Development of an Assessment Plan for the Howard Univ College of Article

Development of an Assessment Plan for the Howard Univ College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Program - Article Example The mission of the Howard University College of Liberal Arts is to provide its graduates with an education that is rooted in â€Å"Pursuit of knowledge, social justice, artistic expression and intellectual freedom† (Howard University, 2013). It seeks to foster creative and critical thinking in artistic and scholarly arenas. Furthermore, it intends on providing solutions to human and social problems. Nurturing cultural diversity is part of its mission. The College intends on building responsibility towards the global community. The assessment plan will dwell on measurement of critical thinking and oral and written communication skills. Since critical thinking has been mentioned as one of the goals in the Liberal Arts College, then the analysis will openly indicate whether this goal is being achieved. Measurement of written and oral communication skills will assist in artistic expression as well as creativity, which are all cited in the College’s mission. They will contri bute towards achievement of the knowledge, intellectual freedom and social justice goals, as well. ... Technical correctness is not such a valuable trait, and using curriculum-specific tests would reinforce it. Instead of such an approach, students need to be tested on their ability to inquire and question various situations. Critical thinking, oral and written communication skills are the parameters that are most relevant to rational inquiry. 2. Tools and Instruments for assessment i) CLA CLA (Collegiate Learning Assessment) is designed to measure a range of tertiary competencies that include problem solving, written communication competencies, analytic reasoning and critical thinking. The measurement of such broad abilities makes the assessment applicable to almost all types of colleges. Furthermore, the measures cut across different disciplines. One should note that this is not an assessment of intellect or any content abilities. The test is designed in such a way that it gives students holistic tasks to which they must respond. Some of the tasks may focus on written communication while others dwell on work sample performance. Usually, those questions come from real-world scenarios such as education, policy and daily work practice. The concerned students must employ analytic and critical thinking skills in the situation. They must them communicate these decisions in proper written English and then justify their choices (Hatfield, 2009). Usually, the test is administered online and the responses to the essay-type questions will be scored online through particular software. Humans need to participate in marking the performance- type questions. However, they must have undergone thorough training so as to grade the answers on the basis of certain standards. An example of a task is the argument type assignment, which asks

