The potential costs and benefits of participation in future Research Paper

The potential costs and benefits of participation in future multilateral nuclear arms - Research Paper Example Further, the continued dissemination of technical and scientific knowledge and the increasing concerns regarding the environmental effects of fossil fuels, the access to dual-purpose technologies will undoubtedly grow. From a Beijing perspective, this project will write a policy paper that outlines the potential costs and benefits of participating in future multilateral nuclear arms control negotiations involving the United States, Russia and China. China declared during the Cold War that as a nation, it would become part of a multilateral arms control regime so long as the US and Russia reduced their arsenals by half (SCRF 47). This led to the US and Russia reducing their nuclear stock piles. China went ahead and fulfilled that condition, but there are recent reports that it will keep holding back from getting into multilateral arms control with the two nations until their arsenals are more closer in size to its own (Fowler 53). Further, financial, technological and doctrinal constraints have kept China from engaging in nuclear arms control with the US and Russia. However, if China participates in the disarmament, nonproliferation and multilateral arms control, negotiations, there will be associated costs to Beijing. First, China will have to contend with the risk of being exposed to attacks by other NWS and, in particular, the US and Russia, with whom they are supposed to enter a control regime (Larson & Shevchenko 118). This is regardless of how unfounded the possibility presently seems but, given the massive population of China and the likely consequences of an attack, it is a risk that cannot be assumed. There will also be further moral and strategic costs, particularly in terms of defending key national interests and those touching on territorial integrity and national sovereignty. While officially declining to be participants of the 2003 US-proposed

The Development of Irish Education Essay Example for Free

The Development of Irish Education Essay There were huge provisions and developments of education between 1965 and 1984. In 1962 a review of second-level education in the Republic was initiated by the Department of Education, in co-operation with the OECD, culminating in the publication of the report Investment in Education (1965). This report had significant consequences for the development of educational policy. It dealt with two main themes: the capacity of the educational system to meet skill requirements for economic growth, and inequalities in levels of participation. It found that the numbers of those giving up school, together with a restricted curriculum in many secondary schools, would result in a shortage in the qualified labour (particularly in relation to technical qualifications) necessary for economic development. In addition, the report dealt with considerable socio-economic and regional disparities in participation rates. Investment in Education provided the impetus for the introduction of the free education scheme in 1967. This scheme removed fees for participating secondary schools (to reduce socio-economic inequalities) and introduced a school transport scheme (to reduce regional inequalities). The scheme led to a significant increase in the number of enrolments in second-level schools; however, socio-economic and regional disparities persist (Lalor, 2003) In the words of Luke Gibbons (1996), this report was ‘set out to remove the school from the sacristy and place it in line with the need for greater technological change in society’. The report helped to shape the future of Irish Education and through giving greater impetus to nascent trends, contributed to an expansion of the system and to issues such as social inequality and educational effectiveness being placed on the political agenda. Overall, however, the report was part of a pragmatic rather than ideological response to the educational challenges raised by a modernising society (O’Sullivan, 1989). The report highlighted many facts including the high instance of school leavers, low rate of vocational student entering third level courses, inequality of opportunity – unfair access to secondary education and also the need for wider participation in education and for longer retention of pupils in the educational system. This is only a few highlights whereas there were four major recommendations set out by the report of the investment for education which include: 1. The use of scholarship schemes to increase participation. 2. Need for policy planning to improve education at all levels. 3. Possible amalgamation of small national schools. 4. Teachers be kept up to date with ‘new knowledge’. From this report many major developments within the Irish school system have occurred. These developments include

