Chocolate is Good for You! Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Chocolate is Good for You! Did you know that getting a daily dose of dark chocolate may be beneficial to your health? Not only is chocolate the perfect gift for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day, it also may benefit your heart. The ingredients in chocolate are not only delicious, but dark chocolate and cocoa powders also contain disease-fighting antioxidants. The key to gaining the most benefits from dark chocolate is to enjoy it in moderation. According to cnn.com (2000), in addition to antioxidants, one of the fats found in chocolate, called stearic acid, may increase healthy cholesterol (HDL), and make bad cholesterol levels (LDL) less susceptible for oxidation, which leads to clogged arteries. This is the opposite effect one might expect, considering the amount of fat in chocolate. Dark chocolate may also improve blood flow, according to webmd.com (2004). In a study of 27 healthy adults given a cocoa drink with high levels of flavonoids, it was shown that adults over the age of 50 benefited the most. Flavonoids provide protection for plants, and when we consume them, we benefit from their antioxidant power. Antioxidants help the body’s cells resist damage from free radicals (Cleveland Clinic, 2004). The reason for the benefits of cocoa is that it controls the activation of nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme, that keeps blood vessels open allowing the blood to flow. Flavonoids may also lessen stiffening of the blood vessels, which is a common side-effect of aging (WebMD, 2004). It is to be noted that white and milk chocolate do not have the same effect on the body as dark chocolate. These are unfortunately more likely to expand your waistline than improve health. â€Å"Chocoholics† are still at risk for obesity, whic... ...ust 27). Dark Chocolate is Healthy Chocolate. WebMD. Retrieved January 30, 2005 from http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/ 73/81921.htm?printing=true. Peck, Peggy. (2004, May 20). The Right Kind of Chocolate is Heart Healthy. WebMD. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from http://my.webmd.com/content/article/ 87/99509.htm. Rauch, Catherine Ann. (2000, February 2). Chocolate: A Heart-Healthy Confection? CNN. Retrieved on January 29, 2005 from http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/02/chocolate.wmd/. Somer, Elizabeth. (2001, July 16). Crazy for Chocolate. WebMD. Retrieved January 29, 2005 from http://my.webmd.com/content/article/41/1671_52404. The Heart Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved January 30, 2005 from http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/prevention/ nutrition/chocolate.htm.

Essay --

For years, media companies have being manufacturing baby learning products and they make claims that they produce specific developmental benefits. Parents have believed that their babies can learn just from watching a video repeatedly for a long time or when they are reading baby books to their babies. This lead parents to always obsessively look for ways to prove that their babies are the best among their peers. So for these parents to accomplish this, they subject their babies as early as 3 months to different baby learning products that claims to boost up a baby’s learning abilities. Learning is a â€Å"change in an organism’s behaviour or thought as a result of experience† (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Namy, Woolf, Cramer, & Schmaltz, 2013 p.210). An example was a research carried out by (Neuman, Kaefer, Pinkham, & Strouse, 2014) on randomly assigned 61 of 117 babies between the ages of 9 to 18 months with a program called Your Baby Can Read, which included flashcards, DVDs and word books. This research was carried out for seven months and the researchers found out there is no difference between...

The Imperfect Creator in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein :: Frankenstein essays

The Imperfect Creator in Frankenstein Often the actions of children are reflective of the attitudes of those who raised them. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the sole being that can take responsibility for the creature that he has created, as he is the only one that had any part in bringing it into being. While the actions of the creation are the ones that are the illegal and deadly their roots are traced back to the flaws of Frankenstein as a creator. Many of Frankenstein's faults are evident in the appearance of his creation. It is described as having yellow skin, dark black hair, eyes sunk into their sockets, and black lips (Shelly 56). Frankenstein, having chosen the parts for his creature, is the only one possible to blame for its appearance. Martin Tropp states that the monster is "designed to be beautiful and loving, it is loathsome and unloved" (64). Clearly it is Frankenstein's lack of foresight in the creation process to allow for a creature that Frankenstein "had selected his features as beautiful," (56) to become something which the very sight of causes its creator to say "breathless horror and disgust filled my heart"(56). He overlooks the seemingly obvious fact that ugliness is the natural result when something is made from parts of different corpses and put together. Were he thinking more clearly he would have noticed monster's hideousness. Another physical aspect of the monster which shows a fault in Frankenstein is its immense size. The reason that Frankenstein gives for creating so large a creature is his own haste. He states that ,"As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hinderance to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make a being gigantic in stature ..." (52). Had Frankenstein not had been so rushed to complete his project he would not have had to deal with such a physically intimidating creature. Tropp however states that ambition may have had a role in the size of the creation. He says that the creation is "born of Frankenstein's megalomania" (81). This may indeed be true as the inventor states "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (52).