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are made of two or more fused aromatic rings, where PAHs with two or three rings have low molecular weight and acute toxicity whereas PAHs with high molecular weight (4 or more rings) have shown high carcinogenic potential. These compounds are often products of incomplete combustion reactions where there is a lack of oxygen, there are two types of PAH; natural and anthropogenic which can be found in many different kinds of samples . However, the ratio of natural processes to anthropogenic processes is very low. PAHs can form due to a variety of anthropogenic sources the main one is believed to be atmospheric decomposition, other sources include thermal combustion processes, vehicular emissions and biomass burning [3]. PAHs caused from incomplete combustion reactions reach the sea via the atmosphere and rivers . Due to the causes listed above the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies formed regulations for the detection and monitoring of PAHs in the human environment, with new analytical methods being produced with better sensitivity and selectivity . Overall the EPA has selected sixteen PAHs as priority pollutants [4]. To verify different PAHs in seawater is difficult as the overall solubility of PAHs in water is low, and continues to decrease as molecular weight increases, the low solubility in turn effects the hydrophobic nature (between 3 and 8) and therefore the concentration of PAHs dissolved in seawater is very low . There are a variety of methods used to analyse the PAHs in seawater and other types of water. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is the most widely used analytical technique in analysing PAHs in seawater samples; in this document HPLC will be discussed along with other analytical methods such as Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). This document focuses on data and results from the following papers: â€Å"Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection following micelle-mediated preconcentration† V. Pino et al. â€Å"Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and Sediment of the Baltic Sea† â€Å"GC-MS Analysis of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Seawater Samples after the North CapeOil Spill† Christopher M. Reddy and James G. Quinn Each paper will be individually introduced and the sample preparation, analytical method and any results significant to the separation will be discussed. The methods will then be compared, giving the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. â€Å"Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection following micelle-mediated preconcentration† V. Pino et al. This paper looked at how non-ionic surfactant polyoxyethylene-10-lauryl ether (POLE) can be used for extraction of PAHs in seawater and compared cloud-point extraction (CPE)-HPLC and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE)-GC-MS. Sample Preparation The sample was prepared by shaking fuel-oil with natural seawater for one hour, and then allowed to settle and age overnight, until phase separation. The aqueous layer was removed and mixed with POLE until a final solution of 1% (w/v) was reached in the surfactant. Following this 3.0 ml of aliquots in the presence of the 1% surfactant solution dissolved in artificial seawater were administered to CPE. In order to test the reliability of the method used for preconcentration and separation of PAHs, the PAHs were analysed from spiked and un-spiked seawater samples. The method was evaluated by using LLE and GC-MS, overall determination was processed using the mass values which related to the molecular ions of the different PAHs . Analysis Once the two phases had been separated, 25 ÃŽ ¼l of the surfactant-rich phase was injected into the system. The HPLC method used in this instance to determine and separate the PAHs consisted of gradient elution with a fluorescence detector. The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile and water with a linear gradient from 55 to 100% acetonitrile for 30 minutes and 100% acetonitrile for 10 minutes. The column used for the analysis was a reversed phase C18 column (Table 1) with a ÃŽ ¼Bondapak C18 guard column. Table 1: Vydac 201TP54 Reversed Phase C18Column Column length x internal diameter / mm 250 x 4.6 Particle size / ÃŽ ¼m 5 Pore size / Ã… 300 A flow rate of 1 ml / minute was used to elute the compounds. Results Each PAH gave an acceptable retention time with a relative standard deviation between 0.64 and 0.83%. The seawater contaminated with fuel-oil were analysed by both CPE-HPLC and LLE-GC-MS (Table 3). As can be seen the PAHs with fewer aromatic rings have similar results with both techniques where as the PAHs with more aromatic rings are different this could be due to the lower sensitivity in GC-MS. â€Å"Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and Sediment of the Baltic Sea† G.Witt During the years 1992 to 1994, 15 PAHs were analysed in seawater from the Baltic Sea during the different seasons. The method used is based on HPLC with fluorescence detection. Sample Preparation 156 seawater samples were collected from various depths, surface water (2-15m), bottom water (below the halocline) and surface micro layer (0-0.2 cm). The PAHs from the samples were separated and extracted via a HPLC column; three fractions were obtained using 9 ml pentane, 9 ml pentane/10% dichloromethane and 9 ml acetone as the eluents. The PAHs were contained into the second fraction and was evaporated down to 500 ÃŽ ¼l. Analysis The HPLC column used to separate the sample in to fractions was a MERCK LiChrospher Si 100-5 (Table 4) Table 4: MERCK LiChrospher Si 100-5 Column length x internal diameter / mm 250 x 4 Particle size / ÃŽ ¼l 5 Pore diameter / Ã… 60 Matrix Silica gel The column used in the analysis of the PAHs was a GROM PAH using gradient elution (Table 5). Table 5: GROM PAH Column length x internal diameter / mm 250 x 4 Eluents A) Water B) CAN Flow rate / ml min-1 1 Temperature /  °C 20 A fluorescence detector was