Movie Review - Finding neverland essays

Movie Review - Finding neverland essays 2004, the year of the indie film, has proved to be a year of movie excellence. Artistic creativity and the need for political messages have found themselves at the center and heart of each movie that has been released. Finding Neverland is one such movie that has proven to have shown artistic creativity, while still sharing themes that are important in society. This movie was released in late 2004 amid the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, a time where people are frantically shopping for their Christmas presents and getting caught up in the world of work, so it is no surprise that this movie was not widely seen. Finding Neverland was an overall excellent movie. With the work of some great actors (Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, and new comer Freddie Highmore) this movie soared into the skies amidst the idle and weak structure. It is the Story of one man (James M. Barrie), who after meeting a widowed women and her four fatherless boys, decides to write the play Peter Pan. But it is much more than this simple plot line. Finding Neverland traverses both fantasy and everyday reality, melding the difficulties and heartbreak of adult life with the spellbinding allure and childlike innocence of the boy who never grows up. (Miramax) After meeting Sylvia and her boys, Peter, Jack, George, and Michael, in the park, Mr. Barrie decides that he wants to become a father-figure to them. He teaches them to use their imagination to escape from the world and its problems. In a society like todays this theme is important for children to hear. The youth of today are loosing their imagination and are replacing it with video games, which fabricate fantasy worlds and even give shape and substance to characters that were once imagined. However, there is a bad side to this theme. Children should not use imagination to escape from the problems that are evident in their lives, because they ...

Tips to Improve Your French Pronunciation

Tips to Improve Your French Pronunciation Speaking French is more than just knowing the vocabulary and grammar rules. You also need to pronounce the letters correctly. Unless you started learning French as a child, youre unlikely to ever sound like a native speaker, but its certainly not impossible for adults to speak with a decent French accent. Here are some ideas to help you improve your French pronunciation. Learn French Sounds Basic French PronunciationThe first thing you need to do is understand how each letter is usually pronounced in French.Letters in DetailAs in English, some letters have two or more sounds, and letter combinations often make completely new sounds.French AccentsAccents dont show up on certain letters just for decoration - they often give clues about how to pronounce those letters.International Phonetic AlphabetFamiliarize yourself with the pronunciation symbols used in French dictionaries. Get a Decent Dictionary When you see a new word, you can look it up to find out how its pronounced. But if youre using a little pocket dictionary, youll find that many words arent there. When it comes to French dictionaries, bigger really is better. Some French dictionary software even includes sound files. Pronunciation Preparation and Practice Once youve learned how to pronounce everything, you need to practice it. The more you speak, the easier it will be to make all of those sounds. Here are some techniques that can help you in your French accent improvement project. Listen to FrenchThe more you listen to French, the better youll get at hearing and distinguishing between unfamiliar sounds, and the easier it will be for you to produce them yourself.Listen and RepeatSure, this isnt something youd do in real life, but mimicking words or phrases over and over is an excellent way to develop your pronunciation skills. My French audio dictionary has 2,500 sound files of words and short phrases.Listen to YourselfRecord yourself speaking French and then listen carefully to the playback - you might discover pronunciation mistakes that youre not aware of when you speak. Read Out LoudIf youre still stumbling over words with tricky letter combinations or lots of syllables, you definitely need more practice. Try reading out loud to get used to making all of those new sounds. Pronunciation Problems Depending on your native language, certain French sounds and pronunciation concepts are more difficult than others. Take a look at my page on pronunciation difficulties for lessons (with sound files) on some typical trouble spots for English speakers (and possibly others as well). Speak Like the Natives When you learn French, you learn the correct way to say everything, not necessarily the way the French actually say it. Check out my lessons on informal French to learn how to sound more like native speakers: Informal negationInformal pronounsInformal questions Pronunciation Tools Unlike grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation is something that you cant learn by reading (although there are some excellent French pronunciation books). But you really do need to interact with native speakers. Ideally, you would do this face to face, such as by going to France or another French-speaking country, taking a class, working with a tutor, or joining the Alliance franà §aise.If those truly are not an option, at the very least you need to listen to French, such as with these tools: French listening onlineFrench audio booksFrench audio magazinesFrench audio tapes and CDsFrench radioFrench softwareFrench TV The Bottom Line Getting a good French accent is all about practice - both passive (listening) and active (speaking). Practice really does make perfect. Improve Your French Improve your French listening comprehensionImprove your French pronunciationImprove your French reading comprehensionImprove your French verb conjugationsImprove your French vocabulary

