Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Experiments with Metals and Ions of Metals Essay Example for Free

Experiments with Metals and Ions of Metals Essay Metals react with non-metals but each to a different extent. The most reactive metals are alkali metals (group1A, where group is a vertical column in the periodic table), which include lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium and francium. All these metals have one electron in the valence electrons shell; this electron can be removed relatively easily, which means that this electron has a very small ionization energy. If we look closely at the elements of this group, we can see that they are not reactive to the same extent. This is because electrons have a negative charge and they are attracted o the nucleus, which has a positive charge. Valence shell electrons are responsible for the reactivity of an element; as the distance between valence electrons and the nucleus increases, the attractive force decreases and so the energy needed to separate the valence electron from an atom (ionization energy) decreases. So we can say that as the size of a metal atom increases, its ionization energy decreases and its reactivity increases (the most reactive alkali metal is francium and the least reactive one is lithium). An example of the reactivity of alkali metal is their reaction with water. For example: Na (s) + 2H20 †+ 2Na+(aq) + 20H -(aq) + H2 (g) + heat We can identify this reaction by the following 2- 3- 4- H2 gas emerges Disappearance of metals Heat produced The appearance of hydroxide ions (OH-(aq)) makes the solution basic, which can be identified by using phenolphthalein as the indicator. We can compare between the metals by the rate of production of H2(g) as well as by the heat produced from this reaction. Alkaline earth elements (group IA) are active metals but less than alkali metals. Since calcium is larger than the magnesium atom, its ionization energy is smaller than that of magnesium. Thus, calcium is more reactive than magnesium. The other metals as aluminum, zinc, iron, lead and copper do not react with water, so we cant use water to distinguish between their reactivity. HCl(aq) is used to put them in order according to their reactivity. We can put the most common metal in a series according to their reactivity (from the most to the least reactive one). Potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, zinc, iron, lead, copper, silver . When a metal in the upper part of the reactivity series reacts with aqueous solution of other metal ions lower in the series, the more reactive metal eactive metal transfers its electrons to the less reactive metal. According to this reactivity series, we can predict what will happen when a piece of zinc metal is put in CuS04 (aq) soluti on or in MgS04 (aq) solution. Since Zn is more reactive than Cu, when we put Zn in CuS04(aq), a reaction will occur as follows: Zn (s) + Cu2+(aq) + S042- (aq) †+ Zn2+(aq) + S042- (aq) + Cu (s) However, Since Zn is less reactive than Mg, if we put Zn in MgS04(aq) there will be no reaction at all: Zn (s) + Mg2+(aq) + S042- (aq) †+ No reaction. Materials: 10 mL Cu2+(aq) solution 0. 5M 10 mL Ag+(aq) solution 0. M 10 mL Mg2+(aq) solution 0. 5M 10 mL Zn2+(aq) saturated solution Pieces of the metals: Mg(s), Zn(s), Ag(s), Cu(s) lcm x lcm each. Equipments: 16 test tubs Emery cloth Tweezers Experimental procedure In the current laboratory session you will explore some of the characteristics of certain elements. You will start by comparing the reactivity of Zn, Mg, Cu and Ag metals by their ability to release electrons. a. Wipe the metals Zn, Mg, Cu and Ag using the emery cloth and put each of them into a clean test tube using a tweezers. b. Fill each of the test tubes with about 2 cm of the Cu2+(aq) solution. . Watch what happens and write down your observations. Wait for 2-3 minutes to determine whether a chemical reaction occurred in each test tube, and if so, write a balanced chemical reaction. zn cu2+(aq) : Mg in Cu2+(aq) : cu cu2+(aq) : Ag in Cu2+(aq) : c. Wipe the metals Zn, Mg, Cu and Ag using the emery cloth and put each of them into a clean test tube. d. Fill each of the test tubes with about 2 cm of the Mg2+(aq) solution. 2. Watch what happens and write down you observations. Wait for 2-3 minutes to determine whether a chemical reaction occurred in the test tube, and if so, write a Mg in Mg2+(aq) : Cu in Mg2+(aq) : Ag in Mg2+(aq) : Zn in Mg2+(aq) : e. Wipe the metals Zn, Mg, Cu and Ag using the emery cloth and put each of them Fill each of the test tubes with about 2 cm of the Zn2+(aq) solution. 3. Watch what happens and write down you observations. Wait for 2-3 minutes to Zn in Zn2+(aq) : Mg in Zn2+(aq) : cu zn2+(aq) : Ag in Zn2+(aq) : g. Wipe the metals Zn, Mg, Cu and Ag using the emery cloth and put each of them h. Fill each of the test tubes with about 2 cm of the Ag+(aq) solution. 4. Watch what happens and write down you observations. Wait for 2-3 minutes to Zn in Ag+(aq) : . 6. Cu in Ag+(aq) : Ag in Ag+(aq) : Sum your observations in the following table (color, precipitance, other changes): List the metals in order of their ability to release electrons. Receive an unknown solution from your teacher and determine what is the metal ion in the solution 7. Describe the tests you did in order to find the unknown ion in the solution and write what it was. Reactions of chlorine, bromine and iodine with aluminium In this demonstration experiment, aluminium reacts with each of three halogens, chlorine, bromine and iodine. Spectacular exothermic redox reactions occur, ccompanied by flames and coloured smoke, forming the solid aluminium halides: 2Al + 3X2 -+ 2AlX3 (X = Cl, and l) Read our standard health safety guidance Lesson organisation This is a class demonstration that shows the spectacular reactivity of three non- metals from Group 7 with a metal. These experiments must be done in a fume cupboard as both the reactants and products are hazardous. Teachers attempting this demonstration for the first time are strongly advised to do a trial run before doing it in front of a class. Each experiment should take about 5 minutes. Apparatus and chemicals Eye protection Thick chemically-resistant gloves such as marigold industrial blue nitrile Access to a fume cupboard The teacher will require: Mortar and pestle Heat resistant mat, 30 x 30 cm Watch glasses, about 10 cm diameter, 2 Reduction tube (see note 1) Test-tubes, 3 Test-tube rack Teat pipette Filter paper Spatula or wooden splint Bosses, clamps and stands Chemicals for one demonstration: Aluminium foil, a few cm2 Aluminium powder (Highly flammable, Contact with water may liberate hydrogen), 0. 3 g Liquid bromine (Corrosive, Very toxic), 1 cm3 (see note 2) Solid iodine (Harmful), 2 g Silver nitrate solution, about 0. 1 mol dm3 (Low hazard but stains skin and clothing at this concentration), about 10 cm3 A little deionised water in a washbottle chlorate(l) solution (14% (w/v) available chlorine) (Corrosive), about 100cm3 Hydrochloric acid, 5 mol dm-3 (Corrosive), about 50 cm3 Technical notes Aluminium powder (Highly flammable, Contact with water may liberate hydrogen) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 1 Liquid bromine (Corrosive, Very toxic) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 15A, SRA04 The aluminium/bromine reaction Solid iodine (Harmful) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 54A Silver nitrate solution (Low hazard at concentration used) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 87 and Recipe card 58 Chlorine (Toxic, Irritant) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 22A and Recipe card 26 Sodium chlorate(l) solution (Corrosive) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 89 Hydrochloric acid (Corrosive) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 47A and Recipe card 31 1 The reduction tube should be fitted with a one-holed rubber stopper fitted with short length of glass tubing and attached to the chlorine generator. Alternatively an 8-10 cm length of wide bore glass tubing with a stopper fitted with a short length of glass ubing at each end could be used see diagram. Wear suitable protective gloves (thick, chemically resistant) when handling liquid bromine. Have 500 cm3 of 1 mol dm-3 solution of sodium thiosulfate available to treat any spillages on the skin. Procedure HEALTH SAFETY: Wear eye protection and gloves Reaction of A1 + C12 a Set up the chlorine generator in a fume cupboard. Make sure it is securely clamped. b Loo sely crumple a piece of aluminium foil (10 x 5 cm) so that it will Just fit inside the reduction tube and push it into the tube. Attach the tube to the generator ith a short length of rubber tubing and clamp it in position at the end nearest to the generator, so that the aluminium foil can easily be heated using a Bunsen burner see diagram. c Generate a gentle stream of chlorine by dripping the hydrochloric acid slowly on to the sodium chlorate(l) solution, and allow it to pass over the aluminium. When the green colour of the chlorine gas fills the reduction tube, start heating the aluminium foil with a Bunsen burner at the end nearest to the chlorine supply. Once the aluminium is hot, a bright glow will suddenly appear where it starts to react with chlorine. Remove the heat. The bright glow should spread along the