Gender roles Essay

Gender roles refer to the set of social, attitudinal and behavioral roles, norms and expectations that, within a definite culture, are also formally or informally required or widely measured to be socially appropriate for persons of a precise gender identity. They are constructed for a variety of genders in order to channelize their energies towards some socially intended goals, which are either frequently shared or affixed from many of the experimental differences in behaviors, attitudes and personalities, amid various genders, come naturally, a lot of of these characteristics are, either in part or wholly, socially constructed, therefore, a product of socialization experiences. Qualities of a meticulous gender identity do not need to be imposed through rules and norms, while artificial roles have to be ‘enforced’ on people throughout some kind of psycho-social mechanism. Gender roles of a particular sex may not always be in accordance with the normal or biological traits of that gender, and they may turn out to be too strict or constricting so as to cause in the oppression of that gender. This is because of the potential of the gender roles to manage the behavior of people that these roles have been tremendously politicized and manipulated with the ruling forces, for several millenniums now, resulting in severe oppression of every gender of humans. Gender has numerous valid definitions, but its here in reference to an individual’s inside sex or psychological sense of being a male or female irrespective of one’s (outer) sex identity as determining one’s sexual organs. We find three major genders: masculine (inner male identity), feminine (inner female identity) and neutral (a balance of inner male and female identity). In conclusion gender roles of women have been enforced on them through force, and have thus been extra visible. Men gender roles are difficult to enforce but are indirectly enforced. References Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review 352-365. Connell, Robert William: Gender and Power, Cambridge: University Press 1987.

Aristotle’s Theory of Poetics

Aristotle’s Theory of Poetics Research Assignment Aristotle bases his theory of poetics on greek tragedy. He defines tragedy as â€Å"the imitation of an action that is serious and also as having magnitude, complete in itself. † (Melani, 2009) He views that, â€Å"Tragedy is a form of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear. Its action should be single and complete, presenting a reversal of fortune, involving persons renowned and of superior attainments,and it should be written in poetry embellished with every kind of artistic expression. † . (Melani, 2009) Usually the writer would present the emotions of pity and fear within tragedy which interprets catharsis. Aristotle viewed the term catharsis as the â€Å"purging† of emotions such as pity or fear which are triggered with tragic action within greek plays Aristotle draws a difference between tragedy and other genres, as the audience watches the tragedy, they feel a â€Å"tragic pleasure of pity and fear†. In order for the tragic hero to arouse these feelings in the audience, he cannot be either all good or all evil but must be someone the audience can identify with; however, if he is superior, the tragic pleasure is intensified.His disastrous end results from a mistaken action, which in turn arises from a tragic flaw or from a tragic error in judgment. â€Å"Often the tragic flaw is known as hubris, pride that causes the hero to ignore a warning. It has been suggested that because the tragic hero's suffering is greater than his offense, the audience feels pity; because the audience members perceive that they could behave similarly, they feel pity. An example of this is evident within the tragedy Oedipus Rex. (Melani, 2009) Catharsis Aristotle argues that the best tragedies and some of the best plays, since Aristotle considers tragedy to be the highest dramatic form, when the use of reversal and recognition to achieve catharsis is present during a tragedy or a play, he finds that with this aspect in perspective they are the best. Aristotle often writes reversal works with a story's spine or center in order to ensure that the hero comes full circle.An example of this is highlighted in the play Oedipus Rex, a hero who undergoes such a reversal and thus has cathartic self-recognition. Aristotle considers catharsis to be a form of redemption such that even though Oedipus' recognition is tragic it still redeems him: he no longer lives in ignorance of his tragedy but instead he decides to accept his fate. He sees that redemption is not the only result of catharsis; the audience also undergoes a catharsis in a good drama.The hero's catharsis induces both pity and fear in the audience, they pity the hero, and fear that his fate could possibly happen to us. Mimises Aristotle believes that there are two main aspects to think of art: some would consider art to be an expression of what is original and unusual in human behavious whilst Aristotle argues that ar t is â€Å"imitative†, it is a representation of life, and this idea motivated Aristotle. â€Å"He devotes much of the Poetics to exploring the methods, significance, and consequences of the imitation of life.Aristotle concludes that art's imitative tendencies are expressed in one of three ways: a poet attempts to portray our world as it is, as we think it is, or as it ought to be. † (Zuern) Aristotle believed that all poetry is an imitation or mimesis. Aristotle imagines that poetry springs from a basic human delight in mimicry. Humans learn through imitating and are fascinated by looking at imitations of the perceived world. The mimetic dimension of the poetic arts is, always representational. This was known as mimesis.During Aristotle's time, critics considered epic poetry to be the supreme art form, but Aristotle though differently, he viewed tragedy as the better of the two forms. Aristotle believes that tragedy, can entertain its written form, but also can transl ate onstage into a drama of spectacle and music. Aristotle often felt that the use of the word â€Å"unity,† was sometimes misunderstood. He considers that unity is the ability of the best dramatic plots to revolve around a central axis that ‘unites' all actions within a play.Aristotle believed that a unified drama will have a ‘spine': a main idea which motivates all the action, character, thoughts, diction and spectacle in the play. (Gradesaver, 2012) Work Cited  · â€Å"Aristotle's Poetics Study Guide. † . 4Shared, n. d. Web. 6 Sep 2012. .  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Aristotle's Poetics Themes. † GradeSaver . N. p. , n. d. Web. 6 Sep 2012. .  ·Melani, Lilia . â€Å"Tragedy. † . N. p. , 13 March 2009. Web. 5 Sep 2012. .  ·Zuern, John . â€Å"Aristotle Poetics. † CriticaLink. University of Hawai`i, 1999. Web. 6 Sep 2012. .

Diversification of Albertas Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversification of Albertas Economy - Essay Example Diversification as a concept has a special effect on Alberta’s economy, which is reliant on non renewable resources as its economic bedrock. It is vital that Alberta’s government develop policies that will aim to diversify the province’s economy, and make it wealthier. By relying on non renewable resource-based industries, Alberta’s economy becomes vulnerable to economic cycles of boom and depression This paper will aim to provide ideas on policies that the government can implement for its economy to minimize the probability of failure and maximize the probability of success.Policies Active and proactive government intervention through policy formulation, it is possible to diversify Alberta’s economy. Government can intervene in such aspects as labor, trade, capital, and financial markets to create a diversified economy base for the province. The government’s involvement in the economy is also vital to diversify the economy. Increased governm ent involvement and investment in the Alberta economy is vital for diversification to occur. Increased government involvement ensures that infrastructure gets created to prepare the economy for diversification Alberta is a landlocked province, and it is vital that infrastructure such as transport get created to facilitate business creation. Infrastructure such as communication, health services, and electronics are crucial towards encouraging economic activity. Engagement of the government in the economy allows for massive generation of revenues that facilitate infrastructure construction. Government becomes involved through investments in private businesses and leading corporations in the province. Government should aim to offer venture capital for business start ups within the province both directly and indirectly. Government assistance should also get directed at the existing sectors, which have shown strength in the Alberta economy. The government should create an enabling climat e for investment through tax policy formulations. For there to be diversified economy in the province, the government should apply grants, subsidies, and tax incentives to generate varied economic activity (Mathias, 1971). The government can direct these financial tools towards economic sectors, which are under invested. These tools are crucial to develop the emerging industries within the province. This will invite on board investors who are motivated to take advantage of such government incentives. These tools also ensure that the cost of production for the investors lowers down encouraging them even more to partake in economic activity within the province. To develop a diversified economy, the government should also revise its education policy to gear it towards labor specialization. The governments should enable a shift from the province’s general education curriculum to a job-directed education curriculum. The creation of specialized labor or skills within the Alberta ec onomy would help generate economic activity (Mathias, 1971). A diversified labor market promises labor to investors. It assures investors to proceed with their investment plans within the province as their labor requirement is available. The government in Alberta should offer this policy formulation to the universities and technical institutes in its region to encourage the specialization of labor skills. The Alberta government should also reduce over reliance on the economic importance of the unprocessed raw resources sector (Mathias, 1971). The government should encourage

Questions and answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Questions and answers - Essay Example This has brought about globalization. The World Economic Forum is mentioned adversely in the article, and this is an indication of globalization in the sense that various companies and world leaders on a global scale have come together so that they are able to chat on the way forward in business operations. This brings out the aspect of foreign trade that has brought about globalization. The author has also outlined about information technology. There has been mention about social media through sites such as Facebook, Twitter and you tube, and mobile telephony and how these have enhanced globalization by connecting people all over the world. The anti-globalization movement was protesting about the negative effects of corporate capitalism. This movement emerged before the global financial meltdown of 2008 according to Tanjka Kovac, a human rights lawyer. About a year before the September 11 attacks, the World economic forum (WEF) was meeting in New York at the World Trade Center and Crown Casino. Thousands of people appeared in the streets marching in protest of the corporate capitalism. This mass warned that corporate capitalism was going to have ill consequences because it was being applied in excess with no control. They were extremely dissatisfied with the trend the world was taking in terms of being too capitalist, hence, masses stormed to the streets to try and pass the message to the delegates who were in attendance at the summit. For example, they argued that many well performing brands continued to exploit people in third world countries so that they would earn profits. Technology has influenced global social movements because, through technological advancements, people are connected and messages about globalization are easily spread. Through mobile telephony and online means, people are connected all around the year. As a result of this, it is now possible

