HR services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HR services - Essay Example While there are a great variety of users of human resource services (HR services) within an organization, this essay will identify three key users, identify two key needs for each user, and explain how they can be prioritized One use of the human resource department is through the hiring and firing of employees. In these regards, all aspects of the organization rely on the human resource department to ensure that employees are screened properly and when there are significant disciplinary problems that they be released. In some regards, the human resource department can confronted with conflicting needs in this category; in these regards, it’s necessary for the department to attend to an urgent need, but in most instances handle these issues in the order they occurred. Another user of human resources is upper level management, through employee record keeping; within this service the primary needs are for the use of employee records, while keeping the records confidential from m embers of the organization that are not privy to them. In these regards, it’s necessary for HR services to keep stringent record keeping, but also to remain highly cognizant of which organizational members are privy to the specific recorded content. Other users of HR services within an organization are entry-level employees. These employees use HR services for both training programs and compensation and benefit management. In some regards, there may be a conflict of interest here, as the same individuals responsible for training the department are responsible for determining compensation bonuses. In these regards, it’s necessary to have an outside department, generally management, conduct reports that will factor into employee progress reports and ultimately bonuses. 2. Identify at least 3 methods of communication appropriate to employees at different levels ? Among the different methods of communication appropriate for employees at different levels, this essay will co nsider three main types (‘Workplace Communication’). The first type of communication is verbal communication. Verbal communication represents the most direct and perhaps effective form of communication. The drawback of verbal communication is that it does not leave a record of the conversation that took place, nor is it always possible for upper level management to verbally address all the concerns of entry level, or low-level employees. In these regards, another level of communication that is effective is written communication. Written communication functions to produce a clear and understandable message in a context that allows for the individuals implementing this communication process to ensure there is a record of their communication. In these regards, written communication is important in matters wherein the individual receiving the message is of high importance. It’s also effective when the message is complex and it would be useful to be able to review the message. The final type of communication that is considered is visual communication. Generally visually communication is implemented through presentations from upper level to lower level employees, but it can also be implemented in presentations that speak to upper level organizational members, as a means of informing them of status updates, or proposing potential changes. Ultimately, visual communication is most effective for speaking to larger audiences, or in terms of explicating difficult to comprehend material through chart forms; finally it can demonstrate business prototypes or models highly effectively that couldn’t otherwise be articulated through verbal or written communication methods. 3. Describes the key components of effective service delivery including: ? Service delivery has taken on a variety of contextual meanings, making clear and precise definition of the various aspects of the

Most Influential Socialist Thinkers Of Time

Most Influential Socialist Thinkers Of Time The philosopher, social scientist, historian and revolutionary, Karl Marx, is without a doubt the most influential socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th century. Although he was largely ignored by scholars in his own lifetime, his social, economic and political ideas gained rapid acceptance in the socialist movement after his death in 1883. Until quite recently almost half the population of the world lived under regimes that claim to be Marxist. This very success, however, has meant that the original ideas of Marx have often been modified and his meanings adapted to a great variety of political circumstances. In addition, the fact that Marx delayed publication of many of his writings meant that is been only recently that scholars had the opportunity to appreciate Marxs intellectual stature. It is difficult to know what effect this would have on his later philosophy, but we do know that Marx would be antithetical to religious belief, at one time pronouncing it, the opiate of the masses After schooling in Trier (1830-35), Marx entered Bonn University to study law. At university he spent much of his time socialising and running up large debts. His father was horrified when he discovered that Karl had been wounded in a duel. Heinrich Marx agreed to pay off his sons debts but insisted that he moved to the more sedate Berlin University. Educated in the best universities in Germany at Bonn, Berlin and Jena, he was greatly influenced by the most prominent scholar of the previous generation, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. As youth turned to middle age, Karl Marxs views became more radical and finally hardened into the body of thought we know today. His journey to this point took him out of Germany where the newspaper he edited, the Rheinische Zeitung, was suppressed by the Government. He moved to Paris in 1843 and later to Brussels in 1845. Marx himself considered his theory of surplus-value his most important contribution to the progress of economic analysis (Marx, letter to Engels of 24 August 1867). It is through this theory that the wide scope of his sociological and historical thought enables him simultaneously to place the capitalist mode of production in his historical context, and to find the root of its inner economic contradictions and its laws of motion in the specific relations of production on which it is based Marx was partial to Hegel and his theories and was influenced by Hegels views that history was a dialectical process. He did not adhere to Hegels spirituality . He was also influenced by Fuerbach, Saint-Simon, Proudhon and Bakunin. While living in Paris, he began to associate with the working clasas for the first time. He began to formulate his thought that revolution was the key to achieving balance between the upper class and the working class. He wrote and spoke on social change through revolution. He believed that there was great energy between proleterians and capitalists. Marx began to appeal to more of the common people during the early depression days. American educatin became aware of soviet education reforms during the 1920s and through George S. Counts who visited Russia and brought their educational system of reform to light in America. But only a mere 10 years later, American educators did not think societ education was good. The theory associated with Marxism was developed in mid-19th century Europe by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Although Marx and Engels did not write widely about education, they developed theoretical perspectives on modern societies that have been used to highlight the social functions of education and their concepts and methods have served to both theorize and criticize education in the reproduction of capitalist societies, and to support projects of alternative education. In this study, I will first briefly sketch the classical perspectives of Marx and Engels, highlighting the place of education in their work. Then, I lay out the way that Marxian perspectives on education were developed in the Frankfurt School critical theory, British cultural studies, and other neo- Marxian and post-Marxian approaches grouped under the label of critical pedagogy, that emerged from the work of Paulo Freire and is now global in scope. I argue that Marxism provides influential and robust perspectives on education, still of use, but that classical Marxism has certain omissions and limitations that contemporary theories of society and education need to overcome. The young Marx and Engels thus perceived that without education the working class was condemned to lives of drudgery and death, but that with education they had a chance to create a better life. In their famous 1848 Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels argued that growing economic crises would throw ever more segments of the middle classes, and the older peasant and artisan classes, into the impoverished situation of the proletariat and would thus produce a unified working class, at least one with interests in common. They declared that the bourgeois class is constantly battling against the older feudal powers, among its own segments, and against the foreign bourgeoisie, and thus enlists the proletariat as its ally. Consequently, the proletariat gains education and experience which it can use to fight the ruling class. The Marxist approach to education is broad constuctivist and emphasises activity, collaboration and critique, rather than passive absorption of knowledge, emulation of elders and conformism; it is student-centred rather than teacher centred, but recognises that education cannot transcend the problems and capabilities of the society in which it is located. The Soviet, Chinese, and other Communist states were at most only partly structured along Marxist classless lines, and while such Communist leaders as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong staunchly claimed Marxist orthodoxy for their pronouncements, they in fact greatly stretched the doctrine in attempting to mold it to their own uses. The evolution of varied forms of welfare capitalism, the improved condition of workers in industrial societies, and the recent demise of the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have tended to discredit Marxs dire and deterministic economic predictions. The Soviet and Chinese Communist regimes did not result in the disappearance of the state, but in the erection of huge, monolithic, and largely inefficient state structures. In recent years, many Western intellectuals have championed Marxism and repudiated Communism, objecting to the manner in which the two terms are often used interchangeably. A number have turned to Marxs other writings and explored the present-day value of such Marxist concepts as alienation. Among prominent Western Marxists were the Hungarian philosopher Gyà ¶rgy Lukaisand the Italian political philosopher Antonio Gramsci, both of whom viewed Marxism as a liberation from the rule of political economy and believed in its relationship to the social consciousness. Marxisms influence can be found in disciplines as diverse as economics, history, art, literary criticism, and sociology. German sociologist Max Weber, Frankfurt school theorists such as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, British economist Joan Robinson, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, British literary critic Frederic Jameson, and the French historians of the Annales school have all produced work drawn from Marxist perspectiv es.

