Local and Federal Sharing of Information for Law Enforcement Essay

Local and Federal Sharing of Information for Law Enforcement - Essay Example This plan was put together by the DHS and the FBI in order to share information between their two systems. The overall aim of iDSN is "to achieve biometric-based interoperability with a reciprocal exchange of a small subset of DHS and FBI data. The FBI subset will include information on individuals with outstanding warrants for which biometric information exists ("Wanted Person File"). The DHS subset will include information on individuals who have been denied Visas or aliens who have been expeditiously removed from the United States." (Federal Bureau of Investigation, n.d.) Therefore, this database will allow both groups to access information about the various agencies. Data will be shared between the two agencies, and this includes copies of the database's fingerprint information in order to assist with the comparison of fingerprints. Furthermore, the shared information also allows other data to be included, such as criminal history, biography, and any other relevant history which may also be significant above and beyond fingerprint sharing. All data is stored and accessible in the System of Records. Users will also be able to access the FBI maintained criminal history of each individual through the database.

Royal Bank of Scotland Staff Management

Royal Bank of Scotland Staff Management The Royal Bank of Scotland Executive Summary Royal Bank of Scotlands rapid expansion into the global market as against its roots as a national bank, has exposed the bank to the ripple effect created by the fall in the USA housing market, which has led the global banking industry into greater economic crisis. As a result of RBSs exposure to the current financial crisis, this report shall looks at the difficulties involve in leading and motivating staff of RBS as it navigates its way out of the crisis. The difficulties with leading staff of RBS that shall be looked into involve, lack of In-depth and technical knowledge by the board and the CEO, Managing culture, Managing Change, Loss of reputation, and Government Interference. Understanding and satisfying of staffs need in this current financial crisis may be a difficult task for the management of RBS, this report shall also evaluate the difficulties of motivating staff of RBS ranging from government influence, disparity in pay, public outcry and challenges in satisfying the need of every employee of RBS Lastly the report shall recommend practicable solutions that are applicable to the current financial crisis to the management of RBS. 1.0 Introduction The environment where business operates has a major impact on its operation. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) operates in the UK financial industry which is one of the strongest financial hubs in the world. Porter (1998) says that a business will be successful if all the elements of the microenvironment are favourable to the organisation, this can not be in isolation of the macroenvironmental factors which also dictates the success of an organisation. The current financial crisis, was ignited by the fall in the USA housing market, and has a ripple effect which has exposed RBS and the UK banking industry as a whole, this has led to the liquidity problem been faced by the industry and the loss of confidence in the banking industry. Companies that market products or services have always had to deal with a wider range of issues than those encountered by domestic firms (Jeannet and Hennessey 1998). Royal Bank of Scotlands rapid expansion into the global market as against its roots as a national bank, has exposed the bank to greater economic crisis. The new chairman headed by Sir Philip Hampton in his bid to reform the bank has rooted out seven non executive directors and the former CEO Sir Fred Godwin who spearheaded the Global expansion, and appointed a new CEO Stephen Hester. In 2008 RBS group declared a loss of  £28bn the biggest loss in British corporate history (www.guardian.co.uk) and this has culminated into several lay off of staff. The Government in its effort to save the bank has injected some fund into the banks business and now owns about 70% of the bank. RBS has laid off some thousands of its workforces over the past year, there is consistent criticism from the media and the general public about bankers pay and reward, banks exposure to the global crisis, governments control power etc, all these have sent different signal to the remaining staff and also create difficulties in leading and motivating these staff by the management. 2.0 Leading Staff Of RBS During The Financial Crisis It takes a mentally tough and emotionally strong CEO and a competent Board to survive the current crisis. Kotter (1996) as cited by Robins and Judge (2007) says management is about coping with complexity by implementing the vision and strategy provided by leaders, coordinating and staffing the organisation for smooth operation, while leadership on the other hand in contrast is about coping with changes, by having ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a set of goals. Robin and Judge (2007) also group leadership theories into two, Charismatic and transformational leadership. But says Transformational leadership builds on the transactional leadership Ø The charismatic leadership theory. Charismatic leaders have vision, willing to take personal risk, sensitive to follower needs. These individuals are set aside from ordinary people and treated as endowed with exceptional qualities and are given unprecedented autonomy and resources, which then makes such individual to posses ability to leverage higher salaries and reward even when their performance was not very good, high risk taker, incur high cost and engage in self sacrifice to achieve the vision, and engaging in unconventional behaviour. These traits were seen in Sir Fred Godwin character, though to some extent the staff and board were satisfied with him before the current crisis, but such attributes may be difficult to lead staff and the whole of RBS group in this current crisis judging by their recent performance (Refer to Appendix 1). Ø The Transformational leadership theory Transformational leaders are known for providing vision and sense of mission, communicates high hope, inspirational motivation, careful problem solving skills etc, however it also build up on the characteristic of transactional such as the contract exchange for reward, and management by exception. These set of individual inspire staff to put in more effort to achieve the business objectives and goals, and also help staff at looking at old issues in a different way by been more innovative and creative. These traits are been seen in the new CEO Stephen Hester and such characters may seems to fit in to lead in this current financial crisis 2.1 Challenges with leading staff of RBS out of this current financial crisis Ø In-depth and technical knowledge of the board: According to Peter Principle, In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to level of incompetence. The remuneration package approved by the former board of RBS has shown that though the board has some financial experts but the full understanding of the former CEO package which led to the public outcry was not fully understood by some members of the board before they approved it. This was also emphasised by Ministers who believed that it was not only Lord Myners who did not know that Sir Freds pension was discretionary. They believed that the old board of RBS was kept in the dark too (www.bbc.co.uk). The current board has several financial experts with years of experience working in the industry but this still does not guarantee that all strategies and decision made by them shall be perfect. Ø In-depth and technical knowledge of CEO: Dive (2009) argue that most CEOs do not know how to establish accountable organization. RBS was reported to have lost over  £600m in Madoffs alleged investment scam. This could have been attributed to the lack of understanding and technical knowledge of such investment exhibited by the former CEO Fred Godwin before venturing into such a risky investment scam. However the new CEO too could have being tricked into such investment because it is very hard for CEO to posses in-depth and technical knowledge of all the financial operations and investment. But not withstanding CEO should strive enough to develop or gain the full understanding of some decision they might have made in past and to be able to correct some anomalies When Egg card terminated over 100,000 of its credit card customer in February 2008, the CEO said he believes they pose an unacceptably high risk to the company, this was supported by Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association, who said that Eggs action was a sensible way of looking after a business (news.bbc.co.uk). Ø Managing culture Another difficulty leaders are likely to face in the current financial crisis is the ability to manage culture. Leaders need to know how to manage culture that exit within its organisation and the environment where it operates. The issue that leaders face at each of their organisational growth stages are different, partly because the role that culture plays at each stage is completely different (Schein 2004). The inability by banks chiefs to manage the bonus culture that exits within the financial institution in UK has led to public outcry and different criticism about the ability of these executives to run a profitable company and at the same time manage its staff. Stephen Hester who was brought to turnaround RBS might be faced with managing culture because it is a barrier to change, and change is prone to resistance. Stephen Hester is expected to deal with lavish executive perks in RBS which has become a culture in the banking industry, such as the  £17m private jet used by Sir Fred Godwin, and heavy pension schemes. However Stephen Hester too according to (www.dailymail.co.uk) lives an expensive life style such a 350 acres of country estate, expensive mansion in London, and large option reward. This is a culture that has been in the industry for quite some time and it may be difficult for any new CEO to change because he too might have been a benefactor at a point in time, and also for the position of a CEO of a large financial organisation like RBS to be attractive, the reward needs to be competitive. This is a major challenge that Stephen Hester and the board might faced in leading at this point of time. Ø Managing Change Johnson et al (2001) say when a business is in terminal decline and faces closure or takeover, there is a need for rapid and extensive change in order to achieve cost reduction and revenue generation. Stephen Hester was appointed not only as CEO at RBS but implied as a change agent who will carry out a rapid change within the bank. Change is a major challenge and may be difficult to implement than it seems at first because while changing the business strategies and operation, one has to change the people and their orientation. Balogun and Hailey (2004) say success rate for most of the change programme launched within organisation is poor and the failure rate is 70%. However Stephen needs to find ways of ensuring that the outcome is positive change rather than damaging to the business. RBS in its bid to be back to a profitable organisation has embarked on different change management processes which have led to some job cut, however resistance to these changes is expected. Rob Macgregor, Unites national officer, said the union was appalled that thousands of people, who form the backbone of the RBS operations, are to be made redundant. He added: These employees are totally blameless for the current position which RBS is in, yet they are paying for the mistakes at the top of the bank. (www.guardian.co.uk) Ø Loss of reputation Adams Equity Theory says the more upset people get the greater they strive to redress the inequity. The general public and the medias impression of banks and financial institution has led to the loss of reputation of most banks in the UK , which was even seen in the damage done to the building of RBS by angry protester in April 2009 during the G20 meeting in London. This has created fear into the members of staff of RBS not to be attacked in public once people know that they work for the bank. And this may even force some to leave the organisation or think about a career in another industry. Ø Government Interference The injection of over  £20bn by the UK government to salvage the RBS from collapse has led to major influence of government in the decision to be made by the current Board and CEO. Decision made by management must always be the one politician will prefer rather than the one that will be of best economic interest to the bank. The recent announcement by the bank to cut 9000 jobs over the next three years which might result in a savings of over  £2.5bn (www.guardian.co.uk) was strongly rejected by the Politician , and the banks deputy chief executive had to change their strategy from job cut to redeployment of staff while facing the MPs. This is a vital challenge that faces the management of RBS in leading the staff for a profitable organisation. 3.0 Staff Motivation Unhappy staff are known to have little chance to produce satisfied customers, so the more contented staff are, the higher customer satisfaction will be. The management of RBS needs to integrate individual needs along with the organisational goals in other to achieve the business objectives, but motivation of staff comes with different challenges. 