Mexican Independence from Spain Essays

Mexican Independence from Spain Essays Mexican Independence from Spain Paper Mexican Independence from Spain Paper Mexican Independence from Spain In the late 18th century, the Spanish monarchy decided to improve the defenses of its empire because of its many military losses in Europe. Because of this, the Spanish Crown was forced to increase revenues. Between 1765 and 1771, Spain sent Jose de Galvez on an official tour of inspection of New Spain. He restructured the current taxes and their collection methods.. In 1778, Spain, attempting to increase its own revenues, lifted restrictions on colonial trade. This allowed more commerce for the colonists and allowed for more trade between the privileged of New Spain and the other Spanish colonies in America. Since the Spanish monarchy was so determined to improve defenses, it was forced to enlarge the existing colonial militias into armies. The Mexican people were disappointed with the many tax and administrative changes. The Criollos also did not like the fact that they had not been given any of the new administrative positions. Most of the Mexicans felt that they had been prospering under the old system. When the people protested and when riots broke out against the attempts at instituting reforms, they were dissipated through force. This caused Mexicans to become even more upset. They also had a new economic freedom and began to think that they could benefit more if they ran their own economic system apart from Spain. The Spanish Crown also began to limit the powers of the Catholic Church. It was viewed as a political rival because it had begun to amass large amounts of land and wealth in the colony. The Spanish government ignored the fact that the church did not actually have as much money as it seemed to. Much of its â€Å"wealth† was being loaned to colonists. In 1767, the Spanish Crown expelled the Jesuits from both new and old Spain and confiscated the wealth of the religious order. Even worse in the eyes of the Mexicans was in 1804 when the Spanish monarchy took land and wealth from the Catholic Church. These actions caused the church to reclaim all loans. This greatly affected the middle class, which was made up mostly by the colonial born whites known as the Criollos, and the mixed blooded Spanish or Indian Mestizos. The priests were also greatly affected by the Consolidation decree causing an upset of both the colonists and the priests, and convincing many to start to support Mexican Independence. The initial causes of the American Revolution were similar in that the colonists felt oppressed by their parent country of England. They felt that the monarchy they once knew as their savior could no longer provide for the best interests of the colonies and that it was taking advantage of them by imposing taxes upon them and using other means to earn revenue they it didn’t rightfully deserve. The Proclamation of 1763 restricted colonists from settling the area east of the Appalachian Mountains. This restriction angered colonists who were looking for land to call their own. This was followed by the Currency Act of 1764, then the Sugar Act of the same year, and finally, the Stamp Act of 1765. All of these acts, and subsequent ones, were used as revenue measures by England to regain the large amounts of wealth lost during the previous war. The colonists were not protesting taxes that were intended primarily to regulate state. They were protesting those designed simply to raise money. Unlike in Mexico’s case, there had been over fifty years of salutary neglect causing the new regulations to seriously alarm and upset the colonists. However, similarly, both the Mexican colonists and the American ones were upset by these unexpected economic costs that largely, and, seemingly, adversely affected them. According to Brune Leone’s The Mexican War of Independence the Criollo resentment in particular had greatly weakened the relations between New Spain and its mother country by the start of the 19th century. Another large factor in spurring the independence movement was the influence of the Enlightenment taking place in Europe. This was a large factor working for American Independence as well. Many Criollos in New Spain began to read the works of the Enlightenment writers and then began to question the benefits and reasons for their colonial relationship with Spain. The Mexican colonists were also affected by the examples of the American Revolution and the French Revolution. All of the aforementioned factors contributed to the independence movement of Mexico. However, the main steps towards independence came because of Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808. The monarchy was greatly weakened when Napoleon gave the crown to his brother causing the people of Madrid to revolt. With Spain’s back turned, the leaders of New Spain began to argue amongst themselves. The viceroy was forced to allow the Criollos to participate in administration. Then, a group of Peninsulares, those who had been placed in many of the administrative positions, did not like that the Criollos were gaining any influence in the government. They staged a coup d’etat and overthrew the viceregal government. Shortly before dawn on September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla made a monumentous decision that revolutionized the course of Mexican history. Within hours, Hidalgo, a Catholic priest in the village of Dolores, ordered the arrest of Dolores native Spaniards. Then Hidalgo rang the church bell as he customarily did to call the indians to mass. The message that Hidalgo gave to the indians and mestizos called them to retaliate against the hated Gachupines, or native Spaniards, who had exploited and oppressed Mexicans for ten generations. Although a movement toward Mexican independence had already been in progress since Napoleons conquest of Spain, Hidalgos passionate declaration was a swift, unpremeditated decision on his part. Mexicanos, Viva Mexico! (Mexicans, long live Mexico! ) Hidalgo told the Mexicans who were the members of New Spains lowest caste. He urged the exploited and embittered Mexicans to recover the lands that were stolen from their forefathers. That he was calling these people to revolution was a radical change from the original revolution plot devised by the Criollos, or Mexican-born Spaniards. On September 1 6, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest who had become familiar with the ideas of the Enlightenment, began a revolt in hopes of freeing Mexico from the Spanish colonial government and its Peninsulares. Hidalgo wanted an immediate abolition of slavery and the end of taxes on Native Americans. Tens of thousands of Native Americans near Mexico City joined thousands of Mestizos in their uprising because they had been suffering from rising food prices and their constantly declining wages. Gathering adherents like a snowball rolling downhill, this mob-army numbered several hundred when it captured San Miguel (today San Miguel de Allende), 6,000 when it entered Celaya, 20,000 when it rolled into Guanajuato, 50,000 when it overran Valladolid and 82,000 as it engulfed Toluca and menaced Mexico City. Few Criollos joined this rebellion because of the violence and destruction. Many sided with the offering of stability from the Peninsulares instead. Groups of Criollos across Mexico had been plotting to overthrow the authority of Gachupines who, because of their Spanish birth, had legal and social priority over the Mexican born Criollos. When Joseph Bonaparte replaced King Ferdinand as the leader of Spain, the Criollos recognized a prime opportunity for Mexican sovereignity. The nucleus of this movement was a group of intellectuals in Queretaro led by the Corregidor of Queretaro (state official), his wife and a group of army officers distinguished by the adventurous Ignacio Allende. The Criollos plan for revolution did not originally focus on the manpower of the Mexicans. Instead, the Criollos sought to avoid military confrontation by convincing Criollo army officers to sever their allegiance to the Gachupines. By claiming loyalty to the defeated King Ferdinand, the Criollos aimed to establish Mexico as an independent nation within King Ferdinands Spanish empire. The Gachupines who claimed authority under Bonapartes rule would be driven out of Mexico. Hidalgo had close ties with this group. Approaching sixty years of age, Hidalgo was beloved and greatly respected by Mexicans. Once the dean of the College of San Nicolas at Valladolid in Michoacan (now Morelia), Hidalgo was a well-educated, courageous humanitarian. He was sympathetic to the Indians, which was unusual amongst Mexican clergymen. Against Gachupin law, Hidalgo taught Indians to plant olives, mulberries and grapevines and to manufacture pottery and leather. His actions irritated the Spanish viceroy who, as a punitive measure, cut down Hidalgos trees and vines. Rebel forces fought royalist forces near Mexico City. Many inexperienced soldiers deserted the force, however, which had suffered large losses even though the royalists did retreat. By January of 1811, the remainder of Hidalgo’s army was defeated near Guadalajara. Hidalgo himself was caught when he fled to the north in March of that year. He was executed on July 30, 1811. Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon was the next priest to lead in the way of independence. He also called for racial and social equality. He was a better military commander than Hidalgo and under him large amounts of territory was captured. He declared Mexican an independent nation in 1813. However, royalist forces still controlled Mexico city. Morelo’s continued to fight until 1815 when Morelos was captured and executed. The Spanish revolution of 1820 changed the rebellion in Mexico. It restored the more liberal constitution of 1812 and emphasized representative government and individual liberty. The Mexican leaders were dismayed by these liberal political tendencies in Spain, but their biggest concern was the instability of Spain. Iturbide met Guerrero in 1821 and they signed an agreement to combine their forces to bring about Mexico’s independence. Their plan was called the Plan of Iguala. It guaranteed that Mexico would become an independent country and be ruled as a limited monarchy, that the Roman Catholic Church would be the state church, and that the Criollos would have the same rights as the Peninsulares. The viceroy did not oppose Iturbide and was thus forced to resign. The last viceroy of New Spain arrived in Mexico in July of 1821 and was made to accept the Treaty of Cordoba. This marked the formal beginning of Mexican independence. Iturbide became emperor of Mexico. He held that position until 1823 when he was overthrown by military revolt. A republic was then proclaimed and Guadalupe Victoria became the first president. Mexico was not prepared for creating a new republic. Social stability and the economy had been destroyed because of civil war. There was no one who had the political experience to unite the nation together. Deciding the actual role of the federal government needed time and debate. In 1824, the first constitution was ratified. It allowed state legislators the power to elect both the president and the vice president. This resulted in a series of weak presidents that were forced to attempt to create as effective government as possible. The American and Mexican revolutions were very similar in their initial reasons for beginning their struggle for independence. The actual revolutions were also less than fifty years apart. Both the American and Mexican revolutionaries lacked the great deal of military force that their mother countries had. Their combatants were supposedly far superior military wise, but they were defeated in both conquests for independence. When Mexico first gained its independence, however, it began as a monarchy. America had more of sound beginning on paper, but also had many problems in establishing a government best suited for the people, that would be accepted by them. Both America and Mexico suffered economically right after their true declarations of independence. Besides the military aspects, the American and Mexican independence were incredibly similar in the reasons for seeking independence and the first outcomes after independence. Bibliography: Galicia, Angie. â€Å"Don Miguel Hidalgo, Father of Mexico’s Independence† inside-mexico. com/laentrevista2. htm Paz, Octavio, â€Å"Exit from the Labyrinth, The Hidalgo Revolt† Sisk, Cynthia. â€Å"Hidalgo y Castilla, Miguel. Historic Text Archive† http://historicaltextarchive. com/sections. php? op=viewarticleartid=551 Stein, Conrad R. â€Å"The Mexican War of Independence (The Story of Mexico). † Oct 31, 2007 Wilmington, DE: SR â€Å"The Wars of Independence in Spanish America. † Books, 2000. Works cited: Galicia, Angie. â€Å"Don Miguel Hidalgo, Father of Mexico’s Independence† inside-mexico. com/laentrevista2. htm Stein, Conrad R. â€Å"The Mexican War of Independence (The Story of Mexico). † Oct 31, 2007 Wilmington, DE: SR â€Å"The Wars of Independence in Spanish America. † Books, 2000.

