Music and Meaning - Tupac Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music and Meaning - Tupac - Essay Example Then, I will explain why and how the following four songs had a strong impact on my personal life: â€Å"Life Goes On†, â€Å"Keep Ya head Up†, â€Å"California Love† and â€Å"Changes†. A good friend of mine introduced me to the works of Tupac Shakur many years ago and although Tupac has been dead for 15 years, his music is still very important to me. From the beginning I could feel that his songs were authentic. Tupac seemed to turn his personal thoughts and experiences into music, which is the very reason why his songs do not only sound authentic, but truly are authentic as well.Moreover, I was and still am impressed by the variety of topics that are addressed in his various songs. This is another reason why Tupac was and still is very important to me; depending on my mood or my situation there are certain songs that fit my situation. I listen to different songs when I am happy compared to when I am sad or angry and Tupac seems to have the right song for me in every situation. Moreover, Tupac touched on a variety of topics, including racism, tolerance, social and racial equality, violence, conflicts with the law, life in the ghettos, criticism of the â€Å"Americ an Dream† and the love for his Mom, which is another reason why his versatile lyrics are captivating. â€Å"Life Goes On† is one of Tupac’s songs that hit my emotional nerve, more than that, it helped me through a sad period of my life. It is a song about losing loved ones, but while remembering them, life goes on and one has to continue with life, even though it might be hard to do so.

Role of Johnathan Edwards on First Great Awakening Essay

Role of Johnathan Edwards on First Great Awakening - Essay Example During his final years he was in charge of a boarding school where he preached the Indian boys. He died from smallpox in 1758, five weeks after he was inaugurated as the President of the College of New Jersey (â€Å"Jonathan Edwards†). The First Great Awakening Religious renewal The First Great Awakening was a movement that revitalized Christianity in the American colonies during the third and fourth decades of the eighteenth century. The impact was particularly felt in New England. The movement was caused by certain Christians who began to protest against the traditional mode of worship. It was generated by intense preaching from theologians like Jonathan Edwards which encouraged the avid listeners to disassociate from established rituals. They could feel a new sense of spiritual sincerity and their prayers were intensified by deep emotions (â€Å"Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening†). Cause of the movement The glorious revolution of 1688 brought an end to the fights between different religious and political groups in England. The Church of England became the most important church of the country. People began to practice only one religion as the other religions like Catholicism, Judaism, and Puritanism were suppressed. Although this created religious stability but there was lack of fervor among the worshippers. Religion became a set of rituals to be followed without deep faith in the heart and soul. This state of complacency continued for several decades in England and American colonies before the First Great Awakening brought a religious renewal in the second quarter of the eighteenth century (â€Å"Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening†). First Revivals in 1733-35 The roots of the First Great Awakening grew when a terrible earthquake struck on October 29, 1927 in New England. This led to wide-spread spiritual awakenings among the general people which paved the way for future revivals. The massive impact of the event and thi rty sermons regarding the earthquake that were published shook the spiritual complacency among the believers. As an immediate effect of the earthquake people began to crowd in churches to seek for salvation through Christ. The pastors began to preach the benefits of revival. Haverhill’s church became the largest center for revival after the earthquake where many fervent meetings were held with the churches of Bradford and Massachusetts. Pastor John Brown wrote in a letter that 154 people most of whom were youths came to him for â€Å"full membership, baptism, or renewal of their baptismal covenant† (Kidd, 10). Many people who had committed grave sins came to the church with deep faith to seek salvation. Brown however did not believe that the earthquake was the only cause of the start of revival, as he saw new interests for religion in his congregation in the spring of the same year. The next revival came in a â€Å"Time of great Security† with no external provoc ations like natural disasters. This was the revival generated by Jonathan Edwards in Northampton in 1734-35. Although George Whitefield was the most important preacher of that era, Edwards was the â€Å"greatest American articulator of the evangelical view of God, man and revival† (Kidd, 10-13). In April of 1734, a young man died within two days of being attacked by Pleurisy. Soon after that a young married woman died who seemed to have been blessed with God’

Overview of the organization of Wal-Mart Essay Example for Free