aluminium. If not, heat again, and increase the flow of chlorine gas. A lot of white smoke aluminium chloride is produced, some of it condensing as a white powder on the walls of the reduction tube and the rest streaming out of the hole in the end of the tube. When the reaction is over, stop the chlorine supply and remove the heat. e When the reduction tube has cooled down, disconnect it and, still in the fume cupboard, scrape a little of the white powder into a test-tube. Add a little deionised/ distilled water to the solid to dissolve it. Care: the reaction between anhydrous aluminium chloride and water can be quite vigorous an audible hiss can often be heard see Teaching Notes. f Test a drop of the solution with Universal indicator paper. It is strongly acidic. Test the remainder with a little silver nitrate solution. A white precipitate forms, showing the presence of chloride ions. Reaction of A1 + Br2 a Tear or cut some aluminium foil into several small pieces about 2 x 2 mm in size. fume cupboard. Sprinkle a few pieces of aluminium foil on to the surface of the bromine. Within a minute there are flashes of flame and a white smoke of aluminium romide is formed, together the orange vapour of bromine. Carefully hold another watchglass over the reaction to condense some of the smoke on to its surface as a solid. b Wash any aluminium bromide collected in this way off the watchglass into a test-tube using a little deionised water (Care: see Teaching Notes below). Test the solution with indicator paper and silver nitrate solution as above. The solution is acidic and a cream precipitate of silver bromide is formed. Reaction of A1 + 12 a Weigh out 2 gof iodine, which should be dry, and grind it to a powder in a fume cupboard, using a mortar and pestle. Place the powdered iodine on a filter paper on a dry heat resistant mat and add 0. 3 g of aluminium powder to it. Mix the two solids together in the fume cupboard using a wooden splint do not grind them together. When they are thoroughly mixed, pour the mixture into a heap on the heat resistant mat or in a metal tray, such as a tin lid, positioned in the middle of the fume cupboard. b To start the reaction, use a teat pipette to place a few drops of water on the mixture. After a time lag, the water begins to steam and clouds of purple iodine vapour are given off, indicating that an exothermic reaction has started. After a few more seconds sparks are given off and the mixture bursts into flame. When the reaction subsides, a white residue of aluminium iodide remains. Scrape a little of this into a test-tube (Care: see Teaching Notes below), add some deionised water and filter if necessary. Test the solution with indicator paper and silver nitrate solution as above. The solution is acidic and a yellow precipitate indicates the presence of iodide ions. Teaching notes These reactions make quite spectacular demonstrations in themselves, the bromine + aluminium reaction even more so in a partly darkened room. Classroom management n semi-darkness (Practical Physics advice) The demonstrations can be used to show the reaction between reactive non-metallic elements and a fairly reactive metal to form compounds, or as part of the study of the reactions of the Group 7 elements. Here the apparent order of reactivity is not that predicted from their position in the Group (that is chlorine †+ bromine †+ iodine). This is because of the different physical states of the three halogens, and the different surface area of the aluminium as a powder or foil. This can be used to make an important point about fair comparisons of reactivity. These reactions also serve to show that aluminium is in fact a more reactive metal than it appears in everyday use. The protective oxide layer of aluminium has to be penetrated by the halogens before the reactions can start, hence the delays, and the need for water to assist the two solid elements getting into contact, in the case of aluminium and iodine. The clouds of iodine vapour released when aluminium and iodine react can stain the inside of a fume cupboard. Teachers may prefer to demonstrate this reaction outdoors, if possible. The anhydrous aluminium halides are vigorously hydrolysed (sometimes violently if freshly prepared nd hot, as here) by water, giving off fumes of a hydrogen halide and a forming an acidic solution of the aluminium salt. To dispose of the solid residues, allow them to cool completely before adding in small amounts to 1 mol dm-3 sodium carbonate solution in a fume cupboard. Wait until the reaction has subsided before adding Allotropes of sulfur Sulfur is heated slowly and steadily from room temperature, so that all the changes in colour and consistency as it melts and eventually reaches boiling point, can be observed. A fresh sample of sulfur is heated to Just above the melting point, then llowed to cool and crystallise slowly as monoclinic sulfur. A further sample is heated to boiling point, and the liquid rapidly chilled in cold water to form plastic sulfur. A separate sample of sulfur is dissolved in a warm solvent, and the solution allowed to cool and evaporate, leaving crystals of rhombic sulfur. All the observed changes in properties can be related to the different molecular structures of the three solid forms of sulfur, and to the changes in structure as the temperature of liquid sulfur is gradually raised. Read our standard health safety guidance This practical is described here as a demonstration. However, some teachers may wish to consider whether certain parts could be used as class practicals with appropriately skilful and reliable classes. A demonstration, without any accompanying discussion about the possible reasons for the changes in properties in terms of structure, would take up to 45 minutes. However, to derive maximum benefit from the experiment, more time needs to be allowed for such discussion. Apparatus and chemicals Heat resistant gloves Access to a fume cupboard Flexicam or similar camera, digital microscope, digital projector and screen or other ethod of projecting images of small crystals to the class (as available). Boiling tubes, 4 (see note 4) Test-tube holders, 2 Stands and clamps, 2 Conical flask, 250 cm3 Cork, to fit conical flask Beaker (250 cm3), 2 Beaker, 1 dm3 (see note 5) Thermometer, O 250 oc Petri dishes or watchglasses, 4 (or more) Bunsen burner, tripod and gauze Electric hotplates, 2 (optional, if available) Heat resistant mats, 2 Filter paper, about 18 20 cm diameter Spatula Paper clips Damp cloth (to extinguish small sulfur fires) Dimethylbenzene (xylene), (Harmful), 100 cm3 (see note 2) Cooking oil (Low Hazard), 700 cm3 (see note 3) Dimethylbenzene (xylene) (Harmful) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 46 Sulfur (Low hazard) Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 96A Cooking oil (Low hazard) 1 The sulfur used must be roll sulfur, crushed toa powder. To crush the rolls of sulfur, place in a strong plastic bag on a hard surface. Use a hammer or a vice to break up the roll sulfur into small pieces, then crush to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Flowers of sulfur is not suitable because it contains a lot of insoluble amorphous sulfur. During the experiments sulfur may catch fire, releasing sulfur dioxide (Toxic refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 97), which may cause breathing difficulties o some students. If this happens, extinguish quickly by placing a damp cloth over the mouth of the test-tube. If the combustion cannot be extinguished quickly, the test-tube should be placed in fume cupboard, and the fan left running. 2 Although other hydrocarbon solvents, such as methylbenzene, can be used to dissolve sulfur and form monoclinic sulfur, dimethylbenzene (xylene) is the least hazardous. 3 If suitable cooking oil is not available, other clear, high-boiling oils may be used, e. g. paraffin oil (Refer to CLEAPSS Hazcard 45B). 4 These are large (1 50 x 25 mm) test- ubes, and should be clean and dry. The test-tubes in which sulfur has been heated can be difficult to clean for general use. It may be worth keeping a set of such tubes from year-to-year for this experiment. 5 The large beaker containing the cooking oil functions as an oil-bath for heating the sulfur slowly and uniformly, while allowing students to see clearly what is happening to the sulfur. Other containers may be preferred for the oil-bath, provided the visibility is maintained, for example by use of a webcam and digital projector. Procedure HEALTH SAFETY: Wear eye protection. Before the demonstration: a Pre-heat the oil-bath to about 130 oc, and maintain this temperature. b Clamp one of the sulfur-containing tubes in the oil bath, so that the sulfur is below the level of the oil in the bath. c Half fill the 250 cm3 beaker with cold water. d In the fume cupboard, put about 10 g of powdered roll sulfur into the conical flask and add about 100 cm3 of dimethylbenzene. e Prepare filter paper cone held together by a paper clip and supported in a beaker, as shown below: The demonstration: a Two-thirds fill two test-tubes with powdered roll sulfur (about 20 g in each tube) nd place in the oil bath. The sulfur will melt to a transparent, amber, mobile liquid in about 15 minutes. b Remove one tube from the oil-bath and pour the molten sulfur into the filter paper cone. Allow the sulfur to cool slowly and solidify, forming a crust. c Break the crust with a spatula and, handling the filter paper cone with heat resistant gloves, tilt it so that any remaining liquid flows out of the cone of solidifying sulfur on to a piece of scrap paper or card (for disposal). Needle-shaped crystals of monoclinic sulfur will be seen inside the hollow cone.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Effect of Positive Emotions Induced by Music