used, along with a wavelength programme for optimal detection of all PAHs (Table 6). From the 16 PAHs listed as priority pollutants, acenaphthylene was the only one not detected as it does not show fluorescence activity. Results It was seen that there were a greater amount of lower molecular weight PAHs varying in concentration from 1 to 4.5 ng/L-1 in relation to higher molecular weight PAHs which remained below ng/L-1. The concentration of PAHs in different seasons was also compared, it was seen that autumn had the highest concentration this maybe because of low microbial degradation and photo-oxidation during the season; and summer had the lowest. During the winter months, the temperature of seawater is low which inhibits the microbial degradation of the PAHs. In spring the plankton are in abundance and thus cause a large amount of loose matter to be produced which may transfer the PAHs to the sea floor. This was mostly true for two/three ring PAHs, four to six rings however have a higher persistence to microbial degradation. The amount of PAHs in the surface micro layer was 2-13 times higher than that of the water below; this can be due to the atmospheric input . â€Å"GC-MS Analysis of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Seawater Samples after the North CapeOil Spill† Christopher M. Reddy and James G. Quinn [6] GC-MS was used to measure PAHs in seawater samples after the North Cape oil spill. Sample Preparation The samples were spiked with internal standards which consisted of the following: 10 to 25 ÃŽ ¼g docosane and 2 ÃŽ ¼g each of naphthalene-d8, biphenyl-d10, acenaphthene-d10, anthracene-d10 and perylene-d12. After the samples were spiked they were shaken and extracted once with 100 ml methylene chloride and twice more with 100 ml of hexane. The organic extracts were then combined and rotary-evaporated to 1 ml while being solvent-exchanged into hexane. Following this the hexane extract was chromatographed and the first fraction (obtained by eluting with 20 ml of a 70/30 mixture of hexane/methylene chloride) containing the aromatic hydrocarbons was rotary-evaporated to a small volume (100 ÃŽ ¼l) and spiked with an external recovery standard (1.2 ÃŽ ¼g o-terphenyl in isooctane), and injected into the GC-MS detector. Analysis The PAHs were first extracted with methylene chloride and hexane and then fractionated via HPLC using silica gel. The analysis was done using a Hewlett-Packard 5890 Series II GC with a Hewlett-Packard 5971 mass selective detector. After the sample was injected, the compounds were separated using a 30m JW Scientific DB-XLB fused silica-capillary column (Table 7). Table 7:JW Scientific DB-XLB fused silica-capillary column Column length x internal diameter / mm 30,000 x 0.25 Film thickness / ÃŽ ¼m 0.25 Temperature limit /  °C 340-360 According to the website [7] this column has low polarity and is excellent for PAHs. The oven was set at 70 °C for 1.5 minutes, then ramped to 320 °C at 10 °C per minute, and then held for a further 10 minutes. The detector was run in selected-ion monitoring (SIM) mode for ions that have an m/z of 50 to 550, PAHs usually range between 128 and 234 m/z. Results A total of 54 seawater samples were collected and analysed were collected between day 4 and day 132 after the North Cape oil spill, results from a week after the oil spill showed that there were high concentration of PAHs, with the total sum coming too 115 ÃŽ ¼g L-1, these are some of the highest values for a marine oil spill. The relative percentage deviations for duplicate samples for total PAHs came to The use of other GC detectors such as GC flame ionisation detector which is widely used may not be suitable for the detection of PAHs as often lower limits of detection are needed, which is why GC-MS would be used. Comparison of analytical methods The most popular technique for the separation and determination of PAHs is HPLC however; a disadvantage of this is that gradient elution must be used opposed to isocratic elution due to the samples complexity. Other factors include that HPLC is expensive, and that it requires large amounts of solvent especially when gradient elution is used. The paper by V. Pino et al. and the paper by G. Witt both used HPLC reversed phase column with a fluorescence detector, however Pino et al. used a surfactant with a low retention time (POLE) which allowed for the determination of PAHs which were more polar. In Figure 2 the compounds eluted between ~7 and 40 minutes using the above method; whereas the method used by Witt produced a chromatogram (Figure 3) which shows the products eluted between ~7 and 23 minutes. The difference in retention times shows that the method used by Witt was more useful. However, the samples of seawater used for analysis by each paper were from different sources, Pino et al. does not state where the seawater samples were taken, while Witt took the sample from the Baltic Sea. Pino et al. only extracted 14 PAHs but Witt extracted all 16 PAHs listed by the EPA. From the data listed in Tables 2 and 6 it can be seen that there are comparable results such as Phenanthrene which eluted in 13.9 minutes for Pino et al. and 12.2 minutes for Witt, the emission wavelengths measured were identical at 370 nm and that the excitation wavelength only differed by 2 nm between Pino (248 nm) and Witt (246 nm). Overall, the HPLC methods used by both papers shows that it is a reliable method for determining PAHs in seawater, a fluorescence detector was used as the filters select the excitation and emission wavelengths and it reduces the complexity of the chromatogram which provides orthogonal information. Even though HPLC seems the most popular technique GC-MS is being used to analyse the PAHs after they have been separated by HPLC. This change could be because GC is faster than HPLC and that with a mass spectrometer (MS) detector it is possible to combine detection, quantification and identification. GC-MS is especially good for complex mixtures such as seawater where several analytes have similar retention times.