Indian Culture Essay

INDIA A country in South Asia. India is bounded by the Indian ocean on the south, Arabian sea in the south-west and bay of Bengal in the south-east. It shares borders with Pakistan in the west, china, Nepal and Bhutan in the north-east and with Burma and Bangladesh in the east. India’s Andaman Nicobar islands share a maritime borders with Thailand and Indonesia. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism— originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region’s diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. The Indian economy is the world’s tenth-largest by  nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic  Reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest- rowing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of  Poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public Healthcare and terrorism. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks eighth in military expenditure among nations. Current Details of India: President : Pranab Mukherjee Vice President : Mohammed Hamid Ansari Prime Minister : Manmohan Singh About India: Since ancient times India is known for diversity and prosperity in its Culture. It has one of the oldest civilization and culture in the world. Despite of such diversity Indian culture has the immense power to unite peoples together. There are fifteen national languages recognized by the Indian constitution and these are spoken in over 1600 dialects. With language changing across different parts of country, culture is also diverse. The Culture of India has played a vital role in its civilization. But, now a days, there is a lot of change in our Indian culture. Some changes are good and some effects badly on society. Let us see some of the changes in our society and what is our responsibility to preserve our pride, because â€Å"Pride of India is its Culture†. Changes In Indian Culture that are Positive for Indian Society A few Centuries ago â€Å"Sati pratha† was abolished and â€Å"widow remarriage† was approved. These Changes were the major achievements of Indian Society. These changes have removed the traditions and methodologies which was a curse to all the women and humanity. These Changes were the major revolution in the Indian Society. From that time, changes have influenced a lot to the Indian Society. Now a days, there are many visible changes in our society. Some of them are: †¢With technology becoming fast and easily portable people of different parts of the world are interacting together. Today they can easily know each other’s culture and tradition. So technology has made this world a smaller place and make the peoples come closer to know each other’s lifestyle and culture. Now a days people of a country are well known about the culture and tradition of other countries and so their knowledge has broaden. Peoples are becoming more independent. They are no more restricted in their own methodologies. New thinking are evolving between society. †¢Today peoples of our country are moving to other parts of the world for higher education and learning better technology. Now a girl of our country is no more restricted to home, and a woman to a housewife. Things are changing. Girls are also getting opportunities for their better education and lifestyle, same as the boys. Old traditions and wooden customs are  changing. These changes are the seeds for the better society where girls and women have the same right as the boys and men have. These changes are empowering our girls and women. †¢In case of marriage the changes are visible. Now a days younger generation chooses their life partner themselves. Traditionally their parents used to find a marriage par tner for them. Today If their parents choose a life partner for them then they allow their young ones to spend time with their life partner to understand each other and then perform the marriage ceremony. By doing this they gave their children a better chance to have a better future. So now a days young generation have freedom of choice in contrast with the old culture of Indian society where parents were solely responsible for choosing life partner for their children. †¢A major change that can be sensed in Indian Culture is the change in Indian Cinema. We all know that cinema is the mirror of our society. It clearly reflects the culture and methodologies of our society. Few decades ago Indian cinema was only meant for