Monday, September 30, 2019

The Host Chapter 47: Employed

This is too easy. It's not really even fun anymore,† Kyle complained. â€Å"You wanted to come,† Ian reminded him. He and Ian were in the windowless back of the van, sorting through the nonperishable groceries and toiletries I'd just collected from the store. It was the middle of the day, and the sun was shining on Wichita. It was not as hot as the Arizona desert, but it was more humid. The air swarmed with tiny flying bugs. Jared drove toward the highway out of town, carefully keeping below the speed limit. This continued to irritate him. â€Å"Getting tired of shopping yet, Wanda?† Ian asked me. â€Å"No. I don't mind it.† â€Å"You always say that. Isn't there anything you mind?† â€Å"I mind†¦ being away from Jamie. And I mind being outside, a little bit. During the day especially. It's like the opposite of claustrophobia. Everything is too open. Does that bother you, too?† â€Å"Sometimes. We don't go out during the day much.† â€Å"At least she gets to stretch her legs,† Kyle muttered. â€Å"I don't know why you want to hear her complain.† â€Å"Because it's so uncommon. Which makes it a nice change from listening to you complain.† I tuned them out. Once Ian and Kyle got started, they usually went on for a while. I consulted the map. † Oklahoma City next?† I asked Jared. â€Å"And a few small towns on the way, if you're up for it,† he answered, eyes on the road. â€Å"I am.† Jared rarely lost his focus when on a raid. He didn't relax into relieved banter the way Ian and Kyle did every time I completed another mission successfully. It made me smile when they used that word-mission. That sounded so formidable. In reality, it was just a trip to the store. Just like I'd done a hundred times in San Diego when I was only feeding myself. Like Kyle said, it was too easy to provide any excitement. I pushed my cart up and down the aisles. I smiled at the souls who smiled at me, and I filled my cart with things that would last. I usually grabbed a few things that wouldn't, for the men hiding in the back of the van. Premade sandwiches from the deli-things like that for our meals. And maybe a treat or two. Ian had a fondness for mint chocolate chip ice cream. Kyle liked caramel sweets best. Jared ate anything he was offered; it seemed as if he'd given up favorites many years before, embracing a life where wants were unwelcome and even needs were carefully assessed before they were met. Another reason he was good at this life-he saw priorities uncontaminated by personal desire. Occasionally, in the smaller towns, someone would notice me, would speak to me. I had my lines down so well that I could probably have fooled a human by this point. â€Å"Hi there. New in town?† â€Å"Yes. Brand-new.† â€Å"What brings you to Byers?† I was always careful to check the map before I left the van, so the town's name would be familiar. â€Å"My partner travels a lot. He's a photographer.† â€Å"How wonderful! An Artist. Well, there's certainly a lot of beautiful land around here.† Originally, I'd been the Artist. But I'd found that throwing in the information that I was already partnered saved me some time when I was speaking to males. â€Å"Thank you so much for your help.† â€Å"You're very welcome. Come back soon.† I'd only had to speak to a pharmacist once, in Salt Lake City; after that, I'd known what to look for. A sheepish smile. â€Å"I'm not sure I'm getting the right nutrition. I can't seem to avoid the junk food. This body has such a sweet tooth.† â€Å"You need to be wise, Thousand Petals. I know it's easy to give in to your cravings, but try to think about what you're eating. In the meantime, you should take a supplement.† Health. Such an obvious title on the bottle, it made me feel silly for asking. â€Å"Would you like the ones that taste like strawberries or the ones that taste like chocolate?† â€Å"Could I try both?† And the pleasant soul named Earthborn gave me both of the large bottles. Not very challenging. The only fear or sense of danger I ever felt came when I thought of the small cyanide pill that I always kept in an easily reachable pocket. Just in case. â€Å"You should get new clothes in the next town,† Jared said. â€Å"Again?† â€Å"Those are looking a little creased.† â€Å"Okay,† I agreed. I didn't like the excess, but the steadily growing pile of dirty laundry wouldn't go to waste. Lily and Heidi and Paige were all close to my size, and they would be grateful for something new to wear. The men rarely bothered with things like clothes when they were raiding. Every foray was life-or-death-clothes were not a priority. Nor were the gentle soaps and shampoos that I'd been collecting at every store. â€Å"You should probably clean up, too,† Jared said with a sigh. â€Å"Guess that means a hotel tonight.† Keeping up appearances was not something they'd worried about before. Of course, I was the only one who had to look as if I were a part of civilization from close up. The men wore jeans and dark T-shirts now, things that didn't show dirt or attract attention in the brief moments they might be seen. They all hated sleeping in the roadside inns-succumbing to unconsciousness inside the very mouth of the enemy. It scared them more than anything else we did. Ian said he'd rather charge an armed Seeker. Kyle simply refused. He mostly slept in the van during the day and then sat up at night, acting as sentry. For me, it was as easy as shopping in the stores. I checked us in, made conversation with the clerk. Told the story about my photographer partner and the friend who was traveling with us (just in case someone saw all three of us enter the room). I used generic names from unremarkable planets. Sometimes we were Bats: Word Keeper, Sings the Egg Song, and Sky Roost. Sometimes we were See Weeds: Twisting Eyes, Sees to the Surface, and Second Sunrise. I changed the names every time, not that anyone was trying to trace our path. It just made Melanie feel safer to do that. All this made her feel like a character in a human movie about espionage. The hard part, the part I really minded-not that I would say this in front of Kyle, who was so quick to doubt my intentions-was all the taking without giving anything back. It had never bothered me to shop in San Diego. I took what I needed and nothing more. Then I spent my days at the university giving back to the community by sharing my knowledge. Not a taxing Calling, but one I took seriously. I took my turns at the less-appealing chores. I did my day collecting garbage and cleaning streets. We all did. And now I took so much more and gave nothing in return. It made me feel selfish and wrong. It's not for yourself. It's for others, Mel reminded me when I brooded. It still feels wrong. Even you can feel that, can't you? Don't think about it was her solution. I was glad we were on the homestretch of our long raid. Tomorrow we would visit our growing cache-a moving truck we kept hidden within a day's reach of our path-and clean out the van for the last time. Just a few more cities, a few more days, down through Oklahoma, then New Mexico, and then a straight drive through Arizona with no stops. Home again. At last. When we slept in hotels rather than in the crowded van, we usually checked in after dark and left before dawn to keep the souls from getting a good look at us. Not really necessary. Jared and Ian were beginning to realize that. This night, because we'd had such a successful day-the van was completely full; Kyle would have little space-and because Ian thought I looked tired, we stopped early. The sun had not set when I returned to the van with the plastic key card. The little inn was not very busy. We parked close to our room, and Jared and Ian went straight from the van to the room in a matter of five or six steps, their eyes on the ground. On their necks, small, faint pink lines provided camouflage. Jared carried a half-empty suitcase. No one looked at them or me. Inside, the room-darkening curtains were drawn, and the men relaxed a little bit. Ian lounged on the bed he and Jared would use, and flipped on the TV. Jared put the suitcase on the table, took out our dinner-cooled greasy breaded chicken strips I'd ordered from the deli in the last store-and passed it around. I sat by the window, peeking through the corner at the falling sun as I ate. â€Å"You have to admit, Wanda, we humans had better entertainment,† Ian teased. On the television screen, two souls were speaking their lines clearly, their bodies held with perfect posture. It wasn't hard to pick up what was happening in the story because there wasn't a lot of variety in the scripts souls wrote. In this one, two souls were reconnecting after a long separation. The male's stint with the See Weeds had come between them, but he'd chosen to be human because he guessed his partner from the Mists Planet would be drawn to these warm-blooded hosts. And, miracle of miracles, he'd found her here. They all had happy endings. â€Å"You have to consider the intended audience.† â€Å"True. I wish they'd run old human shows again.† He flipped through the channels and frowned. â€Å"Used to be a few of them on.† â€Å"They were too disturbing. They had to be replaced with things that weren't so†¦ violent.† â€Å"The Brady Bunch?† I laughed. I'd seen that show in San Diego, and Melanie knew it from her childhood. â€Å"It condoned aggression. I remember one where a little male child punched a bully, and that was portrayed as being the right thing to do. There was blood.† Ian shook his head in disbelief but returned to the show with the former See Weed. He laughed at the wrong parts, the parts that were supposed to be touching. I stared out the window, watching something much more interesting than the predictable story on television. Across the two-lane road from the inn was a small park, bordered on one side by a school and on the other by a field where cows grazed. There were a few young trees, and an old-fashioned playground with a sandbox, a slide, a set of monkey bars, and one of those hand-pulled merry-go-rounds. Of course there was a swing set, too, and that was the only equipment being used currently. A little family was taking advantage of the cooler evening air. The father had some silver in his dark hair at the temples; the mother looked many years his junior. Her red brown hair was pulled back in a long ponytail that bobbed when she moved. They had a little boy, no more than a year old. The father pushed the child in the swing from behind, while the mother stood in front, leaning in to kiss his forehead when he swung her way, making him giggle so hard that his chubby little face was bright red. This had her laughing, too-I could see her body shake with it, her hair dancing. â€Å"What are you staring at, Wanda?† Jared's question wasn't anxious, because I was smiling softly at the surprising scene. â€Å"Something I've never seen in all my lives. I'm staring at†¦ hope.† Jared came to stand behind me, peeking out over my shoulder. â€Å"What do you mean?† His eyes swept across the buildings and the road, not pausing on the playing family. I caught his chin and pointed his face in the right direction. He didn't so much as flinch at my unexpected touch, and that gave me a strange jolt of warmth in the pit of my stomach. â€Å"Look,† I said. â€Å"What am I looking at?† â€Å"The only hope for survival I've ever seen for a host species.† â€Å"Where?† he demanded, bewildered. I was aware of Ian close behind us now, listening silently. â€Å"See?† I pointed at the laughing mother. â€Å"See how she loves her human child?† At that moment, the woman snatched her son from the swing and squeezed him in a tight embrace, covering his face with kisses. He cooed and flailed-just a baby. Not the miniature adult he would have been if he carried one of my kind. Jared gasped. â€Å"The baby is human? How? Why? For how long?† I shrugged. â€Å"I've never seen this before-I don't know. She has not given him up for a host. I can't imagine that she would be†¦ forced. Motherhood is all but worshipped among my kind. If she is unwilling†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shook my head. â€Å"I have no idea how that will be handled. This doesn't happen elsewhere. The emotions of these bodies are so much stronger than logic.† I glanced up at Jared and Ian. They were both staring openmouthed at the interspecies family in the park. â€Å"No,† I murmured to myself. â€Å"No one would force the parents if they wanted the child. And just look at them.† The father had his arms around both the mother and the child now. He looked down at his host body's biological son with staggering tenderness in his eyes. â€Å"Aside from ourselves, this is the first planet we've discovered with live births. Yours certainly isn't the easiest or most prolific system. I wonder if that's the difference†¦ or if it's the helplessness of your young. Everywhere else, reproduction is through some form of eggs or seeds. Many parents never even meet their young. I wonder†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I trailed off, my thoughts full of speculation. The mother lifted her face to her partner, and he kissed her lips. The human child crowed with delight. â€Å"Hmm. Perhaps, someday, some of my kind and some of yours will live in peace. Wouldn't that be†¦ strange?† Neither man could tear his eyes from the miracle in front of them. The family was leaving. The mother dusted the sand off her jeans while the father took the boy. Then, holding hands that they swung between them, the souls strolled toward the apartments with their human child. Ian swallowed loudly. We didn't speak for the rest of the evening, all of us made thoughtful by what we'd seen. We went to sleep early, so we could rise early and get back to work. I slept alone, in the bed farthest from the door. This made me uncomfortable. The two big men did not fit easily on the other bed; Ian tended to sprawl when he was deeply asleep, and Jared was not above throwing punches when that happened. Both of them would be more comfortable if I shared. I slept in a small ball now; maybe it was the too-open spaces I moved in all day that had me constricting in on myself at night, or maybe I was just so used to curling up to sleep in the tiny space behind the passenger seat on the van's floor that I'd forgotten how to sleep straight. But I knew why no one asked me to share. The first night the men had unhappily realized the necessity of a hotel shower for me, I'd heard Ian and Jared talking about me over the whir of the bathroom fan. â€Å"†¦ not fair to ask her to choose,† Ian was saying. He kept his voice low, but the fan was not loud enough to drown it out. The hotel room was very small. â€Å"Why not? It's fairer to tell her where she's going to sleep? Don't you think it's more polite -â€Å" â€Å"For someone else. But Wanda will agonize over this. She'll be trying so hard to please us both, she'll make herself miserable.† â€Å"Jealous again?† â€Å"Not this time. I just know how she thinks.† There was a silence. Ian was right. He did know how I thought. He'd probably already foreseen that given the slightest hint that Jared would prefer it, I would choose to sleep beside Jared, and then keep myself awake worrying that I'd made Jared unhappy by being there and that I'd hurt Ian's feelings in the bargain. â€Å"Fine,† Jared snapped. â€Å"But if you try cuddling up to me tonight†¦ so help me, O'Shea.† Ian chuckled. â€Å"Not to sound overly arrogant, but to be perfectly honest, Jared, were I so inclined, I think I could do better.† Despite feeling a little guilty about wasting so much needed space, I probably did sleep better alone. We didn't have to go to a hotel again. The days started to pass more quickly, as if even the seconds were trying to run home. I could feel a strange western pull on my body. We were all eager to get back to our dark, crowded haven. Even Jared got careless. It was late, no sunlight left lingering behind the western mountains. Behind us, Ian and Kyle were taking turns driving the big moving truck loaded with our spoils, just as Jared and I took turns with the van. They had to drive the heavy vehicle more carefully than Jared did the van. The headlights had faded slowly into the distance, until they disappeared around a wide curve in the road. We were on the homestretch. Tucson was behind us. In a few short hours, I would see Jamie. We would unload the welcome provisions, surrounded by smiling faces. A real homecoming. My first, I realized. For once the return would bring nothing but joy. We carried no doomed hostages this time. I wasn't paying attention to anything but anticipation. The road didn't seem to be flying by too fast; it couldn't fly past fast enough as far as I was concerned. The truck's headlights reappeared behind us. â€Å"Kyle must be driving,† I murmured. â€Å"They're catching up.† And then the red and blue lights suddenly spun out in the dark night behind us. They reflected off all the mirrors, dancing spots of color across the roof, the seats, our frozen faces, and the dashboard, where the needle on the speed gauge showed that we were traveling twenty miles over the speed limit. The sound of a siren pierced the desert calm.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Eiichiro Oda