Supreme Court Justice Selection Criteria

Supreme Court Justice Selection Criteria Who selects United States Supreme Court justices and by what criteria are their qualifications evaluated? The President of the United States nominates prospective justices, who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before being seated on the court. The Constitution lists no official qualifications for becoming a Supreme Court justice. While presidents typically nominate people who generally share their own political and ideological views, the justices’ are in no way obligated to reflect the president’s views in their decisions on cases brought before the court. The president nominates an individual to the Supreme Court when an opening occurs.Typically, the president picks someone from their own party.The president usually picks someone who agrees with their judicial philosophy of either judicial restraint or judicial activism.The president might also choose someone of a varied background in order to bring a greater degree of balance to the court.The Senate confirms the presidential appointment with a majority vote.While it is not a requirement, the nominee typically testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee before being confirmed by the full Senate.Rarely is a Supreme Court nominee forced to withdraw. Currently, of the more than 150 people nominated to the Supreme Court, only 30 - including one who was nominated for promotion to Chief Justice - have either declined their own nomination, been rejected by the Senate, or had their nomination withdrawn by the president. The latest nominee to be rejected by the Senate was Harriet Miers i n 2005. The President's Selections Filling vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States (often abbreviated as SCOTUS) is one of the more significant actions a president can take. The U.S. presidents successful nominees will sit on the U.S. Supreme Court for years and sometimes decades after the presidents retirement from political office. Compared to the appointments the president makes to his (or her- currently all U.S. presidents have been male although that surely will change in the future) Cabinet positions, the president has a great deal of latitude in selecting justices. Most presidents have valued a reputation for selecting quality judges, and typically the president reserves the final selection for himself rather than delegating it to his subordinates or political allies. Perceived Motivations Several legal scholars and political scientists have studied the selection process in depth, and find that each president makes his choices based a set of criteria. In 1980, William E. Hulbary and Thomas G. Walker looked at the motivations behind presidential nominees to the Supreme Court between 1879 and 1967. They found that the most common criteria used by the presidents to select Supreme Court nominees fell into three categories: traditional, political, and professional. Traditional Criteria acceptable political philosophy (according to Hulbary and Walker, 93% of the presidential nominees between 1789–1967 were based on this criterion)geographical balance (70%)the right age- appointees in their mid-50s, old enough to have proven records and yet young enough to serve a decade or more on the court (15%)religious representation (15%) Political Criteria members of his own political party (90%)placate certain political interests or improve the political climate for the presidents policies or personal political fortune (17%)political payoffs for groups or individuals who have been crucial to the presidents career (25%)cronyism, people with whom the president has a close political or personal relationship (33%) Professional Qualifications Criteria individuals with distinguished credentials as practitioners or scholars of law (66%)superior records of public service (60%)prior judicial experience (50%) Later scholarly research has necessarily added gender and ethnicity to the balance choices, and the political philosophy today often hinges on how the nominee feels about the Constitution. But the main categories are still clearly in evidence. Kahn, for example, categorizes the criteria into Representational (race, gender, political party, religion, geography); Doctrinal (selection based on someone who matches the political views of the president); and Professional (intelligence, experience, temperament). Rejecting the Traditional Criteria Interestingly, the best performing justices- based on Blaustein and Mersky, the seminal 1972 ranking of Supreme Court justices- were those that were chosen by a president who did not share the nominees philosophical persuasion. For example, James Madison appointed Joseph Story and Herbert Hoover selected Benjamin Cardozo. Rejecting other traditional requirements also resulted in some great choices: justices Marshall, Harlan, Hughes, Brandeis, Stone, Cardozo, and Frankfurter were all chosen despite the fact that people on the SCOTUS were already in those regions. Justices Bushrod Washington, Joseph Story, John Campbell, and William Douglas were too young, and L.Q.C. Lamar was too old to fit the  right age criteria. Herbert Hoover appointed the Jewish Cardozo despite there already being a Jewish member of the court- Brandeis; and Truman replaced the vacant Catholic position with the Protestant Tom Clark. The Scalia Complication The death of long-time Associate Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016 set off a chain of events that would leave the Supreme Court facing the complicated situation of tied votes for over a year. In March 2016, the month after Scalia’s death, President Barack Obama nominated D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to replace him. The Republican-controlled Senate, however, argued that Scalia’s replacement should be appointed by the next president to be elected in November 2016. Controlling the committee system calendar, Senate Republicans succeeded in preventing hearings on Garland’s nomination from being scheduled. As a result, Garland’s nomination remained before the Senate longer than any other Supreme Court nomination, expiring with the end of the 114th Congress and President Obama’s final term in January 2017. On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace Scalia. After being confirmed by a Senate vote of 54 to 45, Justice Gorsuch was sworn in on April 10, 2017. In total, Scalia’s seat remained vacant for 422 days, making it the second longest Supreme Court vacancy since the end of the Civil War. Updated by Robert Longley Sources Blaustein AP, and Mersky RM. 1972. Rating Supreme Court Justices. American Bar Association Journal 58(11):1183-1189.Hulbary WE, and Walker TG. 1980. The Supreme Court Selection Process: Presidential Motivations and Judicial Performance. The Western Political Quarterly 33(2):185-196.Kahn MA. 1995. The Appointment of a Supreme Court Justice: A Political Process from Beginning to End. Presidential Studies Quarterly 25(1):25-41.Segal JA, and Cover AD. 2014. Ideological Values and the Votes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. American Political Science Review 83(2):557-565.Segal JA, Epstein L, Cameron CM, and Spaeth HJ. 1995. Ideological Values and the Votes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Revisited. The Journal of Politics 57(3):812-823.