Effect of Positive Emotions Induced by Music Do positive emotions induced by music broaden thought-action repertoires? Music has the potential to communicate emotions, and this presence can be considered to be part of our everyday experience. Music psychologist believes that it has the capability to invoke specific emotions when listeners tune in to a specific type of music. For example, a faster toned and pitch music will indicate a lighter and happier mood, whereas a slow tone and pitch will indicate a sad emotion. On the scale of mood, Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory suggests that positive emotions builds up our thought-action repertoire, explains that we should harness positive emotions into our daily lives in effort to enhance our coping skills. The fusion of music with the broaden-and-build theory is an attempt to prove that positive emotions do indeed broaden our momentary thought-action repertoire as proven in Fredrickson’s theory, but on a different scale. Such fusion can be proven to be worth of research as music exists in our everyday lives and if we incorporate and fo ster positive emotions into individual’s daily lives, most, if not everyone, would have increased thought-action repertoire, which would then lead to better coping skills in situations. The broaden-and-build theory suggests the function of a subset of positive emotions such as joy, love and contentment. Fredrickson (2004) proposed that positive emotions produce optimal functioning over time, which includes psychological well-being, as well as physical well-being. These positive emotions, where individuals experience joy, which in turn creates the urge to play, or interactions with a stranger which will in turn create a supportive relationship, will broaden an individual’s thought-action repertoire. This broaden mindset is in contrast with negative emotions, where it prompts immediate and narrow action tendencies such as fight or flight. Fredrickson also proposed that with broadening of an individual’s thought-action repertoire, it would in turn create and build into the individual’s personal resources, and these personal resources are thought to be long term which can help individuals cope with situations in future. For the support of her theori es, Fredrickson reviewed some of other researchers who worked on the effects of positive affect and cognition and pointed out that Kahn and Isen (1993) found that individuals experiencing positive affect report having increased preference for variety and accept a broader array of behavioural options. Subsequently, Ashby, Isen, and Turken (1999) found that positive affect produces effects linked to increases in brain dopamine levels, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate, which are thought to underlie better cognitive performance. However, Isen’s work did not target specific positive emotions or thought-action repertoires per se, but it provides the strongest evidence that positive affect broadens cognition. As Fredrickson builds up on her theory which eventually became the broaden-and-build theory, Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) propose that positive emotions will elicit an upward spiral in the direction of enhanced emotional well-being. They assessed their prediction by testing whether positive affect and broad-minded coping reciprocally and prospectively predict one another. They made a conclusion that positive affect from a particular time will lead to enhancement of broad-minded coping at a later stipulated timing, and vice versa. It was also mentioned that positive affect at one particular time is able to predict the positive affect at a later time when changes in the broad-minded coping were controlled, and vice versa. Hence, it can be said that from this particular review, it has been found that positive affect and broad-minded coping are correlated and they mutually build on one another. However, later studies done by researchers such as Nickerson (2007) suggested that Fredrickso n and Joiner (2002)’s analysis tested within-occasion, across persons hypotheses, which are incoherent with Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of emotions that is within person, across occasions. Nickerson changed their hypotheses so that the edited hypotheses would align with the broaden-and-build theory, in which Fredrickson subsequently tested the momentary broaden hypothesis, in which the efficacy was proven. Fredrickson (2005) made use of a Twenty Statement Test as a measure of thought-action repertoire when her participants were randomly assigned and exposed to videos which will induce a specific emotion. For example, participant A would be exposed to a video of some penguins, which would supposedly elicit the amusement emotion. The participant would then be required to fill in the Twenty Statement Test in which a higher number of statements filled in would indicate a larger thought-action repertoire, and this finding was consistent with their hypotheses. On another scale, Fredrickson conducted a qualitative analysis using the same data collected, and classified the responses collected from the participants into some categories. They found similar findings, for example, participants who viewed the amusement video are reported to have more frequent urges to play, have positive feelings or thoughts, and fewer urges to sleep or rest. Thus, the data presented by Fredrickson support 2 central aspects of the broaden hypothesis positive emotion broadens thought-action repertoires, as well as broadening effects emerge for 2 distinct types of positive emotion, namely amusement and contentment. Music can be thought to be a powerful tool in inducing specific mood states (Marin and Bhattacharya, 2010), and these moods refer to the states which feature a lower intensity than emotions, and this state tend to last much longer than emotions; these emotions denote the affective response that generally encompass some subcomponents – action tendency, as well as regulation. Although it is believed that there could be some correspondence between music induced emotion and mood, the two distinctions can be said as: music induced emotions are short lived, whereas music induced mood generally last longer. Various psychophysiological and psychological experiments such as emotion perception to emotion experiences have been proven by Thomas Baumgartner, Michaela Esslen, Lutz Ja ¨ncke (2006), where it was elucidated by their psychometric results that emotions can be evoked by pictures and classical music. There are a large number of empirical studies that reveal systematic relationsh ips between musical structures and emotional responses (Gabrielsson Lindstro ¨m, 2010). Lundqvist, Carlsson, Hilmersson and Juslin (2009) concluded in their study that self-composed music is effective in inducing specific emotions. For example, they explained that for a happy emotion to be induced, the happy music needs to feature fast tempo, high sound level, and major mode, while the sad music featuring slow tempo, low sound level, and minor mode. This was also proven in their research, as well as previous works, which gives the conclusion that music is able to produce specific emotions without contamination. Hence, it is of interest to study the interaction between how music is capable of inducing the emotions as required, and how the induced emotion can help in enhancing an individual’s coping skills, as well as building up their personal resources. The nature of the study is discovering whether positive emotions induced by music will broaden thought-action repertoire in a sample of Singaporean participants. The rationale of the hypothesis is to find out if the differences of cultures may pose a significant contributor to the difference in thought-action repertoire. Secondly, inspection can be done to see if cross-cultural differences may produce different results as compared to what Fredrickson originally done in her study, and lastly, findings may have possible implications of music to enhance psychological and physical well-being. Thus, the first hypothesis is that positive emotions will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire. Secondly, the emotion experienced in amusement will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire to a greater extent when compared to contentment. The third hypothesis is that negative emotions will narrow thought-action repertoire, and the last hypothesis is that object-focused negative emotions (e .g. anger) will narrow momentary thought-action repertoire to a greater extent when compared to object-less negative emotions (e.g. anxiety). This study is considered to be an advance over previous works; in the original broaden-and-build theory, Fredrickson made use of videos to induce emotions, and for modifications, the new experiment will use audio materials, which consists of self-composed audio clips; the rationale here