There Will Come Soft Rains Essays - Human Extinction,

There Will Come Soft Rains There Will Come Soft Rains was written by Sara Teasdale as part of one of her works, Collected Poems. It is a lyrical poem that deals with the subsistence of mankind and nature together. It also deals with the serene beauty and existence of nature itself. Throughout the poem, Sara Teasdale emphasizes the existence of mankind and nature in two different worlds, yet the two worlds are also still one in the same. There Will Come Soft Rains has both a literal and figurative meaning. The first three stanzas have literal meaning. They describe nature and its existence in relation to mankind. The last three stanzas have figurative meaning. They describe the individuality of nature by accentuating the separation of both worlds and indicating that their world would remain unaltered without the existence of mankind. The first stanza involves the peaceful clashing of both worlds. Soft rains symbolize a silent war that constantly rages, yet causes no harm. The second stanza describes nature in its natural habitat. The frogs represent all of nature and the pools represent their natural environment. The third stanza again represents the peaceful coexistence of both worlds. The fence wire represents mankind, and the robins represent nature. The last three stanzas of the poem figuratively depict the war between nature and mankind. Sara Teasdale focuses on nature and their unchanged existence without man. These last three stanzas serve to further illustrate the separation of both worlds. The fifth stanza creates the image of a world without man. The sixth stanza demonstrates the reaction of nature to being alone in the world. Sara Teasdale uses Spring to represent nature, and her reaction symbolizes the thoughts and ideas of nature as a whole. Sara Teasdale uses rhyme at the end of each verse of this poem. Rhyme is the repetition of words or syllables with similar sounds. In There Will Come Soft Rains, the last words of each stanza rhyme. She also uses imagery in this poem. Imagery is a technique in which writers convey many messages with few words by creating mental pictures for the reader and combining them all at once. Sara Teasdale uses sound to create images in this poem. The sounds of the frogs and the robins convey the calmness of the setting. The world is placid, and the only sounds are the harmonious songs of nature. The theme of There Will come Soft Rains is peace. The theme also has both literal and figurative meanings. Nature and Mankind both literally exist in the same world, but figuratively, their worlds are utterly different. These two worlds are able to survive peacefully with only one common bond, the world they share. The silent war rages on, but it is not a war of violence. Two totally opposite worlds have learned to coexist with each other, for they realize that they both are one in the same.

Brutal Treatment of Women Suffragists at Occoquan

Brutal Treatment of Women Suffragists at Occoquan An email has been circulating that tells of the brutal treatment in 1917 at Occoquan, Virginia, prison, of women who had picketed the White House as part of the campaign to win the vote for women. The point of the email: it took a lot of sacrifice to win the vote for women, and so women today should honor their sacrifice by taking our right to vote seriously, and actually getting to the polls. The author of the article in the email, though the emails usually omit the credit, is Connie Schultz of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland. Is the email true? a reader asks or is it an urban legend? It sure sounds exaggerated but its not. Alice Paul led the more radical wing of those who were working for womens suffrage in 1917. Paul had taken part in more militant suffrage activity in England, including hunger strikes that were met with imprisonment and brutal force-feeding methods. She believed that by bringing such militant tactics to America, the publics sympathy would be turned towards those who protested for woman suffrage, and the vote for women would be won, finally, after seven decades of activism. And so, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and others separated in America from the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), headed by Carrie Chapman Catt, and formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU) which in 1917 transformed itself into the National Womans Party (NWP). While many of the activists in the NAWSA turned during World War I either to pacifism or to support of Americas war effort, the National Womans Party continued to focus on winning the vote for women. During wartime, they planned and carried out a campaign to picket the White House in Washington, DC. The reaction was, as in Britain, strong and swift: arrest of the picketers and their imprisonment. Some were transferred to an abandoned workhouse located at Occoquan, Virginia. There, the women staged hunger strikes, and, as in Britain, were force-fed brutally and otherwise treated violently. Ive referred to this part of woman suffrage history in other articles, notably when describing the history of the suffragist split over strategy in the last decade of activism before the vote was finally won. Feminist Sonia Pressman Fuentes documents this history in her article on Alice Paul. She includes this re-telling of the story of Occoquan Workhouses Night of Terror, November 15, 1917: Under orders from W. H. Whittaker, superintendent of the Occoquan Workhouse, as many as forty guards with clubs went on a rampage, brutalizing thirty-three jailed suffragists. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, and left her there for the night. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed, and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate Alice Cosu, who believed Mrs. Lewis to be dead, suffered a heart attack. According to affidavits, other women were grabbed, dragged, beaten, choked, slammed, pinched, twisted, and kicked. (source: Barbara Leaming, Katherine Hepburn (New York: Crown Publishers, 1995), 182.) Related Resources: An image of Emmeline Pankhurst, who led the militant British woman suffragists, including hunger strike tactics, which inspired Alice Paul  and the National Womans PartyA firsthand account of this is in Doris Stevens Jailed for Freedom (New York: Liveright Publishing, 1920. (Gutenberg text)The movie Iron Jawed Angels focuses on this period of the woman suffrage movement.Sewall-Belmont House, home of the National Womans Party, is now a museum which includes many archives of these events.The Library of Congress presents some photos of women suffrage prisoners: Suffrage Prisoners

