Friday, December 27, 2019

The Famous Romance Novel of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott is one of the most famous historical fiction books in the modern era. This 544 paged book has inspired many teens who are interested to know about the events that took place in England in the twelfth century. Sir Walter Scott wrote this book in 1819 to focus on the local history of Scotland. Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, playwright and a famous poet in the nineteenth century. This book was considered as a romance novel by several critics and concluded that it is a treat for young teenage boys. Ivanhoe had an accurate depiction of what happened in England in the twelfth century which is why it was one of the best novels written in the 1800s. The Main Characters of this book are Cedric, Ivanhoe, Athelstane, Rowena, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, Front-de-Boeuf, Richard Plantagenet, John Plantagenet, Waldemar Fitzurse, Isaac, Rebecca, and Maurice De Bracy. Cedric is a Saxon nobleman, who is the father of the hero, Ivanhoe. He wants to restore the Saxon empire in England and hates his rivals, The Normans. Ivanhoe is the son of Cedric. His actual name is Wilfred and is called Ivanhoe because he had a great manor that was named Ivanhoe. He follows Richard I because he is a Crusader. Athelstane is the lord of Coingsburgh. He belongs to the Saxon nobility and is Cedric’s last hope for restoring the Saxon Empire. Front-de-Boeuf is a Norman who is the owner of Torquilstone Castle. Richard Plantagenet is the King of England at the time of when thisShow MoreRelated The Powerful Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay1605 Words   |  7 Pageswrites on two aspects of slavery that particularly bothered him. One is the legal concept of the slave as property, and the other is the endorsement and support of slavery on religious and moral grounds by the established church. Repeatedly in the novel, the reader is reminded of the cruel absurdity by which one human being pretends to own another, much as one would own a cow or a horse, and that this is done in the name of religion adds makes it even more perverse (Johnson 110). The idea of aRead MoreEssay on Impact of the Industrial Revolution on History2331 Words   |  10 PagesRomantic Movement and Realism, including regionalism and naturalists (Miller, 534-38). The Romantic Movement, also known as romanticism, took place in the early 1800’s. Rather than write about the lives of ordinary people, romantics dealt with the ‘romance’ of life. They appealed to sentiment and imagination rather than reality (Miller, 534). The essence of Romanticism is a belief in the power and validity of human emotions as a means of knowing and a guide to life. Instead of following the previous

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Institutional Discrimination Within The United States Of...

According to the text The Borderlands refers to the area of common culture along the boarder between the United States of America and Mexico. The story mostly talks about the emergence of maquiladoras on the Mexican side. Maquiladoras are foreign owned factories established just across the boarder in Mexico. The first core concept that comes to mind when reading the borderlands is 1. Institutional discrimination. Institutional discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society. The reason I incorporate Institutional discrimination into this is because the factories that are in the borderlands did not provide insurance or benefits to workers simple because they didn’t have to. The factories are denying not only equal rights but no rights at all by not giving their workers insurance or benefits. The second core concept is 2. Class. Class is a group of people who have similar level of wealth and income. Class can be incorporated here because in mid 2007 1.2 million people worked in the maquiladoras. The daily take-home pay for entry level workers was $3. Entry level workers were in a a class of their own. The third core concept is 3. Glass Ceiling. Glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individuals gender , race or ethnicity. Many workers in the maquiladoras were not given the chanceShow MoreRelatedRacism: The Root Of All Evil1022 Words   |  5 Pagesthe physical, economic, and spiritual violence done to people of color or of different beliefs. In the United States, Native Americans, the indigenous people, were the first to experience this violence, followed by black Africans, and later to various degrees, other people of color as they immigrated to the United States (Ponds, 23). Thousands of Latin-Americans immigrate to the United States every year. Besides the risk of dying in the process of crossing the border, Latin-Americans migrants dealRead MoreThe Critical Race Theory ( Crt )921 Words   |  4 Pages and genetics within the scope of society. â€Å"Critical Race theory, is a modern take on the subtle racism and discrimination in institutional society and our American law, and is one of the theories that construct the ideas relating race, gender and social class to American society† (Healey, O Brien, 2014). In Episode 2 of the PBS Latino Americans Series (2013) the topic of immigration from Mexico to the US was heavily discussed, including the Latinos battle with discrimination, oppression, andRead MoreCare Giving for the Mexican Elderly1016 Words   |  5 Pagessystem are negatively affected, â€Å"older adults within a restricted network decline in their physical function and overall health status and show increased rates of mortality and depression, whereas individuals related to a divers network have longer life expectancy and better health status† (Vladislavovna, 2010, 2). The most common support system for Mexican citizens is informal support given by their family members â€Å"due to the lack of institutional resources, families have developed complex networksRead MoreAssimilation: the Latino Experience Essay1924 Words   |  8 PagesImmigration has always been an issue in the United States, which is often portrayed as harmful and as major threat to American culture. As a result, various anti immigration policies have been aimed against immigrants in order to prevent and preserve the miscegenation of American culture, such as English only policies. Among the largest minority groups in the U.S, are Latinos who currently compose of 15% of the U.S population (Delgado and Stefancic 3). Unfortunately, Latinos have been accused ofRead MoreUndocumented Stress Essay1406 Words   |  6 PagesKimberly Galindo U.S. Mexico Border Relations 130 Final Paper Stress on Undocumented Students The â€Å"Undocumented Students† are youth who arrived to the United States as young children. These are young adults fighting hard to achieve their piece of the American Dream. Their experiences are emblematic of the struggles of millions of undocumented children and youth in America who deal daily with isolation from peers, the struggle to pursue an education, fears of detention and deportation and the traumaRead MoreLatino History and Culture6732 Words   |  27 Pagesand Culture Historians are still unclear on when the first Latinos appeared in North America. The most prevalent theory is that they were nomadic hunters who came from the Asia mainland and across the then frozen Bering Straight into Alaska. Regardless of their origins their main region is now the Americas, both North and South and it is expected that the Latino population in the United States will increase by 40% in the next ten years (US Census 2010). Their culture and society is steepedRead MoreStress On Undocumented Students 1595 Words   |  7 PagesKimberly Galindo Health 102 Research Paper Stress on Undocumented Students The â€Å"Undocumented Students† are youth who arrived to the United States as young children. These are young adults fighting hard to achieve their piece of the American Dream. Their experiences are emblematic of the struggles of millions of undocumented children and youth in America who deal daily with isolation from peers, the struggle to pursue an education, fears of detention and deportation and the trauma of separationRead MoreRacism in America3527 Words   |  15 PagesRacism in America Alton Dawson Liberty University Abstract The purpose of this research is to show the effects of racism in America. Racism is defined as one group assumes superiority over other groups that develop attitudes of arrogance and ignorance. Despite many laws and legislation attempts to eliminate the evils of racism, the problem focuses on the cultural differences of race, color and biological supremacy. Racism comes in the form of ethnic cleansing, hate groups, discrimination andRead MoreForeign Direct Investment ( Fdi ) Essay1041 Words   |  5 PagesBanks, companies in Chile with overseas shareholders pay wages that are on average 130% higher than locally-owned companies of the same size in the same sector. The countries in 2013 with the highest foreign direct investments in Chile are the United States with 16.7 %, the Netherlands with 14.8%, Spain with 10.4%, Canada with 5.1%, the UK with 4.3 %, Japan with 3.8 % , Bermuda with 2.9 %, Brazil with 2.7 % , and Luxembourg with a low of 2.2%. Chile’s main investments are m ining 44.9 %, servicesRead MoreChapter 5 Outline5565 Words   |  23 Pagesdifferences in the biological makeup of individuals.†¨C.  Race is assigned based on scientific investigation.†¨D.  Racial categories are the same in countries throughout the world.    5.  Definitions of race have differed from state to state, and throughout time, within the United States. This is evidence that race  Ã¢â‚¬ ¨A.  is not socially important.†¨B.  is based on one’s social class.†¨C.  is socially constructed.†¨D.  All of these choices are true.    6.  How does the concept of race differ between Brazil and the

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Speech for/against free essay sample

For/Against Tittle: Stem Cell Research Exact Purpose: After hearing my speech my audience will be able to learn about Stem Cell Research. Thesis: There are many advantages and disadvantages to Stem Cell Research. Attention Getter: How many of you heard about stem cell research or know anything about stem cell? According to University of Nebraska Medical Center, Stem cells are the foundation cells for every organ and tissues in our body. Credibility: According to The National Institutes of Health indicates that approximately 1. Million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and together cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the top two causes of death according to Center of Disease Control or CDC, with each killing half a million Americans each year. Stem cell research could have a positive impact to different diseases including stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes, neurological disorders, spinal cord injuries, and some birth defects. Preview of main points: There are For and Against to stem cell research. We will write a custom essay sample on Speech for/against or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Transition: Now were about to learn about the advantages of stem cell esearch,) Body: l. According to the National Institute of health or NIH there are many advantages to stem cell research. 1. Stem Cells offer new potentials for treatment of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. 2. Using stem cells scientists can screen new drugs and develop model systems to study normal growth and identify the causes of birth defects. 3. Research on stem cells continues to advance knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cell replace damaged cells in adult organisms. Transition: After hearing the advantages of stem cell research no lets talk about the disadvantages. ) II. According to Sharon Schmickle an award winning author of Minneapolis post there are risk and disadvantages for stem cell research. 1. Religious group claims that embryonic stem cell is a form of abortion because it requires the subsequent destruction of the embryos. 2. With any developing form of medical research, the biggest practical risk is unknown; because stem cells are injected into the patient are ermanent, long terms side effects may not be fully understood for years.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Participative Leadership Style Is Always More Effective Than Autocratic/Directive Leadership Styles. Discuss Essay Example

