Urban Water Quality Issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 242

Urban Water Quality Issues - Assignment Example An instance where referencing will be essential in technical writing is in research dissertations in order to indicate the historical backgrounds of different water elements and water quality issues. This analyzes the previous researches that were undertaken by some engineers in a similar field to prove or reject the claims presented. Referencing in technical writing will also apply in transaction documents issued to supplier or vendors of engineering materials. Similarly, engineers normally enter into contracts with other parties and this requires legal interpretations of the phrases used in the documents (Jaffe & Trajtenberg, 2008). It is essential to ensure that the contract provisions conform to the laws by indicating the correct sections through credible references.ABC Company requested the submission of a report concerning urban water quality issues in which the findings by various researches indicated that the activity would be successful. Regnery, et al (2013), claim that urb anization has affected the quality of water due to factors like population growth, urban runoff, and sewage overflow. It is apparent that the high number of residents within the urban centers has contributed to developments that affect the drainage systems. Such constructions spoil the water resources because the water supply cannot serve the high population (Regnery, et al., 2013). Â  This leads to the shortage of water within the areas and the residents are forced to use untreated water from other sources. The author also indicates that urban runoff and sewage overflows sleeps water downhill to other areas, causing flooding and blockages.

US Supreme Court Decision Essay Example for Free

US Supreme Court Decision Essay An examination of the United States Supreme Court case Romer v. Evans, which was decided on May 20, 1996, is to be put forth in this paper. The case was argued on October 10, 1995. At issue was Amendment 2 to the State Constitution of Colorado â€Å"which precludes all legislative, executive, or judicial action at any level of state or local government designed to protect the status of persons based on their homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). The U. S. Supreme court held it violates the Equal Protection Clause. The opinion in favor was filed by Justice Kennedy, while the dissenting opinion was filed by Justice Scalia. The referendum, Article II sec 30b of the Colorado Constitution, read as follows: NO PROTECTED STATUS BASED ON HOMOSEXUAL, LESBIAN, OR BISEXUAL ORIENTATION. Neither the State of Colorado, through any of its branches or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities or school districts, shall enact, adopt or enforce any statute, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices, or relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis of, or entitle any person or class of persons to have or claim any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination. This Section of the Constitution shall be in all respects self-executing (Romer v. Evans, 1996). While many believed the law would prevent non-federal discrimination lawsuits based on sexual orientation as well as prevent the passage or the enforcing of existing laws prohibiting such discrimination, Amendment 2’s purpose was â€Å"generally inconsistent with mainstream American values† (Debbage Alexander, pg. 264). The State of Colorado argued the â€Å"measure does no more than deny homosexuals special rights† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). This is a decades old argument that right-wing Christian groups have used â€Å"to appeal to a wider, more secular audience by characterizing the gay rights movement as one aimed at getting special rights and protected status for gays and lesbians incorporated into civil rights law† (Debbage Alexander, pg. 273). Justice Kennedy writes in the opinion in favor, â€Å"The States principal argument that Amendment 2 puts gays and lesbians in the same position as all other persons by denying them special rights is rejected as implausible† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). Justice Kennedy further states how â€Å"Amendment 2 confounds this normal process of judicial review. It is at once too narrow and too broad. It identifies persons by a single trait and then denies them protection across the board† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). The final paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s opinion declares: â€Å"We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else. This Colorado cannot do. A State cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws. Amendment 2 violates the Equal Protection Clause, and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Colorado is affirmed† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). While Justice Scalia writes in his dissenting opinion, Amendment 2 is a â€Å"modest attempt by seemingly tolerant Coloradans to preserve traditional sexual mores against the efforts of a politically powerful minority to revise those mores through the use of the laws† (Romer v. Evans, 1995). While Justice Scalia has the right to his own personal beliefs regarding homosexuality and its validity as a protected class, many others do not share them. As Richard Mohr observes in Romer v. Evans: A Blow for Justice, â€Å"All or nearly all legal burdens on gays appeal directly or indirectly to prejudice†. His article goes on to describe how in 1996 this ruling should affect two major gay issues: gays in the military and gay marriage. When opponents cannot give logical reasons for their opposition it presupposes â€Å"strongly held beliefs for which one can offer no reasons or explanations are by definition prejudicial ones† (Mohr, para. 5). With the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, Romer v. Evans â€Å"marked an immensely important day for the gay rights movement and a major setback for anti-gay rights activists of all persuasions† according to Sharon Debbage Alexander’s article in the Winter 2002 issue of Texas Forum on Civil Liberties Civil Rights. Furthermore, this case has become one of the most significant decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in regards to gay rights. The majority of those who have analyzed Romer v. Evans purport the â€Å"fact that the case was won using a rational basis test adds to the strength of the decision for gay rights† (Debbage Alexander, pg. 297). Since the decision of Romer v. Evans, President Barack Obama has overturned the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† policy within our Armed Forces and gay marriage is currently under consideration in two cases that have been heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. After winning Boy Scouts of America v. Dale in 2000 protecting the groups First Amendment expressive association rights, recently the governing body of the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay scouts within its membership, but not as Scout Leaders. The important issue of gay rights in America has finally reached the forefront of public policy and debate. As in Romer v. Evans, I hope that the United States Supreme Court will rule against the State of California’s Proposition 8 and DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, to find both laws unconstitutional. In so far as to bring equality for all to these United States of America.

