Insights as a Treasurer

Insights as a treasurer Being bestowed upon me the task to collect and protect the fund of our club is tough and keeping it safe from corruption and theft a lot tougher. When making difficult decisions to the whole group, I must consider being prepared and clear- minded all the time for me to be able to make decisions for the good of the many. This task serves as a training for me to be ready and aware on what will need to do when I reach the stage when I will support my in the future.This will be the start in which I can show my classmates and teachers that I can be trustworthy to whatever they want me to accomplish. Even being confronted with the temptation of wealth and riches, this time I can prove myself that I can be trusted In little things as well as the big things. I am glad that I've served my classmates well and in five months that Vive been doing this Job, encountering problems are inevitable but with the help and purport of my classmates, I managed to hold on do the Job the right way. Paul John Man-on SITS Club Treasurer Insights as a treasurer Treasurer tough and keeping It safe from corruption and theft a lot tougher. When making 1 org and riches, this time I can prove myself that I can be trusted in little things as well as the big things. I am glad that Vive served my classmates well and in five months that Paul John Man-on SITS Club Treasurer

Critical Lens the Odyseey and Ithaka

Ms. Zivas Critical Lens According to an unknown author, â€Å"It is not what an author states, but what he or she whispers that is important. † In other words, every detail in every book or work of literature has a more complex meaning than what is on the paper. Two works that prove this quote true are The Odyssey by Homer and â€Å"Ithaka† by Constantine Cavafy. The Odyssey by Homer is a metaphor for life. â€Å"It is the journey that makes up your life† as said by Tiresias, a blind prophet in The Odyssey. There are many life lessons or lessons learned in this work.For example, in the episode The Lotus Eaters, the lesson Homer meant to teach his listener was to resist temptations. Another lesson Homer meant to teach was that temptations can lead to danger. This was said in The Sirens episode. Life is a long but interesting path. One will never know what might happen. All of the creatures or characters in The Odyssey represent an obstacle someone might face in li fe. As said before, The Odyssey by Homer is a metaphor for life. â€Å"Ithaka† by Constantine Cavafy represents the road to death or the destination.In life, one can conquer any obstacle. This was portrayed in this poem. â€Å"Ithaka† was also used to explain that life should be lived to its fullest. The reader should get the experience to learn about foreign sensual learning. â€Å"Ithaka† provided its reader with an exciting and helpful story which had many moral lessons to be taught. The quote â€Å"It is not what an author states, but what he or she whispers that is important† really describes that the authors of both work of literature write more than what is on the paper. There is another story behind every book or poem.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Monteverde Cloud Forest - Essay Example The Center also makes concerted efforts to create awareness that earth has a finite size and therefore, the organisms residing on it must ensure that the eco system of the earth is not disturbed drastically. The wild life sanctuary is known as Cloud Forest rather than rain forest because of its altitude where clouds can be seen passing through the trees. Situated at a height of 1440 meters, it is also known as green forest and comprises of eight ecological zones and shelters more than 400 species of birds and 100 species of mammals (monteverde.com). It has 120 species of reptilians and amphibians and thousands of insects. The forest with its tall trees help protects the species from natural catastrophes like storms and hurricanes. Many endangered species like Quetzals, Emerald Toucanet, Bellbird, golden toad and rare variety of hummingbirds can be found here. The reserve is a favorite destination for nature lovers across the globe. ‘In 1988, the organization began the International Children’s Rainforest project, which has raised money for the reserve ever since. With the help of children from around the world, the Monteverde Cloud Forest has increased in size to over 26,000 acres. Together with several other forests in the area, it forms almost 70,000 acres of privately owned cloud forest’ (CostaRica). The preserve is an ongoing project for the awareness creation that contributes towards sustainable development. This nature paradise draws more than 70,000 tourists per annum. With its impressive landscape and biodiversity, ‘Monteverde is considered one of the Costa Ricas Seven Wonders, along with Cocos Island, Tortuguero, Arenal Volcano, Chirripo Mountain, Celeste River and Poas Volcano (Monteverde Forest). The sanctuary has more than 2500 species of plants and more than 420 different types of orchids. The stupendous range of biodiversity in the forest makes it one of the most outstanding nature reserves of the

