Thursday, December 26, 2019

Short Story Chapter 1 - 1192 Words

‘Lord Fox!’ yelled a voice. The sound rang through Lord Fox’s head, bouncing and echoing all the way until he snapped back into consciousness. ‘Ahh!’ he winced, touching his head. ‘What happened?’ ‘For a moment, I thought I would have to call for Aunt Eliza,’ said Flossie, as she touched a gentle finger to his temple where a bump had sprung up like a miniature hill. ‘But what am I doing here?’ he asked, feeling rather bemused. ‘Don’t you remember?’ asked Alexander. ‘We came through the Chalk Gate just as the tremors started. We were both knocked down, however, you hit your head on the floor.’ ‘We dragged you under the table,’ said Flossie. ‘Otherwise, you would have had more than a bump to contend with.’ ‘Of course! I remember now, but I†¦show more content†¦At first, nobody moved. Their brains not able to make sense of what had just happened, yet, despite a scratch or two, and all things considered, they had come out of the tremors unscathed. And when they rose from under the table, they stretched the kinks from their legs. ‘Where’s Clemmie,’ asked Flossie. Silence. When she turned, she caught the glance between Lord Fox and Alexander. ‘Oh, no!’ she sobbed, as she nodded her head in denial. ‘Not our Clemmie.’ ‘Shhh!’ hushed Lord Fox, as he held her in his embrace. ‘Once Fen has finished upstairs, I will ask him to run a check. On the whole, I believe we have stopped the time-rift, and in doing so, Clementine has reverted back to her former life.’ ‘But what about our Clemmie? Will she ever come back to us at Chalk House?’ ‘I doubt it, my love.’ Deep inside, he wished it wasn’t true. Even though he had only known Clemmie a few days, he had come to love the little girl. She was like a ray of sunshine; a brave little warrior who filled his house with her special brand of quirky happiness. Bubbly and bright. ‘Come on, let’s go and find Fen.’ But, just as he opened the door to step outside the Chalk Pit, Bedstraw flew in from the other side. ‘Spfft!’ ‘Good morning, little one,’ smiled Lord Fox. ‘What is that in your hand?’ As Flossie peered over his shoulder, she chuckled through her tears. ‘It’s a smallShow MoreRelatedShort Story : A Short Chapter : Chapter 1971 Words   |  4 PagesIse said nothing though she did raise an eyebrow. Naoko coughed nervously and continued, â€Å"It’s just an idea but I’d like to at least try it out to see if it’ll even work and since you’re said to be really god with kidÃ…  I thought you could help me.† Ise’s face still looked unamused though when she spoke there was a hint of interest in her voice, â€Å"How did you come up with that idea?† The teen shrugged, â€Å"I read about a weapon Quincies have used called Seele Schneider. It’s like a sword but made ofRead MoreShort Story : A Short Chapter : Chapter 1739 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"I guess Yuri was right, which is mildly convenient† Sabra said. â€Å"The place is almost empty, their numbers are extremely low.† Screaming from a young woman could be heard coming from another room, surprising them. Turning their attention in the direction the scream was coming from. Everyone tried to move towards the screaming, before being halted by Paisley. â€Å"One group can go check that out. We need to go and look for Vittorio, it shouldn’t be an issue to split up for a little.† â€Å"I’m certainRead MoreShort Story : A Short Chapter : Chapter 11430 Words   |  6 Pagesher eyes, which were unable to see his in the darkness, then he checked to see Torins hand placed against her small waist more in reassurance than in having to hold her close to the wall. Once they reached the top landing, Duncan pulled the short braided rope attached to an old bronze ships bell. The clang rang off the stone walls which echoed loud enough to surly raise the dead at the very least to alert the household as was the intent. Duncan stepped back to let the door swing outward, whichRead MoreShort Story : A Short Chapter : Chapter 12137 Words   |  9 Pagesbrothers got in and went back to the motel. â€Å"Fay gets the bed,† Sam was about to protest when Dean quickly shut him up. â€Å"She stabbed a ghost in the eye twice, killed him, made friends with a ghost, and saved both our asses,† Fay just grabbed her black shorts and tank then walked into the bathroom. Stripping down, she turned on the hot water, letting the warmed rinse off the dirt and grime from the asylum. Turning off the water, she grabbed her toothbrush. As she got out the toothpaste there was a knockRead MoreShort Story : A Short Chapter : Chapter 12195 Words   |  9 Pageshappened to me would be considered within parameters. From there, they let me out of the machine and I faked being Sister long enough to be sent on my way.† Finishing off my water I set it down and nervously licked my lips. â€Å"And that’s basically my story. After leaving I got a new kit, put myself up in a hotel and over the next few days I wandered around, saw the city, did some research, and experimented a bit with being an Esper... Any questions?† Mikoto and Kuroko stared at each other and at Mikoto’sRead MoreShort Story Chapter 11266 Words   |  6 Pagesfright. Drakes smirk grew as he noticed this. You dont have a choice. As soon as those words made their way into the dead air he bolted towards the other boy. Shadow pushed Jace behind him and braced for the incoming attack, and not like other stories, this one hit its mark. He winced, and noted the body behind him. Activating the pipes in his calves he dashed towards a clearing only to take a fireball to the back. Come back and fight me coward! Drake was catching up fast. Shadow struggledRead MoreShort Story Chapter 1774 Words   |  4 PagesThey made it out of Viridian Forest not long after defeating that swarm of Beedrill. It was getting close to evening by the time they made it to the next route, so they stopped to make camp for the night. It would be another two hours before they could make it to Pewter City if they continued. It was safest to just make camp. They sat around the fire Spitfire had made for them. Misty was the only one who didnt release her Pokà ©mon. Rattata snuggled in Gabbys lap and ate from the bag of chips inRead MoreChapter 1 Short Story922 Words   |  4 Pagesfather’s council table. He looks to her for advice even in granting justice. Since her mother’s death, the Princess is more the Queen than anything els e. She might offer you some perspective.† Gwen nodded. She glanced toward the sky to see Sol just short of his zenith overhead. â€Å"Perhaps we should ride on then?† â€Å"We’d make Whitgate in a few hours. Perhaps we might find suitable lodgings afterwards?† Seeing Gwen’s reluctance to put her out further in her eyes, Blancheflor insisted, â€Å"You are my guestRead MoreChapter 1 : A Short Story1136 Words   |  5 PagesKaterina stepped out of the shadow of the filing cabinet. She pushed her hood down and swung her sniper off of her back before leaning it against the wall. â€Å"Hey Maria.† She said as she placed the suitcase onto agent Hills desk. The brunette glanced at her before she looked back to her computer screen and continued to type. â€Å"Hello, Shadow.† The young woman snorted and quickly appeared next Hill, slinging an arm over her shoulders. â€Å"Oh, don’t be like that. You know calling me ‘Agent Volkova’ overRead MoreShort Story : Chapter 11085 Words   |  5 PagesThe pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died. I looked towards Dally, his face turned ten times younger, his face, his hard, mean, face had tears rolling down it. â€Å"...Johnny†¦Ã¢â‚¬  his voice whispered faintly, but Johnny said nothing. He could not. Dally had a pained expression that only someone who knew him could recognize, his hands were in fists. â€Å"We’re leaving,† Dally demanded, â€Å"Wait† the nurse said jogging towards us, â€Å"Johnny wanted you to have this.† she handed me Gone With the Wind. I took

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Pressure to Conform in Miller’s Death of A Salesman and...

Pressure to conform to the societal norms of a culture can often be so weighty that those who balk against it are likely to be crushed. Usually the world wins in a very few cases though, the individual comes out the victor, beating the odds, a stronger human being as a result. In the case of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, the world devours Willy Loman in his search for the American Dream. It broke him down and eventually destroyed him. Nora Helmer, of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, was also consumed by the world, but after being broken, fought her way free and defeated society’s expectations of her. Both seek fulfillment in their lives, falsely finding it in society’s expectations; Nora discovers this dichotomy between what she should†¦show more content†¦Within seconds of his scathing condemnation though, Torvald learns that his reputation will not suffer from Nora’s actions and he â€Å"forgives† her with an open and willing he art. How could one not crack under such pressure as this? Willy, like Nora, had a dream. Willy dreamt of success: personal success, success in his family life, and success for his sons. For him, salesmanship was the measure of his success; throughout the many flashbacks he would often exaggerate his sales, boosting his image in the eyes of his children. He felt as though his place as a meaningful member of society hinged on this success. Therefore, he would only admit his shortcomings to Linda, who understood and never judged him. In the eyes of his young children, Willy could do no wrong: he made top sales records; he was â€Å"well-liked,† nothing could defeat him, further adding to his societal pressures (Miller 1.509). Willy also had to deal with the pressure from his brother who had struck diamonds in Africa by mistake, constantly living in that shadow, that stigma as the â€Å"little brother† who turned down the chance of a lifetime and instead became a salesman. Pressured to pursue his American Dream, Willy gives himself over to the overwhelming waters of society, drowning himself in its expectations and demands. Nora finds strength in realizing her failure, resolving to find herself as a human being and not in what society expects of her. Nora’s recognition comes when Torvald so