Should certain types of products be banned from advertised through Essay

Should certain types of products be banned from advertised through magazines billboards, commercials posters - Essay Example Advertising employs some mental pressure by attracting feelings of insufficiency on the targeted consumers, sometimes causing harm. It is, therefore, the responsibility of any advertising agency to adhere to the rules and regulations that are stipulated to shield the consumer from false and unsafe information. Some adverts still do not comply with the aforementioned rules and regulations hence leading to advertisement bans on some products (Cohen, 2011). This essay will analyse certain products that need to be banned from public domain and give appropriate reasons why they should be banned. Discussion The first product that should be banned is tobacco products like cigarettes. Tobacco manufacturers have been able to penetrate the market through a diverse media promotion campaigns including use of posters and billboards. Some of the countries have banned tobacco adverts, and it should be banned fully. The early 20th century adverts were more pronounced using large posters and billboar ds. Some of the companies had created slogans for different types of cigarettes and also acquired full support from renowned people. Some of these adverts went to the extent of using doctors and children in their attempts to lure new customers. At this time, smoking was fashionable, and there were fewer reports on health effects (Johnson, 2006). Today, tobacco has many serious complications. Tobacco is responsible for lung cancer and erectile dysfunction among its users, and approximately greater than half a million people die annually hence a lot of health costs to the tax payer. These tobacco bans will shield many children from the disastrous effects of advertising. A substantial young audience will also be salvaged from these adverts. Advertising to children is dangerous since their comprehension of personality and money is much undeveloped. They also know little on their desires and preferences and on utilization of their resources rationally to fulfill their needs. These advert s can, therefore, lead to false beliefs among them. To shield these immature children and youth, the advertisers should not deliberately deceive children and these adverts should be banned (Cohen, 2011). Secondly, slimming products should be banned from the public domain. Recently, the demand for these products has risen among the young teens, and the manufacturers have taken advantage of this scenario to deceive their customers (Srinivasan, 2009). Majority of these adverts gives the impression that slenderness is equal to beauty. Some have gone to use Photoshop drawings to bring out these impressions. These adverts mainly appeal to the teen girls who labour with body appearance issues, recognition and self esteem. When these teens look at how faultless and immaculate women look in those magazines and billboards, this motivates them to be like the models not knowing that it is just a marketing strategy employed by the manufactures in order to lure them to buy their products. This ma kes them make irrational decisions about these products which might end up being harmful to their health (Johnson, 2006). Thirdly, the category of products that should be banned is the fast and high fat content food. These foods if taken in small quantities do not pose any serious health challenge; however, majority of people recently have become obese hence increasing their susceptibility to lifestyle diseases like cancer. Health experts link these problems to consumption of high

Stem Cell Research - Sclerosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stem Cell Research - Sclerosis - Essay Example Fox and the hundreds of thousands of others who fight such ailments will not have to do so. Unfortunately, as is the case with everything else in life, this situation too proves to show a lack of 100% certainty. We as human beings just tend to find ourselves without the luxury of having that. In return, it is left up to instinct and brainpower to guide us towards answers to problems. The purpose of this essay is to give a brief summation of what stem cell research is as well as what it means for the scientific community and what they hope to accomplish. Also the verbal battle it has caused to ensue between entities ranging from a scientific lab to the White House, and going all the way to Rome and the Vatican. It is with this kind of heated verbal exchange that real reform can result. According to the official resource for the National Institute of Health, stem cells and their importance are described as: "Stem cells have two important characteristics that distinguish them from other types of cells. First, they are unspecialized cells that renew themselves for long periods through cell division. The second is that under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become cells with special functions such as the beating cells of the heart muscle or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas," It goes on to say, "Scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells, which have different functions and characteristics that will be explained in this document. Scientists discovered ways to obtain or derive stem cells from early mouse embryos more than 20 years ago. Many years of detailed study of the biology of mouse stem cells led to the discovery, in 1998, of how to isolate stem cells from human embryos and grow the cells in the laboratory. These are called human embryonic stem cells. The embryos used in these studies were created for infertility purposes through in vitr o fertilization procedures and when they were no longer needed for that purpose, they were donated for research with the informed consent of the donor". Based on the information provided in these quotes, it can strongly be assessed that these stem cells do in fact play a major role in assisting healthcare systems in finding cures. As this is an issue which greatly impacts the overall human society, greater knowledge of stem cells, as well as what they can do, is imperative in the process of coming to clear, and concise decisions for how best to proceed forward in the matter. As discussed earlier, this research is hoped to be the magical key in terms of finding a cure of such ailments as Parkinson's disease. To best understand the benefits of stem cell research, it is also necessary to understand the possible cause and long term symptoms of the ailments which it may help to alleviate, such as Parkinson's disease. The official resource for the National Institute of Health addresses this as well. Based on their perspective, Parkinson's disease (PD) is a very common neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 2% of the population over 65 years of age. PD is caused by a progressive degeneration and loss of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons, which leads to tremor, rigidity, and hyperkinesias (abnormally decreased mobility). It is thought that PD may be the first disease to be amenable to treatment

Direct Marketing in International Markets Assignment

Direct Marketing in International Markets - Assignment Example Direct marketing has various advantages over other marketing methods, but it also suffers from criticisms at times due to its unwanted and fake activities with the customers. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Discussion 5 2.1 Use of Direct Marketing in International Markets 5 2.2 Characteristic of Direct Marketing 6 2.3 Difference from Mass-Marketing Approach 7 2.4 Assessment of the Primary Concern That Consumers May Have About the Use of Direct Marketing 9 2.5 The Methods Which Can Be Employed By the Direct Marketing Industry to Counter These Criticisms 10 3.0 Conclusion 11 4.0 Recommendation 12 References 13 1.0 Introduction Direct marketing has emerged as one of the most significant marketing tools in the hands of the marketers over the last few decades. Direct marketing is the selling of goods or services directly to the prospective customers without using any intermediaries, but by using databases of customers and through one or mor e media. With the increasing globalization of world trade ‘international direct marketing’ has enhanced its performance and relevance. Several companies in the direct marketing ground are gradually looking to enter the foreign market for expansion of the business. Efficient international transportation system and improvement in international payment system have eventually encouraged the direct marketers to expand their businesses beyond their national boundaries (Kraft & Et. Al., 2007). According to ‘Advertising Age 2006’, marketers have used over $52.2 million in 2005 on direct marketing. Direct marketing such as traditional direct mail as well as telemarketing has been considered as an efficient method for advertisers and marketers. After the introduction of the Internet, the whole marketing communication strategies of direct marketing have changed drastically (Morimoto & Chang, 2006). In this paper, the use of direct marketing in an international market and its value and importance have been described. Its distinction from the mass marketing has been mentioned in the paper. In addition, the direct marketing acts as a valuable tool for marketing communication. This has been discussed in the paper. Though direct marketing is beneficial for consumers and marketers, it faces criticism from the consumers’ perspective, which has been discussed clearly as well. 2.0 Discussion 2.1 Use of Direct Marketing in International Markets Direct Marketing is considered as one of the fastest growing areas in present-day marketing practice. Direct marketing utilizes various multiple channels such as the Internet, leaflet drop, telephone, direct mail, E-mail and mass media so as to reach particularly to the target foreign customers in an international market in order to obtain an effective response immediately for ultimate sale (George State University, n.d.). Direct marketing in the USA developed into boom industry during the 1980s. Due to dire ct mail, sales growth had risen from $15 billion to $46 billion. The direct marketer had also risen to 13,000. Direct marketing broadened the demand of various companies such as blue-chip industrial in addition to consumer companies which include American Express, IBM, Westinghouse, Sony, 3M, GEICO, Time Inc., along with retail sectors such as Neiman-Marcus, J.C. Penney, and Marshall Field.  

DISCUSSION FOURM 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DISCUSSION FOURM 6 - Essay Example These are normally identified in the early phases of the emergence of a disease, or an epidemiological ailment. The best communication approach is to open a communication line with environmental investigators, during the early phases of the emergence of an epidemic (Monroe, 2011). These communications should be frequent, and the methods used in communicating should be accessible to all. For example, health care experts should use mobile phones and the internet for communicating (Monroe, 2011). Use of mobile phone is an easy method of sharing information between environmental experts and public health officers (Monroe, 2011). It is important to denote that most infectious diseases normally emanate because of poor hygiene and environmental condition. This includes conditions such as contaminated water, poor sewerage system, etc (Monroe, 2011). Liaising with environmentalist will help a health worker to identify the various environmental health hazards, which might be a cause of an infectious disease (Shetty, 2010). Furthermore, there is a need of establishing health hotlines. Mobile hotlines will enable people to communicate directly with health care workers, in case of the emergence of an infectious disease. This is an efficient and easy method of identifying the source of a disease. All that health care workers have to undertake is to inform the public on the existence of the hotline numbers (Monroe,