Polymer composite materials in automotive industry Coursework

Polymer composite materials in automotive industry - Coursework Example One of the advantages of carbon fibre composite materials that makes them dominant for use in the automotive industry is because they are light weight. The carbon fibre composite materials have an unsurpassed strength-to-weight ratio and low weight that is essential for the automotive industry. For instance, the manufactures of race cars use carbon fibre composite materials hence they have developed ways of giving this carbon fibre pieces strength in a particular direction i.e. ensuring it is strong in direction bearing the load while weak in directions where little or no load is concentrated in the car. The current trend of materials in car industry of replacing metal parts more and more by polymer composites is aimed at improving the fuel economy the weight of the vehicles. (David, 2007) There has been increased use of carbon fibre composite materials in the automotive industry because of their cost. The cost of a new material is always compared to that presently employed in a prod uct, hence making it one of the most important variables that determines whether any new material has an opportunity to be selected for a vehicle component. When we talk of the cost of composite materials, it refers to actual cost of raw materials, manufacturing value added, and the cost to design and test the product. In terms of cost, the carbon fibre composite materials are relatively cheaper as compared to other materials such as cast irons, steel, cast aluminum and magnesium hence their continued use in the automotive industry.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 125

Summary - Essay Example Besides, the article provides that the most significant thing in an economy is the expectations by consumers of the business conditions in the future. Moreover, the current forecasts in the economy are dependent on the transition of expectations by the customer (MacKuen). The variances do not have any impact on the prevailing economy. The article, therefore, states the statement that an electorate’s decision on the best candidate in a presidency election is dependent on their current future expectations. If the expectations tend to be positive, rewarding of the presidency occurs. Correspondingly, if the expectations are negative, punishment of the presidency occurs. According to the classical theory of democracy, a good election is dependent on the activeness of a voter. On the other hand, the article negates the point in that the average voter is incapable of meeting the traits as put forward by the theory. The article provides another avenue for arriving at a good election. The only trait to possess is a good election is to come of age is only to have the right interests that have the right justification. The fact will lead to correct voting (Redlawsk). The essay also explains that the estimation of the voter’s determination of making a correct choice is possible although in a reasonable manner. The article puts forward that with such kind of reasoning, the American society in two elections had a seventy-five percent correct vote for the available five candidates who were contesting for the presidency. As a consequence, the availability of a standard measure for correct voting can change the perspective of political science. According to the article, political science would result to the exploration of the factors that lead to the probability of a successful and correct voting. The article bases its argument on the initial survey data of elections that later on were the national studies of elections. The main argument is that the decision of voting

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research - Essay Example However, it is a fact that irrespective of all the benefits it promises, the option of incarceration also has multiple demerits and disadvantages. Legal incarcerations come at the cost of a very heavy burden over the taxpayers, and in a financial context, happens to be an utterly dearer option (Geraghty, 2004). Besides, when it comes to criminal rehabilitation, it has been found that the criminals get hardened in the prisons and it is only a few criminals that give up crime after their jail term (Geraghty, 2004). So far, in a pragmatic context, it would be safe to say that incarceration has done little towards facilitating a solution for restraining crime in the society. Besides, retaining law and order within the prisons is also a big problem in itself. The overcrowding of the prisons has made it utterly difficult for the prison authorities to securely manage and run prisons (Geraghty, 2004). In the last few decades it has dawned on the law and order authorities in varied states tha t it is possible to safeguard the society without confining the criminals to incarceration (Kruttschnitt, 2006). Besides, it has been found that extending prison sentences to non-violent criminals is not rights and proves to be counterproductive. Therefore for a need is being felt to come out with alternatives to incarceration. Any punishment that intends to punish an offender, without confining one to prison could serve as an alternative to incarceration. Day Reporting Centers Day Reporting centers are an alternative for the prisoners who are not very aggressive and mostly found culpable in petty or non-violent crimes. Day Reporting centers tend to be centers that are non-residential in their scope, and where the prisoners are required to receive supervision and services. Offenders tend to check in, in the Day Reporting Centers on a daily basis, where the plan the days’ activities in consultation with their supervisors, and participate in and adhere to a prescribed treatment schedule. Day Reporting Centers tend to check, guide and rehabilitate the criminals by actively engaging them in varied activities like curfews, community service, employment, enrollment in schools, random drug tests, etc (McBride & VanderWall, 1997). Day Reporting Centers not only happen to be more cost effective as compared to incarceration programs, but also tend to help a lot in relieving the over burdened traditional prison system (McBride & VanderWall, 1997). Day Reporting Centers have their limitations in the sense that they are more suitable for the aged, non-violent and educated prisoners. Day Reporting Centers serve as an alternative to incarceration in both the pretrial and post trial stages. The Day Reporting Centers allow for a very high level of surveillance of the offenders while extending to them the necessary treatment and rehabilitation opportunities (McBride & Vander Wall, 1997). Day Reporting Centers work on the principle of intermediate punishment. Intermediate punishment is any form of punishment that does not involve incarceration, but involves court ordered restrictions. Hence the Day Reporting Centers in a way constitute the middle link between incarceration and a parole. The offenders who participate in the Day Reporting Center programs are allowed to move amidst the society, but with the requisite guidelines and restrictions. Day Reporting Ce