Monday, December 9, 2019

Security Breach Incidents for FAFSA Tool Breach- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theSecurity Breach Incidents for FAFSA Tool Breach. Answer: Taxpayers Compromised in IRS: FAFSA Tool Breach The present scenario of the cyber world is nothing short of a warzone where constant battles are being fought among the cyber criminals and the protectors of cyber space. The hackers are constantly developing and deploying advanced tools and strategies to outwit the vigilantes (Tax EIC, 2013). However, the organisations or the general mass whose integrity is in question are still ignorant to this emerging and dominant threat. This section of the report brings to light the news of the cyber attack that is coordinated on IRS or Internal Revenue Service of United States of America, declared officially on April 6, 2017. The news of the incident serves as practical evidence to the statement made above (Tax EIC, 2013). Overview on IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a sector of the Department of Treasury who performs the operation of enforcing laws related to income tax and supervises the collection of federal income taxes. The IRS also has the responsibility to determine the qualification of pension plan (COHEN, 2015). The IRS has the responsibility to collect the major source of funding for the government of United States of America. The IRS utilises the treasury of US to execute and enforce many of the vital tax, economic and financial policies that affects the economy of United States (COHEN, 2015). Occurrence of the Problem The authority of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) declared officially on April 6, 2017 that it has been subject to a major security breach that can affect as many as 100,000 taxpayers. The breach is considered one of the most extensive breaches that the organisation has seen since the year 2015, when attackers used stolen information to obtain access to the tax returns of over 300,000 taxpayers and filed false returns to get refunds (Walters, 2015). The organisation got the wind of the attack on early March of 2017. However, the authorities of the organisation took a month to take legitimate action against the breach. Cause of the Breach According to the official statement made by the authority of IRS regarding the security breach, the hackers gained their objective by posing as students to use the IRS Retriever Online Tool that is used to apply for financial aids. The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is an initial form that the federal government, states and colleges use to award work-study, grants, student loans and scholarships (Botha, Grobler Eloff, 2017). Students and their parents residing at United States of America use the IRS Data Retriever Tool to access the tax return information that is required to fill up the FAFSA form. The data is directly transferred into the form from the website of IRS. The hackers disguised themselves as students and exploited the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to obtain details of around 100,000 taxpayers. They then filed false tax returns using the credentials of original users that were stolen by them. The authority suspects that around 8000 false returns were filed, in response to which the organisation has issued refunds that amounted up to 30 million dollars (Joseph, 2017). Actions Taken Against the Attack John Koskinen, the commissioner of IRS made a statement at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that the authority of IRS had detected an anomaly in the system on March 2017. The experts of the organisation have detected an abnormal hike in the quantity of incomplete forms that were submitted by the students and were suspicious of some illegal activities that were underway. However, the organisation took nearly a month to take necessary actions against the breach despite of being warned a month ago. This action has raised question among the taxpayers (Koehler, 2017). The authority of IRS shut down the IRS Data Retrieval Tool as soon as the possibility of a breach is confirmed. Shutting down the tool at the peak season of financial aid application caused outrage among the students and their parents. However, the authority claims that around 52,000 returns could be prevented by IRS filters while 14,000 illegal refund claims were stopped as well. As per the statement of the commissioner, the agency has provided with 35000 written documents to notify the taxpayers about the risk (Johnson, 2017). Apart from this, the authority is planning to establish contact with 100,000 taxpayers who might be at risk and inform them about the breach. The complete result of the breach is still unknown, as the agency did not provide details on this matter. The commissioner claims that extensive investigation is underway to analyse the exact damage measure of the attack and that the IRS Data Retrieval Tool is expected to be secured and rendered functional after the mon th of October 2017 (Johnson, 2017). Conclusion The report concludes with the fact that the cyber attack on Internal Revenue Service not only shows the extent to which the cyber crime has evolved in the last few years but also the existing ignorance of people and organisations alike that gives the hackers the required window to achieve their goal. It is necessary for constant vigilance and steadfastness from each individual working in an organisation to take immediate actions whenever any anomaly is detected. It is also mandatory to implement sophisticated software and hardware that can detect and prevent any kind of cyber attack. WANNACRY, New Face of Cyber Terror The advent of ransomware in the family of cyber incrimination tools has proved to be a priceless addition for the cyber criminals. It has taken cyber war to the next level of challenge. Before the debut of ransomware, the hackers sole purpose of attack was to use various tools of hacking to breach a user account and gather sensitive information from the system or network to use them for financial advantage (OGorman McDonald, 2012). The organisations or individuals who are responsible for the security of cyber world develop tools to counteract the attacks and often succeed in doing so for some time. However, the attackers always seem to stay one-step ahead of the saviours. Despite all this, the protectors of cyber security had a manageable grasp of the situation and somehow managed to keep things under control. The entry of ransomware in the warzone acted as the last straw on the camels back for the protectors (Everett, 2016). Ransomware is a type of malware that has changed the concept of cyber attack completely. It does not apply conventional methods of cyber attack that involves breaching the security of a system or network to obtain crucial data of an organisation or a user, which can be later used by the hacker for financial advantage (Pathak Nanded, 2016). Instead, it breaches a system exploiting some of its vulnerabilities and holds the complete system and its resources at ransom by preventing the user of a system from performing any function on the same. This new concept of technapping has proved to be effective and beneficial for the cyber lawbreakers and revolutionised cyber war. The report sheds some light on this matter using the incident of the recent ransomware attack that caused exponential damage to the world on May 12, 2017 (Pathak Nanded, 2016). The Debut of WANNACRY On May 12, 2017, the inhabitants of 150 countries in the world felt the wrath of the ransomware WANNACRY, launched by an emerging community of hackers who claim themselves as Shadow Brokers. The wave of the attack took a toll of around 230,000 computers including organisational and personal. The intensity and suddenness of the attack caught many organisations off guard and ravaged their systems. The affected systems were held hostage remotely by the attackers and were demanded ransom against their restoration (Mohurle Patil, 2017). Mode of the Breach It has been detected that a defect exists within the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol of Windows server that is known as Eternal Blue. Microsoft Corporation was not aware of this defect and therefore the anomaly was not removed (Swenson, 2017). However, it was discovered a long ago by the experts working for the National Security Agency (NSA) of USA, who concealed the fact from Microsoft for their own advantage. The intention of NSA was to modify the anomaly and use it for offensive intelligence purpose. However, it was spirited away by the Shadow Brokers from the vaults of NSA and was unleashed on the world (Swenson, 2017). The ransomware exploits Eternal Blue to gain entry into the system of a user. The initial phase being achieved, it starts to encrypt the vital data files of the system and makes it almost impossible to access the system or use any of its features. Having crippled the system the ware then displays a message on the screen of the system that asks for ransom from the user of the system in form of bit coin currency within a specified span of time against restoring the system into its previous state. It is also warned that the system will be permanently rendered useless if the ransom is not received within the specified date (Swenson, 2017). The ransomware could affect those systems that were running any supported or unsupported version of Windows operating system, as the SMB protocol that the ware exploits to gain entry into the system is present in Windows server. Those systems that were running unsupported and older versions of Windows operating systems were the most affected (Swenson, 2017). After effects of the Attack The rampage of WANNACRY lasted for a few hours on May 12, 2017 as reported by various security experts. However, it managed to affect 230,000 computers in 150 different countries throughout the world. Innumerable organisations were affected during the attack and many emergency institutions like the National Health Service (NHS) of United Kingdom were forced to halt their emergency services that caused tremendous problems for the patients of the centre (Collier, 2017). Among all the affected organisations, some of the noteworthy organisations that were affected greatly were the Deutsche Bahn, Telefonica and FedEx of Spain. The common mass of these affected countries were not spared from the effects of this attack as well. Actions taken against the Attack Within the first few hours of the attack launched on May 12, 2017, all the security researchers around the world became busy with the one goal to mitigate the problem. A solution was discovered by a young researcher from England who found a method of resolving the issue by registering a domain name in the code of the ransomware program (Akkas, Chachamis Fetahu, 2017). The process seemed to work for a short time, which halted the advancement of the ransomware for a short while. However, it was found that newer versions of the ransomware were soon launched by the attackers that countered the solution of the researcher. Apart from this, Microsoft Corporation launched patch updates for all supported and unsupported version of Windows that resolved the Eternal Blue issue from the SMB protocol. The users were also requested by the Corporation to apply the updates as soon as possible. Security software providers like MalwareBytes, AVG Security, Norton and such provided updated version of the security software that had features to detect and prevent ransomware attacks (Akkas, Chachamis Fetahu, 2017). Conclusion The report concludes with the insight that the cyber security is an issue, which cannot be taken lightly. A short window of opportunity provided to the cyber criminals can lead to exponential loss ranging from personal to global interest. Therefore, it is better to look for ways to prevent the attack before it occurs. After all, it is widely known that prevention is better than cure. References Akkas, A., Chachamis, C. N., Fetahu, L. (2017). Malware Analysis of WanaCry Ransomware. Botha, J. G., Grobler, M. M., Eloff, M. M. (2017). Global data breaches responsible for the disclosure of personal information. COHEN, A. V. P. (2015). Agency. Collier, R. (2017). NHS ransomware attack spreads worldwide. Everett, C. (2016). Ransomware: to pay or not to pay?. Computer Fraud Security, 2016(4), 8-12. Johnson, K. (2017). Information Security Plan for Redacted Tax Service (Doctoral dissertation). Joseph, R. (2017). Data Breaches: Public Sector Perspectives. IT Professional. Koehler, C. R. (2017). Protecting your identity. Mohurle, S., Patil, M. (2017). A brief study of Wannacry Threat: Ransomware Attack 2017. International Journal, 8(5). O'Gorman, G., McDonald, G. (2012). Ransomware: A growing menace. Symantec Corporation. Pathak, D. P., Nanded, Y. M. (2016). A dangerous trend of cybercrime: ransomware growing challenge. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering Technology (IJARCET) Volume, 5. Swenson, G. (2017). Bolstering Government Cybersecurity Lessons Learned from WannaCry. Tax, P. F., EIC, I. C. (2013). Internal Revenue Service. Walters, R. (2015). Continued US Federal Cyber Breaches In 2015Analysis.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Week Individual free essay sample