education quality :: essays research papers

Why focus on quality? Although some of the international treaties, by specifying the need to provide education on human rights, reproductive health, sports and gender awareness, touched on educational quality,2 they were generally silent about how well education systems could and should be expected to perform in meeting these objectives. This remained true as recently as 2000, when the United Nations Millennium Declaration’s commitment to achieve UPE by 2015 was directly and simply set out without explicit reference to quality (see Box 1.1). Thus, in placing the emphasis upon assuring access for all, these instruments mainly focused on the quantitative aspects of education policy. It seems highly likely, however, that the achievement of universal participation in education will be fundamentally dependent upon the quality of education available. For example, how well pupils are taught and how much they learn, can have a crucial impact on how long they stay in school and how regularly they attend. Furthermore, whether parents send their children to school at all is likely to depend on judgements they make about the quality of teaching and learning provided – upon whether attending school is worth the time and cost for their children and for themselves. The instrumental roles of schooling – helping individuals achieve their own economic and social and cultural objectives and helping society to be better protected, better served by its leaders and more equitable in important ways – will be strengthened if education is of higher quality.3 Schooling helps children develop creatively and emotionally and acquire the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes necessary for responsible, active and productive citizenship. How well education achieves these outcomes

Ethical Issue in Bay Area Rapid Transit

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) case opened the eyes of engineers about engineering ethics in the United States. The Bay Area Rapid Transit began its operations in 1972 and served three counties in San Francisco Bay area. Months before the start of operation, three engineers pointed out the deficiencies in the control systems’ design and construction.The engineers were Holger Hjortsvang, who worked in the Automated Train Control System (ATC), and Max Blankenzee, a programmer analyst who worked for Hjortsvang.Hjortsvang, a systems engineer, noticed that BART lacked a systems engineering group to supervise the â€Å"development of control and propulsion systems† (Book Rags, 2006). They reported it to their manager, but he rejected it. At the same time, Robert Bruder, an electrical engineer, became aware of how his managers disregarded reports about shoddy work. The three engineers decided to bring their concerns to the Board of Directors through Daniel Helix, a board me mber.However, the Board rejected them and fired them without any written cause or appeal. In 1973, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Committee on Social Implications of Technology (CSIT) intervened by submitting a two-part resolution to the IEEE Board of Directors. The resolution called for IEEE mechanisms to assist engineers when they are placed in jeopardy, in conformity to their ethical principles. As such, the resolution called for IEEE to intervene for the three engineers. Through the IEEE U. S.Activities Committee (USAC), the Board commissioned an amicus curiae brief which aimed to articulate general principles but not to side with the engineers. Moreover, the brief convinced the court that when an engineer was dismissed in an effort to protect the public safety, his termination will be a breach to his employment contract. Afterwards, the engineers accepted a settlement of $75,000 (Book Rags, 2006). Reference Book Rags. (2006). Bay Area Rapid Transi t case. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from http://www. bookrags. com/research/bay-area-rapid-transit-case-este-0001_0001_0/

