After The Atomic Bomb Essays - Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Warfare

After The Atomic Bomb Introduction The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and pr event the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions. The Atomic Bomb The devastation brought about by the atomic bomb has caused fear among all the people that have realized the potential destructive power of its invention. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 completely obliterated both cities (Lanouette 30). Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people with an additional 66,000 injured (30-39). Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki also carried its share of Americas duty by killing 40,000 people and injuring another 25,000 (30-39). The bombs also killed an estimated 230,000 more people from the after effects of the two explosions (30). The two bombings had opened the worlds eyes to the destructive power that could be unleashed by man. The bombs had raised hell on earth for those few minutes and produced a tremendous amount of casualties. The way people had died was shocking. More than 75% of the people killed died from the instantaneous heat and light at the moment of explosion called flash burns (Summary of Damages and Injuries 3, 25). During the first minute of the explosion many injuries where caused by the instantaneous penetrating radiation from the nuclear explosion (3). Other casualties came from burning fires that had ignited throughout the cities from the tremendous heat of the blast (3). The pressure of the blast waves created flying debris, collapsed buildings, and forcibly hurled people to their death (3). Undoubtedly those who survived the initial effects of the blast were very lucky. The amount of deaths caused by the blast itself was incomparable to the number of lives lost to the other effects after the initial explosion (Summary of Damages and Injuries 3). The inferno created by the bomb wasnt from the explosion itself, but the after effects of fires, collapsed buildings, and flying debris (3). In Hiroshima fires sprang up simultaneously all over the wide flat central area of the city; these fires combined to form immense fire storms which continued to destroy anything that had not already been destroyed by the blast. Buildings that had encountered considerable structure damage collapsed and continued to take even more lives (13). In the end both cities were left totally obliterated with nearly all of their residential districts and businesses flattened and most of their citizens dead (14). The technology that had built the atomic bomb helped the world [get] a glimpse of its own mortality (Lanouette 28). The power of mass destruction had been taken out of natures hands and was now controlled by people. This created a worldwide anxiety of how this newly cast power could be used and changed how the world functions today. The atomic bombs may have resolved one conflict, but with that resolution arose many more. The controversy over nuclear weapons would soon take

The Ultimate Punishment for The Ultimate Crime essays

The Ultimate Punishment for The Ultimate Crime essays People often argue that the death penalty is wrong and inhuman and that life in prison would be a harsher or better punishment. When comparing the death penalty to life in prison you will find many arguments in favor of each one. There are more for the death penalty though. The death penalty is the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crime to where as life is just a slap on the wrist saying you were wrong so you have to live in prison. Another argument would be that the death penalty deters crime while prison doesnt. Then finally when on death role you are in solitary confinement and not with the general population when you are sentenced to life. The death penalty is a much better way to deal with criminals and deter up and coming ones. The death penalty is the harshest punishment that one can receive for the ultimate crime. When someone takes a life, the balance of justice is disturbed. Why should someone who killed innocent people for their own enjoyment be allowed to live? The death penalty is a way to deter crime as well. Only the taking of the murderer's life restores the balance and allows society to show that murder is an intolerable crime which will be punished. If everyone sees that if they commit a crime that takes another persons life that their life will be taken as well they may not commit the crime. Although the victim and the victim's family cannot be restored to the way things were before the murder, at least an execution brings closure to the crime and closure to the incident for the victim's family and also ensures that the murderer will not be able to add anymore victims to his or her list. For the most cruel and brutal crimes, the ones where the death penalty is applied, offenders deser ve the worst punishment under our system of law, and that is the death penalty. Any lesser punishment would weaken the value society places on protecting lives. We have always used punishment to discourage ...

World War II and the Role of Women Research Paper

World War II and the Role of Women - Research Paper Example The businesses and industries of America required labor for their continued functionalities due to which, they recruited women in place of men, as the war required a major contribution from men in order to secure the homeland. According to Marc Miller (1980), â€Å"the war led to a dramatic rise in the number of women working in the United States† (42). Women that previously worked in homes and managed only their homes came out during the war in order to save their country from economic downfall. Ellen J. Babb (1994) informs that women were supported by the government and private sector (43). In fact, they were not only supported but also encouraged to work for their country’s welfare by getting employment in business and industrial sector. Women volunteered for the employment offered by the government and private sector, as their services were acutely required by the state. The lives of women changed as a whole, as because of their work outside their homes, they got recognition and respect, as they never enjoyed before. It was during the war that women were considered as a substitute for men; otherwise, they were regarded as less capable in comparison to men. The jobs offered to the women were temporary and there was a plan to ask the women to go back to their previous household activities when the war was over (Anderson 78). Women were not only required to manage the outside works but also their children, which was there all time job. According to Babb (1994), â€Å"One thing they had to do was find new ways to balance family and work roles† (46). The lives of American woman transformed as previously they were only to manage their homes and children but then, during the war, they were to protect the economy of their country and help it to sustain while their children and their homes were their responsibility as before. They had to do manage many works whether they were home related or work related.  

