Business Finance Industry Issues Free Essay Example, 750 words

Generally speaking, the industry payable turnover is only 30 days. This means that the company is taking advantage of paying its creditors late. Although it is foregoing a 2.5% discount, it can make use of the money that they have in hand for almost 30 days (as they pay their creditors in almost 60 days). This money can be used to buy government securities or short term investments that would give a return of greater than 2.5% and hence the company is currently doing a great job. The advantages of this are an improvement in cash conversion cycles, investment opportunity and it can use the cash for profitable purposes. The disadvantage is that it may lose its reputation in the market and it has to forego a 2.5% discount. However, the advantages of the policy outweigh the disadvantages and the company should continue with the current policy. The Company would rely more on overdraft after the new policy implementation because it is going to take more days for the company to create cash and hence it will meet any of its obligations falling between the cycle by using an overdraft and other credit lines provided by financial institutions and banks. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Finance Industry Issues or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Answer: The Company can improve its credit control by adopting effective collection policies or by restructuring the collection department. There should be aging of accounts receivable and the company should intimate its customers regularly when their debt is about to mature. Another way of improving the credit control policy is through assessment of the financial worth of customers before allowing them the leverage to pay later.

Red Scarf Girl - 810 Words

RTL: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Society isolates individuals from others because they fear the reactions they will evoke from others. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck displays isolation through Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife. Candy is isolated because of his disability and his and the death of his dog. Crook is isolated mainly due to his race. Curley’s wife suffers from solitude because she is the only women. The pervasive emotion experienced by all of the characters in Of Mice and Men is loneliness. The loneliness is also, though, profoundly existential and symbolic. The men do not want to be isolated and they do not want to be left behind by society. Candy is one protagonist who suffers from isolation. Candy is†¦show more content†¦S pose you couldn t go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black. How d you like that? S pose you had to sit out here an read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you go t to read books. Books ain t any good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain t got anybody. Don t make any difference who the guy is, long s he s with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick (p. 80). The Great Depression reflected through Crook because slavery ended but there was still racism against any black. For example, Crook got even with Lennie to show all his anger of isolation and racism. Curley’s wife is isolated because she is not wanted by society as she is a woman. The fact that she doesn’t have her own name explains that she is property of Curley. Curley’s wife is also isolated because she needs to find consolation in Lennie telling him about her being a star if her mom had let her. She is craving for so much attention. This forces Lennie to end up killing her. Curley’s wife is not a typical character meaning she does not appear in many stories. No men want to talk to her as they consider her a flirtatious and trouble maker. For example, Curley’s wife states that she is lonely: I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely. Curley’s wife tries to gain attention from the men with her famine charm only to find she will beShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Red Scarf Girl777 Words   |  4 PagesRed Scarf Girl is a historical memoir written by Ji-li Jang about her experiences during the cultural revolution of China, wi th a foreword by David Henry Hwand Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li was at the top of her class and the da-dui-zhang, or Student Council President, of her school. However, her father prevents her from auditioning for the Central Liberation Army Arts Academy due to their political status, which she had no knowledge of at the time. Her family is considered a Black Family, because herRead MoreRed Scarf Girl Essay621 Words   |  3 PagesRed Scarf Girl Essay The Cultural Revolution was a time of much confusion in china. The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang illustrates the chaos of that time. Ji-li’s experiences during this time period led to her point of view changing. Ji-li starts the Cultural Revolution full of progressive thoughts, but this quickly turns to confusion, and leads to an important choice, something that impacts the rest of her life. In the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Ji-li is full of thoughts ofRead MoreRed Scarf Girl : Character Changes1679 Words   |  7 PagesEssay Outline: Red Scarf Girl, Character Change Essay - Introductory Paragraph: According to the Online Dictionary, the â€Å"Chinese Cultural Revolution† is defined as â€Å"a movement in China, beginning in the year 1966 and led by Mao Zedong, to restore the vitality of communism in China.