Chivalry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chivalry - Research Paper Example e point of view of benevolent sexism, women may be seen as loveable, delightful pure beings that have to be looked after or cared for and whose affection is needed to fulfill a man’s life. Certain women may even embrace this idea of ‘protection’ as valuing instead of controlling (Viki, Abrams, & Hutchison, 2003). This essay discusses how benevolent sexism and hostile sexism work together to maintain and reinforce existing gender status quo. Benevolent sexism—even though similarly limiting to women as hostile sexism—works to appease women’s opposition to deeply embedded gender inequality due to its appealing principle. By portraying women in a positive way and guaranteeing benefits to women who are capable of associating themselves with a strong, influential, powerful male defender, benevolent sexism melts down women’s opposition into patriarchy. Women who rely on men for their security, happiness, and comfort are less able to question or defy men’s authority or to seek their own individuality and freedom. Generally, women who embrace and support long-established gender relations become romantic objects, mothers, and wives. As a consequence, they experience benevolent sexism outlooks, behavior, and treatment. On the contrary, women who are seen as defying or robbing men’s control become objects of hostile sexism (Viki et al., 2003). Although dividing women’s images into separate female categories, hostile and benevolent sexism integrate reward and punishment mechanisms and could work in balancing ways to sustain and perpetuate gender inequality. Classifying women into categories also directly results in seclusion among females, making them more fragile and divided rather than strong and unified (Viki et al., 2005). Glick and Fiske (2001) stated that benevolent and hostile sexism are an â€Å"interlocking set of beliefs that reflects a system of rewards (benevolent sexism) and punishment (hostile sexism)† (as cited in Becker & Wright, 2011, 63)

Significant Events in the Middle East After 1850 Term Paper

Significant Events in the Middle East After 1850 - Term Paper Example Saddam hated living with the step father which prompted him to move to his uncles, subsequent to his release from prison. At this point Saddam was a 10-year-old boy. Saddam then went to Baghdad to continue with his schooling where he joined high school. But, he enjoyed politics than school. To his rescue, his uncle helped him make a debut in politics. In 1957, he joined his uncles party Baath. His membership started with a low tone, until 1959 when he was appointed a member of the squad Assassination. He, however, fled Iraq after a failed assassination attempt in the same year, of the then prime minister. Then he went to Syria for one month and then to Egypt, where he stayed for three years in exile. Saddam was a brutal and ruthless president as depicted by most of his actions during his time as the president of Iraq. For instance, he executed three hundred military officers in the year 1982, after their rebellion on his approach of fighting with Iraq. He ousted out of power in 2003 by US forces and after he was found guilty of various human atrocities he was hung in 2006. (thefamouspeople.com, 2010) Yasser Arafat was born in 1929 in the city of Cairo by a Palestinian father with an ancestry of Egypt and his mother was a Palestinian. His mother died while he was just 5 years of age. Subsequently, he moved to live with a material uncle in the city of Jerusalem. After living in Jerusalem for four years, his father took him back to the city of Cairo to be taken care of by an elder sister alongside other siblings. he never attended his fathers funeral in the year 1952. While in Cairo, before age 17, Arafat used to smuggle fire arms to Palestine with the aim of their being used against the Jews and the British. During the period of the war between the Arab states and the Jews, he abandoned his studies at Cairo University so as to go and battle against the Jews around the area of Gaza. He later

An analysis of the Heart of Darkness and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Essay Example for Free