Analyse the marketing communication strategy of innocent drinks Essay

Analyse the marketing communication strategy of innocent drinks - Essay Example The company had a net employee turnover of around  £1.8 million in 2000 and has increased to around  £141 million by 2009 (Arens, Weigold and Arens, 2011). The company has been successful in setting up its brand position in the international market by supplying quality products to the customers (Arens, Weigold and Arens, 2011). By conducting this study, the researcher has the aim to analyse the effectiveness of the strategies used by Innocent Drinks. It also offers the scope to understand the importance of using such innovative strategies by the company and the impact it has on the target customers. Innocent Drinks aims at making smoothies and fruit juices for the health conscious customers for kids as well as adults. The company provides pure health drinks without adding sugar or preservatives and these are preferred by most of the customers (De Pelsmacker, Geuens and Van den Bergh, 2013). Innocent Drinks The company has created a huge customer base in the international market. However, the customers often prefer health drinks at low cost that would be according to their budget. The company has targeted the kids for their business in order to make them choose the products (Ogilvy, 2004). The drinks that are made out of fruits also look attractive to the parents who feel that their kids should remain healthy. Since the target customers for Innocent Drinks are the children and their parents, hence, the company pays attention to the packaging of the drinks in order to make them look delicious and attractive (Wells, Moriarty and Burnett, 2011). There are other popular brands of bottled water that gives strong competition to Innocent Drinks. Evian and Volvic are the popular brands producing bottled water, but study says that Innocent Drinks captures the large portion of the market. According to the researcher, the customers who are loyal to the company may not be willing to switch to some other brand and the company would have the

Why are people scared and why people dont want to go to doctors Research Paper

Why are people scared and why people dont want to go to doctors - Research Paper Example Regardless of the disease, timely diagnosis and treatment are vital to achieve the desired health outcomes (Storla, Yimer & Bjune 15). More often than not, the map of the problem looks as if patients have some inherent emotional or mental disorder that prevents them visiting their physicians on time. In reality, the situation is quite different, and it is not patients’ fault that they cannot reach the doctor on time. It is because of problems with medical care, failure to provide safe and painless medical manipulations, and speak with patients adequately and comprehensively that individuals develop the fear of medicine and refuse to visit their physicians on time. To begin with, the quality of medical care by itself becomes a serious barrier to accessing and using health care. Modern life is very active and people prefer to turn to their urgent responsibilities than to sit and wait until the doctor is free to receive the next patient. Patients do not want to go to doctors, because they expect they will need to wait hours, before they get to the needed specialist. Waiting times remain a serious problem in today’s health care, and few patients are willing to spend hours in the waiting line. As a result some patients fail to visit a doctor even after spending much time near his room, because the doctor has to go home as his working day is over. This situation is not acceptable at all and serious measures should be taken. â€Å"Time spent waiting is a resource investment by the patient for the desired goal of being seen by the physician and therefore may be moderated by the outcome† (Anderson, Camacho & Balkrishnan 31). However, how much is much and how much is enough to sit waiting for the physician? It is like waiting for hours in the Hopkins Gynecology Clinic: â€Å"The public wards at Hopkins were filled with patients, most of them black and