† To begin, the Chinese Cultural Revolution performed a significant role in establishing the setting and conflicts in the novel of â€Å"Red Scarf Girl†. The setting of the story took place in the city of Shanghai, specificallyRead MoreFahrenheit 451 And Red Scarf Girl1299 Words   |  6 Pagesresolution was doing to it’s people? Fahrenheit 451 and Red Scarf Girl illustrate how their government’s constrained the lives of everyday people. Fahrenheit 451 is an intricate fictional book written by Ray Bradbury. The stories narrative revolves around the journey of a Firemen named Guy Montag. In this futuristic book, the government outlawed books and have Firemen like Guy burn them for a living. Red scarf girl is a memoir about a young girl named Ji-li Jiang during China’s cultural resolutionRead MoreRed Scarf Girl Essay Questions Answers2073 Words   |  9 PagesThe Red Scarf Girl Questions amp; Answers 1. How does Ji-li’s opinion about the Communist Party and its beloved leader, Mao Ze-dong, change over the course of her story? Name some of the most crucial events in the autobiography and explain how they change Ji-lis feelings about the party. Ji-li never stopped believing in Mao because everyone was brainwashed into thinking he was good, like she says on the first page; â€Å"Heaven and earth are great, but greater still is the kindness of the CommunistRead MoreRed Scarf Girl Chapter Comprehension And Reflection Questions986 Words   |  4 Pagesit to your Humanities 17-18 folder. Add your name block to the title. Ex: Compton (2nd) - Red Scarf Girl Chapter Comprehension Reflection Questions Link to book pdf (Can also be found on Echo under Red Scarf Girl folder) If you ever need to find a specific quote within the memoir, type Ctrl + f. A search box will appear. This is a 100-point assignment which will guide you as you read Red Scarf Girl. You do not need to write in complete sentences, but the full meaning of what you say shouldRead MoreAnalysis of Ji-Li Jiang ´s The Red Scarf Girl Essay1094 Words   |  5 Pagesmemoir/auto-biography/non-fiction,Red Scarf Girl.No its ok,yeah I know,book reports are boring,and the title and genre of this book makes it even sound more boring,but WAIT,before you throw this in the fire,remember the phrase: Dont judge a book by its cover The Book,Red Scarf Girl contains 272 pages of words that build up suspense and excitement.It was published in 1997 by Harper Collins Publisher and has won many awards,such as the ALA award.The book also contains a forward by David Henry Hwang.The Red Scarf Girl willRead More Questions and Answers Forming a Summary of Red Scarf Girl Essay2576 Words   |  11 PagesPrologue The prolog of the Red Scarf Girl is about Ji Lis life before the Cultural Revolution started. Before this time, her family was very stable. Ji Li was a respectable girl, who wore her red scarf around her neck, received very high marks in school, and was the top of her class. When Ji Li was twelve-year-old when the Cultural Revolution started. Ji Li does very well in school and is very successful. One day she gets called down to the principles office. A liberation army recruiterRead MoreSymbolism And Symbolism In Whartons Ethan Frome1356 Words   |  6 Pagesuses the red color of Mattie’s lips and scarf to convey love, brightness, and blood that are displayed throughout the story. The author uses the color red to symbolize love because red is a color that is commonly attributed to heart and passion. When Ethan is watching the dance from outside of the church, he sees a young man that â€Å"drew forth a girl who had already wound a cherry-colored â€Å"fascinator† about her head...† (pg. 20) Ethan longed to see the beautiful face that was veiled under the red scarfRead MoreOppression in China973 Words   |  4 Pagesequivalent to the population of California (Edwards). After the time of the Cultural Revolution, over 1.5 million civilians died during the movement, and others were tortured, publicly hu miliated, or suffered imprisonment (History.com). The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang brings to life the cultural oppression that the Chinese citizens faced during the time Mao Zedong led China. There are many facts and statistics that involved the oppression that fell upon the Chinese citizens. On October 1, 1949