EIICHIRO ODA was born January 1, 1975 in the city of Kumamoto (in the prefecture of Kumamoto). He decided to pursue a career as a a manga artist at the age of 4 (because they didn't have to work in companies as adults). Unlike many youth who give up this dream, he kept nurturing it as he grew up; and at age 17, he received a Silver Honors (â€Å"jun-nyuusen†), the second highest honor available (that's why I translitersated â€Å"jun†, which usually means â€Å"sub†, as â€Å"silver†) from the 44th semi-annual Tezuka Awards (a â€Å"story† manga artist scouting contest co-hosted by the editorial staffs of Weekly Jump and Monthly Jump, this is the contest that many other familiar Weekly Jump faces, such as Yoshihiro Togashi, Hiroyuki Takei, Daisuke Higuchi, Takeshi Obata, Masanori Morita, Ryu Fujisaki, and even Masakazu Katsura got their big breaks) with his short story, WANTED!. His pen-name back then was â€Å"Getsu ka sui moku kin do†, i. e. â€Å"Moon Fire Water Wood Gold Earth†, or more commonly, â€Å"Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat†. ) His first work as a pro was Kami Kara Mirai no Present (A Gift of the Future from God), published in the October 1993 issue of Jump Original (Monthly Jump's bimonthly spinoff). His talent was further noticed by the Weekly Jump staff when he got Gold Honors (â€Å"nyuusen†, i. e. he top honors much like a gold medal, which explains the transliteration once again) in the Hop-Step Awards (WJ's monthly talent scout contest, now called the Tenkaichi Manga Awards) in 1993 with his work Ikki Yakou (One Devil's Night Trip). In 1994, he decided to leave college after the end of his freshman year to head out to Tokyo, and there, he studied as an assistant for three Jump authors: Shinobu Kaitani (Midoriyama Police Gang), Masaya Tokuhiro (Jungle no Ouja Tar-chan and Mizu no Tomodachi Kapparman), and Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin). During his apprenticehood, Mr. Oda published two short stories: Monsters in the 1994 Autumn Special (the seasonal spinoff magazine created by the Weekly Jump staff, now called Akamaru Jump) and the first of the two versions of Romance Dawn in the 1996 Summer Special. A few months later, he broke into the pages of Weekly Jump with the second incarnation of Romance Dawn, published in issue #41 of 1996. And as with any other short story that does well in Jump, the series ONE PIECE (yeah, the one that you're reading this website for) started in #34 of 1997†¦ and the rest is history. =)