This Is a short summary paper to define the mall roles of Innovation, design, and creativity while Incorporating their Importance for a firm to meet their organizational objectives. Innovation The Business Dictionary defines innovation as The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay (Business Dictionary Online, 2013). Inning this definition it is easy to infer that innovation is the stepping stone for a company to create new goods/services that are efficient and profit-producing. It is essential that a company incorporate innovation into their designs, as the world is a competitive market and innovative organizations stay in the lead. In most circumstances, the organizations objective includes being a profitable company and a leader In the products they product, this makes Innovation an Important part of the organizational objectives.Design using The Business Dictionary again design is defined as Realization of a concept or idea into a configuration or specification And which helps achieve the items designated objective(s). We will write a custom essay sample on Week Individual or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Design is putting into perspective how a concept is working and how it can work better. Design is the beginning of a product and lasts throughout the lifeline of the product. It could be said that design comes after innovation as innovation is the process of transferring an idea into a product that can e sold, and design is keeping that idea alive and working.Design is important to organizational objectives as it a process of experimenting and creating new solutions to any existing or predicted issues. This could save the company money in the future or create a bigger profit In the present. Creativity Creatively could be the beginning part of the three concepts, first comes creatively then comes Innovation and ending with the design.One could argue that Innovation s the starting point for creativity and the fuel for design, never-the-less creativity is is defined by Steam (2008) as the essential building block for innovation (p. 1 Chi. 1 Para 3). Creativity ties into organizational objectives as the glue of keeping a product together and leading to its completion. If there were no creativity there would be no innovation, and therefore there would be no design. If that were the scenario, there would be no product to for the company to sale and there would be no profits to be made.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The eNotes Blog What are Prop 8 and DOMA and Why Do TheyMatter

What are Prop 8 and DOMA and Why Do TheyMatter This week, as the Supreme Court released its rulings on a variety of different issues, supporters of same-sex marriage were particularly anxious to hear an important piece of news: the Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. What is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)? The Defense of Marriage Act is a federal law that restricts federal marriage rights to opposite-sex couples. It was enacted on September 21, 1996 under the Clinton administration, though Clinton, among others who were involved in the law’s enactment, has since changed his position and advocated for its repeal. Supreme Court deems DOMA unconstitutional The law’s exact wording on the issue of marriage is as follows: â€Å"In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any   ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative   bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word `marriage means   only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,   and the word `spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is   a husband or a wife.† (Defense of Marriage Act) Among others, these are the benefits that have been denied to same-sex marriages under the Defense of Marriage Act: Insurance benefits for government employees Social Security survivors’ benefits Immigration benefits Joint tax return benefits What is Prop. 8? Prop. 8, or California Proposition 8, is a ballot proposition passed in California’s November 2008 elections. Much like DOMA, it declares that only opposite-sex marriages may be recognized by the state of California. The proposition effectively overturns a California Supreme Court ruling released in May of 2008 that found marriage to be a  fundamental constitutional right that should be granted to all couples. The timeline of same-sex marriage history in California is shown below: March 7, 2000: Proposition 22 is passed 61.4% to 38%, defining marriage in California as the union between a man and a woman. September 2, 2007: The California Senate approves Assembly Bill 849, a bill about fisheries-research measures that was amended to address the legalization of same sex marriage. September 6, 2007: The California State Assembly approves Assembly Bill 849. September 29, 2007: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes the Assembly Bill 849, citing Proposition 22 as an indication of voter opinions on the issue and saying that the legality of same-sex marriage should be decided by the courts. May 15, 2008: The California Supreme Court strikes down Proposition 22 as well as a law passed in 1977, both of which denied same-sex marriage legal recognition. Governor Schwarzenegger pledges to oppose Proposition 8, which would be voted on in November of that same year. November 4, 2008: California voters pass Proposition 8 with 52% voter approval, essentially overturning the California Supreme Court’s May ruling. US Supreme Court hearings    Proposition 8:    The plaintiffs in this case were Kristin Perry, Sandra Stier, Paul Katami, and Jeffrey Zarrillo. Both same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses under Prop. 8 in May of 2009. Because both then Attorney General Jerry Brown and then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to defend Proposition 8 in court, the defendants for this case were two groups: ProtectMarriage.com, under the leadership of Dennis Hollingsworth, and the Campaign for California Families. They take the place of the Attorney General and Governor in the case. It’s worth noting that current Attorney General Kamala Harris and current Governor Jerry Brown both ran on platforms that included a declination to defend Prop. 8 in court.    The Prop. 8 case, or Hollingsworth v. Perry, answered the following question as stated by the Court: â€Å"Whether it violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment for a State to use the ballot-initiative process to extinguish the state constitutional right of gay men and lesbians to marry a person of the same sex.† (Petition for Writ of Certiorari) This refers to Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that the law must provide all citizens with equal protection and cannot remove a citizen’s rights without due process: â€Å"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.† (Amendment 14, Section 1) Many claim that there was no argument against Prop. 8’s unconstitutionality because the State has no vested interest in keeping same-sex couples from marrying. Defense of Marriage Act: In this case, also known as United States v. Windsor, Edith Windsor was the plaintiff. In 2007, Windsor was married to Thea Spyer in Toronto, Canada. But when Spyer died in 2009, at a time when New York legally recognized same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, as it continues to do today, Windsor was required to pay $363,053 in federal estate taxes. Had the federal government recognized Windsor and Spyer’s marriage, Windsor would not have had to pay any of these taxes. Because the Department of Justice has declined to continue a defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives (BLAG) will take its place. This group consists of five members of the House of Representatives. There were three questions presented in this case: â€Å"Whether the executive branch’s agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court [the Supreme Court] of jurisdiction to decide this case† (Writ of Certiorari). â€Å"Whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives has Article III standing in this case† (Writ of Certiorari). Article III standing allows a party to argue a case despite the fact that it is not directly impacted by the outcome of that case, in a legal sense. In a December episode of Hardball, Chris Matthews noted that the Lawrence Case Opinion (which deemed anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional), given by Justice Anthony Kennedy, potentially provides a basis on which to rule DOMA unconstitutional by its outlining of personal liberty: â€Å"Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct.† (Lawrence Case Opinion) Woman shows support for gay marriage Moreover, many pointed to the fact that the Supreme Court has deemed marriage a fundamental right on fourteen accounts, including the case of Loving v. Virginia, which declared the illegality of interracial marriages unconstitutional. The Loving v. Virginia case was referenced several times during the Supreme Court’s hearing and is expected to have held serious weight in the Court’s decision. What were the rulings? The Supreme Court released its decisions on these two cases the morning of Wednesday, June 26th. In the California Proposition 8 case, a 5 – 4 majority found, as NPR’s Carrie Johnson explains, â€Å"the petitioners [i.e. the defendants] lack standing so the court avoids the underlying issue, remands and wipes away the decision by the 9th Circuit Court of appeals, which means for now the lower court ruling invalidating California’s Prop 8 stands.† This means that same-sex marriage is now legal in California, though this decision does not have national implications for same-sex marriage. In the United States v. Windsor case, the Court found the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional, as it violated the Fifth Amendment by not granting same-sex couples the â€Å"equal liberty† that they are guaranteed. The decision, a 5 – 4 split with the majority opinion delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, requires the national government to recognize the federal marriage rights of same-sex marriages. It does not, however, require all fifty states to issue same-sex marriage licenses, as some had hoped would occur. Despite this, however, many proponents of same-sex marriage believe this decision to have been a great victory and a monumental step forward for marriage equality. Further Reading: Throughout both of these cases, many compared the civil-rights in question with those addressed by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. You can find an online study guide for the letter here: http://bit.ly/1aNVhXw. : Matthews, Christopher. â€Å"Supreme Court to Legalize Gay Marriage? (December 7, 2012 – MSNBC),† YouTube video, 13:50, posted by HenryBloggit,   December 8, 2012, youtube.com/watch?v=WZYL6Gou-eE. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, Hollingsworth v. Perry No. 12-144. Web. Accessed June 25, 2013. supremecourt.gov/docket/PDFs/Brief_in_Opposition_of_Respondent_San%20Francisco.pdf. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, United States v. Windsor No. 12-307. Web. Accessed June 25, 2013. supremecourt.gov/docket/pdfs/brief_of_respondent_edith_windsor_%28jurisdiction%29.pdf. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Legal_Advisory_Group. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"California Proposition 8,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"Defense of Marriage Act,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"Hollingsworth v. Perry,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollingsworth_v._Perry#Parties. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"Same-sex marriage in California,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_California#History. Wikipedia, s.v. â€Å"United States v. Windsor,† accessed June 25, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Windsor.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Before You Buy a German Dictionary