Black People and African American Actors Essay Example for Free

Black People and African American Actors Essay â€Å"We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load. † (Malcolm X) African American men through time have struggled for a power that is out of their reach because others hold the power. August Wilson’s Fences displays a Psychological/Psychoanalytic approach by illuminating the inherent injustice in America’s treatment of African American males and the ways in which this racism affects and invades the societal units – the family. The conventional husband-wife and father-son conflicts are subservient to the plays discussion of racism. Fences is a drama that focuses on the characteristics of black life in a small neighbor in 1957 and the strains of society of the Maxson family. The play shows how the main character struggles against his oppressive past and his present surroundings, and when he tries to regain the power in his life, he fails, and ends up bringing down other with him. The protagonist, Troy Maxson is a restless trash-collector and former baseball player for the Negro League. In the play, Fences, Troy’s past dictates the kind of man he is today. His father, an abusive unsuccessful sharecropper, has had a major impact on Troy. Troy states, â€Å"But I’ll say this for him†¦he felt a responsibility toward us. † (1310; all page references are to class text Literature an Introduction to Reading and Writing, 5th ed. ) This comment is the one good thing that Troy has to say about his father. Despite his father’s meanness, he did feel a sense of duty toward his family. After an incident with his father beating him unconscious, Troy left home at the age of fourteen (Wilson 1311). Leaving the oppressive rule of his father should have brought Troy a feeling of freedom, but Troy found the exact opposite. Troy found that there were no jobs or places for blacks to live so he began stealing to survive. He met a woman and got her pregnant with his first son. Lyons. The responsibility weighed on him because now he had two more mouths to feed (Wilson 1311). To take care of his family, he continued to steal which ended him jail for fifteen years and this is where he learned to play baseball. Troy Maxson was a great baseball player, at least according to his friend Bono. Although he played brilliantly for the â€Å"Negro Leagues†, by the time that blacks were allowed into the Major League Troy was too old. In Troy’s self-created illusion, he believes that he would have made it to the Major League if it were not for the color of his skin (Wilson 1292). Because he never earned the recognition or the money, which he felt he deserved, the discussion of professional sports will often send him into a tirade. In a discussion with Bono and Rose concerning Cory recruitment by a college football team, Troy states, â€Å"Jackie Robinson wasn’t nobody. I’m talking about if you could play ball then they ought to have let you play. Don’t care what color you were. † (1. 1. 78). Troy points out the blatant racism that kept him from a career in the major leagues. He was just as good, if not better, than many of the white players, and yet he did not get a shot. Troy, now fifty-three, has long retired from baseball; he makes a living for himself and his family as a garbage man, and nurses his well-earned bitterness. His life has been warped by white racism, and in turn, Troy is helpless to keep himself from warping his son’s life. Because of the racism, Troy has suffered in life and the tumultuous relationship with his father, Troy tries to control both is son’s lives. Troy has a low expectation of what black men can do with their lives, and is holding his sons back from obtaining successes that Troy could only dream about obtaining. Lyons is ambitious talented jazz musician. Lyons jazz playing appears to Troy as an unconventional and foolish occupation. In the beginning of Fences, Lyons comes to Troy to borrow ten dollars because he girlfriend Bonnie has a job working at the hospital. In Troy’s mind, Lyon is failing in his duty as a man by not taking care of his woman. Troy lectures Lyons, â€Å"I done learned my mistakes and learned to do what’s right it. You still trying to get something for nothing. Life don’t owe you nothing. You owe it to yourself. † (1. 1. 145). The quotation is an example of how Troy feels the black man will never amount to anything in the â€Å"white man’s world†. He also tries to control his son, Cory’s future because he see that he is going down the same road the Troy was on and was rejected from. Troy tells his wife Rose â€Å"The white man ain’t gonna let him get nowhere with the football. † (1. 1. 65). Through racial discrimination is still a huge problem in America during the 50s, things have gotten more equal, especially in the world of sports. Troy however is too stubborn and bitter to admit there has been some progress. Troy is now a fifty-three year old African American male who works for the sanitation department. Troy works to gain power as a man by changing his job situation. Troy goes to his boss, Mr. Rand and asks him â€Å"Why? Why you got white mens driving and the colored lifting? † (1. 1. 10). Troy sees this as oppression, though he knows that he has a job that is awarded to both white and black men, the racial line is till carefully drawn. He is determined to cross this line because he cannot handle any racial prejudices in his life. Troy continues to recount his fight with his boss to his long-time friend, Bono. Troy states, â€Å"You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck. That ain’t no paper job! † (1. 1. 10). Troy feels that blacks are good enough to be drivers; he assumes that they would not be able to handle â€Å"paper† or office jobs. This is another example of how racism is so entrenched that black people are a little racist against themselves. Troy’s characters sought after this job in order to gain back some of the power in his life, even though he does not have a license to drive. He is finally able to prove to himself and the people around him that he is worthy and just as good as any other man, including white men. As a father, Troy feels obligated to provide the necessities of life, but he seems to think his duties end there. During a discussion between Cory and Troy, when Cory asked he father, â€Å"How come you never liked me? † Troy replies, â€Å"You live in my house†¦sleep your behind on my bedclothes†¦fill you belly up with my food†¦cause you my son. You my flesh and blood. Not cause I like you? Cause it’s my duty to take care you. (1. 3. 107). It is clear the legacy of racism threatens to take another generation. However, he was unable to provide for his family alone and had to use the tragic injuries of his brother, Gabriel, a World War II veteran. Troy uses this money to pay for his house. He says, â€Å"If my brother didn’t have that metal plate in his head†¦I wouldn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. And I’m fifty-three years old. † (1. 2. 64). He feels weighed down by the guilt of using his brother’s destruction as a way to jumpstart his own life. He feels like the only reason he has anything is the fact that his brother life was ruined. Through he has a loving relationship with his wife Rose, he still strays and finds a woman with which he feels he can be a different man. He uses this affair as a way to escape from the responsibility of his life and the constant reminders of his shortcomings as a man. When trying to explain why he had the affair he tells Rose, â€Å"I can step out of this house and get away from the pressures and problems†¦be a different man. I ain’t got to wonder how I’m gonna pay the bills or get the roof fixed. I can just be a part of myself that I ain’t never been. † (2. 1. 98). His affairs results in a baby, and he needs Rose to help him, after his mistress, Alberta, died. Rose accepts the responsibility of raising this child, but she has cut off all emotion bonds with Troy. Rose tells him â€Å"I’ll take care of you baby for you†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢cause like you say†¦she’s innocent†¦and you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child. From right now†¦this child got a mother. But you a womanless man. † (2. 3. 4). It is with this act that Troy loses more of his control and finds himself even more emasculated than before. Troy was unable to see that he did have control over one aspect of his life, yet he was too worried about proving his worth to others and to himself, that he proved his unworthiness to his own wife. Troy is a resentful victim of his life’s circumstances, a man who has become fenced in from happiness by the conviction that he was never paid what he was owed in any right: not from his father, not from his former baseball career, not from his employers, and not from his family. Troy tried to take back the power that was taken from him by demanding that his loved ones live practical, responsible lives while he has the freedom to have an affair, rebel against racist practices of his employers by protesting the limitation of black workers as lifters not drivers on the trash trucks. Troy refuses to see life in any presented to him but the way he perceives events in his own head. Eventually, Troy’s death leaves many negative attributes an inheritance for his family to sort out and accept. Fences I. INTRODUCTION (4-6 sentences) A. Quote B. Thesis Sentence–The play illuminate the inherent injustice in the America’s treatment of black men and the ways in which this racism affects and invades the family. 1. The conflicts in the play show has racism affected the family. 2. Set in 1957 after World War II when blacks still are fighting for power. 3. Shows how the characters struggle against his oppressive past and present, and when he tries to regain power he fails and brings down others around him. II. BODY (minimum of three paragraphs) A. 1st Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–Troy’s past dictates the kind of man he is today a. Subject The ways he was raised b. Focus – why he left home and what he did when he left home 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence–His father was an abusive unsuccessful sharecropper 2nd Subtopic Sentence–left home at an early age and landed in jail. 3. Concluding Sentence– uneducated black man did what he had to do to serve. B. 2nd Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–Troy’s injustice dealing with his career a. Subject–Lost opportunity due to racism towards blacks in sports b. Focus– why is lost his opportunity to be the man he thought he was supposed to be and how he handles it 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence– during that time blacks were only allowed to play in the Negro League. 2nd Subtopic Sentence–Any talk about sports through Troy into a tirade. 3. Concluding Sentence–Because of the oppression that was placed on him, it causes he to oppress others dreams C. 3rd Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–The affect his past has on him and sons a. Subject–Troy’s low expectation for options that the black man has in a career b. Focus–He holds his sons back from realizing their dreams 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence–Thinks he son Lyon is wasting his life by not accepting a job that is thought as acceptable in the white man world 2nd Subtopic Sentence–Does not want his son Cory to follow in footsteps as an athlete because of how he was treated. 3. Concluding Sentence–Troy is too stubborn and bitter to admit there have been changes since his time concerning treatment of black athletes D. 4th Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–His job and racism a. Subject–Whites has the better job in the sanitation department b. Focus–Tries to change his job situation 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence–Troy goes to his boss and confronts him about the racism at work 2nd Subtopic Sentence–Troy himself is racist toward other blacks 3. Concluding Sentence–Troy is able to prove to himself and family that is worthy and as a good as any white man. E. 5th Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–Responsibilities as a father a. Subject–Troy believes that a father is only supposed to provide for his family b. Focus–how he goes about it 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence–Tells he son that he doesn’t have to love him he just has to make sure that he has a roof over his head 2nd Subtopic Sentence–Provides for his family by using his brother 3. Concluding Sentence– F. 5th Supporting Paragraph (8-12 sentences) 1. Topic Sentence–The effect it has on him relationship with his wifea. Subject–has an affair b. Focus–blames his responsibilities on his affair 2. 1st Subtopic Sentence–Tells his wife that he now choice but to cheat because of the things he has to do to make a life for his family 2nd Subtopic Sentence–Loses he wife 3. Concluding Sentence–is further emasculated III. CONCLUSION (3-4 sentences) A. Troy is a victim of life: his father, his dead career, his job and family all play are part B. Troy tries to control his life but the decision he makes lead him to be more oppressed then he was before. He is stuck in the past and cannot move forward with his life. His death continues the cycle.