Overview of the organization of Wal-Mart Essay Today, one of the most common places known to everyone (Except Paris Hilton) is Wal-Mart. Last year, Wal-Mart had revenues of $191 billion and has 1,283,000 employees, as of 2002. Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the United States, and is larger than any other retail chain in the world. Currently Wal-Mart operates over 4,150 retail facilities globally. According to the Fortune 500 index of the wealthiest and most powerful corporations in the world, Wal-Mart holds the number one spot, ranked by its total sales. The company is ranked as the second most admired company in the world by Fortune (www.fortune.com). With all these numbers, you would think they had a long drawn out plan with goals as long as their success, but when Sam Walton created Wal-Mart in 1962, he declared that three policy goals would define his business: respect for the individual, service to customers, and striving for excellence (www.walmart.com). Three very short, but successful goals, which have been working since. As I researched goals and planning, Wal-Marts goals are not the standard goals that I found. In the textbook there is information concerning characteristics of goals. Characteristics of Well-Designed Goals: 1) Written in terms of outcomes rather than actions. 2) Measurable and quantifiable. 3) Clear as to a time frame. 4) Challenging yet attainable. 5) Written down. 6) Communicated to all necessary organizational members. Management (Page 166 Para. 1) As we redirect to Wal-Marts goals, we can see that they would not be defined as well designed. Not many of the six characteristics would fit Sam Waltons goals. 1) Respect for the individual This could not be considered for outcomes rather than actions nor is it measurable and quantifiable. It contains no time frame and I hardly consider respect as a challenge. However the goals were written and have been communicated to all employees. When it comes to the respect from Wal-Mart stores many individuals feel Sam Walton has lost his sight. I researched what others had to say about the goals. Everyone says the store really got bad after Sam died, one individual explains. http://members.aol.com/walmopboy/abuse/strl.htm (Look Before You Leap) The site contains articles customers and employees have posted about the treatment they have received at various Wal-Mart stores. 2) Service to customers Once again this fits only the last two characteristics explained. It is written and has been communicated. 3) Striving for excellence This, compared to the other two fits the characteristics best. It could be considered for outcomes rather than action, and could be considered challenging. It is not measurable and quantifiable, nor clear as to a time frame. However, it is once again written down and communicated to the employees. When I researched how well these goals were communicated to the employees, I found that they are printed on the hiring paperwork. Once the paperwork is complete the employees do not see or receive the goals. Therefore, I do not feel the goals are communicated effectively among the employees and organization. In order for the goals to be achieved, I feel the employees must be aware of Sam Waltons sight. I believe the first step to achieve these goals effectively would be to instill them within the employees. They should be explained clearly and constantly. They should also be printed, in clear sight. This would help to  remind employees and show customers their attitudes. I also feel that the goals should have a clear time frame and measurable. For example: In one year, cut complaints to less than 20 per store. There should be some way to ensure the goals are being reached. By setting time frames and a measurable form the store can see how well or terrible they are doing. Resources: 1) Wal-Mart Homepage http://www.walmart.com/ [Accessed 18 July 2004] 2) Fortune http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ [Accessed 18 July 2004] 3) Wal-Mart Horror Stories Archives http://members.aol.com/walmopboy/abuse/strl.htm [Accessed 19 July 2004] 4) Robbins, Coulter (2005) Management Eighth Edition Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Custom Publishing

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading To what extent do we use wholistic visual cues when reading? Researchers have proposed that individuals use the outline shape of a word, meaning wholistic visual cues, in visual word recognition in reading. Various methods have been used to investigate reading in individuals with differing reading abilities. The reading abilities of young children and individuals with dyslexia have been studied to determine how this deviates from normally reading adults. The majority of research found the use of wholistic visual cues is most beneficial to individuals with dyslexia (Perea Panadero, 2013) and those in the early stages of learning to read (Ehri, 1995). However, disparity between the research conclusions exist, proposing that wholistic visual cues are used in conjunction with other recognition processes. The holistically biased hybrid model (Allen, Wallace Weber, 1995) and the process model (Besner Johnston, 1989) both provide theories for word recognition. The holistically biased hybrid model uses either an addressed or an assembled pathway to process words, with the addressed pathway being dominant in normal reading (Allen et al., 1995). This model accounts for both word frequency and provides an explanation for reading behaviours when presented with a mixed case paradigm, supporting the use of wholistic visual cues in reading (Allen et al., 1995). Alternatively, the process model recognises words using either a familiarity assessment, letter analysis or