is to identify if the usage of video and music clips will yield the same kind of findings. Additionally, two additional steps will be administered; before starting the experiment (measuring skin conductance level), and at the end of the experiment (performing relaxation techniques on participants). The first step ensures that each participant is at neutral emotional state (baseline) before we induce a particular emotion with the music clip. The second step ensures the momentary emotional well-being of participants as they do not leave the experiment with induce d emotions, but with neutral emotions (baseline). Method Participants 100 university students enrolled in an introductory psychology course received course credit for their participation. Only students who spoke English as their first language were eligible to participate. Some ethical issues to be considered are the initial screening before participation. It is required that the participants are mentally healthy, and it is essential to exclude those with history of mental and physical illnesses because of the emotional manipulation involved in the experiment; the confidentiality of the information provided by the participants will be ensured. Another ethical issue is that of informed consent: Participants will be informed of experimental procedure, the materials that will be used, and the rights to withdraw before the start of experiment; they also have the option of counselling services and exit interview at point of withdrawal. Questions from participants will be answered at all times of experiment. Finally, participants can be sure that their answe rs remain anonymous as the forms and tests that they filled in during the experiment do not require them to fill in their names, as well as undergoing a debrief of the original intent of the research. Design The nature of this research is considered to be a quasi-experiment, where the independent variable (IV) is emotions, which are induced by the respective music clips (Amusement, contentment, anger, anxiety, neutral), and the dependent variable (DV) is the thought-action repertoire, in which will be measured via two methods: quantitative and qualitative. Materials Participants will be selected at random to be exposed to audio clips which are intended to induce emotions. The audio clips that are exposed to the participants are: Amusement, contentment, anger, anxiety, as well as neutral. Skin conductance level (SCL). To ensure that the participants will not contaminate the data being collected, the SCL will be used to ensure that the participants will start off the experiment in a neutral state. This is done by attaching a node onto the participants’ hands, followed by measuring the skin resistance, which will be varied with the state of the sweat glands on the skin of their hands. Emotion Report Form. Ekman, Friesen, and Ancoli (1980) made use of the emotion report form to identify and test if the emotions induced by the experimenter are successfully manipulated by music clips. This is done by participants giving a rating of emotions felt on a Likert scale. Participants who rated the greatest amount felt of the emotions above on a 9-point Likert scale (0 = none, 8 = a great deal). Twenty Statements Test. Kuhn and McPartland (1954) constructed the Twenty Statements Test to measure the thought-action repertoire of individuals after they are exposed to audio clips. They are required to fill in 20 blank lines which began with â€Å"I would like to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to their greatest extent possible after listening to the audio clip. A higher score is thought to indicate a larger thought-action repertoire. Procedure Before the participants begin the official experiment, they would be required to be put under the SCL test, which is to ensure that they start off the experiment on a neutral state. Participants would then be randomly exposed to one particular audio clip which elicits a single emotion, i.e. a faster tone and pitch audio clip would indicate the participants listening to a happy music. The next step would require the participants to describe the strongest emotion that they felt in a few words, and subsequently asked to complete the Twenty Statements Test. Before the participants finish the experiment, they would be required to complete the Emotion Report Form so that there is consistency in their emotions felt and the emotions written down onto the Twenty Statements Test. Lastly, participants would be given a mandatory relaxation session so that they can fall back to their baseline (neutral state). Results Statistical analysis can be done on various scales, which includes quantitative level, as well as qualitative level. For the quantitative level, analysis can be done for the self-reported emotions from the Emotion Report Form, where a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey pairwise comparisons to test if music clips altered emotional experiences as intended. Positive emotion music groups/Negative emotion music groups will be compared with neutral emotion music group to produce a less ambiguous result. Secondly, a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey pairwise comparisons can be conducted for the number of responses from Twenty Statements Test, and for the group differences in repertoire size, a 5 x 2 ANOVA, where the 5 groups are the audio clips exposed, and the two groups are the culture, which in this case is the Singaporean Culture compared with Foreign culture. On the qualitative level, analysis can be done via coding, where participants who responded in a certain manner will be classified into a category, and f or each participant, proportion scores for each activity was determined by dividing the tally for that activity by the total number of statements the participant generated. Discussion The expected results are that all hypotheses proposed are significant, that is to say that positive emotion will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire, and the amusement emotion will broaden momentary thought action repertoire to a greater degree when compared to contentment. Some of the limitations include the possibility of the individual’s desire to be socially desirable may cause contamination of the data as participants may not write their intended behaviours or thoughts as per the emotions they experience in the music clips. For instance, an individual may not write that he or she will hit someone even though he or she wants to. Future researchers can look into exploring the usage of recording the participants’ response instead of doing the Twenty Statements Test, as there is a possibility of identifying the emotions of the participants through the way they speak.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

The 60s (movie) :: essays research papers fc

The 60’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When deciding what movie to do for this particular paper I faced a few issues. I knew what the requirements were, but I wanted something different and something I could have fun watching and writing as well. So, after looking around and pondering movies for weeks I finally decided on a perfect choice The 60’s directed by Mark Piznarski? This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two families were just some of those that really cared although all had different stand points and views they stuck to their beliefs and ended with more love for each other in the end than they ever started with. In the white family there was the conservative ex-marine father who loved his children dearly but wanted them to be well behaved and often was hard on them. The mother was more liberal housewife who stood up for her and her children’s opinions to her husband. The oldest son Brian was a football star in high school and later goes on to join the marines and fight in Vietnam. The middle child Michael was very liberal active anti war student who marched with the blacks in the Birmingham. The youngest Katie was a young 16 year old who loved to party and have a good time. The black family was a family of good hearts and lots of hope.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

A Clockwork Orange Essay -- A Clockwork Orange Essays

A Clockwork Orange We are first introduced to Alex (Malcolm McDowell) in the company of his posse, strangely sipping drugged milk in a freakish bar with anatomically indiscrete manikins serving as tittie-taps and tables. The ensuing scenes flash from Alex and his three droogs brutally beating an old man to a violent rape scene to a semi-chaotic gang-brawl. The story is of Alex and his love of the old ultra-violence, his act of murder, his betrayal and imprisonment, and his cure (twice). Adapted from Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novel, A Clockwork Orange is in part a response to psychological behaviorism and the age of classical conditioning. While in prison, Alex is selected for a special treatment that will cure him of his impulses to rape and brutalize. The treatment is in fact a simple conditioning process—Alex’s eyes are propped open and his body restrained so that he must watch a series of graphic images while experiencing an injection induced illness. The illness becomes his conditioned response to brutality, rape, and, accidentally, his much beloved Beethoven’s 9th symphony....

