Importance of Personal Responsibility

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary personal means relating to the person or body and responsibility means the quality or state of being responsible such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. Fritz Perls, the father of gestalt therapy, said that, â€Å"responsibility meant that we all have the ability to personally respond – â€Å"response-ability†. Perls also referred responsibility to the ability to move, feel, live, and change you. So, to my understanding, personal responsibility is one’s ability to care for what has been entrusted to them.It is when an individual accepts the outcome of whatever actions or decisions he/or she makes, instead of blaming other people for what did not turn out right. Personal Responsibility is important to me because it is something that I am supposed to have as a child of the Most High God. In this essay, it is my goal to define what personal responsibility is and what it means to me, explain the relationship betw een personal responsibility and college success, and give an example of how I plan to practice personal responsibility in my education. Personal Responsibility in everyday life.What do you think of when you hear these words? For me it means putting God first in all that I do and trusting Him to keep all of His promises to me. Scripture tells us that it we are to accept personal responsibility for ourselves (Galatians. 6:5) and our own actions (2 Corinthians 5:10), for widows and orphans, (James 1:27) for our relatives (1 Timothy 5:8), and for those in need (Deuteronomy 15: 7-11). I have learned to accept personal responsibility more so when I am wrong than when I am right. Why? Because it teaches me and others how to become mature.When we accept our personal responsibilities, it takes the load off of others. Now, there are some who would argue with me saying that it is not their responsibility to take care the widows, orphans, those in need. All I have to say to those individuals is whose responsibility will it be when you are down and out? Social Security? Unemployment? Department of Health and Human Resources? Once again I will refer to scripture by saying that we are all helpers of one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). When we graduate from High School and attend college,it is our personal responsibility to purchase our books and supplies, show up for class, take notes, study, and make good grades. No one else can do this for us. Oddly enough, this is a time when most of learn that we are on our own. Instead of a â€Å"teacher†, we have an â€Å"instructor†. My wife was once told by a college professor that he was an instructor, not a teacher. He was there to give the assignment and grade it. The students were supposed to have already learned most everything prior to that particular college course, therefore it would be their personal responsibility to be on time for class, take notes, and turn in their assignments.In our careers our personal re sponsibilities may come with a little more authority. We become responsible for employers, employees, clients, and/or customers. Making sure that everyone is well taken care of and provided for becomes our number one priority. It does not matter what field of work one goes into, we are always going to have to deal with others, putting them before ourselves. Once again I refer to scripture when it talks about â€Å"esteeming others more highly than ourselves† (Philippians 2:3). Failing to accept one’s responsibilities here could result in losing their job.The relationship between personal responsibility and college success and closely related. In order to be successful in college, one must be willing to accept responsibility for every action they take and thought they make. College is not easy and therefore will take a lot of hard work, effort, the ability to handle diverse situations, and maturity. I believe that it should be mandatory for juniors and seniors in high s chool to take at least one college course before graduation in preparation for college. This would give them a taste of the level of personal responsibility they have ahead of them.It has been my experience that the older or more mature the college student, the more apt he/she is to accept the personal responsibilities that come with college. With all of this being said, it is my plan to practice personal responsibility in my education by helping others who are new to online classes, making sure that my assignments are complete and turned in on time, showing courtesy and respect to my classmates and my teammates, and asking questions when I do not understand something. Some people would not view asking questions as a personal responsibility, but it is. It is our responsibility to ask for ourselves and for others.If we do not ask and our work is incomplete, we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is what I believe the instructors are here for, to instruct us into the right direct ion with the right information. I hope that the points I have made about the importance of personal responsibility in everyday life, college, and our careers was both interesting and able help others see things a little different than before. For myself, I have learned even more about the importance of not only taking care of myself but also for those around me. This to me is what personal responsibility is all about.

Brief Analysis Of Historical Inaccuracy In Literature

Brief Analysis of Historical Inaccuracy in Literature Literature is among the most important sources of historical and cultural education; it is arguably much more essential to the public before the prevalence of motion pictures. Hence, the core idea, the depiction of background and even the most trivial details in literature can somehow shape the readers' understandings of a person, an ethnicity group, a nation and a form of culture. Therefore, literature has the burden of being historically accurate.In the case of many German tales about anti-Semitism, cultural intolerance and ethnically discrimination against Jews are explicit. The tales depict Jews as blasphemers, murderers and liars, but the more interesting phenomenon is the fate of all these Jews in the tales, where they are labeled, expelled and executed. If we review the history of Jews during WI, in which they were first forced to wear the Star of David as symbol, then expelled from normal activities and driven to ghettos, and finally persecuted in concentration amps, we can find the strong similarity between the tales and the reality.Perhaps, part of the motivations behind the Holocaust is the negative understandings or hostility cultivated with these anti-Semitic tales. In my childhood, watched the movie of Cleopatra and started to consider Octavia as a negative image, despite that Augustus was the greatest emperor of Rome. Similarly, many German children's understandings of Jews as villains from the tales would have profound impact on their future. Furthermore, tragic and catastrophic events tend to create a deeper negation, which is why literature referring to tragic events should be more cautious regarding historical accuracy.For example, children's sympathy of the girl in The Girl Who Was Killed by Jews can create considerable hatred against Jews. Likewise, when I saw a review to a book about Battle of Outburst saying that Germans are all murderers because their ancestors were all butchers, know another hatred against Germans is being cultivated with inaccurate or biased literature of Vowel.

A summary of the Chapter ‘We Cheer Jim Up

In the chapter ‘We Cheer Jim Up,’ Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are faced with the challenge of stealing Jim from Tom’s Aunt Sally Phelp’s plantation without being caught. The fact that they have to dig Jim out of a small, dark shack does make this task much harder for the two boys, especially since it is guarded with dogs and other African American slaves. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer both scheme together to come up with a brilliant plan. They even lie to a slave about their relation to Jim, so to keep their actual friendship with Jim, and their plot to free him, secret. Â  In this chapter, Huck actually feels extremely guilty for committing a sin—stealing some-one’s slave. Normally, Huck enjoys the thrill of living on the edge and engaging in unlawful activities. However, he suddenly feels very apprehensive about this act he and Tom are about to commit and even questions Tom about this. Â  His experience of being held hostage by his drunken father has also enabled Huck to cope and deal with difficult situations in a more mature manner than when he lived with the widow. Nevertheless, Huck is faced with a personal conflict within himself. While he desperately wants to free Jim, he is bothered by the potential consequences that he and, especially Jim, will have to face if caught. A main theme being developed in this chapter is the idea of superstition. The slave that takes Huck and Tom to the shack to see Jim talks about nothing but witches and how he is constantly pestered by their voices. Every sound he hears, he believes it is the witches returning to trouble him. This chapter also introduces one powerful symbol. One might say that the tiny shack symbolizes the bondage African American people experienced on plantation farms back in those days. The darkness and dismal conditions of the shack where Jim was chained and confound also represents the cruel treatment run-away slaves, and African slaves in general, were treated.

(Business information system) You are required to conduct a detailed Research Paper

(Business information system) You are required to conduct a detailed on an organization's information system, analyze - Research Paper Example These included Europe, comprising all existing controlled business located in Europe, in addition to Turkey, Hungary, and Czech Republic. The company heavily relies on IT and it has incorporated IT in its Market structure as a tool for successful implementation of it programs. This paper discusses and describes the Vodafone Group business organization structure with a focus on the role of IT in its business organization structure. Historical Background of Vodafone Group Vodafone Company started as a joint venture between Hambros Technology Trust Millicom and the subsidiary of Racal Electronics PLC’s strategic Radio Ltd in 1982 with its name being derived from a company’s goal of establishing data services and voice services over mobile telephone networks. Hence, its network was called Racal Vodafone (Saylor 56). The company was renamed Racal Telecom in 1988. In 1991, Racal Telecom became demerged from the Racal Electronics there is when the mobile telephony giant came i nto existence. In 1996, the company bought people phone and acquired 80% of the Astec Communication, a move that so it increase its shares of the UK mobile customers (Read 46). In 2000, the Group reverted its former name Vodafone Group PLC selling most of the manufacturing related operations. It made the first 3G Voice Call in 2001 on the Uk’s Vodafone 3G network. The company signed a partner agreement with the Mobikom Australia, and became introduced in the Icelandic market. In 2004, it went into an agreement with Luxembourg’s LuxGSM. The Group increased its participation in the Connex of Romania and purchased Czech mobile operator. The period between 2004 to date has seen the company expand through entering into partnership with various communication companies worldwide (Read 57). On the overall from 1980 to 1991, the company bore the name Racal Telecom Brand. Its name was change to Vodafone Group retaining this name from 1991 to 2000. Since 2000 till now, the compan y has retained the name Vodafone Group PLC (Thomson 43). Business Organization Structure of the Vodafone Group Since it was founded under the auspice of Vodafone Group plc, the Vodafone Company has realized drastic transformations. It has changed its brand from the Racal Telecom Brand to the Vodafone Group and finally the Vodafone Group PLC, alongside its organization structure. As of 9th December 2010, the company has retained a business organization that is all inclusive and diverse. This section describes the Group’s Organization structure as of 9th December 2010 to date. In regard to its operating companies, the Group has two operating regions reflecting the different geographies or different nature of assets, as well as to reflect the differences in development of the sector considering various economies. These included Europe, comprising all existing controlled business located in Europe, in addition to Turkey, Hungary, and Czech Republic. The CEO (Michel Combel) is in charge of Europe region. For other regions, including businesses located in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Fiji, Australia plus New Zealand, Nick Read is at the top as the Regional CEO. The Vodafone Group has other senior officials including the Group CFO, CEO and Strategy and Business Development Director. These officials are charged with the responsibility of effecting strategies for maximization of the shareholder value