Women's suffrage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women's suffrage - Essay Example It is against these back drops that I want to bring to your attention the historical background of women suffrage, and finally deal with the missing link, argument against women suffrage. To achieve this objective, I have arranged my paper, into two main parts, in the first part, I have discussed broadly about the history of human suffrage, and then on the last part, I have considered the arguments against, women suffrage. To begin with I need to provide, the historical background of women suffrage, and it is to this that I now start with In 1776 Abigail Adams had written to her husband John Adams to ask him to remember ladies when they wrote the new laws. But the next year women lost the right to vote in New York. Three years later women lost their rights of vote in Massachusetts. And In 1784 women also lost their rights voting in New Hampshire. â€Å"Three years later voting qualifications were placed in the hands of the states by the U.S. Constitutional Convention, and women lost the right to vote in all states but New Jersey. Women lost their rights of voting in New Jersey in the year 1807† (Timeline of Womens Suffrage in the United States 2012). Anti-slavery associations were formed in the early 1830’s. In 1836 Angelina Grimke appealed to southern women by speaking out against slavery. And the Pastoral Letter of General Association of Massachusetts to Congressional Churches Under Their Care were put into operation against women speaking about slavery in a negative way in a public place (Liddington 1978). In 1840 a World Anti-Slavery Convention was held in London but women were prohibited from being a part due to their sex. Elizabeth Cady Stanton presented the Equal Voting Rights at the first Women’s Rights Convention held in the Seneca Fall, in New York in 1848. Another Women’s Rights Convention was held two years later in Salem, Ohio. That same year the first National Women’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1861 in

Madison Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Madison Debate - Essay Example On the other hand, Mr. Randolph proposed the formation of a national government consisting of three branches that include supreme legislative, executive, and judiciary (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). He also proposed two branches for the national legislature. In the New Jersey plan, Mr. Patterson proposed one house in the Congress while in the Virginia plan Mr. Randolph proposed two houses in the Congress (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). In the New Jersey plan, the Union States in Congress elected the congressional members while in the Virginia plan the people of the several states elected the congressional members (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). The two plans defined terms of service for the legislative branch where in the Virginia plan, the congressional members served for a term of three years while in the New Jersey plan the congressional members served for one term of unspecified years (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). There are differences in congressional representation in the Virginia plan by Mr. Randolph and the New Jersey plan by Mr. Patterson. The New Jersey plan determines a states members based on the number of white & other free citizens & inhabitants of every age sex and condition (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). On the other hand, the Virginia plan determines a states members based on the limits of the Union States from a voluntary junction of Government & territory or otherwise (Lillian Goldman Law Library 1). In both plans, the votes by states in Congress define the powers of the Congress and determine the management and operations of Union states. Moreover, congressional power differs in the two plans where powers of the Congress with relation to the New Jersey plan helps in passing acts for raising a revenue, making rules & regulations, and altering and amending the acts as they deem fit (Lillian Goldman Law Library