An analysis of the Heart of Darkness and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Essay The â€Å"Heart of Darkness† by Joseph Conrad and â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† by Lewis Carroll tell a journey into a world which is a conflicting reflection of the protagonist’s â€Å"real† world. As the protagonists travel to new places, they are both presented with clashing views on prevailing themes in their lives. In the case of Marlow in the Heart of Darkness, he is faced with opposing ideas on the most vital components in imperialism – trade and slavery. As for Alice in Wonderland, the young girl is confronted with the challenge to accept the conflicting basis of maturity following both rational and irrational complexities in the society. In both of the novels, the relationship between the two worlds were portrayed as the struggles which people had to face in order to formulate their own personal ideologies based on their varying views presented by the society. Moreover, alienation (or the fact that each of the protagonists had to handle their struggles alone) was promoted as a necessary step towards the full appreciation of one’s social construction of reality. Clashing views on imperialism: Moral Responsibility vs. Pure Suppression In the Heart of Darkness, contrasting views of imperialism and slavery are challenged. Marlow, the protagonist of the story, comes from a world where the enslavement of the Africans is considered as essential and customary pieces of the colonial enterprise. The men who were working for the Company – upon which Marlow is also a part of – treats the blacks in an perverse, cruel, and often viciously violent manner. However, this harsh treatment is seemingly justifiable as Marlow’s world regards the slaves as uncivilized. Thus, the process of slavery is not seen as it is. Rather, it is often deemed as a vital part of the benevolent project of â€Å"civilizing† the natives. As such, prior to his journey upriver to see the fabled Kurtz, Marlow maintains his role of masking the slavery and violence by the socially accepted idea that the subjugation is based on legitimate backgrounds of moral responsibility. As Marlow meets Kurtz however, Marlow’s idea of the glamour of conquest and imperialism evolves into a struggle of morals. As he survives the river, meets the natives, and finally encounters the man that is reputed to be honorable and upright, his moral beliefs shatter. Technically, he is not faced with a world that’s entirely different from where he came from. Instead, what Marlow encounters is a setting where there is a whole new definition of conquest and trade – the main activities upon which he was engaged in. Basically, Kurtz was not the man Marlow and other people envisioned him to be. In conflict with the prevailing social definition of conquest for the Company, Kurtz saw the truth in imperialism. The presumed praiseworthy man was in fact a tyrant among the natives. He realized the fact that he was not trading but rather forcing the natives to find ivory for him. Moreover, Kurtz was open to the idea that he was – in no positive way – civilizing the natives. Rather, he was suppressing them, controlling them through intimidation and extreme brutality, and using them to his advantage, and the Company’s benefit. As a result, Marlow’s encounter with Kurtz only served as a perplexing experience where he had to question what the real purpose was behind acts of conquest and slavery: Are his actions just a tool for injustice and intimidation? Is there really no justifiable cause for intimidating the natives? To a certain degree, Marlow’s experience with the â€Å"other† world puts him in a crisis of whether he should continue believing that his world’s obviously unjust practices had a good and tolerable cause or not. Growing up: Tolerating the illogical and irrational In the story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, conflicting views of maturity and growing up is presented. On one hand, the real world equates maturity as the state where logic and rationality is used in reasoning, interpreting, and in maintaining harmony in the society. In contrast however, the young Alice equates adulthood as to what she sees in Wonderland – a place where silly and illogical regulations are created on the basis of egoistic goals and ambitions, propelled by bad habits and wrong ideals that people willingly developed throughout the course of history. In Wonderland, Alice faces a new world – one wherein the ways of reasoning are every much in contrast of hers. To a certain sense, her new world is similar to the â€Å"real† world of adults because both are comprised of rules which are, most of the time, very confusing. A typical example is the character of the Duchess who always tries to find a moral in almost every thing that is happening around her. In the real world, adults are akin to the Duchess as they always try to live by the social norms which they created from their own interpretation of their society. Another complex idea is the tolerance of the senseless orders of beheading given by the Queen of Hearts. Such scenario can be equated to the devastating wars often prompted by political leaders who are supposed to propagate world peace and progress. Also in Wonderland, trials seem to be very irrational and