Saturday, September 28, 2019

African religion and christianity Essay

Although Africa was not a plain or bear continent, Africans had their way of life, structure of government, religion, economic activities, education,systems of marriage and development plans for their societies, nevertheless the British brought their systems which conflicted with Africans established way of life, this was because the British, as many other European powers were economically depressed and Africa appeared to be the only way out.The British wanted to pass the three C’s; Commerce, that is to make money through acquisition of free labour form Africans, raw materials for their industries as industrial revolution back in Britain was rapidly taking place, market for their surplus production; Christianity to save Africans as alluded in the Gospel of Saint Mark 16 versus 5 Go ye to the entire world, baptizing all men in the name of Jesus.†Explorers such as David Livingstone, Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Diego Cam and Arabs with Muslim faith had missionary zeal. The la st C is for Civilization, they wanted to civilize Africans in terms of education, culture and many other aspects I will bring out later in this essay. RELIGION Black`s Law Definition of religion; This is man`s relation to Divinity, reverence, worship, obedience, and submission to mandates and precepts of supernatural or superior beings. In a broad sense, it includes all forms of belief in the existence of superior beings exercising power over human beings by volition, imposing rules of conduct with future rewards and punishments. AFRICAN RELIGION Awolalu defines African religion as â€Å"†¦largely written in the people’s myth and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has no zeal for the membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascination for Africans, young and old.† The African traditional religion was not homogeneous as the communities had different ethnic background thus the religious practices such rituals varied one community to the other. It is worth noting that it was oral, not scripted or written and was passed from one generation to the other by word of mouth as I earlier alluded in the Awolalu definition of religion. Within their organized societal structures, Africans believed in supernatural beings together with ancestral spirits.The ancestral spirits were believed to link the living societal members to the gods. We all agree that one cannot talk about African religion without African values as they are intertwined and inseparable. African religion was embedded in moral values or codes or standards which were believed to originate from God through the ancestral spirits, these values when followed or observed one would be rewarded with maybe good harvest from their cultivation of land or increased number of a flock of cattle. When these values have violated the culprits were reprimanded, for instance, adultery was highly condemned therefore in case a member engaged in it he or she could be punished by God through the ancestral spirit. This punishment could be through the infliction of sickness to the culprit or barrenness. The concept of values is a vital point as one talks of the African religion. African religion is drawn from the African values. The African religion had some institutions which presided over religious functions, these institutions were believed to communicate directly to ancestral spirits (living dead) who in turn would communicate to the gods and grievances of the living societal members would be heard. In the Kenyan context, these institutions include Orkoyot of the Nandi, Oloibon of the Maasai, Seers, Diviners, and Rainmakers depending on the ethnic communities which they came from. These institutions apart from the veneration of the ancestors, they blessed warrior before going for war, advised the political leaders, offered sacrifice to god and conducted rituals for the culprits who violated moral values in the community. The gods had some specific names for instance, in Kenyan context, we had Enkai for the Maasai, Encore for the Abagusii, Mulungu for Akamba, Asis the Nandi, Ngai for the Agikuyu and Nyasaye for the Luo. There were specific worship places which were regarded as holy, this places included shrines, mountaintops some special trees such as mugumo, hills, and some caves. The diversity of the names given to gods and places of worship, show the lack of uniformity in the African Religion. This concludes that Africans were of different ethnic background and had their own religion, gods, and religion as a community. CHRISTIANITY This is a religion based on the life, teachings, and practices of the person of Jesus Christ. The origin of Christianity is drawn from a character, believed to be the Son of God. It is a religion more about the relationship between one and Jesus rather religious practices. A Christian, as the name suggests is a follower of Christ. The origin of Jesus of extra-ordinary or Supernatural happening as it is believed He was conceived by the power of Holy Spirit and born of a Virgin. This small description ascertains the definition of religion as I had earlier defined it. Christianity is practiced through reading the Bible and attendance of services for the Protestants and Mass for the Catholics. The religion is scripted or written in the Bible which is the reference for all who ascribe to Christianity. It contains all the rules guidelines, commands that Christians should observe their entire life. These guidelines govern human relationship to one another and their relationship to their God.there no diverse Christians as all of them draw their beliefs from Jesus Christ through reading and exercising their beliefs from the Bible.Christianity is a homogeneous religion or rather uniform. There are institutions such Priests, Bishops and Catholic Fathers who lead other Christians in worship. These people undergo theology training for them to undertake their duties. There are specific places of worship where Christians congregate. These places are Churches or Chapels. THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. They mainly to spread Christianity and Commerce†¦Dr. David Livingstone, I go back to Africa to make an open pass for Christianity and Commerce.† The first encounter is dated from the 15th Century. The Portuguese Christianity introduction to Africans in the East African Coast. This, however, had very little success. By 19th Century Christian missionaries arrived in East Africa they included: 1.The Holy Ghost Fathers 2.The Church Missionary Society 3.The Methodist Fathers 4.The Mill Hill Fathers THE ENCOUNTER I) Source/origin of Religion The Africans believed that their religion was sourced from god, who they believed long before their ancestors’ existence. The British Missionaries conflict with Africans by telling them about the existence of a God who had a son and lived among us many years ago. The religion of British was written (Bible) thus one had to have the ability to read and write in order to understand it, whereas that of African was passed from generation to generation by oral tradition. There is an introduction of a new system of identifying the origin of religion which conflicts with the African system. II) Places of worship The Africans revered in special caves, Mountaintops, hills, Forests, Special trees (mugumo) and shrines. The British tell Africans that they should worship God places called Churches. This encounter shows that there is a bit of clashing as the African places were very clearly defined and preserved by the community members. The British also seized African land to construct churches or chapels, Africans, as a result, became very hostile as they had distinct worship places which occurred naturally. They believed that their land was for cultivation and a gift from their gods. III) The Practices of Religion The Africans practiced their religion by reverence to their ancestors, offering human and animal sacrifices and invoking the ancestral spirits. They offered sacrifices in order to get favors in terms of harvest. The African worship was communal that is, all community members used to convene to pray for rain and ask for the wellness of the community. The British religion had an aspect of confession of one`s sins before worship, repentance, and forgiveness of sin are granted. This aspect of forgiveness of sins lacks in the traditional African religion, one had to be punished for wrongdoing. British missionary religion brings out an aspect of offerings in terms of money and tithe which is ten percent of one`s total earnings. IV) Religious leaders In African religion, worship was led by Diviners, Rainmakers, and Seers who were considered righteous. The work of religious leaders was taught through apprecentiship and was hereditary from specific clans in the community. There were certain clans from whom diviners would descend. They were highly respected in the community. The British Christian religious leaders attend school to be trained mainly on theology. They study formalities of worship and nature of God. Any member of Christian family can become a religious leader although there are some myths which say one has to be ‘called’ by God. The Christian leader has to have the ability to read and write so as to pass the scriptures to his congregation. V) Uniformity of Religion As I handled earlier in this essay, the African traditional religion was diverse from one ethnic community to the other due to the linguistic differences, migration patterns and origin. Christianity is introduced as a homogeneous religion as the author of it is Jesus Christ, a common ancestry and reference point for all Christians. The diversity of worship is dismantled by the British introduction of this even religion. As I have pointed above there are distinct differences between Traditional African Religion and the British Christianity and how both systems fought to outdo the other. The African religion had deep roots in the society as it was passed orally through stories, myths, riddles and proverbs which were very appealing to the audience. These deep roots were however uprooted as change is inevitable in every circumstance. As an old adage, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison.’ The British struck the Africans struck back but were easily overpowered, and gave in. The British were gradually using religion as a tool to pass several other systems to the Africans. Education which traditionally was based on oral tradition was easily eliminated as most Africans wanted to quench their thirst for knowledge, for those who resisted religion soon began to embrace this Whiteman’s way of worship.

Friday, September 27, 2019

How Do People Feel about the UK Coalition Government Assignment

How Do People Feel about the UK Coalition Government - Assignment Example People have seen an irony that is implicit in problems faced by the euro stems due to economic and political commentators that pointed out the various forms of integration. Moreover, this was associated with the failure of integration of the financial and fiscal policy that could have facilitated the national economic development and harmonization. Nonetheless, the coalition government has been faced with disenchantment in Germany, though this does not pose a challenge to the significance of European ideas. However, there was a chance that the action would cause the results of immense economic damages to the member states. The pro-Europeans have experienced difficult moments, and this is critical due to the challenges faced by the coalition, which surpassed the immediate difficulties in long term Britain. Therefore, this led to an increased need to collaborate with other European partners in a way that played an effective role in global politics. People have a feeling that the longer the coalition prevails, the more they are developing a negative attitude towards it as a form of government. During the general election, voters had a notion that they embraced ideas of the parties working together through a coalition (Luff, 2010, p. 1). There was a spare of polling aimed at marking the anniversary whereby numerous people had a conviction that the government was weak. Moreover, they had a conviction that the coalition government would be more indecisive and irresponsive to the citizens. For instance, there were people who claimed that the coalition government appeared to be confused. In addition, people claimed that there were chances of numerous bickering in the public, which would increase disenchantment through a continental style of government. However, there were no reasons for voters to be confused in a situation where the parties had taken the responsibility of reforms for restraining health services. The coalition government seems to facilitate an outbreak of tribalism, which posed a threat of undermining its key strategy. On the other hand, the government seems desperate, which is manifested by their spending cuts. Moreover, this was a reason for reactions made by the public due to the reform of services. There were other internal concerns resonating on the populist issues; in fact, the private firms were invading into the public sector. Moreover, people were also concerned with market-led reforms, which facilitated the transformation of services offered by the state. Other citizens have a conviction that the coalition government lacks a strong policy agenda and it has been focusing on eliminating progressive reforms. Therefore, a demonstration of the position was to object the things and fail to deal with implication caused by the deficiency. In this case, some of these actions depicted the weaknesses of the coalition government during the first two years in power.  

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Ways of Seeing by John Berger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Ways of Seeing by John Berger - Essay Example In the attempt to convey the disparity in perception of â€Å"beauty† between men and women, Berger illustrates that women tend to adore themselves much more than men, while the latter focus on women’s appearance rather than their own. This gives the implication that women perceive themselves as being beautiful and they expect men to recognize the same of them. This is a theme that Berger builds with the pictures described hereunder (Berger [b] 35). On the 36th page of â€Å"Ways of seeing†, there are two photographs of two different women. The first photograph depicts a lady working at a store, wrapping a box on the table with her head bowed low (Berger [b] 36). Despite her admirable stature, the lady has numerous portraits of â€Å"beautiful† ladies hanging on the wall behind her. In the second photograph, there is a lady sitting in the back left side of a car. The lady appears to be receiving a lot of attention from onlookers, who seem to be astounded by her looks. However, the woman in the photo looks so carefree, an aspect evident from her sitting posture and closed eyes. This is a clear indicator that she perceives herself as being beautiful and expects complete attention from others, yet she does not even acknowledge her admirers. Her perception is, however, as a result of people’s general definition of beauty. Both photographs, display women yet they maintain extremely diverse levels of â€Å"beauty †. Most importantly, the depicted â€Å"beauty† is defined by other people. For instance, the lady working at the store is striving to achieve prosperity and become like the woman on the second photograph since she also upholds a definition of â€Å"beauty†, similar to that, which is admired by other people (Berger [b] 36).