Stress Management Reflection Free Essays

After learning about stress in this class my understanding is that, stress symptoms may be affecting your health, even though you might not realize it. You may think illness is to blame for that nagging headache, your frequent forgetfulness or your decreased productivity at work. But sometimes stress is to blame. We will write a custom essay sample on Stress Management Reflection or any similar topic only for you Order Now Indeed, stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. There is a long list of serious health problems that may develop due to stress.Some include depression, diabetes, hair loss, heart disease, high blood pressure, stomach upset, sleep problems, chest pain, back pain, obesity, obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder, sexual dysfunction, tooth and gum disease, ulcers, cancer. Some examples on how stress can affect your behavior are overeating, under eating, angry outbursts, drug or alcohol abuse, increased smoking, social withdrawal, crying spells, relationship conflicts. When you recognize common stress symptoms, you can take steps to manage them.Like we learned in this class stress management could include physical activity, relaxation techniques, mediation, yoga, tai chi, get a massage, and even things like keeping a journal recognizing your stressors and working on them. Everyone is different so finding your own relaxation techniques will help tremendously. Throughout this course I have learned about myself that I am not the only o ne in the world that has stress, it is more common than I thought. I have learned that if I take the time to do breathing exercises or right a journal about my thoughts I feel a huge relief and a lot less stressed.When I have a lot do I found that if I make a list and plan ahead it helps minimize my stress. I learned that when I am in a very stressful situation or the week has added up to breaking point for me, doing breathing exercises helps me feel way more relaxed and calm. Another thing I learned about myself regarding my relationship with my boyfriend is I have become a negative thinker, due to some issues we had in the past. This causes so much stress in my life that I cannot even begin to explain. However, after taking this class I have learned many ways to cope with this and it has been a tremendous help to me and my relationship.I believe my strengths are keeping organized and motivated. If I am not organized it is a huge stressor for me. When I stay motivated I accomplish a lot more things in one day, which in return is a huge stress relief. Some areas that I show room for improvement are I need to set more weekly or monthly goals for myself instead of just long term goals, by doing this I believe I would feel more accomplished. Another area of improvement for me is I need to have more trust for my boyfriend. Forgive, forget and move on. One last improvement would be to improve my level of self discipline.The topics I related to the most or the ones that I was most interested in were body awareness, breathing exercises, the worry and anxiety chapter, goal setting, and time management. I really enjoyed the body awareness exercises because it recognizes that when stressed the body automatically tenses. Our muscles become hard, tight and tense. Holding this tension is very tiring, and hence, a feeling of fatigue can occur. If the muscular tension has no release, because of the constant stress levels and not knowing how to relax your muscles can cause strain on your body.After doing this exercise in the book I was able to recognize what tense muscles felt and looked like and what relaxed muscles felt and looked like. So now when I have tension I feel that I am better at being able to let it go through body awareness and muscle relaxation. The breathing exercises we did in class I really enjoyed doing, I was able to take this from class and apply to my daily life when I was feeling stressed. I was really able to relate to the worry and anxiety chapter because I used to have huge anxiety problems which I have had counseling to work through.Another chapter that interested me was the goal setting chapter because it is something that I have wanted to work on improving myself, so I loved the fact that I had the opportunity to learn more about goal setting and that it had activities in the book. Time management was another big one for me. I feel like learning more about time management helped improve my organization skills. If I was to take this class again I would like to learn more about the different stress relieving techniques. I guess not so much learn about them because we did learn about different ones, but I would have liked to practice more of them.For example, I would have liked a yoga day. I would have liked to learn about more ways to prevent stress, I felt like we learned a lot about what to do when we are stressed but not enough about what to do prevent it. Our true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it is way too easy to overlook our own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I don’t believe there is anything that is unclear about what we learned in class, our book did a very good job at covering stress management.I felt the books activities were very helpful and for once I bought I book for school that I will go back and refer to for future help. Now that the course has ended and I am more aware of my stressors, my plan is to continue my stress journal where I write about what causes my stress, how it made me feel both physically and mentally, how I acted in response, and what I do to make myself feel better. Also, continue to learn new healthier ways to manage my stress. Change the situation, or change your reaction. Remember the four A’s, avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.Remember my healthy ways to relax and recharge when I am overwhelmed and feeling stressed. Some of the things that work for me are, going and getting a massage, doing something with my mom or sister, playing with my daughter, taking a long bath with lots of lavender scent and candles, driving around and listening to my favorite music, and doing one of my many hobbies. If I am noticing that I continue to have a lot of stress I will either find a way to enjoy the situation (except the things I cannot change) or find a way to leave/change the situation.The concepts discussed in this class apply to my future career goals by being constantly stressed out and not knowing how to deal with it can cause lack of motivation. I think that my future career goals call for a lot of motivation, so it would help if the stress in my life was minimal so I could stay focused. Another topic discussed in class that could be applied to future ca reer goals is goal setting and time management. My future career goal is to become an OB nurse, with this job there could be extra stress due to the weird hours worked and just the job it’s self.So I believe the concepts discussed in class I will be able to apply to my future career and my personal everyday life. In conclusion, after taking this stress management class I have learned that stress has many negative impacts on the body. I learned more about myself in regards to my stressors and I learned about some things that I didn’t even realize were stressing me out. There were topics I could relate to and some I really was interested in. I will continue to write in my stress journal and find ways to help and avoid stress. How to cite Stress Management Reflection, Papers