Construction management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Construction management - Assignment Example One of the considerations that was taken with respect to this particular project concerns the dangers and potential hazards of deconstructing the old pipeline. Although full safety inspections will of course be conducted prior to any activity of actual deconstruction being engaged, it is not unlikely that a potential hazard might be engaged and additional time and/or personnel required in order to de-construct the existing pipeline in and ineffective, efficient, and environmentally sustainable manner (Maddox-Abbott & Laskowski, M 2014). As a means of countering this particular risk, the project has been divided into two distinct phases. The first phase is with respect to those areas that are not densely populated. Similarly, the second phase is contingent upon those regions that are densely populated. As such, rather than dividing the project based upon the actual geographic area of pipeline replacement within these two geographic spheres, a risk management approach has indicated tha t a disproportionate amount of time must be provided for contingencies or eventualities within the densely populated region of Jersey Island. Even though it is true that the total geographic area of pipeline replacement that is encompassed within these areas is a minute fraction of the overall project scope, fully 30% of all available time for this phase of the project has been devoted towards these regions to counter any contingencies that might arise. Some of the contingencies that were considered with respect to these urban areas were concentric upon damaged infrastructure, potential leaks, and other issues arising from the physical deconstruction of the existing and old pipeline infrastructure (Golob et al, 2013). Another relevant risk that was considered and planned for accordingly has to do with issues pertaining to shipment. As was noted within the initial project proposal, there are no factories on Jersey Island that are capable of producing the type of infrastructure that