3.1 Challenges with Motivating staff of RBS during the current financial crisis Ø External influences A key difficulty been faced by most organisations during this global financial crisis is that they have placed too much attention on the external environment, at the detriment of the internal working environment. RBS continuous laying off staff with the aim of cutting cost was a result of its exposure to the global economic crisis, liquidity in the market, and fall in stock value. This is a demotivating action to the staff of RBS but the management and board of RBS might want to first readdress it position in the banking industry before it can then focus on the staff extreme needs. Ø Reward Structure The pluralist perspective of organisational conflict according to Lashley and Ross (2003 ) emphasises that conflict between subgroups is inevitable, and therefore it must be handled and managed carefully . Because of the higher pay package being offered to some investment staff of RBS, some group of staff in the retail and commercial sector of business may believed that they are being underpaid and at the same time bring in lesser risk, this may result in different conflict and complex issues arising among staff. Also the need for reward when target is met may be valued by some top performing investment staff within the bank, and they may threaten to leave if they are not been compensated competitively with what is obtainable in the industry. Increased wages are precisely what RBS may not be able to provide during this storming period however Nelson (2005) has also said though money is a factor of motivation, but not sufficient condition alone to attract, retain and motivate good employees. Ø Satisfying needs of all staff Money may not be provided everytime while appreciation and involvement of staff which are seen as other means of motivation can be provided any time. The problem with this, is understanding the need of all members of staff of RBS and aligning organisation policies with these needs. Maslow hierarchy of needs says before the self actualisation of need can be met, the basic life needs needed to be met, and he also said when a need is satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place (Refer to Appendix 2). Maslow hierarchy of needs might be ineffective when organisation is faced with too many external factors. Virtually almost every staff of RBS is worried about their job security, public attack, loss of bonuses, and stigmatization of banking profession. Therefore understanding and satisfying of staffs need in this current financial crisis may be a difficult task for the management of RBS. Ø Government Interference/ public outcry The Government forced down the 2008 bonuses that were supposed to be paid to staff of Lloyd bank, as a result of government ownership in the bank and the poor performance of the bank in 2008, while some staff see these as unfair treatment because they met their target and they deserve their bonuses. This was supported by Unite trade union who says they will not accept a situation where staff are made to suffer financially for the mistakes or greed of the top executives who ran the bank. This could be demotivating to staff that work in the three banks where government have control, in which RBS is one of them 4.0 Recommendation Leading and motivating is an integral part of managing people in an organisation, because people are major asset to such organisation. Gratton (2000) says people should be treated with politeness, respect, dignity and fairness. This can help to build an organisation where people can grow and flourish and at the same time save management reputation when they acted wrongly Organisation branding could help to motivate employee, it helps to give them a job securities and the status that is attached to the branded company. Media can be used to gain back the good image RBS is known for, and also management should avoid action or event that may put the company into public debate by ensuring that ethical decision are taken all the time. Businesses that survive the trying times are the ones whose leaders adopt a attitude of discovery and change, instead of resistances. Johnson et al (2001) suggest five style of change management: Education communication, Collaboration/participation, intervention, direction, coercion, some of which can be used by the management of RBS while turning the business around. Though RBS do appraise its staff regularly the use of management by objective (MBO) as part of its performance measurement for staff may be very much ideal in this era, in order to align both the goal of individual staff with that of the organisation. Butler (2009) says that in a multicultural organisation, transformational leadership demonstrates care for the personal relationships with a diverse group of people that in turn builds better leader-member exchanges, trust and organisational commitment. These kind of leadership traits might have been suggested to the board of RBS before the selection of Stephen Hester as the new CEO with the hope of changing the staffs paradigm and give them higher satisfaction. However a transformational leader will require more to be successful in this era , and this may include trust and been ethical, in other to gain the respect and to remove the stigma associated to CEO of big banks seen as selfish ,greedy, and extravagant lifestyle. Apart from the normal qualities of a good leader, two exceptional role that may be expected of the new leadership of Stephen Hester and the new Board at RBS are to provide team leadership, and self leadership roles. Team building is essential for every organisational development and growth. Task and problems are shared to enhance productivity, great leadership takes into account proper delegation amongst staff while still taking responsibility at the end of its completion. Leaders lead by good examples in era such as this, Josef Ackermann, CEO of deutsche Bank pledged to relinquish his bonus which runs into millions of Euros (www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk). This action has also prompted 3 other senior board members to agree to relinquish theirs as well. Which is now been used as a yardstick in the industry. Though Stephen Hester is new at RBS but there are some other processes or action through which he can control his own behaviour in order to exhibit self leadership role However leadership though required some qualities but these qualities and the leadership styles varies along with the changes in the environment. Managing change may go with different kind of leadership style. Lewin et al (1939) identify Authoritarian, Democratic, and laissez-faire style as the three major classification of leadership style. Stephen Hester may decided to use any or combination of the styles. Whichever option adopted has its own shortcoming, therefore the management should ensure it monitor the resistance and blend with any changes to its style that might fit any particular circumstances. Training is one of the strategies for success in organisation, the cultural change that is expected of the new board can be done through training of its staff. Also RBS Management is expected to come up with some practicable corporate and business strategies, which will give not only the shareholder confidence in the bank but inclusive of the staff, who will then be certain about their long term commitment to the business instead of the fear of losing their jobs RBS management need to put more efforts into the remaining staff so as not to lose the key ones, because of the amount of training and experience that has been impacted into them. Therefore involvements in plans and decision, timely and resourceful information, celebrating success, flexible working hours are some of the intrinsic motivation that can be used. Bibliography Armstrong, M.(2001). Human Resources Management Practices. 8th edition. Published by Kogan Page Ltd London. Balogun, J and Hailey,H. (2004). Exploring Strategic change .FT Prentice Hall, London BPP ACCA Study text(P3)-Business Analysis) (April 2007), 1st edition, Published by BPP Learning Media ltd. Butler, C. (2009). Leadership in a multicultural Arab organisation. Journal of Leadership Organization Development Journal Volume:30 , Issue:2 , Page: 139 151,Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited Child, J. (2005). Organisation Contemporary Principle and Practices. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Crouhy, M. Mark, R. and Galai, D (2001).Risk Management :comprehensive chapters on market credit and operational risk. Published by McGraw-Hill Dive, B. (2009).Why do banks continue to waste talent. Journal of Industrial and Commercial Training Volume: 41 , Issue: 1 , Page: 15 19. Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited Gratton, L. (2000). Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose. Published by Peason Education Ltd Jeannet, P. and Hennessey..D, 1998. Global Marketing Strategies.4th edition. Houghton Mifflin Company Johnson, G. Scholes, K. Whittington, R (2001). Exploring Corporate Strategy.7th edition. Published by Pearson Education, Uk Kotter,J. (1996) Leading Change. Published by Harvard Business school Press Lashley, C. Ross, D.(2003).Organisational Behaviour for Leisure Services. Published by Butterworth-Heinemann Laurence,J.Hull,R.(1969). The Peter Principle: why things go wrong. Published by Willian Morrow and Company New York. Lewin, K. LIippit, R. and White, K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Nelson, B. (2005). 1001 Ways to Reward Employees .Workman Publishing Company, New York. Porter,M.(1998). Competitive Advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance, Free Press New York Robins.S., and Judge.T, (2007). Organisational Behaviour,12th edition .Pearson Education Inc New Jersey Schein, E. (2004).Organisational Culture and Leadership.3rd edition. Published by John Wiley and Sons http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7222336.stm (Accessed on 10/04/09) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7926977.stm (Accessed on 11/04/09) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7890924.stm (Accessed on 12/04/09) http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090407/tuk-rbs-to-axe-9-000-jobs-dba1618.html (Accessed on 14/04/09) http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp (Accessed on 10/04/09) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/02/driven_to_distr.html (Accessed on 10/04/09) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1078815/New-Royal-Bank-Scotland-Boss (Accessed on 12/04/09) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/08/rbs-job-cuts-unite-union-banking/print (Accessed on 09/04/09) http://www.rbs.com/about-rbs/what-we-do.ashx (Accessed on 11/04/09) news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7921778.stm (Accessed on 09/04/09) www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk (Accessed on 12/04/09) www.dailymail.co.uk (Accessed on 12/04/09) www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/06/rbs-boardroom-shakeup/print (Accessed on 10/04/09)

Ethnography Essay -- Reflexivity Anthropology Essays

Ethnography Works Cited Missing Reflexivity is a qualitative method of research that takes an ethnography one step further, displaying the personal thoughts and reflections of the anthropologist on his informants. Ethnographies generally take an outside or foreign perspective of a culture, like reading a text, and reflexivity introduces a new component of inside description. Here, the anthropologist may describe personal interactions and experiences with natives and use this inside information to make additional conclusions about the people being studied. The ethnographer may also reflect on his ethnic connections with his informants, or his acceptance into the society, explaining that it provides valuable, inside knowledge of the culture and ultimately leads to a greater understanding of the native people as a whole. The importance of reflexivity is illustrated in Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self: Implications for Anthropological Epistemology, by anthropologist Dorinne Kondo. Her reflections lead her to realize that she has lost, or has almost lost, her identity as an American anthropologist and now sees herself as a young woman of Japanese culture. "What occurred in the field was a kind of fragmenting of identity into Japanese and American elements, so that the different strands, instead of interweaving to form a coherent whole, strained and tugged against one another" (78). As she became so immersed in the culture, Kondo began to understand and adopt cultural aspects that are unique to the Japanese, a thus adopted a new identity. At first, she practiced Japanese behavior to be socially accepted and gain the respect of her host family, but she was so successful that community members began to regard her as a fello... ...and to view cultures differently in general. Some Anthropologists with postmodernist ideologies view cultures as "messy text", which is "the most complex and interesting form of experimentation with ethnographic writing now being produced" (Marcus, 187). The influence of Postmodernism also lead to the emergence of reflexivity. Various styles of reflexivity now exist, such as feminist, sociological, and anthropological. Reflexivity contributes to "messy text," because it identifies many cultural aspects ethnographers cannot explain nor understand and thus cannot be fitted, neatly into structure. Reflexivity is also influencing ethnographers to develop new approaches in studying culture. As we have reviewed in several ethnographies this semester, we see that personal reflections of the anthropologists is just as significant to fieldwork as the 'outsider' descriptions.