Othello Essays (1265 words) - Othello, Emilia, Iago,

Othello Q-Why is a bride's dress always white? A-To match the appliances! Even though society has made great strides in trying to equalize women and men, there was a time when women were viewed as nothing more than a man's property. Shakespeare in his play Othello writes his male characters to view women in much the same demeaning way. In this play one can see two examples of women and the view their husbands place upon them. Both Desdamona and Emila are victims of the chauvenism of their husbands. Marriage is the vow between two people, to be there for one another, to share in pain and suffering, to share in the good times and the bad times, and to share equally in life's experiences. If this is so then why does Desdamona come across as property? Better question is why does she except this role! In this time era women were consider servants bonded by love to their husbands. Desdamona explains this clearly when she says: But here's my husband, And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my Lord (Scene 1, Act 3, Lines 182-187) She talks about duty to her husband. This duty is to obey him and respect him. Then she again describes herself and her position: Tis as I should entreat you wear your gloves, Or feed on nourishing dishes, or keep you warm, Or sue to you to do a peculiar profit To your own person (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 77-80) This is the typical view of men in this era, a position of seen, but not heard. Shakespeare takes women places them in his plays in order to give motive. In both Macbeth and Othello women are the cause of the man's fall. In Othello if it were not for Desdamona, there would not be any jealous murders. She is the center point at which the book revolves. Even though her actual part is small her presence makes the play be possible. Desdamona's place in this play is to stand there with minimal verbal interaction and to represent the high-class romantic women. From this Shakespeare will take a man's jealous nature and twist it into a motive. Equality? No, but it common of this era and it suites Shakespeare's purpose in this play. The man is the head of the family? In Shakespeare's time, yes. Not only is Othello the head of the family, but he also has his own views of women. He makes this pretty clear with his conversation with Iago, where Iago is speaking of his wife's little escapades with Cassio. To this Othello response And yet, how nature erring from itself-(Act 3, Scene 3, Line 227). Meaning that because she is a woman, she can not resist herself from temptation. Then later when his jealousy is a rage he slaps his wife then gives a speech, which explains how his wife obeys his every whim. Ay! You did wish that I would make her turn. Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on And turn again; and she can weep, sir, weep; And she's obedient; as you say, obedient. Very obedient. Proceed you in your tears. Concerning this, sir-O well-painted passion! I am commanded home. Get you away; I'll send for you anon.-Sir, I obey the mandate And will return to Venice.-Hence, avaunt! (Act 4, Scene 1, lines 252-260) This must be one of most Chauvinistic comment of the entire play. This sums up the entire Othello opinion that starts off hidden at the beginning of the play, but emerges under anger. Thank God society has evolved above such opinions as that of Othello's. The stereotypes of women's positions in this society were not stopped by the boundaries of economic class. Emilia is a perfect example of this. She is a hard working middle class woman, who still bears the burden of her husband's sexiest attitude. She believes that the purpose of a women is to strengthen her husband, through any means necessary. She gives an example of this when she says: Why, who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for't(Act 4, Scene 3, Line 77-79) What she is saying, is that she is willing to