Bloggercise Your Writing

Bloggercise Your Writing Probably the best writing advice I ever received was this: Keep a Blog. Let me share with you a few reasons why and how my blog has helped me begin earning as a freelance writer. In my former life as a music teacher I found that the best musicians were those that didn’t just practise their scales and pieces the most; they were the ones that listened to music too. Both things are essential exercise for the musician. Writing is the same. Your ‘scales’ are the articles, books, stories and poems you write; your ‘listening’ is the literature you read. The old saying is true: a writer is a reader first. Keeping a blog helped me practise my ‘scales’ to develop my technique and my ‘listening’ was the hundreds of blog posts I’ve read as I mingled in the blogging community. I discovered what was popular, what was en vogue and what worked for me. Here’s a summary of just how my blog has helped develop my craft:   Ã‚     Experimentation Although my blog, kenthinksaloud, is primarily about Bangladesh where I work for a charity organisation as a teacher, I played with all sorts of ideas many of which have become lucrative for me. For instance, I started posting book reviews after enjoying some books with my kids. I had one accepted   Ã‚     Deadlines Keeping deadlines with editors is a big deal. For a while I made myself write three posts a week, each with a self-imposed word count, even when I didn’t feel like it just to practise meeting deadlines. Now I’m getting plenty of paying gigs, I’ve reduced it to once a week but after writing hundreds of posts, dashing off 500 words is a breeze now!   Ã‚     Finding an audience My main topic is something of a specialist interest, but as I explored ideas I was surprised which subjects were very popular. My son and I both have ADHD and writing about this provoked huge response. I am now submitting articles about ADHD to editors.   Ã‚     My blog sells me Several of my articles and stories, re-written from the blog, have been published So, I recommend bloggercising for you today. You can read what’s out there, try a variety of styles for yourself, practise meeting your own deadlines, build an audience as you learn what’s popular and then turn those winning ideas into paying articles and maybe even books that catch the eye of publishers. And if nothing else, bloggercise is fun and good for you. Give it a go – you never know where your posts might take you!

Overview of the Issue Presented in the News Article Essay

Overview of the Issue Presented in the News Article - Essay Example The facility of child tax credit facilitates families to have certain amount of credit for all dependent children in against federal income tax. Moreover, the article describes that in the US, there are various sorts of programs which are initiated with the objective of assisting the poor. These programs include healthcare facilities as well as tax benefits for facilitating the people who are in need. These are the factors which are involved in the article with regard to poverty in the US (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2012). Model or Economic Theory of Poverty The model or economic theory which is related with the issue i.e. poverty as depicted in the news article is as follows: Neo-classical Theory The model or economic theory of poverty which is related with the issue i.e. poverty in the news article is the neoclassical theory. The neoclassical theory states that income is distributed in accordance with the hard work as well as skills which are devoted by individuals. In this r espect, the people who are poor are considered to be lazy as well as to be lacking in terms of competencies to perform their activities in an efficient manner. Moreover, in accordance with this theory, wage structure is also determined to be a major factor for poverty. The wage structures of laborers are not sufficient in order to bear up the cost of living of the whole family. Moreover, the competencies of laborers assist in determining the wages to be offered. The laborers are paid according to their skills as well as abilities. Thus, this theory is also based on the concept of marginal productivity conceptions. The workers are required to devote significant time in work with the intention of acquiring... he model or economic theory of poverty which is related with the issue i.e. poverty in the news article is the neoclassical theory. The neoclassical theory states that income is distributed in accordance with the hard work as well as skills which are devoted by individuals. In this respect, the people who are poor are considered to be lazy as well as to be lacking in terms of competencies to perform their activities in an efficient manner. Moreover, in accordance with this theory, wage structure is also determined to be a major factor for poverty. The wage structures of laborers are not sufficient. Moreover, the competencies of laborers assist in determining the wages to be offered. The laborers are paid according to their skills as well as abilities. Thus, this theory is also based on the concept of marginal productivity conceptions. The workers are required to devote significant time in work with the intention of acquiring enough financial resources for supporting their families as well as meeting all their requirements in an effective manner. The neo-classical economic theory states as well as predicts the different causes of poverty which include the notion that individuals seek to improve their respective economic conditions without any consideration for other individuals. This signifies that individuals invest with the motive of improving their respective well-being. The poor people in this regard do not possess enough incentives for improving their financial positions.