Techniques in Understanding Planets and Stars2 Essay

Techniques in Understanding Planets and Stars2 - Essay Example Other natural light sources like the fire also produce electromagnetic radiations. The light bulbs and the fluorescent bulbs produce all the seven colours of the rainbow when the light shines upon the spectrometer. The reason being that the white light produced is split up by the spectrometer. A sodium street lamp generally produces only one light type when struck upon the spectrometer. The sodium component in the bulb only produces a yellow light. The spectrum shows a dazzling yellow band. Extra bands of colours are produced under high pressure. Street lamps are typically high-pressure sodium lamps that give a white light. When viewing a white block above an LCD using the spectroscope, three bands of colours are produced- red, green, and yellow. TVs and computer monitors use a combination of these three colours to produce millions of colours. The feature of the light source that get represented in the spectrum is illumination. It measures the light output from the different sources of light. Illumination is the light distribution on a surface that is horizontal. Thus, in this experiment the spectrum distribute light in the spectrometer that gets assembled. Therefore, what gets analyzed in this experiment is the distribution of light from different spectrums in horizontal surfaces. There is also the examination of the number of components that a light source can be broken up into using a spectroscope/prism (Fisher & Erickson, 2010). Spectrometers in an instrument that splits colour into a higher band numbers. The ordinary color splits up the light into three colors including green, blue and red. Spectrometers are very significant studying celestial objects. Spectrometry allows people to study and measure the celestial bodies’ velocities and distances on the cosmological scales. When the object is moving, the light wavelengths it emits is shifted either towards

Californias anti terrorism laws after september 911 Essay

Californias anti terrorism laws after september 911 - Essay Example To safeguard people’s interests, new strategies and plans were required to be developed and enforced. Laws needed to be framed to make Americans feel safe emotionally, physically and politically. Therefore, the US Patriotic Act was amended and renamed ‘USA Patriot and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act’. It was made more stringent and extra statutes included with wide ranging terrorists relating offences like deliberate and destructive activity against the state or its people resulting in loss of life or property, money laundering, surveillance and detention of people under suspect of terrorist activities etc. with capital punishment introduced. a new department known as Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security was opened which was headed by Secretary of the department who in turn was directly appointed by the Governor. The department has four divisions: the Highway Patrol, Law Enforcement, Fire Protection and Emergency Management and Division of Victims services. Special center called ‘California Anti terrorism Information Center’ (CATIC) was launched with an initial budget of $1.85 million to support anti-terrorism law enforcement activities with a state level criminal intelligence database which would coordinate with the federal agency. After 9/11, California government has made serious efforts to reinstate public confidence by providing continued support to the families of 9/11 and implementing a series of legal and administrative measures to combat any future terrorist acts in the

Explain three ways in which governments shape labour markets and Essay

Explain three ways in which governments shape labour markets and Explain, using examples, three dimensions of the relationship between paid and unpaid work - Essay Example nt base in order to instill more confidence in the workforce and â€Å"focus on the context for investment† (Lecture 3, p.3) thus creating a congenial environment for business while addressing the social concern of employment. In the current economic situation where the role of government in protecting labor has been reduced to the bare minimum due to globalization and advancements in technology, it is flexibility of the job market that is more in perspective than formulation of laws to safeguard labor. However, the scope of employment also raises the issue of work where salary is high that consequently raises the standard of living and another type of work where workers are paid low wages leading to social disparity and discontent. The issue of low wages is compounded by globalization that firms use as bargaining chip to tame labor with threats of outsourcing, giving business the upper hand as trade unions have largely been marginalized in an environment where technology has reduced manpower. The government is not only responsible to oversee a strong and vibrant economy but also to ensure equitable living conditions for every citizen in general, and the weaker sections of society in particular. There are some countries like the Scandinavian nations where the citizens enjoy generous social packages even if they are unemployed. There are other nations where 5 percent of the population enjoys 95 percent of the nation’s wealth, whereas 95 percent of the population survives on 5% of the country’s resources. It may not be possible for every country to satisfy every citizen with generous social schemes, but it is necessary to create conditions where everyone feels cared for. Generally, the government is noncommittal when it comes to the interest of workers in the lowly paid services basically for two reasons: one, the government wants to encourage new entrepreneurs to rise to the occasion and take advantage of working conditions under the new technological order

Air and sea gas exchange in coastal zones Research Paper

Air and sea gas exchange in coastal zones - Research Paper Example There are inherent challenges in obtaining homogeneous data for coastal waters making the data available to be fully conclusive since it is difficult to accurately quantify the gas transfer velocity as, it is influenced by a wide range of environmental variables, most of which are strongly interlinked. Formal mathematical descriptions are being developed but they are not yet definitive. Gases are present in our atmosphere as well as in oceans. These gases get mixed with one another as an exchange takes place between the two mediums regarding the gases present in them. Our atmosphere contains a number of gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and many other gases (Tokoro, et al 2007). Likewise, the oceans also contain a number of different gases that get emitted into the air. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that is naturally created as well as fabricated because of man’s effort enters the seawaters and the oceans pay no hindrance in accepting the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Tokoro, et al 2007). Just as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere enters the water of the oceans, similarly, the gases from oceans such as methyl iodide and dimethyl sulphide enter the atmosphere and affects the earth’s atmosphere (Tokoro, et al 2007). There are many factors that affect the exchange the gases between seawater and atmosphere such as wind speed and temperature (ABE, et al 2010). Speed and temperature play a crucial role in affecting the exchange of gases as it is due to these factors that the process of gas exchange between seawater and air gets started and even gets faster or lower. Coastal zones are important sites to notice the exchange of gases between atmosphere and seawater. A descriptive account of air and sea gas exchange in the coastal zones can be found in this paper, as the purpose of this paper is to inform about this exchange. Chemical oceanography encompasses both inorganic and organic chemistry and it involves the

Mortality Rate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mortality Rate - Research Paper Example Adjusting the mortality rates is important if we have to compare populations of age-sex groups or belonging to different time periods. â€Å"In order to avoid errors in interpretation, mortality rates must be adjusted to a common population with a known age structure† (Hispanic Health Homepage, 2001). Thus, we standardize the mortality rates. This also called adjustment to calculate mortality rate and its significance is seen when we observe that there are many diseases that occur at different rates in different ages. For examples, cancer occurs most often in elder people while physical injuries happen to younger age group within the same population. So, when we age-adjust the statistics, we can tell what health conditions the population is suffering from and what are the mortality rates when compared with other populations (Department of Health, 1999). If we use unadjusted mortality rates, then this comparison is not possible and it also becomes difficult to interpret the dif ferences between the mortality rates of different populations or different time periods. Question2 Adjusted and unadjusted mortality rates are useful for healthcare organizations in decision making process in that when a speedy result is required in making comparisons of health conditions or mortality, then crude or unadjusted rates are sufficient.