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Paraphrasing - Essay Example In the 14th-century, learning was characterized by education reforms which were accredited to Petrarch. For instance, learning was based on classical sources, linear perspective and other practices such as developing a natural touch to painting. â€Å"The Renaissance,† presented substantial changes in artistic and education in Italy. It led to the transformation of the culture of northern Italy. The changes can be traced back from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Some changes in culture and artistic aspects also influence the rest of Europe a great deal. The term â€Å"re-birth† has often been used literally to mean that the cultural accomplishment of antiquity which had been celebrated before was no longer appreciated, and therefore, it needed to be â€Å"re-born†. However, there has been a significant difference between the ancient texts written during the first one thousand years following the fragmentation of Rome and texts written during the fourteenth and ï ¬ fteenth centuries. Major works such as Virgil, Ovid, and Cicero were majorly studied before new works were discovered such as those written by Livy, Tacitus, and Lucretius. The new discoveries complemented and expanded the ancient Greek literature. There was increased contact of the western Europeans with the Islam from the Arabic translation of original Greek via Latin translations. Through such contact, Europeans acquired a lot of Greek’s philosophical and scientific works. However, only a limited number of Europeans were able to read classical Greek. This number increased as many Greek-speaking people fled to Italy following pressure from the Mongols and the Ottoman Turks. Consequently, they spread their knowledge. This new culture become highly commercialized ad materialistic with artifacts of the ancient Rome being used as pawns in the unlimited power games. During renaissance, the papacy was not left behind in the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Physics assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Physics - Assignment Example There are certain standards set as to assert the safety standard of any nuclear power plant. The organization that regulates the policies around the globe is known as IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). This organization has set a certain benchmark; which are actually, major concerns of a nuclear reactor in any country of the world. Some on the concerns are: 1. Testing of emergency situations, if and when they happen. 2. Equipment and actions to adhere the consequences of such an emergency. 3. Probability calculations of units failing and their back-ups. 4. Examining the worst possible scenario and creating an emergency plan accordingly. 5. Actions taken, in the event of radiation emissions form the plant. 6. Proper training of the men working in these facilities. 7. Anti-earth quake and anti-flood systems, which have to be, installed (Hugh, 2011). Question 2 There are three types of radiation particles namely alpha, beta and gamma particle radiations. Alpha radiations have be en defined as helium nuclei, comprising of two protons and two neutrons. It is considered to be very stable. Beta radiations have been defined as fast moving electrons formed by nuclear decay, whereas gamma radiations are known to be high frequency, short wavelength electromagnetic radiation (Cheng et al, 2000). All three of these radiations have certain benefits and disadvantages. The disadvantage of alpha particle is that when it in inhaled, can cause damage to lungs and the respiratory system. Beta rays cause disorder in the molecular structure of humans, whereas gamma rays can directly damage the human tissue, since they are very high energy rays. Along with these disadvantages, there are some benefits as well. Alpha particles are used to detect smoke for engaging a fire alarm or water sprinkler. Beta particles are used to find thickness of aluminum foil, its variables and capable of treating cancer patients as well. Gamma radiations are used to locate flaws in pipes, other stee l products for leaks and the integrity of welds in them (Cheng et al, 2000). Medical benefits of radiations can be seen in the use of x-rays and treatment of cancer, whereas non-medical use of radiation can be seen in industries, for detection of leaks and welding faults in different metal mediums. Also for non-medical use, the rays are used for inspection on the production line to check emptiness or the thickness of materials like aluminum. (Cheng et al, 2000). Question 3 Apart from nuclear power, there are other ways to produce energy like hydroelectric, fossil fuel burning, solar and wind power. All these methods have a lot of advantages and disadvantages. Some of them will be depicted here. Hydroelectric power is free of cost, as water flow is easily available all around the world but the drawback is the amount of expenditure involved to build dams and huge water turbines. Furthermore, the environmental hazard for hydroelectric power generation is the disturbance of the ecologic al habitat of the aquatic life in the region. Fossil fuel is the best form of energy as it provides predictable and a constant power source but the major drawback falters this form of energy. It is the fossil fuel that is not a reusable or renewable source and is becoming scarce from the world at a very rapid rate. Solar and wind power both have almost the same kind of advantage and disadvantage. The setup for both is very expensive and is unpredictable in nature but the best advantage of these sources of power is

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Why It Was Not Possible for the Catholic Church To Stamp out Heresy Essay

Why It Was Not Possible for the Catholic Church To Stamp out Heresy During the 16th Century - Essay Example Heresy, being a deadly poison generated within the organism of the Church, must be ejected if she is to live and perform her task of continuing Christ's work of salvation. Each pastor in his parish, each bishop in his diocese, is in duty bound to keep the faith of his flock untainted; to the supreme pastor of all the Churches is given the office of feeding the whole Christian flock (Wilhelm). The power granted to the Catholic Church of expelling heresy is an important factor in the constitution of the Church. The power of rejecting heresy however needs to adapt into the social and political circumstances of the time. In the beginning, the Catholic Church exercises its power without an organization. The bishops were able to find heresies in their congregation and checking the progress with all its power vested upon it by the hierarchy. When a heresy gathered support and proved a danger to the Church, the bishops assembled in councils, provincial, metropolitan, national, or ecumenical to discuss the matter (Wilhelm). In the early church, heresies were sometimes determined by a selected council of bishops, or ecumenical council, such as the First Council of Nicaea. Actually, the Catholic Church had little power to punish heretics in the early years, other than by excommunication, a spiritual punishment. Excommunication was the worst form of punishment possible because it separated the believer from the body of Christ or the Church. Excommunication, or even the threat of excommunication, was enough to convince many a heretic to renounce his views (Heresy).In the years that followed, the Catholic Church instituted the Inquisition (Latin: Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium), an office of the Roman Catholic Church charged with suppressing heresy. The Inquisition was a permanent institution in the Catholic Church charged with the eradication of heresies (Inquisition). The Inquisition was active in several nations of Europe, particularly where it had fervent support from the civil author ity (Heresy).The Catholic Church however, never had executed anyone for heresy. Rather, the Church turned over heretics to the respective governments for execution. Thus making heresy a part of political self-definition and exclusion (Bambrick et al). When Constantine had taken upon himself the office of lay bishop, episcopus externus, and put the secular arm at the service of the Church, the laws against heretics became more and more rigorous. Under the purely ecclesiastical discipline no temporal punishment could be inflicted on the obstinate heretic, except the damage which might arise to his personal dignity through being deprived of all intercourse with his former brethren (Wilhelm). Why it was not possible for the Catholic Church to stamp out heresyDuring the 16th century During the 16th century, stamping out heresy became more difficult due to varied reasons such as the Black Death, changes in the society, especially the corruption and moral decay within the Catholic Church. The 16th century is the period in which the medieval Church was defining itself and unifying its identity (Bambrick et al). The Catholic Chur

Monday, September 23, 2019

Robert Browning and his poetry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Robert Browning and his poetry - Research Paper Example It would appear that Browning was greatly influenced by this review because after Mill’s criticism, he rarely wrote about his own emotions or used a subjective tone in his poetry. As a teenager, Browning was greatly influenced by the poet Percy Shelley. His earliest poetry efforts reflected Shelley’s views and style. Shelley’s writings inspired Browning to be an atheist for a short amount of time. Later he would say that his short-lived atheism was just a phase that he passed through in his life. His first published poem, entitled â€Å"Pauline: A Fragment of Confession† was thought to be inspired by a religious music composer named Eliza Flower. (Liukkonen). In 1969, he wrote what is known as his greatest poem, â€Å"The Ring and the Book,† which was a tribute to his wife Elizabeth who had passed away eight years before. Browning’s first critical praise came after he published â€Å"Paracelsus† in 1835. William Wordsworth and other di stinguished writers praised the poem and thought him a very promising young poet. For the next 30 years, however, a majority of his works were harshly criticized until the late 1860s when he wrote the much praised â€Å"The Ring and the Book.† Later, in 1873, he wrote â€Å"Red Cotton Night – Cap Country.† The Examiner called the work â€Å"the most useful of all the good poems that he has written† (Johnson). Browning’s Work as a Whole Overall, Browning’s poetry could accurately be described as narrative and dramatic. More specifically, his major works are best described as dramatic monologues. A dramatic monologue features a single character narration. The monologue style allows for the audience to judge the narrator’s worth and the value of what he is saying. Also, the narrator is not generally speaking to the audience in this type of poem but merely musing to themselves. In general, Browning’s poetry is difficult to read and understand and, as Encyclopedia Brittanica states, â€Å"certain [Browning] poems require a considerable acquaintance with their subjects in order to be understood† (Brittanica). As mentioned earlier, Browning departed from the self-conscious tone of his first poem and adopted the narrative structure. He is often known for giving the poem’s audience an unanticipated point of view. He also frequently uses irony in his poems and is able to shift the focus of his poems as well. Many Christian themes and sentiments can also be observed in Browning’s work. His poetry also reflects his changing religious views throughout his life. He frequently deals with the topics of love, faith, and death. Also, his works occasionally reveal his uncertainty and skepticism about religion (Johnson). However, by today’s standards they are viewed as quite optimistic as well as spiritual. The rhythm of Browning’s poetry is mostly irregular. He employed a wide variety of m etrical forms in his writing. He was able to create very interesting rhythms and melodies by using these varied metrical forms and rhythms. A good illustration of this technique can be observed by reading the following extract from Browning’s poem Abt Vogler: And one would bury his brow with a blind plunge down to hell, Burrow awhile and build, broad on the roots of things, Then up again swim into sight, having based me my palace well, Founded it, fearless of flame, flat on the nether springs. Browning also wrote

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Beauty Contest Essay Example for Free

Beauty Contest Essay In the average dictionary beauty is defined as a combination of qualities that pleases aesthetic senses, especially the sight. Unfortunately, in today’s society, the meaning of beauty has become extremely distorted and in place beauty pageants have become very popular. These contests take place across the entire world; in big cities and small towns. The contestants’ ages range from 0 to 30 years old. Thus, children are thrown into this lifestyle, without knowing exactly what they are getting into. They are judged by physical beauty and sometimes personality and talent, with the winners awarded prizes or titles. Many people say that it beauty pageants boost ones confidence but in fact, they increase eating disorders, excessive dieting and can even lower ones self-esteem all because they do not feel as physically attractive as â€Å"they should be†. In more ways than one, beauty pageants significantly impact young girl’s life as she develops into a woman. According to an article by Women’s News, the United States generates approximately 100,000 beauty pageants for young girls and approximately 2.5 million girls compete in them. For most pageants, children are entered into them as soon as they are able to sit up by themselves. This means that from a young age these girls learn that the worth of a person is solely based on appearance, thus enabling them into a vain and insecure individual in the future. Though these pageants host talent portions, they are often flooded with over promiscuous dance routines and outfits, throwing pageant kids into things that are not appropriate for their age. Sadly enough, not every girl that enters a beauty contest can win. So, their parents become very competitive and make them go through tanning, waxing and many make-up and hair sessions, to guarantee that they are the â€Å"best†. However, when these girls do lose, they believe that they were not good enough for the judges and lose all of their self-esteem. These pageant kids now become overly competitive and believe everything is about winning. And even worse, a high percentage of these pageant kids will engage in cosmetic and plastic surgery in the future to maintain their definition of beauty. In addition to low self-esteem, beauty pageants can create many bad habits including excessive dieting. Because the parents of these young girls are very obsessive with their children’s appearance they end up robbing them of their childhood. They are not able to grab a slice of pizza or even a kid’s meal because they are watching every calorie intake. These young girls are forced to go on crash diets, to gain energy and lose weight very quickly. Sadly, this creates a number of problems for their health such as impaired growth, menstrual irregularities, low blood pressure and impaired kidney functions. Unfortunately, many of these parents do not know exactly how they are impacting their children’s bodies. They are not only forming nutritional deficiencies but psychological issues too. According to the National Association of Eating Disorders, 90% of the time, girls who were forced to start a diet from a young age increase the frequency of taking extreme measures to continue a â€Å"perfect† figure, which is very destructive to one’s health. Excessive dieting can lead the way for a more harmful habit, eating disorders. In today’s society, 35% of â€Å"occasional dieters† progress into pathological dieting, (disordered eating) and as many as 25%, advance to full-blown eating disorders (Philadelphia Eating Disorder Examiner, July 2011). When these pageant kids grow into young women, they have all of their eggs stacked in one basket, which in this case will be the â€Å"looks department†. They are so used to concentrating on the external and superficial aspects of beauty that they cannot focus on reality. The longing to be thin like the supermodels on magazine covers, causes these pageant girls to go to extreme measures such as bulimia and anorexia. In one situation, a pageant girl as young as 6 years old was hospitalized with anorexia, which was linked to body image. This is not acceptable at all. But the blame cannot be solely placed on them. Their moms are so obsessed with their image; they allow their children to engage in these horrific activities. There is therefore no doubt that beauty pageants do no good for these kids. In closing, beauty pageants cause a great deal of problems for girls in the long run. These pageants are more likely to hurt one then to help one. These pageants are supposed to boost confidence, when in reality they ruin children’s lives and basically kill their mental beings. I believe that beauty pageants for kids are a form of child abuse. These mothers exploit their children, teaching them that there will always be a person better than them. This is unacceptable and beauty pageants need to be banned because beauty is not counterfeit. It is being confident in your own skin without the approval of others. The time for taking action has come.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Implementation of a Crisis Management System

