English 104 Essays - Writing, Online Chat, Essay, Free Essays

English 104 Essays - Writing, Online Chat, Essay, Free Essays English 104 August 29, 2016 The Essay "The essay is a valuable, even powerful technology that has particular affordances in helping us promote communicative ability, dialogue and critical thinking." This quote from Dr. Adam Banks encapsulat es the essence of an essay in the context of academic writing. Essays are highly potent writing tools as the y allow ideas and thoughts to be widely disseminated with ease ; logically presenting facts and postulating ideologies that serve to educate and inform readers. The ability to compose a well writte n essay is even more invaluable now in a technological age where shorthand, instant messaging and one hundred and forty character posts are dominant and content and c oherence are secondary. As such , u sing essays as the yardstick against which students' communication is measured is even more effective and i mportant than it has ever been. However, the reach and applicability of an essay in the context of the present ma y not be what it once was. Primarily, this generation is one in which speed and quantity, not quality , a r e valued . This is evident give n the rise of instant messaging apps which allow the sharing of information in the shortest time possible. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter also pride themselves o n real time updates and constant information streaming. The output vi s ible in the resulting texts , tweets and posts by users is lacking in b oth comprehensibility and substance . The ideas expressed may be shallow and underdeveloped due to the limitations given for posting or messaging. Some may also feel the need to put out as much content as possible, reducing the time spent mulling over the topics being discussed , resulting in numerous insubstantial posts being put out . Additionally, communication attempts may be hindered by readers ' unfamiliar ity with the slang and shorthand used to combat the character limits which may exis t . Although currently, a majority of youth may understand this informal language, over time , after continued usage , this spills over into academic writi n g . Student lose the ability to express themselves in a universal language and begin to limit themselves to the colloquial expressions of their peers. As such, essay writing is of the utmost importance , as it forces students firs tly t o consider what they wish to express and how they would like to develop their ideas. From there , they are able to properly introduce the ir topic and expound / on what they are presenting in a structured manner which is palatable to and intelligible by all readers. In short, essays are the most way to ensure that students' output is sound and acces sible. By the same token, the applicability of essays at this moment in time should be considered . Information is rapidly consumed in short, ea sily digestible snippets. It ma y not be well expounded upon but it carries an easily r ecognizable main idea which reade rs may connect with and recognize immediately. This form of communication, while dissimilar, is extremely effective and has an extremely wide audience as the consumption is much more effortless. In conclusion, the essay is just as a relevant a standard in academia as it has always been . While social media allows communication on a global stage, essay writing train s writers to make logical and arguments as well as measures their ability to do the same . However, as the world continues to advance through technology , the appeal of extended writing such as essays has diminished . Therefore, academia should retain essays as its means of measurement while being mindful that essay writing may no longer be the zenith of communication .

The Horror of Gas Chamber Poison Zyklon B

The Horror of Gas Chamber Poison Zyklon B Beginning in September 1941, Zyklon B, the brand name for hydrogen cyanide (HCN), was the poison used to kill at least a million people in gas chambers at Nazi concentration and death camps such as Auschwitz and Majdanek. Unlike the Nazis earlier methods of mass murder, Zyklon B, which was originally used as a common disinfectant and insecticide, proved to be an efficient and deadly murder weapon during the Holocaust. What Was Zyklon B? Zyklon B was an insecticide used in Germany before and during World War II to disinfect ships, barracks, clothing, warehouses, factories, granaries, and more. It was produced in crystal form, creating amethyst-blue pellets. Since these Zyklon B pellets turned into a highly poisonous gas (hydrocyanic or prussic acid) when exposed to air, they were stored and transported in hermetically-sealed, metal canisters. Early Attempts at Mass Killing By 1941, the Nazis had already decided and attempted to kill Jews on a mass scale, they just had to find the fastest way to accomplish their goal. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Einsatzgruppen  (mobile killing squads) followed behind the army in order to round up and murder large numbers of Jews by mass shootings, such as at Babi Yar. It wasnt long before the Nazis decided that shooting was costly, slow, and took too large a mental toll on the killers. Gas vans were also tried as part of the Euthanasia Program and at the Chelmno Death Camp. This mode of killing used the carbon-monoxide exhaust fumes from trucks to murder Jews who were crammed into the enclosed back area. Stationary gas chambers were also created and had carbon monoxide piped in. These killings took about an hour to complete. The First Test Using Zyklon B Pellets Crematorium 1 at Auschwitz concentration camp. Ira Nowinski/Getty Images Rudolf Hà ¶ss, the commandant of Auschwitz, and Adolf Eichmann searched for a faster way to kill. They decided to try Zyklon B. On September 3, 1941, 600 Soviet prisoners of war and 250 Polish prisoners who were no longer able to work were forced into the basement of Block 11 at Auschwitz I, known as the death block, and Zyklon B was released inside. All died within minutes. Just days later, the Nazis transformed the large morgue room at Crematorium I in Auschwitz into a gas chamber and made 900 Soviet prisoners of war go inside for disinfection. Once the prisoners were crammed inside, Zyklon B pellets were released from a hole in the ceiling. Again, all died quickly. Zyklon B had proved to be a very effective, very efficient, and very cheap way to kill large numbers of people. The Gassing Process Aerial reconnaissance film of Auschwitz concentration camp, 1st August 1944.   Bettmann/Getty Images With the construction of Auschwitz II (Birkenau), Auschwitz became one of the largest killing centers of the Third Reich. As Jewish and other undesirables were brought into the camp via train, they underwent a Selektion on the ramp. Those deemed unfit for work were sent directly to the gas chambers. However, the Nazis kept this a secret and told the unsuspecting victims that they had to undress for a bath. Led to a well-camouflaged gas chamber with fake shower heads, the prisoners were trapped inside when a large door was sealed behind them. Then, an orderly, who wore a mask, opened a vent on the roof of the gas chamber and poured Zyklon B pellets down the shaft. He then closed the vent to seal the gas chamber. The Zyklon B pellets turned immediately into a deadly gas. In a panic and gasping for air, prisoners would push, shove, and climb over each other to reach the door. But there was no way out. Within five to 20 minutes (depending on the weather), all inside were dead from suffocation. After all were dead, the poisonous air was pumped out, a process that took about 15 minutes. Once it was safe to go inside, the door was opened and a special unit of prisoners, known as the Sonderkommando, hosed down the gas chamber and used hooked poles to pry the dead bodies apart. Rings were removed and gold plucked from teeth. Then the bodies were sent to the crematoria, where they would be turned into ash. Who Made Zyklon B for the Gas Chambers? Zyklon B was made by two German companies: Tesch and Stabenow of Hamburg and Degesch of Dessau. After the war, many blamed these companies for knowingly creating a poison that was used to murder over a million people.  The directors of both companies were brought to trial. Director Bruno Tesch and executive manager Karl Weinbacher (of Tesch and Stabenow) were found guilty and given the death sentence. Both were hung on May 16, 1946. Dr. Gerhard Peters, the director of Degesch, however, was found guilty only as an accessory to homicide and given a sentence of five years in prison. After several appeals, Peters was acquitted in 1955.