A Better Future with Green Technology Essay Example for Free

A Better Future with Green Technology Essay We live in the 21st century which has been called the â€Å"century of the environment†. Our nation’s leaders and individual citizens are coming to an understanding that we can not assume any longer that problems such as pollution, climate changes and the dwindling amount of natural resources can be put off for a future generation to deal with (Green Technology, 2010). There are many uses and reasons for green technology. However, with the use of green technology we can have a healthier, cleaner and possibly longer future. In this paper, I will be discussing just a few of those many uses. The term technology refers to the application of knowledge for a practical purpose. Now the field of green technology encompasses a continuously evolving group of industries, industrial applications, methods and materials which exploit the value of the technologies that benefit the environment. This includes techniques from generating energy all the way to non-toxic cleaning products (Green Technology, 2010). These groups particularly exploit the way this technology impacts the human condition. See more: Unemployment problems and solutions essay The group of effected industries is quite diverse. It includes businesses as far as the fields of energy and agriculture. There are some who predict that someday every consumer product will be affected by green technology. The main goal of green technology is to find ways to produce technology in a way that does not damage or deplete any of the Earths natural resources. The use of green technology is supposed to reduce the amount of waste and pollution that is created during production and consumption. There are many different uses for green technology in our everyday lives. These different uses include a renewable energy source from alternative fuels, recycling, building green, natural and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, green chemistry and even green nanotechnology (Green Technology, 2010). The most urgent of these issues is perhaps the use of renewable energy. The two main ways to be able to generate energy would be by using solar powered panels and the other is using wind turbines. Recycling is an easy way for us to help out our future generations. Recycling helps to eliminate unnecessary waste in our landfills and is also environmentally friendly. Another good way to also be environmentally friendly is to buy products that have been made using recycled products and natural ingredients. The U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency defines building green , also known as â€Å"sustainable† or â€Å"high performance† building, as the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort (Palmese, 2009). Building green encompasses everything from the choice of building materials to where a building is located (Green Technology, 2010). The United States military is trying to cut back its dependency on their usage of fossil fuels. Therefore, they are turning to more greener and natural approaches to curb their dependency. The green that the military is turning to is definitely not the camouflage. Currently the Army and Navy are both exploring green technology options. Soldiers are going green with solar power units, purifying stagnant waters, solar tents and LED lights (Lowman, 2011). The military is developing two solar powered humvees that they call FED Alpha and FED Bravo. FED stands for Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (Iliaifar, 2011). FED Bravo’s details are very sparse and so it still remains more of a mystery. FED Alpha is suppose to be equipped with a solar panel that is mounted on the Humvee to be able to assist with its electrical systems (Iliaifar, 2011). The U.S. military are currently using solar powered cooling tents in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has a goal to achieve 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025. Fort Drum, NY has one of the world’s largest solar installations which currently heats the entire base (Lowman, 2011). The U.S. army and the U.S. Navy have both kicked off net zero programs which is aimed at reducing not only energy use on bases and also on water use and waste. The U.S. Navy is aiming for half of its bases to have net zero energy consumption by 2020. The Army is planning to install rooftop solar installations in as many as 160,000 private military home in 33 different states to help with energy costs (Westervelt, 2012). The Navy has commissioned a ship that is energy efficient. It is called the Makin Island. It is the first amphibious assault ship to replace its steam boilers with gas turbines. It is also the first Navy surface ship to be equipped with both gas turbinesand an auxiliary propulsion system (Department of Defense, 2009) The trucking industry is also continuously evolving to be be more green. Carriers are going with cleaner trucks to get better fuel mileage and help cut out on harmful emissions. These days there are numerous opportunities for a carrier to turn their fleet into a green fleet (Britton, 2010). California is becoming more of a green state. The state of California passed new laws to where a truck driver can not idle there truck if it is not a clean emissions truck. Now that the new clean trucks, Freightliner Cascadia and the International ProStar and Lonestar, are readily available it makes this easier to achieve. The trucking industry has been able to achieve nearly zero nitrogen oxide emissions as of January 1, 2010. It also achieved zero particulate matter emissions as of January 1, 2007 (Britton, 2010). Now that the trucking industry has been able to cut back nearly all emissions to zero they are turning their sights on another problem. The new problem the industry is tackling is fuel consumption. One thing they have tried so far is using auxiliary power units, which are also known as APUs, when idoling the truck at a rest area or truckstop has helped instead of burning a gallon of fuel an hour to idol the truck like before it now takes a gallon to idol for all ten hours since having an APU installed on the trucks. Another way the trucking industry was tried to conserve fuel to become greener is by switching to wide-based tires. This has cut consumption as much as ten percent in some cases (Britton, 2010). Freightliner has clean drive technology in all their trucks they make now. They can claim this only due to Selective Catalytic Reduction, or SCR, and Blue Tec Emissions Technology that help their heavy duty trucks to exceed EPA standards while still being cost efficient, practical and proven to stand the wear and tear of the industry (Freightliner). Blue Tec Emissions Technology has proven to increase performance with every drop of diesel fuel, reduce more of the pollutants from exhaust gases, and improve profitability from every mile covered. The Blue Tec Technology treats the exhaust gases and the end results are nitrogen and water. The same thing we breathe in. The Cascadia has an aerodynamic exterior to also help reduce drag and improve on fuel efficiency. There are new developments constantly in the field of green technology. One of the new developments is a hydrogen powered car. It is a zero emission car that produces water as exhaust. Green technology is hitting our major cities. Most cities are going organic and natural to preserve the Earth’s resources. Most larger cities have public transportation that run off clean fuel. Before we know it there will not be a location that is not going green or already gone green. We ourselves can jump on the green bandwagon. We can do this simply by doing a few things we already do to begin with. The first way is to come up with your own cleaning supplies from a few things around the house such as baking soda, vinegar and even lemons. Baking soda is good to remove stains, cut through tough grease and to freshen carpets (US Green Technology,2012). With these three simple products you could clean your entire home. Vinegar and newspaper or paper towel you can clean windows, mirrors and tile. Do not throw out any old electronics. It is better to donate old cell phones to someone in need or recycle them at a store that offers it. This is important because the old battery and possibly even the device still could contain mercury, which is extremely poisonous to the environment (U.S. Green Technology, 2012). After all the hard earned money spent on the device to begin with, it would be better to put it to good use some how. Another way to be green is the stop drinking bottled water because it saves our planet from having another non-biodegradable plastic bottle laying around. It is better to get a filter that you place on your faucet (U.S. Green Technology, 2012). Hopefully the nation’s leaders and all of the individual citizens will come to understand that while we live in the century of the environment, they can no longer assume that the Earth’s natural resources will be there for the future generation to be able to handle the problems of pollution, climate changes and the rapidly dwindling amount of natural resources left. There are many great uses and reasons for choosing to use green technology. The use of green technology can lead us all to a healthier, cleaner and possibly longer future. References Bibb, B. (2011) Green Perspectives Mandatory Commercial Recycling Creates Manufacturing Jobs. Green Technology. Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/green_technology_magazine/a-new-kind-of-corporation-in-california-for-a-new-bottom-line-q-/green-perspectives-mandatory-commercial-recycling-creates-manufa/ Britton, D. (2010, February 17) Investing wisely in Green Technologies. Heavy Duty Trucking. Retrieved from http://www.truckinginfo.com/news-details.asp?news_id=69434 Department of Defense. (2009, October 22). Retrieved from http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=49147 Freightliner Trucks (2012, March 5) Retrieved from http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/TruckInnovation/Clean-Drive-Technologies Green Technology (2010) Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/what.htm Green Technology (2010) Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/about.htm Iliaifar, A. (2011, December 29). Retreived from http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/us-military-planning-to-go-green- with-hybrid-humvees/ Lowman, M. (2011, August 01) The military goes green. Science/Technology. Retreived from http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/01/v-print/1381865/the-military-goes-green.html Palmese, R. (2009, June) Green Building Construction in California. Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/greentech-report-june09r.pdf U.S. Green Technology. (2012, January 14). How to be Green. Retrieved from http://www.usgreentechnology.com/stories/how-to-be-green/ Westervelt, A. (2012, Febuary 2). Why the military hates fossil fuels. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/02/why-the-military-hates-fossil- fuels-and-you-should-too-part-one-inefficiency/ Westervelt, A. (2012, February 6). The Military’s Green Tech Strategy. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/06/why-the-military-hates-fossil-fuels-part-two-alternatives/ Westervelt, A. (2012, February 14). How the Military uses Green Tech to Save Soldiers L ives. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/14/how-the-military-uses-green-tech-to-save-soldiers-lives/