multi-letter identification (Besner Johnston, 1989) and rejects the use of wholistic visual cues. The interactive activation model uses similar analytical methods as the process model (McClelland and Rumelhart, 1981), whereby numerous variables of the word are processed for recognition. The different uses of visual cues was dete rmined by Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) who concluded that wholistic visual cues are used in the initial stages of word recognition and this is then followed by abstract letter identification. Evidence for both of these models have been found and provide evidence for and against the use of wholistic visual cues using a variety of research methods. A method used to research the importance of word shape in reading is that of the cloze test, whereby participants must anticipate the upcoming word. Haber, Haber and Furlin (1983) tested adult reading using cues including word length, envelope shape or providing the following word. They found that participants used the shape envelope to recognise the target word. The cue provided word length information which decreased the number of alternative applicable words. However, the wholistic visual cues did not provide semantic cues, suggesting that other methods of word recognition are required in conjunction with wholistic visual cues. Mirman and Magnuson (2008) discovered that words which are semantically similar increase reaction times in visual word recognition. These pieces of research support the interactive activation model because it requires the processing of several aspects of the word in parallel, including semantics (McClelland Rumelhart, 1983). Fisher and Murray (1987) replic ated Haber et al.’s (1983) research using children as their participants. No age difference was discovered in the use of wholistic visual cues between the ages of 10 to 13 years old. However, Johnston, Anderson and Duncan (1991) determined that at 8 years old salient external features improved reading accuracy which was not seen at the age of ten. This research therefore suggests that wholistic visual cues may be used more in reading behaviours when improving reading ability. Naming tasks have been particularly important in researching developing reading abilities. Webb, Beech, Mayall and Andrews (2006) studied the effects of concealing either the inner or outer sections of words for children. The outer sections of a word elicited more accurate reading ability, whereas inner visual information of words had no influence on the individual’s reading behaviours even when accounting for frequency effects. Increased performance when presented with the outer sections of words as opposed to the inner sections was also evidenced by Beech and Mayall (2005). This concluded that individuals process word shape envelopes in visual word recognition, suggesting that wholistic visual cues may play a role in the initial stages of the interactive activation model (Webb et al., 2006). It is also possible to explain the findings using Gestalt theory, proposing that individuals form connections between the outer sections of words in order to make up for the missing word sections (Beech Mayall, 2005). The Gestalt theory provides evidence for the use of wholistic visual cues and it is evident when researching the effects of presenting other sections of words. This was then analysed further by presenting only the upper section of words to normally reading adults. Perea, Comesana and Soares (2012) determined an improved reaction time when upper sections of words were presented. However, this did not apply to pseudo-words, implying that the word must be known in order to have the desired effect. The decreased reaction time indicates that upper sections of words have more salient cues than lower sections of words, meaning they are more representative of the target word. These pieces of research therefore emphasise the importance of wholistic visual cues in visual word recognition, however research by Pelli, Farell and Moore (2003) contrasted these conclusions. The researchers determined that individuals focus on minor cues in words and collate these for an overall representation of the word, contrasting the evidence of using wholistic visual cues when reading. Further information other than word shape envelopes must therefore be known in orde r to accurately process the given word. An alternative way in which the use of wholistic visual cues has been researched is that of using a mixed case paradigm, presenting an array of uppercase and lowercase letters to participants (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). Presenting words in a mixed case format increased reaction times as well as reducing the recognition of the word, providing evidence for the importance of wholistic visual cues and contradicting the interactive activation model (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). However, the mixed case paradigm had no influence on the identification of individual letters in this case, supporting the interactive activation model and opposing the use of wholistic visual cues. Besner and Johnston (1989) also found pseudo-words in a mixed case format to be detrimental to reading ability. This therefore demonstrates the need for the word shape envelope and rejects the interactive activation model due to the reduced reading ability. Allen et al. (1995) used a lexical decision task to compare the r eading of lower and mixed cases when given a time constraint on processing. The