entertainment. At that times films were of conservative type. But today film makers are moving to the various social issues and giving the Indian cinema a touch of perfection. Films displaying the critical and major issues like terrorism and bogus CBI has already produced. These films teach a lesson to society regarding these issues and its consequences. Also the films promoting art and music have produced over a few years. Such types of films also encourage new ta lents and provide new opportunities. Negative Aspects Of Changes In Indian Culture As stated earlier that â€Å"every coin has two faces†. So If there are some positives, negatives also lies within. The changes in Indian Culture is also giving some negative consequences. Some of them are discussed below: †¢With growing technology competition in the market is also rising. People are spending their lots of time in office and at workplace. Consequently they have not much time to spend with their family specially with their children. So now a days parents have a less time to care for their children in contrast with the old age, where an immense care was given to a child by his family members. So the present generation of children are very much unaware of our Indian Culture. No one is there to make them understand about this. At present this is not a major issue but in future it will be of great concern. No one of us will ever want that our future generation will remain unaware from our Indian Culture. Problem: Our next Generation will remain unaware about our Indian Culture and slowly they forget it. Solution: Parents should spend a valuable time with their children discussing about our culture and tradition. Classes should be organized by schools for making them aware of our culture and its value. †¢With the growing demands of the world level of education has also changed. Pedagogy has changed. In old ages learning of a few subjects was enough but now a days a child has to learn about the different subjects and different areas of concern including present technology and science. So the level of mental stress has increased. In such conditions behaviour of parents act as catalyst. Now a days parents used to impose their desire and dreams on their children. Consequently mental stress rises exponentially leading to the act of suicide and state of depression. Problem: Mental stress on a child has increased. Solution: Nature of Pedagogy should be in a way, favourable with children. Parents should not impose their desires and dreams on their children. Every child is special, every child has a special talent. Provide them care and love and help in enhancing their mental strength so that their confidence in themselves will increase. They need these things because they are the future of our country. How would be our next society and culture largely depends on them. †¢In this world of growing technology, nearness and full of connections it is almost impossible for anyone to remain unaware about the culture following in different parts of the world, specially to our young generation. They are crazy about being modern and in their journey of modernization they are more attracted towards western culture. Regarding this they have accepted some freaky ideas of western culture. Now a days, physical pleasure are preferred by them over mental pleasure in almost every aspect, whether their life is concerned or whether their love. In search of physical pleasure they often commits crime. They are the building blocks of our society and culture. What  would happen to our future generations if they themselves solely tends towards western culture? Modernization is necessary but it should be in a way so as to preserve our culture and values. Problem: Physical pleasure is preferred by our young generation over mental pleasure. Solution: Parents should take care of their teens. They should restrict their teens up to some extent. Freedom is necessary but it should be in a limit. Parents should also be frank with their teens as like friends. Parents should give lessons to their teens about the consequences of bad habits prevailing in society, and how they can contribute in removing them. They should also make their teens frank with them and their family. Parents should discuss each and every issue of their teen among themselves and should tackle it patiently and smartly. If a proper care is given to them, they can be a responsible Indian in the Future.