The Presidential Debates :: Politics Political Science Essays

The Presidential Debates A picture is worth a thousand words. Get that picture played repeatedly over the news and it’s worth more than a thousand words; you gather the entire eyes, ears, and minds of a nation. The â€Å"great debate† of the Presidential Election for 2004 was well aware of the media power, understanding that there is a 24-news cycle available through TV, newspapers, and Internet. Those who wanted to remain ahead only had to use the media as their guinea pigs to twist out their favorable outcome. President Bush may be incumbent but his team behind the debate is not; John Kerry may be long-winded but his team behind the debate knows how to attract attention quickly. Both candidates may not have known what stage was being set October 4, 2004 but their campaign aids and analysts knew that in order to turn an American audience onto their side they knew manipulation of the media would turn into manipulation of the public. For those watching the first debate it was easy to see which candidate was better prepared and over-all more likeable. While John Kerry spoke on point, direct, and quickly, President Bush was defensive, angry, and often repetitive; idiotic remarks such as, ''Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us -- I know that,† stuck out like sore thumbs amidst a debate of intelligence, and cool comebacks (New York Times). The use of the split-screen by some cable networks such as Fox Network News, presented the debate with a split-screen allowing â€Å"... several shots of Bush grimacing and looking quite hostile during Kerry's criticisms of his Iraq actions† creating the effect that â€Å"Kerry was aware of the camera’s gaze and Bush perhaps did not† (The Los Angeles Times). The overall effect of the split-screen was favorable to Kerry and unfavorable to Bush, allowing for the Democratic and Republican parties to try and convey their opinions of whe ther this was fair. Kerry officials were ecstatic over the results, comparing the President to Al Gore’s reactions in the 2000 debate â€Å"memorable† and â€Å"counter productive† (The Los Angeles Times). While Kerry officials were gloating the Bush campaign tried to play if off coolly, acting as if the reactions of the President did nothing more than a man who showed his emotion and conviction last night in answering questions and listening to someone de-credit him in the American Public (The Los Angeles Times). The Presidential Debates :: Politics Political Science Essays The Presidential Debates A picture is worth a thousand words. Get that picture played repeatedly over the news and it’s worth more than a thousand words; you gather the entire eyes, ears, and minds of a nation. The â€Å"great debate† of the Presidential Election for 2004 was well aware of the media power, understanding that there is a 24-news cycle available through TV, newspapers, and Internet. Those who wanted to remain ahead only had to use the media as their guinea pigs to twist out their favorable outcome. President Bush may be incumbent but his team behind the debate is not; John Kerry may be long-winded but his team behind the debate knows how to attract attention quickly. Both candidates may not have known what stage was being set October 4, 2004 but their campaign aids and analysts knew that in order to turn an American audience onto their side they knew manipulation of the media would turn into manipulation of the public. For those watching the first debate it was easy to see which candidate was better prepared and over-all more likeable. While John Kerry spoke on point, direct, and quickly, President Bush was defensive, angry, and often repetitive; idiotic remarks such as, ''Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us -- I know that,† stuck out like sore thumbs amidst a debate of intelligence, and cool comebacks (New York Times). The use of the split-screen by some cable networks such as Fox Network News, presented the debate with a split-screen allowing â€Å"... several shots of Bush grimacing and looking quite hostile during Kerry's criticisms of his Iraq actions† creating the effect that â€Å"Kerry was aware of the camera’s gaze and Bush perhaps did not† (The Los Angeles Times). The overall effect of the split-screen was favorable to Kerry and unfavorable to Bush, allowing for the Democratic and Republican parties to try and convey their opinions of whe ther this was fair. Kerry officials were ecstatic over the results, comparing the President to Al Gore’s reactions in the 2000 debate â€Å"memorable† and â€Å"counter productive† (The Los Angeles Times). While Kerry officials were gloating the Bush campaign tried to play if off coolly, acting as if the reactions of the President did nothing more than a man who showed his emotion and conviction last night in answering questions and listening to someone de-credit him in the American Public (The Los Angeles Times).

High School and Exemption Forms

I am in the process of distributing Exemption Forms to students today. I wanted to go over a few things with you so that we are all on the same page. Exemptions were put into place to encourage and reward good attendance and behavior. This is not a privilege entitled to every student simply because they are enrolled in our school†¦ It is a REWARD. Please pass this on to your students. The rules are very simple†¦. If you have been in SIS, DEEP or if you have been suspended this semester, then you can't be exempt. The average that a student must have in your class in order to be exempt is based on he number of absences that he or she has in your class. A. If a student has 0-1 excused absence in your class, their semester average must be an 80 or above B. If a student has 2 excused absences in your class, their semester average must be an 85 or above C.If a student has 3 excused absences in your class, their semester average ,must be a 90 or above If a student has an unexcused absence in your class, they may not be exempt from your test. Notes for unexcused absences will not be accepted at this point. It is the students' responsibility to turn in notes within 5 days of returning to school after they eave been absent. Please do not give the student the attendance information that you see in your grade book as this includes extracurricular absences in the total number and those do not count.

Riba & Its Types

Riba' The word â€Å"Riba† means excess, increase or addition, which correctly interpreted according to Shariah terminology, implies any excess compensation without due consideration (consideration does not include time value of money). Types of Riba: 1. Riba' AnNisi'ah: This is the stipulated interest which the lender takes from the borrower in consideration of the time given to the borrower to pay back the capital. It is HARAM based on the Quran and the Sunnah and the consensus of Muslim scholars. . Riba' Al Fadl:   This applies to barter (exchanging one commodity for another), where   commodities of the same type are exchanged in unequal amounts, especially the exchange of precious metals and foodstuffs, it is HARAM, by the Sunnah and the concensus of scholars; as it paves the way for Riba' nNasi'ah. Numerous ahadith have demonstrated the prohibition with regard to gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, and salt. The Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wa sellem said, â€Å"Gold for gold, and silver for silver, and wheat for wheat, and barley for barley, and dates for dates, and salt for salt, like for like, equal for equal, from hand to hand (the transaction must be completed before the two sides leave each other). But if the types are different then sell as you wish, as long as it is hand to hand. †Ã‚   (Muslim) The Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wa sellem also said, â€Å"Whoever gives more or asks for more (than what he gave) commits an act of Riba', the given and the taken are equivalent (in the sin). (Muslim) The Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wa sellem said, â€Å"Prohibited selling food (of the same variety) except equivalent in weight and hand to hand. † (Muslim) â€Å"Do not sell gold for gold unless equivalent in weight (and from hand to hand), and do not sell less amount for greater amount or vice versa, and do not sell silver for silver unless equivalent in we ight (and from hand to hand), and do not sell less amount for greater amount or vice versa and do not sell gold or silver that is not present at the moment of exchange for gold or silver that is present. †Ã‚   (agreed upon) To lend a bank money or borrow from it on the condition of a payment of a fixed annual or monthly percentage rate of interest, say 2%, or more or less, is a form of PROHIBITED RIBA'. â€Å"†¦ whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba' (usury)†¦ †Ã‚   2:275 Poverty isn't an excuse for Riba'. Mudaraba: which is a form of partnership where one person invests money and the other invests his skill and effort, and they share the profit or loss of the enterprise, so Islam did not impose any hardship on the people (by prohibiting Riba') but rather it provided them with a viable alternative to it, among them are the following: . Qard Hasan (a beautiful loan): Istead of a Muslim loaning his money on interest which causes pollution and blight on all his property and oppresses the borrower, Islam encourages him to make the loan Qard Hasan, and promised him a gracious reward for it;   Allah said, â€Å"Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that Her ma y multiply it to him many times? †Ã‚   2:245 2. Giving an extension to a person who cannot repay the loan on time because of financial difficulty, until he gets back on his feet. And Islam encourages the lender to forgive the loan altogether in this circumstance;   Allah said, â€Å"And if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him to repay, but if you remit it by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know. † 2:280 3. Mutual Aid by all means: This encompasses mutual aid on a social level, in industry and in agriculture, and social security by financing farmers and industrialists and craftsmen in order to enable them to produce effectively. This returns a benefit to the whole Ummah. Also, opening schools and buidling hospitals and homes for the elderly and the incapacitated and all other items alike fall under the mutual aid mentioned in the verse†¦ â€Å"†¦ help you one another in Al Birr and atTaqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety);†¦ †Ã‚   5:2                    The society which realizes these means will proceed, in the shade of this comprehensive mutual aid, happily and far removed from the distress of Riba'. . We should not forget the payment of Zakat to those who deserve it. This will have a major impact on getting rid of Riba'. BEWARE:   from putting your money in a *nonIslamic bank*. Even if you don't take interest on it, the bank takes your money and loans it out to gain interest. So you are helping the Riba' system, and are indirectly responsible and beware from taking loans from those banks.

Steven King in class essays

Steven King in class essays There is no doubt that Stephen King is an incredibly popular author of horror stories and novels. People who have not read his novels have probably seen movies based on these novels or may have seen movies that he has written the screenplays for. Because of his popularity, having his stories as an assignment in a literary class will certainly appeal to even the most reluctant reader. Students will read and enjoy his work. Although most education professionals of literature recognize the motivational quality of King's work, many have not considered teaching any of his works in the classrooms. His often strong language, or the grossness of the horror in some of his stories, may have been a barrier in their consideration. Even though his style of writing may not be acceptable to some people, King has acquired his style from extensive reading of works from the great figures of literature. He is very concerned with incorporating the fundamentals of good writing in his works which means hi s stories are not only motivational, but worthy to study in the classroom. Because many students are already familiar with King's work and are intrigued by the genre of horror, the willingness of these students to analyze his stories will heighten their desire to learn more about literature. In order to study the fundamentals of writing, students have to be attracted to the works they are studying. When introduced as the readings in a unit of horror and suspense in literature, King's short stories can be an excellent springboard to the work of classic novelists. Novelists must use what are known as the elements of fiction in order to make sense of a story. These elements are fundamental parts of all storytelling, and they include: plot and structure, character, setting, point of view, style and language, and theme. While these elements may be discussed separately, they are always acting simultaneously in a s...