africa: Wildlife, landforms and climate :: essays research papers fc

Witch doctors, psychics, mediums, spiritualists are but just a few of the many names associated with Shamans. Many of us have heard these names echoed since childhood, but do we really know who these people are? In the United States these people are viewed as outcast; there hasn’t been a need for them in a very long time. Science, and modern technology have exiled the Shaman into the fringe of society. They remain a mystery to most, but beckon the open-minded. The Shaman is a spiritual wayfarer, that hasn’t thrived in the United States since the arrival of the white man, and his conquest of nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many definitions for shamanism, but few reveal the true nature of the Shaman. In simple terms, the Shaman is a person called upon to serve as a herald for the realm of the dead, but a Shaman is much more. A Shaman is someone who has explored, and gained a great understanding of their inner being. They can tap into the force that flows throughout the world, and manipulate it. A Shaman can alter his conscience so that he may travel to other worlds filled with objects, and various kinds of spirits. In the spirit realm, a Shaman can gain knowledge in order to help in healing, and other matters at hand. He is a spiritual advisor, and a healer of both physical and mental ailments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A destined Shaman is typically clued in to their destiny by various forms of suffering. The most common clue is an extended illness for which there is no apparent cure. During this time of suffering, the chosen person has dreams, visions, and journeys to the spirit realms, and are usually accompanied by a guild spirit. This spiritual guild commonly informs the ill person of their fate to become a Shaman. There is usually hesitation on the part of the chosen one, but the suffering breaks down the will of that person. In the end, the destined assumes the role as Shaman, and his suffering diminishes. With the guidance of an elder Shaman, or sometimes just their spirit guild, the new shaman is initiated into their new existence. It is a existence between this earthy realm, and that of the dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An initiate of Shamanism goes through an significant transformation. As a result of the suffering, and rigorous training, the initiate experiences the death of his ego. In western psychology, the ego is the part of the psyche which experiences the external world, or reality, through the senses, organizes the thought processes rationally, and governs actions (Webster’s

Friday, August 2, 2019

Phillips

Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Why Hazaras flee: An historical perspective of their persecution1 Submission for the Government’s Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denise Phillips BA (Hons), PhD Candidate, University of New England, 19 July 2012 Quetta are also discussed. The past ethnic and religious animosity against minority Shiite Hazaras continues to drive the bloodshed today. When we shift our esponsibilities offshore, vilify refugees and pursue a punitive style of deterrence as a solution, we ignore these past and present atrocities. Executive summary This paper provides historical information about the source country, Afghanistan. As minority Shiites, Hazaras’ current persecution is borne out of an unresolved, century-old religious and ethnic hatred of them. This has resulted in massacres, dispossession of their lands and decades of institutionalised discrimination. Their persecution was fiercely reignited during the civil war and by the Taliban in the 1990s.Understanding that history is critical to policy-making. Not only are Hazaras dying on boats, but also in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Australia must respond to this over-all crisis with humanity rather than punitive measures. I support the recommendations made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter. As Afghanistan moves towards a possible Taliban alliance or faces growing lawlessness, and as Hazaras continue to be slain or attacked in Hazara-populated regions and in neighbouring Quetta, Hazaras are likely to continue to flee and have grounds under the 1951 Refugee Convention to fear persecution.Introduction In addressing the problem of asylum seekers risking their lives on boat journeys to Australia, the reasons for their flight should remain at the forefront of policy-making and political debate. I o ffer an historical overview of a key source country, Afghanistan, and of the origins of Hazaras’ persecution. Current crises in both Afghanistan and Abdur Rahman’s subjugation of Hazaras in the nineteenth century After the traditionally dominant Pashtuns and the Tajiks, Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, although a minority. The Hazaras traditionally live in theHazarajat, a loosely defined region within the central highlands. While about 85 percent of Afghanistan’s population follow Sunni Islam, most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, causing them to be condemned as ‘infidels’ at different points throughout history. 2 Their suffering began in earnest in the late 1800s. The Hazaras were a semi- autonomous society living in Afghanistan’s central highlands, the Hazarajat. The entire Hazara population possibly numbered over half a million, with about 340,000 families in the Hazarajat. Although not a cohesive group, most were Shii tes and spoke theHazaragi language, a derivative of Dari. In contrast, their surrounding ethnic groups were mostly Sunni Muslims and spoke Pashto or Dari. 3 Against a backdrop of imperial tensions between Britain and Czarist Russia, Britain helped install an anti-Russian Pashtun, Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), on the throne in Kabul in 1880. In between British India and Russia. 4 exchange for a British annual subsidy, Afghanistan was to provide a buffer zone In the previous century, the Pashtun tribal ruler, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773), had already established a pattern of subjugating sub-groups and other ethnic groups within he region. To bring Afghanistan’s many different tribes under a centralised authority, Abdur Rahman proclaimed the Durrani Pashtuns as supreme and mobilised Sunni Islam with a patriotic xenophobia. Condemning Shiite Hazaras as ‘infidels’, Rahid Rahman 1 Over-all notes drawn from Denise Phillips, From Afghanistan to Australia: An oral hist ory of loss and hope among Hazara refugees, PhD thesis, University of New England, Armidale (forthcoming); Denise Phillips, ‘Wounded memory of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan: Remembering and forgetting persecution’, History Australia, vol. , no. 2, August 2011, pp. 177-198; and Denise Phillips, ‘Hazaras’ persecution worsens: Will the new government show leadership by lifting the suspension on Afghani asylum claims? ’, Australian Policy and History, August 2010, http://www. aph. org. au/files/articles/hazarasPersecution. htm. 2 William Maley, Security, People Smuggling and Australia's New Afghan Refugees, Working Paper no. 63, p. 8; M. Hassan Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, in M. Hassan Kakar, A Political and Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901, Leiden, 2006, p. 26. 3 Sayed Askar Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study, Richmond, 1998, p. 114; Kakar, ‘The pacifi cation of the Hazaras’, pp. 120-122, 126. Amin Saikal, with assistance from Ravan Farhadi & Kirill Nourzhanov, Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London, 2004, pp. 6, 7, 12. 