Street Children In Egypt Essay Example

Street Children In Egypt Essay Example Street Children In Egypt Essay Example Street Children In Egypt Essay Example Children belong to the family which makes the community. However, they are the most vulnerable members in terms of a political, social, and economic crisis at family, community, and state level. They cannot defend themselves as adults do; hence, coping with such situations becomes hard. Most of them opt to go to streets, thus the name street children. People identify them in many ways, including those children who beg for food, money in the streets of towns and cities. They dress in rags or oversized cloths and they are dirty with many bruises on their face and body because they commonly engage in fights with others when they struggle to obtain food or something else. Some street girls have their own babies and other babies do not have their mothers. They sleep on streets on bare floors or on pieces of cardboards and tattered blankets. They may ask people for simple jobs like cleaning cars, carrying loads, and cleaning and collecting litter so that they can get money to buy food. Peo ple believe that most of them are orphans and homeless. Governmental and non-governmental organizations have failed to estimate the number of children in the streets. Studies show that it is difficult to attain an exact number of street children in a city or country because some street children keep on moving from one place to another. Also, sometimes they are in the street, but sometimes they are at their homes. Street children do not have birth certificates; hence, it is difficult to calculate their number. However, most organizations and individuals believe that extensive research has not been carried out to estimate their number because of the lack of resources and people to carry out the research. It would prove that their number increases day by day. However, what exactly does a street child mean? A street child has no clear definition because people have their own definition and agreeing on one definition is difficult. This is according to sociologists and psychologists. They offer various identification criteria and people see such children as abnormal and marginalized. Street children identify the street as a place where they can get work and obtain money for survival. For others it is a home where they live with other children whom they treat like a family. Therefore, they are loved by fellow street children and are hated by them as well, which leads to frequent fights, but that is their life and they understand it. This paper will help understand and clearly define the notion of street children. The paper looks at the notion of street children, how they become street children, problems they face, and ways to help them. How Do Children Become Street Children? Many researchers have shown that every street child has his/her own story on how he/she became a street child. They vary from one child to another, but all lead to the same situation, i.e. becoming a street child. There are three types of street children: there are children who run away from home and live in the street; children working in the street most of their time, but finally going to their homes; and, finally, children who are born in the street by street children and live there with their family consisting of either mother, father or both. This classification helps us tackle the reasons why many children become street children. According to interviews conducted in the streets of Cairo, the reasons found may include the following: Family/Parental abuse 3 out of 10 street children interviewed were there because of parental abuse. Children are born into a family with both parents. The abuse comes in when one or both parents hate the child because the mother or father is dead and a step parent physically beats the child. The child is unable to cope with hatred and many sufferings and opts to run away, ending up in the street. In the street, the child gets a sense of belonging and love from other children, hence making a street a home away from home. Child labor Living standards of many families are low because of the poor economy. Studies show that most parents cannot meet the needs of the family like food, education, medicine, shelter because they have low incomes, making life hard and opting for support from children. Therefore, they send their children to sell things like tissue paper, cheap stuffs, carry loads, clean cars in order to get money. Others beg for money to buy food or assist their family. Most street children confessed that they decided to stay there and never to return home because they saw it as a punishment. They work and keep the money for themselves. Hence, they become street children who work to survive. 30% of street children in Egypt have emerged in the result of supporting the family through work. Sexual harassment by family members Children, especially girls, are exposed to many problems in the society like rape and incest. They are not protected from other family members like step fathers, uncles, step brothers,. This results in incest, which is a taboo in most cultures. Members of the community molested and harassed them. This made them feel that they are not protected and they decided to protect themselves by going to the street. 40% of girls in the street had been raped, molested, and harassed by family members and the community. Homelessness Some families do not have homes, especially if there are clashes and the house is burnt down. War and natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and landslides leave many people homeless and they feel that the only place they can run to is the street. 1% of street children said that they had no place to stay. Poverty Some children may not survive without food. Thus, they run to towns and cities to beg for food or work to buy food and anything they want. Poverty means that the child cannot get satisfaction and begging may be the only option. Parental divorce When family relations have broken, the member affected most is the child. They cannot stay with the father because he might marry another woman and hate the child or the mother may get married and step father would abuse the child. Thus, they opt to stay alone, which is difficult. Finally, they run to streets for comfort and have a sense of belonging. 24% of those who join institutional care are from broken families. Neglect Neglect from parents or other siblings makes children run because they are not comfortable in the family. Negligence contributes to effects like physical abuse and sexual harassment. Thus, they prevent such consequences by running away. Parents who are drug addicts fail to provide for their family. Social interaction is absent, especially when parents are drug addicts or busy with work. Therefore, children feel that they are ignored and neglected, hence running to streets to have a sense of belonging by being loved by others. 