experiments concluded an increased reaction time for pseudo-words in a mixed case format, indicating the importance of wholistic visual cues in word recognition. Participants struggled to accept or reject pseudo-words presented for 400ms, representing the processing limitations during short exposure periods. This research is in line with Allen et al.’s (1995) holistically biased hybrid model but contrasts the analytical models, including the process model. The research carried out by Allen et al. (1995) indicates that for the successful completion of lexical decision tasks wholistic visual cues are necessary, meaning that reading methods may adapt to the task’s requirements. This provides an explanation for the great degree of variation seen in the research into the use of wholistic visual cues and shows the high level of validity of this method due to the replicability of the findings. Further research has led to the suggestion that wholistic visual cues may only be used in circumstances where normal reading behaviour is inhibited. This was recently demonstrated by Perea and Panadero (2013) using a lexical decision task to analyse reading behaviours for adults, children and children with developmental dyslexia. There was no effect on the reaction times for word recognition when pseudo-words were presented as having the same shape as real words for adults and children. However, those with developmental dyslexia were found to be affected by the word shape of pseudo-words (Perea Panadero, 2013), reflecting how wholistic visual cues are used to a different extent. This indicates the use of more analytical processing methods in normal reading. Lavidor (2011) also found word shape envelopes to be beneficial to individuals with dyslexia. These pieces of research suggest that children and those with dyslexia fixate on particularly salient cues in order to reliably process words (Ehri Wilce, 1985). This again dismisses the word shape hypothesis and provides further evidence for the importance of the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) during normal reading due to the use of feature analysis. These studies highlight the requirement for top-down processing in normal reading behaviours compared to dyslexia, as the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) requires the processing of multiple factors in word recognition. Cognitive processing, including top-down processing, is a vital part of visual word recognition. Research carried out by Yates (2013) provides further evidence with clustering effects that word shape alone has limited influence on normal reading behaviour. If a set of words only differ by a phoneme then word recognition requires a higher level of activation and is processed more slowly (Yates, 2013). This infers that the use of a word’s shape envelope is influenced by cognitive processing ability. Cognitive processing can again be seen by analysing parafoveal vision. When monitoring eye movements McConkie and Zola (1979) discovered normally reading adults do not detect any changes to manipulations of word shape in parafoveal vision. Contrasting evidence by Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) determined that when proofreading, participants remained unaware of changes to words unless the word shape envelope was manipulated. An alternative explanation for the lack of evidence for the word shape hypothesis may be that the use of wholistic cues becoming automated (Webb et al., 2006). Research has proven the importance of the word shape envelope for young readers and dyslexics, however it has not been consistently reported in adults. If word shape is processed in a more automated manner the individual’s cognitive load would be significantly reduced (Webb et al., 2006). This reduction would allow other, more efficient, reading behaviours to occur. These pieces of research led to the conclusion that wholistic visual cues are important in visual word recognition, however as an individual matures their reading behaviours may be modified. Previous research has found that individual’s reading methods change as their reading ability improves. Children initially use wholistic visual cues and then potentially develop more effective reading methods (Perea Panadero, 2013). Research by Seymour and Eldre (1986) determined that in order to read children have to be specifically taught to read each of these words, meaning they are unable to determine the phonological information of a word and as such rely on wholistic visual cues (Webb et al., 2006). This was also supported was Ehri (1995) who described stages in children’s visual word recognition. When children learn to read they engage in sight word reading or logographic reading, meaning that the word is read through memory retrieval. As children’s reading ability develops they learn the relationship of phonemes and graphemes and are thus able to apply this to more complex words in the consolidated alphabetic stage (Ehri, 1995). Research using children i s therefore of great advantage when focusing on adult reading. The conclusion has been reached that as children develop their reading ability they refine their use of wholistic visual cues. Thus as visual word recognition becomes more refined individuals use other recognition strategies in parallel with wholistic visual cues. Research into the use of wholistic visual cues has shown that adults do not necessarily use wholistic visual cues. However, evidence has shown that children and individuals with developmental dyslexia use these cues to a great extent. This difference may occur due to the processing of wholistic visual cues becoming more automated as reading develops. Alternatively, the varying use of wholistic cues may be explained by the demands of the task, as shown by lexical decision tasks (Allen et al., 1995). For this reason wholistic visual cues provide a more accurate account of visual word recognition when taken in conjunction with analytical models, such as the interactive activation model and the process model. References Allen, P. A., Wallace, B., Weber, T. A. (1995). Influence of case type, word frequency, and exposure duration on visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(4), 914-934. Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. A. (2005). The word shape hypothesis re-examined: Evidence for an external feature advantage in visual word recognition. Journal of Research in Reading, 28(3), 302-319. Besner Johnston (1989) Beech M Coltheart Freeman (1974) Allen Ehri, L. C. (1995). Phases of development in learning to read words by sight. Journal of Research in Reading, 18(2), 116-125. Ehri Wilce (1985) Lavidor Fisher Murray (1987) Webb Haber, L. R., Haber, R. N., Furlin, K. R. (1983). Word length and word shape as sources of information in reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 18(2), 165-189. Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome Noel (1984) Beech Mayall Johnston, Anderson Duncan (1991) Beech M Lavidor, M. (2011). Whole-word shape effect in dyslexia. Journal of Research in Reading, 34(4), 443-454. McClelland and Rumelhart (1981) McConkie, G. W., Zola, D. (1979). Is visual information integrated across successive fixations in reading? Perception and Psychophysics, 25(3), 221-224. Mirman Magnuson (2008) yates Seymoure Eldre (1986) Webb Paap, K. R., Newsome, S. L., Noel, R. W. (1984). Word shape’s in poor shape for the race to the lexicon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10(3), 413-428. Pelli, D. G., Farell, B., Moore, D. C. (2003). The remarkable inefficiency of word recognition. Nature, 423, 752-756. Perea, M., Comesana, M., Soares, A. P. (2012). Does the advantage of the upper part of words occur at the lexical level? Memory and Cognition, 40, 1257-1265. Perea, M., Panadero, V. (2013). Does viotin activate violin more than viocin? On the use of visual cues during visual-word recognition. Experimental Psychology, 61(1), 23-29. Webb, T. M., Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. M., Andrews, A. S. (2006). It’s what’s on the outside that matters: An advantage for external features in children’s word recognition. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 94, 163-181. Yates, M. (2013). How the clustering of phonological neighbours affects visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 39(5), 1649-1656.

Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels :: Swift Gulliver Satire Essays

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift’s, Gulliver’s Travels satirically relates bodily functions and physical attributes to social issues during England’s powerful rule of Europe. Throughout the story we find many relations between bodily features and British and European society. Swift uses this tone of mockery to explain to his reader the importance of many different topics during this time of European rule. Swift feels that the body and their functions relate to political as well as the ration of a society. Swift’s fascination with the body comes from its unproblematic undertone which gives his audience recognizable parallelism to many issues such as political change and scientific innovation. Gulliver’s first adventure takes place in Lilliput. Gulliver swims to a foreign shore after his boat and rowboat capsize due to a fierce storm. Washed upon the shore, Gulliver finds himself tied to the grass surrounded by little bodied people called the Lilliputians. The Lilliputians stood no more than six inches high. During this time Swift recognized that England was also a kind of six inch being that had great influence in Europe. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travel’s during a time when Europe was the worlds most dominant and influential force. England, despite its small size, had the potential to defeat any nation that might try to conquer them. Swift relates this phenomenon to the small stature of the Lilliputians. They stood a mere six inches high but had the power to siege the mammoth Gulliver. The capability of a nation consisting of miniature people, who are able to capture someone ten-times their size can be seen as reinforcing the capability of a small natio n, such as England, becoming and remaining a great power. Even though this is true, Swift entices a condescending tone to Gulliver’s portrayal of the small Lilliputians, who easily fit into the hands of Gulliver, yet still manage to threaten his life. Even though the Lilliputians are piteously small in Gulliver’s eyes, they do not see themselves the same way. To themselves, the Lilliputians feel they are normal and Gulliver remains the outlandish giant. The unexpected infringement of giant Gulliver into the Lilliputians well-developed society reminds the European society, that size and strength are always relative, and there is no way for Europe to be certain that a Gulliver-like giant, might not arrive and conquer them at any moment. This encounter, between Gulliver and the Lilliputians would put Europe’s confidence in its power in jeopardy.