Single-Sex School’s Benefits

Single-sex school's benefits In some countries single-sex schools is not provided and against the law. In 2002, only a dozen schools were separating sexes and this research is according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. Many parents believe that placing their child in single-sex schools give them sexual freedom. Students in single-sex school benefit more than those in co-education. It improves the behaviour, performance of the students, although boys and girls have different styles of learning. Most of the people agree on that the behavior of students differs.In co-education schools grades are equally for both genders. Indicting that neither gender is disadvantaged by the other, in fact the reverse is true. Sex segregation increases gender divisions among children. â€Å"Separating boys and girls in public school classrooms makes gender very salient, and this salience reinforces stereotypes and sexism,† Fabes said. In the other hand, according to Vai l, â€Å"By far, the advantages most often associated with schooling boys and girls separately is that eliminates distraction. Freed from the worries of impressing the opposite sex, boys and girls can focus on their books† (vail, 2002, p. 5). Moreover, in coeducational settings, the culture is one of socialization where for some academics might not be a priority. For these individuals, single-sex classes or single-sex schools might be a better choice. â€Å"Single-sex school officials say test scores and attendance rise and attitude improve† (Vail, 2002, p. 33). An experiment take place at Matthew Henson Elmentray School, Dunkel reports that if the disciplinary problems decrease, the attendance will increase and the academic performance will improve and positive attitudes will appear.By providing single-sex schools which decrease the disciplinary problems, the students will have the maximum achievement. Students have different styles of learning. Co-education interacts between boys and girls that sum up all the styles which are better. According to professor Alan Smithers, There are no overriding advantages for single-sex schools on educational grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to detect any major differences. ‘Studies show that here is difference in children's brains beyond the larger volume of boy's brains and the earlier completion of girl's brain growth, which have nothing related to learning. However, Boys and girls have different styles, according to Leonard Sax which says â€Å"The kind of learning environment that is best for boys is not necessarily best for girls† (Vail, 2002, P. 36). Scientist thinks that in co-education school require different teaching techniques at different time† (Howley , 1994) . These different teaching techniques will decrease the performance of students.Boys have a weird ways in concentration, such that boys tend to use a lot of space. So if boy and girl share a table the boy mig ht take a big room by spreading his papers over the entire table which leave little room for the girl, as Gurian and Ballew stated, â€Å"This tendency can affect psychosocial dynamics† (2003, p. 18). There is another environmental learning-style difference is collaborative learning. Girls seem to benefit from this collaborative learning style than boys as Gollnick and Chinn stated, â€Å", â€Å"Girls are more likely to learn in cooperative mathematics activities†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2004 , p. 152).But in the other hand, boys do not benefit from this learning and style instead they might can not collaborative easy with girls. Many people believe that sex segregation decrease the performance of the students. Richard Fabes, PH. D, one of the authors of the Science article said â€Å"Though public sentiment may have strengthened in support of such setting for improving the learning environment and outcomes for both boys and girls, the science is just not there to support this†. However, Supporters of single-sex school are totally against what Richard Fabes said. They believe that single-sex schools increase performance.Teachers of single-sex schools do not have to teach a lot of different styles, they just can concentrate on only one teaching style which will help the students a lot to understand easily. Moreover, the concentration of students and participation will increase a lot. Distraction between students will decline. There is assumption here that boys and girls should learn about each other in school. But is the main goal of school is to develop students socially? The assumption is false; other, there are a lot of another ways to develop socially through family, neighbourhood and clubs.Finally, single-sex school students behaviour is much better than co-education schools students because the distraction vanish, attendance rise and positive attitudes will occur. Most of the people agree on that boys and girls have different styles which decrease there performance. There is kind of learning which is good for boys and not good for girls. Each sex cooperates with each other better than cooperating with the opposite sex. Moreover, single-sex schools help the students to participate more than in co-education schools.So every country should provide a choice to parents to have single-sex education along with co-education. Reference List |Internet | |In text Citation | |Internet article |Alan Smith ‘ Advantages of Co-Education' | | | | | |Gurian and Ballew (2003, p. 