32% reported the lack of love and care from parents and other family members. Migration from rural to urban areas Houses in urban centers are small and have poor conditions. Rooms cannot accommodate all family members; thus, children go to street to work and earn money and this eventually leads to living in the street. Failure at school When children fail at school, they may be beaten by parents and this causes education stress in the life of the child. Dropping out of school becomes an option and if they cannot stay in the village, they go to towns to look for work, ending up in the street. Loss of parents Parents may die due to suffering from diseases like HIV, natural disasters like floods, landslide, or war and other conflicts. This makes children support themselves, which they do by working in the streets. Studies show that each and every street child feels that street is the home and he/she owns that space. They have rules and regulations, which they follow even though they do not follow the state laws. They seek to be accepted by other street children and care how they feel about them, but they do not care what other people feel about them. They have organized groups and each area in the street has a leader who supports others. The leaders do not head criminal activities rather they give drugs, protection, and any help to other street children and are given money or sex in exchange. They have powers over space and general survival, so others must obey them. What Does Street Child Mean for Us? Anybody seen clothed in rags, dirty, and living in the street is automatically deemed a street child. People see them as criminals, beggars, victims who need to be eliminated from the streets. People believe that only poor children from poor backgrounds are the ones who become street children. However, this is not enough for categorizing and labeling them. Most social workers and non-governmental organizations give stories so that people may sympathize with such children. Street children do not want pity, but rather they want basic children rights like right to education, right to be taken care of, right to be provided with basic needs and emotional needs (Mikhail, 2013). Street children are stubborn, aggressive, selfish, with unstable emotional behaviors, abusive, rebellious, they lack trust, and they may not concentrate on any duty given. This is because of the environment they stay in has harsh conditions, under which they struggle to survive. They mature early and have tactics of self-reliance because they know how to survive by begging, working, or selling their bodies to get money. They believe that security is self-defense and personal protection. They are able to form subcultures like gangs, prostitutes, which goes against society’s expectations. Therefore, they are very rebellious to the society’s laws and ignore societal patterns and systems. Problems that Face Street Children in Egypt Street children face many problems, which affect their physical and psychological health and general safety. The research shows that the surrounding environment, fellow street children, police, and many other factors cause problems to street children. The problems include: Physical harassment like being beaten by passerby, police officers, fellow street children due to the lack of cooperation with their leaders. Verbal abuse, which makes them remember the past and what made them become street children. Sexual abuse because some are forced to have sex without consent, others may agree to sex, but they are not paid for it; this causes psychological and health problems. Economic exploitation because they are forced to work long hours with low wages. For instance, they clean cars and trucks till night and receive little or no pay at all. Safety issues like accidents, cars running over them, somebody mistaking them for loads. Lack of education Risks of drug use, trafficking, and distribution. They engage in gang activities like robbery, fraudulent activities, damage of public and private properties, and murder. Harsh climatic conditions like cold, rain, wind, hot conditions that increase amount of dust. This exposes them to many health problems, which they may not be able to treat. Consequences of the Problems of Street Children in Egypt Death: Many street children die in the result of accidents, physical abuse, and illnesses. They may be beaten by fellow street children till they are helpless. In case they engage in gang activities like robbery, they are shot dead. They suffer from various diseases such as anemia, headaches, diarrhea, and many others, which they do not have care and medicine to treat. They may die from attempted abortion as a result of unplanned pregnancies. Infection: By having sex without protection, they are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, which are expensive to cure. Hygiene-related diseases like lice and general body cleanliness contribute to many illnesses. They do not have a balanced diet; food is dirty because it is taken from garbage, making them feel ill. Police arrests and imprisonment: Some street children are hired by activists and protestors to protest on the streets. They are arrested by the police and are taken to court where they are jailed or taken to correction centers, which abuse them physically, psychologically, and sexually. Early pregnancies: Both sex at will and sex without will may cause unplanned pregnancies that lead to a burden of caring for and raising street-born children. Street mothers may not be able to take care of their babies, which may lead to deaths of young babies. If abortion is attempted, the life is endangered and such an attempt may lead to death. Drug abuse: Use of drugs is rampant, especially smoking, taking glue and other drugs, which they combine with many substances. This is because they can easily obtain them from dealers whom they pay with sex or money. They take drugs to cope with street life, sleep easily, relieve themselves from pain and hunger, and fit into the group to which they belong. This is dangerous for their health and health of others within the group. Rebelliousness: They do not want to obey any person and any authority except for their leader in the street. They do not trust anybody; so, they tend to rebel against any action of the community and social organizations. This leads to formation of rebellious groups that engage in criminal activities against the society’s norms. What Has the NGO and Other Organizations Done to the Street Children until Now in Egypt? Some of the non-governmental organizations that work to help street children and their families include CARITAS Egypt, Al-Amal village, the General Egyptian Association for Child Protection, and Toufolti Association. Hope Village Society (HVS) has partnered with Cairo Street Children Development Cooperation Project to provide shelter to young street mothers and other street children through provision of mobile clinics and day centers. They may work alone or partner with governmental organizations or other NGOs like the UNICEF to help street children. They may fund themselves and also receive financial aid from countries like the US, the UK, and many others. The government has arranged various recreational programs that include street children into various tournaments. This prevents from activists and protestors using children in unworthy activities by paying them little and letting them be arrested and imprisoned. Egypt has organized soccer competitions that encourage street children to participate in the World Cup. The main purpose of this is to rehabilitate them and cultivate a decent future for children. They may encourage them to join school or start business like Youssef. For instance, there is a 10-day tournament that includes 230 street children. Such activists help children obtain birth certificates, passports, and visas and meet with many people. 