Participative Leadership Style Is Always More Effective Than Autocratic/Directive Leadership Styles. Discuss Paper QUESTION Participative leadership style is always more effective than autocratic/directive leadership styles. Discuss. Executive summary Academic and empirical research on workplace leadership covers wide ranging information on leadership theory and characteristics that make a leader effective. The focus of this report is to identify information on behavioural and contingency perspectives of leadership. The path-goal Leadership theory is one of the anticipated contingency theories as it includes different styles of leadership behaviours. The main aspects of this report are a behavioural comparison, between participative and autocratic/directive leadership and the use of its positive and negative outcomes. The styles differ on the basis of the level of skill and experience required in the work place, situation, task structure and power distance. The Australian workplace is skewed towards the participative leadership aspect as compared to autocratic/directive leadership in the Asian workplace. Table of Contents Introduction Page 4 Theories of LeadershipPage 5 Leadership Theory in PracticePage 6 Leadership across Cultures and GendersPage 7 Situational factors of participative and autocratic/directivePage 9 Leadership style Conclusion and ImplicationsPage 10 ReferencePage 11 Introduction The term leadership is defined as having the power to motivate and efficiently influence a sense of achievement for members of an organisation (Mc Shane et. Al, 2010). Bennis and Nanus (1985) suggest that managers tend to focus on the process by examining if employees conduct activities the right way; while leaders focus their attention on the outcome by ensuring their firms are doing the right things. We will write a custom essay sample on Participative Leadership Style Is Always More Effective Than Autocratic/Directive Leadership Styles. Discuss specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Participative Leadership Style Is Always More Effective Than Autocratic/Directive Leadership Styles. Discuss specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Participative Leadership Style Is Always More Effective Than Autocratic/Directive Leadership Styles. Discuss specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Whilst Zaleznik (1977) suggested that in an organisation the managers and leaders are two different types of people. Therefore the managers have the ability to make choice hence maintaining the stability of business. Accordingly the leader works in an opposite direction, to build up new approaches, create new areas to investigate that will withstand long term problems. The leader and the manager, show the conditions favourable to the growth of one may be opposing to the other (Zaleznik 1977). The leadership behaviour of a manager and the leader is dependent on an effective personality and significant levels of knowledge. The varied studies of leadership cover areas such as trait theories, behavioural and contingency theories, with the latter most theory commonly known as the path goal theory (House 1971). The four types of leadership behaviours coming under the contingency theory are autocratic/directive, supportive, achievement oriented and participative. In this report the comparison between the two leadership styles, only participative and autocratic/directive will be discussed in detail. Organisational behaviour theories relating to the leadership style such as communication, Hertzberg’s two factory theory of motivation, goal setting and the Hofstedes research on cultural context will be discussed in detail in this report. Leaders that implement the participative leadership style encourage and play the role of a facilitator and consultant with varied subordinates by taking ideas into account during decision making. On the other hand the autocratic / directive leader informs subordinates about a precise line of procedure by handing down specific work standards and details required of them (Bass 1990). Theories of Leadership Leadership trait theories differentiate leaders from subordinates with a clear focus on personal qualities and characteristics. Some traits are self confidence, high tolerance of frustration, extroversion and assertiveness (Dubrin and Dalglish 2001). Behavioural theories propose characteristic behaviours that differentiate leaders from subordinates by selecting behaviours for specific groups of people through effective training (Yukl 2002). The path-goal theory of leadership examines the way leaders promote and support followers in achieving the key fundamental organisational goals via communication. According to Mc Shane, communication is an immensely important tool for organisational learning and decision making thereby influencing organisational effectiveness (Mc Shane et. Al, 2010 p344). Effective communication minimises ‘silos of knowledge’ and improves organisational productivity. Communication also aids employee well being and builds a better work environment. Participative leaders prefer to increase the level of communication and interact with the team members and ask for opinions about alternatives, and collaborate with individuals by obtaining information from employees. The improved communication between teams thereby results in greater organisational productivity. On the other hand the autocratic/directive leader focuses on how managers communicate and ensures operations are progressing according to procedures by indicating how workers achieve specific goals and tasks. Such leaders have personal characteristics such as high self confidence; decisiveness through an assertive nature which influence the leader to take a particular direction in problem solving. Such leaders have spent most time providing knowledge and structuring tasks in an organisation (Rothwell 2009) According to the Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation (1986), people tend to be motivated by diverse factors. Hertzberg believed that individuals are motivated by factors a lot higher than basic needs such as career growth potential, fixed wage, interpersonal relations, and daily routine of work, hours of work and an ergonomic office which eventually leads to high self esteem (Michael and Sainfort 1989). These were termed as the sources of satisfaction and are called motivation factors. The goal setting theory examines the process of encouraging employees and establishing performance objectives through effective role perceptions (Locke 1996). Research has shown that participation in goal setting creates higher levels of employee commitment. Participation increases goal quality, as employees have valuable information that is unknown to supervisors. There is a greater aspect in receiving feedback on the job performance by having an on going appraisal. Consequently in the directive style the leader himself has the authority in setting goals and specific tasks required of the employee (Rothwell 2009). Leadership Theory in Practice Communication is a very important tool in the participative leadership style, employees trust information disseminated and believe that leaders will conduct themselves in accordance with the group’s values by being loyal and committed to the group and by participating with other group members in problem solving and decision making. Listening, high levels of concentration and attentiveness play a large role. Recent studies show that the organisations tend to participate in computer mediated communication (CMC) especially by emails and other networks (Sammarra et. al, 2010). In contrast the directive leader allocates a particular direction outlining the rules and regulations in an employee role. An empirical study on leadership styles was conducted in several leadership schools (Gordon and Patterson 2006). Research methods used included interviews and observations; the result however indicated a lack of validity to clearly delineate the most effective leadership style. In schools, the principle is revered as the â€Å"Leader† of the school with teachers and students having varied expectations from their â€Å"Leader†. These expectations have led to senior teachers getting involved in decision making. The practical application of the goal setting theory leads to enhanced performance on the job. It incorporates the process of planning, goal outlines, performance assessment and reward allocation. Leaders with increased work experience or high levels of education generally adopt the participative leadership style for example the I. T. ndustry being project based allows employees to work on varied deliverables resulting in greater levels of flexibility and choice. Performance reviews and reward allocation are based on the completion of these deliverables thereby making it a motivation factor for employees in this line. Directive leadership comparatively is effective in departments requiring inexperienced and unskilled labour especially in manufacturing facilities (Bass 1990). Leadership across Cultures and Genders Another organisational behaviour scholar Hofstede has conducted high levels of research on cross cultural groups and organisations (Hofstede 1980). This section pays attribute to Thailand in particular and how it differs from westernised societies based on four cultural dimensions: â€Å"individualism collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity feminity and power distance’’ (Yukongdi 2010). Currently of the most recent empirical research (Yukongdi 2010) stated, that Thailand is ranked low on masculinity, competitiveness and assertiveness in society. The concept of power distance when applied to an organisational setting has led to centralisation and higher degrees of directive leadership. This stems from the fact that organisations functioning in power distance countries are written off as centralised with considerable inequality between superiors and subordinates (House et al, 2002). Studies conducted on global leadership and organisational behaviour effectiveness (GLOBE), state that Thai employees have a culture of high power distance (Gupta et al. 2002). Employees in such societies are not as outspoken and are generally subjected to repetitive tasks in high-production environments thereby leading to the adoption of the directive leadership style. Australian employees comparatively have relatively equal power sharing. The relationship between an employer and subordinate is one of interdependence as the boss is dependent on employees for information dissemination and consultation for decision making. This results in several western countries having low power distance. Research conducted has declared that Australian managers are wary of such a style as employees look upon their boss and is considered tedious (Avery and Ryan 2002). In Australia, many employees feel entitled to the right to be involved in major decision making. Leaders incorporate such opportunities into performance reviews and goal setting thereby giving employees an equitable chance to be involved in such decision making, clearly indicating the practice of participative leadership. Gender plays an important aspect in the leadership style, when the autocratic/leadership style used women tend to be less competitive and skilled leaders than men. Men tend to have more flexibility in the type of leadership they adopt (Rothwell 2009). Significant research shows that women favour a participative leadership style as compared to men. This stems from the fact that girls have been raised to be more egalitarian and less status oriented (Eagly and Carli 2003). Women tend to have better interpersonal skills than men especially regarding sensitive issues concerning employee development thereby leading to the existence of several female managers in the workplace (Mc Shane et. Al, 2010). Situational factors of participative and directive leadership The benefits of participative leadership are satisfaction of needs for competence, self control, independence and personal growth. Some of the organisational benefits are increased performance and productivity, quality of decisions and development of subordinates’ potential. The situation where participative leadership may not be as effective is when the employee work tasks are highly predictable and repetitive with no variation in completion methods. The leader must make an urgent decision immediately with miniscule time for information collection. On the other hand directive leadership benefits are role clarity, low stress, high task structure, work and supervisor satisfaction, clear goal definition and expectations. Organisational benefits include enhanced efficiency and or effectiveness, high quality relations among group members and reduced attrition rates. Directive leadership on the other hand can be ineffective if conducted using inappropriate procedures stemming from inopportune timing and lack of feedback resulting in employees misunderstanding a leader’s intentions. Directive leaders are ineffective in teams where members see themselves as capable and highly experienced individuals who desire to work independently without supervision. Followers working in a cohesive group with alternate goals which differ from handed-down goals through a directive leader tend to lack inspiration in achieving goals set by leaders. Conclusion / Implications The study of leadership theories is important to all leaders and managers in an organisation regardless of the subject of work involved. This report provided an insight to the various behavioural and contingency perspectives of leadership with special attributes dedicated to the path goal theory of leadership. Varied comparisons between autocratic / directive leadership styles indicate style preference strongly depend on team dynamics. Labour based teams in production / manufacturing facilities have resulted in the adoption of autocratic / directive leadership styles due to power distances existing between employer and subordinates as compared to the participative nature of the project based I. T. Industry. Different nations have varied power distances with Thailand scaling increased heights on the power distance scale as compared to Australia. Gender plays an important aspect in the role of leadership style; women tend to incline towards the participative leadership in comparison to men. Workplace culture plays a strong role in style adoption which differs between varied organisational departments such as accounting and marketing. An organisation’s accounting department is home to employees strictly following strict instructions handed down by the financial controller as compared to the dynamic marketing department which is generally given a fair amount of autonomy in making sales. However, this report shows that there is lack of evidence in order to determine which leadership style will be adopted based on the existence of varied parameters mentioned above. Reference Avery, G. , Ryan J. , 2002. ‘Applying situational leadership in Australia’, Journal of Management Development, vol. 21 no ? pp. 242-262. Bass, B. M. 1990, Bass Stodgill’s handbook of leadership: Theory, research, managerial applications, 3rd edn, New York, Free Press. Bennis, W. , Nanus, B. 1985, Leaders: the strategies for taking charge, Harper Collins, New York. Dubrin, A. J. Dalglish, C. 2001, Leadership: an Australian focus, John Wiley and Sons, Queensland. Eagly, H. A. , Carli, L. L. 2003, ‘The female Leadership advantage: An Evaluation of the Evidence’, Leadership Quaterly, vol. 14 no 6, pp. 807-834. Gordon, J. , Patterson A. J. 2006, ‘School leadership in context: Narratives of practice and possibility’, Leadership in Education, vol. 9 no 3, pp. 205-228. Gupta, V. , Surie,G. , Javidan, M. , Chhokaar,J. , 2002. ‘Southern Asia cluster: where the old meets the new? ’, Journal of world business, vol. 7, pp. 16-27. Hertzberg, F. , 1986, Work and the nature of man, Thomas Crowell, New York. Hofstede, G. , 1980. Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage House, R. J. 1971, ‘A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness’, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 16, pp. 321–338. House, R. J. , Javidan, M. , Hanges, P. , and Do rfman, P. , 2002. ‘Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE’, Journal of world of business, vol, 37, pp. 3-10. Locke, E. A. 1996, ‘The contradiction of epiphenomenalism’, British Journal of Psychology, vol. 57, pp. 203 4. McShane, S. , Olekalns, M. Travaglione, T. 2010, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, North Ryde. Rothwell, D. J. 2009, In mixed Company: Communicating in Small Groups and Teams, 7th edn, Cengage Learning. Sammarra, A. , Dandi R. , Muzzi C. , Biggiero L. 2010, ‘The effect of email use and adoption on organisational participation: The case of public administration’, Human Systems Management, vol. 9 pp. 27-39. Smith, J. M. , Sainfort, P. C. 1989, ‘A balance theory of job design for stress reduction’, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, vol. 4, no1 pp. 67-79. Yukl, G. 2002, Leadership in Organisations, 5th edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Yukongdi,V. , 2010. ‘A study of Thai employees’ preferred leadership style’, Asia Pacific Business Re view, vol. 16 no1-2, pp. 161-181. Zaleznik, A. 1977, ‘Managers and leaders; are they different? ’, Harvard Business Review, May – June.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Appreciative and Thank-You Quotations