Storage of Combustible and Flammable Liquids

Storage of Combustible and Flammable Liquids Flammable liquids ignite easily. They are bound to catch fire when exposed to the slightest form of an igniting agent. A liquid is considered flammable if its flashpoint is above 100.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Storage of Combustible and Flammable Liquids specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although combustible liquids have an estimated flash point of 40, they are capable of catching fire. The ignition of a flammable or combustible fluid could cause a catastrophic fire. It is significantly important to prevent such fluids in tanks from catching fire. The solution to protecting these fluids from igniting is designing appropriate storage facilities. The major storage facilities for flammable liquids are tanks (Long 55). The design and installation of flammable fluids storage tanks is specifically meant to avert the fluids’ possibility of catching fire. In the US, the flammable and combustible liquids act was p assed in 1988. There exists two major forms of storage. These are the underground storage tanks and floating roof tanks. It has been noted that during incidences such as spills and overfills, a lot of unwanted and sometimes harmful content is released into the environment. In the past, many USTs were made of corrosive metals. Because of corrosion over time, several incidences of leakage occurred. Consequently, the government found it necessary to establish laws that would mitigate these challenges especially regarding underground spillage. The law mandated underground storage tanks’ owners to upgrade their storage tanks. In this regard, owners were required to replace their faulty corrosive tanks with non-corrosive tanks. The other form of flammable liquids storage is the floating roof tanks. These tanks satisfactorily handle the volatile and less dense liquids. In this regard, such tanks’ owners and operators must handle combustible and flammable liquids safely to pre vent environmental hazards. The observance of these measures helps to prevent the dire consequences of such liquids’ ignition.Advertising Looking for essay on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The floating roof tank is one of the main designs used for storage of flammable liquids. A specific floating roof tank has a special design and special installation procedures that cater for the safety of the stored liquids. For a tank to store a certain flammable liquid safely, the liquid is pressurized to the rating of the tank and as per the nature of the fluid. Furthermore, some special tanks are needed to store cryogenic liquids. A floating roof tank has a covering that is not fixed. In addition, since the tank cannot withstand much pressure, it has a conical or flat roof. The tank has a vent on top of the lid. The vent functions as an air outlet when the tank is filling to prevent the increasing pressure from lifting the lid off. Moreover, the vent is used for emergency purposes to keep the pressure constant in case of a rapid increase, which could damage the tank. A rapid increase in pressure may occur due the rise in temperature as in the case of an accidental fire. The liquids stored in a floating roof tank should have low volatile tendency to prevent gradual loss (Myers 104). Floating roof tanks do not have an airtight design that can hold back vapour in case of rapid evaporation. The vent used to release pressure during the filling process acts as a fireguard. It arrests the flame before it is sucked into the tank. The vent should be designed in such a way that it is not obstructed in times of an emergency. The vapour pressure in a floating roof tank is measured at the top of the tank where there is vapour space. This measure helps to avoid the inclusion of the liquid pressure when the measurement is taken at the bottom. Floating roof tanks are used to store liquids with high flash points to minimise their chances of igniting when there is an igniting agent in close proximity. Once ignited, the liquids could provide a lethal incendiary for a fire. Lubricating oil, among other petroleum products, is an example of the liquids that could be stored in a floating roof tank.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Storage of Combustible and Flammable Liquids specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If the roof of the tank is rigid, the liquid stored should have a significantly high flash point. Furthermore, the liquid should have low volatility so that the vapour concentration remains below the ignition level. If the tank is exposed to extremely high temperatures, the liquid vaporises quickly and the pressure inside the tank rises rapidly. In case the vent designed for releasing the pressure fails, the resulting tension in the tank may cause an explosion. Such an explosion will damage the tank and spill out t he stored liquid, which may accelerate the fire further. In some other instances, an improperly fixed lid may expose the stored fluid to the danger of catching fire. In addition, the stored liquid could spill out and ignite a fire in close proximity. If a flame manages to ignite the fluid in the tank with the lid still in place, the tank may explode. Another precautionary measure observed when manufacturing tanks with fixed roofs is the deliberate alteration of the tanks roofs’ strength (Myers 254). A tank is constructed with a roof of medium strength and a seam that can be easily broken between the roof and vertical walls. This loosely bonded seam will unfold with the application of a sudden immense pressure such as the one that occurs on heating of the tank by a fire. In this regard, when the roof’s seam breaks during a fire, the pressure inside the tank cannot increase beyond the atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the content of the tank remains intact and free form ignition if the heating effect acts from below. Since the contents of the tank do not splash during an explosion, the chances of extensive fire damage are minimised. The design of floating roof tanks does not involve any kind of a float chamber to cut out the liquid supply during the tank’s filling. In this regard, the tank has a plastic or rubber rim around the roof, which acts as a washer to prevent the liquid from overflowing through the rim onto the upper side of the tank’s lid.Advertising Looking for essay on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The most common fire accident in a floating roof tank is the lighting up of the roof rim, which is often smeared with the overflowing content of the tank. Vertical tanks are used to store less inflammable liquids such as naphtha while horizontal tanks are used for the storage of highly flammable liquids such as motor gas. These tanks are designed to hold liquids at low pressure. Thus, they are used for highly volatile gases. The design of a tank without a weak roof that can be blown away to release pressure makes the bottom of the tank vulnerable to pressure. The failure of the bottom seam may lead to a reaction that can cause the tank to be tossed away from the fire scene and cause fire elsewhere. Tanks situated above the ground are vulnerable to collapse since an intense fire may compromise the integrity of their stilts, which are made of steel. In this regard, the most appropriate measure is to install the tanks in an underground vault and covering it. For a tank installed in an underground location, corrosion of the tank’s material is inevitable. The tank can be protected through electrical means by attaching a charged cathode for deionisation purposes. In addition, a tank installed in an underground location is vulnerable to the accumulation of vapours. In this regard, some form of aeration is necessary in order to contain the contamination of the stored liquid by condensed water. Asphalt can be used for the construction of tanks because its flash point is above the ignition point of most of flammable materials. However, some asphalt tanks are reported to have ignited at temperatures significantly below asphalt’s flash point. This has been attributed to the combined effects of the asphalt material and the flammable liquid in the tank. In addition, the fireproof design of a floating roof tank may fail when an electrostatic charge triggers the ignition of the liquids stored in the tank. The electrostatic charge is generated during the tankâ₠¬â„¢s cleaning or when the process of filing the tank is not executed in an appropriate manner. Therefore, to avoid the electrostatic charges, proper installation is critical so that the charges do not cause an ignition. Nevertheless, the flashpoint could be analysed to determine the compatibility with the tank used for storage. The adoption of appropriate measures ensures that the storage of combustible and flammable liquids is handled properly with regard to the floating tank facilities. On this note, environmental hazards that result from spillage or ignition can be avoided. Another significant method of storage of combustible and flammable liquid is the use of Underground storage tanks (USTs). USTs have a combination of connected pipes and are occasionally designed to occupy 10% of their size. Contrary to the common notion, USTs do not include other small volume tanks used in the farms for fuel storage. USTs are utilized by numerous businesses. These tanks are usually used for t he storage of petroleum related products and other flammable substances like oxygen and hydrogen. Due to the explosive nature of the substances stored in these tanks, it is significantly important to observe their proper and standardized ways of installation and maintenance. Similarly, when transferring the content stored in these tanks, the appropriate precautionary mechanism should be employed to limit spillage. This ensures the safety of the operations (Long 224). In this regard, safety rules and storage tanks regulations have been developed to enhance secure storage and usage practices leading to economical and environmental benefits. During installation, several measures should be observed because the effective use of USTs relies heavily on their installation procedures. There are two methods of installation. These are existing new installation and new installation. An existing new installation entails the upgrading of earlier installations to ensure that the existing container s are in safe conditions and easy to monitor. Through these practices, tanks are upgraded enhancing corrosion protection, leak prevention and overfill detection. During the upgrading process, the internal section of the tank is inspected to ensure that it is mechanically sound and free of leak holes. If a period of ten years has passed since the tank’s initial installation, the tank should be monitored on a monthly basis. The presence of leakage holes in the tank can be established by using two procedures. The initial test is done before the lining of cathode elements while the second test is done five months afterwards. After the tests, the tank may be upgraded by combining two installation procedures of internal lining and cathode guarding. For a new installation, the owner should inform the local authorities 30 days prior the date of the installation. This enables the review of the owner’s installation plans to ascertain their validity and counterchecked if they com ply with the standards of the installation procedure. In the proposal, the owner should provide details regarding the sites electricity or telecommunication lines, security, neighbouring buildings and water bodies such as wells in the vicinity. Afterwards an approval may be offered to the owner if he or she complies with the regulation standards. USTs experts are then sent to the installation site for inspection purposes before the certificate of approval is awarded (Metelski 256). During installation, the owner is expected to obtain an insurance cover. Similarly, well-trained technicians should be employed to perform the installation. All the tanks and pipes should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. In several countries, the standards of removal and disposal of USTs have been developed. Usually, the law requires all USTs owners to replace the tanks within a period of 10 years. In this undertaking, they are encouraged to use fibreglass tanks due to their ability to withstand corrosion. Similarly, modern tanks have been reinforced with double fibreglass walls significantly reducing the issue of leaks in tanks. The tank replacement process demands the replacement of old pipes with new ones, which are stronger. The new pipes have been reinforced with an additional double wall from a mixture of glass and plastic materials. During installation, tanks’ control systems are included to monitor and sense leaks. These measures are meant to observe and automatically report any leakages. Due to the numerous demands from regulators and environmentalist, many owners of USTs have resorted to other methods of storage like above-the-ground tanks to reduce costs and for monitoring purposes. However, some states do not permit this form of storage. In the U.S the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policies regarding USTs have been very strict. As a result, numerous achievements have been realized. More than half of the tanks ’ owners have complied with the policies of upgrading their tanks and some have replaced theirs completely. Despite these dramatic changes, some leakage incidences from fuel tanks are still being reported. To countercheck such occurrences, the US government through the EPA has provided resources for cleanup and prevention programs. These resources are provided to tribes, territories and local authorities to aid them in implementing their clean up and prevention programs. Since the inception of the use of USTs, preventing leaks and spillages into the environment have always been a challenge. However, the EPA and other environmental organisations have significantly progressed in their bid to minimise and eventually halt the release of these substances into the environment. Nevertheless, there have been major setbacks encountered by these organisations concerning the operation and maintenance of these tanks. When leakage of USTs occurs, the owners and the operators are required by law to report the matter to the relevant authorities. Thereafter, clean up of the spillage is done before 24 hours elapse. In case of an underground leakage, operators should try as much as possible to minimise the contact between the tank’s contents and the air. This can be achieved by use of sorbents to limit the flow of the chemicals. In addition, an immediate excavation should be done. In some cases, the law mandates a secondary containment in cases of emergencies. The secondary containment is supposed to be used at all times whenever humans’ health is at risk. This containment should be well fabricated to prevent the stored substance from seeping down the water table. Furthermore, consideration of the volume of the containment is necessary. It must be stable enough to hold different pressures from different fluids. However, containments’ specifications vary from state to state and from one local authority to another. To avoid incidences of leaks, owners and operators are required by law to monitor the volume of the stored substances regularly. The volume capacity of the tank should always be greater than the transferring tank’s capacity. In this regard, owners should ensure that their operators comply with the required USTs protocols. All operations on corrosive substances should be maintained to sustain the corrosion caused by the metal components. Similarly, the USTs facilities should be protected by the use of cathode elements. Frequent monitoring by qualified experts in cathode protection is vital. Checkups and test should be carried out in a period of 5 months after installation and every 3 years thereafter. The criterion used by the cathode experts should be appropriate and up to date as per the regulations (Metelski 384). Thereafter, the USTs’ data regarding cathode protection should be stored in records for future reference. Moreover, the owners are supposed to ensure that their UST lining material is appropri ately matched with the storage substance hence avoiding cases of incompatibility (Long 384). In this regard, the repairs and maintenance practices should comply with the USTs protocols. Despite the numerous regulations in place, the minimization of UST leakages still poses a great challenge due to the dangers exposed to the environment. Therefore, we should contribute significantly towards the mitigation of such challenges. In the event of a spillage, the environment should be protected to reduce spillage hazards as stipulated by the law. In this regard, one is expected to put away all the flammable materials like cigarettes. The impacts of a fire outbreak are detrimental and sometimes fatal. For any form of combustible and flammable liquids storage facility chosen, the safety of the stored liquid is a vital consideration. Knowing that the liquids stored are highly flammable, any material capable of causing an ignition should be kept away. Nevertheless, these storage facilities shou ld be continuously upgraded to improve their performance in handling the liquid. The realization of the appropriate storage system is very significant towards the safe handling of the liquid. Moreover, the owners or operators should consider the advantages and risks that they face in handling the liquid. The location and the surrounding condition of the storage facility determine the choice of the storage facility. In this regard, underground storage tanks are viewed as less vulnerable to rampant fire risks than floating roof tanks. Although these storage facilities are the most commonly used, there exist others such as the above-the-ground storage tanks. Each storage tank therefore suits each specific flammable liquid depending on its characteristics. Lastly, any flammable liquid should be kept safely for its utilisation and protection of biodiversity. Long, Bob, and Bob Garner. Guide to storage tanks equipment: the practical  reference book and guide to storage tanks and ancil lary equipment with a  comprehensive buyers guide to worldwide manufacturers and suppliers. Bury St. Edmunds, U.K.: Professional Engineering, 2004. Print. Metelski, John J., and Myra R. Anderson. Managing underground storage tanks. New York, N.Y.: Executive Enterprises Publications Co., 1989. Print. Myers, Philip E.. Aboveground storage tank inspection guide. London: McGraw-Hill, 1999. Print.