unjust; in the same way, justice is as confusing in the real world where fairness and integrity are supposedly practiced and promoted. As Alice struggles to understand the complexity of what is happening in Wonderland, she challenges her own idea of what is rational and supposedly mature. Confronted with what’s hypothetically mature, Alice gradually evolves into a mature person who is able to formulate reasonable and valid interpretations of history and her present experiences. While Alice is confronted with odd events and curious beings in Wonderland, she tries to formulate reasons based on her social interactions with the creature and adjusts to the demands of the magical world. Through the interpretations that Alice forms from wonderland, she fulfills what is expected from a mature individual – the ability to tolerate the complexities of life. As she forms a basis of reasoning and logic, she then forms her own subjective norms which are, to a certain extent, still confined within the prevalent ideas in Wonderland. These norms allow her to define her identity and at the same time, give her the chance to adjust and adapt to the situations that she faces in a place where â€Å"everyone is mad†. Through her adventures, Alice ultimately grows up and matures. CONCLUSIONS Two worlds as struggles towards the formulation personal ideals In both of the novels, two opposing worlds were used as bases that will allow the main character to formulate his/her own personal ideologies and interpretations of prevailing themes in their lives. In the case of Marlow, the clash between the two worlds – or rather their definitions – gave him a chance to weigh his morals not merely on the more popular and conforming idea that African enslavement was natural and acceptable. Through his confrontation with Kurtz, he became enlightened. The experience somehow liberated him from his blind adherence to the society and showed him the real circumstances of his actions and that of his society. As for Alice, the conflict between the real world and Wonderland also gave her the chance to construct an understanding of maturity. From a child’s point of view of adulthood as something incoherent, illogical, egoistic, and irrational, Alice was able to realize that such complexities were part of real life and that tolerance to what is seemingly unreasonable must be achieved in order to be capable of surviving and adjusting to the different scenarios of living. As such, it can be noted that the incompatible relationships between the two worlds in each of the novels were presented as personal struggles towards the achievement of personal ideals formulated from varying views and interpretations that were present in the society. Alienation, an essential process for the social construction of reality It can be noted that both protagonists in the stories had to face alienation in the new worlds that they had to take part of. The fact that each of the protagonists had to handle their struggles â€Å"alone† promoted the theme of personal conflict in the novels. Furthermore, this alienation heightened the level of conflict which existed in the clashing relationship between the two worlds that the characters had to take part of. In the case of Alice, she had to face different situations with different characters and different modes of reasoning all on her. Through this loneliness, she was able to fully grasp the idea that maturity is complex and that life itself was full of complexities and â€Å"madness†. This realization led her to construct her own set of interpretations, definitions, and realities which paved her way towards maturity. Marlow, on the other hand, became alienated as he became exposed to a world where slavery among Africans was regarded as what it really is – a mere act of cruelty for the benefit of the White people. He was alienated in the sense that he formerly had a different – more consoling view of the â€Å"trade† that he was participating in. However, through this alienation, Marlow then achieved a more careful analysis of his society’s actions. By being exposed to the new world all on his own, he was given the chance to liberate himself from the beliefs that he was encompassed within. In general, both of the characters endured alienation as an essential component which emphasized the conflicting relation of the worlds that they were exposed to. This alienation prompted them to think beyond what they were used to and such allowed them to construct their social reality based on conventional and unconventional truths. References: Caroll, Lewis (n. d. ) Alice in Wonderland. Retrieved from Bedtime Story Classics (Accessed 06 Apr 2009 from http://www. the-office. com/bedtime-story/classics-alice-1. htm) Conrad, Joseph (n. d. ) Heart of Darkness. Retrieved from Project Gutenberg Website (Accessed 06 Apr 2009 from http://www. gutenberg. org/etext/526) Maatta, Jerry (1997) An Analysis of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. (Accessed 06 Apr 2009 from http://www. alice-in-wonderland. net/explain/alice841. html) __________ (n. d. ) Themes and Motives in Alice in Wonderland. (Accessed 06 Apr 2009 from http://www. alice-in-wonderland. net/school/themes. html) __________ (n. d. ) eNotes on Heart of Darkness – Themes. (Accessed 06 Apr 2009 from http://www. enotes. com/darkness/themes)