Implementation of a Crisis Management System JAMES WALKER INTRODUCTION The implementation of a crisis management system is essential to the organization. Once the planning phases are completed, the implementation phases will include the resources and plans to address emergency response, communication, continuity, information technology, incident management and exercise/training. All aspects of the crisis management will be brought together for my organization (ATT). To be prepared for a crisis, the organization needs to have a preparedness plan and the right leadership to respond to the crisis. The SLP will involve detailed framework on ATT regarding assessing crisis management. Additionally, it will include organization and attributes, types of crisis, leadership needed for success, models and theories used, preparedness planning and development phases. ORGANIZATION AND ATTRIBUTES The organizations culture or attributes involves the values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that employees share and utilize daily at work. It is all based on determination how they work to include understanding the business and how to fit into the business. The culture and attributes is the motivation to make decisions, take actions, and excel in performance for the organization. The culture of an organization is created by the consistent planning and action. If the organization and the people in it understand it, they will promote it or radiate it outward to make the organization successful. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) ATT has a legacy of giving the first responder and public safety organizations the support needed to handle a crisis. The attributes they possess are being trusted, experienced technicians and leaders, dedicated to the mission, and constant investing. ATT allocates many mission-critical abilities to the Federal, State, and Local governments. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) However, the organization must have a resilient and secure network that is joined with innovation leadership (ATT Labs and ATT Foundry). The within ATT represents the integration of a one ability plus another ability. Additionally, it represents the mission objective to give critical resources for the governments by providing the dexterity, experience, and dependability that is synchronized to the emergency responses so they can protect, work together, and respond. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) TYPES OF CRISIS It is important to identify types of crisis especially developing or assessing crisis management plans. Potential crisis is immense, but can be combined to make it bigger (snowball effect). Organizational crises are depicted as low-probability and high-consequence situations and are commonly categorized by uncertainty. The efficient management of an organizational crisis is reliant on leadership performance that reassures members to dynamically participate in knowledge acquisition and the devising of strategies to rectify the crisis. (Advameg, Inc, 2017) (James and Wooten, 2005) It is imperative that leaders foster a set of skills that will support in prevention and the efficiency to reacting to the crisis issues. Crisis leadership competencies are especially significant in dealing with the operational, strategic, and human resource functions and outcomes when crises transpire. Additionally, leaders need to be able to adapt and overcome these crises based off their training, knowledge, and experiences of past and present. (Advameg, Inc, 2017) (James and Wooten, 2005) The two most organization crisis that are face today are sudden and smolder crisis. Sudden crises are situations that happen without any type of warning and it is beyond the organizations control, such as organization related incidents and natural disasters. (Advameg, Inc, 2017) (James and Wooten, 2005) Smoldering crisis are serious organization issues that known within or without the organization. Additionally, they typically start out with minor internal issues that leaders can control (negligence) and can have a negative perspective coverage if it goes public, such as major controlling actions, government inquiries, customer and employee accusations, and media investigations. (Advameg, Inc, 2017) (James and Wooten, 2005) Smoldering crisis causes the most harm and destroys the reputation to the organization. Furthermore, it can be difficult to discover and try to resolve (egos and abilities) due to directly or indirectly involve management decisions. (Advameg, Inc, 2017) ATT has an all-inclusive response, recovery, and restoration program that supported by its internal processes that allow for minimal impact to the customers. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs IT Service Continuity (ITSC) is a resource that identifies and manages the IT service continuity risks. Furthermore, it safeguards and helps to minimize risk, cost, and duration of disruption to major sensitive service processes within and to their customers worldwide. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Another resource utilized to restore normality from a crisis is the Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) team. It can provide quick recovery services for a broad range of disaster scenarios to include providing recovery over the global network. The main role of the ATT NDR is to recover the services of compromised networks and to take care of their assigned personnel on the team. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) The training plan for ATTs employees is very extensive. The managers, engineers, and technicians receive special types of training in physical recovery of the network and participate in recovery exercises annually to understand and practice the skills of the NDRs equipment and processes. Furthermore, the ensures that personnel know how to do the assigned tasks in case of an emergency or crisis. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) LEADERSHIP NEEDED FOR SUCCESS Effective leaders possess the same traits and characteristics such as effective communication, knowledge, experiences, and upbeat personality. The traits combine to shape the core of the most effective leaders. The traits are necessary and are important for an effective crisis leader. (James and Wooten, 2005) The following characteristics explain the top leadership characteristics needed for success prior, during, and after a crisis. Leaders need to have coordination to build team cohesion and integration. Effective leaders need to be able to define, analyze and understand the unique complexities of each crisis to make the right decisions. Leaders should be able to react efficiently under stress during a crisis. Additionally, being goal oriented to lay out the short and long term goals (setting objectives). (James and Wooten, 2005) Leaders need to be able to give information and have two way communications (active listening) to include interacting in an open and honest way with other people to the context of different perspectives to a crisis (team work). Leaders need to be able to think outside the box (open-minded and adaptive) when reflecting and understanding different solutions to a crisis. (James and Wooten, 2005) Leaders are always responsible and take ownership of resolving the crisis to include recognizing others if it was a team event. Leaders have the trait of prioritizing by having the sense of balance to recognize what issues need to be resolved first and what is the most important to resolving other decisions or solutions. Lastly, leaders need to be trained and prepared by being knowledgeable of the organizations contingency plans and recovery operations to include the skills, abilities and traits of the organizations members. (James and Wooten, 2005) ATTs business plan is a roadmap to the goals of ATTs business metrics, prioritization, imperatives, and capabilities among all the components within the organization. The success of leadership comes from the guidelines based in the business plan and they are aligned with what was mentioned above. The success of execution of ATT has leaders working together to capitalize on their competitiveness in the market. The leaders analyze the long term calculated risks and anticipate the mitigation to overcome the risks. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) The experience aligns participants to ATTs strategic direction and objectives, and enables them to develop and practice leadership skills that will support successful execution of the companys plans, including leading change. The participating leaders are committed to a personal action plan and drawing a line of sight from the companys strategic objectives to their day-to-day work. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) The plans focus on concrete actions that leaders would take to lead with distinction and accelerate execution of ATTs strategic imperatives. In addition, they provide a monetary profit improvement estimate. The leaders outline how their plan will serve to improve return on invested capital which is a long-term measure for the company (One ATT). To date, participants have targeted hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements aligned to the One ATT strategy. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Moreover, the initiative has been credited with accelerating the formation of new workgroups and organization changes to support the strategy. The leaders are involved with the action plans and objectives in the daily operations. The plans focus on the leaders managing the execution of the strategic imperatives to include profit improvements and how to improve the plans. The right talent of leadership is needed to be committed to have constant innovation, motivation, and persistency. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Furthermore, ATTs leaders are disciplined and focused so it reflects on the team and the markets. ATTs leaders must possess competencies to improve the structure and operations of the organization (positive intent, ability, shared respect, and the impact for trust-building). Additionally, the leaders go through a five phase concept such as signal detection (sense making), preparation and prevention (averting the crisis), containment and damage control (reputation), business recovery (normal operations), and learning (experience and opportunities). (ATT, 2016, 2010, a nd 2005) The main effort to save the reputation of ATT is to have a crisis communication plan. The effort to communicate to the public and the stakeholders when events occur is vital. The main things to discuss is the philosophy, assessing vulnerabilities, and to create a procedures to overcome. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) MODELS AND THEORIES ATT has models and theories that are associated with crisis management, just like any other organizations. The models and theories are as follows: crisis management strategy, crisis management model, crisis management planning, contingency planning, business continuity planning, structural-functional systems theory, crisis leadership, and social media and crisis management. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs crisis management strategy is intended to prevent crisis for following up the advancements of the organization. It projects the future ongoing monitoring of internal and external environment crisis as well as selection and implementation of the prevention strategy and management of operations (control and coping strategies). (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs management model for a crisis is about leaders understanding how to handle a crisis before the occurrence, such as avoidance, mitigation and recovery. The phases involves diagnosis of imminent situations or signals, selecting the best improvement strategy, and implementation of the process and monitoring. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT is like any other organization who doesnt look forward to dealing with crisis situations that can cause them to be distracted from their operations, especially the ones that deal with the media. Furthermore, the public enquiry can put a negative effect, specifically on financial, political, legal and government influences. In other words, the CEO of ATT is prepared and has a plan to deal with having the best response to a crisis, such as impacts and what they are doing about the situation (crisis management planning). (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Social media can have information become viral instantly. It breaks news faster than the traditional media, which makes managing a crisis difficult. ATT has mitigations dealing with social media situations and conducts training how to deal with the media. Furthermore, ATT has a policy in place to include social media tools for monitoring. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) The tools can also provide the crisis management teams access to real time information regarding the impacts of the crisis and who is impacted with their concerns. ATT has a planned approach created under their continuity and contingency plans on how information is released to the media. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Additionally, the plans will have the reaction process that includes the crisis management team and other leaders. The leaders and the crisis management teams of ATT understand how to deal with the media and they are prepared based off training scenarios. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT integrates contingency plans in the management planning process. The first step they take is to ensure the organization is prepared for any type crisis. The management teams train on scenarios and plan from it. The plan developed stipulates the procedures to include who would speak to the public regarding the crisis. Additionally, it is vital to have cooperation in any crisis and ATT assures questions are answered to include information to resolve the situation. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT identifies the initial part of the crisis is the most crucial and speed and efficiency to resolve the situation is important, specifically having programs and communications quickly operational. ATTs contingency plan has the information and guidance to support the decision makers to deliberate short and long term effects of the decisions. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs continuity plan supports the disruptions and it identifies the vital functions and processes that are essential to the operations. Additionally, ATT develops this plan early. The plan is part of the impact analysis phase that discusses the organizations losses. The functions that are vital has their own contingency plans to mitigate the situation. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Furthermore, the plan provides the mechanisms to allow resiliency and provide recovery assets. ATT stresses the importance of rehearsing the actions needed in exercises so the team members will act swiftly and effectively. Furthermore, the exercises provide a purpose to allow ATT to conduct debriefings to understand and document lessons learned (fictional to reality). To ensure effectiveness, ATT ensures the plan is reviewed and makes changes as necessary for validation. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT provides information to their employees and other audiences. Structural-functional system theories are essential in an effective crisis management. It focuses on the information networks and command communications. Furthermore, it identifies the flow of information within ATT. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT demonstrates leadership competencies that facilitate the recovery during and after a crisis. The organization builds an environment of trust to their customers and simultaneously improves their organization approach. The leaders identify the noticeable and unknown vulnerabilities and make wise and rapid decisions to mitigate risks to alleviate the crisis. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Additionally, the leaders at ATT make a point to learn and develop tactics, techniques, and procedures to effect the change in the organization. The testing and validating the continuity and contingency plans support the validation of leadership during a crisis to include the structure. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) PREPAREDNESS PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PHASES During ATTs preparedness planning and developing phases, the organization identifies their mission critical functions to efficiently manage risks. The functions all the organization to give critical services, civil authority, safety to the public, and sustain economics. ATT takes a proactive approach to respond and the preparedness plans specify the redundant systems, back-up sites (telecommunications), employee communications, and alternate work sites if needed. Furthermore, the plans have customer communications instantly after the crisis. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT leadership understand the importance of the impacts of any given crisis that could affect the national security, citizen services and economic well-being. In the end, the preparedness planning is essential to the operational functions across the comprehensive range of hazards and emergencies that could impact physical assets, buildings, and people. During the preparedness planning, ATT utilizes these planning princ iples to prepare for any type scenario of a crisis that could arise. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT has a understanding of the functions that are vital to the organization and how the different situations of a crisis could impact operations, such as services and products (processes and impacts). Furthermore, the understanding of how the situations will impact leadership, abilities, security, and communications (mission-critical functions). In the end, by determining all that was mentioned will determine the type of response needed to mitigate the risks. Additionally, it will establish the authority and emphasis the resources to effectively help the response to any given situation. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT finds it necessary to complete a functional risk assessment to address the critical functions and then make the suitable investments. Additionally, the assessment identifies the processes, resources, and suppliers which have a great impact to serving the customers to reach mission objectives. ATT can also identify the threats, the vulnerabilities and the probability that the threats will exploit the vulnerabilities based off the risk assessment. In other words, ATT can identify the relative risk exposure to the different elements and make fact based decisions on mitigation plans. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) The recovery strategies are a part of the preparedness plans and development phase. It allows for continuity strategies. ATT determines what it needs to perform and what options are available based off internal or external resources. Additionally, they can determine what to prioritize. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT utilizes the risk assessment and recovery strategies to develop contingency plans to specific situations. Furthermore, the organization ensures the activities from the strategies are accomplished in a systematic and harmonious way to ensure validation of the plan and personnel to include the plan being practical. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) During the development phase and preparedness planning, ATT construct an all-inclusive plan and provision disaster recovery capabilities contingency plan to give the interoperable communication and continuity of essential operations with key stakeholders. An order that gives delegation to leadership is given so essential operations can continue if key leadership is unable to manage. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs contingency plans identifies incremental strategic and practical changes to the continuity plan to include identifying gaps in the abilities. Furthermore, it is essential to implement any new abilities prior to a situation occurring. It will allow for a success in the recovery stage, such as ATT fail over to Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) from wired networks. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATT are always testing, training, and conducting exercises to ensure the continuity plans are able to be implemented with or without warnings. The plans are tested on a methodical basis and as realistic as possible to ensure validation and effectiveness. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) It requires a development of tests for how they will operate from their abilities (emergency response). Furthermore, it includes recovery operations. ATTs emergency response teams (Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) Team) provide opportunities to obtain the required skills to execute their assigned roles in the response. Once testing, training, and exercises are conducted, ATT considers the changes based off the situations and adjust their preparedness plan so they can validate. The changes made reflect in the continuity plan and with their emergency response. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) CONCLUSION Based off the research and seeing how ATT prepares and develops their plans, it is essential to plan for the worse case scenario. ATTs ability to respond quickly and effectively is vital in protecting their staff, profits, reputation and the necessary operations. It requires an all-inclusive and cross organizational planning effort. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Additionally, the plan is developed over a larger scale, global. By having a preparedness planning and development phase, it will support the mitigation of a crisis. (Pearson, 2002) To apply the preparedness phase, it will involve the development of each phase of the crisis management system. The planning gives the combined method and common terminology to the plan for all threats and hazards across all mission areas (Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery). (Pearson, 2002) The plans and processes need to be reviewed and supplemented accordingly to meet the analysis and assessments made from training and exe rcises. Additionally, the personnel in the organization need to know their roles. By having a proactive approach and the understanding of sensitive mission-critical functions, it will allow organizations to provide vital services, exercise civil authority, maintain the safety of their employees and the public, and to sustain its industrial or economic base. (FEMA, N/A) The risks assessments that are developed by ATT allow identification, assessing, and reacting to possible threats. With the existing vulnerabilities, the likelihood that a threat will utilize the identified vulnerabilities is probably imminent. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) Furthermore, the assessments allow to provide the adequate controls and risk mitigations, such as facilitate the planning, testing, investments, and actual recovery of IT critical infrastructure and applications. The mitigation of risks protects the overall integrity, reputation and brand to include controlling it, prioritizing it and organizing it quickly and efficiently. ATT considers the changes to any situation and environment that could affect preparedness. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) ATT validates the continuity plan that is implemented by conducting training, testing and exercises to ensure the plan works in the time of a disaster and if any improvement needs to be done to the continuity plan and the emergency response. (A TT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs response planning phases clearly define the use of resources from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and can be utilized as a reference point for disaster and event planning. (FEMA, N/A) By having exercises to identify gaps, it will allow for assessing the impact of a disaster or crisis for the organization. Additionally, it will identify the gaps and risk that are not so obvious (small to larger events). (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) Crisis communication is essential to withstand any crisis and may in the end rest on the effectiveness with employees, customers, suppliers, and any other interested stakeholders. The readiness to deliver the right message about the impacts is essential to both internal and external dependencies. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) In summary, the continuity plan, risk assessments, and the dependencies need to be communicated to the organization. Additionally, the organization needs to be able to foresee crises, distinguish crisis communications team, identify and train spokespersons, establish notification and monitoring systems, identify and know the stakeholders, create statements, evaluate the crisis, confirm and adapt significant messages, and analysis after the crisis. (ATT, 2016, 2010, and 2005) ATTs mission is to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and do it better that anyone else. Were fulfilling this vision by creating new solutions for consumers and businesses and by driving innovation in the communications and entertainment industry. (ATT, 2017 and 2016) ATTs preparedness is proactive and is essential to maintain a reliable global network when a crisis strikes. BIBLIOGRAPHY Advameg, Inc (2017). References for Business, Crisis Management, Retrieved from: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Co-Di/Crisis-Management.html. James, E., Wooten, L. (2005). Leadership as (un)usual: How to display competence in times of crisis, Organizational Dynamics, 34(2), 141-152, Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/science/article/pii/S009026160500015X. (TUI Online Library). James, E., Wooten, L. (2005). Linking Crisis Management and Leadership Competencies: The Role of Human Resource Development, Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org /01e3/6a70c0952a465c99260c55da1b89ba6de3ee.pdf. ATT (2017). About ATT, Retrieved from: http://about.att.com/mediakit/vitalconnections. ATT (2016). Business Continuity Preparedness Handbook, Managing risk through proactive planning, Retrieved from: https://www.att.com/Common/about_us/pdf/business_continuity_ handbook.pdf, June 2016. ATT (2010). Successfully Mitigating Corporate Risk, Retrieved from: https://www.business.att.com/content/whitepaper/successfully-mitigating-corporate-risk.pdf, October 1, 2010. ATT (2005). ATT Network Continuity Overview, Retrieved from: https://www.corp.att.com/ndr/pdf/cpi_5181.pdf, January 25, 2005. FEMA (N/A). Business, Retrieved from: https://www.ready.gov/business. FEMA (N/A). Implementation, Retrieved from: https://www.ready.gov/business/implementation. Pearson, Christine (2002). Ivey Business Journal, A Blueprint for Crisis Management, Retrieved from: http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/a-blueprint-for-crisis-management/, January/February 2002.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis and James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essa