Nursing leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing leadership - Essay Example The perception of nursing is fundamentally described as the execution of clinical practices for the motive of facilitating every individual to enhance well as recover from different difficulties relating to their health. The major aim of nursing is to promote health along with growth and also to prevent the individuals from any sort of disease or injury. However, the other purposes of nursing include assisting speedy recovery of the individuals or the patients, facilitating independence in terms of health, complying with the needs of the patients and most importantly enhancing the well being of the individuals (Royal College of Nursing, 2003). Apart from the purposes, the notion of nursing entails certain significant responsibilities. It can be stated in the similar context that the responsibilities include performing physical examinations of the individuals or the patients, delivering health education along with counseling and managing care in association with different healthcare p rofessionals (Meleis, 2011). In this discussion, the significance, effectiveness as well as the applicability of nursing leadership on patient and staff outcomes in contemporary clinical practice contexts will be taken into concern. Discussion The term ‘leadership’ is principally described as a comprehensive procedure of recognizing a specific aim as well as motivating other people to perform deliberate activities for the purpose of attaining the desired objectives. Moreover, the notion of leadership is also defined as a method in which an individual broadly influences a collection of people or individuals in order to accomplish the common objectives (Northouse, 2009). The aspect of nursing leadership is defined as those activities which are usually performed by a nurse practitioner for enhancing the health as well as the safety of the individuals or the patients. The different leadership capabilities of a nursing leader comprise frequently consulting with the patients about their health, appropriately administering their treatments, making valuable decisions and coping up with the problems which arises within the team members or multidisciplinary colleagues. In relation to the aspect of leadership, it has been apparently observed that the various qualities of an effectual nursing leader encompass courage, integrity, initiative and most significantly possessing the capability to manage stress. Additionally, the other characteristics of a nursing leader are making effective communication with the team members or the multidisciplinary colleagues, incorporating new as well as creating innovative ideas, making deliberate work planning and encouraging staff participation within the background of healthcare settings (Frankel, 2008). The term ‘applicability’ is generally described as relevant or appropriate which may be applied in order to attain any significant response. Furthermore, the term can also be defined as a premeditated activity o f applying any sort of sensible applications for a particular purpose. The application of different methods as well as logical planning schemes can ultimately support the organizations along with their leaders to attain the preferred objectives successfully. The objectives may include attaining considerable market share, enhancing the profitability and accomplishing a significant competitive position over the chief market contenders (Medina, 2002). Conversely, the term ‘effectiveness’ is primarily described as the capability of accomplishing a desired result by the implementation of various policies or procedures. The term also depicts the extent towards which the goals are attained and the degree towards which the targeted difficulties are solved (Waldt, 2004). The significance, applicability as well as the effectiveness of nursing leadership on patient and staff outcomes in contemporary clinical practice context relates to the important fact that a ‘clinical nur se leader’ plays an imperative part in enhancing the hea

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example For instance, many of the employees look demoralized in their activities as they feel devalued as their contributions in terms of input to the budget formulation does not matter (Zelman, McCue and Glick, 2009)). There is however one issue in particular I am interested in and would want you to clarify. Does your organization has a specific way of collecting employees, supervisors, and lower-level managers ideas or contributions to the budget? Does it happen during weekly meetings or do the employees forward their contributions or input to their supervisors who then forward it to the top managers? Martusciello, your post was interesting and I learnt a lot from your research. I had not imagined that a change in staffing matrix could be reason enough to deviate from a budget as you have noted in your post. It is true that when cases where some of the staff resigns or are on leave puts the management in a hard situation whereby they have to hire new employees temporarily. This according to Zelman, McCue and Glick (2009) translates to additional expenses as such expenditure in terms of salaries for the temporary staff is not initially planned. I also agree that unplanned situations such as an influx or surge in the number of patients could cause deviation from a budget. Your organization did the right thing to employ the additional eleven nurses to float to units. I am interested to know, did the surge in patients affect the nurses in any way in terms of burnout and elevated stress levels? Zelman, W., McCue, M., & Glick, N. (2009).Financial management of health care organizations: An introduction to fundamental tools, concepts, and applications(3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from the Walden Library