8). ‘The Advantages of Single-sex Education' | | | | | |Gollnick and Chinn 2004, p. 152). ‘The Advantages of Single-sex Education' | | | | | |(Howley , 1994) . ‘The Advantages of Single-sex Education'. | | | | |Richard Fabes ‘Single-Sex Schools Fail to Improve Learning'. | | | | | |(Vail, 2002, p. 35). (Vail, 2002, P. 36). (Vail, 2002, P. 33). | | |'The Advantages of Single-sex Education' | | | Sources: 1-‘The Advantages of Single-s ex Education' from: NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL VOLUME 23, NUMBER 2, 2006-2007 http://www. eric. ed. gov/PDFS/ED492000. pdf 2-‘The Advantages of Co-Education' from: http://www. cathedral-school. co. uk/co-education. html 3-‘Single-Sex Schooles Fail to Improve Learning' from: Arizona State University http://psychcentral. com/news/2011/09/23/single-sex-schools-fail-to-improve-learning/29723. html

Privileged prisoners in the labor camps Essay

In the novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, we are shown the horrendous conditions in Stalin’s labor camps through the protagonist’s eyes. We share only 24 hours of Shukhov’s life, as shown by the title of the novel, but the awful living conditions are well shown. The author creates a dramatic foil between the privileged and ordinary prisoner, also called zeks. In these camps we know that food is the money and that without it you cannot survive, it is a power! The contrast shows the corruption and injustice that this power brings; some zeks abuse the power that is given to them and misuse it by treating others badly, others make good use of it and help out the rest of their squad, finally, the rest of these privileged zeks take advantages of their power but would still share some of their â€Å"wealth† with the ordinary zeks. In this novel, there are many examples of abuse and corruption. The main one is the mess chief and the limper. The mess chief has the â€Å"money† of the camp; he is the most powerful prisoner in the camp. By the way Shukhov describes him, we realize how corrupted he is. â€Å"The mess chief was a fat swine, with a head like a pumpkin and a mighty pair of shoulders. †¦ Once they’d tried to beat him up but all the cooks – choice thugs they were – had leaped to his defense. † (100). This detailed description shows well the kind of person the mess chief is. He knows he has the control and he abuses it as much as he can, he’s even better off than civilians with his lambskin waistcoat! It also illustrates the way that he uses his immense power to get more advantages than any other prisoners in the camp. This is shown by the fact that he is a strong and healthy person, and that he is full of energy. He doesn’t have to wear a number due to his incredible influence on the camp authorities. Another strong abusive character is the Limper, he’s hated by all the zeks, the reader eventually sees his cruelty and abusive temper during the passage where Shukhov describes his activity while going to the mess hall. â€Å"Because of his lameness he had managed to get classed as disabled, †¦. He hit the down-and-outs.† (99). This quote illustrates very clearly the fact that the Limper is a coward and is full of cruelty. He already has privileges, he doesn’t go to work, but yet he has to abuse the ordinary prisoner who had a hard work day and show them how much more powerful he is. It also shows that whenever a prisoner has some power, they need to get more of it, no matter what it takes. But the Limper also has to lower other prisoners to make himself feel better and look more important. This especially happens when the zeks are waiting for their turn in the mess hall. â€Å"One hundred and fourth† shouted the Limper. â€Å"Where d’you think you’re crawling, shit?† He whammed a man from another team on the back of the neck with his cudgel† (102). The way he treats ordinary prisoners stresses the Limper’s disrespect towards them. He has to insult them to make him look like he’s better off than the rest of them. This shows that he’s in fact lower than the rest of the zeks, just like the squealers. Another example for this category of zeks is Der and Shkuropatenko. Der is the kind of prisoner that betrays any zeks, not quite like a squealer because he gets privileged treatment. Right after the incident with Tiurin: â€Å"Der went across the open ground, looking haggard. To warm up in the office. He must have had the wind up. †¦ He should keep pleasant with team leaders like that, then he’s have nothing to worry about: the camp authorities didn’t insist on his doing any real hard work, he received top category rations, he lived in a separate cabin – what else did he want? Giving himself airs, trying to be smart.† (74). This emphasizes the fact that Der wants more, even though he has everything an ordinary zek could ask for, but it doesn’t satisfy him. It shows that a little power corrupts you to the point of wanting everything, even what you can’t have. We also know that Der used to be an important figure in the political world. â€Å"Up the ramp came yet another snooper, another chief – building-foreman Der. A muscovite. Used to work in some ministry, it was said.