Strategies for Workforce Shortage in Australian Healthcare

Strategies for Workforce Shortage in Australian Healthcare Introduction The Australian healthcare system has over the years been ranked as one of the best on the global perspective (Naccarella, 2014). This has been based on the extent to which quality care is given and the investment of the state of the art technology to facilitate these processes. However, there are various major concerns that continue to ail the health care sector in Australia (Scott, 2009). The shortage of healthcare providers within the country has remained a key issue that continue to impact on any attempts to make positive strides. While the respective states in Australia such as Queensland have adopted measures in the move to resolve this concern, it remains a thorny issue (Lim Seale, 2014). Therefore, there is a need for the adoption of a management model that is implemented on the national scale so as to resolve this issue. The importance of the shortage management model is emphasised by the vital role that the sector plays towards the economic development (Moran, Burson Conrad, 2014). A sector that has served as an icon for different countries across the globe faces the threat of undergoing through massive decline as the shortage of qualified workforce continue to linger. This is especially based on the fact that this shortage is in line with the future demand for healthcare service (Parrella, 2013). The gap between the demand for healthcare services by the Australian population and the supply of the care givers continue to widen (Lines, 2015). Previously, historical models of finding a long term solution towards the issue have not been effective. This creates the need for the development of an effective management initiative that would play a key role towards resolving the issue and casting a ray of hope towards this essential sector in the Australian context. This report aims at presenting a management initiative that could be implemented within the Australian healthcare sector so as to address the issue of workforce shortages. The initiative is known as the NEW DAWN management model. The rationality of the name of the model is the new insights that it seeks to bring into the Australian healthcare sector in the long term .The model is to be implemented on a national perspective so as to ensure that it is able to address the key concerns on a holistic approach. The main elements that are included in the report include; identification and substantiation of need and aim of the initiative, the relation to best practice and a business plan that would facilitate the implementation of the model. Essentially, the focus of the management initiative is to develop a framework of reducing the workforce shortage with the Australian context in the long term. In the context of this study, the workforce population in the Australian healthcare sectors is taken to incorporate all forms of staff who work towards delivering care. This includes nurses and other healthcare practitioner. Within the Australian context, nurses represent the largest share of the workforce within the sector. They constitute more than 50% of the healthcare sector workforce within the country. Therefore, the insights developed within the management initiative outline are meant to provide a solution in relation to the entire workforce within the country. Identification and substantiation of need and aim of change/innovation Evidence of the need for the change/innovation According to data collected in the Australian healthcare sector in 2002, there is a massive gap in terms of the labour force. Evidence suggests that the country had a shortfall of 10-12,000 nurses (Segal Bolton, 2009). This is a representation of close to 5% of the entire healthcare workforce in the country. Worse still, the report presented by the Productivity Commission illustrated that the trend continues to soar over the years. This is a worrying factor this it is an illustration of the extent to which the workforce shortage within the healthcare sector in Australia may have far reaching implication towards the quality of care given in the long term. Different attributes have been linked towards the problem of workforce shortage within the Australian context. While seeking to devise an appropriate management initiative to address this concern, focusing on the key contributing factors is vital. One of the key reasons that have been cited to be contributing towards the increase in the workforce gap in Australia is the ageing population. Over time, the Australian workforce and population has been ageing at high rates. At the same time, the mortality rates have remained low compared to other countries across the globe. According to data presented by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) the number of nurse working in the country who are aged 55 years and above has increased massively over the years. The report indicates that in a period of ten years, the numbers increased from 7% in 1995 to 19% in year 2005 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2014). This is an illustration of the extent to which the elderly a ge continues to dominate the nursing and general healthcare workforce within the Australian context. Ultimately, the increase in the number of healthcare workforce aged 55 years and above within the country has contributed towards shortage of adequate staff to tend to the future demand. Another factor that has contributed towards the shortage of the healthcare workforce in Australia is the low uptake of related course within the colleges and other higher learning institutions. The healthcare course still remains largely unfavourable among the students at the college level in the country. This may be facilitated by the lack of mentorship or the perception that the field is not as well compensation as others. Studies suggest that the increase in the number of students who take up healthcare related course within the context of Australian sector has only been at 3%. Therefore, this is an indication of the need to adopt corrective measures to address this concern. Still on this note, the number of people who take up professional healthcare jobs in Australia compared to other countries is low. According to statistics, only 2.7 persons out of 1000 take up professional practice in the healthcare sector in the country (Segal Bolton, 2009). Furthermore evident suggests that Australia attempts to close this gap by relying on the overseas labour market by this has not worked effectively. Evidence that the change/innovation planned meets this need. The NEW DAWN management initiative is aimed at addressing the gaps that exist within the Australian healthcare sector by countering the specific challenges that have been faced. It will be aimed at increasing the number of students who take up the healthcare practices as a profession, and improve the ability of the country to manage the future needs of the sector. Since the model will be implemented in all the states across Australia, it will be effective towards addressing the key concerns that have been ailing the sector in terms of staff shortage. Change strategy in relation to best practice While implementing the new dawn management initiative, the focus is to ensure that the change elements are well implemented. For effective undertaking of this process Kotter’s 8 areas for successful change are used in illustrating the approach to be taken. By following the concepts that have been presented by Kotter it is expected that the new dawn change model will become a reality within the Australian healthcare sector. In this perspective, the model will be implemented in the following steps. Towards the New Dawn: Kotters 8 areas for successful change Area 1: A sense of Urgency This involves the process of creating a sense of interest and urgent needs to take action (Kotter Rathgeber, 2006). In this perspective, a message will be passed through social media including Facebook and twitter in the form of a campaign to get more youth involved in the healthcare sector in Australia. This will be effective since most of the young people who are the target audience for the new dawn change management initiative users to such forums. Area2: Building a Guiding Coalition This involves the process of getting likeminded parties to be part of support towards the change initiative that has been proposed. In this perspective, the play a vital role towards providing the required assistance in terms of information sharing and forging more support (Bateman, 2012). In the case of the new dawn initiative seeking to deliver more enrolment of young students in healthcare professions, the news media team will be used. More precisely, Sky News Australia will be targeted as the key support party. The link will be derived through the social media interaction. This group is selected as the first approach area since it reaches out to people across Australia using different information outlets. Also, students from different universities in Australia will be encouraged to be ambassadors of the social media campaign towards reducing the gap in the staff shortage in the Australian healthcare sector. Area3: Strategic vision and initiative The vision and initiative provides the drive towards achieving the targets set (Kotter Cohen, 2012). It also gives a sense of direction towards the approach set. In the context of the new dawn initiative, the vision is to reduce the workforce shortage to 0% in 5 years. This is to be achieved through achieving a 35% increase in the enrolment for healthcare related courses within the Australian colleges and learning institutions within the period. Area4: Enlisting a volunteer army This involves finding as many people as possible who are willing to support the change process (Rasmussen, Mylonas, Beck, 2012). In the case of the new dawn management program within the Australian healthcare sector, the volunteer army will be obtained from the social media. On twitter, the hash tag #iamAustraliasnewdawn will be formed to obtain support. By getting this conversation top go viral; more and more young people will gain an interest in enrolling for healthcare related courses. Similarly on Facebook, a group will be formed so as to advocate for the need to drive efforts towards achieving a new dawn in the Australian healthcare. Area5: Enable Action by removing barriers This involves eliminating any form of hurdles that may be experienced by potential supporters in giving their support (Pollack Pollack, 2015). To achieve this, the initiative will encourage people from different ages, gender and cultures, professions, to join in giving their voice through the social media and any other method that they may prefer. The overall intention is to ensure that the message of achieving a new generation of young people within the healthcare sector in Australia is achieved in the long term. Area6: Generating short term wins This involves the process of recognizing the small strides that have been made towards the change process (Naranjo-Gil, 2015). In the case of the new dawn initiative in the Australian healthcare sector, the change initiative will be evaluated weekly based on the number of followers it has achieved on the social media and the actual people who have enrolled as a result of the initiative. The weekly tracking will eventually escalate to monthly and annually. However, recognizing the small strides will play a key role in motivating the parties involved and making them feel part of the change program. Area7: Sustaining acceleration The process of getting more people involved in the process of creating awareness on the need to have more young employees within the Australian healthcare will be achieved by changing approaches. For instance, in the first phase of evolution, the target of the initiative will be on the individual major universities in Australia. This focus will help in generating a more personalised approach of the initiative by the students and the faculty within the university. They will be in a position to take the process more seriously and embrace initiative to implement the suggested approaches. Area8: Instituting change This involves the process of ensuring that the concepts that have been suggested are implemented within the framework that that it has been intended (Bateman, 2012). In the case of the new dawn, strategies will be put in place to ensure that different states of Australia make the changes of increasing the number of university students who enrol in the healthcare related courses. This will be achieved through making a follow up with the political representatives of the different states to ensure that they recognise the approaches that they need to adopt so as to ensure that the new dawn change management program become successful. Business plan Tasks July-Sept 2015 August-October 2015 November-December 2015 Jan-March 2016 April-June 2016 Initiation of the change campaign Passing information to universities Passing information to hospitals Political elites Change achievement Based on the Gantt chart provided, it is estimated that the change will have been achieved fully by the end of June 2016. By this period, the targeted increase in the number of young students who enrol in healthcare sector courses in different states in Australia is expected to have increased. Most of the responsibility of undertaking these tasks will be for the change management team that has been selected to undertake the project (Hornstein, 2015). Undertaking these tasks as a team will help in ensuring that the level of control towards the operations involved is maintained over time. Before the actual adoption of the change management plan, detailed research in relation to the extent of the issue in the Australian market will be conducted. This will be aimed at so as gain deep insights. This will help in responding to any issues that are raised by the parties participating in the process of achieving the change within the healthcare sector in Australia. Control mechanisms There are various issues that may have to be considered while implementing the new dawn initiative in the Australian healthcare. These are the control concepts that will give an indication of the difficulty in achieving the set change plane. One of the key elements is the cost. The cost of implementing the project may become too high to the extent that the entire process ceases to be feasible. Since it is intended to cover the national scope covering all states in Australia, this may happen. To some extent, the project may be abandoned if the costs become too high. At the same time, if the project takes too long to achieve the desired outcomes based on the set timeline, it may lead to eventual termination. Therefore, the timelines that have been set will be adhered to with the provision of only few weeks if the project is to be implemented. Transitional arrangements The transitional arrangement that may be facilitated within the specific hospitals in Australia may involve the effective hand over of position. The management of the hospitals within the country will be informed effectively on the need to ensure that the young graduates from different universities within the country are welcomed peacefully. This also involves facilitating the process of induction so as to ensure that they are able to deliver towards the success of the Australian health sector in the long term. Resources Costs The resources required for the implementation of the project will be minimal. The considerations include the travel costs, stationery and internet charges that will be used. Such costs will be significant as to warrant the justification of the progress that has been made towards the implementation of the project. Risks The risk management policy adopted will be in line with the specific development at each stage of the process. This will ensure that appropriate measures of hedging against risks are adopted and implemented at each stage of the process. In the long term, it will be effective in terms of allowing the process to run smoothly without any form of external disruptions. Evaluation of the change/initiative The evaluation of the success of the initiative will be measured quarterly. This is based on the specific objectives that have been set for the specific quarter of the year. At this point, the points of success or failure will easily be identified since the process will have been broken down into different stages. The focus of phases as opposed to the process as a whole will be effective in terms of controlling the factors impacting on the process. Dissemination of plan to others The information relating to the completion of the project will be done through the social media, news article among others. The intention will be to provide the details of the success story in relation to the project to as many people as possible especially the policy makers in the Australian health sector over the strides that have been made through the process.