What America Means To Me Essay -- essays research papers

America is a wonderful place to live, because we are free. Freedom is important, and many people in other countries do not have much freedom. I am glad I have a place like this to grow up in; where I know that I can be equal with other races and other genders. Also, I am glad I have a place like this that will respect me and I know it will be a great place to have my children grow up in. Some of our ancestors did not have the privileges we have now because they grew up in other countries, that controlled their religion, who they married, and almost everything else in their lives. That may be one of the reasons they moved to America in the first place. I am very grateful for our country, and all of the privileges I have growing up here. In many countries, I wouldn’t be able to get the ed...

Is Television a Bad Influence on Children Essay

The television has become such an integral part of homes in the modern world that it is hard to imagine life without television. It provides entertainment to people of all ages especially children. Children love to watch TV and prefer to stay â€Å"glued† to the TV screen all day, rather than playing outside. In the USA, 47% of children ages 2 to 18 years have a television set in their bedrooms. On a typical day, they spend on average of 5. 5 hours using media, including television, computer games and the Internet (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2001). TV is the number one after-school activity for 6 to 17 years old. see more:impact of television on children essay Although television is loved by children and has helped them a lot, it has influenced them in a negative way. Some optimistic people can argue that children should be allowed to watch a lot of television because it is educational. Preschoolers can get help to learn the alphabet on children’s programs such as â€Å"Takalani Sesame† and grade scholars can learn about wildlife on nature shows. However, with the increased rate of working parents, most children come home from school and are left alone or with a babysitter who may not care what the children watch on TV. With no supervision nearby, children may end up watching shows with violence, sex and bad language. Children that view such shows are likely to fear that the world is scary or that something bad will happen to them. Furthermore, the children will start to show aggressive behavior or start to behave like what they see on TV. (Bandura & Ross 1963) Television has become such an integral part of homes in the modern world that it is hard to imagine life without one. It provides entertainment to people of all ages, especially children, who, consequently would prefer to stare at the TV screen all day rather than going outside to play anymore. An online journal that I read called Journal of Youth and Adolescence states that television is an easy and inexpensive way to get information, it’s the most popular way for Americans old and young to get informed. Informed on what? With the increased rate of working parents, most children come home from school and are left alone or with a babysitter who may not care what the children atch. With no supervision nearby, children may end up watching shows with violence, sex, and bad language. The journal then goes on to say that TV allows us to create a national culture because it gives people something in common to talk about. I hear it everyday, most people are talking about their comedy shows that they watched the night before rather than what they saw on the nightly news. In this generation we have to many choices. The journal also stated that children have a choice on what to watch and how long they watch television. For me, this argument is unrealistic because most children do not have self discipline. They would rather watch something entertaining rather than a documentary about nature or history for example. They would rather watch the latest â€Å"Transformers† movie which is not suitable for young children. Firstly, children’s thinking skills can be adversely affected if they watch inappropriate television programs for a long period. According to Sharif (1999), short segments with interesting presentation in modern children’s programs and music video clips encourage the development of short attention spans in children. Children may have the wrong thoughts that overwhelming all the difficulties in life will be a piece of cake as they are used to thirty minutes problem-solving programs like ‘Friends’. As a result, they always lose out patience when it is the real time for them to counter the hardship and rigor situations. Moreover, Jones claims that children who are heavy viewers are among the lowest achievers at school because they do not develop imaginative skills to create fictitious characters, situations and make-believe worlds (Leigh 2001). In short, excessive television watching hours may plague the healthy thinking of the children Secondly, the structure of children’s behaviors’ will be less desirable, particularly the emanating of wildness and violence. Television programs and even the news, televised at prime time, depict violence scenes which may cause the children to become desensitized to violence (Sharif 1999). Consequently, they may feel that violence is a plausible and acceptable way in solving problems. Furthermore, some children attempt to imitate the superhero in the television shows they have watched. For instance, there were children jumped out of trees in Superman costumes and got themselves injured (Sharif 1999). Besides, the stereotyped movies showing the narrow roles of characters played by the women and men in society influence the children’s behaviors’ towards themselves and others. These evidences prove that television viewing can be actually harmful by forming disfavor behaviors’ among children. Prolonged periods in front of the television which is a sedentary activity can trigger many health problems such as obesity and related diseases. Nowadays, people, especially the youngsters, become inured to the habits of indulging themselves with snacks while watching television (Rutherford 2002). The elevated number of couch potatoes is intractable as it spreads erratically without control. Meanwhile, extended periods in front of the television mean that children are not being physically active (Sharif 1999). Moreover, children may become autistic as television viewing encourages the development of antisocial behavior. Briefly, obesity will become the most discernible fallout when children consume too much calories, adding to the dearth of physical exercises. In conclusion, I strongly believe that television viewing can bring harmful effects such as underdevelopment of thinking skills, negative forms of behaviors’ and unhealthy lifestyles. The negative effects of television viewing are stark, albeit, some people assert that its pros outweigh the cons. However, I am prone to the stance that television viewing brings more harms than benefits. A balance point on television viewing should be adhered in order to best utilize the television by minimizing its negative effects and at the same time get ourselves refreshed and ready to concentrate on things like homework.