Dangers of RU486 :: essays research papers

RU-486 is not the same as the â€Å"morning after† pill (postinor -2). RU-486 is the generic term for mifepristone, an artificial steroid that blocks progesterone, a vital nutrient hormone. It causes the vital nutrient lining of the mother’s uterus to disintegrate, and the embryo withers and dies. RU486 has had people under the illusion it is a inexpensive less traumatic option when compared to decide between it and surgery. However conversely, RU486 continues to shock people and destroy lives., it has been proven to be more traumatic and painful then surgical abortion. unfortunately users are not notified properly of these side effects and forced to bear the consequences. A great risk of psychological and physical side effects can result in the use of RU486, such as prolonged bleeding -which requires medical intervention. Women in rural communities have limited access to hospitals or general practises, and it is these woman, those who come from undeveloped, conserv ative countries who are most likely going to require these facilities. The great debate continues over RU486- the issue involving whether it should be available to Australian women. Mifepristone needs to be interpreted by the public as a dangerous and fatal drug, not as â€Å"easy† alternative. The media must publicise the potential side effects more effectively and destroy the perceptual set that Australians view RU486 to be. More then one million women worldwide have used RU486 to end their pregnancy. RU846 is effective from the fifth to the seventh week. Following the last menstrual period, with decreasing effectiveness up to the ninth week. Used alone, RU486 has an abortion rate of 60-80 percent. The convenience of swallowing one tablet to terminate a unwanted pregnancy may sound intriguing to a lot of women. This perception has devoured any subconscious thought in women’s minds concerning doubt or issues involved with using RU486. The sudden outbreak of this newly formulated drug has raised the issue of whether RU486 is the safer then surgical abortion. A common side effect is severe pain similar to that of a miscarriage, with over half of women requiring specific pain medication and one third requiring narcotics. Other side effects include nausea and dizziness, serious bacterial infection, sepsis, prolonged bleeding and even death. The side effects which develop as a result of taking RU486 are clearly much more severe then a general surgical abortion. The statistics continue to prove mifepristone as a dangerous alternative to surgical abortion.

Adapting the Unfamiliar… Through Translation.