Literacy and illiteracy in UAE Essay Example for Free

Literacy and illiteracy in UAE Essay Education is one of the most basic factors for the uplifting of man’s basic level of understanding. The Middle East has suffered the most in terms of illiteracy of its nationals. UAE which is the most promising country in terms of infrastructure and economy of the Middle East has laid out certain strategic developments for the future. The United Arab Emirates had a very high illiteracy rate in the new millennium and it was estimated to be over 22%. The first of the country’s strategy was to recognize the problem’s complexity which is exactly done by UAE and has released a mammoth capital of $2 billion for the same cause. The government of UAE has strategized the situation well and has kept their primary focus on educating the teachers and professors on proper education techniques and making them learn about following proper accreditation guidelines. The project has already been launched by sending hundred school principals to various countries for gaining experience on teaching methods used by international developed countries The part of strategizing is having the pilot testing programs, which exactly is being done by the government of UAE in ten public schools, where right from the level of education to the insight on infrastructure will be given a complete overhaul. UAE has targeted 100% literacy rates in 2015 and for achieving this target the strategies that are being are not only for children but also emphasis has been given on adult education. The following will shed light on the government’s intention of educating illiterate adults of the country: ‘Thousands of nationals pursuing formal learning at 86 adult education centers across the country. Many of them are above 50 years of age. A large number of graduates from these evening schools have enrolled for higher education at various universities’ (Courtesy: Team KT, â€Å"UAE targets total literacy†. 16 March 2008 . Retrieved on November 29, 2008 from http://www. khaleejtimes. com/DisplayArticleNew. asp? xfile=data/theuae/2008/March/theuae_March498. xmlsection=theuaecol=) The country is doing well in its planning and its implementation and the stratagem to the problem if illiteracy has been very seriously executed. Reference: 1) Team KT, â€Å"UAE targets total literacy†. 16 March 2008. http://www. khaleejtimes. com/DisplayArticleNew. asp? xfile=data/theuae/2008/March/theuae_March498. xmlsection=theuaecol 2) Andy Sambidge, â€Å"UAE education chief reveals $2bn strategy†. 17 November 2008. http://www. arabianbusiness. com/538482-uae-education-chief-reveals-2bn-strategy

Denying Medical Value Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tens of thousands of patients are denied of medical cannabis that could benefit from its therapeutic use. Not only does it help ease the pain of many agonizing diseases, but it also contributes to the prevention of some illnesses. It can also replace harmful antibiotics that we use now. An abundance of arguments have been made on this issue, but I feel as though most of them are a bit far-fetched and can be retaliated with legitimate responses, which will be further explained later in this essay. So far, twelve states have legalized marijuana for medicinal uses. These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The earliest to pass this law was in 1996, and with much reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Medicinal marijuana can provide multiple types of pain relief. First, it was proved to relieve asthma attacks and improve breathing. Also, its active ingredient, THC, reduces vomiting and nausea caused by chemotherapy. It relieves the muscle pain and spasticity that comes from multiple sclerosis, and may also help some of these unfortunate patients with bladder control and relieve tremor. The leading cause of blindness in the United States is caused by glaucoma, which is when the pressure inside one’s eyeball has increased. Marijuana, when smoked, reduces this pressure, making it a significant amount better to deal with. Medicinal cannabis also strongly improv...

Philosophy of Space and Time Essay

At the end of the nineteenth century, physicists were looking back at an era of progress unrivaled in known history. Classical, or Newtonian, physics explained the motion of objects in space and on earth, Kepler’s laws accurately predicted planetary motion, and Maxwell’s electromagnetic unified electricity and magnetism theory and predicted, correctly, that electromagnetic waves behaved exactly like light; paving the way for the recognition that light itself was an electromagnetic wave. It appeared that the world was explained. It was not to be. Two revolutionary theories were introduced that changed forever the way in which scientists and lay people alike view the universe. These were the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics (Giancoli 730) . Physicists at the turn of the century assumed that any wave must travel through some medium. This assumption required there to be some transparent substance in space that would allow light to propagate through it, much like a ripple on the water. They knew that this could not be air, since light traveled from stars to the earth through the emptiness of space. Another medium had to be responsible. This medium was named the Ether and it was thought to exist in all space. They understood that the ether had a zero density, since it was very difficult to detect (Giancoli 731). Two physicists in the 1880’s, Michelson and Morley, designed a clever experiment that they thought would determine the speed of the Earth in orbit around the sun. They anticipated being able to measure the speed of light in different orientations. They anticipated that the speed would vary with the orientation of the light wave to the ether. What they discovered was that the speed was constant. They believed there experiment was a failure. What their experiment showed, although they did not accept it, was that the ether did not exist. In 1905 Albert Einstein proposed a theory that reconciled this and other issues. This theory would change how scientists and lay people viewed space, time, mass, and energy (Giancoli 730). Einstein’s equation relating mass and energy, E = MC2, is easily recognizable. It brings together matter and energy as different forms of the same substance. This would imply that mass could be converted directly to energy, and vice versa. This radical departure from classical physics had several implications, both for scientists and for our culture. For scientists, the theory of relativity established the ultimate speed limit. The speed of light in a vacuum, c, is as fast as anything can go (Giancoli 748). Culturally, the discovery of relativity and quantum physics made possible such things as nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and medical imagery such as MRI Scans, CAT Scans, and PET scans. The advent of nuclear weapons changed our society. Nuclear attacks were a common theme in Hollywood films. Citizens built there own bomb shelters, argued the pros and cons of the nuclear power industry, and have enjoyed the advances in medicine. Indeed, our society now takes for granted these advances, and assumes that there will be a continued rapid advance as our knowledge base improves. Cosmology, or the study of the universe, has benefited from the theory of relativity. Many phenomenons, such as black holes, are only describable in terms of relativity and quantum physics. The advent of space telescopes, radio telescopes, and optical telescopes that detect emissions outside of the visible spectrum have shown the world the images of a universe unlike the one that was believed to exist just a hundred years ago (Giancoli 914-942). The search for extra-terrestrial life was instigated with the federal governments backing. The private citizens embraced this search, of 3 so much so that when the government quit funding SETI, individual citizens continued to support it. The discovery of relativity, quantum physics, and the new nature of cosmology has changed not only the scientific community but society as a whole. SETI, CAT scans, an Einstein’s name are household terms. The changes in perception of the world around us really cannot be overstated.