Fuel for Thought Essay example -- Essays Papers

Fuel for Thought Should our government regulate the fuel economies of our automobiles or should this be left up to the market? The Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards that were implemented in the 1970s contributed to great improvements in vehicle fuel economies. While we have environmental and political reasons to want cars with better fuel efficiency, there are also costs involved. The declining fuel economies of the last fifteen years seem to reveal that many Americans are not willing to bear these costs. Still, the vehicles that we drive today may be a misrepresentation of our true values. We may value environmental quality and/or independence from foreign oil, but sometimes our individual actions misrepresent our personal or societal goals. Since people's actions can be disconnected from theirvalues and society's goals, we cannot rely solely on the market; the governmentshould take action to increase the fuel efficiency of our vehicles. The energy crisis of the 1970s led congress to pass a law requiring automakers to improve the number of miles per gallon (mpg) that U.S. automobiles used. These CAFE standards led to vast improvement in fuel efficiency ("Another Cup...", 6). In 1973 the average fuel economy of light-duty vehicles, which includes cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks that weigh less than 8,500 pounds, was 14mpg. By 1987 average fuel economies had reached 22.1mpg. CAFE standards were frozen in the late 1980s. Since then,fuel efficiency has declined slightly. The average fuel economy in2003 model-year cars is 20.8 mpg. This decline is mostly due to theincreased popularity of SUVs. "The SUV market share increased by morethan a factor of ten, from less tha... ...are held by people in opposition to fuel economy standards. Some people are concerned about safety implications, increased vehicle costs and/or problems within the auto industry. 7. Samaras, Zissis. "Emissions Reduction via Improvements in Engines and Fuels: The Tehran Case." Journal of Urban Technology 6 (April 1999): 63-87. In this document, Zissis Sararas looks at a two-year project done in Tehran, Iran that aimed to reduce vehicle emissions by making engine and fuel improvements. Sararas provides data on emissions in Tehran and compares that to emissions in developed countries. Sararas describes methods from around the world that are used reduce emissions and/or increase fuel economy. He discusses emissions standards, particularly in Europe, diesel engines, fuel improvements, fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and alternative technologies. Fuel for Thought Essay example -- Essays Papers Fuel for Thought Should our government regulate the fuel economies of our automobiles or should this be left up to the market? The Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards that were implemented in the 1970s contributed to great improvements in vehicle fuel economies. While we have environmental and political reasons to want cars with better fuel efficiency, there are also costs involved. The declining fuel economies of the last fifteen years seem to reveal that many Americans are not willing to bear these costs. Still, the vehicles that we drive today may be a misrepresentation of our true values. We may value environmental quality and/or independence from foreign oil, but sometimes our individual actions misrepresent our personal or societal goals. Since people's actions can be disconnected from theirvalues and society's goals, we cannot rely solely on the market; the governmentshould take action to increase the fuel efficiency of our vehicles. The energy crisis of the 1970s led congress to pass a law requiring automakers to improve the number of miles per gallon (mpg) that U.S. automobiles used. These CAFE standards led to vast improvement in fuel efficiency ("Another Cup...", 6). In 1973 the average fuel economy of light-duty vehicles, which includes cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks that weigh less than 8,500 pounds, was 14mpg. By 1987 average fuel economies had reached 22.1mpg. CAFE standards were frozen in the late 1980s. Since then,fuel efficiency has declined slightly. The average fuel economy in2003 model-year cars is 20.8 mpg. This decline is mostly due to theincreased popularity of SUVs. "The SUV market share increased by morethan a factor of ten, from less tha... ...are held by people in opposition to fuel economy standards. Some people are concerned about safety implications, increased vehicle costs and/or problems within the auto industry. 7. Samaras, Zissis. "Emissions Reduction via Improvements in Engines and Fuels: The Tehran Case." Journal of Urban Technology 6 (April 1999): 63-87. In this document, Zissis Sararas looks at a two-year project done in Tehran, Iran that aimed to reduce vehicle emissions by making engine and fuel improvements. Sararas provides data on emissions in Tehran and compares that to emissions in developed countries. Sararas describes methods from around the world that are used reduce emissions and/or increase fuel economy. He discusses emissions standards, particularly in Europe, diesel engines, fuel improvements, fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and alternative technologies.