70 Million Years of Primate Evolution

70 Million Years of Primate Evolution Many people take an understandably human-centered view of primate evolution, focusing on the bipedal, large-brained hominids that populated the jungles of Africa a few million years ago. But the fact is that primates as a whole - a category of megafauna mammals that includes not only humans and hominids, but monkeys, apes, lemurs, baboons, and tarsiers - have a deep evolutionary history that stretches as far back as the age of dinosaurs. (See a gallery of prehistoric primate pictures and profiles.) The first mammal that paleontologists have identified as possessing primate-like characteristics was Purgatorius, a tiny, mouse-sized creature of the late Cretaceous period (just before the K/T Impact Event that rendered the dinosaurs extinct). Although it looked more like a tree shrew than a monkey or ape, Purgatorius had a very primate-like set of teeth, and it (or a close relative) may have spawned the more familiar primates of the Cenozoic Era. (Genetic sequencing studies suggest that the earliest primate ancestor may have lived a whopping 20 million years before Purgatorius, but as yet theres no fossil evidence for this mysterious beast.) Scientists have touted the equally mouse-like Archicebus, which lived 10 million years after Purgatorius, as the first true primate, and the anatomic evidence in support of this hypothesis is even stronger. Whats confusing about this is that the Asian Archicebus seems to have lived around the same time as the North American and Eurasian Plesiadapis, a much bigger, two-foot-long, tree-dwelling, lemur-like primate with a rodent-like head. The teeth of Plesiadapis displayed the early adaptations necessary for an omnivorous diet - a key trait that allowed its descendants tens of millions of years down the line to diversify away from trees and toward the open grasslands. Primate Evolution During the Eocene Epoch During the Eocene epoch- from about 55 million to 35 million years ago- small, lemur-like primates haunted woodlands the world over, though the fossil evidence is frustratingly sparse. The most important of these creatures was Notharctus, which had a telling mix of simian traits: a flat face with forward-facing eyes, flexible hands that could grasp branches, a sinuous backbone, and (perhaps most important) a bigger brain, proportionate to its size, than can be seen in any previous vertebrate. Interestingly, Notharctus was the last primate ever to be indigenous to North America; it probably descended from ancestors that crossed the land bridge from Asia at the end of the Paleocene. Similar to Notharctus was the western European Darwinius, the subject of a big public relations blitz a few years back touting it as the earliest human ancestor; not many experts are convinced. Another important Eocene primate was the Asian Eosimias (dawn monkey), which was considerably smaller than both Notharctus and Darwinius, only a few inches from head to tail and weighing one or two ounces, max. The nocturnal, tree-dwelling Eosimias - which was about the size of your average Mesozoic mammal - has been posited by some experts as proof that monkeys originated in Asia rather than Africa, though this is far from a widely accepted conclusion. The Eocene also witnessed the North American Smilodectes and the amusingly named Necrolemur from western Europe, early, pint-sized monkey ancestors that were distantly related to modern lemurs and tarsiers. A Brief Digression - The Lemurs of Madagascar Speaking of lemurs, no account of primate evolution would be complete without a description of the rich variety of prehistoric lemurs that once inhabited the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, off the east African coast. The fourth-largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo, Madagascar split off from the African mainland about 160 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period, and then from the Indian subcontinent anywhere from 100 to 80 million years ago, during the middle to late Cretaceous period. What this means, of course, is that its virtually impossible for any Mesozoic primates to have evolved on Madagascar before these big splits- so where did all those lemurs come from? The answer, as far as paleontologists can tell, is that some lucky Paleocene or Eocene primates managed to float to Madagascar from the African coast on tangled thatches of driftwood, a 200-mile journey that could conceivably have been accomplished in a matter of days. Crucially, the only primates to successfully make this trip happened to be lemurs and not other types of monkeys - and once ensconced on their enormous island, these tiny progenitors were free to evolve into a wide variety of ecological niches over the ensuing tens of millions of years (even today, the only place on earth you can find lemurs is Madagascar; these primates perished millions of years ago in North America, Eurasia, and even Africa). Given their relative isolation, and the lack of effective predators, the prehistoric lemurs of Madagascar were free to evolve in some weird directions. The Pleistocene epoch