The Study of Existents in Sandpiper Essays -- Ahdaf Soueif Sandpiper I

The Study of Existents in Sandpiper In a short story like "Sandpiper", where the protagonist does little except move around in her beach-house in an uneventful afternoon, thinking her thoughts, readers must look for an attraction alternative to the plot. Indeed, the writer, Ahdaf Soueif, has chosen to offer to us an interesting array of existents, in place of the story line, as the main focus of this narrative. In the following essay, I shall discuss how existents--the collection of characters and setting--are used to invoke feelings of dispossession and displacement in the story "Sandpiper", which are essential in raising the main issue of the story, which is the question of one's identity. Having agreed that the event itself, a summer afternoon spent at a beach-house, is rather inconsequential, we go on to deduce that the actions of our characters, since they do not contribute to the plot, are actually reflections of their personality. This is what French structuralist, Tzvetan Todorov proposed as a characteristic of psychological narratives, narratives which place their main focus on the development of their characters (Chatman 114). We can therefore, identify distinctive traits belonging to the characters by observing their actions. The characters in this narrative are few: namely the protagonist, "I"; her estranged husband (she refers to him as "her lover"); her daughter, Lucy and her husband's old nanny, Um Sabir. Since it is only the protagonist that appears most often and to whom the readers interact directly, I shall focus most of my discussion based on her development . Our protagonist, "I," can be further differentiated into the narrator, I-now and the character, I-then. I-now is the present figure that has ... ...his narrative is such that we follow the chain of thoughts of our protagonist "I" as she considers the repercussions of her broken marriage. Since we only interact directly with her, we become persuaded to take her point of view, thus her problem becomes our problem too. In its effective use of character, by focusing the essay on one specific character and endowing her with specific traits relevant to bring out the issues concerned and by setting up the story in an environment that can both draw responses from the protagonist as well as clearly portray her feelings to us, "Sandpiper" has successfully raised the question on one's identity. Works Cited Soueif, Ahdaf. "Sandpiper". Sandpiper. London: Bloomsbury, 1997: 23 - 36. Chatman, Seymour. "Existents". Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UP, 1978: 107 - 145.

Against Happiness by Jim Holt Essay -- Against Happiness, Jim Holt

Jim Holt fails to label happiness as yet another social evil in "Against Happiness", an essay in the sunday magazine of the New York Times from June 20, 2004. In this essay Holt argues that: "Sad people are nice. Angry people are nasty. And, oddly enough, happy people tend to be nasty, too." This presents an intriguing, counterintuitive arguement to his readers, and while this is definately an intresting arguement to engage in, Holt falls short of convincing me of happiness' darkside. Sometimes he seems to just be rambling- this piece feels more like a discussion than an arguement, many times in the essay he reports evidence which may be convincing, if it wasn't immediately deflated by counter evidence or the author's own cautiousness, and worst of all, the report used to support his otherwise irresitable thesis, doesn't support it at all. The appeal in "Against Happiness" seems to be purely emotional. It seems that Holt belives that if the reader questions happiness enough, and gets sideways enough about the definition of happiness, they might be confused and paranoid enough to start beliving that maybe, possibly, if happiness were like that, and if happy people might do that, then I guess it may be possible that happiness could be bad in a certain circumstance. According to Holt's research, happiness is: a mood, an "'everything is fine' attitude that reduces motivation for analytical thought", "positive affect" (Holt later comments that "Elaborate scales have been invented to measure individual happiness, but researchers admit that difficulties remain), "well feeling", "a shallow and selfish goal", "a psychiatric disorder" (although Holt rebuffs by saying "that may be going a bit far"), and "An agreeable sensation arising from contem plating the misery of another" (Holt again steps back, "theres no need to be that cynical"). Thats a confusing combination that leads to a very loose definition of happiness, which makes this a difficult arguement to follow. The evidence Holt uses might work if he didn't undermine it by questioning it or prividing a counterpoint. He seems to be overly cautious, almost like he's having a hard time believing it. On one hand, "the United States consist... ...al. Maybe it was just an overlooked mistake by Holt, but considering that NYT's fact checking department was involved, and considering Holt writes in trusted, widely circulated publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Slate, this is a mistake he simply should not make. Holt's misuse of evidence, poor use of other evidence, lack of support, lack of definition, and almost neutral stance make his arguement impossible to get behind. His message comes across unclear, and I'm still not sure what to think of it. It lacked the power to illicit an immediate response from me, and I'm sure many other readers. Please do your readers a favor Mr. Holt- next time you decide to kick an idea around, don't stake your claim in bad science, don't convince by confusion, and please use less "journalistic caricature". DeSteno, David, Dasgupta, Nilanjana, Bartlett, Monica Y. & Cajdric, Aida (2004) Prejudice >From Thin Air. Psychological Science 15 (5), 319-324 Misreporting Science in the New York Times: Against Happiness By Martin E. P. Seligman July 29, 2004 http://learnv.ycdsb.edu.on.ca/lt/FMMC/hpteacher.nsf/Files/mcmanad/$FILE/auth2.html

Military Justice System in the United States Essay -- Law

When one joins the United States military, one becomes subject to a completely new justice system. While the primary purpose of the United States justice system is to dispense "justice," that is not the primary reason for the creation of a separate justice system for America's Armed Forces. The primary purpose of the military's system is to provide the military commander with necessary tools to enforce good order and discipline. That's why, for example, it's not considered a "crime" to be late for work at your civilian job, but it is a "crime" to be late for work in the Military. The purpose then is to keep soldiers acting as soldiers so the correctional philosophy in the military has evolved in such a way to do just that. In discussing the UCMJ and corrections, the following topics are significant. Introduction and History of the UCMJ Counseling and Corrective Training Non-Judicial punishment in the UCMJ Courts Martial in the UCMJ Introduction and History of the UCMJ The Uniform Code of Military Justice is a federal system of laws created by congress in 1950. The UCMJ replaces the Articles of War that had been the justice system since 1789. The UCMJ is the foundation for justice in the United States Military. The UCMJ has had several major revisions to keep with the times; two such revisions came in 1968, and 1983. The UCMJ may also be referred to as United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 47. The Uniform Code of Military Justice otherwise known as the UCMJ exists to keep disciplne and order in the military. (Powers, Military Justice 101) The UCMJ resembles civilian laws in many ways. It has laws that address stealing, burglary, alcohol, and many others a kin to civilian laws. The di... ...nt behavior in the military. References Department of the Army. (2002) AR 21-10 Military Justice. Washington D.C.: United States Army Publishing Authority. Department of the Army. (1992) FM 21-1 Legal Guide For Commanders. Washington D.C.: United States Army Publishing Authority. Department of the Army. (2002) Manual for Courts-Martial. Washington D.C.: United States Army Publishing Authority. Powers, R. (n.d.). Nonjudicial Punishment. Retrieved February 13, 2005, from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/article15_1.htm Powers, R. (n.d.). Military Justice 101. Retrieved February 13, 2005, from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/miljustice.htm