Adapting the Unfamiliar†¦ through Translation. Marjorie Agosin (born June 15, 1955). Source: Wikipedia. 07/12/2012 Komal Shah Eng. 101C- 24 R. C. Muniz 333 Adapting the Unfamiliar†¦ through Translation. By Komal Shah. Change†¦ is a very powerful and emotionally supercharged word. It is inevitable and the process of becoming different.The inspiring narrative, Always living in Spanish,  by Dr. Marjorie Agosin, originally written in Spanish, tells of Dr. Agosin’s Chilean childhood and her continuing struggle to embrace the change that came with moving to America. â€Å"Destiny and the always ambiguous nature of history continued my family’s enforced migration†¦ (Agosin, 22)† she states. Her story uses personal details to bring her childhood in Chile to life. It is her clear love for her people and the constant battle to not let go of her identity that inspires her poetry all of which is written in Spanish.For her, like many others, writing a nd thinking in Spanish is a â€Å"gesture of survival† through her journey from Chile to Georgia, as from her Chilean childhood to American adulthood. Philosophers often say that it is important to find yourself, to identify who you are. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates through the process of change. The Encarta Dictionary: English (North America) defines identity as â€Å"the name or essential character that identifies somebody or something† (def. 1). We all have sets of characteristics that we recognize as belonging uniquely to ourselves.This constitutes his or her individual personality for life. The concept of identity in Dr. Agosin's essay is shown best when she states â€Å"Daily, I felt the need to translate myself for the strangers living all around me, to tell them why we were in Georgia, why we are different, why we had fled, why my accent was so thick, and why I did not look Hispanic. Only at night, writing poems in Spani sh, could I return to my senses, and soothe my own sorrow over what I had left behind. †(Agosin, 22) For a while Marjorie was at a loss; the loss of the familiar, and more importantly, the loss of her identity.She found a way to reconnect herself with her identity by doing something that reminded her of language, culture and history she was born with. Bringing all of her characteristics together in a consolidated place where she can let go and just remember herself as she is intact with her identity. In America, when we hear someone’s poor spoken English with a thick accent or when we see someone not getting an American Sarcasm, we may not know what their ethnicity is, but we are sure that the person is an outsider.That is because of the shape of someone’s identity is by the usage and understanding of a language. A Korean- American novelist, Chang-Rae Lee narrates this thought particularly well in her short story Mute in English-only World. She talks about her Ko rean mother’s mental struggle in an English speaking world by saying, â€Å"In Korean she could be fiery, stern, deeply funny, and ironic, in English just slightly less so† (Lee, 801). All languages have their distinct ways of expressing happiness, sadness and other feelings.Those differences decide how one translates themselves in the society they live in. As Dr. Agosin says, â€Å"Translators are not traitors, as the proverb says, but rather splendid friends in this great human community of language† (Agosin, 24). It is hard to adapt and accept the changes that language barriers bring to our lives when we leave our homes. But that is what brings us one step closure to our true selves and how we were made.Despite of more than seven billion of our own kind on the planet earth, there are times we feel shipwrecked and alone when we are away from the familiar, because as a social animal we have grouped ourselves into ethnicity, cultures and countries. It is where w e currently are that has to be our new home away from home. We all secretly desire a perfect life, a perfect family or a perfect boss. After all if a pair of shoes wouldn’t have changed Cinderella’s life then she would be one of us. She would have moved for a better life, learned English, and gotten a better job with a healthcare package.CITATIONS Agosin, Marjorie. â€Å"Always Living in Spanish: Recovering the Familiar through Language. †Ã‚  The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook 2nd Edition. New York: W. W. Norton ;, 2009. 21-24. Print. Lee, Chang-Rae. â€Å"Mute in an Enlgish-Only World. †Ã‚  Everything's an Arguement. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. 800-02. Print. â€Å"Encarta Dictionary(Online College Dictionary)Review. †Ã‚  Encarta Dictionary (Online College Dictionary). N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 July 2012. ;http://www. really-learn-english. com/encarta-dictionary-online-college-dictionary. html;.