witnessed plus-sized lemurs like Archaeoindris, which was about the size of a modern gorilla, and the smaller Megaladapis, which only weighed 100 pounds or so. Entirely different (but of course closely related) were the so-called sloth lemurs, primates like Babakotia and Palaeopropithecus that looked and behaved like sloths, lazily climbing trees and sleeping upside-down from branches. Sadly, most of these slow, trusting, dim-witted lemurs were doomed to extinction when the first human settlers arrived on Madagascar about 2,000 years ago. Old World Monkeys, New World Monkeys and the First Apes Often used interchangeably with primate and monkey, the word simian derives from Simiiformes, the infraorder of mammals that includes both old world (i.e., African and Eurasian) monkeys and apes and new world (i.e., central and South American) monkeys; the small primates and lemurs described on page 1 of this article are usually referred to as prosimians. If all this sounds confusing, the important thing to remember is that new world monkeys split off from the main branch of simian evolution about 40 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch, while the split between old world monkeys and apes occurred about 25 million years later. The fossil evidence for new world monkeys is surprisingly slim; to date, the earliest genus yet identified is Branisella, which lived in South America between 30 and 25 million years ago. Typically for a new world monkey, Branisella was relatively small, with a flat nose and a prehensile tail (oddly enough, old world monkeys never managed to evolve these grasping, flexible appendages). How did Branisella and its fellow new world monkeys make it all the way from Africa to South America? Well, the stretch of Atlantic Ocean separating these two continents was about one-third shorter 40 million years ago than it is today, so its conceivable that some small old world monkeys made the trip accidentally, on floating thatches of driftwood. Fairly or unfairly, old world monkeys are often considered significant only insofar as they eventually spawned apes, and then hominids, and then humans. A good candidate for an intermediate form between old-world monkeys and old-world apes was Mesopithecus, a macaque-like primate that, like apes, foraged for leaves and fruits during the day. Another possible transitional form was Oreopithecus (called the cookie monster by paleontologists), an island-dwelling European primate that possessed a strange mix of monkey-like and ape-like characteristics but (according to most classification schemes) stopped short of being a true hominid. The Evolution of Apes and Hominids During the Miocene Epoch Heres where the story gets a bit confusing. During the Miocene epoch, from 23 to 5 million years ago, a bewildering assortment of apes and hominids inhabited the jungles of Africa and Eurasia (apes are distinguished from monkeys mostly by their lack of tails and stronger arms and shoulders, and hominids are distinguished from apes mostly by their upright postures and bigger brains). The most important non-hominid African ape was Pliopithecus, which may have been ancestral to modern gibbons; an even earlier primate, Propliopithecus, seems to have been ancestral to Pliopithecus. As their non-hominid status implies, Pliopithecus and related apes (such as Proconsul) werent directly ancestral to humans; for example, none of these primates walked on two feet. Ape (but not hominid) evolution really hit its stride during the later Miocene, with the tree-dwelling Dryopithecus, the enormous Gigantopithecus (which was about twice the size of a modern gorilla), and the nimble Sivapithecus, which is now considered to be the same genus as Ramapithecus (it turns out that smaller Ramapithecus fossils were probably Sivapithecus females!) Sivapithecus is especially important because this was one of the first apes to venture down from the trees and out onto the African grasslands, a crucial evolutionary transition that may have been spurred by climate change. Paleontologists disagree about the details, but the first true hominid appears to have been Ardipithecus, which walked (if only clumsily and occasionally) on two feet but only had a chimp-sized brain; even more tantalizingly, there doesnt seem to have been much sexual differentiation between Ardipithecus males and females, which makes this genus unnervingly similar to humans. A few million years after Ardipithecus came the first indisputable hominids: Australopithecus (represented by the famous fossil Lucy), which was only about four or five feet tall but walked on two legs and had an unusually large brain, and Paranthropus, which was once considered to be a species of Australopithecus but has since earned its own genus thanks to its unusually large, muscular head and correspondingly larger brain. Both Australopithecus and Paranthropus lived in Africa until the start of the Pleistocene epoch; paleontologists believe that a population of Australopithecus was the immediate progenitor of genus Homo, the line that eventually evolved (by the end of the Pleistocene) into our own species, Homo sapiens.