Elementary Teacher Essay

The name of the teacher interviewed is Lucila Reed. She has been teaching Mathematics in the grade school level for over 5 years at the local public school system. She teaches to culturally diverse classes where many learners have English only as a second language. The teacher has responded extensively to each of the four developmental domains. According to her responses, the most emphasized domain in her class is the cognitive/intellectual domain. She described Mathematics as a â€Å"content-extensive† subject wherein a majority of the input has to come from the teacher. She claimed that this was quite different from other subjects such as English or Social Studies, where the students can be left to figure out certain lessons on their own. However, she did say that the subject was also all about equipping students to be able to answer questions on their own. Hence, she believes in a â€Å"standard formula† that involves thorough and clear explanation of the learning content followed by enriching activities that would promote the retention of the content. On the physical level, she explained that she constructs easy-to-play games around the lesson she is teaching to get students who â€Å"thrive on action† to realize that â€Å"math is fun too. † She claimed that these activities have been successful in getting such students to participate. Also, such activities help learners who only have English as a second language by giving them opportunities outside of the standard pencil and paper to understand and apply the lessons explained. She observed that ESL learners are able to make use of the activities as â€Å"interpreters† that â€Å"fill in the blanks left by their inefficiencies in English comprehension. † Lucila expressed her deep concern for such learners and declared that they should not â€Å"have to learn English along with Mathematics in a Math class. † Hence, she provides measures so that the lesson would be as comprehensible as possible for all her students. She also periodically allows students to work in pairs or small groups. She reflected that she believed students sometimes worked better when they have peers talking to them about the lesson. She concluded that â€Å"learning is more fun when you can share it. † Her technique is to pair students performing poorly with those performing well to work on a couple of problems. To ensure that both of them would be working, each student would have to explain one problem that he or she had solved and the pair’s grade would depend on their collective performance. Hence, those who are performing well cannot simply answer both questions for those who are performing poorly and end up explaining the answers so that their partners would understand better. Lucila expounded on how important she believes the emotional domain is to the development of her students. According to her, teachers should not only facilitate content learning but also â€Å"emotional learning. † She mentioned encouragement to be â€Å"one of the teacher’s greatest tools† towards helping their students achieve emotional development. She further explained that by encouraging students who make mistakes to try again, the determination of such students are built up. This building up of determination makes students spend more time in answering more difficult problems and give them better satisfaction once they have found the correct solutions. Over time, she claimed that students who are adequately motivated would not be easily daunted by making a mistake but would rather use what he or she has learned from the mistake to find the correct answer. Although the interview conducted did not include any questions regarding the subject’s academic background involving the developmental theory, it seems from her responses that she is very well versed with it. Her classroom method focuses on cognitive development because that is the nature of her subject. However at the same time, she does not fail in including the other domains of development and makes sure that her students develop holistically with respect to the subject matter. She places appropriate emphasis on other domains such as physical, emotional, and social. Although such domains are not explicitly integrated in the content, they are instead assimilated in the way that she delivers instruction and in her methods of reinforcing learning. She provides diverse activities to suit students’ different needs based on their individual differences and then provides support to students who require more attention to make certain that they are also able to keep up. These are explicit examples of the teacher conducting activities that address the different developmental domains. In can be expected that Lucila’s students are able to absorb and retain lessons effectively because of the support activities and systems provided. Clearly, the interview has revealed that Lucila Reed is an effective teacher who is aware of the different developmental domains and makes use of such awareness adequately in her classes.