Criminal Justice Trends Paper

For the past 50 years, America’s criminal justice system has encountered several significant changes dealing with courts and policing. According to Marion and Oliver (2006), the historical Supreme Court rulings like Mapp v. Ohio and Miranda v. Arizona mold the way courts and law enforcement handle individuals charged with committing crimes. This paper will discuss the evolution of courts and law enforcement reflects the diverse and changing need for today’s population which is first importance, the urgency for cooperation and communication among criminal justice agencies and law enforcement within the country.Individuals must know the importance for courts and police to collaborate closely together for the goal of ensuring all laws are applied fair and equally, protect the public, and prevent crimes for all individuals. Police History Before the 13th century the primary function of justice during this century was getting revenge in other parts of the world in the same c entury made attempts to establish law and order in countries, such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt (NCWC, 2004). From 1066-1285 the Frankpledge of this time was the only system of justice in the English-speaking world (NCWC, 2004).The Frankpledge system went by another name as well its name was the tithing system, which was the same as tithing in church. This system was to take 10% of household earnings every Sunday, and a community of 10 separate households had the obligation to control its own law and order. If any man had knowledge of a crime it was his obligation to take part in things and taking part in the search of the perpetrator (NCWC, 2004). In time the tithing system world evolve into another system and its name was known as the parish constable-watch system (NCWC, 2004).The new system had a different method; the community would appoint one individual of the tithing system to serve for one-year as the constable. One duty of the constable was to employ other men in the communit y to perform duties at night; the name of this position was watchman (NCWC, 2004). These watchmen had to work in rural locations, which made up 10 things that were also known as one or 100ths would make up the shire (NCWC, 2004). Each shire community would appoint what was known as a shire-reeve or sheriff. In England around 1326 justices of the peace became the new title to replace the name shire-reeve (NCWC, 2004).One adoption of the American colonies was wholesale English policing and the rebirth of the sheriff’s position. Many of the early police departments had only two positions day and night personnel, and in 1845 many cities in American police departments were run by police chiefs (NCWC, 2004). Copying many of England’s reforms and innovations were policies the Americans would adapt for its own use. Of the many adaptations, the one to notice most (NCWC, 2004) is the Bowe Street Runner or known as the creation of the detective position in 1748 (NCWC, 2004).In 18 29 Sir Robert Peel of England wrote the first set of policing principles for the Metropolitan police department of London England. One principle was to become more proactive instead of reactive this gave birth to the patrol officer a principle American police would adopt (NCWC, 2004). Law enforcement has had many trial and errors (NCWC, 2004) in developing crime prevention programs. The best system to date is the creation of community policing, which began in the 1990s. The History of CourtsIn 1781 America became a nation with George Washington defeating Lord Cornwallis in Yorktown. One change dealing with colonial times, the United States courts has developed their own way to deal with social conscience and needs from the new nation. According to Currie (1992), the Sixth Amendment guarantees a public and speedy trial and informs all charges with a jury trial. Throughout history citizens were called to settle disputes, today’s juries are considered the hybrids of European, Ro man, Greek, and Egyptian jury practices.The jury system in America is also influence by the English jury system. Another one of America’s constitutional right is due process which is the basic for fairness that is important in the judicial system which allows our system to work with honor and integrity. According to Currie (1992), the factors of due process involve the United States Constitution; Amendments V, and XIV and in 1970 Illinois State Constitution adopted some rights for due process. For the past seven and half centuries due process was the mission of men persistent to create justice in the government.The federal courts for years used a method of suspended sentencing as a form of probation which in 1916; the Supreme Court ruled this was unconstitutional. President Coolidge in 1925 signed the Probation Act that gives the court’s permission to throw out imposition sentencing and give the defendant probation. The Speedy Trial Act was enacted by congress in1974 a t the point the United States Courts started the agency of Pretrial Service. The mission of this was to decrease crime by allowing individuals to be release into the community awaiting trial to decrease pretrial punishment.In 1982 the Pretrial Services Act was signed by President Reagan. The extending use of Pretrial Services to all federal courts started a specific milestone that we now know as Pretrial Service and Federal Probation system. As of today, officers are involved in the criminal procedure one the individual is arrested until the individual finish community regulations. Analysis of Courts and Policing Past and Present Law enforcement has gone through many challenges and changes since its inception in the 13th century.In the past 50 years to the present law enforcement has grown from just a few law enforcement agencies to many as many as 18, 760 departments with personnel amassing 940, 275, and a budget of $51 billion dollars these agencies share (NCWC, 2004). This is a c ollection of data taken in 2000 by a number of police departments in the United States (NCWC, 2004). This collection of data reports that the Justice and Treasury departments has 60 federal police departments, highway patrol has 26 departments, 23 state police departments, and Hawaii is the only state without a police department, but does have a public safety department (NCWC, 2004).In addition 35 states have other agencies with special investigative powers, which have its limits (NCWC, 2004). Throughout the United States (NCWC, 2004) Sheriff departments have well over 3, 000 department, and municipalities with well over 15, 000 police departments. The United States is the only country with many law enforcement agencies, and no one agency functions or has the same kind of departmental structure (NCWC, 2004). Much of the future of policing depends largely on the education of its personnel.The education of new recruits is essential for the way police will perform. Improving human rela tions and developing a strong sense of new technology is of supreme importance for policing in the future to become a success. Contemporary Opportunity Analysis With over 18,000 contemporary Law Enforcement agencies today designated more titles, roles, and responsibilities among its personnel depending on the jurisdiction mainly local and state police operated.Law enforcement’s maintains a leading role in controlling crime yet professionalism and ensuring due process for every person accused of a crime regardless of demographics but in today’s criminal justice system: race, age, gender, mental status, and prison over-capacity are factors affecting policy-making. As (Smith, 1990) proclaimed (â€Å"The greatest judicial pressure for police reform and professionalization came with the controversial decisions defining criminal defendants' rights during the Warren era. â€Å").Rehabilitation programs became a valuable resource and alternative to incarceration in many crim inal cases which coincide with community policing. In comparison, law enforcement and the courts have the opportunity to make changes to policies; both are policy-makers within the system with a set of rules for making decisions in which is usually the focus of a single issue (Marlon & Oliver, 2006). The new laws put in to place by the high court’s affects all players including police investigations through courts and parole in the criminal justice system because policies can be in written or verbal form and not all policies are effective.According to (Yackle, the Court's policy decisions affecting criminal justice are produced by the votes of the nine justices who select, hear, decide, and issue opinions in cases. With the demands from the public weighing heavy on the backs of the higher courts to change, enhance, block, or remove ineffective policies affects the criminal justice system as a direct result of conflicting problems or abuse of power by those in authority. Oppor tunities and Missed Opportunities for CooperationThe courts and the police have a great opportunity to work with defendants in the process from arrest to the trial if the incident goes to trial. From the adult defendants down to the juvenile defendants and with the court system down to the criminal justice system can play an important role in the process for the defendants. There are opportunities for both sides to improve on the analysis of the problem what makes the defendant do what he or she does again and again to end up in the criminal justice system, i. e. social standing or environment (Williams, 2013).When it comes to the courts and the police there should be clear goals, objectives and priorities when it comes to the process from arrest to trial and the communications between both sides should be clear. There should be improved programs and services to support the victim, the victim’s family and the defendant by the police and the courts. The main goal of the courts and the police is communications and having clear goals and the opportunities for cooperation will be there and there will not be any missed opportunities for cooperation.One complete criminal justice system working together for the improvement of the justice system as a whole, that should be the focus and the goal clearly now and in the future (Williams, 2013). Conclusion The American Colonists used the English Policing and Judicial systems as the basis to establish our own systems when they established America as a new fledgling nation. When we borrowed England’s Policing and Judicial systems many items were changed and modernized to fit our needs. Sir Robert Peel is known today as the father of modern policing around the world.His set of principles for the Metropolitan Police Force of London led to modernization and professionalization of our police forces here in America. The court system that we borrowed from England was in no way perfect, so we changed our laws with th e introduction and passage of the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and fourteenth constitutional amendments. These amendments make the American Judicial System one that focuses on Due Process and ensures that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Today many nations model our policing and judicial systems, which is a tribute to the American Criminal Justice System.

Chemistry 1 Lab Report

Experiment 12: Calorimetry and Hess’s Law Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to determine the enthalpy of reaction for the burning of one mole of magnesium in oxygen. Although the reaction is exothermic, the ? HRXN will be determined by using calorimetry and then using Hess’s Law to manipulate the data collected to yield the answer needed. Procedures: Dillon, Stephanie. â€Å" Calorimetry and Hess’s Law. † Laboratory Manual. Pearson Publishing, 2012, pp. 168-177. Data and Results Part A Volume of cold water| 49. 9 mL| Temperature of cold water (in cup)| 23. 50 C| Volume of hot water| 49. 9 mL| Temperature of hot water(in cup)| 550 C|Part A Calculations Mass of cold water| 49. 9 g| Tf from graph by extrapolation| 34. 90 C| ?THW for hot water| -20. 1| ?TCW for cold water| 11. 4| qHW for hot water| -4196. 5 J| qcw for cold water| 2380. 1 J| qCal for the cup| 1816. 4 J| Ccup for the cup| 159. 3 J| Part B Description of sample| Metal fizzed when dissolved in H Cl| Volume of HCl| 100 mL| Initial Temperature| 220 C| Mass of Mg| 0. 1485 g| Part B Calculations Tf from graph| 50 C| Mass of HCl| 100 g| ?TCW for HCl| -2092 J| qHCl for solution| -204. 4 J| qCal for cup| -2296. 4 J| qRXN | -47594 J| ?HRXN for Mg| | NET REACTION: 2HCl(aq) + Mg(s)>MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)Part C Description of sample| | Volume of HCl| 100 mL| Temperature of HCl| 220 C| Mass of MgO| 0. 5052 g| Part C Calculations Tf from graph| 240 C| ?TCW for HCl| 1. 50 C| qHCl for HCl| 627. 6 J| qCal for cup| 61. 32 J| qRXN| 608. 92 J| ?HRXN for Mgo| 55469 J/mol| Net Equation: 2HCl(aq) + MgO(s)>MgCl2(aq) + H2O(l) Calculations: Conclusion: In this experiment we had to find the heat capacity of the calorimeter cup using two trials of hot and cold water. When we obtained the data after 10 minutes of recording 30 second intervals of the calorimeter cup temperature, we created a line graph to show the trend line. Read this Practice Test Chem 105With the trend line, we could figure out the final temperature and delta H in the process. With the equation we could find the heat of reation for hot water q HW = m c DTHW and using qCW = m c DTCW we could find the heat of reaction for cold water. By using |qHW| = |qCW |+ qCal, we can find the heat of reaction of the cup and multiply that by the change in temperature to find the heat capacity. After placing Mg into HCl and then the same thing with MgO, we could find the heat of solution of HCl with q CW = m c DTHCl.When we found the values of DHRxn for B and C we can use Hess's Law, which is shown in the calculations section. All the data is in the data section of the report. The percent error of Mg was about 30%. The actual value of Mg was 601200 J/mol and the experiment we obtained was 420611 J/mol. There could have been human error in order to obtain the results that could have accounted for the 30% error, although this is not so high. Also, the he at of formation we used was MgO(s) for the actual value, although in the experiment it was a gas. This could have also accounted for some error.

