The Persian Empire Cyrus the Greats Immense Expansion

At its height, in about 500 BCE, the founding dynasty of the Persian Empire called the Achaemenids conquered Asia as far as the Indus River, Greece, and North Africa including what is now Egypt and Libya. It also included modern-day Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia), Afghanistan, as well as probably modern-day Yemen and Asia Minor. The impact of the expansionism of the Persians was felt in 1935 when Reza Shah Pahlavi changed the name of the country known as Persia to Iran. Eran was what the ancient Persian kings called the people they ruled that we now know as the Persian Empire. The original Persians were Aryan speakers, a linguistic group that encompassed a large number of sedentary and nomadic people of Central Asia. Chronology The beginning of the Persian empire has been set at different times by different scholars, but the real force behind the expansion was Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great (ca. 600–530 BCE). The Persian Empire was the largest in history for the next two centuries until it was conquered by Macedonian adventurer, Alexander the Great, who established an even greater empire, in which Persia was only a part. Historians typically divide the empire into five periods. Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE)Seleucid Empire (330–170 BCE), established by Alexander the Great and also called the Hellenistic PeriodParthian Dynasty (170 BCE–226 CE)Sassanid (or Sasanian) Dynasty (226–651 CE) Dynastic Rulers Achaemenian tomb of Cyrus II, 559-530 BC, on Murghab Plain, restored by Alexander the Great in 324 BC, Pasargadae, Iran.   Christopher Rennie / robertharding / Getty Images Plus Cyrus the Great (ruled 559–530) was the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty. His first capital was at Hamadan (Ecbatana) but eventually moved it to Pasargadae. The Achaemenids created the royal road from Susa to Sardis that later helped the Parthians establish the Silk Road and a postal system. Cyruss son Cambyses II (559–522, r. 530–522 BCE) and then Darius I (also known as Darius the Great, 550–487 BCE, r. 522–487 CCE) further expanded the empire; but when Darius invaded Greece, he started the disastrous Persian War (492–449/448 BCE); after Darius died, his successor Xerxes (519–465, r. 522–465) invaded Greece again. Darius and Xerxes lost the Greco-Persian wars, in effect establishing an empire for Athens, but later Persian rulers continued to interfere in Greek affairs. Artaxerxes II (r. 465–424 BCE), who reigned for 45 years, built monuments and shrines. Then, in 330 BCE, Macedonian Greeks led by Alexander the Great overthrew the final Achaemenid king, Darius III (381–330 BCE). Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanid Dynasties After Alexander died, his empire was broken up into pieces ruled by Alexanders generals known as the Diadochi. Persia was given to his general Seleucus, who established what was called the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucids were all Greek kings who ruled parts of the empire between 312–64 BCE. The Persians regained control under the Parthians, although they were continued to be heavily influenced by the Greeks. The Parthian Dynasty (170 BCE–224 CE) was ruled by the Arsacids, named for the founder Arsaces I, leader of the Parni (an east Iranian tribe) who took control of the former Persian satrapy of Parthia. In 224 CE, Ardashir I, the first king of the final pre-Islamic Persian dynasty, the city-building Sassanids or Sassanians defeated the last king of the Arsacid dynasty, Artabanus V, in battle. Ardashir came from the (southwestern) Fars province, near Persepolis. Naqsh-e Rustam Although the founder of the Persian empire Cyrus the Great was buried in a built tomb at his capital of Pasargadae, the body of his successor Darius the Great was placed in a rock-cut tomb at the site of Naqsh-e Rustam (Naqs-e Rostam). Naqsh-e Rustam is a cliff face, in Fars, about 4 miles northwest of Persepolis. The cliff is the site of four royal tombs of the Achaemenids: the other three burials are copies of Dariuss tomb and thought to have been used for other Achaemenid kings—the contents were looted in antiquity. The cliff has inscriptions and reliefs from pre-Achaemenid, Achaemenid, and Sasanian Periods. A tower (Kabah-i Zardusht, the cube of Zoroaster) standing in front of Dariuss tomb was built as early the first half of the 6th century BCE. Its original purpose is debated, but Inscribed on the tower are the deeds of the Sassanian king Shapur. Religion and the Persians There is some evidence that the earliest Achaemenid kings may have been Zoroastrian, but not all scholars are agreed. Cyrus the Great was known for his religious tolerance with regard to the Jews of the Babylonian Exile, according to inscriptions on the Cyrus Cylinder and existing documents in the Old Testament of the Bible. Most of the Sassanians espoused the Zoroastrian religion, with varying levels of tolerance for non-believers, including the early Christian church. End of the Empire By the sixth century CE, conflicts grew stronger between the Sasanian dynasty of the Persian Empire and the increasingly powerful Christian Roman Empire, involving religion, but primarily trade and land wars. Squabbles between Syria and other contested provinces led to frequent, debilitating border disputes. Such efforts drained the Sassanians as well as the Romans who were also ending their empire. The spread of Sasanian military to cover the four sections (spahbeds) of the Persian empire (Khurasan, Khurbarà £n, Nimroz, and Azerbaijan), each with its own general, meant that troops were too thinly spread to resist the Arabs. The Sassanids were defeated by Arab caliphs in the mid-7th century CE, and by 651, the Persian empire was ended. Sources Brosius, Maria. The Persians: An Introduction. London; New York: Routledge 2006.Curtis, John E., ed. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Print.Daryaee, Touraj. The Persian Gulf Trade in Late Antiquity. Journal of World History 14.1 (2003): 1–16. Print.Ghodrat-Dizaji, Mehrdad. Administrative Geography of the Early Sasanian Period: The Case of Adurbadagan. Iran 45 (2007): 87–93. Print.Magee, Peter, et al. The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations at Akra in Northwest Pakistan. American Journal of Archaeology 109.4 (2005): 711–41.Potts, D. T., et al. Eight Thousand Years of History in Fars Province, Iran. Near Eastern Archaeology 68.3 (2005): 84–92. Print.Stoneman, Richard. How Many Miles to Babylon? Maps, Guides, Roads, and Rivers in the Expeditions of Xenophon and Alexander. Greece and Rome 62.1 (2015): 60–74. Print.

