WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS Essays - , Term Papers

WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS (1868-1963) Author, journalist, social reformer, activist, poet, philosopher, and educator W.E.B. Du Bois wielded one of the most influential pens in African-American history. For sixty-six years he functioned not only as a mentor, model, and spokesman for generations of black Americans but also as the conscience of black and white Americans alike who yearned for racial equality and social justice. Born in 1868 during the painful period of Reconstruction, Du Bois was graduated from Fisk University in 1888 and went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1895 before entering the worlds of academe and activism. Using Atlanta University as his base from 1897-1910, he opposed Booker T. Washington's educational views as too limiting, preferring to organize young black intellectuals in the Niagara Movement. In 1909 he founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and in 1910 launched its historic magazine, THE CRISIS. During this period he also published his classic tre atise, THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK (1903), the best known of many passionate and well-argued philosophical and sociological studies of his race, which also included THE PHILADELPHIA NEGRO, JOHN BROWN, THE GIFT OF BLACK FOLK, BLACK RECONSTRUCTION, COLOR AND DEMOCRACY: COLONIES AND PEACE. Harlem Renaissance & THE CRISIS At the height of the Harlem Renaissance Du Bois was a familiar presence in New York. A prime mover in that fast-paced, exciting cultural explosion, Du Bois extended a helping hand to many of his younger colleagues, publishing in the pages of THE CRISIS the best poetry and prose of African-American writers, among them Langston Hughes, who dedicated THE NEGRO SPEAKS RIVERS to Du Bois. Through the N.A.A.C.P. Du Bois was also instrumental in creating opportunities for intellectual and artistic advancement for blacks and ways of rewarding and encouraging excellence, notably his collaboration with the Spingarns in creating the prestigious nedals which bear that family's name til l today. He published a novel, DARK PRINCESS, in 1928, and he continued to edit THE CRISIS from 1910-1934 until he began to reject the conservatism of the N.A.A.C.P.'s political views. Du Bois' gradual radicalization paralleled that of a number of other black intellectuals and artists, Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson prominently among them. He embraced leftist ideology, was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1958 and formally joined the Communist Party in 1961. In the last year of his life he moved to Ghana and took citizenship in that nation. His memoirs, DUSK OF DAWN, written in 1940, and his posthumously published three volumes of CORRESPONDENCE constitute not only a personal history but also the autobiography of a race in their proud ascent from slavery to freedom and in their courageous quest for equality--a struggle which Du Bois had once described as an unending battle against the forces of hell. From W.E.B. Du Bois' THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK, (Chapter IV: THE SORROW SONGS) "They that walked in darkness sang songs in the olden days--Sorrow Songs--for they were weary at heart. And so before each thought that I have written in this book I have set a phrase, a haunting echo of these weird old songs in which the soul of the black man spoke to men. Ever since I was a child these songs have stirred me strangely. They came out of the South unknown to me, one by one, and yet at once I knew them as of me and mine. Then in the years when I came to Nashville I saw the great temple builded of these songs towering over the pale city. To me Jubilee Hall seemed ever made of the songs themselves, and its bricks were red with the blood and dust of toil. Out of them rose for morning, noon, and night, bursts of wonderful melody, full of the voices of my brothers and sisters, full of the voices of the past...... The songs are indeed the siftings of centuries; the music is far more ancient than the words... Your country? How came it yours? Before the Pilgrims landed we were here. Here we brought our three gifts and mingled them with yours: a gift of story and of song--soft, stirring melody in an ill-harmonized and unmelodious land; the gift of