Jam and Jamb Commonly Confused Words

Jam and Jamb Commonly Confused Words The words jam and jamb are homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings) but are commonly confused words. As both a noun and a verb, jam has several different definitions. As shown below, the less-common noun jamb is usually used in a more technical sense. As a noun, jam refers to a jelly made from fruit and sugar, a difficult situation, an instance of becoming trapped or stuck, or a group of people or objects that are crowded together. As a verb, jam means to squeeze tightly into a space, shove something into position, become stuck, or form a crowd. The noun jamb usually refers to a vertical piece on either side of a framed opening, as for a door, window, or fireplace. Examples We spread the jam on chunks of delicious fresh bread, and the mellifluous elixir made me feel as if I were eating the smell of roses. (Celia Lyttelton, The Scent Trail. New American Library, 2007)Youre so transparent. Youre trying to use me for a shovel to dig yourself out of a jam. (Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister, 1949)As often as not in a jam session- at least in the context of swing, if not in bebop- the musicians were improvising in response to an audience as much as to one another. (John Fass Morton, Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport 56. Rutgers University Press, 2008)He tried to jam the gun back into the holster, but with its silencer, it didnt quite fit. (Robin Cook, Blindsight. G.P. Putnams Sons, 1992)I followed his advice and wedged the iron between the door and the jamb and leaned into it. A chunk of wood splintered off the jamb and some metal stripping pulled away. (Janet Evanovich, High Five. St. Martins Press, 1999) Usage Notes The upright pillars on which a door is hung we call a jamb. If you catch your finger between the door and this pillar, we do not say you jamb your finger but you jam your finger. The b has fallen away, although the latter word owes its existence to the former. (Mont Follick, The Case for Spelling Reform. Manchester University Press, 1965)A jam can be a static or slow-moving collection of objects or people. You normally get a traffic jam at rush hour, a jam of people when the sales open, or a jam-packed spare room when you are paranoid about throwing anything away. Jam is also a sticky substance composed of fruit and sugar that is often smeared on bread to make a sandwich. This usage came into being in the mid-eighteenth century. A jam session is an improvised performance by a group of jazz musicians, a usage that dates from the 1920s. If you jam on the brakes of your car, you stop very abruptly. A jamb is the leg of an animal represented on a coat of arms, the leg piece from a suit o f armor, each of the side posts of a door, a bed of clay or stone running across a mineral vein or seam, and a projecting columnar part of a wall. (David Rothwell, Dictionary of Homonyms. Wordsworth, 2007) Practice (a) Jamie had bought something called a baby bungee, an apparatus that gripped on to the _____ of a door and allowed the child to bounce up and down on a strong elastic rope. (Alexander McCall Smith, The Lost Art of Gratitude. Knopf Canada, 2009)(b) Conway could get himself into a _____ by saying too much, while Bozemans problem is usually that he doesnt say nearly enough. (Gary Rivlin, The Godfather of Silicon Valley. Random House, 2001)(c) The day of his sixth birthday, Mother baked a cake, a special one with raspberry _____ dripping down the sides. (Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Hidden. Simon Schuster, 1998) (d) It had taken three tries before she managed to _____ the key into her lock.(Margaret Coel, The Perfect Suspect. Berkley, 2011) Answers (a) Jamie had bought something called a baby bungee, an apparatus that gripped on to the  jamb  of a door and allowed the child to bounce up and down on a strong elastic rope. (Alexander McCall Smith,  The Lost Art of Gratitude. Knopf Canada, 2009)(b) Conway could get himself into a  jam  by saying too much, while Bozemans problem is usually that he doesnt say nearly enough. (Gary Rivlin,  The Godfather of Silicon Valley. Random House, 2001)(c) The day of his sixth birthday, Mother baked a cake, a special one with raspberry  jam  dripping down the sides. (Margaret Peterson Haddix,  Among the Hidden. Simon Schuster, 1998) (d) It had taken three tries before she managed to  jam  the key into her lock.(Margaret Coel,  The Perfect Suspect. Berkley, 2011)

Spiritual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Spiritual - Essay Example Bermudez wish to achieve? The professor wishes to advance Aesthetics into a higher level, more specifically up the realm of spirituality. Concurrent with his course, he has also embarked on a research project he calls â€Å"Architecture Live (1).† In this research, he aimed to study extraordinary architectural experiences or EAEs which to him are higher awareness of beauty in sacred buildings akin to a spiritual or mystical experience. Using the quantitative and qualitative methods, he placed online a survey questionnaire open to voluntary response by those interested in the project. Upon analysis, the project itself has an empirical character, since it generated data on respondents’ profile such as age, gender, education and field of interest or profession. Categorizing descriptive responses on experiences felt by respondents on ten famous sacred buildings (Haga Sophia, Notre Dame Cathedral, among others), there resulted expressions by survey respondents of profound ex periences beyond ordinary sense of the beautiful, along dimensions of awareness of inner peace, illumination, sense of the ultimate, ecstasy, joy, etc. To assess the Bermudez contribution, the concepts introduced by the professor rightly serves to enrich the study of Aesthetics by way of empirical subjective data on appreciation of sacred architectural buildings. There is a question, however, on conclusions that EAEs â€Å"fundamentally alter one’s state of being† and that these comprise a â€Å"higher level of awareness beyond the normal† (FactandForm.com 1). Through human history, ancient civilizations (Assyrian, Grecian, Hindu, etc.) have set up sacred temples and monuments with architectural design aimed precisely to evoke religious sentiments. Religious or spiritual awareness is not at all beyond normal awareness of humans. Also, the qualitative data on sublime perceptions of beauty from Architecture Live project need not be confined to architecture, as other religious art