Characterisation in 2D Animations

Characterisation in 2D Animations The main problem that animation faces is that it is an overtly fake diegetic form. The viewer is presented with a constructed reality of drawings and paintings, which may represent the real world, but unlike photographic film, does not look like it. The challenge therefore is to create characters that may believably inhabit their particular diegetic reality. Animators have strived to find a way to resolve this issue through their character design and an awareness of how to deliver narrative information through their characters. This essay will illustrate the solutions that animators have found to make their audiences believe what is put in front of them. In 1914 Winsor McCay took up the (self-imposed) challenge of making dinosaurs live again via animation. The result was Gertie the Dinosaur a semi-live act with McCay performing onstage with the projected film behind him. Gertie herself was obviously an animated projection and to make her believable she had to have a strong individual character. McCay achieved this through his own interactions with the character of Gertie. He talks to her and asks her to perform tricks, which she obliges to do. We are also drawn attention to the fact that she is thirsty and she drains a lake. The performance would climax with her picking up McCay (as he exits the stage.) and bounding of the screen with him on his back. Through this series of call and response between the live action McCay and the animated Gertie, McCay creates the illusion of human understanding within the animated dinosaur. There is also at one point a look of glee in her face after a fight scene when she throws the defeated mammoth into a lake. Through the human interaction and the animation McCay has anthropomorphically endowed the animated creature with human emotions: he has made her believable to the audience by giving her recognizable human traits. In his book Understanding Animation Paul Wells recognizes that the use of attributing animated animal characters anthropomorphic characteristics has become a mainstay of character development. It will be discussed in further detail later in the essay. The basic principles of characterization as a narrative strategy in animation have been summed up by Wells. The character may be understood through its costume or construction, its ability to gesture or move and the associative aspects of its design. It is pertinent at this point to discuss these aspects of character design. Regardless of if an animated character is an animal or human, animators rarely try to completely reproduce natural form. As such the problem is that they are presenting viewers with unnatural looking beings. If the viewer is to accept the characters shown before them, the characters themselves must be presented as believable. This is why animators rely on exaggeration of individual features to suggest certain character types. Halas and Manvelldescribe this in their book the technique of film Animation. Characterization is achieved by the distortion of shapes and forms big eyes, big mouth, big nose, large head small body etc. What is stressed by animators is the gesturing parts of the body, particularly the features of the head. The eyes, nose, mouth and ears are all vital in creating the illusion of human emotion. There is a general rule of thumb with regards to which shapes go with what characters: kind gentle characters tend to have soft rounded faces with wide smiles and large rounded eyes. Porky Pig is a great example of this principle. He is the embodiment of the jolly fat man. Villains on the other hand are much more angular. They often have a rather sharp chin and small eyes and a crooked mouth that somehow lends itself to a wicked smile. They are often presented as grotesque, much like the Evil queen in Snow White and her incarnation as the old crone. These generalizations serve as visual shorthand for the viewer; they optimise the impact of the character through economy and allow the viewer to make connections and process narrative information about the characters more quickly. In the words of W ells, animation manages to compress a high degree of narrative information into a limited period of time through a process of condensation. This method of economy and condensation was born out of functionality as much as anything. Partially it was due to the fact that cartoons are usually very short. As such narrative information has to be delivered with great speed. Also when television became the dominant domain of the animated short, characters had to be easily recognizable on the small screen. Its much easier to do this by recognizing one or two strong individual characteristics than several small ones. Most importantly however the simpler that a character is to draw, the quicker they become to reproduce. They rely on caricature and stereotype to relay narrative information quickly and succinctly. Halas and Manvell go on in their book to describe the visual style of Tom and Jerry in terms of the aesthetic principles of animation: The drawing and coloring have an economy and a visual impact that matches the overwhelming vitality and sometimes the crudity of the action and characterization. This highlights the importance of economy. Extraneous details can confuse the situation and detract from overall characterization. What is needed is a just a couple of well-chosen details. In 1917 Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope. This device allowed animators to successfully mimic natural movement by blowing up still frames of photography and allowing the animator to copy them exactly. Max and his brother Dave were both inspired by the work of Winsor McCay and between them were instrumental in the development of both technological and character development of animation. The rotoscope worked by using a drawing board with a frosted glass center. One frame of photography at a time was shone onto the glass and the image was traced. It provided an accurate reference of movement and articulation so that on screen movement could be replicated with a lot more fluidity. By doing this animators were able to draw more complicated figures in a believable and convincing way. Richard Willams has drawn examples of some of these more complicated characters in his book the animators survival kit. The examples that will be discussed here are the representation of the young and old woman as drawn by Williams. By taking two examples of opposing but similar characters, we can see how the rotoscope paved the way for the development of characterization in animation. The young woman is characterized mainly be her curvaceous figure. She has a strong convex curve along her back and an hourglass figure that extenuates her breast, slim waist and shoulders. She stands upright and tall. She also has sleek long legs and flowing long hair. This form communicates her youth vitality and energy. The old woman by contrast has a much rounder concave curve of the back, which seems to curve round into her body giving her a rounded torso. The breast is also molded into this rounded torso that desexualizes her. Her hair is also shorter. She is hunched forward making her look tired and weary. The lower body is also rounded and she wears a long skirt to cover the legs. In contrast we see only the ankles and feet of the old woman and she is given short dumpy legs. These two examples s how the importance of form and shape in delivering character information. These two figures could represent the same character at different ages but the presentation of form provides us with completely different information about the characters. Williams also stresses the importance of movement to illustrate character. As stated earlier this art of animation was greatly enhanced by the development of the rotoscope. The way that a character moves can be fluid and smooth which would suggest grace or elegance. Alternatively movements can be jerky or plodding, which will in turn infer characteristics of weakness or foolishness. Again he uses examples to discuss and illustrate the main differences between the masculine and feminine walk. The feminine walk is smooth and elegant. She keeps her legs