Physical Fitness Essay

Physical fitness requires a multitude of bodily operations. The first is a combination of the muscular system and the skeletal system. These two can be combined and are known as the musculoskeletal system. The circulatory system is that which governs the heart, blood, and blood vessels. The respiratory system is that which governs the lungs and their functions. The circulatory and respiratory systems work together to supply the body with necessary oxygen, because the cells in one’s body need oxygen to function properly. The combination of the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the musculoskeletal system come together to make up the necessary physical fitness functions. When all these systems are operating at optimal capacity, physical fitness is most successful. Physical fitness at its most basic level is known as physical activity, which is simply the contraction of muscles. At the next level, increased physical activity that is targeted at the improvement of one’s physical condition is known as exercise. Exercise is the specific type of physical activity that increases athletic performance. Identifying Your Culture: The United States is a bouillabaisse of humanity and culture. Being a product of the United States, I would say that I culturally identify with a melting pot of different cultures. For instance, my mother’s parents are both German-American, so I know for sure that I am half German-American. I also know that my grandmother on my father’s side is Irish-American, so I know for sure that I am one quarter Irish-American. But my grandfather on my father’s side was adopted, so I will never know for sure that quarter of my ethnicity. Due to modern technology, though, we believe he may be of Irish descent, which would make me one quarter Irish American. All that being said, though, I do not identify with any of these cultures. It may seem plain and simple, but I recognize most with the â€Å"main-stream American† culture. I grew up attending church every Sunday. I grew up eating hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, pancakes, and waffles. Time was spent on the weekends attending barbeque parties with friends and families while watching sports on the television like football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. The culture I grew up in was one of American sports. Describing How the Culture in which You Identify Influences Your Feelings, Attitudes and Behaviors Related to the Health: First, it must be understood that, growing up in American society, it was always important to be physically fit and have a nice â€Å"beach body.† But, as was said before, I grew up eating food that was not always the healthiest for me. A way to keep myself in good shape even though I wasn’t eating good foods was to continually exercise. Knowing that it is easy for any American to go down a road of unhealthiness, I work my hardest to stay as athletically fit as I possibly can. Also, my culture affected my physical fitness life in that, growing up, I was always playing sports. When I was eight years old I started playing football, and I continued to play football for the next ten years. Throughout high school, football allowed me to stay extremely physically active and forced me to always be athletically fit. I played football so much, I even learned to enjoy physical activity, especially those physical activities that were directly integrated with sports. Do You Think Your Children Will View Same Way You Do?: I certainly hope that my children will have the same views about physical fitness as I do. In a nation that is ever growing more unhealthy, it will be crucial for me to teach my future children about the importance of exercise. It is very apparent that the United States does not show signs getting healthier soon. I know that ten years from now Americans will be getting more and more out of shape. My children will not be a part of the ever growing obesity phenomenon. Also, sports are a very major influence in my life, so I would imagine that my kids will be involved in sports as well. Hopefully they will be able to learn about the necessity of physical fitness through sports. In today’s society, sports also open many other doors and avenues for people later in life. I only want my future kids to have the most opportunity possible. How Have You Been Influenced by These Cultural Messages?: In the long run, physical fitness and sports have played major roles in my life. It gave me a purpose for a time and allowed me to mature as a young man. Also, being athletic at such a young age allowed me set a pattern of physical fitness that has lasted now for years. Working out allows me to clear my mind of stress, increase my bodily health, and helps me get much rest at night when I sleep. I can focus more at school in class, I work harder at work, and I am socially more competent when I am working out. Yet it is tough for a student to find time to go to the gym, especially a student with two jobs. I guess it is lucky that one of those two jobs happens to be coaching high school football. As a football coach, I have unlimited access to the high school’s athletic facilities, of which I have been taking advantage of recently. Cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and muscular endurance are all important to me. On top of having access to great equipment, though, and probably more importantly, I have the ability to teach young people about exercise through sport and the importance of it. I am often teaching about the sports related aspects of fitness, which are speed, power, coordination, agility, balance, and reaction time. Probably the most rewarding influence physical fitness has had on my life has been the ability to affect the lives of the young men that I coach. This is how physical fitness has affected my life.