Black House Chapter Ten

10 AS THE CRUISER with Tom Lund behind the wheel noses down Third Street to Chase roof-rack lights decorously dark, siren off Dale takes out his wallet and begins digging through the mess in the back: business cards people have given him, a few dog-eared photographs, little licks of folded-over notebook paper. On one of the latter he finds what he wants. â€Å"Whatcha doin', boss?† Tom asks. â€Å"None of your beeswax. Just drive the car.† Dale grabs the phone from its spot on the console, grimaces and wipes off the residue of someone's powdered doughnut, then, without much hope, dials the number of Jack Sawyer's cell phone. He starts to smile when the phone is answered on the fourth ring, but the smile metamorphoses into a frown of puzzlement. He knows that voice and should recognize it, but â€Å"Hello?† says the person who has apparently answered Jack's cell phone. â€Å"Speak now, whoever you are, or forever hold your peace.† Then Dale knows. Would have known immediately if he had been at home or in his office, but in this context â€Å"Henry?† he says, knowing he sounds stupid but not able to help it. â€Å"Uncle Henry, is that you?† Jack is piloting his truck across the Tamarack Bridge when the cell phone in his pants pocket starts its annoying little tweet. He takes it out and taps the back of Henry's hand with it. â€Å"Deal with this,† he says. â€Å"Cell phones give you brain cancer.† â€Å"Which is okay for me but not for you.† â€Å"More or less, yeah.† â€Å"That's what I love about you, Jack,† Henry says, and opens the phone with a nonchalant flick of the wrist. â€Å"Hello?† And, after a pause: â€Å"Speak now, whoever you are, or forever hold your peace.† Jack glances at him, then back at the road. They're coming up on Roy's Store, where the early shopper gets the best greens. â€Å"Yes, Dale. It is indeed your esteemed † Henry listens, frowning a little bit and smiling a little bit. â€Å"I'm in Jack's truck, with Jack,† he says. â€Å"George Rathbun isn't working this morning because KDCU is covering the Summer Marathon over in La Riv â€Å" He listens some more, then says: â€Å"If it's a Nokia which is what it feels like and sounds like then it's digital rather than analog. Wait.† He looks at Jack. â€Å"Your cell,† he says. â€Å"It's a Nokia?† â€Å"Yes, but why â€Å" â€Å"Because digital phones are supposedly harder to snoop,† Henry says, and goes back to the phone. â€Å"It's a digital, and I'll put him on. I'm sure Jack can explain everything.† Henry hands him the telephone, folds his hands primly in his lap, and looks out the window exactly as he would if surveying the scenery. And maybe he is, Jack thinks. Maybe in some weird fruit-bat way, he really is. He pulls over to the shoulder on Highway 93. He doesn't like the cell phone to begin with twenty-first-century slave bracelets, he thinks them but he absolutely loathes driving while talking on one. Besides, Irma Freneau isn't going anywhere this morning. â€Å"Dale?† he says. â€Å"Where are you?† Dale asks, and Jack knows at once that the Fisherman has been busy elsewhere, too. As long as it's not another dead kid, he thinks. Not that, not yet, please. â€Å"How come you're with Henry? Is Fred Marshall there, too?† Jack tells him about the change in plan, and is about to go on when Dale breaks in. â€Å"Whatever you're doing, I want you to get your ass out to a place called Ed's Eats and Dawgs, near Goltz's. Henry can help you find it. The Fisherman called the station, Jack. He called 911. Told us Irma Freneau's body is out there. Well, not in so many words, but he did say she.† Dale is not quite babbling, but almost. Jack notes this as any good clinician would note the symptoms of a patient. â€Å"I need you, Jack. I really â€Å" â€Å"That's where we were headed anyway,† Jack says quietly, although they are going absolutely nowhere at this moment, just sitting on the shoulder while the occasional car blips past on 93. â€Å"What?† Hoping that Dale and Henry are right about the virtues of digital technology, Jack tells French Landing's police chief about his morning delivery, aware that Henry, although still looking out the window, is listening sharply. He tells Dale that Ty Marshall's cap was on top of the box with the feathers and Irma's foot inside it. â€Å"Holy . . .† Dale says, sounding out of breath. â€Å"Holy shit.† â€Å"Tell me what you've done,† Jack says, and Dale does. It sounds pretty good so far, at least but Jack doesn't like the part about Arnold Hrabowski. The Mad Hungarian has impressed him as the sort of fellow who will never be able to behave like a real cop, no matter how hard he tries. Back in L.A., they used to call the Arnie Hrabowskis of the world Mayberry RFDs. â€Å"Dale, what about the phone at the 7-Eleven?† â€Å"It's a pay phone,† Dale says, as if speaking to a child. â€Å"Yes, but there could be fingerprints,† Jack says. â€Å"I mean, there are going to be billions of fingerprints, but forensics can isolate the freshest. Easily. He might have worn gloves, but maybe not. If he's leaving messages and calling cards as well as writing to the parents, he's gone Stage Two. Killing isn't enough for him anymore. He wants to play you now. Play with you. Maybe he even wants to be caught and stopped, like Son of Sam.† â€Å"The phone. Fresh fingerprints on the phone.† Dale sounds badly humiliated, and Jack's heart goes out to him. â€Å"Jack, I can't do this. I'm lost.† This is something to which Jack chooses not to speak. Instead he says, â€Å"Who've you got who can see to the phone?† â€Å"Dit Jesperson and Bobby Dulac, I guess.† Bobby, Jack thinks, is entirely too good to waste for long at the 7-Eleven outside town. â€Å"Just have them crisscross the phone with yellow tape and talk to the guy on duty. Then they can come on out to the site.† â€Å"Okay.† Dale hesitates, then asks a question. The defeat in it, the sense of almost complete abrogation, makes Jack sad. â€Å"Anything else?† â€Å"Have you called the State Police? County? Does that FBI guy know? The one who thinks he looks like Tommy Lee Jones?† Dale snorts. â€Å"Uh . . . actually, I'd decided to sit on notification for a little while.† â€Å"Good,† Jack says, and the savage satisfaction in his voice causes Henry to turn from his blind regard of the countryside and regard his friend instead, eyebrows raised. Let us rise up again on wings as eagles, as the Reverend Lance Hovdahl, French Landing's Lutheran pastor, might say and fly down the black ribbon of Highway 93, back toward town. We reach Route 35 and turn right. Closer and to our right is the overgrown lane that leads not to a dragon's hidden gold or secret dwarf mines but to that peculiarly unpleasant black house. A little farther on, we can see the futuristic dome shape of Goltz's (well . . . it seemed futuristic in the seventies, at least). All our landmarks are in place, including the rubbly, weedy path that shoots off from the main road to the left. This is the track that leads to the remains of Ed Gilbertson's erstwhile palace of guilty pleasures. Let us flutter onto the telephone line just across from this track. Hot gossip tickles our birdy feet: Paula Hrabowski's friend Myrtle Harrington passing on the news of the dead body (or bodies) at Ed's to Richie Bumstead, who will in turn pass it on to Beezer St. Pierre, grieving father and spiritual leader of the Thunder Five. This passage of voices through the wire probably shouldn't please us, but it does. Gossip is no doubt nasty stuff, but it does energize the human spirit. Now, from the west comes the cruiser with Tom Lund at the wheel and Dale Gilbertson in the shotgun seat. And from the east comes Jack's burgundy-colored Ram pickup. They reach the turnoff to Ed's at the same time. Jack motions for Dale to go first, then follows him. We take wing, fly above and then ahead of them. We roost on the rusty Esso gas pump to watch developments. Jack drives slowly down the lane to the half-collapsed building that stands in a scruff of high weeds and goldenrod. He's looking for any sign of passage, and sees only the fresh tracks made by Dale and Tom's police car. â€Å"We've got the place to ourselves,† he informs Henry. â€Å"Yes, but for how long?† Not very would have been Jack's answer, had he bothered to give one. Instead, he pulls up next to Dale's car and gets out. Henry rolls down his window but stays put, as ordered. Ed's was once a simple wooden building about the length of a Burlington Northern boxcar and with a boxcar's flat roof. At the south end, you could buy sof'-serve ice cream from one of three windows. At the north end you could get your nasty hot dog or your even nastier order of fish and chips to go. In the middle was a small sit-down restaurant featuring a counter and red-top stools. Now the south end has entirely collapsed, probably from the weight of snow. All the windows have been broken in. There's some graffiti So-and-so chugs cock, we fucked Patty Jarvis untill she howelled, TROY LUVS MARYANN but not as much as Jack might have expected. All but one of the stools have been looted. Crickets are conversing in the grass. They're loud, but not as loud as the flies inside the ruined restaurant. There are lots of flies in there, a regular fly convention in progress. And â€Å"Do you smell it?† Dale asks him. Jack nods. Of course he does. He's smelled it already today, but now it's worse. Because there's more of Irma out here to send up a stink. Much more than what would fit into a single shoe box. Tom Lund has produced a handkerchief and is mopping his broad, distressed face. It's warm, but not warm enough to account for the sweat streaming off his face and brow. And his skin is pasty. â€Å"Officer Lund,† Jack says. â€Å"Huh!† Tom jumps and looks rather wildly around at Jack. â€Å"You may have to vomit. If you feel you must, do it over there.† Jack points to an overgrown track, even more ancient and ill-defined than the one leading in from the main road. This one seems to meander in the direction of Goltz's. â€Å"I'll be okay,† Tom says. â€Å"I know you will. But if you need to unload, don't do it on what may turn out to be evidence.† â€Å"I want you to start stringing yellow tape around the entire building,† Dale tells his officer. â€Å"Jack? A word?† Dale puts a hand on Jack's forearm and starts walking back toward the truck. Although he's got a good many things on his mind, Jack notices how strong that hand is. And no tremble in it. Not yet, anyway. â€Å"What is it?† Jack asks impatiently when they're standing near the passenger window of the truck. â€Å"We want a look before the whole world gets here, don't we? Wasn't that the idea, or am I â€Å" â€Å"You need to get the foot, Jack,† Dale says. And then: â€Å"Hello, Uncle Henry, you look spiff.