Kachrus Three Circle Model Evaluation

Kachrus Three Circle Model Evaluation The Three-circle Model of World Englishes was developed by Kachru in 1985 and it remains one of the most influential models for grouping the varieties of English in the world (Mollin, 2006, p.41). Kachru (1985) described the spread of English in terms of three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. These circles represent the type of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages (Kachru, 1985, p.12). Although Kachrus three-circle of English is still an important initial stepping stone for the division of Englishes, drawbacks and variations have been identified by several authors, including Kachru himself (Yoneoka, 2002). The Kachrus Three-circle Model will be introduced and evaluated in this paper. In the Kachrus Three-circle Model, the Inner Circle Kachrus model refers to the traditional bases of English, dominated by the mother-tongue varieties, where English acts as a first language (White, 1997). The countries involved in the Inner Circle include the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The varieties of English used here are said to be norm providing. The Outer Circle consists of the earlier phases of the spread of English in non-native settings, where the language has become part of a countrys chief institutions, and plays an important second language role in a multilingual setting (Rajadurai, 2005). Most of the countries included in the Outer Circle are former colonies of the UK or the USA, such as Malaysia, Singapore, India, Ghana, Kenya and others (Rajadurai, 2005). The English used in the outer circle is considered as norm-developing. The Expanding Circle refers to the territories where English is learnt as a foreign language. The territories do not have a h istory of colonization by members of the Inner Circle and institutional or social role. English is taught as a foreign language as the most useful vehicle of international communication (White, 1997). The countries in the Expanding Circle include China, Japan, Greece and Poland (Crsytal, 1997). The English used in the Expanding Circle is regarded as norm dependent. The Kachrus model is in a dynamic nature. According to Kachru (1985), dividing English speakers into Inner, Outer and Expanding circles is preferable to the traditional native, ESL and EFL labels which involve the dichotomy between native and nonnative speakers (Rajadurai, 2005). English native speakers are visually not privileged since they are not placed at the top of the Three-circle Model. However, the model is not sufficiently dynamic to reflect the reality of English use in the world. It still prefers the English native speakers in the inner circle. The limitations of the model will be discussed in the following. According to Patil (2006), the model assumes that the three circles represent linguistic reality perfectly. Kachru (1985) himself has noted that the concentric circles may be oversimplified and fuzzy areas exist. Some special cases like South Africa and Jamaica are difficult to be classified. As Kachru himself has acknowledged, the fact is that the categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive and grey areas exist between the circles (Rajadurai, 2005). Apart from the fuzzy classification between circles, Tripathi (1998) points out that there are no mechanisms to differentiate varieties within a circle. Therefore, Crystal (1997) suggests not defining the boundaries of Kachrus concentric circles in such absolute terms. Kachrus model describes the Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding Circle as norm-providing, norm-developing and norm-dependent. However, Crystal (1995) comments that the model cannot represent the reality of international English use because the reality is often not so clear-cut. Crystal wonders it is difficult to distinguish whether the Outer Circle looks to Inner Circle norms or it creates its own norms. Norms development is also possible in the Expanding Circle. The Three-circle Model fails to consider the growth of English in the world. It cannot account for the growing use of English, namely English as a lingua franca between speakers who do not share a first language (Mollin, 2006, p.41-42). English is now overwhelmingly widespread in international settings. It is the language choice in international organizations, companies as well as academic world (Katzner, 2002, p.39). It is also commonly used in the domains of the internet, international mass media and entertainment (Phillipson 1992). Crystal (1997, p.22) states that the speed with which a global language scenario has arisen is truly remarkable. The so called Expanding Circle of foreign language speakers included more than 750 million EFL speakers in 1997, compared to 375 million first language speakers and 375 million second language speakers. It is important to point out that the number of English users is developing at a faster rate as a language of international communication than as a language of intranational communication (Thesis, 2009). International communicat ion has become a common phenomenon between the circles and the increased mobility of people has made personal relationships across language borders (Thesis, 2009). Kachrus concentric circles seem to acknowledge diversity but little commonality across Englishes, describing the English varieties as separate (Burt, 2005). Due to the increasing international communication, the distinction between the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle becomes fuzzy and cannot account for the growing use of English in todays world. In the Kachrus model, the Expanding Circle refers to the territories where English is learnt as a foreign language. However, because of the growth of English, the language has become a necessity in todays world; English is not only learnt in the expanding circle, or even mostly, to enable communication with the Inner and Outer Circles (Patil, 2006). The importance of English is keep increasing in the world, especially in the Expanding Circle. As a result, learning English can no longer be seen as learning a foreign language in the traditional sense (Patil, 2006). Graddol (2006) has even argued that knowing English has become a basic skill in the global world. Nunan shares the same feeling with Graddol that knowing English makes more sense than simply learning English for EFL or ESL (Robertson, 2005). The functions of English are highly restricted in the Expanding Circle which can not reflect the actual use of English. Englishes in the Expanding Circle are seen as far removed from the Inner Circle core and marginalized. As the description of the Expanding Circle mentioned in Kachru (1992), The performance varieties of English have a highly restricted functional range in specific contexts; for example, those of tourism, commerce, and other international transactions. In fact, the range of English use in the Expanding Circle has become much wider due to the increasing growth of English. There is much more use of English nowadays in some countries of the expanding circle, where it is only a foreign language à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, than in some of the countries where it has traditionally held a special place (Crystal, 1997, p. 56). For example, although Egyptian English is classified in the Expanding Circle, there are a number of Egyptian contexts, such as medicine, higher education, the sci ences, or in tourism, which extend limbs into the Outer circle as well. (Yoneoka, 2002). The above example shows that the functions of Expanding Circle English today are not as restricted as Karchru mentioned. It can be observed that there is a merging of the Outer and Expanding Circles. The Three-circle Model implies that the Outer Circle cannot merge into the Inner Circle (Patil, 2006). However, sometimes it is difficult to define which one owns English as the first language and which one knows English as a second language. There are several countries where population movement, language loss, divergent language attitudes, and massive shifts in language use have made it difficult to answer the question: What is your first language?(Crystal, 1995, p. 363). Therefore, not only the classification between the Outer and Expanding Circles, that between Inner Circle and Outer Circles can also be tough. Some researchers suggest that Kachrus Three-circle Model should not base the classification of English speakers on national identity. National identity should not be a basis of classification of speakers of an international language. The more English becomes an international language, the more the division of its speakers into native and nonnative becomes inconsistent. (Brutt-Griffler and Samimy, 2001, p.104). Refer to this problem; Rajadurai (2005) has presented a different Three-Circle Model: While acknowledging the fuzzy distinctions between circles, in principle, the inner circle could comprise all users who are proficient in English and able to instinctively codeswitch between international and national or regional varieties to communicate in the most appropriate way. The second circle could consist of speakers who are proficient only in regional varieties, i.e. native and nonnative speakers with restricted intranational proficiency, while the outer circle could be made up of le arners of the language. Although English native speakers visually do not have higher hierarchy since they are not placed at the top of the Three-circle Model, it still prefers the English native speakers in the inner circle. As Burt (2005) comments, the Inner Circle clearly establishes at the top of the hierarchy. The idea that English is someones second language implies that it is someone elses first language. It gives the impression that English belongs to the native speaker who owns it as his first language. Kachru has acknowledged that it is almost unavoidable that anyone would take second as less worthy (Kachru and Nelson, 1996, p.79). In order to ease the problem, Yano (2001, p.122-123) has suggested that the ENL and ESL circles can merge into a single ENL circle with two sets of varieties: genetic and functional ENL. To conclude, Kachru Three-Circle model has limitations to reflect the reality of English use. The model is oversimplified and the classification among the three circles is fuzzy. In fact, the three varieties are mutually inclusive and grey areas exist. Due to the rapid growth of English, English status has increased in the Expanding Circle. English is not only learnt but more widely used in different settings. The classification between the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle becomes difficult. Therefore, the Three-circle Model should be modified to a more dynamic one to represent the actual use of English. Instead of categorizing the English speakers based on national identity, the revised model can be classified in terms of the English proficiency in international and regional varieties. More research related to World Englishes should also be conducted in the future to meet the rapid growth of English.