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 9

9. Tenderloin If you're looking for a great taco in San Francisco, you go to the Mission district. If you want a plate of pasta, you go to North Beach. Need some dim sum, powdered shark vagina, or ginseng root? Chinatown is your man. Hankering for stupidly expensive shoes? Union Square. Want to enjoy a mojito with an attractive, young professional crowd, well you'll want to head for the Marina or the SOMA. But if you're looking for some crack, a one-legged whore, or a guy sleeping in a puddle of his own urine, you can't beat the Tenderloin, which was where Rivera and Cavuto were investigating the report of a missing person. Well-persons. â€Å"The theater district seems somewhat deserted today,† said Cavuto as he pulled the unmarked Ford into a red zone in front of the Sacred Heart Mission. The Tenderloin was, in fact, also the theater district, which was convenient if you wanted to see a first-rate show in addition to drinking a bottle of Thunderbird and being stabbed repeatedly. â€Å"They're all at their country homes in Sonoma, you think?† Rivera said, with a sense of doom rising inside him like nausea. Normally at this time of the morning, the Tenderloin sidewalks ran with grimy rivers of homeless guys looking for their first drink of the day or a place to sleep. Down here you did most of your sleeping during the day. Night was too dangerous. There should have been a line around the block at Sacred Heart, people waiting for the free breakfast, but the line barely reached out the door. As they walked into the Mission, Cavuto said, â€Å"You know, this might be the perfect time for you to get one of those one-legged whores. You know, with demand down, you could probably get a freebie, being a cop and all.† Rivera stopped, turned, and looked at his partner. A dozen raggedy men in the line looked, too, as Cavuto was blocking the light in the doorway like a great, rumpled eclipse. â€Å"I will bring the little Goth girl to your house and film it when she makes you cry.† Cavuto slumped. â€Å"Sorry. It's all kind of getting to me. Teasing is the only way I know to take my mind off of it.† Rivera understood. For twenty-five years he'd been an honest cop. Had never taken a dime in bribes, never used unnecessary force, had never given special favors to powerful people, which is why he was still an inspector, but then the redhead happened, and her v-word condition, and the old one and his yacht full of money, and it wasn't like they could tell anyone anyway. The two hundred thousand that he and Cavuto had taken wasn't really a bribe, it was, well, it was compensation for mental duress. It was stressful carrying a secret that you could not only not tell, but that no one would believe if you did. â€Å"Hey, you know why there's so many one-legged whores in the Tenderloin?† asked one guy who was wearing a down sleeping bag like a cape. Rivera and Cavuto turned toward the hope of comic relief like flowers to the sun. â€Å"Fuggin' cannibals,† said the sleeping bag guy. Not funny at all. The cops trod on. â€Å"If you only knew,† said Rivera over his shoulder. â€Å"Hey, where is everybody?† asked a woman in a dirty orange parka. â€Å"You fuckers doing one of your round-ups?† â€Å"Not us,† said Cavuto. They moved past the cafeteria line and a sharp young Hispanic man in a priest's collar caught their eyes over the heads of the diners and motioned for them to come around the steam tables to the back. Father Jaime. They'd met before. There were a lot of murders in the Tenderloin, and only a few sane people who knew the flow of the neighborhood. â€Å"This way,† said Father Jaime. He led them through a prep kitchen and dish room into a cold concrete hallway that led to their shower room. The father extended a set of keys that were tethered to his belt on a cable and opened a vented green door. â€Å"They started bringing it in a week ago, but this morning there must have been fifty people turning stuff in. They're freaked.† Father Jaime flipped on a light and stood aside. Rivera and Cavuto entered a room painted sunny yellow and lined with battleship gray metal shelves. There was clothing piled on every horizontal surface, all covered, in varying degrees, with a greasy gray dust. Rivera picked up a quilted nylon jacket that was partially shredded and spattered with blood. â€Å"I know that jacket, Inspector. Guy who owns it is named Warren. Fought in Nam.† Rivera turned it in the air, trying not to cringe when he saw the pattern of the rips in the cloth. Father Jaime said, â€Å"I see these guys every day, and they're always wearing the same thing. It's not like they have a closet full of clothes to choose from. If that jacket is here, then Warren is running around in the cold, or something happened to him.† â€Å"And you haven't seen him?† asked Cavuto. â€Å"No one has. And I could tell you stories for most of the rest of these clothes, too. And the fact that clothing is even being turned in means that there's lot of it out there. Street people don't have a lot, but they won't take what they can't carry. That means that this is just what people couldn't carry. Everyone in that dining room is looking for a friend he's lost.† Rivera put down the jacket and picked up a pair of work pants, not shredded, but covered in the dust and spattered with blood. â€Å"You said that you can link these clothes to people you know?† â€Å"Yes, that's what I told the uniformed cop first thing this morning. I know these people, Alphonse, and they're gone.† Rivera smiled to himself at the priest using his first name. Father Jaime was twenty years Rivera's junior, but he still spoke to him like he was a kid sometimes. Being called â€Å"Father† all the time goes to their head. â€Å"Other than being homeless, did these people have anything in common? What I mean is, were they sick?† â€Å"Sick? Everyone on the street has something.† â€Å"I mean terminal. That you know of, were they very sick? Cancer? The virus?† When the old vampire had been taking victims, it turned out that nearly every one of them had been terminally ill and would have died soon anyway. â€Å"No. There's no connection other than they were all on the street and they're all gone.† Cavuto grimaced and turned away. He started riffling through the clothing, tossing it around as if looking for a lost sock. â€Å"Look, Father, can you make us a list of the people these clothes belong to. And add anything you can remember about them. Then I can start looking for them in the hospitals and jail.† â€Å"I only know street names.† â€Å"That's okay. Do your best. Anything you can remember.† Rivera handed him a card. â€Å"Call me directly if anything else comes up, would you? Unless there's something in progress, calling the uniforms will just put unnecessary steps in the investigation.† â€Å"Sure, sure,† said Father Jaime, pocketing the card. â€Å"What do you think is going on?† Rivera looked at his partner, who didn't look up from a dusty pair of shoes he was examining. â€Å"I'm sure there's some explanation. I don't know of any citywide relocation of the homeless, but it's happened before. They don't always tell us.† Father Jaime looked at Rivera with those priest's eyes, those guilt-shooting eyes that Rivera always imagined were on the other side of the confessional. â€Å"Inspector, we serve four to five hundred breakfasts a day here.† â€Å"I know, Father. You do great work.† â€Å"We served a hundred and ten today. That's it. Those in line now will be it for today.† â€Å"We'll do our best, Father.† They moved back through the dining room without looking anyone in the eye. Back in the car, Cavuto said, â€Å"Those clothes were shredded by claws.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"They're not just hunting the sick.† â€Å"No,† Rivera said. â€Å"They're taking anyone on the street. I'm guessing anyone who gets caught out alone.† â€Å"Some of those people in the cafeteria saw something. I could tell. We should come back and talk to some of them when the priest and his volunteers aren't around.† â€Å"No need, really, is there?† Rivera was scratching out numbers on his notepad. â€Å"They'll talk to the paper,† Cavuto said, pulling in behind a cable car on Powell Street, then sighing and resolving himself to move at nineteenth-century speed for a few blocks as they made their way up Nob Hill. â€Å"Well, first it will be covered as amusing stuff that crazy street people say, then someone is going to notice the bloody clothes and it's all going to come out.† Rivera added another figure, then scribbled something with a flourish. â€Å"It doesn't have to come back to us,† Cavuto said hopefully. â€Å"I mean, it's not really our fault.† â€Å"Doesn't matter if we get blamed,† said Rivera. â€Å"It's our responsibility.† â€Å"So what are you saying?† â€Å"I'm saying that we're going to be defending the City against a horde of vampire cats.† â€Å"Now that you said it, it's real.† Cavuto was whining a little. I'm going to call that Wong kid and see if he has my UV jacket done.† â€Å"Just like that?† â€Å"Yeah,† Rivera said. â€Å"If you go by Father Jaime's example, they've eaten about three-quarters of the Tenderloin's homeless in, let's call it a week. If you figure maybe three thousand street people in the City, you're talking about twenty-two hundred dead already. Someone's going to notice.† â€Å"That's what you were calculating?† â€Å"No, I was trying to figure out if we had enough money to open the bookstore.† That had been the plan. Early retirement, then sell rare books out of a quaint little shop on Russian Hill. Learn to golf. â€Å"We don't,† Rivera said. He started to dial Foo Dog when his phone chirped, a sound it hadn't made before. â€Å"The fuck was that?† asked Cavuto. â€Å"Text message,† said Rivera. â€Å"You know how to text?† â€Å"No. We're going to Chinatown.† â€Å"A little early for eggrolls, isn't it?† â€Å"The message is from Troy Lee.† â€Å"The Chinese kid from the Safeway crew? I don't want to deal with those guys.† â€Å"It's one word.† â€Å"Don't tell me.† â€Å"CATS.† â€Å"Did I not ask you not to tell me?† â€Å"The basketball court off Washington,† Rivera said. â€Å"Have that Wong kid make me one of those sunlight jackets. Fifty long.† â€Å"You get that many lights on you they'll have you flying over stadiums playing Goodyear ads on your sides.†

Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies

The two novels, Animal Farm by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding were both written over 50 years ago, meaning there is much to be said about both. All you have to do is type in the name of each of the novels into Google and out pops tonnes of information about each. If someone were to research enough of the two books they would be able to see that they are quite similar in plot and themes. Both books take a look at a newly built society which is slowly destroyed by the characters or people within them.The concept of one having power over the rest is what corrupts the societies and ends in death and adversity for all others within the society. The authors both use their characters in the novels to portray what society might be like in that type of situation and use their actions to demonstrate how it can fall apart if the correct steps are not taken to maintain a functioning society. Therefore, both authors show how power can corrupt a society and create great har dship for the people ruled through its stimulating characters and their fraught actions.The main characters in both of the books are the ones who ultimately cause the societies to crumble. In Animal Farm George Orwell uses pigs to satire the leadership of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky and how they manipulated their people into thinking what they are doing is right (NovelGuide). The pigs led a revolution on the farm owner to take the farm and leave it in the hands of all of the animals, instead of man. They stated that the farm would be run by the animals with no rules other then that to never act like a human (Orwell).Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which (Orwell 88). At the start of the revolution, there was no clear ‘leader’ of the anima ls and they did as they pleased, however the much smarter pigs started changing some of the rules that were set forth to make sure none of the animals would behave the way the humans had.The much smarter pigs took advantage of all of the other animals and started changing rules, giving them increasingly more power over the group. In the end, the power hungry pigs ended up becoming exactly what they set out to destroy, humans. The result of this corruption of power ended with a couple animals dying and others working night and day endlessly. In the novel Lord of the Flies author William Golding uses children lost on a deserted island to represent a newly formed society.Two boys choose to take different approaches to surviving on the island and running the rest of the group, so they split up into their own little societies. Jack, one of the leaders chooses a more violent role of surviving; he disagrees with the methods of Ralph (the other leader) and takes command of most of the boys (Golding). Jack began his adventure on the island as a normal boy just like any of the others, however after he was elected into power by all of his friends, it quickly got to his head. â€Å"I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them.After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things† (Golding 42). The power which is corrupting Jack causes him to do many things no person would think of doing while trying to survive (Bookrags). In the end, Jack’s power ended in the deaths of two boys and the utter destruction of an island. All in all, power was what lead the main characters in each of the novels to corrupt a society they had longed to be apart of, leading to deaths of others and the hardship of the rest.Both the pigs and Jack used manipulation and their power to control the others in their respective societies. Within Animal Farm the pigs used their smarts to out wit and manipulate the others into giving them power over the rest. When the revolution first happened, the animals established ‘The Seven Commandments’ which consisted of rules preventing any animal from acting like a human (Golding). Over time the farm animals grew suspicious of the pigs actions and reverted back to ‘The Seven Commandments’, which was no use since the pigs were the only ones that could read, and they changed the rules in their favour.‘It says, â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets†,’ she announced finally. Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so (Orwell 42). Over time the pigs became more and more like the humans, and with no questions asked as well since none of the animals understood what the pigs were up too. The pigs used the saying â€Å"Four legs good, two legs bad† to justify most of their actions to the less inte lligent animals (NeoEnglishSystem). The pigs rise to power andthe corruption of the animal farm was aided by the smarts the pigs possessed over the other less clever animals. In Lord of the Flies, main character Jack uses persuasion and other un-ethical tactics to recruit other children into joining his ‘group’. Some of these tactics include threatening and bribing the others in order for him to gain power over the majority of the kids on the island (Bookrags). Jack’s methods of gaining the majority of the boys on the island results in him having complete power of what goes on, on the island.â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! † (Golding 168). Jack orders an attack on the so called ‘monster’ that is living on the island with them. Without second guessing him, his tribe attacks the ‘monster’ which turns out to be one of the boys. All in all, the corruption of the others in the society by the leaders using manipul ation and other methods to gain power is what leads to the ultimate demolition of the two novels societies.Due to their mad hunt for power and the means they went through to achieve it, the pigs and Jack had a bunch of repercussions for their actions against their respective societies. The pigs used their brains as a way to gain power and control of their group of animals, however by doing this it resulted in the deaths of a couple of the animals as well as the expulsion of one of the other pigs (Orwell). About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck stretched out, unable to even raise his head.His eyes were glazed, his sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth (Orwell 74). Even though the pigs are the ones that organized the revolution on the humans, they ended up becoming what they had feared. They over worked the other farm animals and made them thi nk it was all for a better cause (NeoEnglishSystem). Lord of the Flies’ main character Jack also had major repercussions for his actions. Jack did not put him self in the leadership role, he was chosen by Ralph to help him run the group of boys.Things quickly got out of hand for Jack and he soon wanted to lead all of the boys by himself instead of with Ralph. Jack’s actions to get into power are what corrupted the small society of boys and those actions came with the repercussions of death for two of the boys and the near death experience for another. If anyone peered under the bushes and chanced to glimpse human flesh it might be sameric who would pretend not to see and say nothing. He laid his cheek against the chocolate coloured earth, licked his dry lips and closed his eyes.Under the thicket, the earth was vibrating very slightly; or perhaps there was a sound beneath the obvious thunder of the fire and scribbled ululations that was too low to hear (Golding 220). Ja ck told his tribe that they needed to kill Ralph and the only way to find him was to burn the jungle down. Ralph ran for his life away from the blood thirsty tribe of children and the fire (Cliffnotes). Jack’s actions to gain power have dire repercussions for the two boys who ended up dying and Ralph who was chased and nearly killed if he had not ran into a Naval Officer.All in all, the actions of the main characters who attempted to gain power over the others in the society were what eventually lead to the corruption of both societies. In conclusion, both William Golding and George Orwell do an amazing job of demonstrating how power can corrupt a society by using their characters in their novels. Both of the novels give the reader an insightful look at how society might be if the leaders of our countries grew corrupt with the power that they held over the rest of society.

Essay on Solubility and Nr

Essay on Solubility and Nr Essay on Solubility and Nr Malarie Martin CHEM 115 General Chemistry Group 4 Experiment 8: Ionic Reactions Purpose: In this lab we will study the nature of ionic solutions while observing their reactions. We will then write balanced equations to include the net ionic equations for the precipitation reactions observed. Procedure: 1. Place a piece of black and white paper behind each well plate in order to observe the reactions with each combination. Record any reactions observed. 2. In the 96 well plate place 2 drops of cobalt nitrate into 7 of the wells marked A. 3. Place 2 drops of copper nitrate into 7 of the wells in the row marked B. 4. Place 2 drops of iron nitrate into 7 of the wells in the row marked C. 5. Place 2 drops of barium nitrate into 7 of the wells in the row marked D. 6. Place 2 drops of nickel nitrate into 7 of the wells in the row marked E. 7. Then place 2 drops of sodium phosphate into 5 of the vertical wells in the column marked 1. 8. Then place 2 drops of sodium iodide into 5 of the vertical wells in the column marked 2. 9. Then place 2 drops of sodium sulfate into 5 of the vertical wells in the column marked 3. 10. Then place 2 drops of sodium chloride into 5 of the vertical wells in the column marked 4. 11. Then place 2 drops of sodium bicarbonate into 5 of the vertical wells in the column marked 5. 12. Then place 2 drops of sodium carbonate into 5 of the wells in the column marked 6. 13. Then place 2 drops of sodium hydroxide into 5 of the wells in the column marked 7. 14. Record color change, precipitate, and/or bubble that are observed into table format. 15. Do not place the pipet directly into any of the solutions when adding the chemicals to the well plate. 16. Avoid contact with skin and clothes and clean up supplies and area thoroughly. Results: 1 (Sodium Phosphate) 2 (Sodium Iodide) 3 (Sodium Sulfate) 4 (Sodium Chloride) 5 (Sodium Bicarbonate) 6 (Sodium Carbonate) 7( Sodium Hydroxide) A (Cobalt Nitrate) Rxn purple NR NR NR Rxn Darker Rxn Rxn turquoise B (Copper Nitrate) Light blue Rxn Dark Yellow NR NR Rxn Rxn Rxn C (Iron Nitrate) Rxn Cloudy Yellow NR NR Dark Yellow Dark Yellow Light Yellow D (Barium Nitrate) Rxn Cloudy NR White NR Rxn Rxn Dark Yellow E (Nickle Nitrate) Rxn NR NR NR Rxn Rxn Rxn NR: No precipitate forms Rxn: Precipitate is formed Cations used: Ni2+, Ba2+, Cu2+, NO3-, Co2+, Fe3+, Anions used: NO3-, PO43-, I-, SO42-, Cl-, 2CO32-, CO32-, OH- Discussion: A - Compare your results with the