4 1 2 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 rallied soldiers and tribal levies to quash Hazara rebellions in the Afghan-Hazara wars of 1891-1893.Hazaras were slain, raped and sold into slavery. Soldiers piled Hazaras’ heads into towers to warn others against dissent, and some were skinned to death or had their tongues cut out. Although slavery was banned in 1895, many remained enslaved until King Amanullah’s emancipation laws were passed in the 1920s. Much of the Hazarajat was decimated, and their agricultural economy destroyed. Starving, some ate grass and sold their children for wheat to survive. The Hazaras were fined for rebelling and taxed indiscriminately. All facets of Afghani government, society and law conspired against Haza ras, seeking to destroy their property, tribal systems, religion and culture. Rahid Rahman attempted to impose Sunni Islam and demanded that qazis (judges) and muftis (Islamic leaders) in various districts use only Hanafi, a Sunni Islamic legal system, for dealing with Hazaras. To depopulate the Hazarajat, the government issued ‘firmans’, royal decrees, authorising Pashtun nomads, Kuchis, to access Hazaras’ lands for grazing their livestock. Possibly several tens of thousands fled to Central Asia, and Balochistan in what is now Pakistan. Victorious, Rahid Rahman demeaned the Hazaras and claimed that Afghanis saw them as ‘enemies of their country and religion’,7 laying the foundation for a century of persecution to the present. Marginalisation in the twentieth century Successive governments have since marginalised Hazaras. Under the banner of nationalism in the early 1900s, ruling Pashtuns tried to assert their identity, culture and history over all o ther ethnic groups. The Hazarajat was removed from official maps and lands were divided into five provinces to weaken the Hazaras’ political authority.King Nadir Shah (1929-1933) outlawed the promotion of Hazara history and culture, 5 Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 6; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 5, 12, 17, 35-39; Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 120122, 132-137; Burchard Brentjes & Helga Brentjes, Taliban: A Shadow over Afghanistan, Varanasi, 2000, p. 75; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 101, 120-129, 131-136. 6 Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 137, 138; Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. , 3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Alessandro Monsutti, trans. Patrick Camiller, War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan, New York, 2005, p. 105. 7 Mir Munshi Sultan Mahomed Khan (ed. ), The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, with a new introduction by M. E. Yapp, vol. 1, Karachi, 1980 (1900), pp. 276-279, 282-284. imprisoning or executing intellectuals who wrote on the subject. Official policies tried to strip names associated with the Hazaras from historical archives. Between the 1930s nd 1970s, the Anjom-e Tarikh (Historical Society), aided by the Pashto Tolana (Pashto Academy), rewrote much of Afghanistan's official histories. Significant texts were also reportedly burnt. Until 1978, the Hazaras were marginalised, taxed indiscriminately, and denied equal rights and vital infrastructure in their villages. 8 Former president of Afghanistan Dr Najibullah (1986-1992) acknowledged their suffering, saying that ‘the most difficult and lowliest paid jobs, poverty, illiteracy, social and nationalist committed, and bloodshed continues to t his day. discrimination were the lot of the Hazara people’. No justice was gained for atrocities Massacres during the civil war and Taliban regime Hazaras became politically mobilised in the 1980s and have since gained greater political representation. However, their persecution was brutally re-ignited during the civil war by rival ethnic groups and by the Taliban. In 1993, soldiers under command of the Rabbani government (1992-1996) targeted the stronghold of the Hazaras’ political party, the Hizb-e Wahdat, in Afshar, a district in West Kabul with a large Hazara population. Soldiers, however, turned against civilians. After a frenzy of looting, rape killed or remain missing. 10 nd summary executions driven by ethnic hatred, approximately 700-750 Hazaras were Persecution intensified under the Taliban regime (1996-2001) as its soldiers advanced into Afghanistan’s north and the Hazarajat. Not only do Hazaras shun the Islamist beliefs of the Taliban, the Taliban ar e recruited mostly from the Pashtun group, the Hazaras’ traditional enemy. (In reverse, being Pashtun does not automatically equal Taliban support and millions of Pashtuns have also suffered within Afghanistan’s 8 Hafizullah Emadi, ‘The Hazaras and their role in the process of political transformation in Afghanistan’, Central Asian Survey, vol. 6, no. 3, 1997, pp. 363-371; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 5-8, 155-174, 218; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 111-113, 283. Hazaras cite Puta Khazana (The Hidden Treasure), published in 1960, as an example of a controversial or fictitious history funded by the government which promoted Pashtun superiority. 9 Quoted in Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, p. 162 10 Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 198, 199; Human Rights Watch, Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Legacy of Impunity, New York, 2005, pp. 70-100. Numbers have never been accurately ascertained.One Haza ra website estimates that approximately 1,000 were killed or remain missing. See ‘Afshar and Kateh Sahe massacre’, Hazara. net, 2009 http://www. hazara. net/taliban/genocide/afshar/afshar. html, accessed 19 June 2010. 3 4 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 conflicts. ) In 1998, in retaliation for war crimes committed by the United Front (of which Hazaras were a part) against Taliban soldiers, the Taliban slaughtered approximately 2,000 or more Hazaras in Mazar-e Sharif. Civilians were killed in residential areas and market places, some dying with their throats slit.Highlighting the accompanying religious hatred, Taliban governor Mullah Manon Niazi had publicly incited the attack, preaching that, ‘Hazaras are not Muslim. You can kill them. It is not a sin’. Hazaras were reportedly warned to take lessons from their own history, and to either convert, flee or be killed. Hundreds fled the terror of Mazar-e Sharif. Massac res continued, with Taliban soldiers rounding up civilians in the Yakaolang district in 2001, publicly executing at least 170, many of whom were Hazaras. Near Robatak Pass, the Taliban also executed at least 31 civilians, with 26 confirmed to be Hazaras. 1 A resurgent Taliban After more than a decade, American and NATO forces have failed to bring peace and a withdrawal is imminent. Regrouping since 2001, the Taliban is now made up of an alliance of three Islamist groups; the Quetta Shura Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin, an insurgency described by the US Department of Defence as ‘resilient and evolving’. 12 With safe havens for terrorism in western Pakistan, the insurgency maintains strongholds in southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, and has been expanding to the west and north. 3 The Taliban’s clear presence in Shinwari district of Parwan province, less than a few hours from Kabul, was demonstrated with news last week of the Tali ban’s execution of a young woman on ‘adultery’ charges. 14 Terror in the Hazarajat Analysts recently deemed Ghazni to be ‘among the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan’. 15 In 2006, a former governor was assassinated, and in 2007, the Taliban held 23 South Koreans hostage. Located in Ghazni province is Jaghori, an Hazara- populated district and former home of many Hazara refugees now in Australia. Jaghori nd Hazara-populated Malistan are surrounded by Pashtun areas under Taliban control. In June 2010, the Taliban reportedly distributed ‘nightletters’, a method of intimidation, to districts within Ghazni province, warning that the main road out of Jaghori to Kabul is now closed. Residents need to travel beyond Jaghori for medical, commercial, study and work reasons, but travel is now perilous. Taliban routinely search travellers on the Qarabagh-Jaghori road. Travellers have been tortured, detained and some have gone missing. T heir vehicles have been stolen and the road is periodically closed.Many fear a repeat of the Taliban’s 1997 road blockade of essential supplies. Additionally, Jaghori strongly supports education, with numerous high schools and primary and middle schools. The Taliban, however, have targeted schools. For example, in July 2010, the Taliban attacked and burnt schools in Tamki, Jaghori district, and in Qarabagh district. The Taliban also killed Syed Sekander Muhammadi, the head teacher of a school in Shaki Nuka, in Qarabagh district, as he travelled to Ghazni. 