Prohibition and Marijuana: History Does Repeat

Decriminalization or to not decriminalize. That is the big question. Will the decriminalization of marijuana be the next revolution of America? Marijuana prohibition has been in effect since 1937, with trends that closely resemble those of alcohol prohibition-meaning an increase in crime, distrust, and dissension. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to stop Americans from using it, then it has failed, just like the other prohibition failed to make America a â€Å"dry† country. It is important to go back and look at the factors leading to marijuana prohibition-especially the stages of exaggeration, silence, and the imposition of severe penalties-before looking at the effects of prohibition during the last half-century. Let me first point out that I am an advocate of marijuana, and will not argue that marijuana is not harmless. Research shows that marijuana damages short term memory, distorts perceptions, impairs judgment and complex motor skills, alters heart rates, and has the potential to trigger severe anxiety, paranoia, and lethargy (www. ndsn. com). Yet I also feel its effects are in many ways less harmful than those of alcohol and tobacco-for instance, alcohol's potential to cause cirrhosis and tobacco's links to lung cancer and heart disease. Both are considered carcinogenic. In addition, alcohol is cited as a factor in half of this country's highway fatalities, half of all arrests made for any criminal charge-including homicides-and one-fourth of all suicides. In 1972 the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse estimated the social costs of America's alcohol habit to be $15 billion a year (www. ndsn. com); it has steadily increased since then. When comparing tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, there is strong evidence that marijuana has the least addictive power (www. peretto. com). However, this does not hide the fact that all three can have a strong impact on an individual. As with all drugs, they are capable of disrupting home life, affecting job performance, and causing withdrawal from society. In my opinion, all drugs share this power on equal terms because of the emotional problems of the people who use them; no single drug has more potential for harm than any other in terms of social impacts. While hemp has been grown in America since 1611 (Grinspoon, 1971, p. 1), the practice of smoking marijuana did not become widespread until the 1920's-a period of strong drug intolerance during the â€Å"great social experiment† of alcohol prohibition. Marijuana use was highest among people who also used opiates, primarily recent immigrants. In the 1930's, the common belief that immigrants were inhumane and violent included a strong belief that marijuana was part of the cause. Since it was associated with opiates, marijuana was quickly defined as a narcotic (Thies, C. F. , 1993 p. 71), and by 1931 all but two states had passed anti-marijuana legislation. The final two did so by 1937, the same year the federal government created the Marijuana Tax Act . For which no tax stamps were ever issued. Not once during this period of prohibitive legislation was any research conducted on marijuana and it's effects, nevertheless it was almost universally assumed that marijuana was a narcotic, caused psychological dependence, provoked violent crime, and led to insanity. The first of three strategies used to fight marijuana was silence. It was believed that if youth didn't hear about marijuana, they wouldn't become curious and experiment with it. Therefore, in the 1930's discussion about marijuana was forbidden in all public schools, and from 1934 to 1956 the Motion Picture Association of America banned all films showing the use of narcotics (www. legalize. com). The strategy did not work as well as hoped, so anti-marijuana groups adopted the next strategy: exaggeration. The goal was to scare potential marijuana users. Even such respected periodicals as the American Journal of Medicine went along with this strategy, publishing such warnings as: â€Å"Marijuana users will suddenly turn with murderous violence upon whoever is nearest to them. They will run amuck with a knife, axe, gun, or anything else that is close at hand, and will kill or maim without reason†. F. T. Merrill of the Opium Research Committee wrote: â€Å"While numerous crimes [have been] traced to its abuse, its peculiar virulent effect, leading sometimes to insanity, makes its use dangerous to the individuals and to society in general . . . [it] leads to uncontrollable irritability and violent rages, which in most forms cause assault and murder† (Grinspoon, 1971, p. 17). During my research I found a medical handbook written in 1970 that continued to report these myths as fact, going so far as to imply that the words â€Å"hashish† and â€Å"assassin†Ã¢â‚¬â€œwhich do have a common root in terms of word history–have a cause and effect relationship. In the same manual the word â€Å"amuck† was associated to a characteristic of the drug; according to its author, the word, which means â€Å"to kill,† â€Å"was the word the natives of Malay would shriek as they dashed down the street, maddened by hashish, in a murderous frenzy† (Williams, 1970, p. 140). From the official California police officers' guide of the same period came this warning: â€Å"Marijuana is the immediate and direct cause of the crime committed . . . the user is very often dangerous to handle or control, has no fear, feels no pain, and may commit crimes of violence. Penalties for marijuana use fluctuated with popular belief regarding its level of danger. If people believed the effects were particularly bad, the penalties were stiff, but during some decades public attitudes were more lenient, therefore penalties were reduced. Drug use declined, fear increased, and so did penalties throughout the 1950s. One of the first federal mandatory prison sentences was established at that time: 10 years minimum for marijuana possession, and a mandatory death sentence for selling marijuana to a minor (Theis, C. F. ,1993 p. 46). During the 1960s and 70s, penalties declined as use increased, with eleven states decriminalizing possession for personal use (Thies and Register, 1993, p. 389). Then, in the 1980s, drug use declined and penalties rose. The â€Å"three strike† program was established, under which a mandatory life sentence without parole must be given for third-time offenders. Judges no longer have the power to use their own discretion in sentencing, but are required to base their punishment on the â€Å"most serious readily provable charge†, including a mandatory death sentence for anyone found guilty of managing a major marijuana plantation of 60,000 plants. It appears that the current attitude toward marijuana prohibition is based on the belief that relaxed policies lead to greater use. Statistics argue otherwise: nationwide, marijuana use in 1984 was measured at 26. 3%, and in the eleven states that decriminalized marijuana, it was 27. 3%. In 1988 the percentages were 15. and 16. 1, respectively. In those eleven states, decriminalization meant that individuals were no longer arrested for simple possession. In ten of those states there is a $0-100 fine for possession-the result of a threat by the federal government to withhold highway money for states that did not have minimum punishment standards (Thies and Register, 1993, p. 387). Going outside the country for another example of how legalization does not lead to greater use, Holland has witnessed a 40% decrease in marijuana use since the Dutch government legalized it in 1976 (Grinspoon, L. 1971, p. 4). During the same time period, marijuana use has decreased in the United States, so it cannot be definitively argued that either stronger penalties or decriminalization is better at affecting the number of people who use marijuana. It seems clear that social policy, and not legal policy, had the greater effect in Holland. Accusations of marijuana's addictive powers are also under attack from well-designed research studies. During the Nixon administration (1972), the federal government reviewed existing studies and concluded that marijuana did not possess physically addictive traits. The great majority of articles published in medical journals since that time have agreed. For example, Dr. Jack Henningfield of the Addiction Research Center (part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse) and Dr. Neal Benowits of the University of California ranked heroin, cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and marijuana in terms of their power to induce psychological dependence. Nicotine was first, marijuana last. Marijuana also ranked last in terms of producing a physical tolerance to the drug, and was deemed least likely to produce signs of withdrawal upon quitting (Theis, C. F, 1993, p. 92). It seems as though the primary result of the three-pronged attack using strict penalties, silence, and exaggeration has been increased ignorance. Regardless of research findings refuting long-held claims about marijuana addiction since 1972, the old arguments of the 1930s continue to be used when establishing new soft drug laws. People's tendency to hold onto their initial beliefs means that most of their knowledge on the topic of marijuana is based on what their parents taught them. While it is the responsibility of all parents to teach their children values, this is not an acceptable basis for creating law. If the purpose of prohibition is to eliminate the use of a substance, then marijuana is certainly another example of how prohibition fails. In 1979, 68. 2% of all 18-25 year olds had tried marijuana at least once, and 35% said that they were regular users (U. S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1991). While those respective numbers have decreased to 50% and 13%, its clear that marijuana is still readily available and used by a large number of Americans. Two other detrimental effects of marijuana prohibition are the large amounts of money spent on enforcement and prosecution, and prison overcrowding. The percentage of the American population living in prison has increased from . 061 in 1880 to . 1 in 1920 to . 35 in 1995, with an associated tripling of real tax dollars required to house inmates. Today, 62% of all inmates are in prison for drug offenses-the result of a 1,100% increase in drug arrests between 1980 and 1992, even though marijuana use dropped from 35% to 13% during the same period. The increase in violent offenders incarcerated during that time was only 50%. Of felons convicted of crimes related to marijuana possession, production and trafficking during this period, 58% had no prior arrest history, 91% were not identified as organizers, leaders, managers or supervisors of drug-oriented organizations, and 92% did not own or possess a gun. In other words, the large majority of these felons should not be viewed as individuals endangering our society. I believe the main point of these statistics is that an enormous amount of money is spent each year on incarcerating non-violent and otherwise law-abiding citizens. Not including the money spent on prison management and construction, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) now spends $1. 3 billion a year â€Å"fighting† marijuana. Overall, federal anti-marijuana efforts have cost taxpayers $30 billion. The result: $2 billion worth of cannabis being seized and destroyed, 4 million people being arrested, and 250-thousand individuals being jailed for more than one year–but no basic change in usage patterns from the 1970†³s (www. bergen. com). Is it worth it? Mark Young is a victim of a US District Attorney's overzealous efforts to enforce federal marijuana laws. Young, a resident of Illinois, went on a fishing trip in Florida with some old friends, bringing along some marijuana for everyone to enjoy privately. His Florida friends asked Young to introduce them to the grower, which he did, then was cut out of the deal from that point onward. He was later arrested and charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. He had two strikes against him-minor possession charges that were twenty years old-so he faced a life sentence with no possibility of parole, even though he did not benefit at all from the transaction. The District Attorney offered Young a reduced charge if he testified against his friends and others whom he had no prior knowledge of. He refused, and the DA won his case without having to inform the jury about Young's two-strike status. The judge had no choice but to pass down a sentence of life without parole. In a prison interview, Young was quoted as saying, â€Å"They've only proved I'm capable of smoking a joint, or of introducing a guy to another guy who needs some pounds. That's the most they've proved me capable of. What they [the prosecutors] are doing, they're destroying these families and passing out life sentences, taking people's lives, putting children on the street-I mean horrendous acts. I don't know of anyone that would do anything that malicious for a salary† (Williams J. B. , 1970, p. 46). It is my opinion that the state has no right to interfere with anyone's private conduct, especially under the guise of protecting anyone from our own folly. The government is free to educate people as much as it wishes on the effects of using marijuana, education being the best way to alter behavior. However, it must not dictate what behavior an individual can or cannot practice in private. This opinion is the same one given in the 1972 report published by the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse; in their summary, the authors of that report argued that private production and consumption of marijuana should be made legal (National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972, p. 152). They also recommended continued efforts to arrest anyone involved in trafficking or in the commercial production of marijuana. The report was accepted by the President, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate, and the argument was later given support by President Jimmy Carter (Theis, C. F. , 1993, p. 45). However, political pressure prevented him from making concerted effort to reform marijuana laws. The original motivation for marijuana prohibition was based on a lack of knowledge. Nevertheless, the hate and fear resulting from initial attitudes still echo in current arguments against marijuana. Despite research to the contrary, a significant number of people refuse to have their beliefs challenged. And so billions of tax dollars continue to be spent on enforcement and prosecution, while use patterns remain the same-a return on an investment that no private business would ever tolerate. And it is important to remember that statistics describe many casual marijuana users such as M. Y. , and families that are affected by overly strict laws. Prohibition was established due to a misunderstanding, has not achieved its goal, and goes against an American philosophical approach. I believe it is time to reconsider its consequences.