The American Gaming Association ( Aga ) - 1465 Words

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is an organization that focuses on â€Å"creating a better understanding of the gaming entertainment industry by bringing facts about the industry to the general public, elected officials, other decision makers and the media through education and advocacy† (â€Å"About the AGA†). According to the AGA, Nevada is the only state where legal betting on sports can take place. Delaware and New Jersey have taken steps towards legalizing sport betting; however, many are against the legalization. Although some may argue that legalizing sport betting in all states will be beneficial to the economy, sport betting shouldn’t be legalized because it can lead to harmful addictions, criminal activity, and affects the integrity of sports in a negative way. Sport betting has been a part of many scandals in American sports. Athletes, coaches, and referees in various sports have been involved in different scandals through fixing games to change the outcome. To ‘fix’ a game is when gamblers predetermine the outcome of a game by paying money to players, referees, or anyone that can change the outcome. For example, in the 1919 Major League Baseball World Series, the Chicago White Sox lost against the Cincinnati Reds in a scandal that is considered the â€Å"†¦most famous fix of all† (Abram and Davies 6). In the fix â€Å"†¦ eight members of the Chicago White Sox lost the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds for a payoff of about $10,000 each† (6). Today, professionalShow MoreRelatedGambling Effects On The American Economy1671 Words   |  7 PagesGambling Effects on the American Economy American people like games and entertainment, and one of these games is gambling. According to crops online, a gambling website (2009), gambling is classified as an old game taking place in China back around 2300 B.C. Then around 100 D.C., King of Norway and King of Sweden resolved the District of Hising property by using two dice. In the Mediterranean countries, the deck of card was developed, and especially the French altered the deck by pulling out a manRead MoreGambling Is Not Immoral Or Unethical1406 Words   |  6 Pagesare wrong. There are several positive aspects of gambling aside from providing entertainment and a social interaction. Gambling is not immoral or unethical. Gambling provides economic benefits including jobs and reduced government assistance. The gaming industry supports research and education related to gambling addiction. The percentage of lower income people who gamble is small; the majorities of people who gamble are those with higher incomes and can affor d to do so. Lastly, gambling has beenRead MoreGambling Is Not Only A Fun And Social Activity1288 Words   |  6 Pagesback as far back as ancient times. Dice have been recovered in Egyptian tombs. The British colonization of America was partly financed through lottery proceeds. There are several other cultures that have shown evidence of gambling. For Native Americans, this was a spiritual experience as they believed their gods determined fate or chance. This not only proves that gambling has been around for a long time it also illustrates that it’s multi- cultural and can serve different purposes. In a worldRead MoreWhy Gambling Should Not Be Prohibited Or Policed By The Federal Government1236 Words   |  5 Pagesback as far back as ancient times. Dice have been recovered in Egyptian tombs. The British colonization of America was partly financed through lottery proceeds. There are several other cultures that have shown evidence of gambling. For Native Americans, thi s was a spiritual experience as they believed their gods determined fate or chance. This not only proves that gambling has been around for a long time it also illustrates that it multi- cultural and can serve different purposes. In a worldRead MoreLottery Management : Racetracks And Racinos1546 Words   |  7 Pagesbecame very popular during the time leading up to and during the â€Å"roaring twenties† then as expected betting died down during the depression (Riess). During the past couple decades, horse and dog tracks have been losing popularity with the common American population. Tracks as well as stables, which once bred championship horses, are closing down all over the country. â€Å"In 1984 Major League Baseball passed thoroughbred racing as the leading spectator sport†(Riess) and since then horseracing has beenRead MoreIs Las Vegas Sustainable?1478 Words   |  6 Pagessustainability was the crisis and this was solved by water being gotten from wells pipe d into town. In the 1950s atomic testing were advertised as a tourist attraction to tourists, providing locations to watch the testings and view the mushroom clouds (American Experience, 2005). This are just a few ways Las Vegas has defied the odds to prove that it is sustainable. Against all odds and when it looks like people are going to stop visiting the city, a new reason to return is created. Focusing on the economyRead More The Case Against Legalized Gambling Essay1319 Words   |  6 PagesGambling institutions exist in many states. These institutions consist of riverboat casinos, Indian reservation casinos, and regular gaming casinos that all accumulate millions of dollars to the state through taxes. This tax money is then used throughout the state for many programs that may include education, health, and road maintenance. The American Gaming Association (AGA) even claims that gambling institutions lower the taxes in many areas because of the large tax money they give the go vernment (CQRead MoreThe Effects of Gambling on Society1594 Words   |  7 Pagesapproximately 10,000 construction jobs and in Shreveport, 20% of Harrahs casino workers purchased a house in 1995, 11% got off welfare, and 18% stopped receiving unemployment payments (Fahrenkopf, 2002, p.110). These facts clearly show that when gaming is introduced into a region, it creates jobs and revenue. Opponents of gambling admit that certain cities, for example Las Vegas, have prospered greatly due to the gambling industry; however, they also feel that Las Vegas is a poor model to representRead MoreProblems And Solutions Of Gambling Essay1190 Words   |  5 Pagesbrief introduction to the casino industry and problems and solutions around it. According to a research by AGA(American Gaming Association), gambling has already been a big part of economy gains in America. They found that gambling generates nearly $240 billion annually in total economic impact. Additionally, gambling creates more than 1.7 million job opportunities in America.(â€Å"When Gaming grows†, 2014). On the other hand, gambling can bring many problems such as compulsive gambling and crime. InRead MoreEssay on Legalization of Gambling in Ohio2047 Words   |  9 Pagescasino related movies that are based in the 50?s, 60?s, and 70?s, but that was then and this is now. ?While there may be some vestigial ties between organized crime and casinos, gambling is now big business? (Weissman 1). ?The term gambling or ?gaming? as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conducted in a casino, on a riverboat, on an Indian reservation, or at any other location under the jurisdiction of the United States? (National Gambling Impact Study