† (71). Just like the mess chief, Der’s clothing differed somehow from the ordinary’s zeks. â€Å"Der was wearing a regulation camp coat, but it was new and clean. His hat was stylish, made of leather† (72). In these quotes we clearly see the fact that Der was a previous important political figure and he still has privileges. Due to his position and attitude, he’s not well seen from the other prisoners, yet the ordinary zeks cannot do much about it because of Der’s sympathetic relations with the authorities. Another prisoner who’s shown as taking advantages of his status is Shkuropatenko. He’s not shown as taking directly advantages of his role. â€Å"The lanky Shkuropatenko, a mere cipher, a trusty who’d been given the temporary job of guarding the prefabs from any pilfering by the prisoners. Yes, it was Shkuropatenko who was most likely to spot them on the open ground† (41). This pictures Shkuropatenko as telling on others to make himself look more important to the guards and authorities of the camp. In this way he doesn’t have to work hard but he is vicious but he abuses the power he has by telling off everyone he sees. He even continues watching the prefabs from inside an office. â€Å"Beyond him, like a bent pole, stooped Shkuropatenko – B219. That eyesore – staring out of the window, trying to see, even now, whether anyone was pinching some of his precious prefabs! You didn’t spot us that time, you gawk† (59). This quote illustrates the hatred that the ordinary prisoners show towards the privileged ones and how they mock their devotion to their â€Å"work†. We clearly see why Shukhov dislikes Shkuropatenko as well as other abusive characters of the novel. He feels that they shouldn’t be telling on other fellow zeks, even thought they have more power than him. This shows how power corrupts the simple minds to the bone. There are some zeks that don’t abuse their powers at all and make use of it to help out others. Tiurin, the squad leader is one of them. He does his best to keep them out of trouble and get them good rations. This is shown when Tiurin confronts Der about the prefabs Shukhov and Kilgas grasped previously during the day. â€Å"Shukhov feared nothing for himself. His team-leader would never give him away. † (72). This is a good description fro Tiurin’s strength, he would never betray his squad. He has privileges; he doesn’t abuse them, but uses them to get his men out of trouble. All the things he does are for his men, and when they talk about him, they always show a great deal of respect. â€Å"He had no jokes or smiles for his team, but he took pains to see they got better rations. (†¦.) In camp the team leader is everything: a good one will give you a second life (†¦) He’d only just averted the danger of the team being sent to work at the Socialist Way of Life Settlement, now he was probably deliberating over the â€Å"percentage† on which the team’s rations for the next five days depended.† (33). This adds to the generous picture of Tiurin. He would never use his power to get advantages for himself; he would get them for his whole squad. This emphasizes that fact that he has a big heart and shares everything with his fellow squad members. The privileges brought by power don’t interest him; he despises corrupted zeks, such as Der and Shkuropatenko and does all he can to make life easier for his zeks around the camp. This is also why he’s shown as a good squad leader. He is one of the only zeks that act like that towards the ordinary prisoners. Yet, there is another example of zek, Tzesar is one of them. He’s the kind of zek that had many privileges, slightly abuses them, but uses them to get things his way around the camp. He’s one of the few prisoners who gets parcels twice a month. He works in an office but he acquired this place through bribes. He doesn’t have to go and work in the cold unlike the other members of the 104th. He always has extra food to eat and something to smoke. These belongings bring him power and influence in the camp. The ordinary zeks ask him for some of his special goods and his good heart usually gives some away. â€Å"Tzesar Markovich,† slobbered Fetiukov, unable to restrain himself. â€Å"Give us a drag.† His face twitched with greedy desire. †¦. But the moment he lighted a cigarette he read in several pairs of eyes an unspoken plea for the fog-end. Tzesar turned to Shukhov and said: Take it, Ivan Denisovich.† (22). This shows that even though he do esn’t share often, he’s generous. He gives the fog-end to Shukhov without him asking for it directly. It means that he’s kind deep down, even though he’s using his privileges to get a better position.. Yet there is another side of him. He believes that he’s higher than other zeks in the camp. When Shukhov brings him his lunch, he ignores him. â€Å"Tzesar swung round and held out his hand for the bowl, not even looking at Shukhov, as though the kasha had materialized out of thin air† (60). This shows how selfish he is, he doesn’t care about other prisoners. He should be out in the cold like all the other zeks but due to his power, he sits all day long in warm office. Yet Shukhov feels pity for him as he knows that he’s the kind of prisoners that can only survive as long as parcels as being sent to him This kind of prisoners can only survive as long as parcels as being sent to them In One Day in the Life Denisovich, the different kind of privileged prisoners either makes ordinary prisoner’s lives worse or better. In the first case, the privileged prisoners are hated by all the zeks and could eventually get murdered. For the other kind, the rest of the squad respects them as they give men a second life. No matter what kind of privileges they have, they are all a big foil to all the ordinary prisoners and bring about a sense of injustice towards the ordinary prisoners.