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting Research Paper

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting - Research Paper Example financial reporting process, and also put into doubt the role played by management, regulators, auditors, and analysts in preventing accounting fraud. Businesses employ deceptive or fraudulent accounting practices such as creative accounting to match the expectations. Accounting fraud refers to an intentional and inappropriate falsification of a company’s accounting records such as the stating of sales revenue and/or expenses. Accounting fraud is geared towards making a company’s financial performance (operating profit) appear better than it is. The motivation for misrepresentation of accounting records hinges on the profit motive and sourcing a favorable financing and dodging debt obligations. Companies commit accounting fraud through activities such as failing to record prepaid expenses or other incidental assets, failing to show certain classifications of current assets and/ or liabilities, or collapsing both short-term and long-term debt into a single amount (Jones 3). Overstatement of sales revenue is one of the techniques employed in committing accounting fraud. Overstatement of sales arises from activities such as channel stuffing and delaying recording of products returned by clients. This is directed at avoiding recognition of those offsets against sales revenue within the current year. Other means by which businesses commit accounting fraud include under-recording expenses such as depreciation expense. In some instances, businesses fail to record the cost of goods sold expenses in order to make gross margins appear higher (Rezaee and Riley 82). Similarly, accounting fraud occurs when a business fails to state asset losses that ordinarily should be identified such as uncollectible accounts receivable or not writing down inventory under the lower of cost or market rule. In addition, a business may fail to record the full amount of liability for an expense. Accounting fraud may also feature abuse of corporate funds and overstating of the co rporate assets (Tirole 300). Creative Accounting Creative accounting (aggressive accounting) details accounting practices that are not necessarily considered illegal, but which are potentially misleading to investors and considered as unethical, regardless of the fact that the strategy is well within the letter of the law (Shah, Butt and Tariq 531). The resultant financial statements do not reflect the â€Å"true and fair† view of the company accounts. For instance, a firm may want to paint a perception that it is financially stronger whereas it has achieved little or no growth at all. Most businesses use creative accounting to enhance desire for stock issued so as to drive up the value of the shares and amass benefits to the business. Examples of creative accounting include off balance sheet financing, overoptimistic revenue recognition or application of overstated nonrecurring items. Motivations for Accounting Fraud The prominent cited motivations for accounting fraud encom pass the urge to meet internal or external earnings expectations. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal an entity’s deteriorating financial condition. In addition, financial fraud is motivated by the need to raise a company’s stock price as well as the urge to bolster a company’s financial performance owing to a pending equity or debt financing. Similarly, accountants engage in financial fraud so as to enhance management compensation based on financial results. The two most common techniques employed in fraudulently misstating the financial statements encompass improper revenue recognition and asset overstatements, primarily by overvaluing the present assets or capitalizing expenses. Other tricks employed in committing financial fraud include understatement of expenses and liabilities,

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting Research Paper

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting - Research Paper Example financial reporting process, and also put into doubt the role played by management, regulators, auditors, and analysts in preventing accounting fraud. Businesses employ deceptive or fraudulent accounting practices such as creative accounting to match the expectations. Accounting fraud refers to an intentional and inappropriate falsification of a company’s accounting records such as the stating of sales revenue and/or expenses. Accounting fraud is geared towards making a company’s financial performance (operating profit) appear better than it is. The motivation for misrepresentation of accounting records hinges on the profit motive and sourcing a favorable financing and dodging debt obligations. Companies commit accounting fraud through activities such as failing to record prepaid expenses or other incidental assets, failing to show certain classifications of current assets and/ or liabilities, or collapsing both short-term and long-term debt into a single amount (Jones 3). Overstatement of sales revenue is one of the techniques employed in committing accounting fraud. Overstatement of sales arises from activities such as channel stuffing and delaying recording of products returned by clients. This is directed at avoiding recognition of those offsets against sales revenue within the current year. Other means by which businesses commit accounting fraud include under-recording expenses such as depreciation expense. In some instances, businesses fail to record the cost of goods sold expenses in order to make gross margins appear higher (Rezaee and Riley 82). Similarly, accounting fraud occurs when a business fails to state asset losses that ordinarily should be identified such as uncollectible accounts receivable or not writing down inventory under the lower of cost or market rule. In addition, a business may fail to record the full amount of liability for an expense. Accounting fraud may also feature abuse of corporate funds and overstating of the co rporate assets (Tirole 300). Creative Accounting Creative accounting (aggressive accounting) details accounting practices that are not necessarily considered illegal, but which are potentially misleading to investors and considered as unethical, regardless of the fact that the strategy is well within the letter of the law (Shah, Butt and Tariq 531). The resultant financial statements do not reflect the â€Å"true and fair† view of the company accounts. For instance, a firm may want to paint a perception that it is financially stronger whereas it has achieved little or no growth at all. Most businesses use creative accounting to enhance desire for stock issued so as to drive up the value of the shares and amass benefits to the business. Examples of creative accounting include off balance sheet financing, overoptimistic revenue recognition or application of overstated nonrecurring items. Motivations for Accounting Fraud The prominent cited motivations for accounting fraud encom pass the urge to meet internal or external earnings expectations. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal an entity’s deteriorating financial condition. In addition, financial fraud is motivated by the need to raise a company’s stock price as well as the urge to bolster a company’s financial performance owing to a pending equity or debt financing. Similarly, accountants engage in financial fraud so as to enhance management compensation based on financial results. The two most common techniques employed in fraudulently misstating the financial statements encompass improper revenue recognition and asset overstatements, primarily by overvaluing the present assets or capitalizing expenses. Other tricks employed in committing financial fraud include understatement of expenses and liabilities,

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting Research Paper

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting - Research Paper Example financial reporting process, and also put into doubt the role played by management, regulators, auditors, and analysts in preventing accounting fraud. Businesses employ deceptive or fraudulent accounting practices such as creative accounting to match the expectations. Accounting fraud refers to an intentional and inappropriate falsification of a company’s accounting records such as the stating of sales revenue and/or expenses. Accounting fraud is geared towards making a company’s financial performance (operating profit) appear better than it is. The motivation for misrepresentation of accounting records hinges on the profit motive and sourcing a favorable financing and dodging debt obligations. Companies commit accounting fraud through activities such as failing to record prepaid expenses or other incidental assets, failing to show certain classifications of current assets and/ or liabilities, or collapsing both short-term and long-term debt into a single amount (Jones 3). Overstatement of sales revenue is one of the techniques employed in committing accounting fraud. Overstatement of sales arises from activities such as channel stuffing and delaying recording of products returned by clients. This is directed at avoiding recognition of those offsets against sales revenue within the current year. Other means by which businesses commit accounting fraud include under-recording expenses such as depreciation expense. In some instances, businesses fail to record the cost of goods sold expenses in order to make gross margins appear higher (Rezaee and Riley 82). Similarly, accounting fraud occurs when a business fails to state asset losses that ordinarily should be identified such as uncollectible accounts receivable or not writing down inventory under the lower of cost or market rule. In addition, a business may fail to record the full amount of liability for an expense. Accounting fraud may also feature abuse of corporate funds and overstating of the co rporate assets (Tirole 300). Creative Accounting Creative accounting (aggressive accounting) details accounting practices that are not necessarily considered illegal, but which are potentially misleading to investors and considered as unethical, regardless of the fact that the strategy is well within the letter of the law (Shah, Butt and Tariq 531). The resultant financial statements do not reflect the â€Å"true and fair† view of the company accounts. For instance, a firm may want to paint a perception that it is financially stronger whereas it has achieved little or no growth at all. Most businesses use creative accounting to enhance desire for stock issued so as to drive up the value of the shares and amass benefits to the business. Examples of creative accounting include off balance sheet financing, overoptimistic revenue recognition or application of overstated nonrecurring items. Motivations for Accounting Fraud The prominent cited motivations for accounting fraud encom pass the urge to meet internal or external earnings expectations. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal an entity’s deteriorating financial condition. In addition, financial fraud is motivated by the need to raise a company’s stock price as well as the urge to bolster a company’s financial performance owing to a pending equity or debt financing. Similarly, accountants engage in financial fraud so as to enhance management compensation based on financial results. The two most common techniques employed in fraudulently misstating the financial statements encompass improper revenue recognition and asset overstatements, primarily by overvaluing the present assets or capitalizing expenses. Other tricks employed in committing financial fraud include understatement of expenses and liabilities,

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting Research Paper

Accounting Fraud, Earnings Manipulation, and Creative Accounting - Research Paper Example financial reporting process, and also put into doubt the role played by management, regulators, auditors, and analysts in preventing accounting fraud. Businesses employ deceptive or fraudulent accounting practices such as creative accounting to match the expectations. Accounting fraud refers to an intentional and inappropriate falsification of a company’s accounting records such as the stating of sales revenue and/or expenses. Accounting fraud is geared towards making a company’s financial performance (operating profit) appear better than it is. The motivation for misrepresentation of accounting records hinges on the profit motive and sourcing a favorable financing and dodging debt obligations. Companies commit accounting fraud through activities such as failing to record prepaid expenses or other incidental assets, failing to show certain classifications of current assets and/ or liabilities, or collapsing both short-term and long-term debt into a single amount (Jones 3). Overstatement of sales revenue is one of the techniques employed in committing accounting fraud. Overstatement of sales arises from activities such as channel stuffing and delaying recording of products returned by clients. This is directed at avoiding recognition of those offsets against sales revenue within the current year. Other means by which businesses commit accounting fraud include under-recording expenses such as depreciation expense. In some instances, businesses fail to record the cost of goods sold expenses in order to make gross margins appear higher (Rezaee and Riley 82). Similarly, accounting fraud occurs when a business fails to state asset losses that ordinarily should be identified such as uncollectible accounts receivable or not writing down inventory under the lower of cost or market rule. In addition, a business may fail to record the full amount of liability for an expense. Accounting fraud may also feature abuse of corporate funds and overstating of the co rporate assets (Tirole 300). Creative Accounting Creative accounting (aggressive accounting) details accounting practices that are not necessarily considered illegal, but which are potentially misleading to investors and considered as unethical, regardless of the fact that the strategy is well within the letter of the law (Shah, Butt and Tariq 531). The resultant financial statements do not reflect the â€Å"true and fair† view of the company accounts. For instance, a firm may want to paint a perception that it is financially stronger whereas it has achieved little or no growth at all. Most businesses use creative accounting to enhance desire for stock issued so as to drive up the value of the shares and amass benefits to the business. Examples of creative accounting include off balance sheet financing, overoptimistic revenue recognition or application of overstated nonrecurring items. Motivations for Accounting Fraud The prominent cited motivations for accounting fraud encom pass the urge to meet internal or external earnings expectations. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal an entity’s deteriorating financial condition. In addition, financial fraud is motivated by the need to raise a company’s stock price as well as the urge to bolster a company’s financial performance owing to a pending equity or debt financing. Similarly, accountants engage in financial fraud so as to enhance management compensation based on financial results. The two most common techniques employed in fraudulently misstating the financial statements encompass improper revenue recognition and asset overstatements, primarily by overvaluing the present assets or capitalizing expenses. Other tricks employed in committing financial fraud include understatement of expenses and liabilities,