Essay --

For decades, America has been the fastest growing economy country in the world, and Detroit was one of the most leading populous city in the United States. Back in 1930, Detroit was the fastest growing city, but now is the fastest shrinking city with more than 100, 000 abandoned homes (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady). Similarly, Bay Area economy was the envy of the nation with high employment rates and GDP growth like Detroit in the 1930s, and is currently suffering from losing jobs, residents, and status. Both Detroit and the Bay Area are single resource-based industries - where Detroit is manufacturing dominated, and Bay Area is high technology dominated. However, the Bay Area will not go bankrupt and become a ghost town in fifty years, because its high diversities in the economic opportunities are attracting people to stay and work here. High educated and talented people is the fundamental for the economic development in the cities. In Detroit, many workers in the car industries are either unskilled or low skilled workers with only high school diplomas simply because of those works do not need special talents or skills in order to have the work done. Due to the division of labor, large jobs are breaking down into many tiny components. â€Å"Under this regime each worker becomes an expert in one isolated area of production, thus increasing his efficiency† (Adam Smith). Detroit was not creating suitable jobs for high educated or professional people to work there; therefore, it caused the brain drain. Brain drain by definition means â€Å"the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another usually for better pay or living conditions (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This means that high skil... ...cars. According to Nancy Andrews, Christopher Kirkpatrick, and Eric Millikin, â€Å"Detroit went on a binge starting around 2000 to close budget holes and to build infrastructure, more than doubling debt to $8 billion by 2012.† Detroit was borrowing money to build these infrastructures that are not capable of doing other things except to build cars; therefore, when other countries cars has found out other ways to make cheap cars and to sell their cars for a cheaper price, Detroit cannot lower their cars’ prices due to their loans for building the infrastructures. However, the Bay Area will not go bankrupt because it is not in debt. In contrast, the Bay Area is gaining a revenue, which the grand total revenue is $6670.6 millions in the year of 2013. In addition, the Bay Area is planning to gain a revenue of $276.92 billions in next twenty eight years (Plan Bay Area).