There are many factors that lead to the development of an individual’s identity. Franz Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis† illustrates an extreme change in Gregor Samsa’s external identity and the overall outward effect it has on the development of his family. While James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† illustrates a young man struggling to find his identity while being pushed around by what society and his family wants him to be. Both of these characters exhibit an underlying struggle of alienation but both also demonstrate a craving for belongingness. This conflict of trying to belong to something as well as satisfying the needs of society, has directly impacted their own individuality and the lives of the people around them. Gregor Samsa, a hard working salesman providing for his family in need, has sacrifice his own freedom for the sake of the survival of his family. As a provider, his family is expecting him to work, be successful, and bring home the wealth. Although Gregor doesn’t enjoy his tedious job in the slightest, he still agrees to do it. This is more influenced by his father’s debt rather than his own morals. â€Å"If it weren’t for my parents, I would have quit long ago, I would have gone to the boss and told him off† (Kafka 2). This shows that he is a frustrated individual. Gregor is someone who would likely hold in his own personal feelings to preserve the family name. A night of nightmares later, Gregor awakes to see his many little legs flailing about. He isn’t initially shocked by this horrid transformation and however terrible it looks to him, his primary focus is how is he going to get to work? In spite of everything, he is still in the mindset of w orking no matter what the cost. After all, he doesn’t want to lose the tr... ...development of your identity. Gregor, the family man, tried as hard as he can to be there for his family. His family is everything he has got and this is his identity. While Sonny, the trouble kid turned musician, abandoned his family’s suggestions and went his own way by keeping true to himself and being dedicative to a specific goal. Both of these characters are polar opposites in a sense that one follows his family and the other does not. But, both characters were forced into difficult situations and both have experienced some sort of sacrifice. Works Cited Mendoza, Ramon G. The Human Vermin: Kafka's Metaphor for Extreme Alienation. N.p.: Salem Press, n.d. Literary Reference Database. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. Murray, Donald C. James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': Complicated and Simple. N.p.: Newberry College, n.d. Literary Reference Database. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Medieval Gothic Cathedral Essay -- European History Architecture E