† â€Å"Thanks,† Henry says. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Jack asks. â€Å"That foot is evidence.† Dale nods. â€Å"I think it ought to be evidence found here, though. Unless, of course, you relish the idea of spending twenty-four hours or so answering questions in Madison.† Jack opens his mouth to tell Dale not to waste what little time they have with arrant idiocies, then closes it again. It suddenly occurs to him how his possession of that foot might look to minor-league smarties like Detectives Brown and Black. Maybe even to a major-league smarty like John Redding of the FBI. Brilliant cop retires at an impossibly young age, and to the impossibly bucolic town of French Landing, Wisconsin. He has plenty of scratch, but the source of income is blurry, to say the least. And oh, look at this, all at once there's a serial killer operating in the neighborhood. Maybe the brilliant cop has got a loose screw. Maybe he's like those firemen who enjoy the pretty flames so much they get into the arson game themselves. Certainly Dale's Color Posse would have to wonder why the Fisherman would send an early retiree like Jack a victim's body part. And the hat, Jack thinks. Don't forget Ty's baseball cap. All at once he knows how Dale felt when Jack told him that the phone at the 7-Eleven had to be cordoned off. Exactly. â€Å"Oh man,† he says. â€Å"You're right.† He looks at Tom Lund, industriously running yellow POLICE LINE tape while butterflies dance around his shoulders and the flies continue their drunken buzzing from the shadows of Ed's Eats. â€Å"What about him?† â€Å"Tom will keep his mouth shut,† Dale says, and on that Jack decides to trust him. He wouldn't, had it been the Hungarian. â€Å"I owe you one,† Jack says. â€Å"Yep,† Henry agrees from his place in the passenger seat. â€Å"Even a blind man could see he owes you one.† â€Å"Shut up, Uncle Henry,† Dale says. â€Å"Yes, mon capitaine.† â€Å"What about the cap?† Jack asks. â€Å"If we find anything else of Ty Marshall's . . .† Dale pauses, then swallows. â€Å"Or Ty himself, we'll leave it. If not, you keep it for the time being.† â€Å"I think maybe you just saved me a lot of major irritation,† Jack says, leading Dale to the back of the truck. He opens the stainless steel box behind the cab, which he hasn't bothered to lock for the run out here, and takes out one of the trash-can liners. From inside it comes the slosh of water and the clink of a few remaining ice cubes. â€Å"The next time you get feeling dumb, you might remind yourself of that.† Dale ignores this completely. â€Å"Ohgod,† he says, making it one word. He's looking at the Baggie that has just emerged from the trash-can liner. There are beads of water clinging to the transparent sides. â€Å"The smell of it!† Henry says with undeniable distress. â€Å"Oh, the poor child!† â€Å"You can smell it even through the plastic?† Jack asks. â€Å"Yes indeed. And coming from there.† Henry points at the ruined restaurant and then produces his cigarettes. â€Å"If I'd known, I would have brought a jar of Vicks and an El Producto.† In any case, there's no need to walk the Baggie with the gruesome artifact inside it past Tom Lund, who has now disappeared behind the ruins with his reel of yellow tape. â€Å"Go on in,† Dale instructs Jack quietly. â€Å"Get a look and take care of the thing in that Baggie if you find . . . you know . . . her. I want to speak to Tom.† Jack steps through the warped, doorless doorway into the thickening stench. Outside, he can hear Dale instructing Tom to send Pam Stevens and Danny Tcheda back down to the end of the access road as soon as they arrive, where they will serve as passport control. The interior of Ed's Eats will probably be bright by afternoon, but now it is shadowy, lit mostly by crazed, crisscrossing rays of sun. Galaxies of dust spin lazily through them. Jack steps carefully, wishing he had a flashlight, not wanting to go back and get one from the cruiser until he's taken care of the foot. (He thinks of this as â€Å"redeployment.†) There are human tracks through the dust, trash, and drifts of old gray feathers. The tracks are man-sized. Weaving in and out of them are a dog's paw-prints. Off to his left, Jack spies a neat little pile of droppings. He steps around the rusty remains of an overturned gas grill and follows both sets of tracks around the filthy counter. Outside, the second French Landing cruiser is rolling up. In here, in this darker world, the sound of the flies has become a soft roar and the stench . . . the stench . . . Jack fishes a handkerchief from his pocket and places it over his nose as he follows the tracks into the kitchen. Here the pawprints multiply and the human footprints disappear completely. Jack thinks grimly of the circle of beaten-down grass he made in the field of that other world, a circle with no path of beaten-down grass leading to it. Lying against the far wall near a pool of dried blood is what remains of Irma Freneau. The mop of her filthy strawberry-blond hair mercifully obscures her face. Above her on a rusty piece of tin that probably once served as a heat shield for the deep-fat fryers, two words have been written with what Jack feels sure was a black Sharpie marker: Hello boys â€Å"Ah, fuck,† Dale Gilbertson says from almost directly behind him, and Jack nearly screams. Outside, the snafu starts almost immediately. Halfway back down the access road, Danny and Pam (not in the least disappointed to have been assigned guard duty once they have actually seen the slumped ruin of Ed's and smelled the aroma drifting from it) nearly have a head-on with an old International Harvester pickup that is bucketing toward Ed's at a good forty miles an hour. Luckily, Pam swings the cruiser to the right and the driver of the pickup Teddy Runkleman swings left. The vehicles miss each other by inches and swerve into the grass on either side of this poor excuse for a road. The pickup's rusty bumper thumps against a small birch. Pam and Danny get out of their unit, hearts pumping, adrenaline spurting. Four men come spilling out of the pickup's cab like clowns out of the little car in the circus. Mrs. Morton would recognize them all as regulars at Roy's Store. Layabouts, she would call them. â€Å"What in the name of God are you doing?† Danny Tcheda roars. His hand drops to the butt of his gun and then falls away a bit reluctantly. He's getting a headache. The men (Runkleman is the only one the officers know by name, although between them they recognize the faces of the other three) are goggle-eyed with excitement. â€Å"How many ja find?† one of them spits. Pam can actually see the spittle spraying out in the morning air, a sight she could have done without. â€Å"How many'd the bastid kill?† Pam and Danny exchange a single dismayed look. And before they can reply, holy God, here comes an old Chevrolet Bel Air with another four or five men inside it. No, one of them is a woman. They pull up and spill out, also like clowns from the little car. But we're the real clowns, Pam thinks. Us. Pam and Danny are surrounded by eight semihysterical men and one semihysterical woman, all of them throwing questions. â€Å"Hell, I'm going up there and see for myself!† Teddy Runkleman shouts, almost jubilantly, and Danny realizes the situation is on the verge of spinning out of control. If these fools get the rest of the way up the access road, Dale will first tear him a new asshole and then salt it down. â€Å"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, ALL OF YOU!† he bawls, and actually draws his gun. It's a first for him, and he hates the weight of it in his hand these are ordinary people, after all, not bad guys but it gets their attention. â€Å"This is a crime scene,† Pam says, finally able to speak in a normal tone of voice. They mutter and look at one another; worst fears confirmed. She steps to the driver of the Chevrolet. â€Å"Who are you, sir? A Saknessum? You look like a Saknessum.† â€Å"Freddy,† he admits. â€Å"Well, you get back in your vehicle, Freddy Saknessum, and the rest of you who came with him also get in, and you back the hell right out of here. Don't bother trying to turn around, you'll just get stuck.† â€Å"But † the woman begins. Pam thinks she's a Sanger, a clan of fools if ever there was one. â€Å"Stow it and go,† Pam tells her. â€Å"And you right behind him,† Danny tells Teddy Runkleman. He just hopes to Christ no more will come along, or they'll end up trying to manage a parade in reverse. He doesn't know how the news got out, and at this moment can't afford to care. â€Å"Unless you want a summons for interfering with a police investigation. That can get you five years.† He has no idea if there is such a charge, but it gets them moving even better than the sight of his pistol. The Chevrolet backs out, rear end wagging from side to side like a dog's tail. Runkleman's pickup goes next, with two of the men standing up in back and peering over the cab, trying to catch sight of the old restaurant's roof, at least. Their curiosity lends them a look of unpleasant vacuity. The P.D. unit comes last, herding the old car and older truck like a corgi herding sheep, roof-rack lights now pulsing. Pam is forced to ride mostly on the brake, and as she drives she lets loose a low-pitched stream of words her mother never taught her. â€Å"Do you kiss your kids good-night with that mouth?† Danny asks, not without admiration. â€Å"Shut up,† she says. Then: â€Å"You got any aspirin?† â€Å"I was going to ask you the same thing,† Danny says. They get back out to the main road just in time. Three more vehicles are coming from the direction of French Landing, two from the direction of Centralia and Arden. A siren rises in the warming air. Another cruiser, the third in what was supposed to be an unobtrusive line, is coming along, passing the lookie-loos from town. â€Å"Oh man.† Danny sounds close to tears. â€Å"Oh man, oh man, oh man. It's gonna be a carnival, and I bet the staties still don't know. They'll have kittens. Dale is gonna have kittens.† â€Å"It'll be all right,† Pam says. â€Å"Calm down. We'll just pull across the road and park. Also stick your gun back in the fucking holster.† â€Å"Yes, Mother.† He stows his piece as Pam swings across the access road, pulling back to let the third cruiser through, then pulling forward again to block the way. â€Å"Yeah, maybe we caught it in time to put a lid on it.† â€Å"Course we did.† They relax a little. Both of them have forgotten the old stretch of road that runs between Ed's and Goltz's, but there are plenty of folks in town who know about it. Beezer St. Pierre and his boys, for instance. And while Wendell Green does not, guys like him always seem able to find the back way. They've got an instinct for it.