19 countries are participating in the tournament in Rio de Janeiro this week, according to The National News. Teams, which comprise of 9 street children, a coach, and many social workers, play a major role in helping reduce the number of street children. The government and other institutions have trained social workers who work closely with street children and connect them with other members of the society. The NGOs and other government institutions have called for volunteers, social workers, sociologists, and psychologists to work in reception centers, institutional care institutions to help children abandon street life. They have encouraged the community to take up foster roles to take care of children deprived of it like orphans and destitute. They have engaged many individuals and organizations in research that come up with strategies to reduce the amount of street children. Programs have been started to help street children with various needs like educational, recreational, emotional, and psychological ones, which are offered in the drop-in centers. This has helped many children in giving up street life and engaging in sports, joining primary, secondary, or technical training institutions to acquire skills that will help them make a living and fit in the society. Some organizations have provided residential care like building an orphanage, homes, and hostels to help children move away from street and access basic needs. The government has built residential care nurseries that care for children between 2-6 years until they are transferred to institutional care institutions or are taken by foster families. About 30 care nurseries are said to be built, which has helped around 500 street children. 174 residential care units have been built to provide residential, educational, medical, and recreational services to about 6,000 street children who leave the unit when they are able to support themselves by being equipped with different technical skills (UNODC). The state through the social affairs ministry has set projects like Rural Woman Project that supports around 40,000 women in 123 villages in generating income (UNODC). They also offer educational programs on reproductive health, parenting, and entrepreneurship. This has transformed many families from being poor to levels when they can support their families, hence avoiding child labor. Also, those productive families have been encouraged to start income-generating projects to support and educate poor families in order to become productive and avoid financial aid. They also help them join self-help groups to benefit from many services given by the NGOs and the government. The ministry has also provided social security services by offering monthly pensions and other financial support programs to poor families. These services are enacted based on the Child Law of 1996. This enables them to educate their children, buy food, and satisfy other needs of their children. Foster families have been reintroduced to provide care to children who have been deprived of care like orphans and the destitute ones. Foster families support children till a certain age or until their family conditions improve. The government encourages the community to support street children by giving them education, providing street children with food, shelter, and general emotional care, including love and sense of belonging. Problems affecting street children are directly addressed by the General Social Defense Department suggesting appropriate training programs to suit different needs of street children. Some children need educational programs so that they may become professionals; others need to become self-reliant through starting businesses or finding jobs; and others want to join their families. They also conduct research on the social phenomenon that makes children become street children and take necessary actions by planning the activities. They also conduct follow-ups for children who have graduated from institutional care to see their progress and adaptation to the society. The NGOs have tackled the issue of motherhood and childhood, though not fully, in their program entitled reconstructing the construct, which targets children and mothers because they are the most affected contributors to a menace. They have also encouraged family reunions, which has reduced the amount of street children. Future Plans The government through the Ministry of Social Affairs plans to implement policies and programs that help to control street children. They want to raise family awareness so that they may educate families on reproductive health, proper ways of raising children, technical development skills, and importance of maintaining good family relations. The government plans to combine efforts with the NGOs to do research on the social phenomenon that makes children become street children. After research, they will draft programs to tackle such issues by improving status of poor families and ensuring that parents give birth to a number of children they can support well. They plan to use media and other communication technologies like hotline telephone lines to raise awareness of parenting issues and connecting with children. TVs, radios, and posters may be used to inform parents of their responsibilities. Posters may be used to inform them of any program meeting. They want to start bureaus to offer guidance and counseling services to families and help them to solve most significant family problems like divorce and breakdowns. Family relations are the major cause of the phenomenon of street children. Therefore, by opening these bureaus and equipping them with competent staff, they will offer advice to families how to avoid breaking the family and taking care of children before they become street children. They will also help to connect children and their families through research on the causes of separation and possible ways to reunite. The government and other organizations plan to use recreational services like drama and theaters to show people consequences of behavioral disorder and enhance rehabilitation. Through acting on most common social phenomena, people are able to relate the show with their real life and this will encourage them to promote acceptable behaviors in the society. Theaters will provide entertainment and educational benefits to many street children by raising awareness of behavioral disorders like gangs, rebellion, self-defense, drug addiction, their effects, and ways to deal with these problems in order to avoid forming subcultures. The