Hero Status for Chief Joseph :: American History Essays

Hero Status for Chief Joseph A modest and humble monument was raised to this giant Indian. A seven and a half foot white marble shaft sets atop a barren hill where a lone, half dead elm tree stands, 14 miles north of the Grand Coulee Dam, in a small Indian Village on the Colville Indian Reservation. The acre or so of ground is delineated by wire fence. Weeds have overgrown mounds where graves are left unidentified and only apparent by small mounds of rock. The elm stands, gnarled, over his grave. White chipped rock fill a rectangle edged with one by four wood planking, smaller in length than this man stood in all of this grown years. To his honor had been placed a coin purse, cigarettes, a dog tag, dried flowers in mason jars, an arrowhead, keys, notes under rocks, a dream catcher hanging on the tree, where I placed a Nez Perce bead necklace. My heart was sad by the desolation of this mans grave. My heart was sadder, knowing that his last days were spent begging James McLaughlin, Indian Inspector, to let him to return to his beloved home in the Wallowa Valley. Æ’Â ±For Joseph it was a kind of pilgrimage to his ancestral home. When he gazed once more upon the grave of his father...the tears brimmed over in the old chiefÆ’Â ­s eyes.Æ’Â ° McLaughlin issued an adverse report to the government, never allowing the chief and his people to return to Oregon. Æ’Â ±Joseph, silent and brooding for weeks sat stoically for entire days at a time without moving or speaking. Sitting before his fire on September 21, 1904, he fell forward on his face.Æ’Â ° He died of a broken heart. This Indian colossus, this gentle Napoleon-Gandhi that led his people in a feat that will likely be handed down as a legend, accomplished miracles and mysteries that make him misunderstood by the white people and the Nez Perce. Tom and I arrived in Nespelem at about 4:15 in the afternoon after a near four hour drive. 185 miles from Moscow and 100 miles northeast of Spokane. No signs. No historic landmarks. You just have to know that if you are looking for the grave of Æ’Â ±The Red NapoleonÆ’Â ° you must stop and ask at the gas station. Professor Swagerty, history professor at the University of Idaho, had given these directions when he responded to my email about location of the grave site.

The Ira

The Irish Republican Army or IRA is Northern Ireland’s most notorious terrorist organization. Like many other groups, the IRA is a militant nationalist group with Marxist tendencies. They use violent attacks such as bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies that they used . to send their message. The ultimate goal of the IRA is to use militant behavior to make British rule in Northern Ireland obsolete, thus letting Northern Ireland become an independent republic, instead of two separate countries with different governments.The IRA was founded in 1919 as a successor to the Irish Volunteers, a militant nationalist organization that was founded in 1913. One of the alias’s for the group is Direct Action Against Drugs, or DADD. The IRA operates independently of any political control or party, and† in some periods actually took the upper hand in the independence movement. †(Britannica) Unlike some terrorist groups, the IRA does not carry out attacks on countries that are not in close vicinity of Northern Ireland. The majority of their operations are based out if Great Britain, and Ireland.Some of their most favored targets were senior British Government officials, British military and police in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary groups. By attacking these individuals they hoped to demoralize Great Britain to the point of turning Ireland over to the people. The IRA did not want to overthrow the government and run it themselves, they simply wanted to see a change in the government so that it would benefit the people of Northern Ireland. The IRA is organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council.While they only have a few hundred members, they have thousands of sympathizers who contribute by donating money, supplies, shelter, and even weapons. â€Å"The IRA Is suspected of receiving funds, arms, and other terrorist-related materiel from sympathizers in the United S tates. †(Britannica) the IRA also received a large amount of support at one point from the PLO, a â€Å"freedom fighter† group from Libya. Not only do they receive aid from other terrorist groups with similar agendas, but in 2002 three suspected IRA members were arrested in Colombia on charges of assisting the FARC to improve its explosives capabilities.The IRA was in their prime during the late 1950’s and 1960’s, though they did play a big part in the Irish Civil war of 1922. As a result of this war, the IRA became more closely related to Sinn Fein, which is the Irish Nationalist party. â€Å"In December 1969, the IRA divided into â€Å"Official† and â€Å"Provisional† wings. Although both factions were committed to a united socialist Irish republic, the Officials preferred parliamentary