How Resins Protect Trees and Increase Tree Value

How Resins Protect Trees and Increase Tree Value Tree resin (along with other gum and latex fluids) plays an extremely important function in trees by rapidly sealing over wounds  used as introductory pathways by invading insects and fungal disease agents. Organisms that try to enter a tree via a wound can be flushed out, can become stuck and trapped in the seal and can be overcome by the resins toxicity. It is also thought that resins have high antiseptic qualities that prevent decay and that they also lower the amount of water lost from the plants tissues. In any event, consistent resin flow is essential to the continued health of most conifers. If you have regularly handled or touched the bark or cones of pine, spruce or larch, you know about the fragrant sticky resin they copiously ooze. That resin is contained in ducts or blisters that run through the bark and wood and diminish in size and number as they enter roots and needles. Hemlocks, true cedars, and firs have resin mainly restricted to the bark. Wound trauma to a tree can stimulate the production of traumatic resin canals that help in containing the injury and help in healing any resulting infection. Resin-laden blisters contained in the conifer secrete the light liquid, which immediately loses oils to evaporation and forms a heavy solid scab. It is interesting to note that this reaction to trauma by a tree is used in the manufacturing process of certain commercial resins and essential oils by stimulating resin flow by inflicting a purposeful injury or bark irritation (see tapping below). The production of resin is very common in nature, but only a few plant families can be considered of commercial importance to resin collectors. These important resin producing plants include the Anacardiaceae (gum mastic), Burseraceae (incense tree), Hammamelidaceae (witch-hazel), Leguminosae, and Pinaceae (pine, spruce, fir, true cedar). How Resins Are Formed, Collected, and a Little History Resins are formed as a product of the oxidation process of a trees escaping essential oils - also called volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea. As already mentioned, the resin is usually stored in ducts or blisters and frequently oozes out through the bark to harden when exposed to air. These resins, as well as being critical to a trees health, can be commercially valuable when collected or tapped. Resinous concoctions have been used for millennia in the form of waterproof and protective coatings made by the ancients. Varnished objects have been found in Egyptian tombs and the use of lacquer in the practice of their arts has been used in China and Japan for centuries. The Greeks and Romans were familiar with many of the same resinous materials that we use today. It is the ability of tree resins to harden as essential oils evaporate that makes them necessary to the production of commercial varnishes. These resins are readily dissolvable in solvents like alcohol or petroleum, surfaces are painted with the solutions and as the solvents and oils evaporate, a thin waterproof layer of resin remains. Tapping is usually necessary in order to obtain a sufficient amount to be of commercial value but can also be extracted during the processing of a tree species for another product - pine resins and oils that can be collected during the paper pulping process. Commercial hard resins are also frequently mined and extracted from ancient fossil materials like copal and amber for varnish. It is important to understand that resins, unlike gums, are insoluble in water, but they are easily dissolved in ether, alcohol and other solvents and used in many products. Other Resin-Based Products Hard transparent resins, like copals, dammars, mastic, and sandarac, are mainly used for varnishes and adhesives. The softer odoriferous oleo-resins like frankincense, elemi, turpentine, copaiba and the gum resins containing essential oils (ammoniacum, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, and scammony) are more often used for therapeutic purposes and incense. Resin, Kraft or pine soap (one trade name is Pine Sol) is made by reacting resin acids in wood with sodium hydroxide. Kraft soap is a byproduct of the Kraft process for manufacturing wood pulp and used as a super strength cleaner for heavily soiled and greasy cleaning jobs. Resin in the form of rosin is applied to the bows of string instruments because of its ability to add friction to bow hairs to increase sound quality. It is used similarly in sports to provide tack to grip bats and balls. Ballet dancers may apply crushed resin to their shoes to increase grip on a slippery floor.