Education and Economics Essay Example for Free

Education and Economics Essay I. Introduction: The conventional theory of human capital developed by Becker (1962) and Mincer (1974) views education and training as the major sources of human capital accumulation that, in turn, have direct and positive effect on individuals’ life time earnings. In the Mincerian earning function, the coefficient of school years indicates the returns to education, i. e. , how much addition in earnings takes place with an additional school year. There exists a wide range of literature that estimated the rates of returns to education for different countries [Pascharapoulos (1980; 1985; and 1994); Pascharapoulos and Chu Ng (1992)]1. In Pakistan, most of the nationally representative household surveys do not contain information on variables, such as, completed years of schooling, age starting school, literacy and numeracy skills, quality of schooling, and technical training. Due to the unavailability of completed school years, one can neither compute the potential experience nor observe the effect of an additional year of schooling on individual earnings. Therefore, the available literature in Pakistan is lacking in estimating the returns to education by using the Mincerian earning function2. In recent years, the government of Pakistan has started nation-wide survey, Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS), to address the imbalances in the social sector. This survey ? The authors are Senior Research Economist and Research Economist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad. 1 Pascharapoulos (1994) provide a comprehensive update of the estimated rates of returns to education at a global scale. He observed high social and private profitability of primary education (18%and 9% respectively) in all regions of world. The private rate of returns at this level were found highest in Asia (39%) as compared to other regions. He also noted a considerable increase in total earnings by an additional year of education in all regions of world; 13% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 10% in Asia; 12% in Europe/Middle East/North Africa; and 12% in Latin America/Caribbean. 2 At national level, only two studies are available in Pakistan that used the Mincerian earning function approach to examine the returns to education [see Shabbir and Khan (1991) and Shabbir (1994)]. However, both these studies are based on twenty years old data set. 2 provides rich information on the above mentioned variables that were missing in the earlier household surveys. This study uses the data of PIHS to examine the returns to education by using Mincerian earning function and thus aims to fill the vacuum that, due to the lack of appropriate data, exists in the literature on returns to education in Pakistan. In this paper we will first estimate the earning function with continuous school years with the assumption of uniform rate of returns for all school years. It is argued that different school years impart different skills therefore we extend our analysis to examine the addition in earning associated with extra years of schooling at different levels of education, i. e. , how much increase in earnings takes place with an extra year of schooling at different levels, such as, primary, middle, matric, intermediate, bachelors and masters. By doing so we overcome the problem that exists in the available literature in Pakistan. To our knowledge no study has yet adopted this method to examine the returns to education in Pakistan3. The impact of technical training and school quality on the earnings of fixed salaried and wage earners will be examined in this study. Based on the available data in Pakistan, most of the studies, for example, Haque (1977), Hamdani (1977), Guisinger et al (1984), Khan and Irfan (1985), Ahmad, et al (1991); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) estimated the earning functions by defining the dummy variables for different levels of education4. These studies observe low rates of returns at different levels of education as compared to other developing countries. However, a positive association between levels of education and earnings and an inverse relationship between the degree of income inequality and educational attainment has been noted. In order to examine the inter- 3 Most of the studies on returns to education in Pakistan used dummy variables for different levels of education where the rates of returns at different levels of education are computed by the estimated coefficients. 4 In Pakistan, the data on education in most of the nationally representative household surveys have been reported in discrete form that denotes the completion of different levels of education, such as, ‘primary but incomplete middle’, ‘middle and incomplete matric’, and so on. 3 provincial differentials in returns to education, Shabbir and Khan (1991) estimated the Mincerian earning function by using a nationally representative sample, drawn from the of Population, Labour Force and Migration Survey (1979) for the literate wage earners and salaried males. Later Shabbir (1994) estimated the earning function on the extended sample of the same data set. These studies found 7 to 8 percent increase in earnings with an additional year of schooling. Although the results are consistent with those of comparable LDCs but may not reflect the recent developments in Pakistan’s economy as these studies are based on the data set which are 20 years old now. Since 1979, the economy of Pakistan has passed through various changes, especially after the inception of the Structural Adjustment Programme in late 1980s. For example, the literacy rate has increased from 26 percent to 45 percent and enrolment at primary level has increased by 67 percent. Public and household expenditures on education have also increased [Economic Survey (1998-99)]. Moreover, due to the fiscal constraints, the employment opportunities in the public sector have started shrinking and the economy is moving towards more openness with stronger role of private sector in recent years. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to re-test the role of human capital as both private and public sectors are moving towards more efficiency and productivity. This study is important from three standpoints. First, in order to estimate the effect of education on earnings, the most recent and nationally representative household survey data is used which provides detailed information on the variables that were missing in previous surveys. Second, it uses the splines of education in the earning function to examine the additional earnings associated with extra school years at different levels. Third, this study investigates the role of some important factors such as, technical training, school quality, and literacy and numeracy skills on earnings for the first time. 4 The rest of the paper is organised as follows: section 2 presents an overview of the education sector. Section 3 outlines the model for empirical estimation and describes data. Section 4 reports the results. Conclusions and policy Implications are presented in the last Section. II. The Education Sector in Pakistan: An Overview: Education plays an important role in human capital formation. It raises the productivity and efficiency of individuals and thus produces skilled manpower that is capable of leading the economy towards the path of sustainable economic development. Like many other developing countries, the situation of the education sector in Pakistan is not very encouraging. The low enrolment rates at the primary level, wide disparities between regions and gender, lack of trained teachers, deficiency of proper teaching materials and poor physical infrastructure of schools indicate the poor performance of this sector. The overall literacy rate for 1997-98 was estimated at 40 percent; 51 percent for males and 28 percent for females; 60 percent in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas. These rates are still among the lowest in the world. Due to various measures in recent years, the enrolment rates have increased considerably. However, the high drop-out rate could not be controlled at primary level. Moreover, under-utilisation of the existing educational infrastructure can be seen through low student-institution ratio, (almost 18 students per class per institution) low teacher-institution ratio (2 teachers per institution) and high studentteacher ratio (46 students per teacher). The extremely low levels of public investment are the major cause of the poor performance of Pakistan’s education sector. Public expenditure on education remained less than 2 percent of GNP before 1984-85. In recent years it has increased to 2. 2 percent. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education so that the benefits of public subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper income class. Many of the highly educated 5 go abroad either for higher education or in search of better job opportunities. Most of them do not return and cause a large public loss. After mid-1980s, each government announced special programs for the improvement of the education sector. However, due to the political instability, none of these programs could achieve their targets. The Social Action Program was launched in early 1990s to address the imbalances in the social sector. This program aims to enhance education; to improve school environment by providing trained teachers, teaching aids and quality text books; and to reduce gender and regional disparities. The Phase-I of SAP (1993-96) has been completed and Phase-II is in progress. The gains from the Phase-I are still debatable because the rise in enrolment ratio has not been confirmed by the independent sources. Irrespective of this outcome, government has started work on Phase-II of SAP. In this Phase, government is paying special attention to promote technical and vocational education, expanding higher education in public as well as in the private sector, enhancing computer literacy, promoting scientific education, and improving curriculum for schools and teachers training institutions in addition to promoting primary and secondary education. Due to low levels of educational attainment and lack of technical and vocational education, Pakistan’s labour market is dominated by less educated and unskilled manpower. A considerable rise in the number of educational institutions and enrolment after 1980s is not yet reflected in Pakistan’s labour market. This might be due to the fact that most of the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes emphasise only on academic education without developing specific skills. The sluggish demand for the graduates of these programs in the job markets leads to unemployment among the educated and the job market remains dominated by the less educated. In this scenario, it becomes important to explore the role of education for the economic benefit of individuals. 6 III. Theoretical Model and Estimation Methodology: We start with the human capital model developed by Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) where natural logarithm of monthly earnings are the linear function of completed school years, experience and its square. In mathematical form the equation can be written as: ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1 EDU i + ? 2 EXPi + ? 3 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui (1) where ln Wi stands for natural logarithm of monthly earnings, EDUi represents completed years of schooling, and EXPi is the labor market experience of ith individual. ?1 implies the marginal rate of return to schooling. A positive value of ? 2 and negative value of ? 3 reflects the concavity of the earning function with respect to experience. Ui is the error term, assumed to be normally and identically distributed. It has been argued in the literature that different school years impart different skills and hence affect earnings differently. Therefore, it is misleading to assume a uniform rate of return for all educational levels. Most of the previous studies used dummy variables to capture the effect of different levels of education. In order to examine the effect of school years at different levels of education, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) divided the years of schooling according to the school systems of Cote d’ Ivore. Similarly Khandker (1990) also used years of primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling in wage function for Peru. Both studies found significant differences in returns to education at different levels of education. Following van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989), we divide the school years into seven categories according to the education system of Pakistan. In Pakistan, the primary education consists of 5 years of schooling; middle requires 3 more years; and by completing 2 more years of schooling after middle, an individual obtains a secondary school certificate i. e., Matric. After matric , i. e. , 10 years of schooling, students have a choice between technical and formal education. Technical education 7 can be obtained from technical institutions which award diploma after 3 years of education while the certificate of intermediate can be obtained after two years of formal education. After the completion of intermediate certificate, students can enter either in the professional colleges for four years or in non-professional bachelors degree program for two years in a college. Those who choose non-professional degree can pursue their studies in a university for masters for two more years. At this stage the graduates of professional and non-professional colleges complete 16 years of education. They can now proceed to the M. Phil. or Ph. D. degrees. In order to examine the returns to education at different splines of education, we estimate the following extended earning function. ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1Yrs Pr imi + ? 2 YrsMid i + ? 3YrsMati + ? 4 YrsInteri + ? 5 YrsBAi + (2) ? 6 Yrs Pr of i + ? 7 EXPi + ? 8 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui where YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf are defined as: YrsPrim = D5EDUi YrsMid = D8EDUi YrsMat = D10EDUi YrsInter = D12EDUi YrsBA = D14EDUi YrsProf = D16EDUi where D5 = 1 if where D8 = 1 if where D10 = 1 if where D12 = 1 if where D14 = 1 if where D16 = 1 if 0 EDU ? 5 5 EDU ? 8 8 EDU ? 10 10 EDU ? 12 12 EDU ? 14 EDU 14 The coefficients associated with YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf in equation 2 imply an increase in income with one year increase in education at respective levels. For example, the returns to five completed years of education at primary level will be 5*? 1. Similarly, the returns to for six, seven and eight of education will be 5*? 1+? 2, 5*? 1+2? 2, and 5*? 1+3? 2 respectively. On the same lines we can compute the returns to education at each level as: 8 Returns to Primary =5*? 1 Returns to Middle =5*? 1+3*? 2 Returns to Matric= 5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 Returns to Intermediate=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 Returns to Bachelor’s =5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 Returns to MA/Prof=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 +2*? 6 The data are drawn from the nationally representative Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 1995-96. In order to assess the performance of the Social Action Programme (SAP), the government of Pakistan has launched the series of Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys (PIHS), a collaborative nation wide data collection effort undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). So far two rounds have been completed. The first round of the PIHS is different from other round on two counts. Firstly, the information on employment and wages is available only in this round. Secondly, only 33 percent of the sample used in the first round is being repeated in the subsequent rounds. This implies that all of these rounds are independent cross-section data sets and can not be properly linked with each other to be used as panel data. Therefore, the appropriate sample can only be drawn from the first round of PIHS. This round was conducted in 1995-96, which covers 12,622 households and more than 84,000 individuals. The 1995-96 PIHS provides a detailed information on completed school years5. In addition, this survey contains information on age started school. This information is particularly important for our study to calculate the potential experience of a worker. The indicator for experience used by Mincer (1974) is a good proxy for U. S. workers as they start school at the uniform age of six years6. However, this assumption does not hold in Pakistan, as in this country there is no uniform age to start school. In urban areas, children as young as three years start going to school whereas in rural 5 This is the only nation-wide data set that provides this particular information. Similarly no other survey contains information on public and private school attendence and year starting school. 