Appreciative and Thank-You Quotations A word of appreciation or a simple thank you can do wonders for building relationships. A thank you is not just courtesy or good manners; it acknowledges and hence cherishes kindness. Here are some beautifully worded thank you quotes. The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits. -Francois Duc de la RochefoucauldDo not let the empty cup be your first teacher of the blessings you had when it was full. Do not let a bard place here and there in the bed destroy your rest. Seek, as a plain duty, to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of God in your daily life. -Alexander MaclarenO Lord, who lends me life; lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. -William ShakespeareIt is the will to be grateful which constitutes gratitude. -Joseph CookNext to ingratitude, the most painful thing to bear is gratitude. -Henry Ward BeecherThou hast given so much to me,Give one thing more- a grateful heart;Not thankful when it pleaseth me,As if Thy blessings had spare days,But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise. -George HerbertWhen we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? -G K Chesterton Kindness is the language, which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. -Mark TwainWe can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. -Thornton WilderWhat I have done is worthy of nothing but silence and forgetfulness, but what God has done for me is worthy of everlasting and thankful memory. -Joseph HallFeeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William WardWhen eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. -Chinese ProverbOnly a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things. -HoraceSaying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality. -Alfred PainterSilent gratitude isnt much use to anyone. -G B SternAs each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. -Adabella Radici

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Of mice and men coursework

Of mice and men coursework Of Mice and MenFurther reading courseworkJohn stienbeck and Elisabeth gaskel are both very similar writers and both write similar storeys. Two of their books "of mice and men" and "half brothers" both have similarities and links. Even though they had 100 years of time between them the two story's both have similar characters and are both convincing in similar waysHelen and her first husband were in a very close relationship we know this due to the fact that she could not talk about him after he died of scarlet fever, as she is two upset. Then her first baby dies just before Gregory was born. But she soon forgot about him and concentrated on rasing GregoryShe then marries William Preston but this is more for financial and social security as she starts loosing her visions and can no longer sew with her aunt fanny.Of Mice & Men (album)Whom came to help look after her and the baby. So when William asks her to marry him she was relieved and jumped at the chance for some one to look after her and her baby. But this was not based so much on love but on the security that he could provide.William did not have a very god relationship with Gregory because after the third baby, the narrator, Helen dies but William blames Gregory for the death of Helen, even though it was more likely to be the narrator's fault. But William had hated Gregory to the point that he even bullied the dog, lassie. But he mused have loved him deep down as he still raised Gregory and let him live with him.Gregory's relationship with his half brother was not a good one as they blamed each other for the death of their mother. But Gregory...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The High Court, The Crown Court and Magistrates Court Essay

The High Court, The Crown Court and Magistrates Court - Essay Example As district judges are legally trained, they can work through case quicker, and have better technical and legal knowledge(Daryl Williams, 2001, p.146). Lay Magistrates can also be referred to as 'justices of the peace'. The Lord Chancellor appoints JP's. This is officially done beneath a document called 'commission of the peace'. This is carried out in two ways. moreover in respect of counties, where it is beneath the advice of the lord lieutenant of the county and help by the advisory committee, or in respect of urban areas. In this case, it is on suggestion of the advisory committee only(Anthony Blackshield, 2000, p.428). No doubt, these committees were kept clandestine, until 1992, but have since been re-published so that all names are renowned. The Lord Chancellor has to take into account that the panel has a wide-cross part. This means that there be supposed to be a diversity of dissimilar people from dissimilar ethnic and social backgrounds. This is to make sure that the panel of JP's is delegate of all possible defendants, and all feature of society(Michael White, p. 152). In order to become a JP, it is important to be reliable and committed. The lay people must either live or work, within a 15-mile radius of the area being scrutinized on behalf of the defendant. JP's must also be able to sit in court for a minimum of 26 sessions-one session making up one half day. The lay people are not paid, therefore they are reimbursed for loss of earrings, travel expenses and lunch etc. it is vital for lay people to be aged between 21 and 65, although there are not may 21 year old JP'S and the youngest age usually ranges from 26-27. This is due to lack of life experience. Above all it is important for the potential JP'S to not have a criminal record this refers to bankruptcy, theft, tax etc(Enid Campbell, 2001, p.95). Critical Analysis Of The Use Of Magistrates Courts There are lots of advantages of having lay magistrates. As they are not paid, the government save money. The magistrate's court is therefore contemptible to run. It would be extremely luxurious for the courts otherwise, to hire legally trained judges. The magistrates are usual people. They have understanding of the kind of live the defendants have. This variety of people shows that there is more of a representation (Cracknell DG). The judiciary is made up of a wider cross-section. 45% are women. though there are not numerous ethnic minorities there are still a vast amount, and the numbers are rising. The magistrates also get hold of local knowledge. As they live inside 15 miles of the area, they know what the circumstances re like, and they are aware of certain difficulty so they can empathize with the people(Anthony Blackshield, pp.427-28). There are also some disadvantages to. Sometimes, as the lay people are described as being 'middle class, middle aged and middle minded' they do not always cover a very wide cross-section of the real, for example if there was young defendant on trail, the older lay people wouldn't be able to fully understand him, and his thought and feeling (Zander M). This would be bad, as the younger people would be treated unfairly. There will be little common with the younger defendants and the older lay magistrates. Although a

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Discussing the relationship between son and father Essay