government and other NGOs plan to train more psychologists, social workers, and sociologists to work closely with street children, the institutional care, reception centers, and other care nurseries. They will participate in the community work to ensure awareness is raised appropriately and looking for the best ways to manage family reunions and projects that are income-generating. They also encourage members of the public to volunteer themselves so that they may help street children. The government plans to build, upgrade, and equip technical training institutions with machines and equipment for workshops and vocational training in Dar Al-Tarbia in Giza. It offers many training programs like tailoring and embroidery for girls, plumbing, masonry, carpentry, mechanics, and many others for boys (UNODC). However, government workers want to upgrade these centers and equip them with modern equipment and machines like computers, photocopiers, and sewing machines. This will help street children to have skills that will give them a profession or will help them start their businesses to support themselves and their families. They also want to provide a consistent supply of raw materials needed in these workshops like embroidery and tailoring materials, wires, paper, and other required materials used in training. The Ministry is planning to develop new and appropriate strategies to help with follow-ups after children leaving street life and residential units. They will help in establishing whether those who graduate from institutional care are able to start their own businesses and if they face any challenges and solve them. Most follow-ups are outdated and inappropriate. Therefore, re-strategizing new methods like checking and ensuring that each graduated child receives tools to start his/her own business and manage career development will help a lot. For recreation services, the Ministry and other NGOs plan to encourage and equip children with sport materials. This will help in reducing the number of street children being involved in criminal activities, protesting, and other bad behaviors that expose them to various risks. Creation of teams that comprise of street children and participate in local, national, and international tournaments will help street children and reduce the amount of problems they are facing. For instance, soccer, volleyball, athletics, basketball, drama, music are major areas of focus that will keep children off the street and nurture their talent and help to develop career. Various projects are proposed by the government and the NGOs to help in generating income to poor families. Rural Woman Project has been started, but it needs to be funded so that they may help women in villages because most of them take care of their families after family breakdown, divorce, single motherhood situations. Apart from generating income, they will also receive training on various skills development, parenting, and other guidance and counseling services. There are plans to combine efforts of the government and the NGOs to support and reduce the number of street children. Working in different areas may not yield desired results. Thus, combining efforts and focusing on one goal will help both the government and the NGOs to succeed in dealing with this phenomenon. They will utilize available resources to carry out the research and analyze the results to develop important policies and procedures in order to help street children and prevent children from preferring street life more than their homes. Al-Horia, an NGO, has a project to provide emergency services to street children in terms of many risks exposed. Many health problems are not addressed; also, street children face many emergency cases with no help. The NGO will provide street children with emergency service like first aid, ambulance services, and care. In doing so, they may avoid many deaths in the streets. They may save girls from dangerous abortion, sexual abuse, and many accidents. Effectiveness of the Services Provided to Street Children by Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations Most of the NGOs have tried to make street children unite with their families. However, it is difficult and ineffective because most children do not want to go back because of the past experience. Hence, they prefer to stay alone or in some place other than their families. Victims of rape, torture, and neglect are hard to reunite. Also, the process requires a comprehensive process of visitation to the family before and after reunion and this may be expensive. The NGO needs to work with government officials like chiefs and village elders for the process to succeed. Cases of drug abuse have not been effectively tackled. Reception centers reject those under drugs or who are addicts because they believe these people may interrupt programs and make others not attend the trainings. Detoxification services to help those who have used drugs are not available. Hence, drug use needs to be focused on because most street children use drugs and substances for different reasons. Drug awareness is also not effectively done in terms of street children. Hence, there are many risks they are exposed to, including health problems and socio-behavioral disorders. Raising awareness through the media is not enough. Direct participation is required to collectively campaign against many social vices that tend to influence an increase in the number of street children. Some people may not access information from radios, TVs, or theater shows and drama. Thus, information is not received by intended parties who live in villages. Therefore, the media are not effective in addressing the problems. Research is not effective because those who carry out the research focus only on causes and problems faced by street children instead of involving them in creating policies that will help them to meet their various needs. When they introduce educational programs for adults and street children, they use ordinary syllabuses, forgetting that these are special cases that require different educational approaches. Special needs require special attention to achieve the desired results. The common syllabuses used by regular schools may not be effective in institutional care centers. Adult programs are outdated and non-influential; thus, less impact is made on adults. There are many health programs in place to help street children like a doctor visiting children twice or thrice a week. However, they are not effectively carried out because street children do not trust people. They also fear interaction with people because they may be arrested or injected with medicine that may hinder carrying out their street duties. Those with mental issues have not been helped because of ineffective methods used. Most street children beg for food, some buy food from cheap cafes, and others get it from garbage. This exposes them to health problems. Organizations help to acquire food, but it may not be balanced and not meet various nutritional needs of each street child. Therefore, nutritional needs are not effectively tackled. Child rights and protection are not