The Five People You Meet in Heaven: the Impact of Relationships

Personal Goal: Attempt to tie every idea, topic, and commentary back to the prompt and the thesis. Make sure no deviations from the current main ideas exist and all ideas are directly relevant to surrounding sentences. Personal Goal: Attempt to tie every idea, topic, and commentary back to the prompt and the thesis. Make sure no deviations from the current main ideas exist and all ideas are directly relevant to surrounding sentences. Clayton Little Ms. Davis English 2 22 February 2013 Independent Reading ProjectThe Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom follows a man’s journey through heaven after dying at the age of 83 in a horrific theme park accident. The novel proposes that when one dies, one meets with the five people that most influenced, affected, or defined one, before moving on. The story is told partly through Eddie’s interactions with his five people and also through vivid snapshots of his life, both of which allow the reader to see changes in his char acter and the development of his identity as he journeys through life.The changes in Eddie’s character before and after his death and the musings the author instills in the reader exemplify the theme that what defines an individual the most are the people around them and their relationships with them. The novel begins at the end, right before Eddie dies in the accident. It is here the reader gets the first view of Eddie as an old man, weary of the world: â€Å"His plans never worked out.In time, he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance, that this was who he was and who he always would be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters† (Albom 5). This initial introduction to Eddie delivers the reader with a vivid description of his weariness and resignation. Throughout this same first chapter, the author also interjects small stories of Eddies past, no more than a paragraph each: †Å"Another story went around about Eddie. As a soldier, he had engaged in combat numerous times. He’d been brave.Even won a medal. But toward the end of his service, he got into a fight with one of his own men. That’s how Eddie was wounded. No one knew what happened to the other guy. No one asked† (Albom 8). These short glimpses into Eddie’s past interspersed throughout his last moments make the reader wonder what the meaning of these stories are. The way the author uses short, clipped sentences and the repetition of the phrase â€Å"No one† evokes a tone of mystery, arousing the reader’s curiosity in Eddie’s past. What was Eddie like in his childhood, his adolescence, his adulthood? What made him into what he is now?These unanswered questions pester the reader like flies and builds the framework for future revelations about Eddie’s character. The first of these changes seen in Eddie’s character is when Eddie first awakes in heaven, finding himself 75 years in the past, on Ruby Pier, the place that has always been a constant setting throughout his life. He is at the beginning. It is here that Eddie meets his first person in heaven, the Blue Man, who explains the intricacies of the journey Eddie must travel and how he will meet five people in heaven, â€Å"Each of us was in your life for a reason.You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on Earth† (Albom 35). Eddie learns that his relationship with the strange man he barely knows was Eddie’s unintentional act that led to the Blue Man’s death. The knowledge that it was his irresponsibility that caused the death of the man sitting in front of him fills him with guilt and sorrow that ultimately deeply affects his identity and character, as seen in the two quotes, â€Å"‘You see? the Blue Man whispered, having finished the story from his point of view. ‘Litt le Boy? ’ Eddie felt a shiver. ‘Oh no,’ he whispered† (Albom 44), and, â€Å"‘Please, Mister†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Eddie pleaded. ‘I didn’t know. Believe me†¦God help me, I didn’t know’† (Albom 47). The shock and guilt Eddie feels is profoundly felt by the reader, through words with foreboding connotations like â€Å"whispered† and â€Å"shiver† and by the ellipses and commas between phrases, showing pauses in his speech as he attempts to absorb the impact of the new knowledge.The revelation that he had a hand in murdering another person strongly affects Eddie’s character, making him more paranoid and confrontational, as everything he knew about his life crumbles into a much less desirable image, a trait he holds for the rest of the book. The gruesome relationship between Eddie and his unintended victim affects Eddie’s behavior and attitude in a way that no setting, environment, or event ever could: â€Å"Eddie stepped back. He squared his body as if bracing for a fight†¦Eddie was skeptical. His fists stayed clenched† (Albom 47).The transformation from a weary old man too tired to care about much but the weather to a confrontational man willing to fight for the life he had once known is radical and sudden, and brought about merely through what many would consider a fleeting acquaintance with a man he barely knew. Yet, this apparently minor relationship had a major effect, clearly exemplifying the huge power of a relationship with another individual. The people Eddie meets in heaven do not all affect his character after death, such as the Blue Man, but rather let him and the reader reflect on Eddie’s fluctuating identity in the past.One of these such people was his father: â€Å"The damage done by Eddie’s father was, at the beginning, the damage of neglect† (Albom 104). Eddie was often neglected and abused physically as well as emotionall y by his father. This resulted in him always thirsting for approval or affection, two things he would only ever receive in small, taunting tastes from his father: â€Å"And on occasion, as if to feed the weakest embers of a fire, Eddie’s father let a wrinkle of pride crack the veneer of his disinterest† (Albom 106).This virtual torture of Eddie’s emotions as a child and for the rest of his life would forever scar him and breed a habit of coldness between Eddie and his father. The impact on Eddie’s character cut deep. The abusive relationship between him and his father made him into a man that was always searching for his place in the world, always feeling inadequate. Eddie was never content with his lot in life, not with his wife, job, or family: â€Å"He cursed his father for dying and trapping him in the very life he’d been trying to escape† (Albom 128).Of everything that defined Eddie, the relationship with his father was the most influen tial, a relationship that stemmed from less than opportune circumstances, yet yielded what is perhaps the core of Eddie’s character. After reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven, it becomes obvious to the reader that changes in an individual are direct results of relationships and connections between individuals. Many things can grow to define a person’s self: war, hunger, death, time.Yet none of these can compare with the soft words of a parent or the pleading of an enemy soldier on the battlefield or the trust held between friends. One realizes, as Eddie did, that every individual is just a strand in a web, a drop in a pool of water, and when one strand is plucked or the surface disturbed, the ripple is felt by those closest. Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. New York: Hyperion, 2003. Print.