Communication and Information Technologies Annual †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Communication and Information Technologies Annual. Answer: Introduction The present study focuses on the digital gap between the urban and sub- urban in Australia. The research framework based on the theoretical gaps and empirical gaps is outlined in this paper. Four main kinds of variables including -independent variable, dependent variable, moderating and mediating variable as the consistency factor on the relationship between independent and dependent variable are also illustrated in this study. The conceptual framework proposing hypothesized model is also discussed in this research study. These variables are further justified by using journals in the last section of the research study. Australia like several other developed countries is rapidly shifting towards highly digitalized society (Thomas et al., 2016). Despite several policy interventions by the Australian government, the sub-urban areas of this nation continue to be at digital disadvantage. There are several barriers that make it highly difficult for the enterprises as well as rural residents to participate in and attain benefit from increasing digital economy. On the contrary, the urban areas are developing at high rate owing to this digitization. This paper thereby presents evidences about the digital gap between the urban and sub-urban areas in Australia. In fact, mixed methods involving secondary and primary methods are adopted while conducting this research study. Research Framework based on the theoretical and empirical gap The digital gap signifies the gap between the people having accessibility to ICT (information and communication technologies) and those people who do not have. Although advancement in technologies has created huge opportunities to the people of the developing nations, gap still occurs between the people residing in sub-urban and urban areas (Thomas et al., 2016). As a result, this creates imbalance in the economys formation and the loss in the business. It has been stated by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation Development) that, digital gap is the division between the geographical areas, business and the individuals relating to accessibility of ICT and utilization of internet for huge range of activities (Sarkar, 2012). According to Ragnedda Muschert (2013), there are mainly four types of barriers to access ICT or digital facilities services, which involve- material access, use access, mental access and skill access. In addition to this, another barrier that occurs is th e lack of accessibility owing to shortage of services and equipments such as computer networking, computer hardware etc. Furthermore, skill accessibility concerns with deficiency of the digital skills due to lack of training, education and so on. Another digital barrier that occurs mainly describes lack of few opportunities which undermines utilization of facility. It has been suggested by Imperial Oliver (2012) that, digital gap not only involves technological issues such as capacity, usability, high ICT cost but also is related to socio- economic issues. All these issues including non- technical as well as technical have direct impact on the ICT literacy level, which in turn consequently increases the digital gap. Recent evidences on digital gap in Australia signifies that despite significant rise in utilization level of internet, gap results from these factors involving lack of education, affordability, accessibility, age, digital ability etc (Alam Salahuddin, 2015). Some facts also reflects that even though there has been rise in usage of computer and access of internet across the rural and urban areas, digital gap within these two areas has been increasing. In fact, some researchers identifies that affordability is one of the main barriers to utilization of internet. Affordability involves two components such as Value and relative expenditure. The gap between digitally excluded and included Australians have been widening over the years. van Deursen Helsper (2015) opines that the people residing in this nation with low income level, less education and employment are less digitally involved. Moreover, there are still digital gap between the richer and poorer people residing in this nation. It has been argued by Buckingham Willett (2013) that, age is another division that is related with the digital gap. Recent facts reflect that teenagers are keener to adopt innovations and hence accepted ICT more as compared to older generations. Even in Australia, the internet users are majorly the younger generations residing in urban areas as compared to sub-urban areas. Additionally, accessibility also contributes to digital gap between the sub-urban and urban areas (Thomas et al., 2016). Accessibility mainly consists of three components including internet access, internet data allowance and internet technology. It has been found out by Vrallyai Herdon, (2013) that, few indigenous communities residing in sub-urban areas of Australia still do not have accessibility to Internet at their residence. However, Australia government has taken few measures for improving accessibility of ICT in sub-urban areas. Digital ability is also another factor that contributes to digital gap between the sub-urban and urban areas in Australia. Digital ability includes three components such as- basic kills, activities and attitudes of people. As digital ability in sub-urban areas is lower than that of urban areas of this nation, the government of Australia has adopted several measures in order to bridge this gap. The TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) developed by David is an appropriate theoretical model that predicts acceptance as well as use of ICT (Davis, 1985). It is regarded as one of the most influential model that explains ICT implementation and utilization behavior. These theories basically emphasize behavioral attitudes, individuals rational behavior and actual use. TAM is mainly used in this study for illustrating accessibility, digital ability, internet use, affordability, internet literacy etc. Moreover, this theory helps to conduct the research about the digital gap between the urban and sub-urban areas of Australia. This section reflects the facts of the research study based on empirical evidences. The ADII ( Australian Digital Inclusion Index) measures the extent of digital inclusion or the gap between these two areas of this nation. The score of ADII and the data produced by the ABS ( Australian Bureau of Statistics) reflects that the digital gap between sub-urban and urban areas of this country has been reducing over the last few years. However, the increase in ADII score over the time has been mainly driven by huge improvement in digital ability and accessibility (Thomas et al., 2016). On the contrary, the decrease in affordability score reflects that this aspect has not improved over the years. All the three components of accessibility have improved constantly. Internet accessibility in rural areas increased from 82.7 in the year 2014 to 85.3 in the year 2017. Moreover, the scores of both internet technology as well as data allowance also improved in this area over the last four years. Inte rnet data allowance increased from 41.6 in 2014- 51.2 in 2017 while technology score increased from 62.3 in 2014- 72.1 in 2017 (Thomas et al., 2016). The internet accessibility score in urban areas reflects steady rate during these years. Likewise, components of the digital ability also improved in both sub-urban and urban areas of this nation over time (Jaeger et al., 2012). The score of basic skill component increased from 47.2 to 53.3 while activities score increased from 34.2 to 38.4 during these years. Despite these components enhanced over the years, the improvement rate has slowed down. On the other hand, the decrease in affordability component signifies increasing cost of internet services. Additionally, the expenditure