Global Population Growth Creates Environmental Problems

Global Population Growth Creates Environmental Problems Environmentalists don’t dispute that many if not all of the environmental problems - from climate change to species loss to overzealous resource extraction - are either caused or exacerbated by population growth. â€Å"Trends such as the loss of half of the planet’s forests, the depletion of most of its major fisheries, and the alteration of its atmosphere and climate are closely related to the fact that human population expanded from mere millions in prehistoric times to over six billion today,† says Robert Engelman of Population Action International. Although the global rate of human population growth peaked around 1963, the number of people living on Earth - and sharing finite resources like water and food - has grown by more than two-thirds since then, topping out at over seven and a half billion today, and human population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. With more people coming, how is this going to affect the environment further? Population Growth Causes Multiple Environmental Problems According to Population Connection, population growth since 1950 is behind the clearing of 80 percent of rainforests, the loss of tens of thousands of plant and wildlife species, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of some 400 percent, and the development or commercialization of as much as half of the Earth’s surface land. The group fears that in the coming decades half of the world’s population will be exposed to water-stress or â€Å"water-scarce† conditions, which are expected to â€Å"intensify difficulties in meeting...consumption levels, and wreak devastating effects on our delicately balanced ecosystems.† In less developed countries, lack of access to birth control, as well as cultural traditions that encourage women to stay home and have babies, lead to rapid population growth. The result is ever increasing numbers of poor people across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere who suffer from malnourishment, lack of clean water, overcrowding, inadequate shelter, and AIDS and other diseases. And while population numbers in most developed nations are leveling off or diminishing today, high levels of consumption make for a huge drain on resources. Americans, for instance, who represent only four percent of world population, consume 25 percent of all resources. Industrialized countries also contribute far more to climate change, ozone depletion, and overfishing than developing countries. And as more and more residents of developing countries get access to Western media, or immigrate to the United States, they want to emulate the consumption-heavy lifestyles they see on their televisions and read about on the Internet. How Changing U.S. Policy Could Offset Environmental Harm Worldwide Given the overlap of population growth and environmental problems, many would like to see a change in U.S. policy on global family planning. In 2001, President George W. Bush instituted what some call the â€Å"global gag rule,† whereby foreign organizations that provide or endorse abortions were denied U.S. funding support. Environmentalists considered that stance to be shortsighted because support for family planning is the most effective way to check population growth and relieve pressure on the planet’s environment, and as a result, the global gag rule was rescinded in 2009 by President Obama but put back in place by Donald Trump in 2017. If only the United States would lead by example by cutting down on consuming, reducing deforestation practices, and relying more on renewable resources in our policies and practices, perhaps the rest of the world would follow suit - or, in some cases, lead the way and the U.S. follow - to ensure a better future for the planet.