Legalize Gambling Essays - Gambling, Casino, Economics Of Gambling

Legalize Gambling Essays - Gambling, Casino, Economics Of Gambling Legalize Gambling Whether or not to legalize gambling is a tough decision. The pros and cons of the question are almost equal, and while some say it will boost economy others say it can destroy it. No one argues that gambling is a big, profitable business, they only question whether it is a business doing good, or the opposite. Arguments both ways are very compelling and both sides have many examples that demonstrate their point. However, if I were in the position of deciding if gambling should become fully legal in my country I would side with gambling. In many areas of the world gambling has proven an economic success. The growth in jobs, revenue and government money is too large to ignore. Although critics point out areas that have not grown since gambling started, this is mainly because of bad deals with the government or the community and not because of gambling itself. If we look at gambling as a gamble and be careful we can avoid many mistakes that have already been made. Opponents also tout the objectionable moral standards which gambling supposedly encourages. While this may be true, that does not give people the right to stop others from gambling. Many find premarital sex and homosexuality to be morally wrong, but that does not give them the right to stop the behavior. If they find it wrong, then they choose not to participate in the practice. Similarly, people can choose not to gamble but they cannot take that right away from people who do. The economic growth in cities that support gambling has been astou! nding. Billions of dollars a day come in through the casinos, and some of this money is then given to the government helping the economy even more. With the casinos also comes a huge amount of jobs. Construction, management, and many other jobs inside the casino boost local economy even more. Not only the casino benefits from the influx of more tourists but many other businesses will thrive, too. Hotels, restaurants, and others offering services will inevitably be boosted by the gambling business. Some people fear that other, illegal businesses will thrive because of the influx of money in addition to the legitimate ones. This may be true if we kept the same amount of law enforcement, however this will not be the case. With the additional revenue created by the casinos themselves the local authorities can now afford to keep more policemen and deceives on the street and investigating the gambling businesses. Corruption will be effectively held in check and scandal hel! d down. The shadowy background of gambling will slowly disappear as citizens realize that it is a legitimate business. In many areas of the United States gambling is already practiced with lottery and others of the same type. The stock market is also a form of gambling that no one objects about. The missed opportunity that not going with gambling is too large to be ignored and therefore the best choice is institute gambling. Economic gains by gambling are not the only consideration in this choice, one has to remember that many people want casinos near them. If the government is truly of the people and for the people it must follow the public's wish to introduce legalized gambling.