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College Not everyone graduates from college; doing so is a huge deal because its an incredibly difficult journey. Its expensive. It takes a long time, it requires a heck of a lot of dedication, and there often never seems to be any rest from what other people expect of you. In fact, its sometimes easier to feel smothered by your responsibilities than it is to feel in control. So just what can you do when you feel overwhelmed in college? Fortunately, being in college means that you have both the desire and ability to figure out how to make things work even if you arent feeling like you can. Take a deep breath, start simply, and then show em what youre made of. What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College First, be bold and block off 30 minutes from your schedule. It can be right now; it can be in a few hours. The longer you wait, of course, the longer youll feel stressed out and overwhelmed. The sooner you can make a 30-minute appointment with yourself, the better. Once youve reserved yourself for 30 minutes, set a timer (try using the alarm on your phone) and use your time as follows: 5 Minutes: Grab a pen or use your computer, tablet, or smartphone and make lists of what you have to do. And while this may sound easy, theres one catch: instead of making a long, running list, divide it up by sections. What do you need to do for your Chem 420 class? What do you need to do as a club vice chair? What do you need to do for your financial paperwork? Create, in essence, a bunch of mini-lists and organize them by topic.5 Minutes: Mentally walk through your schedule for the rest of the week (or, at the very least, the next 5 days). Where do you absolutely have to be (like class) and where do you want to be (like a club meeting)? Use whatever time management system you have to mark down what you have to do and what you want to do.10 Minutes: Break down your calendar using your micro lists. What must be done today? What must be done tomorrow? What can wait until tomorrow? What can wait until next week? Be brutal with yourself, too; there are only so many hours in a day and o nly so much you can reasonably expect yourself to do. What can wait? What cannot? Assign to-do items from your lists to various days in a way that sets reasonable expectations about how much you can get done in a certain amount of time. 5 Minutes: Spend a few minutes to specifically break down how you are going to spend the rest of your day (or night) today. Allocate as much time as possible in your schedule, making sure to account for things like breaks and meals. In essence: How will you spend the next 5-10 hours?5 Minutes: Spend your final 5 minutes getting yourself and your space ready to work. Do you need to go for a brisk walk? Clean up a workspace in your room? Head to the library? Get some water and coffee? In essence: get yourself moving and prepare your environment so that you can hit the ground running. Once your 30 minutes are up, youll have made to-do lists, organized your schedule, planned out the rest of your day (or night), and prepared yourself to start. This, ideally, will allow you to focus on the tasks at hand over the next few days; instead of always worrying about studying for an upcoming exam, you can tell yourself, Im studying for my exam on Thursday night. Right now I must finish this paper by midnight. Consequently, instead of feeling overwhelmed, you can feel in charge and know that your plan of attack will allow you to finally get things done. You got this!

Marx and Engels 1848 Communist Manifesto and Marshall Bermans 1982 Essay

Marx and Engels 1848 Communist Manifesto and Marshall Bermans 1982 text on Marx and Modernization - Essay Example This paper illustrates that through an inspiration gathered from The Communist Manifesto, Berman refers to the social and political aspects of modernity as â€Å"a unity of disunity†. Therefore, Berman tends to illustrate that modernity makes individual to be in a constant state of constant struggle and incongruity, disintegration and renewal, as well as uncertainty and anguish. Equally, this can be identified whereby Marx uses the phrase â€Å"all that is solid melts into air†, to describe the concept of modernity. As such, Berman tries to use the perpetual experiences of ‘disintegration and renewal’ to point out both the advantages and dangers associated with the modern social life. As such, not only does Berman tries to demonstrate how the structure of domination and power have taken over modernity, but he also describes the existence of prevailing political changes that are essential in the attainment of an effective modern life. Despite the fact that B erman solely relies on The Communist Manifesto as his main theoretic manuscript to illustrate modernity, there are several important inferences that his work presents that should not be overlooked. Notably important, Berman outlines an important factor for modernity by presenting an all-encompassing and dialectical understanding of the efforts and impulses by acting as ‘the developer.’ As the developer, Berman anticipates discovering both the most creative and destructive possibilities of the modern social life. Thus, for Berman, there are several factors such as demographic transformations, scientific discoveries, mass movements, and industrial upheavals among others that generate modernity. As such, Berman tends to use these socioeconomic factors, together with the changing capitalistic markets as the factors that are responsible for driving change and bringing modernity.