Education Development System in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Education Development System in the USA - Essay Example According to a study of NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), the students of suburban and rural areas of Northeastern and Midwestern districts of the USA possess equivalent knowledge in TIMSS (Third International Math and Science Studies) at par with the students of highest scoring districts in the USA (Flanagan and Grissmer, 2002). However, certain urban areas of the USA perform similarly as third world countries (Harris & Chrispeels, 2006). The USA is known as the most diverse nation internationally as it has variety of contributions, procedures and yields regarding educational issues. Another major feature of the USA’s educational system is the inclination to embrace variety of change attempts for development of education (Flanagan and Grissmer, 2002). a) Early History There is difference in the education system of America with other countries in the sense that in America the education is the primary duty of state and that of individual schools. The formal ed ucational system in the USA was established in 19th century. At that time, an American leader named Jefferson had recommended for establishing the public school system. In the 18th century, the private school system became standard form of education. The education system was primarily religious. According to Jefferson, the education ought to be directed by the government and must be free from religious preconception. He thought that the education should be available to each person without concerning the class in the society. Besides Jefferson there are other leaders who provided an undertaking for government educational system were Benjamin Rush, George Washington, Robert Coram and Noah... According tp the report several countries had conducted studies for evaluating the impact of adaptation of SFA in the schools. In countries such as Canada and England minor alteration has been made to adapt the SFA program in schools in contrast to Mexico, Israel and Australia where major alterations has been made to adapt the SFA program. With respect to schooling there are two diverse perceptions: one is ‘anthropologists’ and the other one is ‘institutionalists’. The anthropologist focuses on state dissimilarity and variation from region to region. On the other hand, the institutionalists argued on the dissimilarity view of anthropologists and said that many schools all over the world are becoming alike with time. Every school is slowly taking the same educational structure. The world culture theorists are greatly aware about the changes that happened in the educational institutions, regional schools and local classrooms. The innovation in the educational system cannot be overlooked. This paper comes to the conclusion that the anthropologists must realize that the culture theory has great significance for education. The researchers must not mislead others and themselves by ignoring the real picture as well as the reformers also should be careful about the new educational system. The reformers must not ignore the international education structure. The researchers who are ignorant of the international models underneath the prevailing diverseness in local perspective are merely playing with the outside of educational reform.

Microtubules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microtubules - Essay Example Microtubules Again, these mechanisms need further exploration but the existing understanding is that reorganization of F-actin causes destabilization of transinteraction between TJ and AJ proteins of the adjacent epithelial cells and in turn initiate AJC internalization. Microtubules, which are also an important element of intracellular cytoskeleton have also been found to be closely related to the cell movement as a whole or any intracellular structure formation like, vesiscles and their movement. Data support the abundance of microtubules in differentiated renal and intestinal cells and depolymerization of microtubules leading to disruption of the integrity of TJs and Ajs in some tissues like lungs. This evidence led the author to explore the role of microtubules depolymerization in the disruptions of apical junction complex. Existing evidence strongly support the role of microtubules depolymerization in the disruption of intercellular connections like tight junctions and adherens junction in various tissues and helps in the pathogenesis of various disease processes. In this regard it has been shown that the endothelial intercellular junctions are also disassembled as well as others like in the brain. Building a rationale on the basis of these data, author formulated a hypothesis: ‘microtubules are involved in the disruption of apical junctions in simple epithelial cells’.... 'Disassembly of the AJC in calcium depleted SK-CO-15 cells is dependent on microtubule integrity;' 'Inhibition or attenuation of AJC disassembly by microtubule stabilization would indicate the role for dynamic microtubules in the process;' 'Polarity of perijunctional microtubules would dictate the type of microtubule motor which is involved in disassembly and internalization of the AJC.' To test these hypotheses, the author carried out a research study where a number of experimental activities were carried out, like: use of antibodies for the detection of intercellular junctions, while microtubules were detected by immunoflurescence labeling and Western Blotting. Cell culture was used was SK-CO-15, which is a transformed human colonic epithelial cell line. To make the medium free from Ca++, the monolayers of epithelium were washed with calcium free-Eagle's minimum essential medium for suspension culture. Pharmacological agents utilized were; nocodazole; docetaxel and pacitaxel; adenylimidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP) and aurintriccarboxyylic acid (ATA). Major findings Through this experiment, the author has been able to demonstrate the role of microtubules depolymerization in the disassembly of junctional complexes through a variety of experimental evidence. Disassembly of the AJC in calcium depleted SK-CO-15 cells To answer the research question related to first sub-hypothesis, the findings have been: At normal Ca++ concentrations, depolymerized microtubules with nocodazole TJ and AJ proteins were found to be located at the cell-cell contacts, reflecting chicken-wire staining pattern while in the environment with depletion of Ca++ for one hour the result was disruption of AJs and TJs with accumulation of e-cadherin, occluding and ZO-1 in

Outsourcing Software Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Outsourcing Software Development - Essay Example Faster work pace: Companies, relying on outsourcing software development, may be able to develop and deploy software applications faster than they would if developed locally because the cost savings enable them to employ bigger teams with lesser cost, which speeds up the process. High demand short term phases: When larger quantities of resources are needed for relatively short bursts, it is easier to outsource it than go through the process of hiring and then firing or finding personnel to do contract work. India's advantage: Thanks to its long tradition in offshore software development, a high percentage of English literate population and the availability of high level IT education, India is a popular choice for outsourcing software development. It also commands growing infrastructure and very competitive rates of software development. Vendor characteristics: Picking the right vendor is crucial. Ability of the vendor to deliver, history and integrity of the vendor, financial background and quality of service are all determined by choosing the right vendor in order to arrive at the benefits. An incapable vendor is often unable to deliver and may cause more problems than solutions. Managing the project: Often the hidden costs of managing the project are overlooked. This is a necessity to monitor the vendor and make sure milestones are met. In addition cost of communication and connectivity as well as training need to be factored and this will all add up bit by bit. Communication gaps: Cultural differences, time zone differences and work ethics often lead to communication gaps and misunderstanding project deliverables. These cause costly errors and failure to meet expectations that defeats the purpose of outsourcing. Transparency : Vendors often have the opportunity to manipulate the Time and Materials contracts, state the usage of more resources than actually used, add more hours logged than actual etc. trying to bump up revenues thereby taking away the cost advantage of the companies that outsource. Lower quality of end product: This may be the direct result of a high attrition rate in the vendor company, high employee rotation in the project and lack of continuity among the vendor resources. All these will result in loss of technical expertise resulting in poor output quality. Data security: Cultural differences and lack of strict standards governing Intellectual property rights often result in data piracy and safety breaches. If the vendor breaches statutory laws, without the company knowing they are still is held responsible for the violations. Much of these risks can be mitigated by executing due diligence to the research before the work is outsourced. Choosing the right experienced vendor ensures half of the success of the project. Asking earlier clients about satisfaction of qualitative timely deliverables. Choose a certified vendor with ISO 2000 or CMM level certification that assures a minimum quality level in

Casual Reasoning & Science and Hypothesis Essay

Casual Reasoning & Science and Hypothesis - Essay Example The need of oxygen for fire is sufficient condition and that cannot be blamed for the disaster caused for the fire. The conditions prevailing and which are necessary sometimes act as the sufficient condition. Though not necessary some conditions act as sufficient conditions in negative manner. Smoking cigarette causes Cancer is one such instance. It does not mean that not smoking cigarette will prevent cancer. Similarly the different types of causes will come before us in certain circumstances. They can be termed as remote and proximate causes. The remote cause is the cause for proximate one. Actually the final proximate is the effect and the penultimate proximate is the cause for the final. The penultimate proximate is the effect when the more remote one is considered as cause. For instance, A causes B, B causes C, C causes D. Then D is the effect of cause C and C is the effect of cause B. A is remote than B, B is remote than C and vice versa. Whether it is in everyday life or science the use of cause giving effect proposes a theory. We believe it when cause results in effect and we do not believe it if it fails to bring the effect. The assertion of universal proposition through a particular observation is inductive generalization. But when more than one attributes were present for more than one phenomenon then we take the help of analogy. When we are confirming a causal law with enumeration then it was done by number of analogies. Thus the criteria of analogical arguments apply to enumeration also; like in the case of blue litmus paper turning red when dipped in the acid. At times the enumeration is used to establish causal law in history. This can make us go unnoticing the negative aspects of those analogies. But the advance in learning gave rise to inductive procedures. It developed and depends upon: This helps in reducing the method of enumerating in conforming the effect. If ABCD cause WXYZ and AEFG