Spanish Idioms Using Haber

Spanish Idioms Using Haber Like many other common verbs, haber is used to form a variety of idioms. As phrases whose meanings dont depend on the literal meanings of the individual words, idioms can be somewhat challenging to learn. But they are a necessary part of language, and some of them using haber express everyday concepts and are used often. Following are the most common idioms using haber. For other usages of haber, see lessons on its use as an auxiliary verb and as a translation for there is or there are. Also note that the conjugation of haber is highly irregular. haber (in the third-person singular) que infinitive - to be necessary to, to be essential to - Hay que comer. It is necessary to eat. Habr que salir a las tres. It will be necessary to leave at 3. haber de infinitive - to be to, to be supposed to - Hemos de salir a las tres. We are to leave at 3. He de viajar a Nueva York. I am supposed to go to New York. haber de infinitive - must (in the sense of showing high probability) - Ha de ser inteligente. He must be intelligent. Habà ­a de ser las nueve de la noche. It must have been 9 p.m. habà ­a una vez (or, less frequently, hubo una vez) - Once upon a time ... - Habà ­a una vez un granjero que tenà ­a una granja muy grande. Once upon a time there was a farmer with a very large farm. no haber tal - to be no such thing - No hay tal cosa como un almuerzo gratis. Theres no such thing as a free lunch.  ¡Quà © hubo!,  ¡Quihà ºbole! (regional variation) - Hi! Whats happening? No hay de quà ©. - Dont mention it. Its n ot important. No big deal. habà ©rselas con - to have it out with, to quarrel with - Me las habà ­a con mi madre. I had it out with my mother.  ¿Cunto hay de ... ? - How far is it from ... ? -  ¿Cunto hay de aquà ­ al parque nacional? How far is it from here to the national park?  ¿Quà © hay?  ¿Quà © hay de nuevo? - Whats happening? Whats new? he aquà ­ - here is, here are. - He aquà ­ una lista de nombres. Here is a list of names. Heme aquà ­. - Here I am. He lo aquà ­. He lo allà ­. He los aquà ­. He los allà ­. - Here it is. There it is. Here they are. There they are.  ¡He dicho! - And thats that! Keep in mind also that many expressions use hay. Although the meaning of many of them can be deduced from the words, they arent necessarily translated literally. For example, hay sol (literally, there is sun) is often used for it is sunny, and  ¡eres de lo que no hay! (literally, you are of that which there are none) can be used for youre unbelievable! or something like that.