What does news do and why is it important Illustrate your point with Essay

What does news do and why is it important Illustrate your point with examples from one news organization - Essay Example Although there are innumerous ways of communicating, news is one of the initial tools of communication. Be it local news or international news, news regarding politics or entertainment, we would be virtually unaware if there had been no concept of news. The first ever newspaper published was in Rome in 59 B.C, after which started a series of newer and improved threads of newspapers as well as magazines emerging from different parts of the world. The primary role of news has been to assemble happenings from all over the world and compile it for the general public to benefit from. Without a doubt, not every person is interested or even concerned with things like states affairs or politics for example, hence news is generally termed ‘Boring’ and obsolete; we often hear the phrase ‘Who reads the news anymore?’. This is a clichà ©d dilemma that the current generation faces, neglecting the fact that news does not have to be dull and boring. Not to put all the blame on the readers, editors and journalists also play an essential part in making news either dull or worthwhile. The success of any news paper, news channel, editor, reporter, journalist and the likes depends on the variety of audience they can successfully target. Imagine living in a house but not knowing where the utensils are, or not knowing where your shampoo is, or not knowing where the food is? Similarly, living in a world and not knowing what is going on and about around you is absurd. How do you find out which new car you should buy? Through the advertisements, it is news. How do you find out which holiday resort to visit and in which season? It is through news. How do you determine what the weather is going to be like in 10 days? It is through news. Countries often face hardships and crises, to remain oblivious through all of that is not an option, in such a scenario it is the news that keeps us up to date of the national situation, it is like our guardian, our life’s fire

Initial response to Malcolm X and Black Rage Essay Example for Free

Initial response to Malcolm X and Black Rage Essay In the essay, Cornel West tries to explain how Malcolm X’s â€Å"Black Rage† articulation wasnt directed at white americans only, but also to black americans who view their lives and minds through what West describes as â€Å"White lenses†. West also claims that Malcolm X’s idea of â€Å"psychic conversation† would promote blacks to turn that rage to love and appreciation of their own culture and self worth. Another claim West mentions is that the idea of psychic conversation struck fear into black professionals, due to their constant surrounding of white social circles, but at the same time understand the idea precisely for the exact same reason. West compares these kind of individuals to Du Bois’s idea of â€Å"double consciousness†. Blacks living between their own live and whites, never settle in either, yet crave acceptance mainly from whites. ! West also believed that Malcolm X viewed black equality as a farfetched possibility due to the majority of white racists, and black victims of democracy. What interests me the most is that Malcolm X feared cultural hybridity even though he, himself, comes from a hybrid culture. But eventually Malcolm X began to slowly remove that fear after looking into the acceptance of humanity regardless of race, class, or gender in the Islamic regimes of Muslims in the Middle East. In the end of the essay, West thinks that future generations should take Malcolm X’s â€Å"black rage† and â€Å"psychic conversation† as an example of rejection to any sorts of inequality. I strongly agree with West’s idea to follow such examples in order to achieve change in human equality and acceptance.

The Control of Women in Early Modern Europe Essay -- female rights in

Do you believe in equal rights for women? During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the rights of women were restricted when compared to the rights of men. Many of these rights were based upon the social and marital status of the woman, but regardless of her status, she had less rights than her husband. As I will argue in this paper, men controlled women and limited their rights with regard to guardianship, serving as a witness, and owning property. Women were viewed as inferior to men and often considered unable to make intellectual decisions. As Professor Byars stated in class, women at this time had illegitimate power rather than legitimate power. Anything they received, they received from someone or something else. Women only obtained wealth or power in a manner deemed appropriate by men. Women faced restrictions and lack of personal control their entire life and were under the authority of men. Men didn’t believe women could manage their personal affairs. Once a woman’s husband passed away, she was considered unable to manage her own life and was assigned a guardian to oversee her various affairs by a council or court system. This acting guardian was also assigned to her children and would oversee the affairs of the children until they turned legal age. Since the woman lost control of her children, it was the guardian who made decisions based upon what he thought was best for her children. The father of her deceased husband often had more to say about the children’s future than the mother. The only time the mother had full control of her children were if the children were illegitimate (Weisner 231). Guardianship was also another way for cities to control the inheritance of the widow. As Merry Weisner stated in her essa... ...erty was left to male heirs. Man was considered the head of the household and the master of women. It was the belief that by strengthening the power of the husband, you strengthen the power of the family (Scchneider 235). It is clear equal rights for men and women did not appear until well after the sixteenth and seventh centuries in early modern Europe. Women were under the control of men. Works Cited Schneider, Zoe. â€Å"Women Before the Bench: Female Litigants in Early Modern Normandy.† Early Modern Europe: Issues and Interpretations. Eds. James B. Collins and Karen L. Taylor. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2006. 241-257. Weisner, Merry. â€Å"Political, Economic, and Legal Structures.† Early Modern Europe: Issues and Interpretations. Eds. James B. Collins and Karen L. Taylor. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2006. 222-240.