16 In nearby Oruzgan province, the decapitated corpses of 11 Hazara males were iscovered in the Khas Oruzgan district on 25 June 2010. Police official Mohammed Gulab Wardak reported that the Taliban killed them ‘because they were ethnic Hazaras and Shiite Muslims’. 17 This occurred in the very province where Australia’s Defence Personnel have been deployed in a security and reconstruction role, showing th e dire 11 Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif, vol, 10, no. 7(C), November 1998, http://www. unhcr. org/refworld/docid/45c9a4b52. html, accessed 18 June 2010; Human Rights Watch, Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan, vol. 13, no. (C), February 2001, http://www. hrw. org/legacy/reports/2001/afghanistan/, accessed 18 June 2010; Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 22; Mullah Manon Niazi quoted in ‘On genocide of Hazaras’, Hazara. net, January 2011, http://www. hazara. net/taliban/taliban. html, accessed 18 July 2012. 12 Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan: Report to Congress in Accordance with 2008 National Defense Authorisation Act (Section 1230, Public Law 110-181), USA, January 2009, p. 7, http://www. efense/gov/pubs/OCTOBER_1230_FINAL_pdf, accessed 12 August 2010. 13 Maria Golovnina, ‘Factbox: Insurgency in Afghanistan: Who are they? â€℠¢, 25 September 2009, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE58O2F620090925, accessed 12 August 2010. Dylan Welch & Ben Doherty, ‘‘God tells us to finish her’: Taliban remind world they are no spent force’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July 2012, p. 1. 14 threat to Hazaras, even alongside a broader military presence. 15 William Maley, ‘On the position of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan’, 28 June 2010, posted on Welcome to Ataullah’s Page, http://ataullahnaseri. ordpress. com/2010/06/28/on-the-position-of-the-hazara-minority, accessed 5 August 2010. 16 Thomas Ruttig, ‘A new, new Taliban front’, Foreign Policy, 21 June 2010, http://afpak. foreignpolicy. com/posts/2010/06/21/a_new_new_taliban_front_0, accessed 5 August 2012; Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven, 2000, p. 67; Abdul Karim Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven: Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan’, Spe cial report, University of Technology Sydney, October 2011, pp. 18, 19. 17 Tahereh Ghanaati, ‘The Hazara carnage in Afghanistan’, Press TV, 27 June 2010, http://www. resstv. ir/pop/Print/? id=132225, accessed 28 June 2010; Ismail Sameem & Jonathon Burch, ‘Police find 11 beheaded bodies in Afghan South’, 25 June 2010, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE65O2ML20100625, accessed 28 June 2010. 5 6 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Hazaras. Although the Taliban denied involvement, Afghani analyst Ahmad Shuja fears In Maidan Wardak province, land disputes between Hazaras and Kuchis often erupt each summer but have worsened in recent years.Kuchis have been arriving in the Behsud and Daimirdad districts heavily armed for conflict. Kuchis believe the aforementioned decrees issued under Abdur Rahman entitle them to access, while many Hazaras have never accepted the loss of full rights over their land. Consequent ly, Hazaras have been killed and their homes burnt. In 2008, approximately 60,000 people were displaced, and in May 2010, a report estimated that 1,800 families had been displaced, 68 homes burnt, and 28 schools closed, leaving10,000 students without school facilities.As nomads, the Kuchi are also a minority group, but belong to the traditionally dominant Pashtun group. It is feared that the Taliban may be exploiting the past to incite attacks by their fellow Pashtuns, the Kuchi, against Hazaras. The Karzai government has either largely ignored repeated Hazara pleas for assistance or has been impotent in stopping the violence, sparking worldwide protests by Hazaras. 18 These crises cannot be dismissed as internal land disputes; rather, they stem from the nineteenth century acts of conquest, dispossession and persecution – and another government’s marginalisation of Hazaras.Terror in Kabul Brutal assaults also have occurred recently in Kabul. On 6 December 2011, a suici de bomber killed at least 56 Shiites pilgrims worshipping at the Abdul Fazal Abbas Shrine in the Murad Khani district in Kabul during commemorations for Ashura, the holiest day of Muharram. On the same day, a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded, killing Shiite pilgrims in Mazar-e Sharif and bringing the death toll to 60. A spokesperson for Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility via Radio Free Europe.LeJ, formed in 1996, is a militant Sunni Deobandi Islamist group based in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Among links with numerous terror groups, it has a close relationship with Afghani Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Most killed and injured were 18 Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. 1-3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, ‘AIHRC grave concern about armed onflict be tween Kochies and native inhabitants of Behsood district of Maidan Wardak’, Kabul Press, 22 May 2010, http://kabulpress. org/my/spip. php? article11725, accessed 9 August 2010; ‘UNAMA silent on Kuchi attack in Behsud’, Hazaristan Times, 21 May 2010, http://hazaristantimes. wordpress. com/2010/05/21/unama-silent-on-Kuchi-attack-in-behsud, accessed 6 August 2010. the attacks will inflame religious tensions, echoing a recent past in which the Taliban massacred thousands of Hazaras. 19 Increasing bloodshed in Quetta, PakistanSince the nineteenth century, Hazaras have traditionally fled or migrated to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, in what is now Pakistan. Quetta has long been a ‘second home’ for Hazaras; some live there as permanent Pakistani citizens, others as refugees. Possibly 30,000-50,000 Hazara refugees now live in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban in 1996. Over the last decade, however, Shiite Hazaras in Balochistan have been dying in an escalating spate of sectarian attacks, often occurring daily. LeJ have distributed leaflets condemning Shiites as ‘infidels’.Proclaiming their right under Islam to kill them, LeJ publicly state that they will continue acting against Shiites. One of its leaders, Milak Ishaque, had 40 murder charges pending against him: after serving 15 years imprisonment he was released on 14 July 2011. Hazaras and the Asian Human Rights Commission report that the Pakistani government, army and law enforcement impunity. 20 authorities are failing to act, openly allowing the banned terror organisation to kill with These are but a few examples in a litany of bloody attacks. Eight Hazaras were slain inPoodgali Chowk in 2001, and 12 Hazara policeman killed in Sariab, in 2003. On 20 September 2011, armed men intercepted a bus in the Ganjidori area of Mastung, southeast of Quetta. It carried 45, mostly Shiite, pilgrims travelling to Taftan, Iran. Ordering them off the bus, gunmen shot t hose identifying themselves as Shiites in the ‘head, chest and abdomen’. Twenty-nine Shiites were killed and five escaped. An hour 19 Ernesto Londono, ‘Dozens dead in rare attack on Shiite mosque in Kabul’, The Washington Post, 6 December 2011, http://www. washingtonpost. om/world/rare-attack-in-kabul-targets-shiitemosque/2011/12/06/gIQAVnEkYO_print, accessed 7 December 2011; ‘Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security, Australian Government, updated 15 March 2012, http://www. ema. gov. au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity. nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing _of_Terrorism_Organisations_Lashkar_I_Jhangvi, accessed 18 July 2012. 20 Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security; Syed Shoaib Hasan, ‘A year of suffering for Pakistan’s Shias’, BBC News, Balochistan, 6 December 2011, http://www. bbc. co. k/news/worldasia-15928538, accessed 21 January 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, pp. 20-23; ‘The state of human rights in Pakistan in 2011’, Asian Human Rights Commission, 2011, p. 42, http://www. AHRC-SPR008-2011-HRRptPakistan. pdf, accessed 18 July 2012. 7 8 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 later, gunmen killed 3 Shiites, believed to be victims’ relatives on their way to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. LeJ claimed responsibility. 