549 words

Gated communities and the decline of public trust in America

Putting Up Gates," Edward Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder describe the growing practice of using gates and other barriers to enclose communities both private and public.

~3 min read

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478 words

Comparative advantage and market equilibrium in international trade

U.S. For the United States, the opportunity cost of one car is 2.5 tons of grain. The opportunity cost of one ton of grain is 0.4 cars. For Japan, the opportunity cost of one car is 1.25 tons of grain. The opportunity cost of one ton of grain is 0.8 cars.

~3 min read

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606 words

Historical accuracy in Sergio Leone's Man with No Name trilogy

In 1939, director John Ford brought to the screen one of the most enduring and influential films of the 20th century -- Stagecoach, starring John Wayne as Ringo, the proverbial Western outlaw with a well-concealed heart of gold beneath a rather rough cowboy exterior.

~4 min read

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326 words

Bennett's argument that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence in scientific inquiry

The chapter by Bennett (2008) is superficially about the search for -- or perhaps more accurately, the evidentiary support for -- the existence of extra-terrestrial life as demonstrated by Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO).

~2 min read

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603 words

Improving women's rights in post-Taliban Afghanistan

The image of the oppressed Afghani woman in a burka has been burned across the newspapers of the world: undeniably, the status of women in Afghanistan has had a profoundly negative impact upon the public image of the nation.

~4 min read

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577 words

The welfare system and single motherhood in DeParle's American dream

The welfare system in the United States -- and welfare systems generally, it should be noted -- has long been a matter of contention amongst the policy makers in the federal government and in the realm of public opinion.

~3 min read

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680 words

Bill Nelson's political career and advocacy for space exploration

United States Senator Bill Nelson (Democratic Party) was born in 1942 in Miami, Florida and served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1971 during some of the hottest years of the Vietnam conflict. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 after serving six years in the Florida cabinet.

~4 min read

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655 words

Shelby v. Conroe Independent School District: IDEA evaluation requirements and parental consent

A right to a public education, along with the services needed to benefit from that education, is fundamentally important to every American, but particularly to persons with severe disabilities for whom education is often a lifeline into society.

~4 min read

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377 words

Arabic numerals and algebra in medieval European economic development

A number of new developments occurred during the early Middle Ages in the Arab world to make current methods of calculating economic principles possible: the first was the development of so-called 'Arabic' numbers, which enabled easier calculation methods than the numbers of the Roman numerical…

~2 min read

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691 words

Kantian ethics and workplace conflict over lingering cigarette smoke

Workplace ban on smoking is not a controversial subject anymore as people tend to recognize the rights of non-smokers to a smoke-free workplace.

~4 min read

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