Outsourcing Software Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Outsourcing Software Development - Essay Example Faster work pace: Companies, relying on outsourcing software development, may be able to develop and deploy software applications faster than they would if developed locally because the cost savings enable them to employ bigger teams with lesser cost, which speeds up the process. High demand short term phases: When larger quantities of resources are needed for relatively short bursts, it is easier to outsource it than go through the process of hiring and then firing or finding personnel to do contract work. India's advantage: Thanks to its long tradition in offshore software development, a high percentage of English literate population and the availability of high level IT education, India is a popular choice for outsourcing software development. It also commands growing infrastructure and very competitive rates of software development. Vendor characteristics: Picking the right vendor is crucial. Ability of the vendor to deliver, history and integrity of the vendor, financial background and quality of service are all determined by choosing the right vendor in order to arrive at the benefits. An incapable vendor is often unable to deliver and may cause more problems than solutions. Managing the project: Often the hidden costs of managing the project are overlooked. This is a necessity to monitor the vendor and make sure milestones are met. In addition cost of communication and connectivity as well as training need to be factored and this will all add up bit by bit. Communication gaps: Cultural differences, time zone differences and work ethics often lead to communication gaps and misunderstanding project deliverables. These cause costly errors and failure to meet expectations that defeats the purpose of outsourcing. Transparency : Vendors often have the opportunity to manipulate the Time and Materials contracts, state the usage of more resources than actually used, add more hours logged than actual etc. trying to bump up revenues thereby taking away the cost advantage of the companies that outsource. Lower quality of end product: This may be the direct result of a high attrition rate in the vendor company, high employee rotation in the project and lack of continuity among the vendor resources. All these will result in loss of technical expertise resulting in poor output quality. Data security: Cultural differences and lack of strict standards governing Intellectual property rights often result in data piracy and safety breaches. If the vendor breaches statutory laws, without the company knowing they are still is held responsible for the violations. Much of these risks can be mitigated by executing due diligence to the research before the work is outsourced. Choosing the right experienced vendor ensures half of the success of the project. Asking earlier clients about satisfaction of qualitative timely deliverables. Choose a certified vendor with ISO 2000 or CMM level certification that assures a minimum quality level in

Emergency Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emergency Management - Assignment Example It is essential for National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to develop a strategic partnership with other stakeholders and implement proactive approaches to emergency management (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). Emergency managers should coordinate with other Federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and National Weather Service in disaster preparedness. I have noticed that safeguarding the critical infrastructures like the highways, buildings, and seaports is not enough since Emergency Management efforts should focus on hazard identification, and land use planning (Virginia Department of Emergency Management, 2007). I have understood that emergency managers should save and protect lives in case of disasters, mitigate damage on physical property and environment, coordinate communications through incident command system (ICS) and provide essential services to the victims (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). I have also lear ned that Emergency Operations Center should involve members from different skills background such as fire services, search and rescue operations, transportation, medical services, and relief support and information technology in order to coordinate the communications and operations. My respondents suggested several skills that Emergency Managers that are critical. For instance, some mentioned that emergency managers should have specialized skills in disaster identification and assessment. I acknowledge that is a critical skill in modern emergency management since prior hazard identification, mitigation and preparedness will be capable of reducing the impact and damage to property and loss of lives. I believe that the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast oil spills would be minimal if the emergency management departments had foreseen the disasters.

Macbeth English CW Essay Example for Free

Macbeth English CW Essay Malcolm calls Macbeth and Lady Macbeth this dead butcher and his fiend like queen, (Act 5, Scene 9, Line 36). Do you think that Lady Macbeth has any redeeming qualities? In this essay I will try to show that Lady Macbeth, although she is evil, does have some redeeming qualities. I think that Lady Macbeth does have redeeming qualities and that she shows these at different points throughout the play. I think that we can see Lady Macbeth as a different person because we see what happens at points when Malcolm doesnt. We know that Lady Macbeth was not responsible for the killing of Banquo and The thane of Fifes wife and children. However, there is ambiguity over the question of whether Lady Macbeth is a witch or not. In these times a witch could have been identified by her ability to predict the future, fly, sail in sieves, bring on night in daytime and their damned spot. This is a supposed red mark on a witchs body from where the devil has supposedly sucked blood. In act 1, scene 5 she says: Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull Of direst cruelty This suggests that she wants evil spirits to take over to allow her to do what needs to happen. This makes us think that she may be a witch. In Elizabethan times people were quite scared of witches and King James, the king at the time, was especially fascinated by witches. In act 1, scene 5 Lady Macbeth seems very pleased to receive Macbeths letter but we see her say that she doesnt think that Macbeth will be brave enough to murder Duncan for the crown. We also see that she is ambitious and ruthless when she says: And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, But she appears to be ambitious for her husband and not for herself. I think that this is a redeeming quality as she just wants to help her husband, as she doesnt think he will go through with it because he is not tough enough. This seems fiend like as to suggest to kill a king is awful, made even worse by the fact that he will be sleeping and unarmed. A soldier would only consider killing and armed man, in battle morally right but to kill a guest is morally wrong. This is also regicide, and Shakespeare was taking a big risk putting such a controversial thing into one of his plays. I think that Lady Macbeth might horrify the audience with her language here especially when she says: Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal. I think that the audience would have been particularly shocked with the words metaphysical aid as these are supernatural forces. I think that the audience would have been shocked further when Lady Macbeth says: Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull Of direst cruelty Here Lady Macbeth calls to the evil spirits and asks them to full her with cruelty. This would have suggested that she either was a witch or wanted to become a witch. For the audience at this time this would have been horrifying. The words that Shakespeare uses suggest that Lady Macbeths head is full of thoughts of becoming queen, especially when she says, crown. Also the alliteration in the phrase, to the toe topfull, stresses the t sounds and stresses the syllables of topfull. Then Shakespeare uses soft s sounds, which sound like hissing, suggest Lady Macbeths association with evil. The association with evil comes from the story of Adam and Eve. In the Bible Adam and Eve are tempted by a snake to take an apple from the tree. This snake was in fact the devil and this therefore associates a snake (or hissing sounds) with the devil and evil. I dont think that Macbeths and Lady Macbeths relationship is conventional for the time as she seems to have a more male role. She seems stronger than Macbeth and in a way seems to have a power over him. She hasnt even spoken to him yet and she has already decided what the plan of action is going to be in order for him to become king. In Act 1, Scene 6, we see Lady Macbeth welcoming Duncan to her house. In this scene she plays the role of the hostess and seems to be extremely evil in this scene. We have just seen her telling Macbeth about the plan to kill Duncan and now she is being really nice to Duncan. This will cause the audience to dislike her as we can see that she is obviously not a very nice person. This shows her as being really two faced and insincere towards Duncan. She is being, as she tells Macbeth to be later on, the innocent flower but the serpent underneath. In Act 1, Scene 7, we see Macbeth talking to himself and saying that he has no motives or good reasons to kill Duncan. But then Lady Macbeth comes in and uses blackmail and she taunts him to get him to go through with this, and to get her own way. When you durst do it, then you were a man. And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man. This suggest that Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is a coward and therefore not a man. This is fiend like as she is blackmailing Macbeth into doing it. She is telling him he is not a man, and to be unmanned was a bad thing in Elizabethan times. Lady Macbeth, therefore, looks like she is very responsible for Duncans death as it wouldnt have even happened if Lady Macbeth hadnt persuaded Macbeth to do it. In this scene Macbeth appears to be weak and not the dominant person in this relationship. Also she doesnt appear to show any recognition that what she is doing is so wrong. I think that Lady Macbeth would shock the audience when she says that she would rather kill her own child than break such a promise as this one. I have given suck and know How tender tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn This also shoes Lady Macbeths fiend like qualities. This statement would have shocked the audience greatly. She says that she would kill her own baby while it was smiling at her while she was breast feeding it if she had sworn to do so. This is a shocking statement and I think it would have shocked anyone. This truly shows how evil she is. This statement also raises another point of ambiguity. Lady Macbeth says, I have given suck This suggests that she has had a baby but there appears to be no child now. This raises the question of where the child is or if it is even alive. In Act 2, Scene 2 Lady Macbeth appears to have a few redeeming qualities. The fact that she has had to have a drink because she isnt feeling brave is a redeeming quality. Also the fact that her thought are flicking around shows her tension and suggests that she is not as impenetrably ruthless as she seems. He is about it. The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. This is another redeeming quality as it may shows her feeling guilty. Also when she says: Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had donet. This shows that she does have compassion as she couldnt kill someone who looked like her father. Also in this scene when Macbeth comes back from killing Duncan, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a frantic, disjointed conversation while Macbeth is holding the daggers. This conversation last for thirty seven lines and it is only on the last line that Lady Macbeth realises that Macbeth is still holding the daggers. This shows how panic stricken they are and how neither is thinking clearly. This is a redeeming quality as this suggests that Lady Macbeth feels guilty and worried. In Act 2, Scene 3, Lady Macbeth faints when she hears that Duncan has been murdered. This is ambiguous as we dont know if she is actually fainting or whether she is trying to cover up the situation. However this point is ambiguous as there are a number of reasons for why she might have fainted. She could be surprised (or even dismayed) that Macbeth is acting on his own or she might be shocked at Macbeths rashness when he kills the guards. Another point is that she might genuinely be upset at Macbeths gory description, as she said that Duncan reminded her of her father. The story which is probably more likely is that she is trying to draw attention away from the fact that Macbeth killed the guards to stop him from looking so guilty. This shows how evil she is. She doesnt want people to focus on it too much and she also doesnt want to be blamed. In Act 3, Scene 2, we see that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have drifted apart ad become more distant. Macbeth has become more independent as well. We see this when we see that Macbeth has made plans to kill Banquo, but Lady Macbeth is not involved. This is a redeeming quality as we see that Lady Macbeth has nothing to do with this murder, only they murder of Duncan which was to help her husband anyway. She seems to be affected by this as she asks him what will happen, Whats to be done?, but Macbeth wont tell her. In Act 3, Scene 4, we see the banquet held by Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems to be different at the start of this scene as Macbeth says, our hostess keeps her state. These suggest that Lady Macbeth is sitting quietly, away from everyone else. This shows that she is not acting like the conventional hostess. This also ambiguous and suggests that Lady Macbeth may have begun to lose her mind already or she may be feeling isolated as she and Macbeth have drift apart. This could also shows that she is feeling guilty which is a redeeming quality. However, as soon as Macbeth leaves the feast Lady Macbeth goes after him to remind him that he mustnt leave and that he needs to go and be the host. When Macbeth starts to see Banquo and behave weirdly, Lady Macbeth covers up for him but tells him to stop being stupid and entertain the guests. You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting With most admired disorder. Here she is scorning Macbeth for ruining the banquet and drawing attention to himself. Lady Macbeth does not seem to feel guilty in this scene but she does seem afraid. I dont think that she shows signs of feeling in this scene as she still blackmails and taunts Macbeth to get him to sit down and act as though everything is normal. Act 5, Scene 1 is the last scene that we see with Lady Macbeth in it. I think that Shakespeare uses the sleepwalking in this scene so that all can be revealed by Lady Macbeth to another character. I think that in this scene we begin to feel sorry for Lady Macbeth and I think that she has some redeeming qualities in this scene. One is that she acknowledges that she has done something wrong. What will these hands neer be clean? This shows that she thinks she has blood on her hands and she wants then to be clean. She obviously feels guilty as she is having nightmares about it all. Also in this scene Lady Macbeth begins to speak in prose. Shakespeare always makes his main characters speak in verse but Lady Macbeth no longer speaks in verse. This shows that she is mad and is no longer important to the play. Also I think another redeeming quality is that she seems to feel responsible for all the deaths throughout the play, even tough she was only really responsible for one of the deaths, Duncans. I think that in this scene we begin to feel sorry for Lady Macbeth and like her a bit more. This scene shows that she does have redeeming qualities and that she isnt completely evil. I dont think that lady Macbeth is a fiend like queen. I think she is evil but has many redeeming qualities which make her seem a lot better as you go through the play. I also think that the fact that we see more of Lady Macbeth than Malcolm does mean we have the opportunity to see these redeeming qualities whereas Malcolm might not. I think that the moral of this play is dont kill the king. It is not honourable or good and it will come back to haunt you.