Discussing the relationship between son and father - Essay Example The persona is helpless and this only explains the fact that the war in the World War II most affected the powerless in the region. Many themes are evident in this text such as; betrayal, resistance, collaboration and the relationship between father and son. The mood is somber because the persona hopes to save his family from the experience they all had with Holocaust but to his surprise, they are all gone. The group that was concerned with this form of inhumanity was referred to as â€Å"Nazis† and it supported the move by the Parisians. This group was made up of the Germans who were followers of Hitler. The Nazis were also against the existence of the Jewish in Paris hence, collaborated with the French policemen in order to destroy their existence. This was a form of betrayal by the Germans to the Jews since, they were neighbors in a foreign country but they still went ahead and collaborated with the natives in order to destroy them. All forms of inhuman activities are evide nt during this time and Eliezer cannot help but take the bull by its horn. He witnesses people being hang and burnt and he lives each day for his father. He says that the only thing that prevented him from dying was his father. This is because, without him, his father could not make it alone. However, it is ironic how some of the prisoners turn cruel just as the Nazis. The prisoners who are captives together with their fathers start mistreating their fathers for their survival. This relationship between a father and a son is supposed to be mutual but to Eliezer’s surprise, it is even worse than the relationship that can ever exist between two people not sharing blood. Eliezer narrates a story that involves three instances where the sons mistreat their father for their survival. In one instance, a son killed his father just to have a piece of bread to himself. This was uncouth because, just because the food that was offered to them was not enough, a son had to kill his father in order to save his own life. This happened when a German threw a piece of bread in the cattle truck the prisoners had been herded into during transportation. Another character referred to as, the son to Rabbi Eliahu is also seen abandoning his slow and weak father at the occurrence of a mad run for the purpose of increasing his chances that were left to save his life. In addition, Elizier also felt this form of burden through his father’s presence and that is why, he kept on fighting just to be alive for him. The live incidence when their fellow prisoners were hung in front of them was heartbreaking and saddening and in fact, this is what contributed to the hostile relations between fathers and sons (Wiesel, 2006). The sons starved to keep their lives going and since the presence of their father was a hindrance as they had to be reluctant in making any steps that might have left them behind, the only solution was to finish them completely. This was the highest degree of inh umanity. In this text, the author intertwines the past with the present to bring out the real meaning of the life that was experienced during the World War II in 1942. A story about a 10-year-old girl called Sarah; helps a journalist, Julia to uncover the true story about her husband’s family who are French. It is so sad to learn that the same people living in the modern world are the same people who mistreated

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Essays of Pochury Festival Essay Example for Free

Essays of Pochury Festival Essay The attack was undertaken by the Eastern Command’s 1st Brigade under the command of Major General Zuheto, along with the then 4th battalion of Pochury Region under the command of Lt. Colonel Thorpa. The monsoon was at its height during the time and all major rivers like Tizu, Lanye and Thethsii were in full spate. The attack was launched after destroying all the six bridges on all the rivers. This was done to stop reinforcement from reaching the besieged army post. As the attack continued into the thirteenth day, ammunitions on both sides were running short and on several occasions the Indian Air Force plane tried to drop relief material and ammunitions but were prevented by the Naga Army. At the same time the Indian Air Force jet fighters strafed the attacker’s positions. An Indian transport plane (Dakota) trying to drop relief materials and ammunitions to the besieged post was shot down by the Naga Army on the 14th day of the siege and crash landed at Zathsii, a paddy field of Meluri village. The Naga Army captured all the 9 (nine) airmen including Flt. Lt. A. S. Singh. This led to a heavy army operation in Pochury area by the Indian Army, who was on a mission to search and rescue the captured airmen, none of whom were ever tortured but were later set free through the Red Cross. In the process of the army operations to rescue the airmen many villages were burnt down and untold atrocities and tortures were inflicted upon the villagers. On September 1, 1960, 6 (six) villagers from Phor village were tortured to death. Their names are Lt. Turachu, Village Chief, Lt. Yutsuchu, Pastor, Lt. Chupuchu DB, Lt. Yituchu GB, Lt. Turuchu GB, Lt. Mughazu GB. Again on September 3, 1960 another 3 (three) villagers from Yisi village were beaten to death namely Lt. Mazu GB, Lt. Throchu, Lt. Mazu RP. Two villagers Lt. Yichuhu and Lt. Nyupuchu. from Mokie village were also beaten to death. In Laruri village, Lt. Lingsang was buried alive after severe beating. Lt. Nyukhrusuh and Lt. Rhorupa of Meluri village were beaten severely and after which, their heads were chopped-off. Two villages, namely Tsikuzo and Kuluopfu, were abandoned due to tortures and humiliations meted out by the Indian army. On 6th September 1960, the Punjab Regiment posted at Kangjang village reached Matikhrii village around 10 am. The entire village was encircled in three rings and all the villagers were ordered to gather in one place. Men folk were separated from women and children. All the men were made to keep jumping and do sit-ups, for more than 5 hours in the scorching sun, naked. Any signs of tiredness were met with kicks and hits with rifle butts. Then just before sunset, Indian army not satisfied with the punishment meted out to the villagers, rounded them up inside the Village chief’s house and were forced to sit heads down like a lamb being lead to its slaughter. Lt. Thah, the then Village chief, knowing what was in store for them bravely volunteered to sacrifice. He stood bravely for the Naga cause even to his last breath and said â€Å"It’s a man’s pride. No surrender, no compromise for our birth right. This sacrifice is to protect our freedom. I shall gladly lay down my life for the Naga future generation. † Then an Indian army jawan, holding a blunt dao(hatchet) chopped off the head of Lt. Pogholo who was first in the line. Witnessing the brutality and horror in front of their eyes and knowing that all of them were going to be killed, one of the villagers managed to escape the execution forcefully. Then one after another heads rolled down separated from the bodies, and in the event a total of nine lives were lost. Their names are Lt. Thah, Lt. Pogholo, Lt. Mezitso, Lt. Pongoi, Lt. Eyetshu, Lt. Zasituo, Lt. Thitu, Lt. Kekhwezu, Lt. Kezukhwelo. The Indian army did not even allow the loved ones to perform last rites and rituals for the dead. All the dead bodies were dumped inside the village chief’s house and were burnt down to ashes along with the other houses and granaries. The women and children who had fled to the jungle to evade the horror and torture of Indian Army came back the next morning to find the whole village burnt down to ashes. Lt. Thitu who narrowly escaped from the execution was found by his wife Mrs. Rhiitariih with three cuts on the neck, stomach slashed and intestines thrown out. He quoted â€Å"Love, tell my beloved children the sacrifice I have borne for them and I am waiting to die in your lap with a cup of water† and after drinking, he breathed his last. Another victim Lt. Zasituo, traveling Pastor, was also found almost dead with multiple injuries on his chest and neck. Not long after, he died. Then the horrified women and children with no means simply covered the dead bodies with mud and left for the jungles fearing the Indian army might turn up any time. For days together, the survivors wandered in the deep jungle without proper food and shelter. The wild berries and fruits of the jungle were their only food and means of survival. The only comfort and encouragement they could give to each other was the knowledge of glorious sacrifices made by their men folk. The wild animals and birds of the jungle were their only companions, besides themselves. In extreme conditions of hardships and difficulty, many more precious lives were lost. The Naga Army then came to their rescue. They were given food, shelter and protection. Even today, the nightmares and tragedy of the incident still remain fresh in the mind of the survivors. In this long dispersion and exodus, the survivors entered Burma and stayed with the Naga Army in their camp at Sathi where Gavin Young of London Observer met them in the later part of 1961. In his book â€Å"Indo-Naga War†, page 29-30, he wrote that when he met the survivors, there were only a pathetic thirty people.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) Essay -- Animal-Assisted Therapy Essays

For many humans, a pet provides unconditional love and affection. Others feel an overwhelming calming, happy feeling when they are around animals. According to The American Veterinary Medical Association, studies have shown that due to these positive emotions that are stirred, the presence of and interaction with animals can lower heart rates and blood pressure. Animals that meet specific training criteria can become an integral part of a treatment process for a variety of psychological and physiological problems. Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions... ...dren with Pervasive Developmental Disorders." Western Journal of Nursing Research 24.6 (2002): 657-70. Print. Motomura, Naoyasu, Takayoshi Yagi, and Hitomi Ohyama. "Animal Assisted Therapy for People with Dementia." Psychogeriatrics 4.2 (2004): 40-42. Print. Tyberg, Amy, and William H. Frishman. "Chapter 6 - Animal-Assisted Therapy."Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Pain Management. By Michael I. Weintraub, Ravinder Mamtani, and Marc S. Micozzi. New York: Springer Pub., 2008. 115-24. Print. O’Conner-Von, Susan. "Chapter 14 - Animal-Assisted Therapy."Complementary & Alternative Therapies in Nursing. New York: Springer, 2010. 207-23. Print. Zilcha-Mano, Sigal, Mario Mikulincer, and Phillip R. Shaver. "Pet in the Therapy Room: An Attachment Perspective on Animal-Assisted Therapy." Attachment & Human Development 13.6 (2011): 541-61. Print.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

A Summary on the Essay of Kate Gubata: The New Feminism

The word feminism has generally and categorically been associated to an assembly and movements of radical groups who try to eradicate the male dominance in society, talking if not shouting, just to get their messages across.   These were the women in our grandparents’ time who have endeavored and strived to get their equal rights as a human being.   Today, it has been observed that women try to keep away from becoming branded as feminist to disassociate themselves to this type of bloc.   Feminism does not have to be exclusively defined to this category.According to Gubata (2003), a lack of interest among women to engage themselves in these activities is due to the misconceptions on the aims of feminism.   The real goal of the feminists’ today is to elucidate both men and women to convert equality into a reality. Anyone can be an active participant on this action and tackle significant feminists’ issues such as pay inequity, recent passage of the â€Å"ab ortion drug† and legal battles of homosexual marriage.Contemporary feminists are those people who have no fear in speaking their minds and in sharing their ideas as well as being open to ideas of others.   Women should not deny themselves the prospect of getting themselves involved in something they believe in.   Having a united voice means getting the aim stridently heard.The author emphasized on the encouragement of the people to get themselves involved in promoting the goals of feminists.   Take note of the groups in your community which you might get interested in then once you find it, enlist yourself and be prepared to take action.   You may have dissimilar and diverse feminist perceptions in the group but the eventuality of accomplishing your purpose is more apparent.REFERENCEMcCuen-Metherell, J.R. & Winkler, A.C. (Eds.).   (2003). Readings for Writers (11th ed.).  Heinle-Thomson Learning.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