Before You Buy a German Dictionary German dictionaries come in many shapes, sizes, price ranges, and language variations. They range in format from online and CD-ROM software to large multivolume print editions resembling an encyclopedia. Smaller editions may have only 5,000 to 10,000 entries, while larger hardcover versions offer over 800,000 entries. You get what you pay for: the more words, the more money. Choose wisely! But its not the mere amount of words alone that make a good German dictionary. There are a few other factors that need to be considered. Here are a few tips on how to pick the right dictionary for your German learning. Consider Your Needs Not everyone needs a German dictionary with 500,000 entries, but the typical paperback dictionary has only 40,000 entries or less. Youll get very frustrated using a dictionary thats not up to your needs. Note that a dual-language dictionary with 500,000 entries is actually only 250,000 for each language. Dont get a dictionary with fewer than 40,000 entries. One Language or Two Monolingual, German-only dictionaries offer several disadvantages, especially when you are just at the beginning of your German learning. For intermediate and advanced learners they might serve as additional dictionaries to broaden ones ability to circumscribe certain things. While they usually contain more entries they are also very heavy and impractical for daily use. Those are dictionaries for serious language students, not for the average German learners. If you are a beginner I strongly recommend that you get a German-English dictionary to be very clear about what a word might mean. Take a look at a few Buying It At Home or in Germany At times I have come across German learners who bought their dictionaries in Germany because they were simply very expensive in their home country. The problem often was that those were English-German dictionaries, meaning they were made for Germans who were learning English. Which had some huge disadvantages. As the user was German they didnt need to write the German articles or plural forms into the dictionary which made those books simply useless for German learners. So be aware of such issues and pick a dictionary that was written for learners of German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache). Software or Print Versions Even a few years ago there was no substitute for a real print dictionary you could hold in your hands, but nowadays online German dictionaries are the way to go. They are extremely helpful and can save you a lot of time. They also have one huge advantage over any paper dictionary: They weigh absolutely nothing. In the age of the smartphone, youll always have some of the best dictionaries right at hand wherever you are. The advantages of those dictionaries are just amazing. Nevertheless, about.com offers its own English-German glossaries and links to many online German dictionaries that can still be quite helpful. Dictionaries for Special Purposes Sometimes a regular German dictionary, no matter how good it may be, just isnt adequate for the job. Thats when a medical, technical, business, scientific or other industrial-strength dictionary is called for. Such specialized dictionaries tend to be expensive, but they fill a need. Some are available online. The Essentials Whatever kind of dictionary you decide on, make sure it has the basics: the article, which means the gender of nouns, noun plurals, genitive endings of nouns, the cases for the German prepositions and at least 40,000 entries. Cheap print dictionaries often lack such information and are not worth buying. Most online dictionaries even provide you with audio samples of how a word is pronounced. Its advisable to look for a natural pronunciation like e.g. linguee. Original Article by: Hyde Flippo Edited, 23rd of June 2015 by: Michael Schmitz

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Project Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Project Report - Essay Example The petroleum cars contribute to alto of pollution whereby they may leave poisonous exhaust fumes or oil leaking from their engines. To conserve the various natural plants and animals, it is important to take into consideration conservation measures that will help preserve the forests. Using electric cars and bicycles will reduce exhaust fumes and the spillage of oil in North Pennines and, as a result, reduce pollution mainly. The paper will, therefore, focus on the use of alternative transport like bicycles and electric cars to reduce stress to reduce pollution to the natural environment of North Pennines. North Pennines is a natural reserve that people visit especially in their leisure or past times. It is a natural habitat far away from the city and the many activities that affect the cities and towns. There are people who stay there and as a result help to maintain and take care of the various plants and animals. The area has human settlements and the forests and natural areas where people do not inhabit. The people thus visit North Pennines to enjoy the tranquility associated with it and to venture into natural adventures especially when sampling the various animals and organisms in North Pennines. The environment is mostly natural and an excellent habitat for the different plants found in North Pennines. Many people come with their private cars into North Pennines. Most people use their cars to move around and, as a result, a venture with the cars to North Pennines. They travel through the vast lands and the moorland using their cars. The cars, therefore, cover a lot of mileage w hen moving around North Pennines, and, as a result, bring with them a lot of pollution to an area that does not have much pollution near it. It is in a remote place, so the use of a car is essential for accessing it. People can use bicycles in accessing the area. Since cars come with pollution, it is

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Is the U.S. Winning the Drug War in Latin America Essay

Is the U.S. Winning the Drug War in Latin America - Essay Example CON: U.S is losing the drug war in Latin America 1. U.S government has failed to re-evaluate her strategy to fight the drug menace. 2. The war fight largely focuses on the users and therefore leaves the other partners in the trade to thrive well in the trade. 3. There is no concrete drug enforcement mechanism to restrict the production of drugs. 4. The affordability and cheap processing makes it difficulty to wipe drugs out of Latin America. 5. A lot of resistance from human rights organization derails the efforts to do away with the drugs. The U.S will to control drug trafficking and abuse in Latin America confirms that it is very committed to wipe the drugs from these region. To begin with, since 1960s, the government has invested a lot of her efforts and attention to wage war on drug trade in Latin America. Regan and Bush declared war on drugs in U.S and Latin America when they occupied their presidential offices. The Bush successor; Bin Clinton continued with the worth fight on d rugs when he came into power in 19931. Since then, the U.S government has been strong on the war on drugs in Latin America. The U.S government recently got a support from Latin countries such as Mexico, Cuba, and Columbia. For instance, president of Mexico, Calderon has been in the forefront to combat drugs in the country2. Since he took office in 2006, he has made leaps towards the drugs war. For example, his government has formulated policies to deal with the consumers and traders of illicit drugs. These efforts have paid handsomely because the consumption of drugs has subsided. Obama’s government is in talks with Latin America Governments. Biden’s trip in 2012 to Latin America shows that the government has given negotiations a favorable chance. Biden was seeking to discuss on how leaders in that region can decriminalize drugs with an aim to stop its trade. Second, the new laws are in formulation stages. Policy analyst have advocated for a change in the current polic ies to allow U.S to win war on drugs. Arguably, their insights will provide new strategies to curb drugs trafficking in Latin America and U.S. The medical professionals have suggested programs to treat the drug victims. In addition, the social advocates suggests, that creation of awareness about dangers of engaging in drugs is the way to go. All these concerted efforts promise a win in the war on drugs in Latin America3. Third, the debates on drugs have attracted a lot of public interest. The Latin and the U.S population feel that drug consumption is not socially acceptable. They propose tough punishments for the growers, manufacturers, suppliers, and sellers. The public warns of the dangers of permitting drugs to get into the society. They provide a procedure, which can deter the abuse of drugs. The public suggests that, through identification, imprisonment, and persecution, the war can yield fruits4. Moreover, the drug user will be accountable for their actions. Implementation is now happening in the Latin America. This is a huge step towards gaining victory in the drug war. The increase of funds through budgetary allocation to fight drug abuse demonstrates U.S readiness to see the better end of the war. There has been a significant attention on the budget to allocate enough money in the drug war. In 1990, U.S budget on drugs was at $ 9.7 billion. This almost doubled in 2000 when it hit $ 17.7 billion mark. On top of this, the Drug Enforcement Administration department staffed

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Lifestyle Choices Essay Example for Free

Lifestyle Choices Essay The article â€Å"Lifestyle Choices† is a researched article that talks about the economy and how changes affect the people within it. The Starter research article contains informative information on daily lives about health care, in today’s modern society we go through various choices in life and different walks in situations weather it financial situations, family issues or even work related problems. This article shows how to outweigh the bad to good and exercise good habits to create a better lifestyle. This research goes back and covers the last thirty years dating back when technology was the grounds of being formed. Something’s I enjoy about life is the fact that grounds for technology were being formed when I as a baby had no knowledge or use of it, such as the children(s) today. Social class determines your lifestyle form of living; it’s the group you belong to based upon your financial situations. This is one research that cannot be control or determined you can be an upper class person or a lower class person and sometime due to the luck of a draw it can flip anytime. That’s what I like about the topic â€Å"Assessing Class† because their no way unless you have no improvements to access another class. What I learned from this article is that hasn’t shy away from any topics considering our lifestyle issues and situations. It clearly states the factors of social classes a great overview of information. This article very much fits into sociology as it apart of our daily lives which includes the study of human society and its origins, development, organizations, and institutions. The major findings come from the data or series of surveys that has been done over decades of study’s which mostly includes volunteers to complete most studies. Lifestyle studies can be best examined through ethnicity our race, age, and suburban areas of residency and sexual preferences. This information was supported and document by Michael Sobel (1983) which he states, acknowledges, and compares sociology to our daily lifestyle as a â€Å"Mode of living.† He also presents the concept of stylistic unity by which he means the patterns of behavior which constitute that lifestyle are empirically common; i.e., similar patterns are shared by a sufficient number of others, relative to all others. This article fits well with chapter 1 (Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life) under â€Å"Marginality and Crisis. I believe it fits here because it’s bringing the recipe for looking at the world’s society from a sociological perspective. What is used to reshape the economy and separate them though classes. The difference between this article that sets it apart from non-scholarly periodicals, such as newspaper and magazine is the fact that non-scholarly periodicals are mainly used to entertain. This journal has an abstract, a descriptive summary, and properly cited. Non-Scholarly are not completely from a known source it can be made up and the timing of the report can be inaccurate at times. They serve a different audience. What I find similar of the two is they can be found in the same place or setting it is up to the reader to select the one needed as far as common within there is none they are two completely different types of sources and everything must be documented or researched differently. From the introduction, word fonts to work cited they are done accordingly to source or audience. Work Cited: Research Starters – Sociology https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=rstAN=37219700site=ehost-livescope=site John J Macionis, Sociology, The thirteenth Edition, The Sociological Perspective, 2010, 2008, 2007 (Pg.5-6)