value component increased constantly over the last four years. As a result, the peoples expense on this also increases at high rate. Few recent facts reflect that the people living in sub-urban areas of this country spend less on internet services. Owing to r ise in cost of internet services, these people could not afford to purchase this service. However, the Australian government implemented measures of reducing this internet service cost, which in turn increased the spending of the people residing in sub-urban areas. Henceforth, the digital gap decreased slightly over these years (Allington McGill-Franzen, 2012). As stated above that gender also contributes to digital gap, it has been seen that females in this nation use less internet as compared to males. The data given by ABS also supports this fact that near about 53% of the males utilize internet in comparison with 47% of females. Other factors that the researcher identifies contributes to this digital gap involves income, location, education, culture, age etc (DiMaggio Hargittai, 2001). As suggested by Allington McGill-Franzen (2012), the education as well as income level is the vital determinants of the society accessibility to internet. In fact, the data provided by the ABS signifies that the household in this nation that are less likely to connect with internet have some special features involving low income of households, children under the age of 15 years and being situated in remote sub-urban areas. Variable is anything which takes varying values and might differ at different times for same person or object. In this study, four vital variables are illustrated, which includes- independent, dependent, moderating and mediating. Independent variables refer to the variable that affects the dependent variable either positively or negatively. Therefore, for per unit rise in independent variable, there is either increase or decrease in dependent variable. In this study, the independent variables are affordability, accessibility, gender, age, digital disability, income, education and so on. Dependent variable is considered to be as the major variable, which lends itself to make investigation as viable factor. Independent variables are mainly based on the dependent variable. In this study, the dependent variable is the ICT at which the independent variables are based. A moderating variable is the variable that has strong impact on the relationship between the dependent and independent variable. The existence of this variable basically modifies the relation between the dependent and independent variable. In this case, the moderating variable is the influence of the independent variables including- affordability, accessibility, digital ability, income, education, gender, age etc on the ICT, which is taken as dependent variable. Mediating variables are the one that occurs between the time independent variables begins operating to impact dependent variables and that time its impact is felt. This variable occurs as function of independent variables that operates in any circumstances and facilitates to conceptualize as well as explain influence of independent variable on dependent variable. In this study, it has been highlighted that accessibility to ICT is the mediating variable that leads to digital gap. The hypothesis has been proposed in order to test the validity of the research study that aligns with digital gap between sub-urban and urban areas in Australia. The hypotheses that are proposed for this study are given below: Justifying the above mentioned variable of the research study It has been opined by Beena Mathur (2012) that, social as well as economic factors including income, education and age are more closely linked with accessibility and utilization of ICT as compared to other factors. Imperial Oliver (2012) suggests that the teenagers and students have the potentiality to bridge this digital gap. Some researchers have found out that the students in the sub-urban areas of this nation are not furnished enough with the basic ICT skills. However, their ICT capabilities are basically low as compared to the students of urban areas. According to Fraillon, Schulz Ainley (2013), ICT skills are vital prerequisites for the information literacy and learning. Macdonald Clayton (2013) opines that education also widens the digital gap between the urban and sub-urban areas. Recent evidences reflects that the total number of people living in urban areas receive proper education with internet access as compared to people living in rural areas. It has been stated by W illis Tranter (2006) that, the existence of digital gap owing to age is also apparent in sub-urban areas as compared to urban areas. Relatively the younger generations in sub urban areas are found to use internet more than that of older generations. Recent study highlights that in few sub-urban areas of this nation, accessibility of internet services increased and digital ability also improved. At the same time, it has been found out that affordability remains vital problem in these areas of this nation. The Australian government has taken few measures in order to bridge the gap between the urban and sub-urban areas. The policymakers have introduced education programs on ICT in the sub-urban areas in order to reduce this gap (Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrera Patten, 2013). Buckingham Willett (2013) found out that rapid development of information society has basically innovated new imperatives for the policymakers for bridging the digital gap. However, it can be predicted that the digital gap between these two areas will reduce in future. Conclusion The above research framework reflects that while utilization of internet has been increasing significantly, digital gap persists between urban and sub-urban areas of this nation. It has been evident from the empirical evidences that the digital gap has been decreasing between these two areas despite ICTs affordability of people decline over the last few years. However, it will be difficult for the policymakers to reduce the digital gap between urban and sub-urban areas if the problems such as ICTs affordability, literacy and people income remain unresolved. Furthermore, increasing ICT cost to rural users due to low power of earning and deficiency of training resources widens the digital gap. However, it is necessary for the Australian government to provide more support in order to reduce the gap. References Alam, K., Salahuddin, M. (2015). Assessing digital divide and its determinants: a case study of households perception in the Western Downs region of Queensland. Allington, R. L., McGill-Franzen, A. (Eds.). (2012).Summer reading: Closing the rich/poor reading achievement gap. Teachers College Press. Beena, M., Mathur, M. (2012). Role of ict education for women empowerment.International Journal of Economics and Research,3(3), 164-172. Broadbent, R., Papadopoulos, T. (2013). Bridging the digital dividean Australian story.Behaviour Information Technology,32(1), 4-13. Buckingham, D., Willett, R. (Eds.). (2013).Digital generations: Children, young people, and the new media. Routledge. Davis, F. D. (1985).A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: Theory and results(Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E. (2001). From the digital divideto digital inequality: Studying Internet use as penetration increases.Princeton: Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University,4(1), 4-2. Fraillon, J., Schulz, W., Ainley, J. (2013). International computer and information literacy study: Assessment framework. Imperial, C., Oliver, G. (2012). New Digital Literacies Research in High Schools A Review of Literature. Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., Thompson, K. M., Katz, S. M., DeCoster, E. J. (2012). The intersection of public policy and public access: Digital divides, digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public libraries.Public Library Quarterly,31(1), 1-20. Lopez, M. H., Gonzalez-Barrera, A., Patten, E. (2013). Closing the digital divide: Latinos and technology adoption. Macdonald, S. J., Clayton, J. (2013). Back to the future, disability and the digital divide.Disability Society,28(5), 702-718. Ragnedda, M., Muschert, G. W. (Eds.). (2013).The digital divide: The Internet and social inequality in international perspective(Vol. 73). Routledge. Sarkar, S. (2012). The role of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education for the 21st century.Science,1(1), 30-41. Thomas, J., Barraket, J., Ewing, S., MacDonald, T., Mundell, M., Tucker, J. (2016). Measuring Australia's Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2016. van Deursen, A. J., Helsper, E. J. (2015). The third-level digital divide: Who benefits most from being online?. InCommunication and information technologies annual(pp. 29-52). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Vrallyai, L., Herdon, M. (2013). Reduce the digital gap by increasing e-skills.Procedia Technology,8, 340-348. Willis, S., Tranter, B. (2006). Beyond the digital divide Internet diffusion and inequality in Australia.Journal of sociology,42(1), 43-59.

OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms free essay sample

a) Statistical surveysStatistical survey is an investigation about the characteristic of phenomenon by means of collecting data from a sample of the population and estimating their characteristics through systematic use of statistical methodology. Survey mainly uses interview to collect data; this can either be direct interview, telephone interview, email interview or online survey.Surveys are advantageous source of data as the researcher has direct control over the data and there is possibility of asking data according to statistical definitions during the collection.The disadvantages of surveys are high cost, especially in conducting direct interviews. Quality of the feedback can also be compromised, for instance, non-response and errors.b) CensusThis is a complete enumeration of a population at a point in time with respect to well-defined characteristics, for example, population, production, etc. For instance, Kenya has been taking census from 1948, when the first census was taken. The last four censuses after the independence (1969, 1979, 1999 and 2009) have been conducted in a span of ten years. We will write a custom essay sample on OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In census, the data is mostly collected through questionnaires.Census provides better data compared to surveys as it target the entire population of either a country or region. It also provides a basis for sampling frames which may be used in subsequent surveys. On the other hand, it is expensive to plan, conduct and to process the resulting data.c) RegistersRegister is a database that is updated continuously for a specific purpose and from which statistics can be collected and produced. Examples include: administrative registers (e.g. government departments), private registers (such as those from insurance companies among other private entities).Registers as a source of statistical data has the cost advantage, that is, there is low cost in collecting and processing the data from this source. However, possible under-coverage in terms of information may render it disadvantages to some users.

The Self-Regulating Market and the Fictitious Commodities free essay sample

As a rule, the economic system was absorbed in the social system, and whatever principle of behavior predominated in the economy, the presence of the market pattern was found to be compatible with it. The principle of barter or exchange, which underlies this pattern, revealed no tendency to expand at the expense of the rest. Where markets were most highly developed, as under the mercantile system, they throve under the control of a centralized administration which fostered autarchy both in the households of the peasantry and in respect to national life. Regulation and markets, in effect, grew up together, The self-regulating market was unknown ; indeed the emergence of the idea of self-regulation was a complete reversal of the trend of development. It is in the light of these facts that the extraordinary assumptions underlying a market economy can alone be fully comprehended. A market economy is an economic system controlled, regulated, and directed by markets alone; order in the production and distribution of goods is entrusted to this self-regulating mechanism. We will write a custom essay sample on The Self-Regulating Market and the Fictitious Commodities or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page An economy of this kind derives from the expectation that human beings behave in such a way as to achieve maximum money gains. It assumes markets in which the supply of goods (including services) available at a definite price will equal the demand at that price. It assumes the presence of money, which functions as purchasing power in the hands of its owners. Production will then be controlled by prices, for the profits of those who direct production will depend upon them; the distribution of the goods also will depend upon prices, for prices form incomes, and it is with the help of these incomes that the goods produced are distributed amongst the members of society. Under these assumptions order in the production and distribution of goods is ensured by prices alone. Self-regulation implies that all production is for sale on the market and that all incomes derive from such sales. Accordingly, there are markets for all elements of industry, not only for goods (always including services) but also for labor, land, and money, their prices being called respectively commodity prices, wages, rent, and interest. The very terms indicate that prices form incomes: interest is the price for the use of money and forms he income of those who are in the position to provide it; rent is the price for the use of land and forms the income of those who supply it; wages are the price for the use of labor power, and form the income of those who sell it; commodity prices, finally, contribute to the incomes of those who sell their entrepreneurial services, the income called profit being actually the difference between two sets of prices, the price of the goods produced and their costs, i. e. , the price of the goods necessary to produce them. If these conditions are fulfilled, all incomes will derive from sales on the market, and incomes will be just sufficient to buy all the goods produced. A further group of assumptions follows in respect to the state and Its policy. Nothing must be allowed to inhibit the formation of markets, nor must incomes be permitted to be formed otherwise than through sales. Neither must there be any interference with the adjustment of prices to changed market conditions—whether the prices are those of goods, labor, land, or money. Hence there must not only be markets for all elements of industry,1 but no measure or policy must be countenanced that would influence the action of these markets. Neither price, nor supply, nor demand must be fixed or regulated; only such policies and measures are in order which help to ensure the self-regulation of the market by creating conditions which make the market the only organizing