The Medieval Gothic Cathedral The medieval Gothic cathedral was in many ways a civic building as well as a religious one. This particularly was the case with the famous cathedral Notre-Dame de Chartres (Our Lady of Chartres) in the town of the same name, 80km south-east of Paris, built in the 13th century. Chartres cathedral was planned not only as a place of worship, but also developed as the centre of the town's economy and way of life, as the place that housed the relic of the cloak of the Virgin Mary. The local citizens assisted the building of the cathedral by providing the labour, giving food to the workers and donating money to pay for its construction. The architecture of the cathedral dominated the town in the way that modern skyscrapers are the centre civic buildings today. Many of the decorations in the cathedral such as the thousands of sculptures and beautiful stained glass windows were donated by guilds and tradespeople of the town. People visited Chartres for the fairs held on the feasts of the Vir gin, a major place for trade. Townspeople also used the majestic cathedral and its grounds for business. Medieval cathedrals such as Chartres show the strength and majesty of the Catholic church. The original Romanesque cathedral in Chartres that was built in the eleventh century burned down in a fire in 1134. The cathedral was then rebuilt in the gothic style, but then another fire destroyed all except the towers and the west front in 1194. (See Hallam & Everard 2001) The new Gothic cathedral was regarded as one of the first examples of High Gothic architecture. There was a genuine desire, of course, to build places of worship and prayer and to build a cathedral as a way to pay homage to God. However, the catholic... ...ey, A. 1922, Medieval France A Companion to French Studies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK Von Simpson, O. 1988, The Gothic Cathedral: Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval concept of Order, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey USA Wison, C. 1990, The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530, Thames and Hudson, Singapore http://art.ranken.edu/borchardt/archistI/Course%20stuff/Medieval/medieval.htm, accessed 13/04/04 Classical Architectural History Lesson, subheading "The New Cathedrals" Halsall, P. 1988, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1210chartres.html, accessed 13/04/04 Halsall, P. 1988 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1224chartres.html, accessed 13/04/04 Ingersoll, R. 1995, Rice University Cities and History http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~arch343/lecture9.html, accessed 13/04/04

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Quintessential Negative Utopia in George Orwells 1984 Essay

The Quintessential Negative Utopia in George Orwell's 1984 1984 is George Orwell's arguably his most famous novel, and it remains one of the most powerful warnings ever made against the dangers of a totalitarian society. George Orwell was primarily a political novelist as a result of his life experiences. In Spain, Germany, and Russia, Orwell had seen for himself the peril of absolute political authority in an age of advanced technology; he illustrated that peril harshly in 1984. Orwell's book could be considered the most acknowledged in the genre of the negative utopian novel. The mood of the novel aims to portray a pessimistic future. This prospect is to show the worst human society imaginable and to convince readers to avoid any path that might lead toward societal degradation. Orwell's world of post-atomic dictatorship, in which every individual is ceaselessly monitored through the telescreen seemed just possible enough to terrify. When Orwell postulated such a society it was only 35 years into the future that made the horror depicted by the novel seem more relevant and real. While the year 1984 has long since come and gone it is more than obvious that the world Orwell describes has not materialized. But the message of 1984 remains relevant enough to frighten, and accurate enough to feel possible. War is used as a device for political manipulation on television--a concept presented strikingly in the recent film Wag the Dog. The governmental forces have historical records rewritten to match the political ideology of the ruling Party. This is a technique has been used by the Soviet Union and is still all too common in some parts of the world. The warning remains significant: the world has not completely escaped from the dangers Orwell describes. The novel is based on the experiences of Winston Smith, an insignificant member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, he is watched through telescreens, and everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party's omniscient leader, a figure known only as Big Brother. The Party controls everything from history to language. The Party is currently forcing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which attempts to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Thoughtcri... ...r reading this novel. Big Brother is the figurehead of a government that has total control. The Big Brother regime uses propaganda and puts fear in its citizens to keep the general population in line. â€Å"Big Brother is watching you†(5) is just one example of many party slogans that puts fear in its citizens. Big Brother uses various ways to catch people guilty of bad thoughts And the term Big Brother is used though out other literature as well as other forms of media and communication. Lesson Ideas 1. The entire class would have to comply with the societal rules that Winston has to. By either having the class have a discussion on how to make everyone completely equal. If one person has glasses they all would have glasses. Etc. 2. Write a paper in Newspeak, or have a class conversation in Newspeak. 3. How would they feel if their entire life was predestined? What if the only was to survive was to conform. 4. What is freedom? What is this type of society born from? If a class of seniors is they involved with government or do they allow it to happen? 5. Might teach Civil disobedience along with this. At least a supplemental reading for a one-day discussion.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Criminal justice Essay

The reason I chose Serpico is because I thought this book would talk about a cop trying to do the right thing, which was to change the crooked system that allowed corruption. This non-fiction talks about the criminality that takes place in this book. For example Serpico was plainclothesmen which was patrolmen working out of uniform on special assignments like narcotics, prostitution, and gambling, so it was a lot of opportunities and temptation for graft to occur. This book proves the point that people in power always abuses it because the plainclothesmen were just out to get a profit from illegal activities that you were hired to prevent. The topic this book expounds on is about Brooklyn born, Italian cop with long hair, scruffy beard and a taste for opera and ballet music, name Frank Serpico. He was a man that couldn’t be hushed nor brought with felonious money, so he decided to change this nefarious system called the police force, that enable the law enforcement to flourish off of bribery, graft, and comprise. After Serpico made this decision to try and change the fraud happening in law enforcement, he had gained a lot of enemies rather than allies due to the reputation he garnered. For example during a drug raid his fellow partner was reluctant to come to his aid, so he was shot in the face. From then on, Serpico was life was put into danger by his fellow colleagues. Police Officers were baffled and confused on why Serpico broke an unwritten code that meant that cops can’t turn in other cops. Apparently Serpico didn’t care about that code because his main concentration was advancing to detective rank and being a good example of cop, so his peers can learn from it. Police Corruption is the abuse of police authority for the gain. The connection it has to the criminal law is corruption undermines the rule of law, good governance, tarnishes the public image of the law enforcement, protects criminal activity like drug dealing or prostitution, and soon forfeits the community trust in various institutions. The reason why police corruption is so easily to get involve in is because ineffectual laws prevailing moral values promote corruption because they provide criminal organizations with a financial curiosity in damaging law enforcement. I believe the only way to fight police corruption is to wrestle with the decriminalization issue, which involves removing the criminal label giving to victimless crimes by regulating them and preventing them. It’s very hard to prosecute a police officer for corruptions because most prosecutors think why â€Å"bite the hand that feeds you. Serpico didn’t care about that idea because he just wanted to do the right thing no matter what it took or cost which was almost his life. Frank Serpico was a heroic man that gambled with his life just to stop corruption that was going on in the New York’s police department. Serpico went through a lot of distrust and harassment from his various police officers just to call attention to this ceaseless problem. Then Serpico decided to take drastic measures by taking his story to New York Times editors. This act forced Mayor Lindsay to appoint a special, discrete commission to investigate these Serpico allegations. I admired Serpico for putting up with death threats from several police officers and people that were setting him up like in that drug raid. It took Serpico 5 years for him to bring this corruption to the public’s attention. Through those 5 years Serpico had faced many death threats and vexation that prevented him from achieving his goal of becoming a detective. The only thing that Serpico did that I found was obnoxious, was when he was basically envious of William Phillip who was undercover agent for the Knapp Commission and he really was doing the same thing Serpico was doing over the years. The definition of a hero is Frank Serpico because of the heroic deed he had attained, that took a great deal of courage and dedication. Most police officers wouldn’t have the guts and determination to be able to endure the hardship Serpico had went through in order to end the corruption in the New York Police department. Frank Serpico was remembered for that significant feat he accomplished because most police officers had just fallen in the arms of unscrupulous and Serpico was the first officer to not fall into misconduct while faced with many tempting opportunities as a plainclothesmen. Why couldn’t there be more police officers like Frank Serpico? Why did police officers allow that criminality to happen or why did police officers partake in that criminality? At least Frank Serpico had made a huge step into the right direction of transformation. The officers in the New York Police department had just gone with the flow before Serpico came around, as if corruption was a part of their job. If Frank Serpico didn’t speak up about the corruption, would it have continued to occur as if nothing was illicit? I’m glad that I chose this book because it taught me that one person can have a huge impact on an issue that he or she feels strongly about. I thought Serpico would have become a replica of those crooked cops. Who would of thought Serpico would be the police officer to deny graft, bribery and other criminal benefits? That’s the most appealing information because who would chose justice over money? Apparently Frank Serpico thought that corruption wasn’t going to get him to a detective rank. He believed the only way was to endeavor. A quote from the book was â€Å"the problem is that the atmosphere doesn’t yet exist in which an honest police officer can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. † This quote shows that Serpico had an excellent idea on how to prevent what he endure for 5 interminable years. No one shouldn’t have to feel like they under that much pressure when bringing about information regarding a system that allowed corruption to flow like a pipe. The worst thing about the trial was that the executive officers were not there, so the real issue of corruption wouldn’t be solved. While feeling so much pressure, Serpico still had to worry about his life being in danger because he testifies. A person shouldn’t have to go thru different predicaments just to serve justice and be an example to the police force. Even though police officers got fired and the commissioner got replaced, I still don’t think that was equivalent to the price Serpico partially paid which was his life. The length it took for Serpico allegations to get some public attention was the least appealing because I didn’t understand why no one understood the severity of fraudulence in the New York Police department. That’s how you can tell that Serpico was very determined to be different and stand by his morals, because it took 5 years before justice could be served in a trial. I don’t think you can have that much patience unless you were very dedicated to the issue at hand. This book was a good choice because I thought after all those death threats and fatal gun wound in his head that nearly cost him his life, Serpico would just go along with the corruption. Even after the trial during Serpico sick leave and recovery from his head wound, he was still debating on his future as a op. I wonder was the Medal of Honor he received was the real reason why he had retired? Serpico really had a huge amount of ambition towards being a detective, so what happened? In the book Serpico saids â€Å"sensing the underlying hatred of police establishment toward him after what he had done,† to me this meant that Serpico was worried about how the police force would feel if he had came back aft er the critical actions he done that had repercussions.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Pollution: Global Warming and Personal Hygiene Products