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Thermosyphons :: physics

Tasked with the quest to economically and efficiently extend civilization into the Northern regions, the construction industry has been hindered by the presence of perennially frozen ground. The thermosyphon is a device that facilitates the harmonious union of structure and ice. This paper will serve as a tutorial on thermosyphons, and present an exploration into the physical concepts that allow their operation. The physical concepts and phenomenon that enable the operation of thermosyphons can at times be complex-but don’t be scared. This tutorial will start with the most rudimentary explanation of thermosyphons, and proceed from there to deliver more in depth examinations in a step by step process. Let’s get right down to business. The steps in thermosyphon operation are: STEP 1-Heat flows into the thermosyphon, STEP 2-Heat flows through the thermosyphon tube, and STEP 3-Heat is released into the atmosphere. Simply stated, a thermosyphon is a device which moves heat from one place to another. There are different types of thermosyphons which are used for different applications, but for the purposes of this primer we will concentrate on thermosyphons used by the construction industry to stabilize frozen ground. For example, consider a road built over permafrost.. In this situation it is desirable to keep the ground from thawing, otherwise the road embankment will be destroyed. A thermosyphon â€Å"collects heat† from the frozen ground. This collected heat is brought to the top of the thermosyphon and the cooling fins, where it is released into the atmosphere. In this way, the ground remains frozen. Now, the thought of frozen soil warming the atmosphere may be hard to grasp. This brings us to an important point about the thermosyphon- they only work when the ambient air temperature is below the temperature of the soil (less than 31 degrees Farenheight). With this in mind, we can consider thermosyphons from a different perspective; a thermosyphon increases the exposure of sub-surface soil to freezing temperatures. Another thought, although not totally correct from a physical standpoint, is that the thermosyphon brings cold into the soil. Let’s examine the thermodynamic process by which a thermosyphon operates. This process is outlined below in a step by step chronology. Step 1-There is an accumulation of the working fluid in the bottom of the thermosyphon. The most important factor that governs the choice of a working fluid is that it must have an extremely low boiling point. Permafrost soil is typically at a temperature of 31F and consequently the fluid boiling point should be less than 31F.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Pizza Hut †KFC Essay

Description: The Indian fast food market has been witnessing rapid growth on the back of positive developments and presence of massive investments. Currently, market growth is largely fuelled by the rising young population, working women, hectic schedules, and increasing disposable income of the middle-class households. Some of the unique properties of fast food like quick served, cost advantage, etc are making it highly popular among the masses. Thus, India offers enormous opportunities for both domestic as well as international players. According to this new research report, â€Å"Indian Fast Food Market Analysis†, the Indian Fast Food Industry is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 34% during 2011-2014. Anticipating the future growth, many big international players are entering into the market by making deals with the domestic players. And those already present in the Indian market are expanding their presence in different provinces of the country. This trend will emerge more strongly during BMI’s forecast period, providing opportunities to local players to widen their product portfolios. BMI research further revealed that there is a large scope of growth in the untapped tier-II and tier- III cities, owing to which, major fast food retailers have already started applying various marketing strategies in popularizing their brands in these cities. Furthermore, they are aiming to provide affordable and customized products to suit the needs of people that would ultimately provide necessary boost to the Indian fast food industry. The report also provides extensive information on the country’s fast food market, besides discussing the growing segments like Noodle market, Pizza market, and others food market. Thus, it provides valuable information about the Fast food companies and provides necessary insight for investors looking to enter this market. Moreover, the report features forecast for fast food sales in the country. The forecast is based on the correlation between past market growth and growth in base drivers, such as middle class, urbanization, cultural shift, and lifestyle changes. Due consideration is given on competitive landscape to enable clients to understand market structure and growth prospects. Contents: 1. Analyst View 2. Research Methodology 3. Indian Fast Food Potential 3. 1 Large Consumer Base 3. 2 Rising Purchasing Power 3. 3 Rapid Urbanization 3. 4 Changing Lifestyle 4. Indian Fast Food Market Analysis 4. 1 Market Size and Growth 4. 2 Performance by Product 4. 2. 1 Pizza 4. 2. 2 Instant Noodles and Pasta 4. 2. 3 Others 5. Consumer Behavior Analysis 6. Vital Industry Trends 6. 1 Rapid Expansion in Tier-II and Tier-III Cities 6. 2 Franchise – Preferred Way for Business Expansion 6. 3 A Stiff Competition from Ethnic Fast Food 6. 4 Product Customization Considering Indian Customs 7. Industry Regulation Analysis 8. Market Leaders and their Expansion Plans 8. 1 McDonald 8. 2 Domino’s Pizza 8. 3 Pizza Hut 8. 4 KFC. 8. 5 Nirula’s List of Tables Table 3-1: Population Breakup by Age Group (%), 2011 & 2014 Table 8-1: McDonald – Strength and Weakness Analysis Table 8-2: Domino’s Pizza – Strength and Weakness Analysis Table 8-3: Pizza Hut – Strength and Weakness Analysis Table 8-4: KFC – Strength and Weakness Analysis Table 8-5: Nirula – Strength and Weakness Analysis List of Charts Figure 3-1: Population (Billion), 2010-2014 Figure 3-2: Per Head Disposable Income (US$), 2010-2014 Figure 3-3: Urban Population (Million), 2010-2014 Figure 3-4: Frequency of Eating Out (2003 & 2009) Figure 4-1: Fast Food Market (Billion INR), 2010-2014. Figure 4-2: Pizza Market (Billion INR), 2010-2014 Figure 4-3: Instant Pasta and Noodles Market (Billion INR), 2010-2014 Figure 4-4: Other Fast Food Market (Billion INR), 2010-2014 Ordering: Order Online – http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/1246140/ Order by Fax – using the form below Order by Post – print the order form below and send to Research and Markets, Guinness Centre, Taylors Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland. Page 1 of 2 Fax Order Form To place an order via fax simply print this form, fill in the information below and fax the completed form to 646-607- 1907 (from USA) or +353-1-481-1716 (from Rest of World). If you have any questions please visit http://www. researchandmarkets. com/contact/ Order Information Please verify that the product information is correct and select the format(s) you require. Product Formats Please select the product formats and quantity you require: * Shipping/Handling is only charged once per order. Contact Information Please enter all the information below in BLOCK CAPITALS Product Name: Indian Fast Food Market Analysis Web Address: http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/1246140/ Office Code: OC8DIRPKPRUPSS Quantity Electronic – Single User: EUROâ‚ ¬ 621. 00 CD ROM: EUROâ‚ ¬ 777. 00 + Euro â‚ ¬50 Shipping/Handling Hard Copy: EUROâ‚ ¬ 777. 00 + Euro â‚ ¬50 Shipping/Handling Electronic – Enterprisewide: EUROâ‚ ¬ 932. 00 Title: Mr Mrs Dr Miss Ms Prof First Name: Last Name: Email Address: * Job Title: Organisation: Address: City: Postal / Zip Code: Country: Phone Number: Fax Number: * Please refrain from using free email accounts when ordering (e. g. Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL) Page 1 of 2 Payment Information Please indicate the payment method you would like to use by selecting the appropriate box. Please fax this form to: (646) 607-1907 or (646) 964-6609 – From USA +353-1-481-1716 or +353-1-653-1571 – From Rest of World.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Prison Abuse

Prison Abuse Americans all know that our prisons are the final frontier for the socially rejected criminals and violent offenders. Once they are convicted, prison is their new home. For which it can be five years or the rest of their lives until death. When the door closes behind them the rest of the world doesn’t matter. It is inside the prison that matters. Those of us who are outside the prison are unaware of what goes on in there, such as prisoner’s abuse. Violence within America’s correctional facilities has become an increasing problem in recent years. With the largest incarceration rate in the world, it is only expected that we face these problems. Unfortunately, it is the correctional staff face with these problems. With the rising of the prison population and the decline of the number of correctional staff, it is only inevitable that violence, within the world’s largest imprisoned population, increases in America’s prison systems. Prison violence is a real issue because people every year are convicted of many different crimes, some severe and some minor. Regardless of the crime committed, everyone in the prison and jail systems is vulnerable to prison violence. Society has even labeled these criminals â€Å"Animals† regardless of the crimes they committed. While they are in prison they are treated as â€Å"Animals†. Prison violence includes the abuse of both prisoners and the guards. This is a crucial problem here in America and we are unaware of it happening in our prisons. All of the prison violence that goes on leads inmates to be severely injured or end up dying from the beat down they receive. There are several articles that are on violence in our prison system. One article by Dan Frosch informs us of an inmate that refuses to follow the orders given to him by the guards in a Utah prison. As a result of his insolence they stripped him naked and tied him to a restraining chair for sixteen to twenty hours then released him to his cell in which he collapsed and died. An autopsy showed the inmate that goes by the name Michael Valent died from a blood clot that blocked an artery to his heart. This article featured in The Nation. Valent had died due to the fact that he was confined to the chair and could not move any part of his person for those sixteen hours when he was restrained: â€Å"The chilling incident made national news not only because it happened to be videotaped but also because Valent’s family successfully sued the State Of Utah and forced it to stop using the device† (Frosch). The guards who had done this to Michael Valent also had done the same to other inmates as well but they lived or the abuse was never recorded. It is likely that incidents like this have happened around America but never been reported or made public knowledge. In some cases the prisoners do not speak out about what is happening to them fearing the consequences from the guards or fellow inmates. Another incident of prisoner abuse was a thirty-seven year old inmate strangled a fellow inmate who is a former priest to death. He was given no protection whatsoever. A former priest who was put in prison for either a minor crime shared a cell with a prisoner who killed someone. The only logical question is whether the law enforcement system inside these prisons or jails goes downhill once the criminals are put behind bars? Should the incarcerated be punished severely by the men that watch over them? Do the guards have a right to use sheer force on these men who haven’t done anything particularly wrong inside prison? Why don’t the guards prevent or stop other inmates from fighting amongst themselves. As we have seen the violence in America’s prisons has gone from bad to worse. There is no way to stop it. There needs to be a solution to this crisis that will not fail at all and will stay solid throughout the years that will not falter what so ever. A solution will protect inmates from the danger that lies within those walls. Works Citied Frosch, Dan. â€Å"Exporting America’s Prison Problems. † TheNation. com, May 12, 2004. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://www. thenation. com/doc/20040524/frosch Seabrook, Norman. â€Å"Prison Violence on the Rise. † BNET. USA Today Magazine, 25 Sept. 2005. Web. November 17, 2009. http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2724_134/ai_n15380394/pg_1 Chapman, Stephan. â€Å"The Prisoner’s Dilemma. † New Republic 8 March, 1980, Print.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