6 Mincer defined experience as (Age-education-6). 9 areas the school starting age is higher. 7 This information enables us to construct potential experience as (age-schools years-age starting school). Although experience is still a proxy for actual experience but it is relatively better measure than age and the Mincer type potential experience. In addition to education and experience, various other factors, such as quality of schooling, technical training and quality of schooling have significant impact on earning8. It has been argued that because of the market-oriented approach adopted by the private schools, the graduates of these schools earn more as compared to the graduates of public schools9. According to Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997), the quality of education has positive, significant and substantial impact on cognitive achievements and hence on post school productivity, measured by earnings. These studies observed higher earnings of the graduates of high quality school than those who attended a low quality school. A recent study by Nasir (1999) found considerably higher earnings for the private school graduates. These schools, however, charge higher fees. â€Å"Estimates of average annual expenditure per pupil in both government and private schools indicates that the total cost of primary level in rural areas is Rs. 437 (Rs 355 for government schools and Rs. 1252 for private schools), compared with Rs. 2038 in urban areas (Rs.1315 for government and Rs. 3478 for private schools). This means that the cost of primary schooling is almost three times that of public schools in urban 7 The issue of age starting school has been highlighted by Ashraf and Ashraf (1993) and because of the nonavailability of this information, they used age as proxy for experience. 8 See Summers and Wolf (1977); Rizzuto and Wachtel (1980); Behrman and Birdsall (1983); Booissiere, Knight and Sabot (1985); Knight and Sabot (1990);Behrman, Ross, Sabot, and Tropp (1994); Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997). 9 Various studies found the effectiveness of private schools to acquire cognitive skills [Colemen, Hoffer and Kilgore (1982); and Jimenez, Lockheed, Luna and Paqueo (1989)]. For Pakistan, Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997) found a significant variation in the cognitive skills among children with same number of school years. These studies conclude that some of the differences are due to the family characteristics while some are due to the quality of schooling. 10  areas and nearly four times in rural areas. The differences in cost of schooling also reflect the degree of quality differentials in public and private schools, and between urban and rural schools. A relatively better provision of school facilities and quality of education in private schools is causing a continuous rise in school enrolment in urban areas† [Mehmood (1999) page 20]. The PIHS provides information on the type of school attended10. On the basis of this information we can identify workers according to the school they attended and therefore examine the effect of type of school on individual earnings. In order to capture the quality of education an individual received, a dummy variable is included in the model that takes the value ‘1’ if individual is a graduate of private schools and ‘0’ otherwise. The effect of post-school training on earning has been found positive and substantial in many developing countries [see Jimenez and Kugler (1987); van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989); Khandker (1990); and Nasir (1999)]. The PIHS contains information on years of technical training. This information helps us to examine the effect of technical training received on individual earnings. We use completed years of technical training as independent variable in the earning function. The existence of vast gender gap in human capital accumulation is evidenced by various studies in Pakistan11. The PIHS reports vast gender disparities in literacy and enrolment rates. The literacy rate among females is half than that of males’ literacy rate for whole Pakistan. This difference has increased to three-folds for rural areas. The gender difference is however smaller for the gross enrolment rate at primary level. For the higher levels of education, this difference 10. The coefficient of private school may also capture the effect of socio-economic background of workers. The data, however, does not contain such information, therefore we are unable to separate the effect of parental characteristics from the effect of private schools in worker’s earnings. 11 Sabot (1992); and Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b); Sawada (1997); Shabbir (1993); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) 11 shows an increasing trend. Similarly vast gender gap has been observed in returns to education where males earn more than the female workers [Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b and 1996) and Nasir (1999)]. In order to capture the effect of gender, a dummy variable is introduced in the model that takes the value ‘1’ for males and ‘0’ otherwise. The regional imbalances in the provision of limited available social services are more pronounced in Pakistan. Rural areas are not only underdeveloped in terms of physical infrastructure but also neglected in gaining basic amenities. Haq (1997) calculated the disaggregated human development index for Pakistan and its provinces. He noted that nearly 56 percent of population is deprived of basic amenities of life in Pakistan; 58 percent in rural areas and 48 percent in urban areas. According to the 1995-96 PIHS, the literacy rate in urban areas is 57 percent and in rural areas it is 31 percent. The gross enrolment rate was noted 92 percent in urban areas and 68 percent in rural areas. Because of these differences low returns to education are observed in rural areas [Shabbir (1993 and 1994) and Nasir (1999)]. To capture the effect of regional differences, a dummy variable is used that takes the value ‘1’ if individual lives in urban areas and zero otherwise. The four provinces of Pakistan exhibit different characteristics in terms of economic as well as social and cultural values. Significant provincial differentials in rates of returns to education have been noted that reflect not only the differences in market opportunities but also indicate uneven expansion of social services across provinces [Khan and Irfan (1985); Shabbir and Khan (1991); Shabbir (1993); Shabbir (1994); and Haq (1997)]. The effects of these differences are captured through the use of dummy variables for each province in the earning function, Sindh being the excluded category. 12 For the purpose of analysis we restrict our sample to wage earners and salaried persons. Our sample contains 4828 individuals. Among them, 4375 are males and 453 are females. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of some of the salient features of the important variables. According to the statistics in table 1, average age of the individuals included in the sample is 34 years with 18 years of experience. A typical worker in the sample has completed approximately 10 years of education. A majority is graduated from public schools. Most of the workers live in urban areas. On average an individual earns Rs. 3163 per month. In our sample, there are only 22 percent individuals who received technical training. The average years spent for training are less than one year. A majority of wage earners belong to Punjab, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. Table1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Brief Definitions of Important Variables Variables W Age EDU EXP RWA MALE Urban Private Training Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Mean SD Variables Definitions 3163. 34 3397. 39 Individuals monthly earnings in rupees consist of wages and salaries. 34. 07 12. 36 Age of an individual in years. 9. 53 4. 36 Completed years of schooling. 18. 14 11. 80 Total Years of labour market experience calculated as (age-school years-age starting school). 2. 37 1. 07 Categorical variables, contains 4 categories of literacy and numeracy. 0. 91 0. 29 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is male. 0. 60 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to urban area 0. 04 0. 19 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is a graduate of private school 0. 35 0. 87 Completed years of technical training 0. 38 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Punjab 0. 31 0. 46 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Sindh 0. 15 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to NWFP 0. 16 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Balochistan 13 IV. Empirical Results The estimated results of equation 1 and equation 2 are reported in table 2. The highly significant coefficients of school years and experience indicate the applicability of human capital model for Pakistan. An additional year of schooling raises individual’s monthly income by 7. 3 percent, which is very close to the prior studies. 12 13 The coefficient of experience shows substantial increase in wages with each additional year. The concavity of age-earnings profile is evident from the negative and significant coefficient of experience squared. The results reveal that an individual with five years of experience earns 31 percent higher wages as compared to non-experience worker. The highest level of earnings is achieved with approximately 30 years of experience. These estimates are relatively low compared to prior studies14. The positive and significant coefficients of gender (0. 401) and regional dummies (0. 178) strengthens the a priori expectation that males earn more than females and earnings are higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. These estimates are consistent with earlier studies [see Arshaf and Ashraf (1993), Khan and Irfan (1985)]. Furthermore, significant inter-provincial differences in individual’s earnings can be observed in the estimated model. Many studies indicate substantial differences in earnings across school levels. For example, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) noted that an increase of one year in elementary, high and university education causes an increase of 12 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent respectively in 12 The estimated coefficients of school years by Shabbir and Khan (1991), Shabbir (1991), Shabbir (1993) and Shabbir (1994) are found to be in the range of 6 percent to 9. 7 percent. 13 The returns to education are calculated by taking the anti-log of 0. 092 (estimated coefficient of completed school years) and subtracting from 1. To convert into percentage, multiply the value by 100. For details, please see Gujrati (1988) page 149. 14 The difference in the returns to experience could be due to the approach adopted by these studies. Most of the studies used age as a proxy for experience [see for example Khan and Irfan (1985); Ashraf and Ashraf (1993); and Nasir (1999)]. Shabbir (1991) used the Mincerian approach to calculate experience. The present study uses actual age of starting school and actual years of education. These information enable us to calculate total years of labor market experience. This approach is also not the perfect alternative for actual experience, as we do not have information about the starting time of the first job. But when compared with other approaches, it is more precise in measuring experience. 14 earnings. In order to examine the returns to education across different school years, we include the information on schooling according to the education system of Pakistan (equation 2). The results reported in column 3 of table 2 show a positive and significant impact of school years at each educational level on earnings. For example, an increase of one year in education at primary level increases the earnings by 3 percent. Similarly, at middle level, one year of schooling brings about an increase of 4 percent in earnings and the total returns to schooling at middle level are 27 percent. Table 2 Earning Function with and without Levels of Education Variables Coefficient s 6. 122 0. 072* 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 178* 0. 401* 0. 127* -0. 113* -0. 203* 0. 412 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 380 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 150* 0. 264* 0. 098* -0. 112* -0. 166* 0. 027** 0. 040* 0. 050* 0. 057* 0. 071* 0. 082* 0. 429 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 342 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 152* 0. 262* 0. 096* -0. 108* -0. 164* 0. 052* 0. 007 0. 025* 0. 038* 0. 047* 0. 063* 0. 075* 0. 429 t-ratios Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab RWA Yrs-Prim Yrs-Mid Yrs-Mat Yrs-Inter Yrs-BA Yrs-Prof Adj R2 148. 91 46. 71 26. 49 -19. 20 10. 31 13. 98 4. 94 -4. 34 -10. 21 92. 03 23. 85 -16. 84 7. 87 8. 15 3. 40 -4. 06 -7. 75 2. 03 5. 07 8. 69 11. 41 16. 85 21. 98 89. 25 23. 84 -16. 88 7. 98 8. 09 3. 32 -3. 91 -7. 63 2. 41 0. 45 2. 45 5. 02 7. 28 11. 47 15. 57 * significant at 99 percent level. ** significant at 95 percent level. One can note higher returns of additional year of schooling for higher educational levels from this table. For example, the returns to masters and professional education (Yrs-Prof) are more than five- 15 times higher than that of primary school years (Yrs-Prim). The results exhibit a difference of 15 percent between primary graduates and illiterates, the excluded category. This category includes illiterates as well as all those who have not obtained any formal schooling but have literacy and numeracy skills15. To further explore the earning differential between primary school graduates and those who never attended school but have literacy and numeracy skills, we have constructed an index RWA that separates illiterates from those who have literacy and numeracy skills. This index takes the value ‘zero’ if individual does not have any skill; ‘1’ if individual has only one skill; ‘2’ if individual has two skills; and ‘3’ if individual has all three skills. We re-estimated equation 2 with this new variable and the results are reported in column 5 of table 2. According to our expectations, the coefficient of RWA is found not only large (0. 05) in magnitude but also statistically significant at 99 percent level. This indicates that the individuals with all three skills earn 15 percent more than those who have no skill. On the other hand, the coefficient of Yrs-Prim dropped to 0. 007 and became insignificant16. The differential in the earnings of illiterates and those having five years of primary education was 15 percent (0. 03*5=0. 15). This differential however, reduced to approximately 9 percent (0. 007*5+0. 053=8. 8) when we include those who have no formal education but have literacy and numeracy skills. These high returns to cognitive skills indicates the willingness of employer to pay higher wages to the able workers as compared to those who have five or less years of schooling but do not have these skills. Now we examine the effect of technical training and quality of schooling on earnings, first in separate equations and then in a single equation. The impact of technical training on earnings is examined by including years of apprenticeship as continuous variable in our model. The results are reported in column 1 of table 3. The results show a positive and significant impact of technical 15 There are 48 wage earners in our sample who have education less than primary but do not have any of these skill. Whereas we found 76 wage earners who do not have any formal education but have at least one of these skills. 16 This result is consistent with van der Gaag and Vijierberg (1989). 16 Table 3 Earning Functions : Impact of Technical Training and School Quality (Separate Functions) Variables Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab Tra.