21 On 28 June 2012, a bomb blast killed Shiite pilgrims travelling by bus near a fruit market in the Hazarganji area of Quetta.Thirteen were killed and 30 injured, with most of the victims Hazaras. LeJ again claimed responsibility. Prominent leaders, professionals, intellectuals and policemen have been assassinated, along with a sportsman and artist. For example, Chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, Hussain Ali Yousofi, was slain on 26 January 2011. The general Hazara population, including women and children, are now also being indiscriminately targeted. Australian Hazar as visiting relatives in Quetta speak of witnessing attacks on Hazara civilians in the streets and of a climate of terror.Abdul Karim Hekmat reports that ‘over 500 Hazaras have been killed and over 1,500 injured as a result of targeted’ attacks in Pakistan since 2003. 22 Other sources cite even higher numbers. Failures of protection and continuing fear Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution includes exemplary protection for human rights and Hazaras have gained prominent government positions. However, with critical failures to implement the rule of law beyond Kabul – or even maintain it in Kabul – reform has not translated to improved safety for Hazaras in remote villages. Insurgents do not recognise government law.Moreover, Afghani culture is bound up with traditions of governing and maintaining security through tribal and religious consensus, gained at district and community levels rather than through a centralised authority. In December 2009, the Karzai government also gazetted a law giving amnesty to all who committed war crimes in the past two decades of conflict, allowing alleged war criminals from various ethnicities to hold parliamentary positions with impunity. Professor William Maley cautions against ‘tokenism’, arguing that the inclusion of Hazaras within overnment has not brought about real changes. 23 History shows that the 1980s’ reforms which delivered greater equity for Hazaras did not stop the bloodshed which followed in the 1990s and beyond. That this is the sixth constitution since 1923 also exemplifies the fragility of Afghani reforms. Safety for minority groups requires broad social changes to address deeply-rooted tribal, religious and ethnic prejudices – this is something that will take years. The possibility of a Taliban alliance with international support, set against the draw-down of troops, causes terror among many Hazaras. 24In summarising why Hazaras risk their lives on boats, an Hazara refugee says: When the government and law enforcement agencies can’t provide protection, when your house [in Quetta or Afghanistan] is on fire, when your home country becomes hell for you, when you can’t go anywhere without the fear of being killed, when your religion and your facial features make you the easy target. When death is hovering over your head every day, then you don’t have options but to flee, seek refuge, knock at other people’s door for help, sit on a leaky boat, choose a dangerous journey that possibly leads to death.Today the Hazara Shias (boat people, the asylum seekers) are in a state of desperation and struggling for their survival as it is a basic human instinct. 25 Recommendations flee. I therefore make the following comments: Based on the continuing and unresolved history of bloodshed, Hazaras will continue to 1) Given the need for negotiation within a democratic process, I have reflected deeply on the current options being debated. However, we cannot participate in the ‘trade’ of 21 Shehzad Baloch, ‘Sectarian atrocity: 29 killed in Mastung, Quetta ambushes’, The Express Tribune, 21 September 2011, http://tribune. om. pk/story/256419/gunmen-attack-bus-in-balochistan-20killed/? print=true, accessed 22 September 2011. 22 ‘Shia pilgrims bus attacked by a rocket near Quetta, 13 martyred over 30 injured’, Jafria News, 29 June 2012, http://jafrianews. com/2012/06/29/shia-pilgrims-bus-attacked-by-a-rocket-near-quetta-13martyred-over-30-injured/, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Hazara Shia community on strike over Quetta attacks’, BBC News, Asia, 29 June 2012, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-18640945, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Blast kills 13, including Shia pilgrims, in Quetta’, Dawn. om, 28 June 2012, http://dawn. com/2012/06/28/eight-including-policeman-killed-in-quetta-blast/, accessed 16 July 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, p. 22; In formal discussions with Australian Hazaras. 23 William Maley, Radio interview conducted by Geraldine Doogue, ‘Afghan Hazara’, Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 13 April 2010, http://www. abc. net. au/radionational/programs/breakfast/afghanhazara/3039616, accessed 16 June 2010; Una Moore, ‘UN human rights rep in Kabul calls for repeal of war crimes amnesty’, UN Dispatch, 30 March 2010, http://www. undispatch. om/un-human-rightsrep-in-kabul-calls-for-repeal-of-war-crimes-amnesty, accessed 11 June 2010; Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, p. 11; Shahmahmood Miakhel, ‘Understanding Afghanistan: The importance of tribal culture and structure in security and governance’, US Institute of Peace, November 2009, p. 1. 24 Sonya Hepinstall, ‘Holbrooke: Reformed Taliban in Afghan government not wrong’, Thomson Reuters, 6 June 2010, http://in. reuters. com/article/2010/06/07/idINIndia-49088220100607, access ed 18 June 2010. 25 Anonymous Hazara refugee, 29 June 2012. 9 0 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 human lives with the Malaysian option. I support the principle suggestions made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter, so will not reiterate their points here. 2) Help educate parliamentarians and the public as to why refugees flee their homelands. Exercise clear leadership in depoliticising the debate. 3) Hazaras tell me they want peace and human rights in their homeland – only then will they stop fleeing. Hazaras have witnessed the brutal deaths of their family members, including fathers, mothers, siblings and children.Flight is accompanied by intense grief, trauma and longing. Waiting years for family reunions will drive loved ones to get on boats. Those left behind in Afghanistan not only face destitution, but are also often brutally targeted by warlords who learn that their husband, son or brother has fled to a Western country. In a recent case, the intimidation of a young Hazara refugee’s family members left in Jaghori resulted in an attack on the family home, killing an eight-monthold baby. I have witnessed refugees’ debilitating distress as they wait years

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Crooks of Mice and Men

In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses descriptive language and diction to explain Crook’s room. After reading the two paragraphs explaining Crooks’s room, a reader can infer that Crooks is caring, lonely and informed about his rights. Crooks’s room is described as â€Å"a little shed† with many personal possessions.† Furthermore, unlike the other men on the ranch he has books which consist of â€Å"a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905† and medicine for the horses. The fact that Crooks carries medicine for both him and the horses shows how caring he is, since he seems to care about the horses. Since Crooks has many personal possessions and his own room, a reader can conclude that Crooks is more permanent than the other men on the ranch. Also unlike the other men on the ranch, Crooks owns tattered books. Since they are tattered, it can be inferred that Crooks enjoys reading these books. Reading is a very solitary form of entertainment. Crooks probably reads because he has no one else to keep him entertained. Given that, it can be inferred that he is very informed about his rights as a working class, African American man. A description of a setting can tell a reader much about its inhabitants. John Steinbeck illustrates many different descriptive settings throughout the course of the story Of Mice and Men. After reading the two paragraphs describing Crooks’s room, a reader can conclude that Crooks is caring, lonely and informed about his rights.