College GPA Does It Really Matter

College GPA Does It Really Matter Freaking out about your GPA? Sure, you’ve been told your whole life that grades are the difference between becoming a millionaire and having a lifelong career at Taco Bell. As a college student, that idea is emphasized even more, with many vital courses for your degree having specific GPA requirements. As the end of the semester approaches, you may be spending sleepless nights worrying about whether you did enough to get your GPA to that millionaire-level or if you should just learn how to make a killer Mexican Pizza. Fortunately, your GPA isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. In fact, there are several very real reasons why your grades aren’t the end-all be-all of your college experience. Just take a look at these facts and statistics about GPA and you may be able to relax enough to keep your current grade level in perspective. 60-70% of HR recruiters think that GPA is important Okay, so GPA is important. In fact, when you’re looking for a job after college, a majority of hiring managers will want to see a GPA above 3.0. Still, if you haven’t met that magical arbitrary number, don’t worry. A full 30-40% of businesses don’t even look at GPA. Instead, they’ll be interested to see what kinds of extracurricular, community, and volunteer experiences you’ve had. 43% of letter grades given are A’s In a recent study from Teacher’s College Record, almost half of all grades that are given are A’s. This means that getting a 4.0 really doesn’t mean what it used to. Many employers know this and understand that being good at kissing the teacher’s butt doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is smarter or more qualified. Lots of influential organizations like Google and America don’t care about GPA Lazlo Bock, the Senior VP of People Operations for Google said in a New York Times interview, â€Å"GPA’s are a worthless criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless†¦We found that they don’t predict anything.† This is proving to be a very valuable theory, with many CEOs, business leaders, and even president’s not boasting very high GPA’s. Remember what George W. Bush said: â€Å"To all the C-students: I say, you too can be president of the United States.† 45% of college dropouts leave school with a GPA between 2.0 and 3.0 The pressure to get good grades and keep them can be so overwhelming for some students that it will push them out of college altogether. It’s all about how students perceive their success. According to research from the Education Advisory Board (EAB), students who have a mixture of B’s and C’s are more likely to stay in school than those with a mix of A’s and F’s. Despite their equal potential, focusing on â€Å"perfect† grades can actually be a deterrent to success. People not concerned with GPA tend to have higher GPA’s In a small study conducted at Cal State San Marcos, researchers found that students who were most concerned about GPA were more likely to have lower ones. While this could be due to some students’ confidence in their abilities, it could also be that a lack of stress about grades helped them to do better on tests and naturally increased their scores. Your GPA may depend on your personality Although everyone has to take tests, there is a certain group of people who seem to excel naturally when it comes to bumping up their GPA. In a study done at Rice University, students who were considered â€Å"conscientious† (disciplined and goal-oriented) had higher GPA’s overall. That means GPA’s may do a good job defining the work ability of certain types of students, but completely miss the qualities of students who are more laid back and people-oriented. 51% of MBA programs ding applications based on GPA Although 51% seems like a high number, it’s actually a good thing. What this means is that, while over half of MBA programs see GPA as in indicator of success, almost half think that it’s not a big deal. So depending on your program of choice, GPA can either be a deterrent or a non-issue. Schools with tougher grading policies produce almost 60% fewer successful MBA applicants Schools who participate in grade inflation may not be as honest as others, but they have more students who are accepted into post-graduate programs. In fact, research published in PLOS One showed that students from schools with stringent grading policies (i.e., they only gave out 10% A’s) had only 12% of their applicant’s accepted. Schools with inflated grades were accepted 72% of the time – often because the school in question was seen as prestigious. Basically, it’s important to do your best in school – but don’t put too much emphasis on your GPA. Instead of fretting about how you can get that A+ rather than an A, focus on the additional value you can bring to your school and career. A person who has proven to be a creative, innovative self-starter is going to be much more attractive than a super-smart person who only knows how to take a test. Hows your GPA doing? Are you worried about your grades at the moment? Do you have some GPA success formula? Tell us more, dont be shy!