effectively handled because street children after recovering and returning home suffer from marginalization and stigmatization from other family members and the community. Thus, they are not protected and if they start their own businesses, few people understand and support them. Child rights are not granted to them because they may be expensive for the government and other organizations to provide. Therefore, the Acts are not fully implemented because of the lack of resources. Solutions to Reduce the Growing Problem of Street Children in Egypt Many problems faced by street children can be addressed easily by focusing on various aspects of their childhood life. Focusing on their needs will help prevent children from running away from home and focusing on problems faced by street children will help them to move out of street life and engage in the society development through various systems and activities. There are four categories of intervention that can be used to reduce the growing problems of street children. They include: structural-based, community-based, center-based, and street-based interventions. Structural-based interventions include policies and procedures that are laid down by various organizations targeting street children. They include research done to help reduce the growing number of street children, strategies to help those on the streets get something important to do, acquire a profession, and reunite with families. Many organizations need to offer programs that may benefit these children like creating recreational events that will include street children. Introduction and implementing various Acts, which are in place like child rights and protection through the use of legislative functions of the government, will help decrease the problem. Community-based interventions involve various projects and programs that educate parents on the benefits of maintaining family relations with their children. Various projects need to be initiated to encourage entrepreneurship and other skills development. This will generate income and help with the provision of basic needs. Also, parenting programs need to be in place so that the responsibility of parents is emphasized, for example, with respect to adequate interaction between a child and a parent in order to avoid negligence and implement a sense of love and belonging in the mind of a child coming from parents, not the street. Center-based interventions should be developed and implemented in reception centers, institutional care centers, and other places that support children. These centers need to have competent staff with passion to work with street children, rather than for their personal benefit. There should be sociologists, psychologists, social workers who are willing to work closely with such children. They should be well-trained and exposed to field work so as to gain skills and competency on problems affecting street children. They should equip these centers with required facilities to effectively deliver various programs and services to children and the community. Street-based interventions include various strategies to support children while in the street. For instance, raising awareness of the drug and substance abuse and health problems they are exposed to will yield good results. Involving street children in cleaning the city as a community work, attending cultural events, creating teams for various tournaments and music and drama festivals will help children realize their talent and nurture it. Above all, it will develop a sense of belonging to the family and the community. Food aids, medicine, providing with clothes, and other care services will make it easier to rehabilitate such children. Street children are not a new phenomenon in the country as they have existed since the 1980s and if the government and the NGOs do not tackle it effectively, there will be a tremendous increase in their number because of the economic, political, and social crisis in the country. Such children may also cause many problems in the whole country. Individual and community perception towards street children must change so as to know exactly who is a street child and ways to prevent children from becoming one in the streets. The responsibilities of each and every person at the family, community, and state level should be emphasized. Parents should be aware of their duties and responsibilities and penalties for failure to respect their duties. Street children do not have rights, but they have children rights that are stipulated in the Child Rights and Protection Act. Therefore, social workers and those who work with street children should advocate for children rights and not try to make the community sympathize with street children. They should make the community tackle the causes and try to avoid them. Those already in the street should be encouraged to leave the street life by implementing focused programs that emphasize their present and future needs and not their past. There are some people and groups of people that prevent the government and other NGOs from implementing the important plans concerning street children. The Muslim Brotherhood is said to prevent many NGOs from executing their plans. To avoid these situations, there should be appropriate policies to protect these organizations and heavy penalties should be imposed on those groups that are against such developments. By combining efforts at the family, community, and organizational levels, many social, economic, and political issues will be solved and families will become a safe place for child growth and development.

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Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Machiavelli in his book â€Å"The Prince† seems to sap the very foundations of morality and stops at nothing short of capsizing the entire edifice of religion. His thoughts resonate with a loathing of true virtue and propagate corrupted politics. Actually, today the term Machiavellianism is used to refer to the use of deceitfulness to advance one’s goals or desires. In ‘The Prince†, Machiavelli breaks from the classical view of virtue as represented by his philosophic predecessors Plato and Aristotle. Whereas his predecessors held virtue in an ideal environment (idealism), Machiavelli defined virtue in a real environment where one is judged by his actions and not by the way his actions ought to be (realism). According to Plato and Aristotle good life only exists in total virtue where a person will be most happy. Plato places emphasis on the extinction of personal desires through love so that one can achieve happiness (Barker, 1959). Aristotle on the other hand believes that an ideal or perfect state brings out the virtue in all men. A person will gain happiness when all their actions and goals are virtuous. This implies that according to Aristotle happiness is a group goal and not an individual goal (Barker, 1959). Plato equally in bringing out the essence of love which must be shared among people suggests that happiness is a group goal. However, virtue in the Machiavellian sense seems to lack a moral tone. By virtue, he