Executing the Innocent :: capital punishment essays

The risk of executing innocent persons is a decisive objection to the institution of capital punishment in the United States. Consequentialist arguments for the death penalty are inconclusive at best; the strongest justification is a retributive one. However, this argument is seriously undercut if a significant risk of executing the innocent exists. Any criminal justice system carries the risk of punishing innocent persons, but the punishment of death is unique and requires greater precautions. Retributive justifications for the death penalty are grounded in respect for innocent victims of homicide; but accepting serious risks of mistaken executions demonstrates disrespect for innocent human life. United States Supreme Court decisions of the 1990’s (Coleman v. Thompson and Herrara v. Collins) illustrate the existence of serious risk and suggest some explanations for it. I live in a city (Philadelphia, PA) whose District Attorney seeks the death penalty more often, and with greater success, than any other D.A. in the United States. In Philadelphia, as elsewhere in the U.S., the majority of defendants in capital trials are poor, and rely on court appointed defense lawyers paid by the local jurisdiction. It is no coincidence that a city which sends large numbers of convicted murderers to death row has "an unusually impoverished system" for representing indigent defendants. According to Tina Rosenberg, where private attorneys "routinely" charge $50,000 to defend a capital case, Philadelphia pays court-appointed lawyers a $1700 flat fee for preparation and $400 for each day in court. The executive administrator of Philadelphia's courts reckons that this averages $3519 a case.(1) Those numbers help to explain why District Attorney Lynn Abraham's department has such a high percentage of homicide defendants sentenced to death. They also suggest that Philadelphia runs an especially great risk of sending to death row some persons who are innocent of the crime for which they were convicted. But why does Philadelphia ask for the death penalty so often—in Rosenberg's words, "virtually as often as the law will allow"? (320) D.A. Abraham says that she considers herself the representative of the victim and the victim's family, and that the death penalty is the right thing to do for them. (321) This is essentially a retributive rationale for capital punishment. The risk of executing innocent human beings is the focus of this paper. I believe that this risk is so significant that it constitutes a decisive reason for the abolition of capital punishment in the United States.