How to Use a Relative Clause

How to Use a Relative Clause Relative clauses are also referred to as adjective clauses. They are used to modify a noun, which is either the subject or the object of a sentence. For example: She is the woman who he met at the party last week. I bought a book which was published in Germany last year. Who he met at the party is a relative clause that describes the subject of the sentence, which is woman. Which was published in Germany describes the object of the verb bought. Intermediates: That is the school. I went to that school as a boy. That is the school (that) I went to as a boy. Thats a beautiful car over there! Id like to buy that car. Id like to buy that beautiful car over there. How to Use Relative Clauses? Use relative clauses to provide extra information. This information can either define something (defining clause) or provide unnecessary but interesting added information (non-defining clause). Relative clauses can be introduced by: A relative pronoun: who (whom), which, that, whoseNo relative pronounWhere, why, and when instead of a relative pronoun You need to consider the following when deciding which relative pronoun to use: Is the subject or object or possessive of a relative clause?Does it refer to a person or an object?Is the relative clause a defining or non-defining relative clause? Relative clauses are often used in both spoken and written English. There is a tendency to use non-defining relative clauses mostly in written, rather than in spoken, English. The Importance of Defining Relative Clauses The information provided in a defining relative clause is crucial in understanding the meaning of the sentence. Examples:   The woman who lives in apartment number 34 has been arrested.The document that I need has important written at the top. The purpose of a defining relative clause is to clearly define who or what we are talking about. Without this information, it would be difficult to know who or what is meant. Example:  The house is being renovated. In this  case, it is not necessarily clear  which  house is being renovated. Non-Defining Relative Clauses Non-defining relative clauses provide interesting additional information which is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence. Example:  Mrs. Jackson, who is very intelligent, lives on the corner. Correct punctuation is essential in non-defining relative clauses. If the non-defining relative clause occurs in the middle of a sentence, a comma is put before the relative pronoun and at the end of the clause. If the non-defining relative clause occurs at the end of a sentence, a comma is put before the relative pronoun. In defining relative clauses, there are no commas. Examples:   Children who play with fire are in great danger of harm.The man who bought all the books by Hemingway has died. Generally,  who  and  which  are more usual in written English, whereas  that  is more usual in speech when referring to things. Relative Pronouns and Defining Relative Clauses Examples:   Thats the boy (who, whom) I invited to the party.Theres the house (that, which) Id like to buy. Relative Pronouns Used as a Possessive Examples:   Hes the man whose car was stolen last week.They were sure to visit the town whose location was little-known. It is preferable to use  that  (not  which) after the following words: all, any(thing), every(thing), few, little, many, much, no(thing), none, some(thing), and after superlatives. When using the  pronoun  to refer to the object,  that  can be omitted. Examples:   It was everything (that) he had ever wanted.There were only a few (that) really interested him. Examples:   Frank Zappa, who was one of the most creative artists in rock n roll, came from California.Olympia, whose name is taken from the Greek language, is the capital of Washington State. Relative Pronouns and Non-Defining Relative Clauses Examples:   Frank invited Janet, who (whom) he had met in Japan, to the party.Peter brought his favorite antique book, which he had found at a flea market, to show his friends. That can never be used in non-defining clauses. Possessive in Non-Defining Relative Clauses Example:   The singer, whose most recent recording has had much success, was signing autographs.The artist, whose name he could not remember, was one of the best he had ever seen. In non-defining relative clauses,  which  can be used to refer to an entire clause. Example:   He came for the weekend wearing only some shorts and a t-shirt, which was a stupid thing to do. After numbers and words like  many, most, neither, and some, we use  of,  before,  whom,  and  which  in non-defining relative clauses.   Example:   Many of those people, most of whom enjoyed their experience, spent at least a year abroad.  Dozens of people had been invited, most of whom I knew.

The impact of stock market volatility on monetary policy Dissertation

The impact of stock market volatility on monetary policy - Dissertation Example This section presents the results of the estimation. In table 1 we present the results of running regression specifications (1) and (2) using OLS and GMM instrumental variable estimation. We have used the S and P 500, Dow Jones as well as the FTSE 100 indices as measures of stock market prices. All three have been included to verify whether the results obtained are robust to changes in stock market indices. For the GMM estimation, lagged values of inflation and the output gap have been used as instruments. Finally, we have incorporated a recession dummy in the 2nd specification. This dummy variable takes the value 1 for all quarters between 2007 Q3 and 2009 Q4. In table 1, the 1st column presents the results of running a simple OLS regression on equation (1). The intercept and the coefficient on inflation are positive and significant. However, the coefficient on the output gap, although quite large is not statistically significant. Thus, from the 1st column where the estimation was c arried out of equation (1) we find that the interest rate responds only to the inflation. It does not respond to the output gap. Also, from the last row which presents the Wald test statistic which tests the hypothesis ÃŽ ² = ÃŽ ³ = 0.5, we find the statistic is highly significant. So, the null hypothesis is rejected by the 1st model.   In column 2, the results of estimating the OLS specification (2) are presented. The wald test statistic is 89.25 which is highly significant.... This translates into the query of whether equity price levels as measured by indices such as the Dow Jones or the Standard and Poor 500 should be targeted explicitly by monetary policy or not. Most macroeconomists however are of the opinion that pursuing these queries is not worthwhile since targeting stock market prices requires identification of what the fundamental prices of an asset is before the extent to which the actual price has deviated from the fundamental or target price can be identified. In other words, ex-ante identification of a stock market bubble is extremely difficult. Since the fundamental price of a stock is not verifiable then the nature of deviation of actual prices remains unverifiable as well (Shiller, 1989; Salge, 1997). Bubbles, i.e., increase of prices steadily above fundamentals can be identified ex-post. In hindsight it is clear that the Nasdaq rise or the steady rise in Japanese asset prices in the late 1980’s were such bubbles. But during the res pective phases these movements were not convincingly identified as anything other than reflecting fundamental price dynamics. Therefore under these difficulties of recognising stock market volatility in real time the true complexity of asking what the reaction of monetary authorities should be becomes clear. One possible direction suggested in literature is to make the simplifying assumption that the monetary authority is aware of the presence of a bubble and realizes that the collapse of the bubble is imminent. Post-collapse prices will revert back to the fundamental levels. Then ask what the appropriate reaction of the monetary authority should be under such assumptions. (Blanchard, 2000) Opinion among economists