High School Conformism Essay

Throughout majority of my high school life, I always questioned why things operated the way they did. Being forced to go to a place, or my parents could possibly go to jail. To be honest it sort of felt like a indoctrination. Going there I noticed everything was controlled and different social groups where created based on different peoples personalities. The irony of it all is that from a young age school seemed to indorse individuality, yet hypocritical policies such as school uniforms still took place later in the years. I questioned why there was so much conformity;why was everyone so worried about fitting in? While I can’t be the voice for every-ones’ reasoning behind peer pressure. I can give my own reason for occasionally feelings of peer pressure. The first 2 years of high school felt very much like a fight for my individuality. I’d find multiple ways to make myself feel as if I was different; for instance making modifications to my uniform. I also would follow subculture Stereotypes, although at the time I didn’t realize it was simple was pressure: The pressure to pull away from what I considered social emptiness. This was a phase thankfully, and thankfully I slowly I began to realize; I was essentially doing what other students where doing, but strangely for the opposite reasoning(to get away from conformism). I’d say its a great learning experience, and simply put. The best way to strive for individuality is not striving for individuality. When you force yourself to be different, weather it be following a subculture (beyond your own personal beliefs), or not liking a ideology without doing your own research. You’ll definitely fall into the ignorance of conformism. After coming to these conclusions, I decided to become more social; experiencing new things so I could have a opinion, rather than stagnate in ignorance. I’ve learned a lot in regards to life, but most importantly I learned a lot about myself. I can finally say that I am a individual. I believe high school has definitely had a impact on me, although I’m sure it wasn’t there intention to give me such enlightenment.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Pros and Cons of Teaching

Pros and Cons of Teaching Are you thinking about becoming a teacher? The truth is that it is not for everyone. It is a difficult profession which the majority of people on the planet are not capable of doing effectively.  There are many pros and cons of teaching. Like any profession, there are aspects that you will love and aspects which you will despise. If you are considering teaching as a career, carefully evaluate both sides of teaching. Make a decision based on how you will handle and respond to the negative aspects of teaching more so than the positive ones. The cons of teaching will be what lead to burnout, stress, and resentment, and you need to be able to deal with them effectively. Pros Affords you the opportunity to make a difference. A nation’s youth is our greatest resource. As a teacher, you are afforded the opportunity to be on the front lines, making a difference. Today’s young people will be tomorrow’s leaders. Teachers have the opportunity to have a profound influence on their students thus helping shape our future. Offers a friendly schedule. When compared to other careers, teaching does offer a particularly friendly schedule. You often have extended time off 2–3 times during the school year and three months during summer break. School is only in session from approximately 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. each weekday allowing you evenings and weekends to do other things. Gives you the chance to collaborate with all kinds of people. Collaboration with students is, of course, your greatest focus. However, you will find that collaborating with parents, community members, and other teachers to help our students can also be rewarding. It truly takes an army, and when everyone is clicking on the same page, the students will reach their maximum learning potential. Is never boring. No two days are alike. No two classes are alike. No two students are alike. This creates challenges, but it ensures that teachers are always on their toes and never bored. There are so many individual variables in a classroom that you can be assured that even if you teach the same subject all day long, it will be somewhat different every time. Allows you to creatively share interests, knowledge, and passions with others. Teachers should be passionate about the content they teach. Great teachers teach their content with enthusiasm and passion that motivates their students. They engage students in creative lessons that spark self-interest and the desire to learn more about a particular topic.  Teaching provides you with a great platform for sharing your passions with others. Provides continuous opportunity for professional growth and learning. No teacher has ever maximized their potential. There is always more to learn. As a teacher, you will always be learning. You should never be satisfied with where you are. There is always something better available. It is your job to find it, learn it, and apply it to your classroom. Allows you to create a bond with students that can last a lifetime. Your students must always be your number one priority. Over the course of 180 days each year, you build bonds with your students that can last a lifetime. You have the opportunity to become a trusted role model that they can depend on. Good teachers encourage their students and build them up while providing them with the content they need to succeed. Provides solid benefits such as health insurance and a retirement plan. Having health insurance and a respectable retirement plan is a perk of being a teacher. Not every career offers either or both of those things. Having them provides you with  peace of mind should a health issue arise and as you get closer to retirement. Has a flexible job market. Teachers are a necessary part of our society. The job will always be there. There can be a lot of competition for a single position, but if you are not limited to a particular area it is relatively easy to find a teaching job virtually anywhere in the country. Can allow you to be closer to your children. Teachers work the same hours that their children are in school. Many teach in the same building their children attend. Some even receive the opportunity to teach their own kids. These provide tremendous opportunities to bond with your children. Cons Is not the most glamorous job. Teachers are undervalued and underappreciated by many people in our society. There is a perception that teachers complain too much and only become teachers because they cannot do anything else. There is a negative stigma associated with the profession that is unlikely to go away anytime soon. Will never make you wealthy. Teaching will not make you wealthy. Teachers are underpaid. You should not get into this profession if money matters to you. Most teachers now work summers and/or take a part-time job in the evenings to supplement their teaching income. It is a startling reality when many states offer first-year teacher salaries that are below their state’s poverty level. Is terribly trendy. Best practices in education change like the wind.  Some trends are good, and some are bad. They are often ushered in then out in a constant revolving door. It can be particularly frustrating to invest a lot of time in learning and implementing new things, only to have new research come out to say it does not work. Is being overtaken by standardized testing. The emphasis on standardized testing has changed over the last ten years. Teachers are increasingly judged and evaluated on the test scores of their students. If your students score well, you are a great teacher. If they fail, you are doing a terrible job and need to be terminated. That one test day is more valuable than the other 179. Is even more difficult when you do not have parental support. Parents can make or break a teacher. The best parents are supportive and engaged in their child’s education making your job easier. Unfortunately, those parents seem like the minority these days. Many parents only show up to complain about the job you are doing, are not supportive, and do not have a clue about what is actually going on with their child. Is often displaced by classroom management. The demand for classroom management and student discipline can be overwhelming at times. You cannot want nor need every student to like you, or they will take advantage of you. Instead, you must demand and give respect. Give your students an inch and they will take a mile. If you cannot handle disciplining a student, then teaching is not the right field for you. Is too political. Politics plays a key role in every level of education including the local, state, and federal levels. Money is the primary cog in the majority of political decisions concerning education. Politicians continuously push mandates on schools and teachers without truly seeking input from educators themselves. They often fail to look at the potential impact of a mandate 5–10 years down the road. Can be extremely frustrating and stressful. Every job comes with some level of stress and teaching is no different. Students, parents, administrators, and other teachers all contribute to this stress. Those 180 days go by extremely quick, and teachers have a lot to get done during that time. Distractions deter progress almost daily. In the end, a teacher has to figure out how to get results or they will not keep their job for long. Involves a lot of paperwork. Grading is time-consuming, monotonous, and boring. It is a necessary part of teaching that virtually no one enjoys.  Lesson planning also takes up a lot of time. Teachers also have to complete paperwork for absences, classroom level reporting, and discipline referrals. Each of these is necessary, but no teacher got into the field because of the paperwork. Requires more time than you think. The schedule may be friendly, but it does not mean that teachers only work when school is in session. Many teachers arrive early, stay late, and also spend time on the weekends working in their classroom. Even when they are home, they spend quite a bit of time grading papers, preparing for the next day, etc. They may have summers off, but most use at least a portion of that time at voluntary professional development workshops.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Sum of Squares Formula Shortcut