Engineering Challenges: Provide Access to Clean Water

From the beginning of life, human beings have always faced challenges and difficulties in their lives. However, what is unique about humans is their ability to adapt and find solutions to these challenges. Engineering has always been the key and the most influential element to the survival of humanity in the face of the unending challenges.A committee of scientists and engineers from around the world have proposed the major 14th challenges in the 21 st century in a document entitled â€Å"Grand Challenges for Engineering.† They stated that it is very important to address these challenges to ensure a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle of the world's civilizations.One of the challenges addressed is the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. In fact, with the world's rapid population growth, the demand of clean water is increasingly becoming one of the most prominent issues in the world. I was astonished to know that thousands of people die because of the lack of cle an water. According to the document proposed, about 1 out of every 6 people living today is currently unable to gain access to fresh drinking water, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths from diseases due to poor water sources, i.e.; diarrhea.Water current situationWater is life. It is the crucial ingredient to the sustainability of civilizations and their prosperity. It is vital for domestic, agriculture and industrial purposes. We know that water on Earth should be sufficient to all its creations. Water is about 70% of Earth's surface. However, water is becoming one of the greatest challenges that may cause wars in the near future. Water is enough in some regions while in others there is a drought. The Earth's two poles have mountains of snow, oceans, rivers and inner water in the ground which is sufficient if it is used and divided equally. Many efforts to use this water has been made to develop technologies and to desalinate sea water.Most countries around the world suffer because of the lack of water sources or the lack of water quality which causes health diseases and consequently deaths. Moreover, this challenge is prominent in the developing world and is a rising problem in some modern countries. The old infrastructure in the developing world is one of the key reasons of water shortage. It has been designed since hundreds of years and much of it is of a poor quality which causes continuous leakage of water.This leakage may sometimes mix with polluted water and becomes a source of contaminated drinking  water. Thus, more improvements and efforts need to take place to face this tremendous challenge. Corporation between the countries and with the successes of engineering in using these waters around the world will definitely lead to various solutions to this challenge.From my readings about this topic, I found that solutions to provide clean water are everywhere. Some are simple, while others are complicated. For instance, desalination, using sand or bicycle s to clean and generate water, recycling and many others. Actually we need all these solutions to be applied to solve this problem. In this essay I will focus on some suggested solutions that have already taken place and that should be done to start helping all people in our world to access clean, healthy water and prevent its severe consequences.DesalinationAs I stated earlier, oceans contain tremendous amounts of water. Over 97 percent of the earth's water contains salt. One of the current solutions to extract salt from seawater is desalination. This technology is already taking place in some countries like Saudi Arabia. This is a good solution to provide water for domestic and agricultural uses. It can provide clean water and enable such countries to depend on themselves and solve water shortage.However, this technology needs a big budget and qualified people to achieve it and not all countries have these two conditions. Improvements must be made to make it accessible to all coun tries. This technology can be one way  to solve the problem of water shortage but still not a sufficient solution to this problem.Wendy Dewolf, in an article entitled â€Å"Engineering Clean Water†, 2011, writes about a new technology based in Boston for desalinating water by osmosis commercialized as Oasys Watera. This technology is cheaper and sustainable because, as she states, it requires â€Å"70 to 85 percent less electrical energy than other seawater desalination systems.† Thus, efforts of scientists and engineers are encouraging to have a clean and sustainable worldwide water supply.People's awareness and usage of waterAccording to a report published in 2004 by Nicole Abrashinsky, global consumption of water has increased twice as much as the population during the past 20 years. The United Nations has also warned that the demands for access for fresh water are unattainable to more than one billion people.One solution that I think will greatly help in solving this problem is encouraging people to realize the reality of how serious is the problem of water shortage and cleanness. Unfortunately, lots of people are still not realizing that this is a problem that causes thousands of people to die because they don't have access to clean water. And the other portion of people who know are still careless in using water, thinking that it is not their problem since it doesn't cause them any harm.Here comes the role of media and especially social media means which has become so influential in the  current time. We should educate people and make them aware of the reality of this problem and provide them with the facts and equipment necessary to help them consume water in a modest way. We hear of campaigns in social media to save water here and there, but I think they should be programmed and organized to make them effective.Some governments offer people with less water consumption a discount on the bell. Other governments finance farmers to dig we lls and water canals.  However, if everyone of us believes that it is our responsibility to save water, then we will observe ourselves when we use water and think that every drop of water counts.â€Å"Smart Tunnel†Nature has the solution for most of our problems, even though we harmed it greatly. Every year we hear of floods and cities got drowned due to hurricanes or storms in almost every region around the world. If we develop technologies to utilize this lost water, these countries will have enough water that will solve part of the problem. One solution that I found amazing in using this lost water is â€Å"smart tunnel†, i.e., the â€Å"Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel†. It is a storm drainage and road structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a major national project in the country.This tunnel received the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for its innovative and unique management of storm water and peak hour traffic. It is the longest multi-purpose tu nnel in the world. It reduces the problem of traffic as well as the problem of flash floods. In case of floods, the motorway will be closed to all traffic and the tunnel's gates will open to allow water to pass through. This is excellent way to use the lost water in such conditions and use it for later needs.Perhaps this solution is difficult to apply because the infrastructure of most cities are difficult to be rebuild. However, in the developing countries the chance to use floods water is more applicable since most of them lack appropriate infrastructure and thus can be financed to store water.The solutions, as we see, are everywhere to face the challenge of providing access to clean water. For instance, the committee of the NAE has mentioned many other solutions like recycling, small decentralized distillation units, and strategies for reducing water use. However, the solutions should be sustainable and environmental. Professor Menachem Elimelech at Yale University explains that â€Å"to address the global water problem for all regions in the world, we need sustainable technologies that consume less energy and chemicals and have lower impact on the environment.†Some of these solutions may not end this problem, but creativity and determination will always enable people to solve problems. It is our nature to invent and challenge difficulties. Engineering has always empowered us with successes that no one could have imagined they will become a reality. It is our world; it is our life. I invite  everyone reads this essay to save water and think of solutions to offer millions of people who lack it a healthy and clean water in their lives.