power in the economic sphere. To realize fully what this means, let us return for a moment to the mercantile system and the national markets which it did so much to develop. Under feudalism and the gild system land and labor formed part of the social organization itself (money had yet hardly developed into a major element of industry). Land, the pivotal element in the feudal order, was the basis of the military, judicial, administrative, and political system; its status and function were determined by legal and customary rules. Whether its possession was transferable or not, and if so, to whom and under what restrictions; what the rights of property 1 Henderson, H. D. , Supply and Demand, 1922. The practice of the market is twofold: the apportionment of factors between different uses, and the organizing of the forces influencing aggregate supplies of factors. entailed; to what uses some types of land might be put—all these questions were removed from the organization of buying and selling, and subjected to an entirely different set of institutional regulations. The same was true of the organization of labor. Under the gild system, as under every other economic system in previous history, the motives and circumstances of productive activities were embedded in the general organization of society. The relations of master, journeyman, and apprentice; the terms of the craft; the number of apprentices; the wages of the workers were all regulated by the custom and rule of the gild and the town. What the mercantile system did was merely to unify these conditions either through statute as in England, or through the nationalization of the gilds as in France. As to land, its feudal status was abolished only in so far as it was linked with provincial privileges; for the rest, land remained extra commercium, in England as in France. Up to the time of the Great Revolution of 1789, landed estate remained the source of social privilege in France, and even after that time in England Common Law on land was essentially medieval. Mercantilism, with all its tendency towards commercialization, never attacked the safeguards which protected these two basic elements of production—labor and land—from becoming the objects of commerce. In England the nationalization of labor legislation through the Statute of Artificers (1563) and the Poor Law (1601), removed labor from the danger zone, and the anti-enclosure policy of the Tudors and early Stuarts was one consistent protest against the principle of the gainful use of landed property. That mercantilism, however emphatically it insisted on commercialization as a national policy, thought of markets in a way exactly contrary to market economy, is best shown by its vast extension of state intervention in industry. On this point there was no difference between mercantilists and feudalists, between crowned planners and vested interests, between centralizing bureaucrats and conservative particu-larists. They disagreed only on the methods of regulation: gilds, towns, and provinces appealed to the force of custom and tradition, while the new state authority favored statute and ordinance. But they were all equally averse to the idea of commercializing labor and land—the precondition of market economy. Craft gilds and feudal privileges were abolished in France only in 1790; in England the Statute of Artificers was repealed only in 1813-14, the Elizabethan Poor Law in 1834. Not before the last decade of the eighteenth century was, in either country, the establishment of a free labor market even discussed; and the idea of the self-regulation of economic life was utterly beyond the horizon of the age. The mercantilist was concerned with the development of the resources of the country, including full employment, through trade and commerce; the traditional organization of land and labor he took for granted. He was in this respect as far removed from modern concepts as he was in the realm of politics, where his belief in the absolute powers of an enlightened despot was tempered by no intimations of democracy. And just as the transition to a democratic system and representative politics involved a complete reversal of the trend of the age, the change from regulated to self-regulating markets at the end of the eighteenth century represented a complete transformation in the structure of society. A self-regulating market demands nothing less than the institutional separation of society into an economic and political sphere. Such a dichotomy is, in effect, merely the restatement, from the point of view of society as a whole, of the existence of a self-regulating market. It might be argued that the separateness of the two spheres obtains in every type of society at all times. Such an inference, however, would be based on a fallacy. True, no society can exist without a system of some kind which ensures order in the production and distribution of goods. But that does not imply the existence of separate economic institutions; normally, the economic order is merely a function of the social, in which it is contained. Neither under tribal, nor feudal, nor mercantile conditions was there, as we have shown, a separate economic system in society. Nineteenth century society, in which economic activity was isolated and imputed to a distinctive economic motive, was, indeed, a singular departure. Such an institutional pattern could not function unless society was somehow subordinated to its requirements. A market economy can exist only in a market society. We reached this conclusion on general grounds in our analysis of the market pattern. We can now specify the reasons for this assertion. A market economy must comprise all elements of industry, including labor, land, and money. (In a market economy the last also is an essential element of industrial life and its inclusion in the market mechanism has, as we will see, far-reaching institutional consequences. ) But labor and lapd are no other than the human beings themselves of which every society consists and the natural surroundings in which it exists. To include them in the market mechanism means to subordinate the substance of society itself to the laws of the market. We are now in the position to develop in a more concrete form the institutional nature of a market economy, and the perils to society 72 RISE AND FALL OF MARKET ECONOMY [Ch. 6 which it involves. We will, first, describe the methods by which the market mechanism is enabled to control and direct the actual elements of industrial life; second, we will try to gauge the nature of the effects of such a mechanism on the society which is subjected to its action. It is with the help of the commodity concept that the mechanism of the market is geared to the various elements of industrial life. Commodities are here empirically defined as objects produced for sale on the market; markets, again, are empirically defined as actual contacts between buyers and sellers. Accordingly, every element of industry is regarded as having been produced for sale, as then and then only will it be subject to the supply-and-demand mechanism interacting with price. In practice this means that there must be markets for every dement of industry; that in these markets each of these elements is organized into a supply and a demand group; and that each element has a price which interacts with demand and supply. These markets— and they are numberless—are interconnected and form One Big Market. 