Free Essays on Ellis Island

ELLIS ISLAND Ellis Island has a long history, was needed, and was the "Gateway to America" from 1892 until it closed in 1954, when it began its slow decay. The island was called Gull Island by the Indians and Oyster Island by the Dutch. Later the English erected a gibbet or gallows on the island for hanging criminals and so the island became known as Gibbet Island. The Indians sold it to the Dutch East India Company for trinkets. The company later sold it to Mynheer Paauw who also bought land along the New Jersey coastline. Samuel Ellis, a colonial merchant bought the island and it became at last Ellis Island. After the Revolution, the island was sold to New York State and in 1811, Fort Gibson was built on it in preparation for the War of 1812. No fighting took place at Fort Gibson it was mainly a munitions storage fort. When immigrants began, pouring into New York City, New York State processed them at an old fort known as Castle Clinton on the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. When that facility became too small for the large number of immigrants arriving in the country, they chose Ellis Island as the new immigration center. After erecting new wooden buildings, it opened in 1892 but those buildings burned in 1897. New buildings were erected in 1900 and it reopened. Eventually the control of immigration was turned over to the Federal government. Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station the â€Å"Gateway to America† in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Over time, the immigration station spread over 3 connected islands with numerous structures including a hospital and contagious disease wards. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island. In its early years, when the greatest number of immigrants entered the country, Ellis Island mirrored the n... Free Essays on Ellis Island Free Essays on Ellis Island ELLIS ISLAND Ellis Island has a long history, was needed, and was the "Gateway to America" from 1892 until it closed in 1954, when it began its slow decay. The island was called Gull Island by the Indians and Oyster Island by the Dutch. Later the English erected a gibbet or gallows on the island for hanging criminals and so the island became known as Gibbet Island. The Indians sold it to the Dutch East India Company for trinkets. The company later sold it to Mynheer Paauw who also bought land along the New Jersey coastline. Samuel Ellis, a colonial merchant bought the island and it became at last Ellis Island. After the Revolution, the island was sold to New York State and in 1811, Fort Gibson was built on it in preparation for the War of 1812. No fighting took place at Fort Gibson it was mainly a munitions storage fort. When immigrants began, pouring into New York City, New York State processed them at an old fort known as Castle Clinton on the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. When that facility became too small for the large number of immigrants arriving in the country, they chose Ellis Island as the new immigration center. After erecting new wooden buildings, it opened in 1892 but those buildings burned in 1897. New buildings were erected in 1900 and it reopened. Eventually the control of immigration was turned over to the Federal government. Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station the â€Å"Gateway to America† in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Over time, the immigration station spread over 3 connected islands with numerous structures including a hospital and contagious disease wards. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island. In its early years, when the greatest number of immigrants entered the country, Ellis Island mirrored the n...

Pacific Dogwood essays

Pacific Dogwood essays The pacififc dogwood is also known as the Western Flowering Dogwood or the Mountain Dogwood. The name "dogwood" is thought to be related to the early use of hardwood trees because the wood was considered skewers of "dags" and over time "dagwood" became "dogwood". Structure of the tree, leaf, stem, flower, fruit, and bark~ The Pacific Dogwood can get up to about 15 meters in height or it can appear as small as a shrub. It grows where many hardwood trees cannot because it is successful in carrying out photosynthesis under only 1/3 of full sunlight making it shade tolerant. The wood is fine grained, hard and heavy. It is also prone to splitting, so it has limited and specialized uses. The leaves are about 6-11 cm wide and 3-7 cm long. They are simple and deciduous. Their shape is elliptical to obvoate or almost round and the edges are slightly wavy with 5-6 mm long veins on each side of the midveins. The color is usually shiny green and nearly hairless above with paler woolly hairs beneath. In Autumn, their pigmentation turns red and orange. The stems are slender with a light green color that becomes dark red or blackish with age. Each one is bent to prevent overlap with other flowers. The flowers are about 6 mm wide and have 4 greenish-yellow petals. Each cluster of about 20 flowers is bordered by 4-7 bracts (4-6 cm long). They are very large, elliptical, white (or pinkish) and petal-like. These bracts protect the flower clusters and attract pollinators. They do this by not falling off until every flower in their cluster is pollinated, thus they bloom for quite some time. The bracts have a notch at the top as a result of one seen on the pruplish bud before it forms. In Autumn, purplish-brown bracts form over next springs flower buds that will bloom from April to June and sometimes again in September. The fruit is a dense cluster of elongated red to scarlet drupes about  ½ an inch long. Each fruit contai...