A White Heron essays

A White Heron essays After the Civil War, Americans no longer depended solely on agriculture as a way of life. Because of the technological and economic advances in America, the picturesque and peaceful New England countryside was slowly being transformed into a modern, industrialist society. As a witness to these economic developments, Sarah Jewett writes A White Heron, a fictional, coming of age story that tells the story of a young girl living with her grandmother in the wilderness as technology slowly tries to transform the area around her. A White Heron demonstrates the importance of being loyal in preserving ones region over the desire for personal and materialistic gain. As the story opens, the author uses imagery to give the reader a sense that the area is very simple, safe, and secure. She establishes that Sylvia feels comfortable and enjoys living on the farm with her grandmother. Even though she grew up in the city, she finds her home in the country with her grandmother. She befriends and develops close bonds with the animals. The tone of the story changes after the antagonist, an ornithologist from the city, confronts Sylvia. He picks up on Sylvias bond with the animals and begins to inquire about a white heron that he has been following. He intends to kill the bird, stuff it, and add it to his collection. The hunter represents the advancement of science and technology and the destruction of nature. He is trying to take a part of nature with him to the city for observation and study. After Sylvia realizes that she has seen the white heron before, she embarks on a journey to find the birds nest by climbing a tree in the woods. This adventure is discussed in great detail because it shows the main characters struggle and the obstacles that she went through to find the birds nest. Climbing the large pine tree gives Sylvia peace, understanding, and perspective of the natural world around her. She begins to better ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

A Timeline History of Mathematics

A Timeline History of Mathematics Mathematics is the science of numbers. To  be precise, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mathematics as: The science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations  and generalizations. There  are several different branches of mathematical science, which include algebra, geometry and calculus. Mathematics is not an invention. Discoveries and laws of science are not considered inventions since inventions are material things and processes. However, there is a history of mathematics, a relationship between mathematics and inventions  and mathematical instruments themselves are considered inventions. According to  the book Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times, mathematics as an organized science did not exist until the classical Greek period from 600 to 300 B.C. There were, however, prior civilizations in which the beginnings or rudiments of mathematics were formed. For example, when civilization began to trade, a need to count was created. When humans traded goods, they needed a way to count the goods and to calculate the cost of those goods. The very first device for counting numbers was, of course, the human hand and fingers represented quantities. And to count beyond ten fingers, mankind used natural markers, rocks or shells. From that point, tools such as counting boards and the abacus were invented.   Heres a quick tally of important developments introduced throughout the ages, beginning from A to Z.   Abacus One of the first tools for counting invented, the abacus was invented around 1200 B.C. in China and was used in many ancient civilizations, including Persia and Egypt. Accounting The innovative Italians of the Renaissance (14th  through 16th century) are widely acknowledged to be the fathers of modern accounting. Algebra The first treatise on algebra was written by Diophantus of Alexandria in the 3rd century B.C. Algebra comes from the Arabic word al-jabr, an ancient medical term meaning the reunion of broken parts. Al-Khawarizmi is another early algebra scholar and was the first to teach the formal discipline. Archimedes Archimedes was a mathematician and inventor from ancient Greece  best known for his discovery of the relationship between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder for his formulation of a hydrostatic principle (Archimedes principle) and for inventing the Archimedes screw (a device for raising water). Differential Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German philosopher, mathematician and logician who is probably most well known for having invented differential and integral calculus. He did this independently of Sir Isaac Newton. Graph A graph is a pictorial representation of statistical data or of a functional relationship between variables. William Playfair (1759-1823) is generally viewed as the inventor of most graphical forms used to display data, including line plots, the bar chart, and the pie chart. Math Symbol In 1557, the sign was first used by Robert Record. In 1631, came the    sign. Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism is a school of philosophy and a religious brotherhood believed to have been founded by Pythagoras of Samos, who settled in Croton in southern Italy about 525 B.C. The group had a profound effect on the development of mathematics. Protractor The simple protractor is an ancient device.  As an instrument used to construct and measure plane angles, the simple protractor looks like a semicircular disk marked with degrees, beginning with 0 º to 180 º. The first complex protractor was created for plotting the position of a boat on navigational charts. Called a three-arm protractor or station pointer, it was invented in 1801 by Joseph Huddart, a U.S. naval captain. The center  arm is fixed, while the outer two are rotatable and capable of being set at any angle relative to the center one. Slide Rulers Circular and rectangular slide rules, an instrument used for mathematical calculations, were both invented by mathematician William Oughtred. Zero Zero was invented by the Hindu mathematicians Aryabhata and Varamihara in India around or shortly after the year 520 A.D.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Organizational Analysis on Wal-Mart Research Paper

Organizational Analysis on Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example The prime intention of the organization of Wal-Mart is to offer best products at lowest price so as to make its customers happy and contended. It mainly targets the customers of modest incomes rates but desiring to live a better life. Due to which, the organization expanded its operation by opening numerous stores in different countries. Wal-Mart comprises of almost 11,000 stores in more than 27 countries that helped the organization to amplify its customer base and distinctiveness in the market among others (Wal-Mart, 2014). The organization of Wal-Mart always desires to offer best quality of products to its customers in order to amplify their reliability and uniqueness in the market among many other rival players. This is done, in order to save the revenue of its target customers that may amplify its brand image and reputation. Moreover, by offering the products at a competitive price, the organization of Wal-Mart desires to enhance their life style and living standard to a significant extent. By doing so, the level of dependency and switchover costs of the customers might get reduced thereby amplifying their profitability and productivity of the organization of Wal-Mart among others. However, in order to become the leader in the segment of retailing, the organization of Wal-Mart need to offer best products at an effective price. Only then, it might become successful in amplifying its dominance and position in the market among others. But in order to fulfill the mission statement of the organization in an effective way, the human resource management offer significant concentration over certain areas such as planning, staffing, human resource development, compensation, employee relations, safety, security and risk management. This means, in order to offer best products, the organization tries to satisfy all the needs and demands of its employees effectively such as presenting

Friday, November 1, 2019

Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management - Assignment Example esponse, my cousin summed up nearly all what my sister and uncle had told me with slight addition, telling me that HR also assigns tasks and activities to individual workers. I agreed the most to my cousin’s response because I personally think that assigning activities to the employees is one of the fundamental tasks of HR. From the responses of all three of them, I could assess that they generally try to maintain a very nice relationship with HR professionals. They do not happen to see the HR professionals on a regular basis, though whenever they do, they talk to them very nicely and tend to remain in the good books of the HR. Specifically, my cousin’s response was somewhat interesting. He said, â€Å"Either you don’t see the HR professionals too much or you interact too often, but in the second case, you should be sure that you know what you are doing!† I think one should maintain a balanced relationship with the HR professionals and should interact when necessary, but obviously nicely. They had mixed perceptions about HR. My sister said she was like friends with them. My uncle said, â€Å"They interfere too much but you don’t mind since they are only doing their duty.† My cousin said he thought of them as monsters that often hammer his head in his dreams. He said he got nervous whenever some HR professional passed by because the HR professional might be spying on him in which case, the result would show up in the performance appraisal process. I agreed more with my uncle’s response to the question of perceptions about HR professionals. The function of HRM is extremely important for an organization because it serves as the skeleton of the organizational system. I personally feel interested in the authority and superior impression of the HR professionals on other workers. HR department is the second name for quality control (QC) department, which is â€Å"the terror† for most people. Since, I am quite skilled in planning softwares, I know how to organize

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

SS310 Unit 7 DB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SS310 Unit 7 DB - Research Paper Example It is equally evident that archeological resources within the moon have the capacity to improve the state of the earth. This is attributable to the minerals, and other compounds that are likely to benefit humankind. It is equally central to recognize that the moon helps in enhancing life on earth. The exploration of the moon may lead to economic and scientific progress because it sets the stage for economic and societal progress. It is necessary to harvest the moon’s natural resources such as Iron (Waldman, 2000). This will make it simple to generate steel, and other components that are associated with Iron. These resources can enhance economic growth and improve the living standards of people. This is likely to alleviate my living conditions. It is essential to plan for the prospects not just concentrating on the present. Knowledge is increased through exploration. This finally leads to innovation of new technologies and wealth (Waldman,

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Globalization Does It Threaten Cultural Diversity Media Essay

