesuk. ac. uk). The expansion in higher education system of the region is relatively slow as compared to the other countries competing with the region according to the report of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2007). There are several countries coming up with significantly higher number of college and universities although the growth of education sector in recent years in UK is also remarkable. The increase in the educational institutes positively influence the graduation rate in UK as it was 37 percent during the year 2000 and reached upto 39 percent in 2005. On the other hand the position of the region was dropped from 3rd to 10th position as compare to around 20 countries while considering the educational performance (www. guardian. co. uk). The recent financial crises negatively influenced all the sectors therefore the government was planning to reduce the educational expenses by 25 percent during the upcoming four years. It was mentioned the chancellor that the reduction in the budget for educational sector depends on the treatment with the other sectors which are influencing the budget of the region. No guarantee of not cutting the educational budget was given by the chancellor. It was further mentioned by the government official that the possible saving through reduction in welfare budget may positively facilitate in reducing percentage of cut in educational budget (BBC, 2010). UK is also famous as an esteem education provided all around the world and students of different continents are presently completing their education in UK. Recently the government particularly focus the immigration process of students for making amendments. The seniors of UK education sector that the shift of government towards Tier 4 student immigration program may adversely effect the higher education institutes and the whole economy. The government particularly deployed for deciding about the student visa system of UK according to the new rules and policies. In addition the numbers of immigration given to the skilled workers also threatened the education sector because the student which will not take higher education may reduce the scope of universities and it will be quite difficult for the region to compete with the other countries as far as the educational sector is concerned (www. orkpermit. com). Pakistan is facing severe law and order situation in addition to political disputes which negatively influencing the trend of foreign investment. The recent energy crises are also one of the factors which badly effecting the overall development of economy. The unemployment rate according to the government is 6 percent but the real rate is very high because of the slow economic development. During the recent years the growth of the country significantly reduced while the inflation rate is particularly increasing. On the other hand food prices have also remarkable increased. The UN Human Development Report estimated the poverty during 2011 around 50 percent population. The inflation rate was recorded at 7. 7 percent during 2007 which was crossed 13 percent during the year 2011. The currency value of Pakistan has decreased by 40 percent since 2007 due to such circumstances (www. cia. gov). The education facilities in Pakistan are although developing but still require significant attention to compete with the global market. The literacy rate of the country is very low and estimated as around 50 percent in which 63 percent are males while remaining are females. The government declared 2. 7 percent of annual GDP for the education sector so that further schools can be developed and established according to the need of population. Keeping in view the expenses declared for education sector as compared to the remaining world the country is at 142nd position which is considerably low rank (www. cia. gov). Ministry for education is performing critical role for the development education sector in Pakistan. The key aim is to promote education according to the policies and plans defined by the management of the firm. Under this ministry education policy for 1998-2010 was prepared for significantly focusing the overall development educational sector within Pakistan. In this policy the education of the nation and Islamic knowledge was particularly focused for reasonable development. Literacy, non-formal, elementary, secondary and teacher education were also included. The government particularly focused vocational and technical education in addition to higher education for the students so that the need of the market can be fulfilled. The government also particularly focused the private sector which is consistently and rapidly developing within Pakistan for providing upto the mark quality education to the nation (http://www. moe. gov. pk). The higher education sector of Pakistan is facing problems due to significant reduction in the budget during the last two years (2010 and 2011). Presently the government is spending around 1. 8 percent of its GDP on education and in the world there are only six countries found which are following Pakistan. The upcoming problems for the education sector of Pakistan are further critical as the government has planned to devolve the higher education system to the provinces till 2014. It will be a huge loss to the upcoming generation as the standard of education will be decreased in addition to huge wastage of money invested for the development of the sector. The policies of the government are negatively effecting the development of education sector although there is crucial requirement of central authority which ensures the development of education sector (newsweekpakistan. com).