close together and as such the footsteps run straight along the line of action. As a result there is very little up and down body movement. The feminine walk seems to glide along the line of action. The masculine walk however is much more aggressive. The feet are kept well apart, far out from the line of action. The masculine walk is a full on stride, which makes the character as wide as possible. There is much more up and down movement on the body. This makes the walk much more kinetic and at the same time suggests power and strength. Much like the generalizations about character form, these conventions can be subverted to comic effect or to deliver more information. For example a Masculine walk may become a drunken walk if the feet are allowed to cross the line of action. (I.E. if the right foot passes across the center of the body and steps down on the left and vice versa.) Through these examples it is clear that the way that the animator makes the character move is vital to characterization. The Fleischer brothers were also responsible for two of the most beloved cartoon characters of the thirties: Popeye and Betty Boop. These two characters are archetypes of hero and heroine character traits. It seems only fitting therefore to discuss how these characters are so distinct, and the methods used to give them such strong individual identities. Popeye originally appeared in Comic strip form some years before his screen debut in 1933. During this time of American economic depression he was a figure of aspiration for the workingman. As a navy man he had a career that stood for American strength and pride; this also made him stand out as the champion of the just causes. As such he was the embodiment of the strong everyman in times of hardship. He is identified as a sailor by the uniform that he wears with style and pride. He embodies the macho sailor stereotype by striding along with a sailors walk, feet apart rocking from side to side. He also has the iconic tattoo of an anchor on his arm; this marks him out as a man who figuratively wears his heart on his sleeve. His physical appearance is defined by the exaggeration of his muscle; importantly however Popeyes strength comes from eating spinach. Although he is always strong and muscular, it is not until he eats the spinach that he has the strength needed to defeat Bluto. After he has eaten the spinach his forearms are inflated to appear three times the normal size. As Wells points out Popeyes masculinity is predominantly defined by the association between his own organic expansion and the strength of hard metal or machines. As his muscles grow they either transform shape into anvils or air brakes or we see moving pictures of locomotives or battleships on his form arms. Po peyes physical strength therefore is amplified by the imagery but he also associated with American mechanical or military strength. Popeye is remembered for his fights with Bluto but the important thing to bear in mind is that he is not a troublemaker and is usually a very amiable character. He has the characteristic rounded face of the jolly fat man. He walks around with a smile making jokes to himself and being generally full of life. There is also his voice that characterizes him as a salty old piece of seaweed. It is only when his girlfriend Olive Oil is put in jeopardy that he is called into fight; thus he is characterized as a rescuer rather than a man of violence. Betty Boop first appeared in 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. Her Face and body defined her femininity; she has a large head with huge childish doe eyes and full red lips. She also has the typical hourglass figure with a full bust that shows of a lot of cleavage. She was also a dancer and her movement and walk were characterized mainly by the feminine swing of the hips. After the first cartoon her skirts got smaller and smaller and she became much more overtly sexualized. She was an embodiment of femininity or at least the male fantasy of femininity. The blend of sexual charge and childlike innocence that came through mainly from her eyes and her distinctive voice disturbed the censors. Her raunchiness was toned down after the Hayes code of 1934. Now that the development of human characterization has been addressed; it is important at this point to addresses the role of anthropomorphism again. The rise and success of the animation of Walt Disney, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery are prime examples of how the lending of human characteristics to animals and vice versa has created some of the must vivid and enduring icons of animation. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck et al have become such fixed images in the popular psyche that it is important to understand what made these characters so memorable. When dealing with animals we must bear in mind the association that people already have with those particular beasts. Any given animal will have a mythology and literary tradition that comes with it; by being away of these traditions animators have been able to associate these ancient traditions with their own creations. For example foxes are sly and cunning; sharks are ferocious and unforgiving; horse and lions are heroic and noble creatures both ferocious yet majestic. When an animator is devising a character they tend to marry the preconceived ideas that people have about a particular beast with the traits they desire for their character. This is what wells calls associative relations and opens the form of animation into a narrative dialectic that requires an extra-textual understanding on behalf of the viewer. A good example of how the principle of associative relations works would be Kaa from The Jungle Book. The snake has a literary history that dates back to the story of Adam and Eve. It was the seductive yet untrustworthy snake that facilitated mans fall from paradise. The snake is sly; professing friendship but always has his own agenda. The snake glides along the flow in a smooth fluid motion, which is at once deadly and seductive. Kaa is attributed with these characteristics through legend and association. This is further illustrated by his ability of hypnotism, which is of course a human discipline. He talks to Mowgli and soothes him to sleep with soft words and hypnosis in order to eat him. In dealing with associations that are so deeply rooted in the common psyche the characters themselves become instantly memorable. Animal characteristics can also be applied to human characters. Heroes are often seen riding horses; the horse itself is a creature of nobility and heroism; and the tradition of the hero on horse back is one that has permeated every folklore around the globe. The human therefore basks in the reflective glory of its animal companion. The best way to summarize the use of anthropomorphism in characterization is to say that the human in the animal identifies the human character within. In turn the animal in the human illustrates and enriches the character of the human. Animators create artificial worlds and diegetic domains for characters to inhabit. As mentioned at the outset of this essay the problem is that the animated world we are presented with is so overtly fake that it is a challenge to make the characters believable. Animators exploit the fantasy element of their work; they draw attention to the fact that we are presented with talking pigs and indestructible heroes through comic exaggeration of their abilities and their follies. However what Animators do manage to do; is insert enough natural movement and recognizable human emotion into their creations that we except them fully as real believable characters within their own right. Bibliography Bordwell and Thompson. (2001) Film Art: An Introduction, New York: McGraw Hill. Canemaker, J. (ed.) (1988) Storytelling in Animation: The Art of the Animated Image Vol. 2, Los Angeles: AFI. Griffin, H. (2001) The Animators guide to 2D Computer Animation, Oxford: Focal Press, Halas, J and Manvell, R. (1968) The Technique of Film Animation, Norwich: Focal press Limited. Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation, New York: Routledge. Williams, R. (2001) The Animators Survival Kit, New York: Faber and Faber.