Victorian Damsel in Distress Essays

Victorian Damsel in Distress Essays Victorian Damsel in Distress Paper Victorian Damsel in Distress Paper As well as being unnervingly clever, controlling, and intuitive, which probably all stem from his early education, in private educational systems, but who knows, for he doesnt mention his family or origin in this book, and as I am aware, nor does he in other books of this series he also uses sarcasm. The author may have done this, to stop people from working out Sherlock, in order to keep them guessing, and therefore more interested etc. An example of his wit is, Holmes chuckles heartily, Your Conversation is most entertaining said he, When you go out Close the door, for there is a decided draft. This is in response to Holmes first encounter that of which is a display of violent activity, with the villain of the Speckled Band, Dr. Roylott. It shows that when Sherlock Holmes is presented with undeniable violence, instead of retaliating in the same way, which he shows himself to be capable of; he chooses instead to use his educated wit to fight back with, but perhaps his cockiness presents a weak spot, for he seems arrogant. To me he also displays the following traits: Lonely and Manipulative Behaviour; An Outsiders Perspective; A life full Secrecy, he seems to Hold the Cards close To His Chest. These characteristics comply and interlock with Dr. Watsons, The following paragraph explains why and how their relationship has grown. As I have also mentioned in the first few paragraphs, their relationship is integrated. I see Dr. Watson, as a Simple Minded, timid and keen to learn Man; this is probably why He and Sherlock have thrived, and they both have a thirst for facts, and discoveries, and with Watson being so simple, there is no competition of egos, only teamwork. Baffled, just like the reader, Dr. Watson has to place trust in his associate, Holmes, in order to remain intact, even when persecuted by villains in the series. The villainous character in the speckled band is Dr. Roylott. His improper entrance, after being described as man of supposed murderous capability, does nothing to try and prove his innocence, it merely makes him seem to un-intelligent too of committed such a crime, as the one in the Speckled Band. His improper entrance also shows that he is controlling, and does not like to be betrayed, but this oath like behaviour, when not responded to as desired, leads him to be calculative when forced, by his inescapable greed, to kill off his step-daughters for their small fortune. He succeeds in killing one, but Helen, the remaining step-daughter notifies Sherlock Holmes, just as a whistle arouses suspicion that she may meet the same fate as her sister. This introductive description of Miss. Helen Stoner, A Lady dressed in Black, and Heavily Veiled, leads me to believe that she is in a period of mourning, due to the recent events that have torn her family apart, which of course led to her hurried arrival in London, at Sherlocks Door. It also shows that she does not want to be recognized, as I think she feels she is betraying her stepfather, Dr. Roylott, for she has doubts regarding his sanity. When describing the nature of her Stepfather, she also tells of how his behavior is somewhat confusing, for he is away for long periods of time travelling, with the gypsies that have set up a camp on the land. In Victorian times, people of his and their familys caliber were not often comfortably associated with vagabonds. However, she is putting emphasize on the gypsies, this could be an attempt to mask her own guilt, and push Sherlock onto the wrong path of enquiries. But what motive does Helen have? She described how her sister and she were very close, and how her older sister Julie, was engaged to be married shortly, and consequently marriage means having to leave the family home, and herself, alone with the psychotic step-father. This could provide enough motives to substantiate Helen being a possible murderer, for she could be framing her step-father, who she knew would be the perfect candidate for her to pin the blame upon. Another quote to describe Helen, Her face all drawn and gray, shows how her and her sister, were under a lot of physical stress, so she could easily be envious of her sister, finding love and leaving her to cope with running the household. However this theory is contradictive, when she tries hard to protect her father to begin with, when she attempts to hide her step-fathers abuse. Consequently to all of this, she could simply not desire to want to suffer the consequences for bearing a secret suspicion that he had something to do with her sisters untimely death, for as she also says, she explains his brawls with the locals, and how he can ended up in court as a result, as she feels going to Holmes is a betrayal of her family, and as I mentioned in my description of the Victorian era, family values are very important. She, all in all, is the perfect Victorian Damsel in Distress. After describing the characters, it is about time to try and explain how these characters fit together, and how the author uses them and their behaviour, through particular use of language to create tension, and add mystery. So how did the characters in the Speckled Band test the pairs friendship? And why would the author use these interlocked personalities in order to capture the readers imagination? The rather eerie Holmess behaviour can sometimes, seem to be un thought out, and dangerous to all involved, for example, when bating Dr. Roylott, he did not tell his companion what to expect, so he could of easily been caught in the midst of a snake Vs cane fight to the death. Because of the un-stuck characters behaviour the reader gels better with the loyal Dr. Holmes. This is the same for Helen Stoner, and Dr. Roylott, for she is calm, where as he acts like a brute, and is uncontrollable in his anger; so naturally the audience become to trust her, as she tries to conform to most Victorian morals. As, I just stated, his is depicted as uncontrollable in his anger, and as Helen describes, he has a rather tuned fascination for large, wild, and vicious animals, maybe he replicates these behavioural traits. For he appears a brute, with a problem communicating, as the baboon and cheetah do, as they thrive on death, but underneath it all, in a wild environment only the cunning and sly survive, and as we find out, when Dr. Roylott is found to be the murderer, we see that this was his persona after all. Helen, is the main link, between Holmes, the murderer, and the deceased, therefore she is the one in the spotlight. She raises concern, and its her life that has been affected, and is now threatened. Helen Stoner, however as the story unfolds, and more depth is added to her character regarding the stressed that she has had to bear, is it plain to see that she is not quite the typical emotionally neglected and reserved Victorian women. For she is genuinely distressed by the death of her sister, and it also comes clear that should not of killed her sister, for she did not have enough hatred to do so. She adds tension to her part of the story every well, she adds great emphasize on everything she says, and this is normal for every new victim and Villain, add more to the Holmes and Watson recipe.

Mackinders Heartland Theory

Mackinders Heartland Theory Sir Halford John Mackinder was a British geographer who wrote a paper in 1904 called The Geographical Pivot of History. Mackinders paper suggested that the control of Eastern Europe was vital to control of the world.  Mackinder postulated the following, which became known as the Heartland Theory: Who rules Eastern Europe commands the HeartlandWho rules the Heartland commands the World IslandWho rules the World Island commands the world The heartland he also referred to as the pivot area and as the core of Eurasia, and he considered all of Europe and Asia as the World Island.   In the age of modern warfare, Mackinders theory is widely considered outdated. At  the time he proposed his theory, he  took into consideration world history only in the context of conflict between land and sea powers. Nations with large navies were at an advantage over those that could not successfully navigate the oceans, Mackinder suggested. Of course, in the modern era, the use of aircraft has greatly changed the ability to control territory and provide defensive capabilities.   The Crimean War Mackinders theory was never fully proven because  no one power in history had actually controlled all three of these regions at the same time. But the Crimean War came close. During this conflict, waged from 1853 to 1856,  Russia fought for control of the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine. But it lost to an allegiance of the French and British, which had more effective naval forces. Russia lost the war even though the Crimean Peninsula  is geographically closer to Moscow than to London or Paris. Possible Influence on Nazi Germany Some historians have conjectured that Mackinders theory may have influenced Nazi Germanys drive to conquer Europe (although there are many who think the eastward push of Germany that led to World War II just happened to coincide with Mackinders heartland theory). The concept of geopolitics (or geopolitik, as Germans called it) was proposed by Swedish political scientist Rudolf Kjellen in 1905. Its focus was political geography  and combined Mackinders heartland theory with Friedrich Ratzels theory on the organic nature of the state. Geopolitical theory was used to justify a countrys attempts to expand based on its own needs.   In the 1920s, German geographer Karl Haushofer used the geopolitik theory to support Germanys invasion of its neighbors, which it viewed as expansion. Haushofer posited that densely populated countries like Germany should be allowed and were entitled to expand and acquire the territory of less-populated countries. Of course, Adolf Hitler held the much worse view that Germany had some kind of moral right to acquire the lands of what he termed lesser races. But  Haushofers geopolitik theory provided support for the expansion of Hitlers Third Reich, using pseudoscience. Other Influences of Mackinders Theory Mackinders theory  also may have influenced Western powers strategic thinking during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the  United States, as the Soviet Union had control over the former East Bloc countries.