alludes to personal qualities needed for the achievement of one’s own ends (Machiavelli, 1998). His view seems to be directed at self interests and not a common goal. In pursuing personal interests, one is not careful about the means by which he does so and therefore is not bound by a moral imperative. In â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli describes two types of principalities. One is hereditary and the other is acquired. He observes that though no virtue is required to attain a hereditary principality, it takes virtue to acquire and maintain a new principality. The basis of his views does not entirely contradict the classical view on morality, however, he goes on further to illustrate and make allowances for evil, and this is what brings about the contradiction. For example Machiavelli states, â€Å"When a new territory does not share the same language and culture as the prince’s original territory, the prince must have the wisdom and ability to assimilate the new territory† (Machiavelli, 1998). This view wholly concurs with Plato’s on the need for wisdom as a virtue. On ability however, Machiavelli alludes to the use of force or violent means which defies views on classical morality. In the same chapter, he goes on to say that a prince ought to protect his weaker neighbors and prevent the powerful ones from gaining more power. The virtue of courage here echoes the principle virtues as outlined by Plato, courage being one of them. However, Machiavelli encourages the prince not to hesitate in using force to enforce this (Machiavelli, 1998). This goes against the grain of conventional virtue as it encourages people in power to use whatever means, even ruthless, to preserve their power. Machiavelli suggests two ways by which a private citizen can become a prince, either by fortune or by ability. Among those who became princes through ability, Machiavelli cites Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, and Francesco Sforza among others. He gives the example of Borgia who inherited power and later lost it to dissuade princes from depending on fortune but rather to use their abilities to attain success. He makes it clear that virtue or ability is more related to statecraft and less related to morality. In undermining morality, he allows for the use of force to gain and preserve power. He says â€Å"A prince who comes to power by evil means is said to have neither fortune nor ability. Such a prince may gain power, but not glory† (Machiavelli, 1998). By â€Å"evil means,† he refers to the use cruelty in proper and improper ways. He explains that if cruelty is utilized to achieve a necessary goal, then it is proper. However, if it is used to achieve no purpose but to instill f ear into the citizens, it is improper. Consequently, the proper use of force according to Machiavelli is a virtue. This contradicts the virtue of moderation as outlined by Plato which puts restrictions on the use of extreme means such as the use of force to achieve goals. One can infer that Plato would advocate for diplomacy rather than force if a prince aimed at achieving allegiance from his subjects. According to Plato, good life is only attained through perfect love which comes about by a submersion of personal desire. According to Machiavelli, â€Å"a prince does not have to be loved by the people, though still he must not be hated† (Machiavelli, 1998). He goes further to explain that history has revealed that men who were not loved but feared were more effective leaders. A ruler who brings mayhem to his state because of his imprudent kindness should not be considered a good leader. For Machiavelli, the virtue a prince should pursue is â€Å"fear from his subjects and not love (Machiavelli, 1998). Such a prince, he explains, will be able to sustain the morale of his subjects, which takes both wisdom and courage. Therefore according to Machiavelli the prince is better of being feared than loved which contradicts the earlier views of Plato, who placed a great emphasis on the pursuit of love as a major virtue. In chapter eighteen of â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli argues that total honesty is only practical in an ideal world. However, since the world is characterized by dishonest men, a prince cannot be expected to keep all his pledges. Therefore he should endeavor to use deception to his benefit. Machiavelli uses the analogy of the fox and the lion to encourage the prince to be both cunning and courageous. He explains that whereas â€Å"the fox can recognize snares but cannot drive away wolves, the lion can drive away wolves but cannot recognize snares† (Machiavelli, 1998).In this he means that a prince does not need to possess good qualities but should just appear to possess them, since subjects are only interested in outward appearances if they lead to a favorable end. It is from this view that the term ‘Machiavellianism† has been coined to in today’s usage to mean the use of cunningness to achieve undue advantage over one’s subjects. In comparison to the classical view of virtue, Machiavelli’s view lacks a moral sense. Machiavelli’s work on the prince has received wide criticism from a large front including the Catholic Church. As the devil’s advocate, he seems to break away from the conventional virtues of his predecessors Plato and Aristotle openly deriding the church and its fundamentals. Whereas Plato and Aristotle relate living virtuously to godliness, Machiavelli’s virtue involves lying and subordinating atrocious means to practical ends. Realism, which Machiavelli subscribed to, has been defined as a cynical view to politics devoted to furthering personal interests with no regard to moral or religious structures (Schaub, 1998). This view implies that a prince can be at odds with the moral virtue, a contradiction to the classical concept of virtue postulated by both Plato and Aristotle. At a glance of Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince†, we largely infer that he goes all out to ill advice the prince against the classical virtues of his predecessors. He seems to herald the triumph of evil over good. However, taking a critical look at the work, one cannot help but notice gaps and disjunctions in the text. For example the characters he picks to illustrate his case. In showing the proper and effective use of cruelty in chapter seventeen, he uses Hannibal and compares him to Scipio as compassionate and therefore ineffective. This is violently at odds with the truth and is ironic at the same time because Scipio accused of compassion defeats Hannibal at the battle of Zama (Machiavelli, 1998). Also, Machiavelli writes in Italian and not Latin, the language of the scholars of whom the princes are. This leaves the question as to who exactly was his target audience. Was he really advising the princes who already knew how to be cruel or was it the subjects, and if the subjects then for what purpose. Therefore, just as much as we have illustrated how Machiavelli strays from the classical virtue, it rests upon the attentive reader to ingest and make a personal judgment as to what Machiavelli really intended to put across.