Architectural Project

Parliamentary buildings are always meant to attract different people meaning that the grander the structure, the stronger the public and national interest and reaction to them.   These buildings normally reflect the tradition and stability showing that they portray the image or the commanding presence of the state (Daniel, 1995).The parliamentary buildings are also known to provide ideals of national identity and pride of a given state showing its strength.   Splendor and command, even majesty is always shown in the grandest of parliamentary buildings especially those in America in the nineteenth century.The Norman Foster New German parliament is a project of architecture since it has developed after destruction of many parliamentary buildings.   Attention was first devoted to German development, both in regard to the Bundestag building in Berlin (Michael, 1998).The Reichstag building is historical known for its richness in sensitive historical and political associations.  Ã‚   These buildings have raised some questions of national symbols, questions of the European traditions and democratic aspiration of the newly reunited Germany.This why there has been debates on whether the new parliament building is something to do with politics or architecture.   But in the real sense it is believed to be an architectural project following the changes that have been experienced in the field of architecture since early ages in the building and rebuilding of the parliament. (Dieter, 2003).Early architectural changes began from year 1949 – 1971 following reunification of Germany.   They started rebuilding projects and expanding the parliament in Bonn.   Architectural changes were undertaken from 1949 by a leading architect of the day by the name Haris Schwippert. He laid down a new chamber for the Bundestag which was completed for a short while.The project was made up of glass showing that they were a trademark of German post-war architectural style.   Several small developments existed to the parliament buildings site by 1969 when a large multi-storey building was erected to accommodate members and other services.   The building consisted of 30 storeys and was a notable landmark in Bonn region since it could be seen from Rhine.Towards the end of 1969 the federal cabinet ordered a stop to the adhoc building programs of the government in Bonn (Stephen, 2005).   The cabinet then formed a commission to look at a wider town planning implications of government office and parliamentary accommodation.Restructuring of the town and new buildings was an architectural concern in the country.   The parliament new building was to contain office blocks for government, child care facilities, an international conference center, new buildings for Bundestage, and the bundestrat and finally a hotel with apartment.All these led to a lot of complications and confusions.   This forced the different architectural firms to do some projects in co llaboration with other firms. This led to further development in the redesigning of the Bonn parliamentary building from 1971 – 1992. (Foster, 2000).The architectural firms made a lot of restructural challenges, arrangements and consultation with the concerned citizens.   The revised plan was then announced or declared in the December 1978.   Further architectural competitions were experienced by this time.In1983 another complication emerged when it was found out that the fabric of the main chamber (plenarsaal) was seriously impaired. This required the parliament building to be demolished as it could not be re-built a according to the architectural findings. Various experts were called for advice and in the upshot it emerged that preservation of the existing building in its framework would greatly increase expenditure because of its unsuitable nature.The decision to build new parliamentary building was finally made after along discussion that did not want the building to be demolished.   Many stakeholders wanted the only affected chamber to be rebuilt (Corola, 2004).   However the demolition of the new chamber succeeded since the state government had limited power to intervene in matters affecting the federal parliament.The rebuilding of the chamber included other ancillary facilities adjacent to it meaning that the project was expected to be wider than just the chamber it self. (Jaeger, 1999).