POLLUTION Pollution happens absolutely everywhere, every single second of the day, everywhere on earth. It happens in many city, many town, or many state. You can find pollution in cars, home electronics, personal hygiene products, natural disasters, and even your own home. Pollution is poison for anything that lives and breathes; it poisons water, air, land, humans, and animals, so it cannot to be taken lightly. As a law people should take more care of their surroundings and try harder to preserve the world we live in, even if it is inconvenient to us. Because if we don’t save ourselves, who will?The things we could do to save our planet from pollution could reduce further destruction . Everyone is benefited when we have clean water, air, land, etc. . For example, we never hear any news about a person dying because of clean air but instead we hear news like, man died from pollution, family living in home pollution, water tests show pollution particles, the list goes on foreve r. By identifying the problem at an early stage, we can start to reverse the pollution process. Thus making our mother Earth cleaner. The  funny thing of all this is that though the earth is getting  polluted man is least bothered about it . e doesn’t know that he himself is digging his own  grave  because pollution not only spoils his own health but also  worsens his  quality of life. People in cities who are exposed to various kinds of pollution suffer from several ailments like high blood pressure, asthma and skin diseases. Garbage thrown around leads to break out of epidemics like cholera, malaria, chikungunya etc. Poisonous chemicals from the  air  as well as our water bodies have recently caused an exponential rise in cancer cases. Scientists say that it is still not late to act, and governments all over the world have started acting.Countries are trying their best to control pollution by adopting measures like control of   CO2 emissions, using clean fuels, proper waste management  practices, and planting trees on a large scale. However no efforts would be complete unless each one us does our bit to protect our environment. We all can contribute in our small way by  saving  fuel, water and electricity, disposing garbage responsibly and living simple lives. It is the responsibility of each one of us to safeguard the environment so that future generations can enjoy the  beauty  and bounty of Mother nature.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Intro to Microeconomics Study Guide Essay

Economics is the study of allocation of scarce resources 1) Chapter One: The Principles of Microeconomics a. Four resources: Land, Labor, Capital (machinery), Entrepreneurship (human capital) b. Principle #1: People face trade-offs, government also faces them, the main one the gov. faces is efficiency vs. equity i. Efficiency is when everyone who makes the most, keeps the most money ii. Equity would be if everyone was taxed the same c. Principle #2: The cost of something is what you give up iii. Opportunity cost = the measurement of trade-off you give up something you can have later, to get something now d. Principle #3: Rational people think at the margin iv. They do what’s best for them and maximize benefits v. Think at the margin = thinking about the NEXT one vi. Margin=small incremental changes e. Principle #4: People respond to incentives vii. Prices are major incentives viii. Taxes/tax credit f. Principle #5: Trade can make everyone better off ix. Everybody can specialize x. More variety of goods xi. Doesn’t always make everyone better off ex: Jamaica, NAFTA xii. One partner can be strong and over power others g. Principle #6: Markets are a good way to organize economic activity xiii. People are guided by self-interest xiv. Markets are where consumers and suppliers come together and trade-off occurs h. Principle #7: The government can improve market outcomes xv. Main act of government – enforce property rights xvi. Government can step in if there’s market failureexternalities occur (taxes can be enforced for cigarettes), people who aren’t in the market are ffected xvii. Government can step in when there’s market power xviii. Monopoly/oligopoly-government might step in 2) Chapter 2: What does it mean to think like an economist? i. Objectively j. Scientific method xix. Observe, hypothesis, identify variables, collect data, test hypothesis, draw a conclusion k. Difficult to conduct a controlled experiment in economics l. Circular Flow Diagram = money and goods and services flow from input marketoutput market xx. Flow of Money: Market for factors of production (input market) households get income spending on markets of goods and services (output market) which generates revenue for firmswhich pay wages and rent for factors of production xxi. Flow of goods and services: Market for factors of production (input market) buys factors (land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship)firms which sell goods and servicesto market of gas and serviceswhich buy goods and services from households, which sell factors to market for factors of production xxii. This marketing is missing government, trade, savings, black market activities and charity work/non-profits m. Production Possibilities Frontier: how much a country can produce xxiii. Assumptions: one country, two goods, resource = labor xxiv. Bowed out PPF due to different resources (L) xxv. Opportunity cost increases with bowed out PPF because it takes more and more to make one more of the good xxvi. Any points along the PPF are efficient, outside the curve are not feasible and inside the curve is inefficient xxvii. Efficiency means we maximize our resources xxviii. To get more of the good, you have to give up some of the other good xxix. More resources for both goods increase: entire curve shifts out xxx. More resources for just one good increase: curve shifts on one side only xxxi. If the PPF is straight, it’s because there are multiple resources for both goods xxxii. Just stating a fact = positive statement and normative statement = subjective 3) Chapter 3: Absolute and Comparative Advantage n. Absolute advantage is when you make something more efficiently than someone else, so that less is required, which means less opportunity cost xxxiii. Assumptions: 2 people who can make goods, 2 goods that both people want to consumer, time is the only input, both people want to consume both goods and they’ll only trade if they can produce one good xxxiv. Each person works 8 hrs. per day o. Farmer can produce 8 donuts and 32 cups of coffee; Baker can produce 24 donuts and 48 cups of coffee xxxv. The baker has absolute advantage because he can make more donuts and more coffee than the farmer in 8 hrs. xxxvi. Graphing: use points (8, 0) and (0, 32) for farmer’s PPF and CPF (consumption possibilities frontier). Use points (24, 0) and (0, 48) for baker’s PPF and CPF p. Trade deal: Farmer will make only coffee (which is all 32 cups of coffee in 8 hrs. ), baker offers farmer 5 donuts for 15 cups of coffee xxxvii. Trade increases variety xxxviii. Farmer ends up with +5 donuts and – 15 cups coffee = 5 donuts and 17 cups coffee q. Comparative advantage is when you have a lower opportunity cost xxxix. The opportunity cost of one donut for the farmer is 4 cups of coffee and for the baker is 2 cups of coffeebaker is comparative advantage in donuts because of lower opportunity cost xl. The opportunity cost for one cup of coffee for the farmer is ? donut and for the baker is ? donutfarmer has opportunity cost in coffee because of lower opportunity cost r. The price range after the trade deal will lie between opportunity cost of both people, so both are better off xli. 2 cups of coffee ? P ? 4 cups of coffee 4) Chapter 4: Supply and Demand s. Assumptions: one good, one market, market is perfectly competitive (many buyers and sellers, all goals are the same across firms and price takers) t. Demand xlii. Demand curve shows relationship between price and willingness to buy (P and Qd) xliii. Quantity demanded (Qd) is the amount consumers are willing and able to buy xliv. LAW OF DEMAND: P, Qd = negative correlation xlv. Market demand is the sum of individuals’ demands xlvi. Variables that increase or decrease demand: IP-TEN 1. Income a. I, Qd = Normal good b. I, Qd = Inferior good 2. Price of related goods c. Pa, QDb = Substitutes d. Pa, QDb = Complements 3. Taste and preferences 4. ExpectationsEx: when you except the price of a good to increase later on, you will buy more now when it’s cheaper 5. Number of buyersMore buyers = higher demand u. Supply xlvii. Supply curve shows relationship between Price and Quantity supplied (P and Qs) xlviii. Quantity supplied is the amount sellers are willing and able to sell xlix. LAW OF SUPPLY: P, Qd = Positive correlation l. Variables that shift supply curve: I-TEN 6. Input price (Ex: wages increase) e. IP, Qs f. IP, Qs 7. Technologyadvancement means Cost, Supply 8. Expectationsexcepting a technological advancement 9. Number of sellers g. # Sellers, Qs h. # Sellers, Qs v. Consider: market for hybrid cars li. Event: price of gasoline goes updemand is impactedP of gas so people will look for substitutesdemand for hybrids (curve shifts right) lii. Event: technology advance reduces cost of productionsupply impactedsupply because it’s easier and cheaper to produce (curve shifts right)P , Qs liii. Event (i) & (ii): P of gas & technology –>D and S both impactedD, SQ and P is ambiguous (depends on degrees of shifts and how you graph curve shifts) w. Consider: market for bus rides liv.