Enterprise risk assessment, audit, and Cyberlaw policy Essay

Enterprise risk assessment, audit, and Cyberlaw policy - Essay Example the structure of any successful enterprise, the continuous data necessary exchange facilitates the efficiency of operation and enables the presence of identifiable risk factors, including the financial risk, operational risk, hazard risks, and strategic risks. The purpose of the plan is the assessment of the various risks that are associated with an interaction network which happens daily between the suppliers, investors, stakeholders, and employees while offering clear guidelines of conducting intentions to mitigate the risks. Mematech Company has consumed a lot of money, time, and human resources to ensure the security of the company is up-to –date. The company has partnered with companies like Symantec. Symantec develops industry’s security software and web security threat analysis for MemaTEch. In the report, the company outlines some of the security trends and threats and then guide on how it can be fixed and prevented. The partner also provides some practices for the company. Therefore, based on the company’s study, MemaTech has ten security practices, procedures and guidelines. The company encrypts its file systems, encrypts stored data, and encrypts the entire wire transfers. Encryption is important because it protects sensitive data and helps in preventing data loss due to equipment loss or through theft. The company also uses digital certificates to sign its sites. MemaTech saves its certificates to hardware machines like the router, or even load balancers. The company has av oided, saving the certificates on their web server and has resolved to obtain their certificate from trusted authorities only. In addition, the company has implemented auditing and DLP. The company uses data loss prevention and auditing of files in monitoring, alerting, identifying, and blocking the data flow out and into the company’s network. MemaTech has implemented are removable policy in the media. Here, the company has restricted using USB drives, thumb drives, external

Toxicity from Heavy Metals Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Toxicity from Heavy Metals - Dissertation Example Heavy metals occur naturally in the crust of the Earth. These metals depict remarkable stability, and resist any attempt at degradation or destruction. As a consequence, heavy metals accumulate in sediments and soils. Some of the heavy metals have undergone drastic change in their biochemical and geological cycles, due to human activity (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2008). Some of the primary man – made sources of heavy metals are the mines, smelters, foundries, traffic and by products of combustion. Heavy metals that are comparatively more volatile tend to be dispersed over vast areas through the atmosphere. In several cases, such heavy metals have been deposited thousands of miles from the site of their initial release into the atmosphere (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2008). The suspension in the atmosphere of heavy metal particles, in general, depends on their size and lightness. Thus, heavy metal particles that are larger than 10 micro meters (Â µm) in diameter settle to the ground, under the influence of gravity. This takes a few hours for completion. However, the heavy metal particles that are less than 1Â µm in diameter persist in the atmosphere for weeks. Such particles are usually removed from the atmosphere, by precipitation (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2008). ... However, the heavy metal particles that are less than 1Â µm in diameter persist in the atmosphere for weeks. Such particles are usually removed from the atmosphere, by precipitation (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2008). A useful definition of heavy metals is given below. Heavy metals are chemical elements that have a specific gravity that is ? 5 times the specific gravity of water. At 40C the specific gravity is deemed to be 1, by convention. As such, specific gravity is the ration of the density of a substance to the density of water (LifeExtension, 2013). Toxicity in Heavy Metals Some of the toxic metals, whose specific gravity exceeds 5 times that of water are; arsenic with a specific gravity of 5.7, cadmium with a specific gravity of 8.65, iron with a specific gravity of 7.9, lead with a specific gravity of 11.34, and mercury with a specific gravity of 13.546 (LifeExtension, 2013). Heavy metals that cannot be metabolised by the human body accumulate in the s oft tissues and become toxic. The entry of heavy metals into the human body is via air, food, water; and cutaneous absorption due to agricultural activity; exposure during manufacturing, industrial or pharmaceutical activity; or residential exposure (LifeExtension, 2013). With regard to adults, the entry of toxic heavy metals is frequently on account of industrial exposure to these substances. Among children, ingestion is the most common reason for the entry of toxic heavy metals. It has been determined that normal hand to mouth activity could lead to the development of toxic levels of heavy metals among children. The infrequent or rare routes of toxic heavy metal entry into the human body include radiological procedures, incorrect dosing or monitoring during intravenous nutrition, a

Save Our Children by Saving Their Music - Case Study of Glynn Co Research Proposal

Save Our Children by Saving Their Music - Case Study of Glynn Co School - Research Proposal Example As I am sure most board members are aware, extensive research has been done on the effects music programs and the fine arts in general have on our children’s success; especially children in low economic households where parents toil to cater for their necessities. I wish to share some of these findings with those who do not have an insight on the essence of the Fine Arts in schools, and offer a few ideas to alleviate some of the budget burdens that may have been overlooked. At the very least let’s start a meaningful conversation. It is essential that a music department be equipped with the proper elements in public relations and music education advocacy in order to gain support from administrators, parents, and the general public. The field of education requires massive support from the community, especially in the arts. Glynn Co Schools house students, teachers, and administrators, being a microcosm of the surrounding community. These schools represent the members of t he community and often give an accurate depiction of the characteristics of the area therefore if it is not an issue important enough for our administrators to get involve why should the public. Public relations are a key area in gaining the support of the general public yet when our band directors worked so diligently to secure a spot in the Cherry Blossom parade in Washington D.C., which only a few in the ENTIRE country were invited, there was barely a mention in the papers and not a word on our radio stations (Costes 52). I wonder if our young athletes worked hard enough to make the state playoffs if that would generate some buzz? Brunswick News heralding the wonders of our coaches as it called for every business to put on their signs â€Å"GO PIRATES†. Yes Pirates, go while our young musicians, who have worked so hard, stay home because no one wants to fund the bus to carry them to perform that which has so tirelessly been taught to them. Let our chorus teacher’s s pend their own money taking students home so those children, whose parents work, can stay after school to practice but let’s not give them the means to showcase the commendable job they have accomplished with these students. How about our Theater Arts teachers? How long has it been since we gave a standing ovation at a rendition of Death of Salesmen or Little Women performed by our children? I am not suggesting that our athletic departments need to be cut or imply that they are less important, only consider and weigh how many children are affected by cuts to the fine arts program verses those that are affected by cuts to the athletics department and adjust the budget accordingly. I am not just talking about the band and chorus, because it follows that I’ve got a horse in the race, I mean all of the fine arts departments. We should all be passionate about this. Think about how many of the great thinkers were and are performers in either Theater or music. Right now there are studies being done on the ill effects football has on NFL players not to mention the law suites. There are exactly ZERO studies being done on the ill effects of band, Theater, or chorus. When looking at gaining public funding and support from our businesses, the Glynn Co Board of Education must understand and indicate to the public important talent building among students and how we must ensure the survival and the success of the fine arts pro

Article Critique about information system Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique about information system - Article Example For a business entity to be successful, there are many elements that come into play. They range from political, economic, social and technological factors. LPL Financial is mostly concentrating on the latter while it has entirely neglected the other equally important elements that are classified as the macro environment. This is the wrong approach that it adopted. First of all, the company has too many advisers. 13500 advisers is a huge number for one business no matter how big it may be. The argument that may be brought forth is that the more advisers for a company the more it is likely to achieve its goals, because with many experts nothing can go wrong. However, what this business does not know is that a huge chunk of their revenue is used in servicing the salaries of these professionals. Expert advice does not come cheap and for a company that is in the process of expansion, this is a very bad move. Secondly, the company is also relying on 700 institutions’ opinions before it can make a decision. This is a clear contradiction because the business claims to be a leader in discovering new trends. Successful businesses do not rely on others, others rely on them. The business should concentrate on coming up with new inventions and the 700 institutions that it relies on will start relying on it. Being a slave for other institutions will result to bullying. Take for instance, several institutions decide to change from one line of product to another. LPL Financial will respond by restructuring its business to suit these institutions, but this is an expensive venture and may take a long time to recover the finances used. Lastly, the business has designated too much power to the employees. Allowing workers to come up with different inventions and thrive is not a bad thing, is it? The problem is the management does not come into the picture. What is their role in all these? Do they even have work? Allowing different

China's Dangerous Overvaluation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

China's Dangerous Overvaluation - Article Example Based upon labor costs and trade patterns, author is of the view that Yuan is certainly overvalued by approximately 15% suggesting that it’s time for China to take corrective measures. Author suggests measuring increasing labor costs as one of the indicators to measure how much the currency has appreciated and also cites the fact that labor costs have increased more than the overall profitability of the Chinese companies. Author indicates that any further appreciation in the currency would actually be more harmful for the country because the overall level of debt has been creeping up in the economy which would ultimately hurt the domestic consumption in China. Author suggests that to arrest the appreciation of Yuan, one way could be to allow domestic prices to adjust to the appreciated Yuan however; this may result into difficult economic consequences whereas rebalancing from investment to consumption is recommended as an easier way to manage Yuan. Probably one of the biggest weaknesses of the article is the absence of any figures and data based upon which author made the claims. Almost all the arguments are without any solid economic data and most arguments are relatively theoretical in nature. It would have been much better had the author used the real economic data to point out the appreciation trends in the value of Yuan against the major international currencies specially US Dollar. It is also critical to note that China has basically not highlighted as to how an appreciated Yuan have been benefiting Chinese economy in maintaining healthy trade surplus besides emerging as the leading export oriented economy in the world. An increase in the labor costs may not be one of the basic indicators of measuring the appreciation in Yuan. An increase in labor costs may also be due to the increasing specialization within the Chinese economy and the fact that Chinese workers may be gaining more advanced skills. Gaining more