Are all waste products simply resources that have not been used yet Essay - 1

Are all waste products simply resources that have not been used yet - Essay Example At a holistic level, the approach to managing waste and all the resources that are part of that waste actually contribute towards the achievement of any development. The entire new concept of recycling focuses on the fact that somebody’s waste can be another person’s treasure. Now not in the literal sense, but recycling reproduces used materials into useful products that greatly reduces the need of natural resources to be used. The popularity of recycling as the new approach to waste management perhaps quite well answer the question that almost all waste products are resources in the affirmative. Waste is becoming an increasingly difficult problem to handle. In China alone, municipal solid waste generation increased from a huge 31.3 million tons in the year 1980 to a devastatingly huge number of 113.0 million tons in 1998 (Wang & Nie, 2001). The management of municipal waste is a key concern if environmental protection is a priority for the increased amount of urban con struction and overall development has vastly increased the amount of waste. One stops to wonder why the entire focus of waste disposal has shifted from managing it in a way that it doesn’t take up much space to recycling (Weitz, et al., 2002) which not to forget is an expensive procedure and has given rise to an extremely significant new industry (Wang & Nie, 2001). Solid waste management basically deals with the use of resources and the end of life deposition of materials. Managing waste often requires difficult decision involving the collection, recycling, transportation and finally the disposal of the waste so as to have minimal environmental attack and to save costs as well (Weitz, et al., 2002). The entire logic behind this shift is perhaps rested in the fact that several things that are used and usually thrown away can be brought to use again with the help of recycling. Recycling at several times is thought to be a silly notion by many but it is truly not. With the help of a little imagination recycling can be extremely useful. What is more important is the fact that recycling products doesn’t always have to be an extremely complicated process. Looking at several household items, news papers and magazines that old and become useless can be used to donate to a hospital where patients are all tied up and need an activity. Recycling doesn’t always have to be the difficult technological process but giving thongs away in charity is also a form of recycling. Goods and items that one doesn’t need any more can be of great use to a charitable organization supporting the poor and needy. In fact the simple act of using rechargeable batteries is an example of reusing things that would have otherwise contributed to waste. Recycling not only saves time and cost but also the further depletion of the world’s fast running out natural resources. Recycling doesn’t only save and generate valuable resources but has a wide array of be nefits associated with the environment and the society in general (Imperial London College, 2013). An extremely interesting fact that has come to notice is that even waste is categorized into different types as per its respective recycle value. The major materials that are recovered from the Municipal Solid Waste are the ones

Why Religion and God Are Not Necessary in Modern Day Society Essay Example for Free

Why Religion and God Are Not Necessary in Modern Day Society Essay 88% of us claim to be religious. Religion has been around since 223,000 BCE. The world would be nothing without it. You can’t get a sense of history or the language of Britain without having to study religious texts. But is religion necessary in the 21st century? The simple answer is no. No, we don’t need to believe in religious stories to feel comforted, no we don’t need to believe in an omnipotent being, no we don’t need to believe in God to be good people and no, religion is certainly not necessary in modern day society. As an atheist and a humanist, people often ask me how I can possibly be a good person or have moral values. This makes the erroneous assumption that the only reason they aren’t out mugging, murdering and mutilating is that they are afraid of God; that the only reason they are good is because they are scared to be bad, which is a very ignoble reason to be good. How contemptible would we be if the only reason we didn’t kill was because we were scared of getting punished? The reason we should be good is completely the opposite. Because there is no afterlife, such as heaven or hell, we have only one life here on Earth. Because of this, we should live it to the best we can, and be good people. So no, believing in a religion is emphatically not necessary to be a good person. One thing that always crops up in a debate of this kind is that religion comforts people so why should we fight against it? The answer is simple; because it’s not true. If your father died, it would be comforting to tell you that he hadn’t died, he was away fighting against evil in a faraway land, but that doesn’t mean that we should let your mother tell you that. It’s false. Surely, as intelligent people, we should prefer the truth over something that comforts us, leaving a trail of false hope behind. Prayer, similarly, gives false hope. People all over the world are praying for loved ones in hospital, or another type of trouble. The facts remain. Prayer only â€Å"works† an infinitesimally small amount of the time for Christians. The same applies to Muslims, and Jews and Hindus and Sikhs, etc. Realistically, I would get the same success results by praying to a rock. There is no proof it works. Prayer has an ugly side. There are people in the world who are throwing away treatment for their life threatening illness, all under a false pretence that God will heal them. These people die year after year, but still more and more people are refusing real, medical help. Religion is absolutely not necessary to comfort the grieving or needy. Let’s focus on our country for a moment. In 2011, the UK’s census found that 55% of adults in the UK say they are Christian. One week after, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science put out a poll by ipsos mori directed to those who were down as Christian. When asked why they think of themselves as Christian, the research found that fewer than 28% say one of the reasons is that they believe in the teachings of Christianity. People are much more likely to consider themselves to be Christian because they were christened or baptised into the religion (72%) or because their parents were members of the religion (38%) than because of personal belief. Many who self-identify as Christian hold beliefs that some churches would consider to be incompatible with traditional Christian teaching, such as astrology and reincarnation (27% in each case), ghosts (36%) and fate (64%). Asked why they had been recorded as Christian in the 2011 Census, only 31% said it was because they genuinely try to follow the Christian religion, with 41% saying it was because they try to be a good person and for some unfathomable reason associate that exclusively with Christianity. When asked where they seek most guidance in questions of right and wrong, only 10% said it was from religious teachings or beliefs, with 54% preferring to draw on their own inner moral sense. How can we possibly say that religion is necessary in the UK in the 21st century when we are clearly no longer a â€Å"Christian nation†? Religion is in no way necessary for the good of the country anymore. So, when religion professes to be necessary for moral, supporting or national reasons, it’s wrong. Rather than helping people cope with death, helping people make moral decisions or creating the â€Å"backbone of our society†, as the Catholic Church professed in 2001, what does religion do in the modern day? Well, religion leaves a trail of false hope. Religious buildings avoid ? 44,041,939,000’s worth of taxes which still have to be paid by someone, so the taxpayer has to then give, give, give. Religious organisations such as the Catholic Church spread lies like â€Å"condoms increase the chance of getting AIDS†, leaving thousands of people infected in Africa. Religion segregates children in faith schools; it halts scientific progress and all of this to do with an outdated, unsubstantiated, fabricated fairy tale written thousands of years ago. Religion is not necessary and never again will be.