Biography On Anton Van Leeuwenhoek History Essay

Biography On Anton Van Leeuwenhoek History Essay Human life is abundant of the deepest perspective towards the minutest aspects. Some of these are the result of our instinctive origination while the remainders owe their majority to Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, the man to whom the world looked as the individual who grafted the preference for minuscule details into our conscience. For those who are privy of his whereabouts, need no mentioning, and for those who are oblivious, it would be just to say that todays Microbiology would be an impossibility if it has not been accounted to his contributions. Born in a Dutch family based in Deft, Leeuwenhoek grew up to walk in the dual steps of a tradesman and scientist, who was best designated as The Father of Microbiology. He was also considered as the first microbiologist, and through his indulgence in the improvement of the microscope, he ensured a proper establishment of Microbiology as an essential cog of science. Because of his valiant hardship, we have been able to savor ourselves through some exceptional microbiological technologies that hold prominence in both educational and medicinal applications. Animacules or microorganisms, as we refer to them today was the term that he coined to those single-celled organisms that he first observed and described using his handcrafted microscopes. Leeuwenhoek was also the first to document minuscule examination of muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa, and most essential, the flow of blood in capillaries. If put concisely then Leeuwenhoek was one of those rare contributors, in the dearth of whom we would be still breathing in medieval period. THE BEGINNING The history subscribed to one of the most influential phenomena when Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was born on Oct. 24, 1632, in a decent Dutch family that was based in Delft, a modest town of the nation of Netherlands. His father was a basket-maker, while his mother belonged to a family of brewers. His parents, who seemed to be quite conservative in their approach preferred to further his education informally. His subjects comprised of mathematics and physical science, but languages missed the companionship of his educational endeavors, and this probably explains Dutch being his only lingual acquaintance. Despite of the decency of his familial background, Leeuwenhoek had to leave his education in between and at the callous age of 16, he was sent to Amsterdam, to become an apprentice at a linendrapers shop. There, he familiarized himself with the peculiar aspects of the profession and employed six years of his invaluable youth in gaining its expertise. However, soon his craving for the innovativeness dimmed the light of his apprenticeship, and he left his prevalent profession to search for what truly inspired his desires. Around 1654, Leeuwenhoek registered his return to the hometown of Delft and in an auspicious event, he communed himself in a marital relationship with Barbara De May. She bore him five children. The bond of marriage brought mandatory responsibilities on Vans shoulders and for its proper execution; he bought a house and a shop and established himself in the business as a draper. For the substantial number of years linen draping seemed to be the only profession that fortified his indulgence in any commercial prospect to an extent that at one point it appeared that the draper would be his social attire for the rest of his life, which could have introduced a drastic paragraph in the pages of the history. Then, in the year of 1660, he was appointed Chamberlin to the sheriffs of Delft. It was a post that he held for about thirty-nine years. For the next thirteen years the identity of Chamberlin elucidated Leeuwenhoeks professional front and the rest of his activities were concealed by the obliviousness. However, he must have developed the habit of grinding lenses to employ them in the construction of simple microscope. The event that solidified the existence of his interest occurred in the year 1668 when he journeyed to England in the companionship of one of his microscopes. He used it to examine chalk from the cliffs of Kent. At that time, Leeuwenhoek lacked any sort of professionalism in the field of microscopy, and was unprepared to describe any logical conclusions. Vigilant observation, cautious documentation and the prevention of hasty conclusions were the essentials of his concept. His was a firm believer in the fact that each and every entity that dwells on this earth, be it living or non-living, is worth researching; it could be anything like a drop of rain, pepper-water, seeds, wooden bark, skin, open wounds and other bodily contributors, a beetle colliding against a window, or something as simple as an itch on his skin. He was equally allured by the hypothesis formulated by the likes of Jan Swammerdam, Christian Huygens, Boerhave and Harvey. Leeuwenhoek was the first to monitor the parasite Anisakis in the Hering. He also warned Hendrik about the worms in a fresh Hering, in a letter that he sent to him; he wrote: Wormkens in de holligheit van de buyk van de haring. Leeuwenhoek was also the foremost person to discover that the composition of a living cell accounts to 80% water, and was the discoverer of the technique of microdissections on insects. This procedure enabled him to become a recipient of remarkable outcomes that overshadowed the modern standards that were in fashion in that particular time. Leeuwenhoek should be credited with the foundation of forensic microscopy, and it was a sheer luck for us that despite of the lack of accepted professionalism, he believed in a thorough procedural observation, and only after the decisive verification, he published his findings. He examined everything, ranging from biological specimens to mineral objects. He even performed an experiment with the gunpowder compound and provided a valuable suggestion to the French chief-commander to shorten the barrel in order to approach maximum effect. Leeuwenhoek had a friendly and polite character, and he spoke with empathy and compassion about his fellow-men and ill people and visited them. His regular acquaintances were the lepers in a leper-hospital that was bricked in the city of Haarlem. However this account arose some contradictions, as it does not match to the view of some authors who consider him as the owner of ascetic character. FIRST RECOGNITION AND ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON Just like in a room draped in darkness, a brief speck of light is enough to enlighten an object of curiosity. The miniscule visual manifestation that Leeuwenhoek assembled from the sample of the chalk embarked his intellect, which in turn resulted in an autonomous gradation from curiosity to adamant passion. Soon, he devoted himself to the manufacturing of the microscopes and savored their aid in registering the detailed structure of the minute organisms, and it is a belief that the origination of his curiosity dated back to 1665 when he read Micrographia*, a brilliant work published by Robert Hooke. It is believed that it was this work that had probably stimulated his adamant interest in the world of minuscule. [*Note: It is a historical account documented by Robert Hooke that comprised of thirty-years long observation that he performed through various lenses. The book was published in the auspicious month of September 1665, which was the Royal Societys first key publication, and was the first scientific best-seller that inspired a wide public interest in the field of microscopy. It is also noteworthy for coining the biological jargon, cell.] Nurturing his interest like a gardener nurtures his plants, Leeuwenhoek dwelled deeper into the construction of microscopes, and it was during this period that he found the use of single lenses of very short focal length preferable than the compound microscopes that were processed back then; and the brilliance of the discoveries that he made using these back their reliabilities. Nonetheless, his resilience and austerity enhanced his observational skills and when the autumn applauded the arrival of the year 1673 through a progressive intensity, Vans attempts paid off via Regnier De Graff. Graaf, was a brilliant young physician of Delft, who accidentally acquainted himself with the discoveries made by Leeuwenhoek and in a favourable swirl of fate, his discoveries generated an immaculate impression on the former one to an extent that he wrote a letter about the latters works to Henry Oldenburg, Secretary of the Royal Society in London. This letter was published in  Philosophical Transactions,  and Oldenburg wrote to the author requesting further communications. Graafs initiative brought the microbiologist under Oldenburgs merger attention that in turn resulted in the former writing a letter to the Royal Society*. His first letter contained some observations on the stings of bees. However, he never wrote an authentic scientific paper. The explanation of his discoveries was a scramble of letters written in Low Dutch that sometimes were objectionable by some society members. [*Note: The Royal Society was an organization formed in 1662 under a royal charter granted by Charles II. Devoted to register fresh technological developments in the field of science, the societys aim was to facilitate the scientists in achieving their goals.] The initiators and perhaps the earliest members of the Royal Society who were also the designers of modern English Speculative Freemasonry, included prominent intellectuals from the invisible college as William Viscount Brouncker, Robert Moray, Robert Boyle, William Petty, John Wilkins, Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Elias, Ashmole and Isaac Newton. Although a direct evidence regarding to his early indulgence in the society is missing, the accumulation of the substantial number of clues indicate towards his lineage with a Vrijmetselaar or with the inspiration originating from Masonic attitudes. As it is believed that the superficiality certifies the outcome of ones intellectuality. Such occurred with Leeuwenhoek in the initial period of his relationship with the Royal Society. It was a probability that the organizational constitution of his papers would have biased the members minds who preferred a more mannered approach to the detailing. In a probable consequence, they challenged the existence of such minute organisms as his animalcules and waived the possibility of the authenticity of such idea. Leeuwenhoek, who attired generosity in the beginning, soon became wearied of