The Importance of French Education for Engineers

French education for engineers is significantly different from that of the United States. This fact will be the topic of this paper as well as the sequencing of French education. There are four schools in France that provide for the bulk of the engineering education after high school. These are called National Instituts For Applied Sciences or INSA. These institutions are very comprehensive and high level. The National Instituts For Applied Sciences or INSA take students who have completed their secondary school studies and select them on the basis of their examination results and their academic records. The recruitment is highly selective. In 1991, 11,000 candidates with a science baccalaureat applied for about 1,200 places.[1] It is therefore obvious, that the INSAs attract students with a high level of scientific education in mathematics, physics and chemistry. The studies begin with a two-year basic study program in the Premier Cycle, which is comprised of general science courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, mechanics and computer science. These courses are also complimented with courses in the Liberal Arts. The students who pass the first and second year exams are admitted to the Engineering Departments where they continue their studies for three additional years. This enables the students to specialize in nearly all the different engineering sciences: computer studies, mechanics, physics, chemistry and biochemistry. One original aspect of the INSAs is that, the number of students in a department can vary depending on the state of employment prospects. All the INSAs train their students according to the same principles and curricula as the other four institutions. The First cycle is a two-year program of common core classes that welcomes secondary school graduates. Its goal is to prepare students for entry into one of the Institute's specialized departments. The initial qualifications of those who apply for admission to INSA guarantee the high quality of the students: 80% of them graduate in 5 years and 5% in 6 years. [1] Engineering studies start concurrently with the first year of their training. After a two-year preparatory phase, the first cycle begins putting an ambitious regiment into place. The goal of this regiment is, first of all, to give students the common scientific, technical, and liberal arts training necessary for all departments. In order to achieve this goal, course work is divided into modules that are independent of each other. The second goal of the regiment is to encourage students to make the transition from high school student to a responsible higher level student with clearly defined professional goals. As a result of the quality of these different goals, the first cycle plays an important role in both engineering sciences as well as the liberal arts through both years. EURINSA is another two-year European first cycle in engineering studies that has, since 1991, been training European students (including French students) to be part of an international team. The scientific training, conducted in French but adapted to engineering students from different backgrounds (language abilities), allows the students to enroll in any one of the four INSAs in France or even in one of their European counter parts. The program is open to approximately 100 students (at each institution) of whom 1/3 are French, 1/3 are from other European countries, and 1/3 from Central and Eastern Europe.[3] The INSAs produce highly qualified engineers. There are some main differences between studying at an INSA and in the universities of the other European countries. One difference is that French students specialize only at the end of the first two years (the â€Å"Premier Cycle†). This form of training provides them with a vast scientific background, which guarantees a good overall training in the engineering sciences. This method also allows them to change their area of concentration, if necessary during the course of their career. As the INSAs and the â€Å"Grandes Ecoles† are highly selective, very few students drop out during the Premier Cycle whereas, in the traditional university system, there is a high dropout rate or at least a decision to change their course of study. Unlike the University system, the students at an INSA have many general courses. Although all European countries announce a training scheme which lasts approximately 5 years, the fact that attendance is not 100% and that students are permitted to repeat years, means that becoming a qualified engineer could take two or three years longer.[3] Engineering training fields and engineer status differ widely among countries. In other European Countries as well as the United States for example, the seemingly simple problem of correspondence among degrees, not to mention equivalence, is far from being solved, and the notion of harmonizing the numerous systems does not seem realistic. Educational system's specification's are deeply rooted in the country's culture, industry and economy. Large discrepancies appear in Europe between: kinds of high-school studies and their length before college entrance, means of student recruitment, length of training (in terms of number of years of study), degree awarding, academic recognition, professional recognition, etc. In many countries, two engineer profiles coexist: a design engineer with a broad background training, and a production and application engineer. For each profile, there are nevertheless important national particulars. With such diversity, one may understand why a foreign