Sum of Squares Formula Shortcut The calculation of a sample variance or standard deviation is typically stated as a fraction. The numerator of this fraction involves a sum of squared deviations from the mean. In statistics, the formula for this total sum of squares is ÃŽ £ (xi - xÌ„)2 Here the symbol xÌ„ refers to the sample mean, and the symbol ÃŽ £ tells us to add up the squared differences (xi - xÌ„) for all i. While this formula works for calculations, there is an equivalent, shortcut formula that does not require us to first calculate the sample mean. This shortcut formula for the sum of squares is ÃŽ £(xi2)-(ÃŽ £ xi)2/n Here the variable n refers to the number of data points in our sample. Standard Formula Example To see how this shortcut formula works, we will consider an example that is calculated using both formulas. Suppose our sample is 2, 4, 6, 8. The sample mean is (2 4 6 8)/4 20/4 5. Now we calculate the difference of each data point with the mean 5. 2 – 5 -34 – 5 -16 – 5 18 – 5 3 We now square each of these numbers and add them together. (-3)2 (-1)2 12 32 9 1 1 9 20. Shortcut Formula Example Now we will use the same set of data: 2, 4, 6, 8, with the shortcut formula to determine the sum of squares. We first square each data point and add them together: 22 42 62 82 4 16 36 64 120. The next step is to add together all of the data and square this sum: (2 4 6 8)2 400. We divide this by the number of data points to obtain 400/4 100. We now subtract this number from 120. This gives us that the sum of the squared deviations is 20. This was exactly the number that we have already found from the other formula. How Does This Work? Many people will just accept the formula at face value and do not have any idea why this formula works. By using a little bit of algebra, we can see why this shortcut formula is equivalent to the standard, traditional way of calculating the sum of squared deviations. Although there may be hundreds, if not thousands of values in a real-world data set, we will assume that there are only three data values: x1 , x2, x3. What we see here could be expanded to a data set that has thousands of points. We begin by noting that( x1 x2 x3) 3 xÌ„. The expression ÃŽ £(xi - xÌ„)2 (x1 - xÌ„)2 (x2 - xÌ„)2 (x3 - xÌ„)2. We now use the fact from basic algebra that (a b)2 a2 2ab b2. This means that (x1 - xÌ„)2 x12 -2x1 xÌ„ xÌ„2. We do this for the other two terms of our summation, and we have: x12 -2x1 xÌ„ xÌ„2 x22 -2x2 xÌ„ xÌ„2 x32 -2x3 xÌ„ xÌ„2. We rearrange this and have: x12 x22 x32 3xÌ„2 - 2xÌ„(x1 x2 x3) . By rewriting (x1 x2 x3) 3xÌ„ the above becomes: x12 x22 x32 - 3xÌ„2. Now since 3xÌ„2 (x1 x2 x3)2/3, our formula becomes: x12 x22 x32 - (x1 x2 x3)2/3 And this is a special case of the general formula that was mentioned above: ÃŽ £(xi2)-(ÃŽ £ xi)2/n Is It Really a Shortcut? It may not seem like this formula is truly a shortcut. After all, in the example above it seems that there are just as many calculations. Part of this has to do with the fact that we only looked at a sample size that was small. As we increase the size of our sample, we see that the shortcut formula reduces the number of calculations by about half. We do not need to subtract the mean from each data point and then square the result. This cuts down considerably on the total number of operations.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Climate, geography, income per capita and growth Literature review

Climate, geography, income per capita and growth - Literature review Example Geography and environment has a closer impact on socio-economic development of a region. Historical data has revealed that geography has some effect on shaping the economic history. However, the amount of variance is an important consideration. Tropics are varied by braod climatic zones and economies as well (Torres & Mendez, 2000; 2002, Inter-American Development Bank, 2000). As a result, the research would identify the key geographical and climatic factors from the national database and analyze its relationship with income per person longitudinal data for a time period of 1950 to 2014. This paper will analyze this variance to test and interpret the condition of multicollinearity using a regression analysis, as some geographical factors might be highly correlated impacting the ultimate results. Analyzing the relationship between the major geographical features, such as altitude, climate, topography on the economic growth and prosperity with individual municipal incomes and their inequalities. Previous research has established a close relationship between economic development and geographical characteristics, such as topography, altitude, precipitation, temperature and rainfall etc., of a region. In this pretext, the tropical economies have lower income levels and growth rates than rest of the world. Temperate regions are more prosperous in this respect. The impact of geography on economic performance was considered exogenous for a very long time by economists (Rodrik & Trebbi, 2004). In fact there are direct channels influencing the effect of geography on productivity (Fujita, Krugman & Venables, 1999; Gallup, Sachs & Mellinger, 1999), in terms of productivity of primary activities, such as agriculture, farming, mining, fishing and forestry (Safford & Palacios, 2002). The classical Malthusian theory has stressed on how extremes of climate and temperature might diminish the productivity of labor as a consequence of spillovers and positive

Friday, November 1, 2019

Mutually Assured Destruction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Mutually Assured Destruction - Research Paper Example Their own children fought the first man versus man battle with Abel as the first human casualty. From then onwards, from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, every chapter exposes the wars human beings have had to win. On the other hand, the theory of evolution paints an even more difficult birth for the human kind. It is survival of the fittest. Perhaps the Homo sapiens specie is indeed the fittest because it had survived the tests of time and nature. Sadly though, we did survive millions of years of evolution only to stand at the brink of total annihilation on our own hands. Apparently, Armageddon would come not through the Beast of the Book of Revelation or through a colliding giant asteroid. Contrary to the prophecies of prophets and filmmakers, the end of days would be brought by the beast of man called nuclear weapon when the interests of the world’s powers collide. Worse, there is no need for a world war three in order for the world to be in chaos. All it need s is a war between two nuclear superpowers and the earth will stand still, or whatever is left of it. War in this day and age is unthinkable but we need to think about it. War in the twenty first century is simply mad. Well, as a matter of fact, it is MAD. This paper shall look into the theory of war called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) and its role in the World War I, World War II and the Cold War. Moreover, this paper shall explore into the future of weapons and war in light of the technological advancements of our time. The MAD Theory When John F. Kennedy took over the reins on January 20, 1961, he declared in his inaugural address: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.† Essentially, this was a confirmation that from then onwards, the USSR will never catch up on the mighty USA. The government will do everything in its power and utilize all available resources to ensure that the USA shall remain the world’s guardian of democracy and anyone who chose to disagree and oppose shall feel its power. True to his words, the President brought in Robert McNamara from the business sector to help him pound the competition and ensure its monopoly on world power. And McNamara managed the Department of Defense like he would a multinational company – always with a sharp eye on profit and always calculating the odds with the aid of cost-benefit analysis. The US developed more products that would be a big hit in the world market (read: weapons that would destroy the world). And the business of war was indeed good. President John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara introduced the world to the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction otherwise known as simply MAD. In his own words: â€Å"Mutual Assured Destruction is the foundation of deterrence†¦ If you want a stable nuclear world†¦ it requires that each side be confident that it can deter the other. And that requires that there be a balance and the balance is the understanding that if either side initiates the use of nuclear weapons, the other side will respond with sufficient power to inflict unacceptable damage. Mutual Assured Destruction. So Mutual Assured Destruction is the foundation of stable deterrence in a nuclear world. It's not mad, it's logical.† (Interview) Robert McNamara is credited with the doctrine of Mutually Assur

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Video case report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Video case report - Essay Example However on this day, to everyone’s amazement, calls, emails and letters started flooding in, with every customer expressing dissatisfaction on various areas such as: product dissatisfactions, service delivery, the speed of the response and attention offered to the customers towards their complaints. The results were drastically affecting every sector within the firm, such as reduction on the sales, disruption on our production and dismissal of various workers. To provide a permanent solution, the firm had to put various factors in to account by laying out strategic measures to curb that occurrence ever repeating itself again. According to (Meredith 2010), a customer makes the business run and there is no particular firm that can chase away customers willingly; but the simple mistakes that various firms normally make, may be acts that result in chasing away customers in disguise. In every firm as many business people always put it, the â€Å"customer is the king† but may be this is what our firm didn’t establish or didn’t have established. ... According to (Zairi 2000), â€Å"Customers are the main purpose for running a firm, plus rather than them depending on the firm, the firm depends on them†. This indicates the importance of a gentle attachment between the firm and the customers. For (Hansemark and Albinsson 2004), they defined satisfaction as â€Å"overall customer attitude towards a service provider or the emotional reaction on what customers anticipate in relation to what they receive on their desired needs†. According to (Anderson 2000), customer loyalty is actually the result of an organization creating an atmosphere conducive to customers becoming repeat shoppers so that they can maintain or increase sales. Customer loyalty can only be achieved by providing and delivering what the customers desire and expect. Also (Oliver 1997), termed customer loyalty as that deep commitment to re-purchase a certain preferred product or service consistently in the future despite changes or influences with possibili ty of causing a change in the marketing behavior. Hokanson {1995), explains various factors that affect the level of customer satisfaction. This includes: employees’ knowledge on the product, friendliness, courteous and helpful staff, competitive pricing, good value of the product, billing clarity, timeliness and accuracy and quick service delivery. The most affected area as depicted in our firm by the dissatisfaction of the customers was on the profitability. According to (Hoyer 2001), satisfied customers provide the foundation of every successful business organization as it leads to repeat purchases and loyalty on the brands supplemented by a positive word of mouth. According to various researchers’, dissatisfaction of customers leads to