Essay on School Uniform

Essay on School Uniform Imagine being able to wake up every morning, roll out of bed, put on the same thing you wore the day before, and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do such a thing, but all of your friends were doing it, too! Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s becoming more common in our society as school uniforms have gone beyond private schools to public schools. Uniforms have a positive effect on students’ self-esteem, attendance, discipline, and test scores. They have also been proven to decrease the rate of crime and violence in public schools. Most students and even parents will argue that school uniforms stifle individualism. The teenage years are a time when adolescents try out different personas, often experimenting with different styles of clothing during this phase. Opponents argue that uniforms take away an individual’s freedom of expression. However, the clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often define the group by which they are accepted. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford the top-of-the-line, name-brand clothing. This rejection can lead to several problems for the outcast teen: depression, inability to concentrate on schoolwork, or just a general feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level because no outfit is more stylish or expensive than another. Linda Moore, principal at Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, California, states, Uniforms reduce the differences between the haves and have-nots† (Ritter, 1). Uniforms a llow students to interact with one another without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools create. More importantly, children are not judged on how much they spent on clothes or how stylish they look, but rather for their talents and personalities. School uniforms not only break down socioeconomic barriers, but they also increase the safety of the students. In 1996, President Bill Clinton encouraged the use of school uniforms as part of an education program that sought to improve safety and discipline (Hoffman, 1). If students are all wearing the same type of outfit, it becomes much easier to spot outsiders who may wander onto the campus. In addition, uniforms decrease the number of incidences of students being attacked or beaten for items of clothing such as shoes and jackets. Also, members of gangs frequently have a color or style of clothing used to identify themselves. Unsuspecting students who wear gang colors or gang-related attire might be threatened or intimidated by members of opposing gangs, students wearing expensive or fashionable clothes might become victims of theft, or certain fashion accessories or attire may be used as a means of concealing weapons, or even as weapons (Paliokas, 1). At a school in Long Beach, C alifornia, after only the first year that uniforms were implemented, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent (Manual, 3). Schools with uniform-clad students are also proven to have fewer disciplinary problems and increased attendance than non-uniform schools. Dr. John German, principal of South Shore, located in Seattle, Washington, reports, This year the demeanor in the school has improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported incident of theft (Manual,4). Ruffner Middle School, located in Norfolk, Virginia, reports a 47 percent decrease in students leaving class without permission (Manual,5). With the implementation of uniforms, students no longer spend hours deciding what they are going to wear to school. This fear of looking â€Å"uncool† will often cause kids to decide that they do not feel well enough to go to school because they can’t find anything to wear. Uniforms allow students to focus more on their academics, and less on what everyone else is wearing. According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, â€Å"Students concentrate more on education, not on who’s wearing $100 shoes or gang attire† (Manual, 3). Elementary Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter of Memphis, Tennessee states, â€Å"The tone of the school is different. There’s not the  competitiveness†¦ about who’s wearing what† (Manual, 5). Many families worry about not having enough money to buy uniforms. Due to the fact that no child can be denied an education because of economic disadvantage, all schools requiring uniforms must include provisions to assist low-income families. For example, the Long Beach School District solved this problem by setting up a boutique shop, funded by private donors, where needy students can shop (Paliokas, 5). In addition, community and business leaders provide or contribute financial support for uniforms, and students who have graduated often donate their used uniforms to incoming students (Manual, 3). However, uniforms are considerably cheaper to buy than non-uniform clothes, and the students can wear them every day and it isn’t considered unusual. Parents can buy a few pairs of pants, shirts, or other variations of a uniform for under $100, while parents of non-uniform-wearing students can spend from several hundreds up to $1,000 a year on clothing. Parents find that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home in the mornings about what to wear (Oland, 1). Pop culture increasingly sends young girls the message that the smaller and tighter the clothes, the more readily they will be accepted. These outfits, which flaunt navels and bra straps, are not only distracting, but detract from teaching time as teachers argue with students about what is considered acceptable attire. With uniforms, there are only a few acceptable variations of the outfit, no questions asked. A less well-known theory concerning the pros of school uniforms is the â€Å"halo effect.† According to researcher Marc Posner, the â€Å"halo effect† refers to the idea that while uniforms may not change student behavior, the uniforms may change the way teachers and other adults perceive the students who wear them. In a study of the correlation of student clothing and teacher and student perceptions, Dorothy Behling of Bowling Green University found that students and teachers alike believe that uniform-clad students not only behave better, but also do better academically than those who dont wear uniforms. While this may be an illusion, these positive perceptions can help create a self-fulfilling prophecy that teachers and administrators raise their discipline and grading standards to reflect their more positive image of students, who, in turn, behave better. (School Discipline, 1). While research on the effectiveness of uniforms is still ongoing, they have been proven to raise test scores, boost self-esteem, reduce violence and crime, and create a sense of newfound pride in students. They help children to focus on learning and schoolwork, not on what everyone else is wearing or whether or not they fit in. Uniforms are not the solution to all of the problems that teens, teachers, and schools face today, but research and statistics suggest that they may be a step in the right direction. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on School Uniform topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.