1914-1995 :: essays research papers

Benchmark D: Connect developments related to World War I with the onset of World War II.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grade Nine   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20th Century Conflict  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analyze the causes and effects of World War I with emphasis on: a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Militarism, imperialism, nationalism, and alliances; b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The global scope, outcomes and human costs of the war; c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The role of new technologies and practices including the use of poison gas, trench warfare, machine guns, airplanes, submarines and tanks; d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. World War I was triggered by the archduke and archduchess of Austria-Hungry. The assassination triggered alliances and declarations of war between European nations. The mix of militarism (which meant that the European countries were cocky because of so many new weapons and technological advances and thought they could not lose), Nationalism (which is extreme pride in a group’s country), Imperialism (when countries wanted to expand there power), and Alliances (agreements between countries saying that they have there back). The main fighting happened at the western front and the eastern front. The western front consisted of France, Belgium, and Netherlands. The Eastern front consisted of Prussia, Poland, and Russia. There has been numbers suggesting that there were as much as 8 million military deaths and 6.6 million civilian deaths. The approximate cost in today’s money is about $2.8 trillion. As I mentioned in the beginning the new technology and tactics made countries cocky, these new weapons and tactics also hurt countries too. A perfect example is trench warfare. Trench warfare caused many people to die because of the many dieses that were consumed by the soldiers from being in them for so long. The machines guns were newly created and many did not understand the workings of such weapons. There were allies and central powers, the allies consisted of Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy, and the U.S. The Central powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ottoman Empire/Turkey. On November 11, 1918 the Treaty of Versailles was signed and ended the war. The Treaty of Versailles caused many penalties on the central powers, which in part would help lead to World War II. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analyze the causes and consequences of the Russian Revolution including: a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The lack of economic, political and social reforms under the tsars; b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The impact of World War 1; c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The emergence of Lenin, Stalin and the Bolsheviks; d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rise of communism in Russia. In 1917 Russia had a revolution that changed the relations that Russia and the U.S. had. When WWI began the king of Russia, Nicholas the II put lots of money into the war.

The United States Should Leave Iraq Essay -- Iraq War Terrorism Violen

The United States Should Leave Iraq The United States is in a tough situation. This country has gone to war without the UN's approval, and now has more casualties than when the war 'officially' ended. Now, the war could cost taxpayers $87 billion dollars, and more if the war drags on. The situation is at the critical point. If the Bush Administration does not leave Iraq, we will lose thousands of troops, spend billions sending more troops to Iraq, and we will lose the faith of the international community. This war will have larger repercussions than the casualties occurring every day. If the Bush Administration gets the $87 billion dollars to pay for Iraq's reconstruction it has asked for, the country's economy is not likely to recover. To add to this problem, the administration has also asked for a $400 billion dollar tax cut. That's almost $500 billion dollars being spent during an economic recession. The choice of going to Iraq may have looked sound in the administration?s short-term thinking, and the administration may have thought that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the future effects of this war will be disastrous. The administration?s reasoning seemed rational at the time; but we will be paying for this war long after it is over, simply because it was so ill-conceived. The reason that the American people were given for going to war was false in the first place. In his 2003 State of the Union address, George Bush stated that, "Evidence fr...

Essay on ”Race, Class, Violence and Denial: Mass Murder and the Pathologies of Privilege” by Tim Wise Essay

Often when racial inequality and discrimination is being discussed, we get to think of terms such as â€Å"white privilege† and American history with the Civil Rights Act in 1964. But we think of it, mainly as history. And that, according to Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist and American writer, is the biggest self-deception of the modern American world. Throughout an article posted on his own webpage, concerning school shootings, Tim Wise discusses the general American attitude towards this relatively new phenomenon in American society. With the use of especially pathos Wise argues that the most concerning thing about these events is how society is handling them afterwards. The problem is, according to Wise, that white people tell themselves ‘white lies’, and therefore never think that such actions could be taking place in their communities. He claims that there’s a reason why this happens in the outwardly ordinary societies. It’s because the people, trying to maintain at certain surface of innocence, refuse to see the signs of trouble, even when it’s going on before their very eyes. He wants us to take responsibility and stop excluding some parts of society from the â€Å"danger-zone† just because they look bucolic and normal on the outside and almost in the form of a provocative scolding he explains what damages these ‘white lies’ can do – not only to people of color, but to white people as well. Tim Wise wrote this article 3 days after the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, where the 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot 20 pupils and 6 staff members. Without any further explanation Wise starts out his article, and from the very beginning he makes sure that the reader is attentive: â€Å"The senselessness alone would have been sufficient†(p.8 l. 7). We immediately sense the dramatic tone just as we also quite quickly understand the author’s profound personal concern about this issue. The title indicates what is to come; yet it is not very specific and it does not deal with school shootings as an issue at all. It gives us an idea of the author’s personal fight against racism which is also reflected in the article and probably all of his writing. Wise uses heavy vocabulary in the title and he continues to do so in the rest of the article. His ethos is strengthened by his use of language. The language is rather difficult, and the fact that he leaves out almost all explanatory references, â€Å"For the right, it’s the culture of poverty, or perhaps some specific aspect of â€Å"black culture†(†¦)(p.11.l138) shows that he expects his readers to have a certain amount of knowledge about politics and society. Even though the language contains many complex sentences and has many intellectual references, it still maintains a natural and easy-to-read flow. As mentioned before, he uses pathos a lot in his argumentation. When attempting to persuade the reader, he is mainly focusing his arguments on emotions. But he is no pleaser, though. He tries to speak to our guilty conscience, and it becomes clear which reaction he wants. â€Å"There is dysfunction and pathology and general awfulness where some of the beautiful people too reside? Yes precious, yes indeed.†(p.9 ll.47-48) His tone is extremely provocative and ironic, but we never doubt the seriousness of this matter to him. Actually this only indicates the importance of the subject and the author’s character appears very passionate. Maybe to the extent that he fails to remain objective – but then again, was that ever his purpose? His use of irony gives him more options too. It makes it easier for the reader to accept some of his quite exaggerated statements. The fact that the article is published on Wise’s own webpage called: www.timwise.org is quite crucial to the way it appears. The author has created the webpage for himself and the purpose of it is to be the platform for his views on different matters. The ones who visit his webpage and read his articles have this in mind from the beginning. Also they must be interested in him in some way or another. His main claim, that the school shootings is a result of the surroundings, works absolutely fine. When he refers to the general weapon availability in the United States, he backs up his ground with facts for the first time in his article, â€Å"(†¦)we should know by now that with 280 million guns in circulation, they can’t all be tucked into the waistbands of young black men who reside somewhere else(†¦)(s.9 ll.61-62) He is surprised that people act surprised. Also, he criticizes white people for thinking that the only ones who can’t control weapons are the poor and colored ones. He uses the topic â€Å"School shootings† to raise a debate about a still ongoing racial discrimination in the US. It seems intelligent of him to choose this topic, since the horror of it is something almost everyone more or less agree on, since it is something everyone wants to end. He claims that the only way to ever set a stop to this madness is for the communities to take responsibility. All these arguments connect in a fine way, but his use of rebuttal does almost not exist. If the article had been for at newspaper or anything else with more critical readers of more dissimilar opinions, he would need that to seem less subjective. Wise has a clear purpose with this article. And at most points, he succeeds in persuading the reader. He wants us to wake up. He wants society to wake up from its conscious sleep and take some responsibility. So, who are the enemies? And who can be the heroes? According to Tim Wise we as a society plays both of the parts.