Monday, October 28, 2019

Socrates Stand on Democracy Essay Example for Free

Socrates Stand on Democracy Essay Having emphasized upon me the advantages of democracy, I have always believed that it is the best system to implement in a country. Ignoring the flaws and weaknesses of this type of system, I thought that the benefits outweigh all costs. I assume that giving the power to the people is better than having one person rule the state. However, in Plato’s account on the life of his mentor Socrates, we are able to see both sides of the spectrum: the pros and cons of democracy which are accounted in Plato’s dialogues, the Apology and the Crito. Socrates, having been accused of impiety, is brought to trial in front of the jury of Athens. In his defense, he points out the flaws of a democratic system, but he has an underlying intention to improve it. Thus, despite his criticisms on the use of rhetoric, involvement in politics, and the opinions of the majority, Socrates generally takes a pro-democracy approach on his purpose of being in Athens, the importance of examining truth and life, and the significance of respecting the law. Socrates is known in Athens for his dialectic approach of questioning and examining the ideas of the people. He has unintentionally annoyed many Athenian citizens which has made him infamous. This has led other people, such as Meletus, to press charges against him. In his defense, Socrates sets himself apart from others who bring their family and friends as a kind of an appeal to the jurymen. Through tears and emotional plea, they beg to be acquitted. However, Socrates does not intend to present such acts as he places greater significance to his, the jury’s, and the city’s reputations. He considers it shameful to try to win approval through emotional appeal rather than the truth as it brings dishonor to the city (37). Socrates points out then that it is the role of a juryman not to acquit someone who seems favorable, but â€Å"to judge according to Reusi 2 law†¦ [which] he has sworn to do† (37). It is the jury’s responsibility to give verdict based on truth and logic. Through the oath that they have taken, the jurymen have pledged to accept this duty; therefore, to favor someone is against the law. Socrates criticizes how the public has taken advantage of the use of rhetoric to win arguments in any way possible; such as appealing to emotions which has dominated and influenced the community and its decisions. These statements highlight the nti-democratic notion of Socrates; he reproaches the majority of the citizens who have based their judgments on faulty premises. Moreover, he connotes that it is more important to listen to the persuasive arguments of â€Å"the one† that uses truth and logic, rather than the pathetic acts of â€Å"the many†. However, beneath the criticisms, Socrates tries to enlighten the members of the jury, who have a stake at public decisions, of their purposes as jurymen of the state. He reminds them of their sworn duties, and encourages them not to give in to emotional appeal, as this per se is an attack to democracy and to the law that makes the city. Additionally, Socrates explains to the jury why despite his continuous efforts to meddle on personal matters, he has never pursued on occupying political positions. This, he says, is due to the â€Å"spiritual† (34) voice that speaks to him only when he is about to do something he is not supposed to do. He believes that if he had taken part in politics, he would not have survived through the years, because he would debate against the authority or the public, and stop the unlawful actions in the state (34). Socrates upholds that â€Å"a man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time† (34). He points out that in order to live a just and peaceful life, it is better for a man to stay away from â€Å"public† activities where unlawful events usually take place. It is more important to live a â€Å"private† life, â€Å"fight[ing] for justice† at its core by dealing in â€Å"private affairs† (34). Reusi 3 Socrates is considered as taking an anti-democratic stand when he has chosen not to get involved with the government, considering that the government is the people. Yet, he implies that the people would not favor anyone that opposes injustice which seems to be the common dealings in politics. He believes that he would â€Å"have died long ago† (34), although this is not his ultimate concern. What he truly cares about is â€Å"not to do anything unjust or impious† (32). Despite his criticisms on politics, Socrates is essentially reminding the people, especially those in authority, to serve a just and virtuous life. Outwardly stating the current situation of the government, he aims to provide the people a portrait of the shallow kind of democracy that they have come to maintain. Socrates seeks to prompt the majority to uphold the true sense of democracy, of fighting for justice and living life accordingly. Furthermore, Socrates uses his dialectical approach with his friend Crito in examining the contrast between the knowledge of â€Å"the one† and the pseudo-knowledge of â€Å"the many†. He uses an analogy of a man involved in physical activities, whom must listen to the advice of the true expert in his training, rather than the opinions thrown by other people who barely know anything about these activities. Anyone who places a higher regard to the thoughts of the majority, rather than to the knowledge of the one who possess it, puts himself on greater â€Å"harm† (47). Socrates adds that if we disobey the one who seeks to improve us, â€Å"we shall harm and corrupt that part of ourselves that is improved by just actions and destroyed by unjust actions† (48). This is antidemocratic in a way that it explicitly denotes the greater relevance of â€Å"the one† as opposed to the false opinions of â€Å"the many†. Democracy is based upon the judgment of the majority; however, if they collectively agree on faulty decisions, it brings destruction to the state and corruption to its citizens. As Socrates puts it, â€Å"we should not then think so much of what the majority will say about us, but what he will say who understands justice and injustice, the one, that is, and the truth Reusi 4 itself† (48). Despite his arguments, he suggests that the majority learns to listen to the one who possess true wisdom, so as to strengthen the grounds of democracy. The united opinions of the many can be given greater significance when it is based on the wisdom of the one who seeks â€Å"to improve† the city. In spite of the anti-democracy view of Socrates regarding rhetoric, politics, and the majority, he presents a pro-democratic stand on his true purpose of being in Athens. He addresses the jury that it would be a mistake to condemn him since he has been brought to the city of Athens according to the god’s will. He compares himself to a â€Å"gadfly† that tries to wake the â€Å"great and noble horse† that has become inactive and lazy (33). This, Socrates believes, is his purpose for being placed in the city by the god. He â€Å"never [ceases] to rouse each and every one† of the citizens, to convince and to criticize them all the time (33). In this passage, Socrates shows how much he cares for the city as he, a â€Å"gadfly†, tries to motivate the â€Å"noble† city of Athens to reach its full potential. By this, Socrates expresses a pro-democratic attitude as he believes that by his consistent approach to its citizens, he hopes to keep the city active, knowing that it has many capabilities that have not been fully developed. Moreover, Socrates states that he will continue to follow the god rather than the demands of the public for him to cease his quest of constant dialectic. He adds that with every Athenian he meets, Socrates would cross-examine him. He would denote that by being a citizen of the â€Å"noblest† city with high regards for both â€Å"wisdom and power†, it is a shameful thing to put such high importance on material possessions and status while disregarding â€Å"wisdom or truth, or the best possible state of [the] soul† (32). He would reprimand those who were proven to value superficial things instead of the more important ones. Socrates maintains that â€Å"the unexamined life is not worth living for men† (39). He motivates the citizens to examine the truth and virtue Reusi 5 as he affirms that â€Å"the most important thing is not life, but the good life† (48). This is very prodemocratic in a sense that the city aims to accomplish this highest form of living, which can be achieved only if each citizen is able to reflect upon himself, and realize his own way of living. He stresses the importance of not indulging oneself with material desires, but focusing only on the â€Å"best possible state of [the] soul† (32). Once every citizen is able to live a life worthy of the â€Å"noble† city of Athens can the city fully establish a strong democracy that highlights â€Å"wisdom†, justice, and â€Å"truth† (32). Lastly, in Crito’s attempt to persuade Socrates to escape the city and his death, Socrates has emphasized the significance of respecting the law. He imagines being faced by the law, ordering him that he must either convince his city according to what is just, or submit himself in any given circumstance in accord to the position assigned to him by his country (51). Therefore, it is wicked to bring harm to one’s own country even â€Å"after being wronged not by†¦ the law, but by men† (54). Socrates is sentenced to death because of the decision of the majority, but not of the law. He uses the law to represent the entire city, for the law makes and embodies the ideals of the state. His notion is pro-democratic as he expresses his respect for the decrees that ultimately establishes the democratic system of Athens. Despite being persecuted by men, he still considers the law as just and equitable. When we divert from the true purpose of a system, the costs are as significant as the benefits. Plato’s account of Socrates enables us to have a two-way view on democracy in considering both its advantages and disadvantages. Underlying his criticisms to certain aspects of this system is Socrates’ greater pursuit to improve and develop the state.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Daniel Clowes Ghost World: Argumentative Comparison Essay -- Ghost Wo

Pictured on the back cover of the comic book "Ghost World," by Daniel Clowes, are the two main characters of the book in full color. This strikingly significant image, surely shrugged off by most Clowes' readers, represents worlds of diversity within the frames of the book. Sporting pink spandex pants underneath her goldfinch yellow skirt and a blue t-shirt to match perfectly, Enid seems to live her life outside the bubble. She's a very dynamic girl, especially interested in her surroundings and people around her. On the other hand, Becky is dressed like a "typical" girl, with a long black skirt and a white blouse, thus representing her conforming presence in the world. Becky is much more passive than Enid, going with the flow of things just living life. The contrasting personalities of Enid and Becky come ironically, being best friends. However, it brings out their defining qualities in the comic book while quietly calling attention to the values of life, what is real an d what is not. The title page on the second page of the book can be analyzed to show how Enid lives a different life than those on the "inside." The illustration is colored in a light hue of blue, somewhat casting a bleak and lifeless feeling. The picture shows Enid walking down the street with her hands in her pockets, back turned. Nighttime falls as the luminous moon watches down on Ghost World at dusk, casting Enid's shadow down on the sidewalk behind her. To her right is a house with window and the phrase Ghost World scrawled on the side of building. Everything in the scene is shaded and colored in a robin's egg b... ...ple, or the adorable old man who bought the pathetic flowers from the grocery store to take home to his wife. Becky doesn't notice these minute details that Enid does, nor does she care very much. In any case, they are in different worlds. Whose world is real? There's no answer to that. If it's real to them, then that's what it will be. The characters are diverse in the comic book, and it helps for the reader to not only understand the plot and distinguish between the two characters, but to show that people are naturally different, immature or mature, conforming or nonconforming. Diversity makes the world what it is, and that's as real is it can get. Work Cited Clowes, Daniel. "Ghost World" Fantagraphics (April 1, 2001)