2 The crucial point is this: labor, land, and money are essential dements of industry; they also must be organized in markets; in fact, these markets form an absolutely vital part of the economic system. But labor, land, and money are obviously not commodities; the postulate that anything that is bought and sold must have been produced For sale is emphatically untrue in regard to them. In other words, according to the empirical definition of a commodity they are not commodities. Labor is only another name for a human activity which goes with life itself, which in its turn is not produced for sale but for entirely different reasons, nor can that activity be detached from the rest of life, be stored or mobilized; land is only another name for nature, which is not produced by man; actual money, finally, is merely a token of purchasing power which, as a rule, is not produced at all, but comes into being through the mechanism of banking or state finance. None of them is produced for sale. The commodity description of labor, land, and money is entirely fictitious. Nevertheless, it is with the help of this fiction that the actual markets for labor, land, and money are organized; 8 they are being actually bought and sold on the market; their demand and supply * Hawtrey, G. R. , op. cit. Its function is seen by Hawtrey in making the relative market values of all commodities mutually consistent. 8 Marxs assertion of the fetish character of the value of commodities refers to the exchange value of genuine commodities and has nothing in common with the fictitious commodities mentioned in the text. re real magnitudes; and any measures or policies that would inhibit the formation of such markets would ipso facto endanger the self-regulation of the system. The commodity fiction, therefore, supplies a vital organizing principle in regard to the whole of society affecting almost all its institutions in the most varied way, namely, the principle according to which no an angement or behavior should be allowed to exist that might prevent the actual function ing of the market mechanism on the lines of the commodity fiction. Now, in regard to labor, land, and money such a postulate cannot be upheld. To allow the market mechanism to be sole director of the fate of human beings and their natural environment, indeed, even of the amount and use of purchasing power, would result in the demolition of society. For the alleged commodity labor power cannot be shoved about, used indiscriminately, or even left unused, without affecting also the human individual who happens to be the bearer of this peculiar commodity. In disposing of a mans labor power the system would, incidentally, dispose of the physical, psychological, and moral entity man attached to that tag. Robbed of the protective covering of cultural institutions, human beings would perish from the effects of social exposure; they would die as the victims of acute social dislocation through vice, perversion, crime, and starvation. Nature would be reduced to its elements, neighborhoods and landscapes defiled, rivers polluted, military safety jeopardized, the power to produce food and raw materials destroyed. Finally, the market administration of purchasing power would periodically liquidate business enterprise, for shortages and surfeits of money would prove as disastrous to business as floods and droughts in primitive society. Undoubtedly, labor, land, and money markets are essential to a market economy. But no society could stand the effects of such a system of crude fictions even for the shortest stretch of time unless its human and natural substance as well as its business organization was protected against the ravages of this satanic mill. The extreme artificiality of market economy is rooted in the fact that the process of production itself is here organized in the form of buying and selling. 4 No other way of organizing production for the market is possible in a commercial society. During the late Middle Ages industrial production for export was organized by wealthy burgesses, and carried on under their direct supervision in the home town. Later, in the mercantile society, production was organized by mer- 4 Cunningham, W. , Economic Change, Cambridge Modern History, Vol. I. hants and was not restricted any more to the towns; this was the age of putting out when domestic industry was provided with raw materials by the merchant capitalist, who controlled the process of production as a purely commercial enterprise. It was then that industrial production was definitely and on a large scale put under the organizing leadership of the merchant. He knew the market, the volume as well as the quality of the demand; and he coul d vouch also for the supplies which, incidentally, consisted merely of wool, woad, and, sometimes, the looms or the knitting frames used by the cottage industry. If supplies failed it was the cottager who was worst hit, for his employment was gone for the time; but no expensive plant was involved and the merchant incurred no serious risk in shouldering the responsibility for production. For centuries this system grew in power and scope until in a country like England the wool industry, the national staple, covered large sectors of the country where production was organized by the clothier. He who bought and sold, incidentally, provided for production—no separate motive was required. The creation of goods involved neither the reciprocating attitudes of mutual aid; nor the concern of the householder for those whose needs are left to his care; nor the craftsmans pride in the exercise of his trade; nor the satisfaction of public praise—nothing but the plain motive of gain so familiar to the man whose profession is buying and selling. Up to the end of the eighteenth century, industrial production in Western Europe was a mere accessory to commerce. As long as the machine was an inexpensive and unspecific tool there was no change in this position. The mere fact that the ottager could produce larger amounts than before within the same time might induce him to use machines to increase earnings, but this fact in itself did not necessarily affect the organization of production. Whether the cheap machinery was owned by the worker or by the merchant made some difference in the social position of the parties and almost certainly made a difference in the earnings of the worker, who was better off as long as he owned his tools; but it did not force the merchant to become an industrial capitalist, or to restrict himself to lending his money to such persons as were. The vent of goods rarely gave out; the greater difficulty continued to be on the side of supply of raw materials, which was sometimes unavoidably interrupted. But, even in such cases, the loss to the merchant who owned the machines was not substantial. It was not the coming of the machine as such but the invention of elaborate and therefore specific machinery and plant whiqh completely changed the relationship of the merchant to production. Although the new productive organization was introduced by the merchant—a fact which determined the whole course of the transformation—the use of elaborate machinery and plant involved the development of the factory system and therewith a decisive shift in the relative importance of commerce and industry in favor of the latter. Industrial production ceased to be an accessory of commerce organized by the merchant as a buying and selling proposition; it now involved long-term investment with corresponding risks. Unless the continuance of production was reasonably assured, such a risk was not bearable. But the more complicated industrial production became, the more numerous were the elements of industry the supply of which had to be safeguarded. Three of these, of course, were of outstanding importance: labor, land, and