Labor Unions Negative Effects on Economics

Labor Unions Negative Effects on Economics Unions are regarded as associations that bargains with other companies, enterprises and other relations on behalf of their members. They range from those trade unions that negotiate for the workers that perform certain work, to industrial unions that negotiates for workers who belong to a certain industry (Waterwal in Work para. 3).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labor Unions Negative Effects on Economics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although Labor unions play an important role in ensuring employees security and higher pays in their jobs, they have proved to negatively affect the overall economy. This is because they aggravate unemployment, reduced industrial expansion and promote large racial inequality in income. Unions affect the labor environment in two ways which include controlling the labor supply and increasing its demand. Some of the mechanisms used by labor unions to ensure that the salaries and wages of their members are increased include: push for an increase for the minimum wages. This translates to an increased cost on the labor for those companies that hire low-skilled work force. This minimizes the disparity between the wages that is paid on the lowly-skilled with that is paid to the highly skilled (. Radlciff para 2) As a result of this, the highly skilled workforces often forced to join labor unions so that they can negotiate on their behalf for an increase of their wages. Similarly, they can achieve the same by augmenting the marginal productivity of its members through training so that to have base for negotiating for an increment of their wages. With the advancement in globalization and existence of a very effective e business that is enabling people to purchase different products and services online globally and at a lower cost, many people and companies are opting for the e commerce. This has been boosted by the highly fluctuated prices of locally produced commoditie s as a result of the increased cost of production due to the high wages paid on workers. To discourage this trend many unions are restricting such behavior by imposing quotas and tariffs to control importations. This then increases demand of local products that consequently increases the demand of domestic demand. They control labor also by lobbying for tight immigration rules. This makes it difficult for foreigners to migrate into these countries. These mostly affect the low skilled work force. Through these mechanisms labor unions are able to achieve their objective of controlling labor supply so that to ensure that they hike wages. This has resulted to the labor unions affecting the economy negatively through the following way:Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Labor unions have been noted to increase the unemployment rate. This is because labor unions are known t o decrease the labor supply in the market. They do so through the restrictions they put on various sectors on the kind of people to hire (Beik 8). By doing so the unions increases the average pay that is paid to employees to make it be above that which should naturally crop up in the market. This makes the juncture of new labor and demand curve to happen at a lower level than normally. As a result of this, there the number of unemployed people is large since many enterprises can only afford to employ few workers due to the high wages they demand. Thus, labor unions should be eliminated so that to reduce the current high unemployment that is being experience in many countries. For instance, the unemployment rate in Germany is 8.5% and 9.6% in US. Therefore, if the labor unions are eliminated the unemployment rates will decrease as many industries will be able hire more workers at a lower cost, but as long as these restrictions persists, the unemployment will continue increasing since every company try always to minimize its cost of production to enable it maximize its profits and one way of ensuring this is by cutting down on the labor cost by either cutting down its work force and capitalize on the few. Labor unions lead to slow growth and loss in business value. Negative effects of labor unions are experienced significantly by small enterprises. This is because their profit margins are generally small. To survive and run at a profit they must employ the right strategies and tactics that will enable them operate at a lower cost to avoid operating at a loss due to the thin profit margins that is associated with them (Holley, Jennings and Wolters 79). Thus, by the labor unions contributing to higher employees wages, it leads to slow growth of businesses because high labor cost often triggers closer of many such enterprises and mostly during the time of economic depressions. Thus, this greatly hinders the expansion of businesses and the whole industry in general. To avoid such limitation, the labor unions should be done away with so that the wages can be dictated by the market which is often lower than that advocated by these unions. Through this process many small businesses will flourish and thus help in the overall economic growth. Labor unions are also associated with increased pay disparities (Radcliff para. 4). This mostly happens when unions offer their employees very high wages. Similarly, they often lead to an increase in unemployment for those that are not members. This can have an effect of lower average wages and high unemployment to the minorities in the sectors affected.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labor Unions Negative Effects on Economics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Labor unions lead to increased prices for products. Many critics compare labor unions with cartels. This is because they both use the same principal of cutting down supply for a thing so that to increase its price (Radcliff para 7). Unions as cartels limit the workforce supply and increase their pay. The productivity of the company is greatly reduced due to the limitation of the work force. This coupled with high labor costs forces companies to sell their produces at a higher cost so that to offer their employees the high wages they demand (Vedder and Gallaway 107). This is realized at the expense of their consumers. Thus, the principle used by the labor unions do not help to improve the overall economy, since the only people that do benefit from it is the union members who enjoy the high wages. The people that mostly gets affected negatively are those consumers that happen do not happen to belong to any union as they are forced to pay elevated prices to satisfy the ego of a few. Therefore, such unions should be abolished as they can be viewed a calculated move of exploiting the marginalized. Labor unions results to non-motivated and less skilled work force. Indivi dual workers do not have powers to negotiate for themselves and this is the reason they join labor unions which are mandated with this responsibility (Beik 82). The labor unions therefore do not want the employees to perceive that their own efforts are the reason for their wage raise, but perceive it as a result of the handwork of the unions. This creates bias nesses in the remuneration process since increment is based on how long an employee have been with the union, but not on productivity and skills. Thus, the less competent workforce enjoys better pays than those skilled and highly motivated employees. The failure of labor unions use merits when bargaining for pay increase of their members leads the highly motivated work force to become less motivated since their extra efforts are not motivated (eHow Contributor para. 6). Similarly, it limits the zeal for many employees to pursue further education which as their extra skills will not be recognized. This reduces productivity and innovations since many industries are then saturated with unskilled and non-motivated workforce. This greatly affects the overall economy. Unions are known for long to help many employees receive good wages and favorable terms of employment. This has resulted to an improved standard of living for majority of these workers. This is because an increase in their wages enhances their buying potential which intern affects the economy positively.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, labor unions have been noted to cause more harm to the economy that good since they have accumulated more power day by day and currently are behaving like cartels whereby they are cutting down the labor force to increase its demand so that to hike the wages of their members. This have resulted to many companies closing down, underperforming due to shortage of workforce as many organizations cannot afford to employ many workers at such high wages. Thus, labor unions should be eliminated to so that to boost the overall economic growth. Beik, Mildred. Labor relations. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. Print. eHow Contributor. Bad effects of labor unions. 2010. 02 December 2010. Holley, William, Jennings, Kenneth and Wolters, Roger. The Labor Relations Process. Stamford, Mass: Cengage learning, 2008. Print. Radcliff, Brent. Unions: Do they help or hurt workers? 2010. 02 December, 2010 https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/unions-wo rkers.asp Vedder, Richard and Gallaway, Lowell. The economic effects of labor unions revisited.  Journal of Labor Research, 23.1(2007):105-130. Waterwal in Work. Labor unions and the economy: how they have a negative net benefit. 2010. 02 December, 2010 http://socyberty.com/