Suggesting Violent Computer Games are Morally Wrong Essay

Suggesting Violent Computer Games are Morally Wrong - Essay Example This paper shall analyse moral arguments on whether or not playing violent games are morally wrong. It will mostly consider the argument that playing violent video games are not morally wrong and various moral theorists shall be considered in order to support this position. Body Violent computer games have increased in type and number in recent years. Coupled with the increase of sales in home computers, more people seem to be engaged in these types of games. Violent video games have also been made more graphic in their portrayals of violence (McCormick, 2001). The features of these games also include screams from victims, recoil from gun shooting, writhing victims, blood splatter from victims, as well as flying and severed body parts. The players also have options in terms of weapons to use including grenades, machine guns, flame throwers, rail guns, sniper rifles, and similar weapons (McCormick, 2001). As more improvements in gaming have been introduced in recent years, the clamour for further improvements seems to be detected from the gamers. And the gaming companies are ready to comply with these demands. With these gaming activities, concerns have been forwarded on the fact that violence in video games seem to be desensitizing the gamers to violence and death, possibly making it easier for them to commit acts of violence in the future (McCormick, 2001). It is easy enough to understand these views especially with the actual reports involving children and adolescents who are re-enacting or testing what they have been playing in their video games (Dill, 1998). On the other hand, others argue that the act of playing a game, even if it is very realistic is not immoral because in the first place, the game is far from real. What matters in the end are the real actions of real humans in the real world (McCormick, 2001). Acting violent in a video game is not equivalent to actually acting violent in real life. The simulation of acts which represent morally objection able activities is not per se a morally objectionable activity because giving moral credit in such a way would be tantamount to giving moral credit or passing judgment over an actor playing a murderous role in a movie (McCormick, 2001). Based on these considerations, the issue on whether or not playing video games is morally objectionable is now a valid moral consideration. There are various ways to evaluate the issue. One way would be through the utilitarianism moral theory. The utilitarian theory highlights the fact that people object to video games because of its consequences and because these video games seem to contribute to the tragic outcomes seen in school shootings or violent altercations among adolescents (Durkin and Lowe, 1998). Under normal conditions, playing video games is not a dangerous act on its own. Based on Bentham’s utilitarianism, acts are good so long as they ensure benefits to people, and they are bad to the extent that they cause harm to other people (Mill, 1998). Based on these general ideas, utilitarianism may argue that violent video games are morally unacceptable because they increase the risk for harm. However, this increased risk of harm cannot be the only consideration for utilitarianism (Mill, 1998). Based on utilitarian grounds, the negative impact of the violent games has to outweigh the positive impact. So far however, the positive impact of video games seems to be outweighing its negative

China's Dangerous Overvaluation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

China's Dangerous Overvaluation - Article Example Based upon labor costs and trade patterns, author is of the view that Yuan is certainly overvalued by approximately 15% suggesting that it’s time for China to take corrective measures. Author suggests measuring increasing labor costs as one of the indicators to measure how much the currency has appreciated and also cites the fact that labor costs have increased more than the overall profitability of the Chinese companies. Author indicates that any further appreciation in the currency would actually be more harmful for the country because the overall level of debt has been creeping up in the economy which would ultimately hurt the domestic consumption in China. Author suggests that to arrest the appreciation of Yuan, one way could be to allow domestic prices to adjust to the appreciated Yuan however; this may result into difficult economic consequences whereas rebalancing from investment to consumption is recommended as an easier way to manage Yuan. Probably one of the biggest weaknesses of the article is the absence of any figures and data based upon which author made the claims. Almost all the arguments are without any solid economic data and most arguments are relatively theoretical in nature. It would have been much better had the author used the real economic data to point out the appreciation trends in the value of Yuan against the major international currencies specially US Dollar. It is also critical to note that China has basically not highlighted as to how an appreciated Yuan have been benefiting Chinese economy in maintaining healthy trade surplus besides emerging as the leading export oriented economy in the world. An increase in the labor costs may not be one of the basic indicators of measuring the appreciation in Yuan. An increase in labor costs may also be due to the increasing specialization within the Chinese economy and the fact that Chinese workers may be gaining more advanced skills. Gaining more

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Research Paper

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity - Research Paper Example Proper paraphrasing should involve using your own word to express another person’s idea. Nevertheless, you should still acknowledge the original source of the idea through in text citation and in the reference page. However, rearranging word in a statement entails copying someone’s idea, which is equivalents to plagiarizing (Walden University, 2012).   The third thing I learnt about plagiarism is when I am supposed to cite sources. From the weeks readings, I have learnt that I should always cite direct quotes from other peoples work, paraphrased or summarized ideas, statistical information, when not sure if a certain concept require citation and whenever I make use of any source that contains someone else idea (City College of San Francisco , 2011; Prentice Hall Companion, 2011). This knowledge is crucial and will enable me to indicate the original source of information I may use in my own writing always. This is crucial since it will enable me build my academic integrity and avoid mishaps such as cancelation of assignments. Acknowledging other people’s ideas will enable me to become a responsible student since I will be recognizing the people who have played a role in my learning. Academic integrity is important because it helps in development of honesty and responsible. Academic integrity means being able to respect other people’s work by being able to distinguish my ideas and acknowledging those of others. Academic integrity helps in establishment of dignity between the students, instructors and the entire institution. Additionally, academic integrity enables creation of an environment when students are able to triumph out of their own efforts (Walden University, 2012).   An institution that emboldens academic integrity enables the students to develop their own philosophies. Instructors are able to identify the students input into a piece of work when they acknowledge other