Jack Davis ( No Sugar Essay)

NO SUGAR (JACK DAVIS) Jack Davis’ â€Å"No Sugar†, written in 1985, is a play that highlights Australian racism and cultural destruction caused by British colonialism. It is set in 1929 (Great Depression) in Northam, Western Australia. The play explores the impacts of the European social and political philosophy of the early 20th century on Aboriginal society. The focal points of this play are the superiority of white people, racism, and the bond between Aboriginal families. These themes highlight Australian culture, and have shaped it into its many different forms for all Australian’s today.Jack Davis has used dialogue between the characters in this extract to privilege a postcolonial reading of the text. Davis uses dialogue in order to construct a world in which the aboriginal people can be identified to the audience as an ill-treated, oppressed race. Davis uses dialogue to represent how the colonized react to the social situations in which they were subjugated to, on a regular basis in the early times of colonization. â€Å"CISSIE: Aw mum, Old Tony the ding always sells us little shriveled ones and them wetjala kids big fat one. Through this dialogue the audience identifies that society at the time did not allow the colonized to be classed as the same standard as the colonizer. Davis lends this text to a postcolonial reading through the use of characterization. The use of characterization in the play reinforces the idea that the characters amplify a sort of submission to English culture displays to the audience the effect of colonization. Although the characters retain many of their aboriginal attributes, such as living off the land â€Å"Come on, let’s get these rabbits. They have allowed themselves and their culture to be colonized by accepting many of the British attributes such as playing cricket â€Å"DAVID and CISSIE play cricket with a home-made bat and ball. † The aboriginal people have allowed themselves to colon ized acquiring British aspects, which coincide with their aboriginal heritage. Through this extract the characters also begin to read the paper, the combination of the children playing cricket and the elder reading the paper appears from an outside point perspective a very British activity. Looking at the context, which surrounds the writing of the play, can also support a postcolonial reading.Another device used by Davis is stage directions principally used to invoke or create a rising dramatic tension, an example of this is â€Å"He nicks his finger with the axe and watches the blood drip to the ground. † This is symbolic of the Aboriginals manifesting frustration; they are inflicting pain on themselves because they know it isn’t possible to inflict pain on their conquerors. Jimmy’s character represents the rebellion of any marginalized race; he pushes the boundaries as far as he can. The fact that Aboriginals are â€Å"dancing† for the white Australian s shows their power.This dancing is a form of service provided by the Aboriginals, they are expressing their culture but to the people who have destroyed it. It could almost be read as a child trying to get an adults attention by jumping around and holding out what they want. To Jimmy these dancing Aboriginals are jumping around and showing the White Australians that they want their culture back. This reach out to white settlers shows how much more dominate they are and their culture is. Through the use of dramatic conventions Jack Davis’ play No Sugar can be read as a postcolonial criticism.It presents a number of issues with colonization and the particular effects it had on the Australian Aboriginal people. First performed in 1985, the play deals with the struggles of the aboriginal people and oppression in which they endured by white Australian society. The play was set in 1929, a time when aboriginal people were not yet accepted as equals in society. The main ideas presen ted in the play are shown through the dialogue, characters and context. This extract uses techniques to set the basis for the idea’s that will be expressed throughout the entire play.

Gender Bias and Employment Discrimination Law Case Study - 78

Gender Bias and Employment Discrimination Law - Case Study Example If it is gender bias that we are concerned with, then that would imply distinguishing reactions towards two identical humans- identical in lifestyle, intelligence, competence, goals and many other factors - which the one distinction between them, which one is a male and the other is a female. This is exactly not a situation, which exists in our actual, real world. Practically, this fact makes it easier for females to internalize unfair criticisms as valid. If your work is discarded for a clearly bad reason, such as, it is because I am a woman, then you have no other way, but to dismiss the one who rejected them as biased, and; thus, not worth taking seriously. Â  I consider using experiments to tell which positions are fit for men and which are fit for women is a positive route to follow. At least we know that a study has been conducted by experts so the findings are reliable and the recommendations they give can be applied and the outcomes will be effective. However, I also feel that people should be allowed to hold various positions, not because of whether their bodies meet the physical and mental requirements, but due to their requirements. For instance, the women presented in the case study, she was very much willing and committed to working as a firefighter and furthermore, she did her work very well till the government decided to introduce new requirements that needed hopefuls to pass various physical tests in order to hold various positions that are considered manly.

Collaborative E-learning in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Collaborative E-learning in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example The new technologies provide the unique possibility for e-learning as part of the active educational process. The higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia can use the e-learning resources to improve the quality of the delivered education. Collaborative e-learning has the advantage of being flexible for the learners and the tutor. It is also highly valuable for group work since there is the need of class discussions which can be done in online form. In this way, the members of the group would have enough time to rethink their position without the social pressure of the face to face contact (Flexible Learning Website). Another aspect worth mentioning is the ability of the student to set the pace of the learning process. Thus the learner can realize the value of taking responsibility for his/her own improvement. In other words, e-learning trains the student to be proactive and take an essential part in the process of acquiring new skills. Different learning styles are also addressed by placing the emphasis on one's own pace of learning (Flexible Learning Website). The benefits of e-learning can be experienced especially in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia. According to the Koran a woman cannot be seen without her veil by males except for her closer relatives. The male professors might experience difficulties from religious essence while teaching to female students. Although direct teaching was used before 1990, it is no longer the case. The problem is deepened by the lack of female instructors in higher education ( Mirza, 2007; "Utilizing Distance Learning Technologies to Deliver Courses in a Segregated Educational Environment"). The most convenient way to address this problem is through e-learning. Technology might be put into practice in such cases. One example is the closed circuit television which is used by the instructor to deliver a lecture to female students who receive the information directly at the female campus. Another instance is the usage of telecommunications at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. "The program is setup in a way such that a course is taught to both male and female students at the same time, with both lecture halls being within close proximity to one another. As a matter of fact, the male and female lecture halls are directly adjacent to one another. Each student has an individual client machine connected through a local area network to the instructor's PC" ( Mirza, 2007; "Utilizing Distance Learning Technologies to Deliver Courses in a Segregated Educational Environment"). Still, e-learning might pose various problems to the tutor and the students. Although, it is highly interactive, it cuts the direct contact between the instructor and the students. It leads to inability to comprehend the material and misunderstanding of the true purpose of studying the particular subject. Good utilization of distance learning requires excellent knowledge of the used software and perfect computer literacy There are instructors and/or students who need more time to acquire the specific skills needed for the implementation of the e-learning. Another aspect of e-learning is the relative independence of the learning process which might be difficult to students with bad time-management habits. They would be intimidated by the progress of the others while not being able to set timetable for their

Analysis of Articles about Political Geography Issues Essay

Analysis of Articles about Political Geography Issues - Essay Example Vaclav Klaus was an economist, so he felt that the very best thing that could be done for the new country was economic reforms that would ease the transition from a Communist economy that was centrally planned to a free market economy. He felt that getting this transition underway quickly and with as little pain as possible would be the best way to create a stable, democratic nation. Vaclav Havel believed that creating a civil society was the most important task. He believed that just opening p the economy as a free market would not be a wise thing to do because he argued that free markets require people to act in a moral manner or corruption will drag the economy down. Vaclav Havel believed that democratic institutions should first be developed through decentralization of political power. He said that the best place to learn about democracy was at the local level. This went against Klaus because giving power to local governments could disrupt his economic reforms. The article goes o n to expand on Havel’s ideas about civil society and how they will eventually result in a global culture that embraces differences without conflict. Many of his ideas have helped make the Czech Republic a successful post-Communist state. Anderson, Jon Lee. "The Implosion." New Yorker 88.2 (2012): 58-67. Military & Government Collection. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. This article is about the reign of Bashar al-Assad and his ruling party that is made up of supporters in the minority Christian and Alawite Muslims. The current situation in Syria can be traced to events that have occurred over the past 50 years in Syria. The current destruction evidenced in Homs is nothing new for the political dictatorship headed by the al-Assad family for generations. Bashar al-Assad was not the son that was to take over the rule of Syria from his father, Hafez. This was to have been done by an older brother that was killed in a car accident. The younger Assad was studious and quiet. He studied abroad and attended medical school, training as an ophthalmologist.