Intelligence Testing Article Analysis Essay

No other topic in psychology has ever generated as much interest as the study of human intelligence. Numerous tests and strategies have been designed to explore the quality of human intelligence in depth and to analyze the basic factors and processes which take place within the structure of human cognitive functioning. From the viewpoint of psychology, intelligence testing may provide professionals with a wide range of effective instruments of research and analysis. Simultaneously, not all professionals and scholars in the field of psychology agree that intelligence testing is an effective and a relevant tool of psychological analysis. In this context, a number of theories have been designed to explain the essence of intelligence testing as such and the factors which may impede or enhance one’s successes in the process of testing intelligence. Intelligence Testing Article Analysis Introduction No other topic in psychology has ever generated as much interest as the study of human intelligence. Numerous tests and strategies have been designed to explore the quality of human intelligence in depth and to analyze the basic factors and processes which take place within the structure of human cognitive functioning. From the viewpoint of psychology, intelligence testing may provide professionals with a wide range of effective instruments of research and analysis. Simultaneously, not all professionals and scholars in the field of psychology agree that intelligence testing is an effective and a relevant tool of psychological analysis. In this context, a number of theories have been designed to explain the essence of intelligence testing as such and the factors which may impede or enhance one’s successes in the process of testing intelligence. It is difficult not to agree to Gottfredson (2006): â€Å"the debate over intelligence and intelligence testing focuses on the question of whether it is useful or meaningful to evaluate people according to a single major dimension of cognitive competence†. Nevertheless, researchers keep to believe that intelligence testing may be of extreme value, when measuring specific aspects of human cognitive activity and seeking to expand the boundaries of human cognitive functioning. Gottfredson (2006) develops a whole set of theoretical assumptions, trying to remain objective in her evaluation of intelligence testing relevance as a tool of psychological analysis. In Gottfredson’s view, intelligence testing is usually designed to measure one specific aspect of one’s cognitive ability (e. g. , mathematical skills), but where psychologists seek to evaluate one specific cognitive function, they tend to forget that intelligence tests cannot be fully released and clarified of other mental skills. These are usually referred to as â€Å"mental impurities†; they do not have any significant effects on cognitive testing results, but should be taken into account to guarantee the objectivity of testing procedures. Interestingly, Gottfredson (2006) links the effectiveness of intelligence testing to biological factors. In her view, the effectiveness of one’s cognitive functioning depends on age; moreover, researchers tend to believe into existence of a human gene responsible for IQ. Finally, it is at least incorrect to assume that social and psychological environments produce marked effects on one’s IQ. As a result, it is unclear whether measuring one’s intelligence may produce any significant changes on the quality of one’s wellbeing (Gottfredson, 2006); nevertheless, professional psychologists are still committed to the idea of using intelligence testing to define one’s learning disabilities. O’Brien (2001) develops a set of theoretical assumptions which place intelligence testing as the outstanding means to define one’s learning disabilities and the means of resolving them, and while intelligence testing has been widely used to analyze and determine one’s learning disabilities, it would be fair to say that to some extent intelligence testing had been devised for this purpose. In his theory, O’Brien (2001) refers to the cut-off scores which may prevent professionals from investigating the cognitive implications of low-IQ groups, but which cannot also serve a serious obstacle on professionals’ way to developing more effective intelligence testing forms. It appears that on the basis of IQ alone it is possible to predict the pathways children will follow in their cognitive development, and develop a set of social adjustments low-scored children will need to improve the quality of their well-being. In this context, intelligence testing is expected to produce long-term impacts on one’s life and one’s prospects for individual and professional self-realization. Given that intelligence testing involves information processing mechanisms and relevant nerve centers which require activation, the speed of this activation and the quality of information processing shapes the cognitive image of a person and turns intelligence testing into a relevant tool of psychological analysis (Schweizer, 2000). However, how is effective intelligence testing? And what factors professionals need to consider in order to promote objectivity of testing results? Despite the wide application of intelligence testing in psychological practice, its effectiveness remains the topic of hot debate. On the one hand, there is no single definition of what intelligence is. On the other hand, it is not clear, how appropriate it is to measure the social usefulness of a person based on a single cognitive criterion (Gottfredson, 2006). It appears that the effectiveness of intelligence testing also depends on one’s mood, fatigue, or motivation. From the cultural viewpoint, the majority of intelligence tests are designed to fit to Westernized cultural criteria, and are thus of limited use in mixed populations (O’Brien, 2001). Finally, Schweizer (2000) suggests that due to the limited access of human consciousness to information, the processes of information processing involved into intelligence testing may not always reveal the true state of cognitive functioning in children and adults. Certainly, intelligence testing remains one of the most reliable and widely used methods of investigating cognitive mechanisms in humans; but the problem is that we have not yet gone beyond the boundaries of traditional cognitive knowledge. For psychology professionals, intelligence testing remains the only available tool of research, the reliability of which is usually taken for granted. As a result, whether professionals are able to look deeper into the essence of human cognition and to develop sound analytical strategies depends on their preparedness to cross the boundaries of traditional research, and to investigate the effectiveness of traditional intelligence testing procedures. Conclusion Intelligence testing remains one of the central instruments psychology professionals use to test human cognitive abilities. Despite the stable popularity of intelligence testing, its effectiveness remains the topic of hot debate. Numerous factors have to be reconsidered and reevaluated to guarantee objectivity of testing procedures. To a large extent, the reliability of intelligence testing is taken for granted, and whether this type of analytical research works to promote individuals’ social wellbeing depends on the psychology professionals’ ability to look deeper into the essence of intelligence testing and cognitive mechanisms, which are involved into the process of testing one’s cognitive features. References Gottfredson, L. S. (2006). The general intelligence factor. Scientific American. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://www. psych. utoronto. ca/users/reingold/courses/intelligence/cache/1198gottfred. html O’Brien, G. (2001). Defining learning disability: What place does intelligence testing have now? Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 43 (8): 570-573. Schweizer, K. (2000). Cognitive mechanisms at the core of success and failure in intelligence testing. Psychologische Beitrage, 42 (2): 190-200.