A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner - 785 Words

In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, Faulkner conveys the issue of involving trying to maintain traditional values and control in a society that is facing a change that is radical and widespread. In this story, Emily is seen as timeless figure that contradicts a society that is trying to build up a more efficient, modern lifestyle. Miss Emily is portrayed as a women who resents change and responds uncomfortably to any force that tries to change her inhibitions. Her house is a portrait of her mindset with the leather covered furniture being described as â€Å"cracked†, and the pillow on which the townspeople found her dead body was â€Å"yellow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight† (par.55). Instead of replacing the furniture with newer polished one, she chooses to use her ‘dark and dusty’ home as shield from the modern transformation of the town. Miss Emily’s refusal to change causes her several disagreements with the local government and law enforcement. Her rejection to the multiple tax notices causes a burden with the newer generation as they are unfamiliar with Miss Emily’s way of law and conduct. This is privy to Miss Emily’s position as well, as she is unfamiliar with the current change in the local power as she is steadfast in her reprisal of Colonel Sartoris’s conduct, unknowledgable (or unwilling to accept) his death ten years before. Some characters are sympathetic, and still respectful to her position in the town as show with Judge Stevens. He concedes to theShow MoreRelatedA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner923 Words   |  4 PagesA Rose for Emily; A Tale of The Old South William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi in 1897 but lived most of his life in Oxford, a small town nearby. After dropping out of high school then briefly joining the Canadian Air Force, he returned home and completed three terms at the University of Mississippi (Fulton 27). During his early twenties Faulkner spent time in New Orleans and Europe before returning to Oxford and publishing his first book of poems. In 1929 he married Estelle FranklinRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1729 Words   |  7 PagesJune 24, 2015 â€Å"A Rose for Emily† In every neighborhood there is always that one house that is a mystery to everyone. A house that everyone wants to know about, but nobody can seem to be able to dig up any answers. It’s the type of place that you would take any opportunity or excuse to get to explore. The littler that is known, the more the curiosity increases about this mysterious place or person. In the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, this mysterious person is Emily Grierson, andRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner949 Words   |  4 PagesIn William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† it is clear how Emily’s gender affects how the individuals in the town perceive her. Emily’s gender particularly affects how men understand her. Throughout the whole piece Emily is seen as a helpless individual who is lonely and has suffered losses throughout her life. When the reader reaches the end of the story the actions that Emily has taken is unexpected because of the way she is perceived by the narrator. In the beginning of the story, when the wholeRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1577 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"A Sarah Markins Dr. Bibby ENG 107 February 11, 2015 â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, written by William Faulkner in 1931, follows a series of peculiar events in Miss Emily Griersons life. Written in third person limited, Faulkner utilizes flashbacks to tell of the period between the death of Emily’s father and her own passing. Split into five short sections, the story starts out with the townspeople of Jefferson remembering Emily’s legacy and how each new generation ofRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1552 Words   |  7 PagesRyan Dunn Mrs. Williams English 11 March 11, 2016 In the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, the reader is given a glimpse of the internal conflict of the main character, living in the past, and the involvement of an over involved society causing the reader to look into the consciousness of an individual haunted by a past and lack of a future. The story is set in a post-Civil War town in the South. He is able to give the reader a glimpse of the practices and attitudes that had unitedRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1507 Words   |  7 Pages1897, William Cuthbert Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi. He stands as one of the most preeminent American writers of the twentieth century. His literary reputation included poetry, novels, short stories, and screenplays. Faulkner won two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction and the Nobel Prize in Literature. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a short fascinating story written by William Faulkner and it was his first short story published in a national m agazine. The story involved an old woman named Emily GriersonRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner883 Words   |  4 PagesIn the timeless classic, â€Å"A rose for Emily† by William Faulkner we are introduced to Emily Grierson, a matured sheltered southern woman; born to a proud, aristocratic family presumably during the American Civil War. Through out the short story William Faulkner uses many literary devices such as symbolism, metaphors and allegory to play with â€Å"time† and how time reflects upon his main character Emily Grierson. Emily being one who denies the ability to see time for what it is linear and unchangeableRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1270 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† thoroughly examines the life of a strange woman name Emily Grierson who lives in the town of Jefferson. If we examine â€Å"A Rose for Emily† in terms of formalist criticism, we see that the story dramatizes through setting, plot, characterization, and symbolism on how Miss Emily’s life is controlled by a possessive love she had for her father and lover. William Faulkner uses Emily’s life as the protagonist to examine from a formalist aspect. In orderRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1780 Words   |  8 PagesIn 1930, William Faulkner wrote a five-part story entitled â€Å"A Rose for Emily† that follows the life of a young woman named Miss Emily Grierson. Faulkner sets his story in the Old South, soon after the ending of America’s Civil War, and represents the decaying values of the Confederacy (Kirszner Mandell, 2013a, p. 244). One of these values which the text portrays quite often in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, is the patriarchal custom of society viewing men as having more importance than their female counterpartsRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1277 Words   |  6 PagesMiss Emily Grierson, the main character in the strange short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† written by William Faulkner. It would be best to examine her in a mental capacity as well as the circumstances that may affect her. Throughout the story, Miss Emily’s unpredictable and eccentric behavior becomes unusual, and the reader, like the townspeople in the story, is left to speculate how Miss Emily has spent years living and sleeping with the body of Homer Barron. An important quote from the story was that