The Advantages Of Internet Censorship Media Essay

The Advantages Of Internet Censorship Media Essay Nowadays, the internet has been gaining its popularity at an amazing rate. The internet has become an important communicative tool, which brings significant convenience and efficiency for people. However, the internet also has severe weakness. Although the internet is comprehensive and the internet is not easy to limit, many countries are working on the censorship of the Internet. The issue of internet censorship is a complex and controversial one. As a matter of fact, the censorship of the internet is a double-edged sword. The censorship can work in some instances, but in others it can be detrimental to society. This essay will first explain the advantages of internet censorship. Then the essay will explain the harm of internet censorship to the society. The internet censorship can be a protection measure. As the internet is open and comprehensive, the quality and authenticity of internet information is questionable. There are a lot of undue materials online, such as pornography and violence, which undoubtedly exerts a negative influence on people especially children physically and psychologically. Although there are several laws which regulate the illegal information and illegal activities, the laws are not complete enough to regulate all the illegal or immoral activities. It is very hard to charge a person for internet crimes, especially if the person is from a foreign website. Thus, the illegal activities and undue information are still rampant on the internet. Thus, internet censorship is needed for internet regulation. The censorship of internet can cleanse the internet information and protect people to some extent. The censorship of internet can filter the inappropriate information online and protect children from disturbing websites, such as, child pornography, sexual violence and detailed instructions in crime or drug use. The undue internet information may weaken childrens moral consciousness and pollute childrens soul. Thus, the undue websites can have a severely bad effect on the healthy growth of children or even cause adolescent crime. However, children are easy to contact undue internet information. Since parents can not monitor the web pages that children browse in any time and at any place, the censorship of internet can help the parents to filter undue websites for children and protect them from the misguidance and negative influence of internet. An opinion survey carried out by a professor in Charles Sturt University found that parents were worried about the pornographic content on the internet. In order to protect children from the negative influence of extreme, violent and pornogr aphic information, 93% parents support the mandatory internet filtering. The censorship of internet can help women. In order to get more click rate and benefits, many adult websites advocate violent sexual abuse of women. Many women suffer from the hell made by the internet because the internet makes them sold into slavery through the international sex trade (Mallisk, D., 2009). The censorship of internet can block access to these websites, regulate or even shut down some of these websites, and thus reduce the sexual exploitation of women in the internet. Thus, the censorship of internet can protect women to some degree. The censorship of internet can guard people from the disturbing email spam. For many net citizens, junk email is a troublesome problem. Some junk emails may have malware, and the malware will be activated when net citizens open the email. Some junk emails may be phishing schemes that attempt to steal net citizens identity and threatens the economic safety and privacy. Some junk emails may be fraudulent schemes or offensive material. Besides, there are a lot of annoying unsolicited advertisements (Mallisk, D., 2009). Spam filters can block junk emails for net citizens and make their internet life more safe and simple. The censorship of internet can protect the life privacy of people. The inappropriate information has threatened the life privacy of Australian people. As the incident that Google Street View cars collected personal data by WiFi systems illegally was complained, the Australian Federal Police has involved in investigation. Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy accused Google of doing it deliberately and said the move was the single greatest breach in the history of privacy (Shears, R., 2010). Besides, there are some net citizens or websites that make a mala fide use of internet to diffuse others privacy, like others private video, private pictures and so on. The censorship of internet can prevent these duly. Thus, sometimes, in order to protect the privacy of people, the censorship of internet is necessary. The censorship of internet can protect peoples economic interest. Some internet information can threaten peoples economic interest. Internet banking frauds happens frequently. The censorship of internet can filter a great deal of fraudulent information in the internet and enhance the supervision and control of internet banking. Due to internet censorship, a great number of financial frauds, phishing, identity thefts, credits card thefts and many other illegal activities are prevented (Manohar, U., n.d). Therefore, the economic loss of internet users are reduced or avoided. The censorship of internet can decrease internet violence and protect peoples personal security. In Australia or even the whole world, internet bullying and violence has become a serous issue. There are many suicide cases caused by internet bullying. The internet users are anonymous and the information spread fast on the internet. Some users take advantages of internet to carry on internet violence. The users may slander, abuse others and expose others privacy, which will bring about great harm to the victims. Many stars are the victim of internet violence, which can even cause the outcome of suicide. Some websites make use of internet illegally, which will give rise to baneful influence and threaten peoples life security. Internet murders happen. Through social networking sites, internet users deceive and murder other users. There are some suicide websites that abet suicide, communicate suicide knowledge and provide suicide methods. The occurrence of all these incidents and similar incidents make the internet censorship necessary. Internet censorship can prevent unjustified defamation, limit internet violence and protect peoples life security. The censorship of internet can help to protect social stability and national safety. Since the internet censorship can help to curb the large number of illegal activities and internet crimes, it is good to the stability of society. Some illegal organizations or people may release black information which will disturb the national economy and polity. The terrorists and extremists may release false information to distort facts, confuse the public peoples mind and create fear and panic thorough internet. These kinds of information will sabotage the national safety and must be deleted or filtered to avoid the misunderstanding of the public. The protection is not only about the physical preservation of the people, and foremost, it is a force and guidance in the morals and values of the nation as a whole (Coleman, B., 2010). There are many inappropriate and immoral content and information on the internet which will have a severe negative influence on the moral and value shape of the public. The censorship of internet can help filter the undue information which may corrupt the moral standard and soul of the public. Thus the censorship of internet can protect to maintain the mainstream morals and values of the nation and help the public to form healthy and reasonable internet using consciousness. The censorship of internet attaches importance to the whole rather than individual. That is why China that believes in communism can implement stringent internet censorship. The disadvantages of internet censorship The most important point against the censorship of internet is that it is against the freedom of speech and it violates human rights. The internet is an important communicative tool, which provides a platform of people from all around the world to make free speech. It should be a place where people can express their views and position regardless of societys acceptance. However, the censorship of internet censor, filter and even delete some peoples free speech. This measure hinders the free spread of information. Peoples rights of free speech, rights of communication and right to know are violated. This breaches the spirit of democracy. This measure is detrimental to websites which express particular thoughts and view. It is an obstacle to the development of internet. People may be worried about that the government will abuse the right of censorship and violates the democracy of the society. The censorship is controlled by the government. The government may abuse the right of censorship to exclude the speeches and information opposed to the authority. The government may manipulate the rights of censorship to hide information which is disadvantageous to its policies. The government that has rights of internet censorship may silence anyone who doubt about the government. The political party in party may manipulate the rights of censorship to limit the power of political opponents. The publics right to know is deprived of and the public are controlled by the government. Consequently, without the supervision of public, the democracy of the nation is damage greatly, which will give rise to serious negative influence to the whole nation. Some undue websites, such as pornographic websites, no one wants that to be available. However, the real issues limit ed by the censorship of internet go far beyond the regime. In China, although many pornographic websites and forum are banned and blocked, the government, in fact, focus on the censorship of political website. The censor to the sensitive words such as Taiwan, religion, Tibet and human rights are very strict. Besides, some disputed information, such as euthanasia and homosexuals will be block. The public can not get enough information to these disputed issues. Thus, prejudices and intolerance emerges, which will bring unfairness to the society. The censorship can also have negative effect on the judicature of the society. In China, some people are accused of agitating people to topple government and arrested because they publish and spread articles and information to oppose and criticize government. However, the conviction criterion of this accusation is very vague. The judicial interpretation is not adequate. The government has to much space to determine this issue. Thus, many scholars and lawyers submit a joint letter to limit or abolish this accusation. Besides, many scholars and lawyers ask for the judicial interpretation of this accusation. The internet censorship may challenge the authority of judicature and cause the damage to the authority of laws. The censorship of internet will bring about great economic cost. First, the expanse on the work of filter can be very expensive (Nicholson, J. D., 2008). Further, a broad scale filter proposed by the Government may also drive up related costs, such as data center staff needed to deal with an increase in customer complaints when they can not access sites(Riley, D., 2009). Second, the Internet filter could ruin National Broadband Network (NBN) speeds. A test paper released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority showed that a proper implement of a censorship regime would likely, at best cause a 20% drop in internet speeds or even more higher speed drop (Riley, D., 2009). As the internet speeds are slowed down, that means longer time will be spent on doing business and the productivity will fall (Riley, D., 2009). It will make a big difference to business when a filtering slowdown, like downloading files. If clicking on something, it will waste lots of time to wait it open. Therefore, the Internet filter affects the efficiency of business and may bring about loss or waste of money. In addition, if there is Internet traffic, lots of filtering units and some mechanism are needed for changing the busy to small parts. These will cost lots of money. The whole efficiency of business is slowed down and this will cause great economic cost. The censorship of internet limits the development of on-line service trade. The internet is a global market. As the development of internet, electronic commerce based on the internet replaces the management frame of standard commerce in a great measure. Moreover, the electronic commerce has mostly covered other forms of transnational trade. As the development of internet market, it makes great contributions to the whole economy. The trade supervision problems of internet market are emphasized, which include trade restriction, undermining trade environment and electronic commerce investment, information service and internet transmission. One of these measures is to prevent the access to the website. The censorship of internet implemented by different nations is always against the rules of WTO. These nations always force some preponderant websites to conform to the censorship of these nations. As a result, the internet trade is influenced seriously. To the on-line trade, the internet c ensorship is a kind of non-tariff barrier. The censorship of internet will have a negative effect on the work, study and communication of net citizens. The filtering of key words influences the research of scholars, teachers and students. The Internet filter is software which controls access to online content. These methods are more commonly referred to as a black list or white list. The filter prevents inappropriate content with white list, black list or keyword system. As its name implies, a black list blocks all websites or material restricted by an authority. The reverse, a white list, bars access to all Internet content except items approved by the filter. Keyword system checks keywords entered, limiting some sensitive words, such as sex. By this way, many useful information and normal key words may be filtered. Because of the internet censorship, people can not express themselves freely and get much information as they want. The creativity of people is discouraged, which is bad for the political, technological can cultu ral innovation of the whole society. Conclusion In conclusion, the censorship of internet is a double-edged sword. The censorship can work in some instances, but in others it can be detrimental to society. The censorship of internet can reduce the illegal activities on the internet. It provides physical protection for net citizens. The censorship of internet can protect children from undue information. It can also help women. It can also protect the economic interest, life security, social stability and national safety. Besides, it protects people to sustain the moral safety of people and help people to form healthy internet using consciousness. However, the censorship of internet also has its detriment. It violates peoples rights of free speech and may sabotage democracy. It can bring about great economic costs and prevent the development of international on-line trade. Meanwhile, it limits people to get enough information to fulfill research and study, and thus the creativity of people may be discouraged. There is no absolute fr eedom in the world, thus the internet can be an absolute free place. Although the internet censorship has its disadvantages, the negative effects of internet censorship can not be overdrawn. However, the transparency of internet censorship must be enhanced. The internet censorship without supervision is dangerous.

Free College Essays - Dante’s Paradiso :: Dante Paradiso Essays

Dante’s   Paradiso In spite of all the sheer effort put behind it, Dante’s Paradiso is not easy to enjoy. It is an alliance between difficulty and controversy. It is a narration of Dante’s so called visit to heaven, which seems tangible to no one but him. He slowly gives us his perceived account while inserting an archive of philosophical tidbits, which often divert the reader’s attention from the supposed plot. Dante claims himself gifted and says that all his said experiences are ones that he encountered first-hand. And so the reader is assumed to believe that the author is not in a make-believe world and his arguments with heavenly beings are actually marvelous adventures. The theme is not relevant at all to the present, as scholars today would say that his ideas are primitive and unsubstantial. The only thing applicable to today be the fact that it is based on the timeless issue: the afterlife. And as he inserts his personal views in life, he does it in an authoritative method as his heavenly friends explain them to him. Now if the reader assumes this is all make-believe, it is tiresome to go on as the book is direly detailed. On the other hand, if the reader believes Dante’s account, then I am afraid he is very misled. As many biblical verses are inserted in the text, it is quite bothersome that his explanations and fabulous stories take on a less dogmatic direction. It doesn’t seem right to quote religion to serve both misinterpreted purposes and claims to a divine philosophy. This dissenting view is the only social impact I can make out of the book. As I read on the translated verses looking for some conflict or climax, I reached neither. It just seems as if this popularly supposed story is intended to be educational just like a textbook. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see why Paradiso was dubbed a masterpiece. If the title of "masterpiece" is labeled upon the works of great worth, I am afraid entertainment value is not somethi ng distinguishable in this case even if there is an undoubtedly enormous amount of effort, skill, and thought that was invested in it. All the lines rhyme in pairs, and are written in deep Spanish. A rhyme scheme is followed and even literary formality is observed. Dante is obviously intellectual, as his work shows.

President Bill Clinton Essay -- Biography

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton succeeded where no other Democrat since Franklin had. He was re-elected to a second term as President. Clinton also proved most of his critics wrong, surviving the personal scandals that came about. During his presidency, Clinton broke promises and failed in certain areas, but he still had support of the American people. Even after his affair with Monica Lewinsky, the people still wanted him in office. They liked what he was doing for the country and supported him no matter what. Bill Clinton was an important president in American history, even through his personal scandals and broken promises. William Jefferson Clinton, now known as Bill Clinton, was born on August 19, 1946. He spent the first six years of his life in Hope, Arkansas. William Jefferson Blythe, Clinton's father, died in an auto accident three months before his mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe, gave birth to him. Clinton was raised in his grandmother, Edith Cassidy's home. His mother was often away from home taking nursing classes in New Orleans. It was at this time when Clinton's grandmother taught him to read at a very early age (American President 1). In 1950, Bill's mother married Roger Clinton. Roger was a car dealer and an abusive alcoholic. Bill Clinton attended public schools in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The whole family then moved to Hope, Arkansas, about an hour away from Hot Springs. When Bill was 15, his mother divorced Roger Clinton, only to remarry him quickly after. As a teenage boy, Clinton was obsessed with politics. He won student elections in high school, and later at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Clinton graduated from Yale Law School and moved back to his home state of Arkans... ...dn't happen, he had a huge impact on Americans, especially economically, and they supported him throughout his presidential career. During Clinton's presidency, the country had one of the longest periods of economic growth in history (Dumas 1). Bibliography Gerhardt, Michael J. "The Impeachment and Acquittal of William Jefferson Clinton." The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government. Ed. Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox. Washington,D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000. 142-148. "American President: Biography of President Bill Clinton." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Ed. Russell L. Riley. 2008. University of Virginia. 21 Feb. 2008 . "Bill Clinton." MSN Encarta. Ed. Ernest C. Dumas. 2007. 1 Mar. 2008 .