Thursday, October 24, 2019

DNA Profiling and Ethics

DNA Profiling and Ethics Reflection Journal Vanshika Khemka 14th October 2012 â€Å"33 autorad off† On 10th September 1984, geneticist Alec Jeffrey’s wrote these three words in his red desk diary. This marked the completion of an experiment, which studied how inherited illnesses pass through families. The experiment failed entirely. (McKie, 2009) However, this led to the most profound discovery: the world’s first DNA fingerprint. Now, the smallest swab of blood or sweat can determine the identity of an individual.We will discuss this process of DNA profiling in this journal. After going into the in-depth analysis of DNA profiling, we will discuss its uses and the ethical and legal issues that swarm the subject. |What is DNA Profiling? | Formally, DNA profiling is the analysis of short, highly specific, tandem-repeated- or hypervariable- genomic sequences, minisatellites known as variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), to detect the degree of relatedness to ano ther sequence of oligonucleotides. Segan, 1992) It is a technique employed by  forensic scientists  to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective  DNA  profiles, which are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup and can also be used as the person's identifier. |The Process | Deoxyribonucleic Acid (â€Å"DNA†) is a six-foot long molecule found in the nucleus of every cell in the body. With the exception of identical twins, each individual’s DNA is unique.Thus the first step in the profiling process is to obtain a sample of the individual’s DNA, which is usually done using a buccal swab (i. e. from the cheek). We could also use a sample of blood, semen or hair. This sample is then analyzed using different techniques; discussed below. |Techniques of DNA Profiling | |Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) |It is a technique that exploits variations in homologous DNA sequences. It refers to a difference bet ween samples of homologous DNA molecules that come from differing locations of restriction enzyme sites, and to a related laboratory technique by which these segments can be illustrated. In this process, the DNA is first chemically extracted from the sample. It is then fragmented using restriction enzymes. These enzymes act like scissors and cut the DNA where a specific sequence occurs.By gel electrophoresis, the DNA fragments are placed in a gel through which an electric current is passed. Owing to the negative charge of the DNA, the fragments migrate toward the positively charged pole of the gel. The DNA is then denatured and Southern blotting transfers the DNA fragments to a nylon membrane. A buffer solution is pulled through the gel and membrane and absorbed in paper towels. Hybridization, brought about by radioactive probe, shows only those fragments of interest from the polymorphic area of the DNA.Autoradiography is carried out next where the blot is placed in contact with a p iece of x-ray film, where the radioactivity probe exposes the film and bands appear on the film where the probe has bound to the DNA. The results are then interpreted and in the case of a criminal investigation or civil case, it is matched against the suspect’s DNA profile, thus completing the process. (Hoeffel, 1990) This method is however very long-winded, cumbersome and the combination of all the above-mentioned steps could take about a month to complete.A large sample is required which makes it tougher. Hence other methods are adopted in recent times. |Polymerase Chain Reaction | With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, DNA profiling took huge strides forward in both discriminating power and the ability to recover information from very small (or degraded) starting samples. PCR greatly amplifies the amounts of a specific region of DNA.This process increases the number of copies of the allele, making enough DNA to allow the test to be performed on what may have originally been a DNA sample of insufficient molecular weight. Due to this technique the test can be conducted using a single hair strand. (Hoeffel, 1990) This process consists of a series of 20-40 repeated temperature changes, called cycles, with each cycle commonly consisting of 2-3 discrete temperature steps. The cycling is often preceded by a single temperature step (called  hold) at a high temperature (>90 °C), and followed by one hold at the end for final product extension or brief storage.The temperatures used and the length of time they are applied in each cycle depend on a variety of parameters. These include the enzyme used for DNA synthesis, the concentration of divalent ions and dNTPs in the reaction, and the melting temperature (Tm) of the primers. The rest of the process is similar to the RFLP method. The major breakthrough is the fact that now the smallest trace of evidence can be used for DNA profiling as opposed to the large samples needed in th e RFLP method. |Short Tandem Repeat Analysis |Also known as Microsatellites, short tandem repeats is used as an extension of the PCR Method. This method uses highly polymorphic regions that have short repeated sequences of DNA (the most common is 4 bases repeated, but there are other lengths in use, including 3 and 5 bases). (Hoeffel, 1990) Because unrelated people almost certainly have different numbers of repeat units, STRs can be used to discriminate between unrelated individuals. These STR  loci  (locations on a chromosome) are targeted with sequence-specific primers and amplified using  PCR.The DNA fragments that result are then separated and detected using  electrophoresis. |Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism | This is another technique that is much faster than RFLP and uses PCR. It not only has higher reproducibility, resolution, and sensitivity at the whole genome level compared to other techniques, but it also has the capability to amplify between 50 and 100 fra gments at one time. In addition, no prior sequence information is needed for amplification (Meudt & Clarke 2007).As a result, AFLP has become extremely beneficial in the study of bacteria, fungi, and plants, where much is still unknown about the genomic makeup of various organisms. |Applications of DNA Profiling | DNA profiling is extensively used for paternity testing and forensic analysis for criminal investigations. Parental testing is the use of genetic fingerprinting to determine whether two individuals have a biological parent–child relationship.Comparing the DNA sequence of an individual to that of another individual can show whether one of them was derived from the other. Specific sequences are usually looked at to see whether they were copied verbatim from one of the individual's genome to the other. (Berry, 1991) As for forensic analysis, laboratories compare the molecular weights of fragments of DNA from the suspect sample and crime sample and decide whether the t wo fragments could have come from the same individual. There are major benefits from this technology: the potential to make speedy and robust suspected offender identi? ations through automated profile comparisons in centralized criminal justice databases; the ability to con? dently eliminate innocent suspects from investigations; the increased likelihood of generating reliable and persuasive evidence for use in court; a reduction in the cost of many investigations; the likely deterrent effect of DNA databasing on potential criminal offenders; and a possible increase in public con? dence in policing and in the wider judicial process. (Berry, 1991) We will explore the ramifications of this extensive use in the next section. Is it ethical? | Now that we know the widespread use of DNA profiling, we see the power that it has and the influence it can have when it comes to people’s lives and the verdict issued in criminal cases. But is this power justified on an ethical front? Is i t ethical to give so much power into the hands of the people responsible for carrying out these tests? Indeed, the development and application of DNA pro? ling has been widely described as the â€Å"greatest breakthrough in forensic science since ? ngerprinting. † However, the spread of forensic DNA pro? ing and databasing has also prompted a wide range of concerns about problems that may arise from the storage of tissue samples (especially those taken from individuals without consent) and the proliferating uses of genetic information by the police. (Williams & Johnson, 2006) One could say that DNA profiling violates basic ethical values. Based on the values of liberty, our rights are technically reduced by police powers, which have the right to take and retain fingerprints and DNA profiles and samples without consent. The Forensic Use of Bioinformation: Ethical Issues, 2007) â€Å"So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means†; these words of wisdom imparted by Kant, also suggest that DNA profiling and the freedom to use that as evidence without explicit permission of the individual concerned would be using them as a means to an end and not an end in themselves. Therefore it can be argued that using DNA profiling takes away autonomy. The Forensic Use of Bioinformation: Ethical Issues, 2007) Spatial privacy is â€Å"a state of non-access to the individual’s physical or psychological self†. This is invaded by the nonconsensual taking of biological samples and fingerprints, and, to a lesser extent, by unwanted surveillance of the individual. And as can be inferred by the very nature of DNA profiling, informational privacy and anonymity is infringed upon by using samples obtained from databases and tests. (The Forensic Use of Bioinformation: Ethical Issues, 2007)Additional issues arise if identifiable samples or profiles on a forensic d atabase are used for research outside the narrow context of identification and police investigations. Using DNA profiling for paternity testing and for determining one’s lineage can be very harmful as it violates the privacy of the people concerned. It could cause potential moral and mental harm to the parents and the children concerned as entire families can be uprooted as a result of this. Past criminal cases which used paternity testing also prove that relatives and families can be affected mentally as well as physically.People in witness protection programs as well as people on the police databases can be negatively affected if a previously unknown family link is reestablished without their knowledge and consent. (Haimes, 2006) The list of legal and ethical concerns is endless. The question the arises that which side wins? Benefits of DNA profiling, or the issues concerning DNA profiling? |Which side is stronger? | Having seen the costs and benefits of DNA profiling and i ts usage, the benefits are debatable on moral and ethical grounds.However, in my personal opinion, it does not have to be black and white; good or bad. There can be a grey area, a middle ground, where DNA profiling is neither entirely correct nor entirely wrong. There have been cases where DNA evidence has saved many innocent lives and incriminated people who had been causing immense harm to others. Thus, we should pass legislations, which aim at curbing violations and encouraging true and just practices. In the cases where the DNA of individuals is being used as evidence or if parental testing is being done, their should be informed consent by the individuals.They should be aware of the sensitive nature of the information and should be expressly asked for consent to have the data published or used as evidence. The National DNA Database set up in the UK is an example of the dangers and benefits DNA profiling can hold. Personally, a national DNA database in all countries would be a v ery risky venture as a lot of personal information would be at stake and inter country rivalries could result. We have established the power of DNA profiling and the power that people who have access to this information have. So I would like to end with a quote.One’s interpretation of this quote can determine where they stand on the matter. â€Å"It is time for you to gather some idea of what power means. The first thing you must realize is that power is collective. The individual has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual†¦ The second thing for you to realize is that power is power over human beings. Over the body- but, above all, over the mind. Power over matter- external reality, as you would call it- is not important. Already our control over matter is absolute. † – George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Bibliography | Berry, D. A. (1991). Inferences Using DNA Profiling in Forensic Identification and Paternity Cases. Statistical Science , 6 (2), pp. 175-205. Haimes, E. (2006, June 1). Social and Ethical Issues in the Use of Familial Searching in Forensic Investigations: Insight from Family and Kinship Studies. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics , 263-276. Hoeffel, J. C. (1990, January). The Dar Side of DNA Profiling: Unreliable Scientific Evidence Meets the Criminal Defendant. Stanford Law Review , 42 (2), pp. 465-538.McKie, R. (2009, May 24). Eureka moment that led to the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Guardian: http://www. guardian. co. uk/science/2009/may/24/dna-fingerprinting-alec-jeffreys Segan, C. J. (1992, February 15). DNA Profiling. The Dictionary of Modern Medicine . The Forensic Use of Bioinformation: Ethical Issues. (2007, September). NuField Council on Bioethics . Williams, R. , & Johnson, P. (2006, June 1). Inclusiveness, Effectiveness and Intrusiveness: Issues in the Developing Uses of DNA Pro? ling in Support of Criminal Investigations. Journal of Law, Medicine and Et hics , 234-247. Wikipedia