Globalization Does It Threaten Cultural Diversity Media Essay Globalization can be defined as the phenomenon of interaction and integration among people, organizations and the governments of different countries. It has not only affected UAE in particular but also nations across the globe. It is a complete process driven by the forces of international trade and investment and at the same time aided by information technology. Globalization is a very vast subject and so its effects are also wide spread (Lechner, 2001). Globalization had negative and positive views, so that it can not be accepted or rejected, the serious matter now is to what extent globalization is permitted to spread. There are both positive as well as negative impacts of globalization. It has its effects on the environment, on the political system of nations, on economic development, prosperity of nations and most serious threats is apparent on cultural diversity and also on well being of societies around the world. Cultural diversity has both its pros and cons. On the positive side, the interaction across boundaries has resulted in the mixture of cultures, languages, traditions habits and costumes. The major drawback on the cultural aspect is the materialism of globalization. Author Frank Lechner has claim that, the movements of the multinational corporation (MCN) today is promoting consumerist culture, and this is done by promotion of standard commodities by exploiting basic material desires, creating similar lifestyles (Lechner, 2001). Globalization has taken an unprecedented spread worldwide, despite of the great challenges this phenomenon is facing. It is becoming clear that the media, politics and economy has been globalized, and these are methods of extending globalization. The consequences of spreading globalization threaten social aspects and cultural identity. The questions arises how it all started. Well, the answer is simple enough. Economic reasons, free trade and international business deals, immigration and education were the reasons for globalization. The researchers who spoke about the emergence of globalization, identified globalization as a cumulative process, meaning that there is a small preceded factors that paved the way for progressing globalization and that what we are witnessing today. Including trading, most big corporations move their business operations to foreign countries by going global. The major reasons for the globalization of business are: trade barriers, customer demands or need for customized products and globalization of competitors. Also immigration, one of the main factors that had facilitated the globalization movement. People immigrate to other countries in the pursuit of better standard of living, career and job prospects and better health care. All this had resulted in the commencement of what is called g lobalization today (Okolo, 2010). Education it is also worth mentioning as a one of the factors that helped in progressing globalization, The prospects of pursuing higher studies abroad also has give rise to globalization. Students are moving out of their countries to developed nations for studies and jobs. The subject of discussion is whether globalization has direct and indirect negative effects on cultural diversity. This shall be discussed in detail in the following paragraphs of this essay. Globalization has myriad influence on society. And it has touched, influenced and involved societies across the world. A close look at the following facts shall make this idea more clear about who was involved and how. The world population was at 6.5 billion in 2006. It shall grow to 7 billion in the next six years. 99% percent of this growth shall be witnessed in the developing nations like India and China. This is happening due to globalization of MNCs, immigration of people to other countries for better career prospects (The Globalist, Society Globalization, Oct 2006). Despite reluctance of governments to liberalize immigration policy, the number of people living outside their country caused an obvious increase growth from 120 million in 1990 to 200 million in 2008. An estimate of the United Nations confirms this. It might seem that Studying Abroad is also involved in globalization phenomenon. In 2007 gathered reports stated that, a higher percentage of UAE students studied abroa d than Indian or Chinese students. The number of Arab students that earn PhDs annually comes to 12,000. The problem lies in employment and contribution to development to the UAE. The Arab brain drain is four times greater than that of China and five times that of India. As a result, there is no employment generation locally (Zahlan Albert, 2007). Governments involvement with globalization and worldwide trade connections have made countries more interdependent. National economies increasingly got affected by trends in the global economy. As a result, risk of global recession is very high resulting in economic downturn. In such a scenario, national government shape and influence their economies. The government promotes or checks globalization so that it benefits their economy and population. Thus, government involvement plays a key role in controlling the impact of globalization on a domestic level and also globally (Carlos M. Pelà ¡ez Carlos A. Pelà ¡ez, Govt. intervention in globalization, Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2010). It is obvious that international treaties facilitated globalization movement. The huge number of international laws and treaties have made globalization possible. Treaties and agreements among nations set protocols for international trade and finance like the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) and worth to mention the Kyoto Protocol foster co-operation on protecting the environment and it was adopted 1997. It may be objected that some organizations are involved in progressing globalization such as UNESCO. This international organization helps in supporting culture as culture is the foundation of societies. UNESCO promotes access to education. Its program Education for All by 2015 is prioritizes on developing skills for the work force through education. Its program also aims to use technology to enhance learning and to expand educational opportunities. UNESCO also partners with big MNCs to bring education to all. MNCs like Intel, Microsoft and American multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics (CISCO) helps to provide consulta tion, partnerships, technology and funding for projects. These companies involve in programs assisting education to absorb a talent pool of employees with 21st century skill sets (The Levin Institute, UNESCO, 2010). People are divided in their opinion about the impact of globalization on cultural diversity. Some believe it undermines culture, while others are in support of it. There are reasons to consider why globalization promotes cultural diversity. The interaction among boundaries promotes mixing of cultures in specific places and practice, it helps in the integration and the spread of ideas and images, resulting in acceptation or resistance reactions. These global practices are often interpreted differently as per local traditions and takes different particular forms. It may be objected that International organizations movements have made diversity become a global value. The main concern arises here, why are people divided over globalization threats on culture diversity. Simply, because globalization has different advantages on cultural diversity. It is obvious that globalization can be useful tool in improving education. Globalization has resulted in the improvement of education by; highly qualified and experienced educationist experts in schools, colleges and universities helping to improve the standard of education. Restructured online professional degree courses like master of business administration (MBA) has helped students and people who may already be working or those who need a higher degree for better career prospects. These advanced courses are enabling students to acquire specialized knowledge a and skills as opposed to offering them a general education on a subject (Doherty, 2010). Also one of the most important contributions of globalization is improving health sector, with globalization the concept of more private hospitals with intern ational experts and doctors were introduced. The benefits are to give patients the choice of hospitals and physicians. Private health care allows patients to be attended promptly. And provides high quality services to patients with expert doctors supervision and trained nurses. Private sector hospitals create employment for thousands of people. It may be objected that private health care premiums are generally paid by employers and that helps in reducing government expenses (Willman, 2010). Globalization has provided more services for entertainment through new technologies and equipments, for example, mobiles. Toady mobile phones are offering more than just making and receiving calls. It is a form of entertainment with the globalization of mobile phones. Listening to music, watching videos, browsing the internet and even watching TV on mobiles (Mark, 2009). At last but not least worth to mention the video games. Video games provide entertainment in terms of action packed games. Besides that, it enhances creativity and develops interest for graphic design and technology. Youths have a very prospective career in the video game and technology industry (June Soh, 2010). There is no doubt that the system of globalization has clearly imposed itself and its influence globally through several methods helped in easy progressing globalization ideas. Satellite television, computers and other means of communication creates different kind of communication among peoples and nations. Regarding to the new means of modern technology , it may be objected that globalization had direct and In-direct negative effect on culture diversity . Internet, the excessive use of the internet can lead to a kind of addiction affecting the individual both socially and culturally. Opponents of this stance argue that, the massive use of internet effects the person socially and culturally. The addiction can be detrimental to ones health and social well-being. This is because extreme addiction leads to anti-social behavior. The addiction can be so severe that it can lead to the inability of the person to communicate with the real world. It affects inter-personal communication. People addicted to the net soon develop personality disorders. They start identifying themselves with their internet representation than their real self. This finally may lead to ones disability to maintain a healthy social and happy life (Breedon, 2009). Admittedly, it could argue that globalization had direct cultural effects. The influence of the western culture is rampant over the internet. Internet is based on the English language. This results in the weakening of other cultures and languages like the Chinese, French and Arabic. It also affects the moral perceptions and the ethics of an individual. The pornography industry of the western countries is basically driven by the million of dollars of profits. Numerous porn sites over the internet depicting nude females and males corrupt the mindset of the modern youth. This finally leads to the decline of culture of a nation (Guangrong,1998). Another effect important to observe is the violence effects of video Games. Video games are directly linked to violence and youth aggression. When this becomes an addiction, the young generation is more likely to act with violence in a real world scenario. They lack empathy for others and develop delinquent activities. Other adverse effects are heath issues like obesity, poor heart conditions. It also results in social isolation and poor grades for students addicted to video games (Konstantina, Violence in Video Games, 2010). Globalization does affect the cultural diversity, by influencing the national identity of a nation in terms of traditional food, clothes and language. Its important to point out how globalization effects traditional food. The idea created by fact food that it is cheaper and faster reduces the demand for traditional food. Western diet also affects health and nutrition as they are rich in animal products, refined carbohydrates and low in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The consumption of Coca Cola, Pepsi and McDonalds is moving the world towards a deskbound lifestyle (Frank B, 2008). Traditional Clothes, western and globalized fashion trends are moving people away from traditional wear. Traditional clothing enhances the traditional identity of a country. Thus, the expression of identity through traditional wear is psychologically beneficial. Moreover, traditional wear keep women in a more protective environment than adolescents wearing western outfit (Anthes, 2008). Critics for this position point out that globalization has helped in developing one common global language for easy communication, the language of the media, business, education and medicine. It might be true; however, we must consider the serious globalization harm to culture Language. The use of one language in trade, education and profession leads people to stay away eventually from their traditional and cultural language. Globalization ahs resulted in the endangerment and extinction of many languages. An endangered language is one that is not spoken by children and the youth. According to an estimate, the number of endangered languages is about 6000. Language serves as a sense of belonging and without a cultural language, the people of a nation shall lose their cultural identity (Shelly, 2008). The globalization of media also threatens cultural diversity. Through Media perspectives globalization making Indirect threats on culture diversity such a, advertising globalization affects health. Health Advertisers of fast food chains try to project that even after eating a 2000 calorie meals daily can make the younger generation, especially girls look like models on the beach in their commercials. As a result of such global advertising concepts, the youth are getting more and more addicted to hamburgers, pizzas high in calorie resulting in diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart ailments and stroke (Erica Winters, Negative effects of advertising on Girls health, July 2010). Some people believe globalization has some negative impacts on global politics news. Global politics news often tries to portray the idea that Islam is a religion of terrorism. It also creates conflict between people. For example, Muslim women wearing veil caused conflict between people. A British man was given jail of 3 years for removing the veil of a UAE woman (Buray, 2010). Worth to point out the Adverse indirect economic effects of globalization impacts individual financially. Globalization also affects individuals financially. As a result of pressures on prices of products, people tend to migrate to other countries (having low cost of living) in search for better career options and better salaries. Globalization has created income inequalities especially in the developing countries like India and China. This has affected the income of individuals across households (Alli, 2007, Pg. 92). In conclusion it can be said that globalization is making economical, cultural and educational threats on cultural diversity in unconstructive ways. It has been discussed that how our contemporary world is witnessing new trends, through using the latest achievements of technology progress. These trends had become globally spread and known as globalization phenomenon. The globalization movements is taking different forms and different methods, and certain way to practice its activities. And this what had became cleared in recent decades due to development of technologies that contributed to facilitate globalization movements. It has been mentioned that how the media, politics and economy has been globalized and how are these methods helped in easy processing the extent of globalization. Admittedly, I object that these globalization methods reflecting serious threats on social aspects and cultural identity. To extent, co modification of education is in practice with the advent of globa lization. There is also income inequality in the developing countries. Despite economic development, the poverty level of the people of the developing countries is increasing owing to unemployment problems. The invasion of newer technologies like mobiles and video games are affecting the culture of a nation. As an alternative the government must take proper measures to control the prices of products that are consistently rising. Educational institutions like schools must have subjects and materials to foster the sense of national identity. The society too can promote and enhance national identity by way of traditional celebrations, festivals, traditional clothes and most important educating the future generation with these values of national identity.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