Sugars Symphony essays

Sugars Symphony essays Some have coined music as a universal language. Perhaps, the complexity of the notes, the consistency of the beat, the array of instruments, or the flow of lyricism offers this universal appeal. Nevertheless, the unique composition of each song enables it to sustain its own magnetic aura, much like the musical implication in Lewis Nordan's Music of the Swamp. Though, many argue Nordan's piece suggests merely a collection of short stories rather than a novel, Nordan uses his singsong methodology- a "novel-in-stories"- to incorporate an anthology of his transformative memory- an autobiography of the way it was. By examining the structure of Music of the Swamp, it can be broken into a series of short stories, though it is described by some as a "'novel-in-stories'" (Dupuy 1). Although the novel is divided into three parts and an epilogue, each chapter within each part relates a different episode throughout the childhood of Nordan's main character Sugar Mecklin. The first part begins in third person, while Nordan presents the rest of the sections in first person. Critic Edward Dupuy believes that considering the novel as a short story collective makes the part "...in the third person less engaging, and somewhat disconnected to the others. If seen as a "novel-in-stories, however, the first part serves as a type of overture to the opera that follows..." (Dupuy 3). This musical analogy suggests the ideas of the novel flow, though the novel itself is structured as a compilation of differentiable events. Nordan actually accredits a musical influence as a determining factor in writing his prose. In an interview with Sam Staggs, Nordan mentions that the "'the rhythms of nursery rhymes and songs'" are a significant inspiration in his writing (Staggs 1). In fact, he includes an assortment of songs throughout the novel to articulate the emotions felt during a specific occurrence in his main character's, and perhaps his own, early ...

Crisis of Confidence essays

Crisis of Confidence essays On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter gave a speech to our country. It was a nationally televised speech. It was not the speech that he had planned to give. It was a speech out of desperation, out of concern for us as a democracy, us as a people. This country was in an economic and energy crisis. This speech, although it addressed the energy crisis, spoke of different crisis and it became the title of his speech, A Crisis of Confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. The confidence that we have always had as people is not simply some romantic dream or proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July. It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else Public institutions and private enterprise, our own families and the very Constitution of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. Weve always believed in something called progress. Weve always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own. Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom; and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. ...