Delphi Thread Pool Example Using AsyncCalls

Delphi Thread Pool Example Using AsyncCalls This is my next test project to see what threading library for Delphi would suite me best for my file scanning task I would like to process in multiple threads / in a thread pool. To repeat my goal: transform my sequential file scanning of 500-2000 files from the non threaded approach to a threaded one. I should not have 500 threads running at one time, thus would like to use a thread pool. A thread pool is a queue-like class feeding a number of running threads with the next task from the queue. The first (very basic) attempt was made by simply extending the TThread class and implementing the Execute method (my threaded string parser). Since Delphi does not have a thread pool class implemented out of the box, in my second attempt Ive tried using OmniThreadLibrary by Primoz Gabrijelcic. OTL is fantastic, has zillion ways to run a task in a background, a way to go if you want to have fire-and-forget approach to handing threaded execution of pieces of your code. AsyncCalls by Andreas Hausladen Note: what follows would be more easy to follow if you first download the source code. While exploring more ways to have some of my functions executed in a threaded manner Ive decided to also try the AsyncCalls.pas unit developed by Andreas Hausladen. Andys AsyncCalls – Asynchronous function calls unit is another library a Delphi developer can use to ease the pain of implementing threaded approach to executing some code. From Andys blog: With AsyncCalls you can execute multiple functions at the same time and synchronize them at every point in the function or method that started them. ... The AsyncCalls unit offers a variety of function prototypes to call asynchronous functions. ... It implements a thread pool! The installation is super easy: just use asynccalls from any of your units and you have instant access to things like execute in a separate thread, synchronize main UI, wait until finished. Beside the free to use (MPL license) AsyncCalls, Andy also frequently publishes his own fixes for the Delphi IDE like Delphi Speed Up and DDevExtensions Im sure youve heard of (if not using already). AsyncCalls In Action source code HTML In essence, all AsyncCall functions return an IAsyncCall interface that allows to synchronize the functions. IAsnycCall exposes the following methods: //v 2.98 of asynccalls.pas IAsyncCall interface //waits until the function is finished and returns the return value function Sync: Integer; //returns True when the asynchron function is finished function Finished: Boolean; //returns the asynchron functions return value, when Finished is TRUE function ReturnValue: Integer; //tells AsyncCalls that the assigned function must not be executed in the current threa procedure ForceDifferentThread; end; Heres an example call to a method expecting two integer parameters (returning an IAsyncCall): TAsyncCalls.Invoke(AsyncMethod, i, Random(500)); function TAsyncCallsForm.AsyncMethod(taskNr, sleepTime: integer): integer; begin result : sleepTime; Sleep(sleepTime); TAsyncCalls.VCLInvoke( procedure begin Log(Format(done nr: %d / tasks: %d / slept: %d, [tasknr, asyncHelper.TaskCount, sleepTime])); end); end; The TAsyncCalls.VCLInvoke is a way to do synchronization with your main thread (applications main thread - your application user interface). VCLInvoke returns immediately. The anonymous method will be executed in the main thread. Theres also VCLSync which returns when the anonymous method was called in the main thread. Thread Pool in AsyncCalls An execution request is added to the waiting-queue when an async. function is started...If the maximum thread number is already reached the request remains in the waiting-queue. Otherwise a new thread is added to the thread pool. Back to my file scanning task: when feeding (in a for loop) the asynccalls thread pool with series of TAsyncCalls.Invoke() calls, the tasks will be added to internal the pool and will get executed when time comes (when previously added calls have finished). Wait All IAsyncCalls To Finish The AsyncMultiSync function defined in asnyccalls waits for the async calls (and other handles) to finish. There are a few overloaded ways to call AsyncMultiSync, and heres the simplest one: function AsyncMultiSync(const List: array of IAsyncCall; WaitAll: Boolean True; Milliseconds: Cardinal INFINITE): Cardinal; dynamic array If I want to have wait all implemented, I need to fill in an array of IAsyncCall and do AsyncMultiSync in slices of 61. My AsnycCalls Helper two dimensional array Heres a piece of the TAsyncCallsHelper: WARNING: partial code! (full code available for download) uses AsyncCalls; type TIAsyncCallArray array of IAsyncCall; TIAsyncCallArrays array of TIAsyncCallArray; TAsyncCallsHelper class private fTasks : TIAsyncCallArrays; property Tasks : TIAsyncCallArrays read fTasks; public procedure AddTask(const call : IAsyncCall); procedure WaitAll; end; WARNING: partial code! procedure TAsyncCallsHelper.WaitAll; var i : integer; begin for i : High(Tasks) downto Low(Tasks) do begin AsyncCalls.AsyncMultiSync(Tasks[i]); end; end; This way I can wait all in chunks of 61 (MAXIMUM_ASYNC_WAIT_OBJECTS) - i.e. waiting for arrays of IAsyncCall. With the above, my main code to feed the thread pool looks like: procedure TAsyncCallsForm.btnAddTasksClick(Sender: TObject); const nrItems 200; var i : integer; begin asyncHelper.MaxThreads : 2 * System.CPUCount; ClearLog(starting); for i : 1 to nrItems do begin asyncHelper.AddTask(TAsyncCalls.Invoke(AsyncMethod, i, Random(500))); end; Log(all in); //wait all //asyncHelper.WaitAll; //or allow canceling all not started by clicking the Cancel All button: while NOT asyncHelper.AllFinished do Application.ProcessMessages; Log(finished); end; Cancel all? - Have To Change The AsyncCalls.pas :( I would also like to have a way of cancelling those tasks that are in the pool but are waiting for their execution. Unfortunately, the AsyncCalls.pas does not provide a simple way of canceling a task once it has been added to the thread pool. Theres no IAsyncCall.Cancel or IAsyncCall.DontDoIfNotAlreadyExecuting or IAsyncCall.NeverMindMe. For this to work I had to change the AsyncCalls.pas by trying to alter it as less as possible - so that when Andy releases a new version I only have to add a few lines to have my Cancel task idea working. Heres what I did: Ive added a procedure Cancel to the IAsyncCall. The Cancel procedure sets the FCancelled (added) field which gets checked when the pool is about to start executing the task. I needed to slightly alter the IAsyncCall.Finished (so that a call reports finished even when cancelled) and the TAsyncCall.InternExecuteAsyncCall procedure (not to execute the call if it has been cancelled). You can use WinMerge to easily locate differences between Andys original asynccall.pas and my altered version (included in the download). You can download the full source code and explore. Confession NOTICE! :) 2.99 version of AsyncCalls The CancelInvocation method stopps the AsyncCall from being invoked. If the AsyncCall is already processed, a call to CancelInvocation has no effect and the Canceled function will return False as the AsyncCall wasnt canceled. The Canceled method returns True if the AsyncCall was canceled by CancelInvocation. The Forget method unlinks the IAsyncCall interface from the internal AsyncCall. This means that if the last reference to the IAsyncCall interface is gone, the asynchronous call will be still executed. The interfaces methods will throw an exception if called after calling Forget. The async function must not call into the main thread because it could be executed after the TThread.Synchronize/Queue mechanism was shut down by the RTL what can cause a dead lock. no need to use my altered version Note, though, that you can still benefit from my AsyncCallsHelper if you need to wait for all async calls to finish with asyncHelper.WaitAll; or if you need to CancelAll.