2.1. Role of Demographics in Plastic Card Usage However, much of the literature has been focussing on demographic factors as significant variables in selection and usage of payment mode. In Singapore, Gan and Maysami (2006) found that credit card selection is based on the convenience, economic, and protection. On the other hand, factors like travel convenience and reputation of the card are less important in credit card selection in Singapore. By analyzing the demographic factors, researcher found that the people with better education and high income give less importance to economic-promotional factor while choosing the credit card. Old age and married people give more weightage to convenience protection, while Singaporean males give more value economic factor and females give value to promotion. Additionally, other researchers have examined the effect of demographic variables on the adoption of alternative payment options. Borzekowski, Kiser and Ahmed (2006) analyzed data from 800 individuals, and found that debit card usage is d ecreased with age and increased with education. Moreover, the usage is more common in women than men. In addition to this, research also revealed that individuals have a tendency to increase the usage of debit cards when they expect financial stress in the future. A study, based on Krishnagari India, found that issuance of credit card has increased during past five years and majority of sampled credit card holders have positive attitude toward the credit cards. Reasons for this positive attitude are availability of funds in emergency through credit card and shopping without paying cash. Demographic variables that significantly affect the attitude of credit card holders are family income of credit card hol... ...rnational students owe on all their credit cards, whereas, it does have significant positive impact on number of credit cards international students have. Moreover, country of origin does not have significant effect on credit card ownership or number of credit cards, but it does have effect on outstanding balances international students owe on all their credit cards. Also, Themba and Tumedi (2012) focused on the credit card ownership and usage in Botswana, and their association with demographics and attitude towards debt. The consequences of the study discovered that those who own more cards are more likely not to pay their outstanding balances in full. Results also showed that only age and gender seem to be significantly related to attitude towards debt where the youth and females are more likely than other demographic groups to have negative attitude towards debt.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

One Year in a Life of Crime Essay

There are many contributing factors that can lead to living a life of crime, totally unaware of how self-satisfying actions can negatively affect the people around you. The show HBO’s America Undercover â€Å"One Year in a Life of Crime†, is a perfect example of how there can be many factors that will lead you down a path of self destruction. But in the end it is the relationships we have with our parents, family and friends that ultimately shape the type of person we are and affect the decisions that we make. A contributing factor is something that is partly responsible for a development or something that lead to the cause of something else. If we can identify the contributing factors to an undesirable situation that we may be in, then we can learn to avoid them in the future. Or we can even learn from other people’s mistakes. The show â€Å"One Year in a Life of Crime† could be very beneficial for a younger audience to identify contributing factors that lead you down the wrong path in life. Maybe if the thieves’ in the show could have viewed something like this at an earlier time in their life, things might have turned out different for them. Rationalizing and wishful thinking is a contributing factor that prevents the thieves’ from thinking realistically about their future. Rationalization, also known as making excuses, is a way to devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for one’s behavior. To not see reality for what is it. We all do this from time to time but the individuals in the show seem to rationalizing everything as a way to justify the bad choices they have made. Rob rationalizes his stealing in the scene where we meet his father for the first time. Rob’s father Ed works all week long and only brings home $80, which Rob describes as peanuts. To survive, you have to make extra money, is one way Rob justifies his stealing. In his mind, if he didn’t steal, his family couldn’t survive. In many scenes we hear Rob wishing for this and wishing for that. I wish for a big business so I can make a million dollars and if only I could get some money together to buy hot dog truck. Rob is unwilling to work hard to achieve any of his goals. Fred, who is Rob’s mentor in regards to shoplifting, is even worse when it comes to rationalizing he’s behavior. He can’t believe his old lady left with their little girl after he promised to stop getting high but then couldn’t follow through with his promise. He tells an old friend he wants to stop doing drugs and stealing but it’s just too much for him to handle now that his old lady has left him. Rationalizing helps them justify their own lazy attitude towards hard work and making an honest living. The prevailing attitude towards stealing instead of working is another contributing factor that keeps the thieves’ from getting ahead in life. Easy money for little effort, such as shop-lifting, can be very attractive to some people and they will choose this life style. But the way life works is the more you put into something the more you will get out. If you’re willing to work hard and not give up, there is a good chance you will be successful in whatever you choose to do. When we look at Rob we can see he is always looking for easy money. Rob can’t believe his father works for such little money when there are other ways to make a living. He thinks his father is foolish. When Rob was working for a neighborhood mechanic he had saved over a thousand dollars but thought the job wasn’t paying enough. In his mind, the amount of time and work he needed to put-in, didn’t equal the pay he was receiving. Stealing is easier and doesn’t require a full day’s work. It’s hard to say no to easy money when there is only a small chance of getting caught and if you do get caught, then the punishment is light or non-existent. When a city does not have the resources to deal with a large volume of crime, the justice system can seem like a revolving door for the criminals. If the smaller criminals have to be overlooked because the system is swamped with major crimes, then the threat of jail time for shoplifting looses its power. Time after time we see both Fred do little jail time for his crimes. The first time me meet Fred, he’s accidentally been released from jail after only doing 60 days of a one year sentence. He’s been out of jail for one day and he’s already back to shoplifting. Four months later Fred is arrested for Grand Larceny and Vehicular Homicide. He uses an alias along with a phony I.D. to hide his extensive criminal record and ends up out of jail in just three weeks after plea-bargaining down to minor charges as a â€Å"first offender†. Fred was responsible for the death of someone and because of an overwhelmed justice system he is set free. After you get away with something like this how much of a deterrent is the law when it comes to shoplifting? Not much to Fred because just three months later he’s arrested for stealing silverware and end up in jail for six months. Of course each time we see the thieves’ stealing they are always with a friend, an accomplice, someone who thinks and acts the same way they do. Enabling is a larger contributing factor as to why our thieves live the life that they do. An enabler is a person who, through their actions, allows someone else to behave in a destructive way. Enabling/reinforcing negative behavior by lying, ignoring or covering up for someone not only allows negative behavior to continue but also slows down the process of learning to be responsible for the consequences of their actions. The most common example in the show is the relationship the thieves have with each other. Rob is mentored by Fred in the ways of shoplifting and along with their friend Mike, reinforces their life style as being just and the only way they can survive in the world. Rob’s wife Angela is the perfect example of an â€Å"enabler†. Throughout the year that the show takes place we see Angela enabling Rob to continuing stealing. All she wants is for Rob to marry her and if stealing is the only way for Rob to make money, then she will support whatever decisions he makes. At the end of the show we see Rob has become a drug addict and Angela is still with him even though she hates what Rob is doing to himself. She would rather say nothing then confront him. It’s a lot less work being an enabler then it is confronting Rob and trying to help him. Mike’s mother is another example of how enabling has a negative impact on learning to be responsible for one’s own actions. She bails Mike out of jail and losses the bail money because her son takes off. I’m guess here, but I would bet she knows where he is hiding out and her only reaction is to be indifferent to Mike decision which just cost her $750. The relationships we have with our friends and family play a strong role on how we think and the decision we make. The most important contributing factor as to why the thieves are in their situation has to do with how they were raised. The values they were taught and relationship they have with their parents. We can see Rob is in a pattern of self-destructive behavior and one of the biggest influences is his father. From the show we find out that Rob’s father is an alcoholic, would hit him and also throw out Rob’s toys. Rob even describes a scene where his father rips apart one of his favorite toys, a stuffed bunny rabbit. Here we can see why Rob might think it is ok steal. He learned from his father that if you are strong or smart enough to impose your will on someone then it is ok to take what you want. In Rob’s eyes this is how the world works. This is what his father did to him so he is repeating the same behavior when he shop-lifts. We can only guess at the relationship Fred has with his parents but we know that one of his uncles was a drug addict and Fred witness his un cle taking drugs. It’s a good possibility Fred’s family didn’t discourage drug use or educate him in regards to the negative impact drugs will have on your life. From the time we are born we start to soak in our environment. We start to learn from everything around us. How we act socially mainly comes from the observations and interactions we have with our parents. We learn how to speak, how to ask for things and how to interact with others. When we are children the most important relationship we will have is with our parents and this can greatly affect our adolescences and adulthood. Our role models in life can help shape who we will become. If we see from our parents that hard work and following the rules doesn’t get you very far then we might have an attitude that working hard isn’t the way to go. Without good role models the odd are stacked against us and some individuals will take the easy road of a thieves’ life style. We can change our behavior later in life but it can be a difficult process and most people are not even aware that a change is needed.