The Dangers of Carbon Dioxide Essay -- Environmental Gases Health Essa

The Dangers of Carbon Dioxide Thesis: As the environment encounters damage from increasing levels of carbon dioxide, actions on both governmental and individual levels need to be implemented in order to protect the welfare of future life. Introduction In an era of rising technology and increasing population, demands on the environment are continually being pushed to new levels. As a result, it becomes important for us to expand our knowledge about the environment and take appropriate actions to protect this element of most importance to human existence. One component of our environment experiencing some of the greatest abuse due to humans is the air. Air pollution has been on the rise ever since the beginning of industrialization. The climbing number of factories and use of cars worldwide are the major culprits of this environmental hazard. There are various gases released into the air that can be considered air pollutants, but one of the most prevalent and dangerous to the environment is carbon dioxide (CO2). Up to 95% of the CO2 produced is the result of natural processes (Burnett & Matthews Jr., 1998). The rest is a direct result of human activity, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels in the production of energy Potential Effects of High Atmospheric CO2 Levels The major effect most scientists fear as the result of increased levels of CO2 in our atmosphere is global warming. By blocking the heat reflected from the Earth's surface, greenhouse gases are able to warm the planet in a similar way to how glass warms up a greenhouse. Without this greenhouse effect, it is calculated our planet would be 35 degrees Celsius cooler worldwide, causing oceans to freeze and greatly altering life (Doyle, 1996). Accordi... ... Carbon Traced To Northern Lands (1995, September 23). Science News, 148 (13), p. 204. Novak, Mary H. (1998, July 24). Kyoto Treaty A Giant Leap into the Economic Abyss. Houston Business Journal, 29 (10), p. 27A. [Online]. Available: http://insite.palni.edu/WebZ/Authorize:sessionid=0. Rising Carbon Dioxide is Great For Plants. (1992, December). Consumer's Research Magazine, 75 (12), p. 25. [Online]. Available: http://insite.palni.edu/WebZ/Authorize:sessionid=0. Singer, Fred S (1996, November 25). Dirty Climate. National Review, 48 (22), pp. 62-64. [Online]. Available: http://insite.palni.edu/WebZ/Authorize:sessionid=0. Smog From the Middle Kingdom (1998, Summer). Earth Island Journal, 13 (3), p. 3. [Online]. Available: http://insite.palni.edu/WebZ/Authorize:sessionid=0. Soil Seen as Missing Sink (1996, September 21). Science News, 150 (12), p. 186.