Physics of Paintball :: physics paintball gun

Fuel For A Paintball Marker The Reason that people need a tank when they play paintball is because you need a way to force the paintballs out of the gun and this cannot be achieved effectively by just using a spring. What they decided to do was to fuel the paintballs by pushing them with a gas. The way in which they did this was to put the gases, either Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide or Nitrogen under extreme pressure until they turned into a liquid and once they are in a liquid form they can be blown into a tank which probably looks something like this. Carbon Dioxide must be under a pressure of at least 415.8 kPaA For it to turn into liquid form. Oxygen and Nitrogen are very similar to this. The way in which the gas is let out is that there is a needle in a valve in the top of the tank and when the tank is screwed into the paintball marker the needle gets pressed down and the entire system becomes pressurized and is ready to be fired. Then when the gun is cocked and the trigger is pulled the bolt is pushed forward, accelerated by the force of the C02 acting behind it and pushes the paintball out. Then the bolt comes back into the read position and the C02 is no longer flowing and is again pushing against the bolt. There are some problems with this system however. One of the major ones is called snowing, where liquid C02 actually gets into the paintball marker, this is not good for multiple reasons, first of all having the liquid C02 on the moving parts inside a marker is not good for it, since many of the parts inside are rubber or plastic. The second problem with this is since the gas is in liquid form it is not expanding as fast and there for is not pushing the paintballs as effectively. This causes a white snow like substance to come out of the barrel of the marker. There are several way that this problem is dealt with, some markers have the guns stored in a vertical position to keep the liquid in the bottom of the tanks. Other markers employ gas lines or expansion chambers, these are basically just tubes or cylinders that run from the tank to the marker and give the C02 a chance to turn from a liquid to a gas.

On Monsieur’s Departure Essay

â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure†, with its highly interpretive nature and use of strong themes and appropriate literary devices, expresses the inner turmoil of its author, Queen Elizabeth, to the reader. The basic concept of this 17th century poem is one of the divided passions of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth loved her country with fierce loyalty and control, but also had her own personal needs, and though it is not entirely certain as to whom this poem was referencing to, it is speculated to be about either the 2nd Earl of Essex or the Duc d’Anjou (French duke of Anjou). Essex (Robert Derereaux) was 30 years Elizabeth’s junior and was a charming, opinionated man with whom Elizabeth was completely enamored, but the relationship terminated when Essex and Elizabeth had a terrible fight and Essex directed an unsuccessful revolt against her. The tragedy pierced further when Elizabeth painfully agreed to have him executed. The duke of Anjou, who later became King Henry III, was a prime member of the French royal family, being both the duke of Anjou and Alenà §on. He was an unattractive man, both body and face, but Elizabeth fancied him enough to allow a lengthy courtship by him. This courtship ended when the duke withdrew from the marriage negotiations in 1582, but there is uncertainty as to why. Elizabeth, if gaining nothing more from this arrangement, did secure a defense alliance and French aid against Spain. The country, in Elizabeth’s mind, remained above her own personal longings – she never married and reigned as the proud Virgin Queen. The first stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure† contain uses of Petrarchan conceit, paradox, and the theme of disassociation between the queen and her desires. The Petrarchan conceit (common in Elizabethan love poems) is seen for example in line 2, â€Å"I love and yet am forced to seem to hate†. These comparisons of love and hate are extreme, as the conceptions of both love and hate are the most ultimate and divergent emotions in the English language and do demonstrate a distinct parallel. The literary paradox (statement which is contradictory yet sensical) is prominent in this poem, and can be seen in many instances. The main examples of this are Elizabeth’s contradictions shown in line 2 with â€Å"love† and â€Å"hate†, and in line 5, where she states, â€Å"I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned†. In line 5, the  figure of paradox is evident in â€Å"am† and â€Å"not†, as well as â€Å"freeze† and â₠¬Å"burned†. The recurrent disassociative theme is very prominent, suggesting Elizabeth’s frustration between being a ruler, with obligations and expectations, and being a human being, with inner yearnings and the need for expression . This is especially noticeable when Elizabeth states, â€Å"I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate†¦./Since from myself another self I turned† (4 and 6). Elizabeth is saying how she remains silent about her inner turmoil, but is churning inside with thoughts and concerns. Also, Elizabeth is saying how she turned from herself to another. This could be taken as either Elizabeth pushing aside that part of herself to remain a competent and commanding ruler, or as Elizabeth turning to another person (either the Duc d’Anjou or Essex) for personal reasons and her culpability for doing so. This theme continues throughout the poems through use of other literary contrivances and intricate wording. In the second stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure†, Elizabeth includes figurative language, alliteration and the subject of an unattainable self to voice her thoughts. The application of figurative language (expression which uses comparison to describe) is present in line 7, where Elizabeth uses a simile (comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’). It is written, â€Å"My care is like my shadow in the sun†, stating that to Elizabeth, there is a comparison between her care and her shadow when in the sun. This can be interpreted in