it and he presented the society with the thorough account of his methodical approach in estimating their sizes through their diametrical comparison to the objects that fell under the direct measurable dimensions. Through the implication of rational computations, he predicted their volumes from their perceptible diameters. Through the illustrational cohesion of his subjects and the spherical and objects he simplified his explanation for the members to understand. He depicted the possibility of the existence of literally a million microbes in the volume that equals a grain of sand. By progressively comparing objects of decreasing size with one another, he proved for example that protozoan  cilia  are thousands-fold smaller than a human hair. Even though the successful exhibition of the protozoan cell, the society still attired doubt around itself, so it wrote a letter and wished its interest in renting his microscope for a span of few days. However, Leeuwenhoek, who until now had developed a inseparable adoration towards his instrument denied its handover, even if it was transitory in nature. The members were privy that until and unless a proper inspection would continue to facilitate its share of obliviousness, substantiation would not be possible. Therefore, in order to arrive to a judgement, they appointed two scientists- Nehemiah Grew and Robert Hooke to validate the credibility of his experiments. Credited with the new responsibility by the society, both the men initiated a serious attempt to corroborate Leeuwenhoeks observations. Their initial effort acquainted them to failure, which put his report under doubtful perspective. However, Hooke, who was adamant in his attitude, despite of the ambiguity, found a faint credibility in the microbiologists study. He again tried using a microscope with 330 X (power of magnification). The results that second trial generated, brought a smile on his face, and confirmed Leeuwenhoeks success. Both the scientists reported the resultant similarity in their observations and to those that Leeuwenhoek explained in his letters. The society, despite of its scepticism, accepted Leeuwenhoeks claims, and in the same year Graaf sent them a letter, they conveyed a delegation to Delft. Their words relayed reluctance and showed an inclination towards a forceful methodical acceptance, but their rave report confirmed Vans declaration. Just like in the morning, a drop of dew enhances the beauty of the leaf it perches; in the same way the remarkable authentication of the microbiologists claims generated immaculate allurement over substantial number of prominent figures around Europe, which included even the Future Queen Anne of England and Tsar Pytor I of Russia. They failed in keeping themselves away from witnessing the demonstration of his marvels. His fame soon ensured his undeviating place in the history of science and a few years later he was elected to full membership in the society. However, his attendance to the organizations meeting registered absence, and did his signature on the societys membership catalogue. Leeuwenhoeks correspondence with the Royal Society was initiated through a series of letters that he wrote in Dutch, which then were translated into English or Latin and included in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. They were often reprinted separately. His entire observations were explained in letters that numbered to at least two hundred. They were addressed either to the society or to his friends. Leeuwenhoeks letters comprised of random observations with little coherence that were written in an informal style. However, despite of the casualness that the description of his observations attired, he avoided the fusion of the facts with his speculations that could otherwise lead to confusion. His vigilance resulted in the effortless identification of numerous organisms that he described in his catalogue. To give some of the flavor of his discoveries, we present extracts from his observations, together with modern pictures of the organisms that Leeuwenhoek saw. An amusing facet to add in Antons life is that he considered his own artistic skills capable enough to execute the vital task of illustrating his findings. Therefore, for almost all the instances, he hired limners* to commence that short of work. [Note*: Originated illuminators, i.e. artists and engravers that we now know as illustrators or commercial artists.] LEEUWENHOEKS MICROSCOPES Just like a musician without his instruments or a painter without his brushes are mere statistical puppets in the pages of history, in the same way an introduction to Leeuwenhoek without mentioning the medium of his genius would be just like a pizza served without any toppings. The number and quality of Leeuwenhoeks mikroskoops (as they were known back then) and the ones that survived share ambiguous certainty. However, through a mutual agreement it can be said that he constructed at least several hundred of them, out of which about two hundred and fifty were complete. Amongst those most of them included a mounted specimen and also about two hundred mounted lenses. STRUCTURAL MAGNIFICANCE Leeuwenhoeks microscopes were simple magnifying glasses comprised of single spherical or biconvex lens that were mounted amidst two copper, brass or silver plates. The size of the plates matched the modern microscopic slides, i.e. about 1/3 inches. The object that was subjected to the examination was raised, lowered, or rotated by threaded screws attached to the plate. His device also included one of the first mechanical micromanipulation systems. However, Hooke had already accomplished this with a touch of differentiation. It was a possibility that Leeuwenhoek must have understood early that the shallow depth of field of strong microscopic lenses had ruled out focusing on microorganisms by hand. Like modern objective lenses, his lenses were extremely small with short focal lengths of 1-2 millimeters. There was requirement with the lenses; it was a need to consign them close to the eyes, and adequate practice and good eyesight were mandatory factors for their usage. The plates were c arved up to provide adequate grasp between the eyebrow and cheek like a jewellers monocle loupe. Following a standard scientific procedure, the plates were held in a horizontal position with the threaded stem used as a handle peeping away from the nose. Estimates of microscopes magnifying power vary from about 200 to 500 diameters, and if the higher number is true then he had achieved about a third or even a half of the highest magnification possible with visible light! The sizes of the objects that he mentioned in his reports and the finesse that attired the detailing of his drawings do bear out their astonishing optical precision and to Antons own skills as one of the very first microscopists in history. LENSES According to the numerous references in many accounts of Leeuwenhoeks work consider him as an inventor of microscopes. However, he did not invent his single-lens microscope. It is Robert Hookes Micrographia, which illustrates the conjectural benefit of using minimal possible number of lenses. Hooke also provided a detailed description of the process of the creation of small round lenses that involved the drawing and fusion of fine glass whiskers into tiny spheres. His technique included the fixing of multiple spheres to a sheet of wax for simultaneous pulverization and polishing of the attachment sites of the whiskers. His methodical approach reveals his practical experience in the construction of such lenses. He even explained the process of mounting a tiny single-lens on a needle-hole perforated through a thin metal plate, which was in exact resemblance with Van Leeuwenhoek microscope. Hooke presumed them to be the superior microscopes, but the annoying twirl of fate introduced him to a mordant outcome when the difficulty of their usage surfaced due to the need of holding them close to the eye. But as it is said that it is the lifes excruciating experiences that account to the learning of survival, such occurrence encouraged him to add an extra lens near the eye. This modification gave birth to the compound microscope and the lens is known as the eyepiece lens. Hookes indulgement with the microscope shows the possibility of Van Leeuwenhoek picking up his design from Hooke, and therefore an speculation can be drawn that the later one is better viewed as a discoverer rather than as an inventor. Even though we are to be believed, that Leeuwenhoek was the one who used to ground his lenses, but the fact is that its authenticity will always lurk behind ambiguity. His unvarying dissembling that an exceptional requirement of time, skill and effort were coherent ingredients of his construction method, is consistent with his common unwillingness to teach or encourage competitors. In the dearth of direct evidence, it can at least be speculated that he actually copied Hookes procedure and fabricated lenses by pulling and fusing spherical globules with smoother planes than he could ever have accomplished by grinding. Once, a German sojourner Zacharias Konrad Zetloch Von Uffenbach gave a long visit to Van Leeuwenhoek who chivalrously entertained him with countless wonders. However, instead of expressing his gratitude, the former one ungraciously wrote in memoir: When we further inquired of Herr Leeuwenhoek whether he ground all his lenses, and did not blow any? He denied this, but displayed great contempt for the blown glasses. He pointed out to us how thin his  microscopia were, compared with others  (This phrase seems to indicate that one man or the other had seen instruments of like construction that may have predated Antonjs own. ed.),  and how close together the  laminae  were between which the lens lay, so that no spherical glass could be thus mounted; all his lenses being ground, contrariwise, convex on both sides. As regards the blown glasses, Herr Leeuwenhoek assured us that he had succeeded, after ten years speculation, in learning how to blow a serviceable kind of glasses which were not round. My brother was unwilling to believe this, but took it for a  Dutch joke (a snide German euphemism for a lie ed.); since it is impossible, by blowing, to form anything but a sphere, or rounded end.   von Uffenbach, 1710. Despite of the nature of Uffenbachs excerpt, the inducement of too much effort of the individual grinding of each lens is undeniable in comparison to the ones that are fabricated in a span of one of two minutes via a spirit lamp and a blowpipe. In a sharp contrast to the modern method, which governs the usage of a single microscope and numerous disposable