tactics and eschewed violence after 1972, whereas the Provisionals, or â€Å"Provos,† believed that violence— particularly terrorism—w as a necessary part of the struggle to rid Ireland of the British. (Global Security) This was a result of a Sinn Fein conference that had taken place in August.After 1970, the IRA was slowly slipping into the darkness, as they had stopped attacking as much, and was not as big of a concern anymore. Because of â€Å"Bloody Sunday’, when thirteen innocent Catholic protestors were killed by British soldiers, the IRA gained support from the Catholic Church, which gave them their reputation back for a while. Eventually though, they were back where they had left off before Bloody Sunday. The IRA reorganized in 1977 into detached cells to protect against infiltration† and their arms dealing was back in full force. It was said that â€Å"in the late 1990s that the IRA had enough weapons in its arsenal to continue its campaign for at least another decade. †(Britannica) For a long time the IRA tried to use peaceful methods to gain equal treatment for the Catholic minority in the Protestant Northern Ireland. But they were were met with resistance. The Protestants and the British government met the peaceful attempts of the IRA with violence i. e. Bloody Sunday.The IRA had no other choice but to employ violent methods to gain equality and civil rights for the Catholic Minority in Ulster. The IRA began implementing methods such as Bombings, sniper attacks, and assassinations on British citizens. (www. CFR. org) The afore mentioned Sinn Fein, which means â€Å"We Ourselves† first emerged in the early 1900s. It is the oldest political party in Ireland’s history. It was a â€Å"federation of nationalist clubs and eventually, all nationalists to the left of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster came to be popularly known as Sinn Feiners. (SinnFein. org) The party, like the IRA, was based on the demand for an Irish Republic. It won the 1918 election by a landslide and set up Dail Eireann which is translated to â€Å"Assembly of Ireland. † Following three years of war, led by an underground republican government, the party split in 1922 on the issue of the Treaty which partitioned Ireland into two separate provinces. The leader of Sinn Fein left the party in 1926, causing the party to lose a lot of credibility.However, its fortunes recovered and flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s with its new association to the IRA and their border campaign. During this time the group experienced a substantial amount of electoral success. In present day, Sinn Fein is split into two parties, Sinn Fein and Republican Sinn Fein. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) was formed in 1969 as the covert armed wing of Sinn Fein. The members of this group, called, â€Å"Provos† were formed from the Official Sinn Fein and the Official IRA.The Provisional IRA was the largest of the three republican armed resistance groups (Sinn Fein, IRA and PIRA). The policies of Sinn Fein under the new leadership of Gerry Adams led to a split in the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1997. One side accepted the new â€Å"Good Friday Agreement† and the New or Real IRA continuing armed resistance against the British. The PIRA has at this point accepted the ceasefire and is still most commonly confused with the real IRA because of their similar connections and name.The IRA and PIRA are not totally different groups, but they are actually two groups that used to function as one. It is my opinion that the split of the IRA into two factions is one of the major reasons why their goal was never accomplished. The army was in need of a way to make money and fundraise to support their cause. They became adept at raising money in Northern Ireland through â€Å"extortion, racketeering, and other illegal activities† and they policed their own neighborhoods through mock trials and beatings.As a result of this Mafia like enforcement, Sinn Fein began to play a more prominent role in trying to end the arms pr oblem that the IRA was causing. â€Å"Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness, together with John Hume, head of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), sought ways to end the armed struggle and bring republicans into democratic politics. They were successful in doing so, and in 1994 the IRA declared a cease fire with Britain so that Sinn Fein was able to legally engage in politics with the Irish Parliament.This ceasefire was shortly ended in 1996 when a bomb that was suspected to be from the IRA killed two civilians. However it was reinstated the following year, returning things back to being civilized between the IRA and Great Britain. Technically the IRA is still a functioning terrorist group, but due to the ceasefire they have been dormant since around 2002 when the final ceasefire was laid out and agreed upon. The IRA has a very important place in Irish history, as well as the history of terrorism because of their prominence in the 1950’s and 1960â€⠄¢s.