Piano Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Piano - Essay Example There is no motion anywhere; like everything is paying tribute to the beautiful music. In this sense of extreme calm and motionlessness, I can feel goose-bumps every now and then when an unusually appealing note gets me overwhelmed. When I am overjoyed with happiness, the sound of piano helps me sustain that feeling of being overjoyed. Particularly, if a fast track is being played, nothing matches the occasion better than that. When I attain this match by fortune, I cannot help dancing. While I know that I am a very pathetic dancer otherwise, my dancing skills unimaginably get polished at such occasions as if by magic or a miracle. I dance like I have learnt dancing formally from some dance school. Maybe it is this frequency that I share with the sound of a piano that it helps me explore my hidden capabilities and surprise my friends and family with that. When I hear piano, it frequently reminds me of my second birthday when I had received piano as a gift from my dearest grandmother who is no more with me today. Thus my grandmother established my relation with piano the very day. I have spent my early childhood at my grandmother’s place and she is one of the people who have not only shaped my life and personality but have left many positive influences and examples for me to follow throughout my life. That was the first time I happened to own a piano. Probably that is where my association with piano started and has continued to date. May be this is the reason why at every special occasion, I feel incomplete and undone unless I have heard piano and cherished a memory of my grandmother. Piano affects me almost just like alcohol affects people. Drunk people excel in the emotion that they have at a particular point in time unless something different happens to catch their attention and make them take a turn. Likewise, piano helps me retain and indeed strengthen whatever feeling I have at a particular point in time while I