many ways, but it is because a simile is used that a mental picture develops to compare the two. The use of alliteration (the repetition of like sounds in speech ) is seen in line 8, where the initial ‘f’ consonants are repeated. The line, â€Å"Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it†, with use of alliteration is concise and artful, with a condense accumulation of emotion. The theme of Elizabeth ’s care (of this man) being unattainable for her to grasp is very eminent in this stanza, with two supporting examples. The first comes in lines 7 and 8, where Elizabeth conveys, â€Å"My care is like my shadow in the sun,/Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it†. She is articulating that her own personal feelings are unconstrained to her, without the control she is wishing to enforce. The second instance in line 11, â€Å"No means I find to rid him from my breast,† expresses not that there is a physical person which she feels the need to remove, but instead that  Elizabeth believes that there is no way to eradicate the thoughts and feelings she has for this man from her heart. This continuing theme of separation from oneself and separation from emotional control is echoed throughout the poem, creating a delicate symmetry between each stanza, and allowing them to unite. The third stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure† embraces again figurative language, repetition, and a final accumulation of sentiment through deliberative wording. In this stanza, Elizabeth uses a very important metaphor (expression relating one thing to another) to represent herself. She writes, in line 14, that she is â€Å"made of melting snow†, a phrase which captures thoughts and images that may otherwise not have been so evident. Saying that she is â€Å"made of melting snow† tells the reading audience that Elizabeth is weakened by this, or that she is softened but not yet defeated – the interpretations are ceaseless, which makes this an important part of this final stanza and of the whole poem. The repetition Elizabeth uses in this stanza are towards the end, when she writes, â€Å"Let me or float or sin, be high or low./Or let me live with some more sweet content,/Or die and so forget what love ere meant† (16-18). By using this series of choices as her final statement, Elizabeth is implying a sense of urgency and desperation in her search for a solution. Her final statement is left with a final, hopeless alternative – for her to die and forget about love. By reading these alternatives, each worse than the next, the reader is left with a final note of despondency and a climax of emotion which is expressed with phrases like â€Å"be more cruel†(15), â€Å"float or sink†¦ high or low† (16), and â€Å"die and so forget†. These are intense statements that leave the reader silent from their effect. That is the essence of this poem, a pull and tug game of emotions, with no end solution other than to live forward and exist with ever-constant turmoil, to live, to rule, to sacrifice oneself for something greater. Through the use of different literary devices and a powerful backing theme, Queen Elizabeth has left the world with a literary victory. This poem is a saddening one, but as a love poem, it is expressing not only the pain, frustration and despair longing can produce, but also the strength and might  that backs it.

Example Sentences of the English Verb To Keep

This page provides example sentences of the English verb Keep in all tenses including active and passive forms, as well as conditional and modal forms. Base Form keep / Past Simple kept / Past Participle kept / Gerund keeping Present Simple She keeps all her birthday cards every year. Present Simple Passive The key is kept by the doorman. Present Continuous He is currently keeping up the house while his parents are away. Present Continuous Passive The house is being kept up by Jason while his parents are away. Present Perfect Im afraid I havent kept up with the news recently. Present Perfect Passive The information has been kept up to date by Alice. Present Perfect Continuous We have been keeping bees for the last few years. Past Simple She kept a diary while she was on holiday. Past Simple Passive A journal was kept by the teacher on each student. Past Continuous They were keeping watch over the house when it was broken into by thieves. Past Continuous Passive The house was being kept watch over by the Wilsons when it was broken into by thieves. Past Perfect The had kept an expense journal before they moved to New York. Past Perfect Passive An expense journal had been kept before they moved to New York. Past Perfect Continuous We had been keeping up with the Jones before they moved to Los Angeles. Future (Will) She will keep the children while we are away. Future (Will) Passive The children will be kept by Cheryl while we are away. Future (Going to) Cheryl is going to keep the children during the holidays. Future (Going to) Passive The children are going to be kept by Cheryl during the holidays. Future Continuous They will be keeping a record of the meeting tomorrow afternoon. Future Perfect Janice will have been kept up to date so you can ask her. Future Possibility She might keep that present. Real Conditional If she keeps up exercising, she will be in great shape. Unreal Conditional If she kept up exercising, she would be in great shape. Past Unreal Conditional If she had kept up exercising, she would have been in great shape. Present Modal She should keep up with the class. Past Modal Harry might have kept up with the developments. Quiz: Conjugate With Keep Use the verb to keep to conjugate the following sentences. Quiz answers are below. In some cases, more than one answer may be correct. She _____ the children while we are away.She _____ a diary while she was on holiday.The_____ an expense journal before they moved to New York.Janice _____ up to date so you can ask her.If she _____ up exercising, she would have been in great shape.The key _____ by the doorman.We _____ bees for the last few years.A journal _____ by the teacher on each student.Im afraid I _____ up with the news recently.Cheryl _____ the children during the holidays. Thats the plan. Quiz Answers will keepkepthad keptwill have been kepthad keptis kepthave been keepingwas kepthavent keptis going to keep