candidate admission in a French engineering college does not assume automatic level equivalence rules. Instead results from various factors: number of study years, major and minor fields of studies, major projects, etc. Therefore, there is only one European general objective in this area, dealing with recognizing degrees obtained after at least three higher education years. These are valued for entrance in professions having regulated access. Because of this definite lack of equivalence standards, Europeans have decided to develop student and professional mobility by recognizing and validating studies engaged in at colleges in other countries . This process has strongly developed in some cases, through the development of programs leading to double degrees, or through the E.C.T.S. project (European Credit Transfer System), based on academic credits which are transferable within higher education institutions of the European Union.[3] Institutions wishing to participate in E.C.T.S., particularly those following non-university framework, must make great efforts to adapt. They have to reorganize their training programs or curriculum with credit hours and they have to use a universal grading scale. The University of Technology of Compiegne (UTC) was the first French engineering school to engage in ECTS in the field of mechanical engineering. Other schools, like INSA of Lyon have more recently done the same. Apart from this very structured system, recognition of study periods among institutions from several countries appears more and more to be an essential component of an international open policy. Partnership agreements exist also with American universities, for instance between the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine and Kansas State University and University of Wisconsin at Madison. Developing this practice and expanding the student exchanges depends on firm relationships between foreign schools. A new attitude has developed, where one takes notice of differences between systems, without making value judgements. Thus, these new relations are creating more awareness of the equivalence problem and providing better methods for rectification. The École Polytechnique constitutes the â€Å"graduate schools.† It takes 2 to 3 years of study and, in 1993, there were 46,000 students enrolled in the second cycle.[3] Each year, the École Polytechnique admits slightly more than 400 students into the Second Cycle, via traditional competitive examinations.[4] These students are of both sexes, may be either French or foreign, and are approximately 21 years old. The instructional program for the Second Cycle consists of two years of advanced courses in the fundamental sciences. The program is evenly divided between a core curriculum, and an elective curriculum that includes individual research projects. All students follow the core curriculum, which includes courses in pure and applied mathematics, computer science, mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology and economics. The core curriculum also includes courses in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in several modern languages. Upon successful completion of these two years, students are awarded the diploma of Ingenieur de l'École Polytechnique. Relatively few of them begin their careers upon graduation. The vast majority of graduates choose to follow their studies with specialized training in engineering or business administration, or with the preparation of a doctoral degree. The French nationals, in view of the obligations of their status as polytechniciens, may choose to pursue technical training in France, at one of its engineering schools (such as the École des Mines, the École des Ponts et Chaussees, or the École des Telecommunications) They complete their last two years of education, and receive the corresponding Diplome d'Ingenieur. Since 1996, French nationals have undertaken such training at foreign institutions, in Europe, America or Asia: they have a choice among 100 different instructional programs, at 29 foreign institutions, leading to an Engineering degree or a Masters of Applied Science or Engineering, depending on the institution selected.[3] These programs generally require between two and two and a half years. Special arrangements with the École facilitate admission to some of these institutions. After research training in France or at a foreign university, engineering school, or public or private research center, approximately four years, they obtain a doctoral degree, a Ph.D. or a similar degree in a basic or applied science. For business studies abroad, after several years of practical experience, they earn an MBA degree at one of seven institutions. Foreign students may undertake specialized training or prepare dissertations at institutions of their choice, including, of course, their home institutions. The past shows, however, that they tend to favor the programs offered to their French classmates. In any case, the École attempts to arrange that the two years of study at Palaiseau be properly validated in the programs of the students' home universities. Foreign students are entitled to the same agreements as those offered to French nationals. The École Polytechnique's Second Cycle in the fundamental sciences together with a specialization acquired at another first class institution, represents a training that is proving to be in particular demand in today's economic market place. Indeed, each year large corporations come forward with expressions of their needs and suggestions as to where they believe the necessary applied training may best be obtained.