slides fixed placed on a fixed or moveable stage, Leeuwenhoek was in a habit of building a new microscope for separate captivating specimen. He considered the complete instruments as permanent settings for his choicest specimens, which is why it can be speculated that he might have built hundreds of them. Due the secrecy that Leeuwenhoek maintains in his methods, the predictability of his works always share ambiguity; for an example, it is still unclear that how he obtained the necessary illumination to achieve his remarkable results. Clifford Dobell suggested that he might have discovered some simple method of dark-ground illumination, whereas Barnett Cohen contradictorily stated that Van Leeuwenhoek might have exploited the optical properties of spherical drops of fluid containing the objects under observation. THE ARCHWAY OF A DISCOVERER Leeuwenhoek through his resilient genius gave the field of Microbiology numerous discoveries that provided the foothold of which it boasts today. His researches in the life history of the lower forms of animal life directly counteracted the accepted principle that they are a result of spontaneous regeneration or bred from corruption. He also showed that the weevils of granaries that in his times were commonly assumed to be bred from wheat, are grubs hatched from eggs deposited by winged insects. In his chapter on the flea, he not only provided a detailed description on his structure, but also traced out the whole history of its metamorphoses from its first emergence from the egg to the adulthood. Even today, if we perform a thorough observation of its growth process, we will find it extremely captivating. It is owed not so much for the precision of his observation, as for its incidental disclosure of the extraordinary unawareness that was in existence back then in regard to the origin and propagation of this minuscule and despised creature, which some affirmed to be generated from sand, others from dust, others from the dung of pigeon and others from urine, but which he demonstrated to be gifted with as great excellence in its kind as any large animal, and proved to breed in the regular way of winged insects. He even made the note of the fact that the pupa of the flea is sometimes attacked and fed upon by a mite. This very particular observation suggested the well-known lines of Jonathan Swift. Being drawn to the blighting of the young shoots of fruit trees that was generally attributed the ants found upon them, Leeuwenhoek was the first to find the Aphides, the ones responsible for the ailment. He then made a thorough investigation in the history of their generation and observed the young existing in the bodies of their parents. He also did a vigilant study of the history of the ant and was the first to reveal that the commonly supposed ant eggs are really their pupae, holding the perfect insect nearly ready for emersion, at the same time the true eggs are far smaller, and give origin to maggots or larvae. He also provided a detailed explanation of another fact that sea mussel and other shellfish are not generated out of the mud or sand found on the seashore or the beds of rivers at low water, but from spawn through the regular course of generation. This way he successfully counteracted to the defense of Aristotles doctrine put forward by F. Buonanni, a learned Jesuit of Rome. He maintained the same in proving the authenticity of the freshwater mussels origination. The observation that he did on their ova was so precise that he witnessed the rotation of the embryo, a phenomenon that is believed to share its part of revelation long afterwards. With an equal enthusiasm, he investigated the generation of eels, which at that time were commonly supposed to be produced from dew without the ordinary process of generation. It is a surprise that the individuals who were a believer in it did not only comprise of ignorant, but respectable and learned men too. He not only entertained himself as the first discoverer of the rotifers, but he depicted hoe wonderfully nature has provided for the preservation of their species, by their tolerance of the drying-up of the water they inhabit, and the resistance that they generated to the evaporation of the bodily fluids via the construction of an impermeable casing in which they then become enclosed. We can now easily conceive, he says, that in all rainwater which is collected from gutters in cisterns, and in all waters exposed to the air, animalcules may be found; for they may be carried thither by the particles of dust blown about by the winds. A REVELATION SO PROMINENT When the summer steeped on the first step of the seasonal staircase and the year registered itself under 1974, Leeuwenhoek, through the induction of his brilliance, made an important discovery that was going to prove one of the major beneficiaries to the medical field. He provided a description of red blood cells, which was done with so much precision that he outshined his contemporaries Marcello Malpighi and Jan Swammerdam. In a fair estimation he catalogued their size, in modern terminology, 8.5 microns in diameter, the correct value is 7.7 microns. Leeuwenhoek sent a folio of sic pages to the Royal Society, in which he wrote about the microscopy of blood, and the structure of bone, teeth, liver, and brain; and the growth of epidermis. He also delivered finely cut sections of his specimens enwrapped in four envelopes pasted to the last sheet of the letter. He prepared them by his own hands for the interest of the society. These samples present great insight into Leeuwenhoeks manual dexterity as a microtomist. However, his talent for sample preparation got erased from the historical leaflets, partially because his later discoveries were so much dazzling that they outshone everything else. The dependency of the precision of his observation was in a direct proportion to his meticulousness that was involved in the preparation of the slice of the sample. This reflects his infinitesimal patience. Many samples were successful in surviving for three-and-a-half centuries and are still viewable under the modern microscopes, but the others were ruined by fungal growth, due to moisture, and it is impossible to study them now. In the same year of 1674, he gave an immaculate description of the beautiful alga Spirogyra and various ciliated and flagellated protozoa that he discovered in a single vial of pond scum, which he had taken from the Berkelse Mere, a small lake near Delft. This occasion could be considered the simultaneous births of the fields of Microbiology, protozoology (now called protistology) and phycology. He also found that yeast consists of individual plant-like organisms. Eight years later in 1682, Leeuwenhoek gave a clarified description of the nucleus within the red blood cells of fish, and in the year that followed, he perceived the sedimentation of erythrocytes from a suspension and their lysis on the addition of water. In the same year, he discovered the lymphatic capillaries and mentioned them in the description of blood capillaries in the intestine. He explained them as different capillaries containing a white fluid, like milk. THE INGREDIENT OF PROSPERITY For the next couple of years Leeuwenhoek depicted negligible accomplishment in explaining anything that could lead to the extraordinary advancement of the science of his time. His observations concerning the circulatory system of transparent tadpoles were obsolete, which only strengthened the popular notion of him following Swammerdam, Hooke and other anatomists. A time came when it seemed the Van would become only a little better than an average anatomist. Then, fate took a favourable turn of the situation when in 1676 he shifted his focus on the objects that existed in the blind corner of the anatomists. They included; cheese-rind fungi, animal sperm, bile liquid from different species of animals, crystals formed in urine, exploding gun powder, plaque that he extracted from his teeth, melted snow and a few others. However, the turning point of his career and the one that can be related to the origination of biology occurred when he attempted to interpret black pepper, the spice that was the reason for numerous European merchants prosperity, and an invaluable ingredient to the Dutch painters still-life masterpieces. The cause of his curiosity was his want to understand the reason behind the sweltering hot sensation that it caused in the mouth. Thorny protrusions resembling the ones found in thistle or a nettle were the ones that touched his expectations. He presumed them as the entities that stung the tongue. However the revelation that the dry peppercorn provided when observed under his microscope, hardly matched his satisfaction. This led him to think that it is the combination with the saliva that initiates these thorns into action. Therefore, he drenched the peppercorns in sterile water, but when he looked at the soaked peppercorns, instead of burry edges, he saw miniscule entities swimming in the water. However, that thought of those things to be some animalcules didnt appear in his mind. The examination of many types of water has grafted in him a very good understanding of waters purity, depending on the source. He had used sterile water from melted snow and covered the dish tightly so that nothing could fly from the air in the room. A couple of days later when he observed the pepper-water under his lens, he mentioned the observation something like this, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the water is so thick with them, that you might almost imagine you were looking at the spawn of fish, when the fish discharges its roe. His comprehensive notes reveal that he witnessed the existence of bacilli in that water. His experimentation continued from the month of April to the August with pepper-water. He made a note of everything he did and saw. Once Leeuwenhoek was done with pepper, he shifted his attention on ginger, cloves and nutmeg. He soaked them and observed under his microscope, but not to unearth the reason of their taste, he wanted to compare their animalcules with those of pepper-water. From his meticulous description of his observation of the spice waters and other diverse natural waters, it becomes apparent that he saw flagellates, ciliates, bacteria and rotifers. Leeuwenhoeks 18th letter to the Royal Society is regarded as is most striking and immaculate account of description. It is also known as the letter on protozoa, it consists of seventeen pages of closely written text in a neat, small handwriting. A copy of the letter was also delivered to Constantijn Huygens, Christians father. It