money. In a commercial society their supply could be organized in one way only: by being made available for purchase. Hence, they would have to be organized for sale on the market—in other words, as commodities. The extension of the market mechanism to the elements of industry—labor, land, and money— was the inevitable consequence of the introduction of the factory system in a commercial society. The elements of industry had to be on sale. This was synonymous with the demand for a market system. We know that profits are ensured under such a system only if self-regulation is safeguarded through interdependent competitive markets. As the development of the factory system had been organized as part of a process of buying and selling, therefore labor, land, and money had to be transformed into commodities in order to keep production going. They could, of course, not be really transformed into commodities, as actually they were not produced for sale on the market. But the fiction of their being so produced became the organizing principle of society. Of the three, one stands out: labor is the technical term used for human beings, in so far as they are not employers but employed; it follows that henceforth the organization of labor would change concurrently with the organization of the market system. But as the organization of labor is only another word for the forms of life of the common people, this means that the development of the market system would be accompanied by a change in the organization of society itself. All along the line, human society had become an accessory of the. economic system. We recall our parallel between the ravages of the enclosures in English history and the social catastrophe which followed the Industrial Revolution. Improvements, we said, are, as a rule, bought at the price of social dislocation. If the rate of dislocation is too great, the community must succumb in the process. The Tudors and early Stuarts saved England from the fate of Spain by regulating the course of change so that it became bearable and its effects could be canalized into less destructive avenues. But nothing saved the common people of England from the impact of the Industrial Revolution. A blind faith in spontaneous progress had taken hold of peoples minds, and with the fanaticism of sectarians the most enlightened pressed forward for boundless and unregulated change in society. The effects on the lives of the people were awful beyond description. Indeed, human society would have been annihilated but for protective countermoves which blunted the action of this self-destructive mechanism. Social history in the nineteenth century was thus the result of a double movement: the extension of the market organization in respect to genuine commodities was accompanied by its restriction in respect to fictitious ones. While on the one hand markets spread all over the face of the globe and the amount of goods involved grew to unbelievable proportions, on the other hand a network of measures and policies was integrated into powerful institutions designed to heck the action of the market relative to labor, land, and money. While the organization of world commodity markets, world capital markets, and world currency markets under the aegis of the gold standard gave an unparalleled momentum to the mechanism of markets, a deep-seated movement sprang into being to resist the pernicious effects of a market-controlled economy. Society protected itself against the perils inherent in a self-regulating market system—this was the one comprehensive feature in the history of the age.

Dsylexia essays

Dsylexia essays James Russell Lowell stated, Education is an ornament in prosperity, and a refuge in adversity. (Hurtford, 55)Lowell indicates that education is where there is success, and a safe haven where this is hardship. Educators once thought that dyslexic children could not succeed or have an education that would lead them to prosperity. The educators began to seek ways to help the situation. Now-a-day, teaching methods and appliances have dramatically improved life for dyslexic children. Over time there have been many different types of meanings for dyslexia. Dr. Samuel Torrey Orton defined dyslexia as a cross lateralization of the brain. (Davis 8) This meant that the left side of the brain was doing what the right side of the brain was supposed to do, and the right side doing the job of the left side. Today this is not the proper definition of dyslexia. Researchers have concluded that dyslexia is a lack of coordination between sight and sound. It is a generalized disturbance of language function that interferes with the acquisition of reading skills. (Baumer 35) Dyslexic children take in information at a slower pace because they have difficulties processing the information. This well known disability takes place in the angular gyrus (AG), located towards the back of the brain. The AG translates words and letters encountered in day-to-day life into language. Recent studies in reading and language have shown that dyslexic children have less activity in the AG than those without the disability. Researchers suspect that this part of the brain does not function correctly in dyslexic children. (Dyslexia the Gift) Dyslexic children suffer most in their school environment. Many of these young disabled children loathe going to school because of the difficulty it takes for them to learn, and the disrespect other children show them. Being aware of their disability, they tend to seclude themselves and not as...

WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF A MOVIE- THE MAN FROM EARTH Essay

WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF A MOVIE- THE MAN FROM EARTH - Essay Example The story is kept on going by conversation of characters throughout the film, driving the plot of the film. The whole movie revolves around Cro-Magnon, his professor and teacher friends at his farewell party who play with the viewers’ intellect. The film involves characters of different professionals, ranging from an anthropologist, a biologist, a psychologist and a religious expert, all who appear in the small house, from where their friend John is preparing to leave. John keeps on moving to new places to avoid being noticed by people that he doesn’t age, a secret he has kept to himself (Philosophical Films 2007). As the movie begins, Professor John Oldman packs his belongings in a truck in preparation for moving to a new home. It is at this point that his friends gather to give him a farewell party. The friends are John Oldman, Dan, an anthropologist, Harry a biologist, Edith who is devout Christian, Sandy who is a historian in love with John, Art an archaeologist, Linda Murphy who is an Art’s student and Will Gruber who is an old psychiatrist. It is at the party that his friends curiously question John about his reasons for leaving them to another place that soon (Philosophical Films, 2007). As John tries to explain his reasons for leaving, his friends get the revelation that John was the person who had lived for 14,000 years. His friends initially think that John is giving them one of his science fiction stories. By describing his origin, he reveals to them his long journey in life, right from the time he was given an opportunity to ride with Christopher Columbus long back in the 15th century. From this recollection, his friends come to the realization that he had, in fact, survived for the said 14,000 years. His friends get the revelation that John was once Jacques Borne and his time to leave has come since some people had started noticing he was not aging. Doubting John’s mental condition, one