The Japanese American No-No Boys in World War II

The Japanese American No-No Boys in World War II To understand who the No-No Boys were, it’s first necessary to understand the events of World War II. The United States government’s decision to place more than 110,000 individuals of Japanese origin into internment camps without cause during the war marks one of the most disgraceful chapters in American history. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, nearly three months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. At the time, the federal government argued that separating Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans from their homes and livelihoods was a necessity because such people posed a national security threat, as they were supposedly likely to conspire with the Japanese empire to plan additional attacks on the U.S. Today historians agree that racism and xenophobia against people of Japanese ancestry following the Pearl Harbor attack prompted the executive order. After all, the United States was also at odds with Germany and Italy during World War II, but the federal government did not order mass internment of Americans of German and Italian origin. Unfortunately, the federal government’s egregious actions did not end with the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans. After depriving these Americans of their civil rights, the government then asked them to fight for the country. While some agreed in hopes of proving their loyalty to the U.S., others refused. They were known as No-No Boys. Vilified at the time for their decision, today No-No Boys are largely viewed as heroes for standing up to a government that deprived them of their freedom. A Survey Tests Loyalty The No-No Boys received their name by answering no to two questions on a survey given to Japanese Americans forced into concentration camps. Question #27 asked: â€Å"Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?† Question #28 asked: â€Å"Will you swear unqualified allegiances to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or other foreign government, power or organization?† Outraged that the U.S. government demanded that they vow loyalty to the country after flagrantly violating their civil liberties, some Japanese Americans refused to enlist in the armed forces. Frank Emi, an internee at the Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming, was one such young man. Angered that his rights had been trampled on, Emi and a half-dozen other Heart Mountain internees formed the Fair Play Committee (FPC) after receiving draft notices. The FPC declared in March 1944: â€Å"We, the members of the FPC, are not afraid to go to war. We are not afraid to risk our lives for our country. We would gladly sacrifice our lives to protect and uphold the principles and ideals of our country as set forth in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, for on its inviolability depends the freedom, liberty, justice, and protection of all people, including Japanese Americans and all other minority groups. But have we been given such freedom, such liberty, such justice, such protection? NO!† Punished for Standing Up For refusing to serve, Emi, his fellow FPC participants, and more than 300 internees at 10 camps were prosecuted. Emi served 18 months in a federal penitentiary in Kansas. The bulk of No-No Boys faced three-year sentences in a federal penitentiary. In addition to felony convictions, internees who refused to serve in the military faced a backlash in Japanese American communities. For example, leaders of the Japanese American Citizens League characterized draft resisters as disloyal cowards and blamed them for giving the American public the idea that Japanese Americans were unpatriotic. For resisters such as Gene Akutsu, the backlash took a tragic personal toll. While he only answered no to Question #27- that he would not serve in the U.S. armed forces on combat duty wherever ordered- he ultimately ignored the draft noticed received, resulting in him serving more than three years in a federal prison in Washington state. He left prison in 1946, but that wasn’t soon enough for his mother. The Japanese American community ostracized her- even telling her not to show up at church- because Akutsu and another son dared defy the federal government. â€Å"One day it all got to her and she took her life,† Akutsu told American Public Media (APM) in 2008. â€Å"When my mother passed away, I refer to that as a wartime casualty.â€Å" President Harry Truman pardoned all of the wartime draft resisters in December 1947. As a result, the criminal records of the young Japanese American men who refused to serve in the military were cleared. Akutsu told APM he wished his mother had been around to hear Truman’s decision. â€Å"If she had only lived one more year longer, we would have had a clearance from the president saying that we are all okay and you have all your citizenship back,† he explained. â€Å"That’s all she was living for.† The Legacy of the No-No Boys The 1957 novel No-No Boy by John Okada captures how Japanese American draft-resisters suffered for their defiance. Although Okada himself actually answered yes to both queries on the loyalty questionnaire, enlisting in the Air Force during World War II, he spoke with a No-No Boy named Hajime Akutsu after completing his military service and was moved enough by Akutsu’s experiences to tell his story.​ The book has immortalized the emotional turmoil that No-No Boys endured for making a decision that is now largely viewed as heroic. The shift in how No-No Boys are perceived is in part due to the federal government’s acknowledgment in 1988 that it had wronged Japanese Americans by interning them without cause. Twelve years later, the JACL apologized for widely vilifying draft resisters. In November 2015, the musical Allegiance, which chronicles a No-No Boy, debuted on Broadway.

A Contraversial Issue utilized by George W. Bush during his presidency Essay

A Contraversial Issue utilized by George W. Bush during his presidency - Essay Example evel of responsibility by the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq in the terror attacks of 11 September on the U.S., the actions which allegedly caused the invasions in question. First, this discussion will examine the motives postulated by the U.S. for military actions against these sovereign nations. It is the contention of this dialogue as well as the vast majority of the world and, as it now seems, the American public that these actions were patently illegal, immoral and inexcusable. The ‘War on Terrorism’ as it is commonly referred to, is phrase coined by United States government officials and is primarily used to justify the military initiative de jour. It is generally defined as the current conflict between the U.S. and radical Islamic factions. Immediately following and as a reactionary response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., President George Bush stated the county’s intent to initiate a ‘War on Terrorism’ which he characterized as a prolonged battle against those that would employ terrorist actions along with the nations that enabled them. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, legal advisors tied closely to the ideology of the Bush administration within the Justice Department’s Office advised Bush that the U.S. was not legally bound by the U.N. Charter or international laws with regard to rules of engaging a perceived enemy. These views were echoed by Alberto Gonzales, then White House legal advi sor for the President and now Attorney General of the U.S. He also advised President Bush that he did not have to comply with the Geneva Conventions in the handling of prisoners, or ‘detainees’ in this war on terror. This opinion, shared by legal counsels to the President, applied to not only those directly affiliated with Al Qaeda but to the entire ruling party in Afghanistan, the Taliban, because, as they argued, Afghanistan was a ‘failed state’ (Mayer, 2005, p. 32). The Bush administration chose to follow the