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Financiering van de Pleegzorg; De gehele Jeugdzorg, waar Jeugdhulp Friesland en dus Pleegzorg onder valt wordt gesubsidieerd door de overheid. Dit valt onder de gezondheidszorg, per deel van Jeugdhulp is er een budget die wordt ingezet om iedereen te helpen. Als voorbeeld van een activiteit heb ik de reiskostenvergoeding van stagiaires genomen, stagiaires kunnen de gemaakte kosten declareren bij de organisatie. Deze prijs is opgebouwd uit de gemaakte kilometers en welke prijs daaraan verbonden zit. Hoe je reist is ook van invloed op de prijs, als je week-ov hebt krijg je niet betaald omdat jijzelf dan gratis kan reizen. Ieder pleeggezin ontvangt pleegoudervergoeding, deze vergoeding is maandelijks en is bedoeld voor het kind. Hiervan moeten ouders dingen als kleding en bijvoorbeeld slaapspullen. De vergoeding hangt af van de leeftijd van het kind, hieronder is een tabel bijgevoegd waarin de basisbedragen voor elke leeftijdscategorie zijn omschreven. Basisbedragen van de pleegzorg per jeugdige per 1 januari 2013. Leeftijdscategorie Bedrag per maand/per dag 0 t/m 8 jaar â‚ ¬ 532/17,50 9 t/m 11 jaar â‚ ¬ 538/17,70 12 t/m 15 jaar â‚ ¬ 586/19,28 16 t/m 17 jaar â‚ ¬ 647/21,28 18 jaar en ouder â‚ ¬ 654/21,51 (Pleegzorg Nederland, 2013) Privacy: De privacyregels van Jeugdhulp Friesland staan genoteerd onder de volgende categorieà «n: ï  ¶ Informatie verzamelen en vastleggen ï  ¶ Het recht om gegevens in te zien ï  ¶ Het uitgeven van informatie aan andere personen ï  ¶ Het bewaren en vernietigen van gegevens Informatie verzamelen en vastleggen: Alle informatie over een clià «nt wordt vastgelegd in een dossier, in dit dossier staan alle standaardgegevens zoals naam, adres en geboortedatum. De informatie die bij Pleegzorg binnenkomt is afkomstig van ouders/verzorgers ... ...eegzorg bevorderen en in de belangen van pleegouders en –kinderen voorzien. (Jeugdhulp Friesland, 2014) Ook heb je de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Pleeggezinnen (NVP), de NVP is een landelijke, onafhankelijke vereniging van en voor pleegouders. De NVP zet zich in voor de belangen van pleegzorg, ze willen de kwaliteit van pleegzorg in Nederland verbeteren. Dit doen ze door middel van ondersteuning, advies en belangenbehartiging voor de pleeggezinnen. (Jeugdhulp Friesland, 2014) Alle partijen binnen Jeugdhulp Friesland communiceren met elkaar, de Raad van Bestuur staat bovenaan en pleegt overleg met de Controller en de Regiodirecteur. Alles wat naar de medewerkers moet worden doorgestuurd wordt door de Regiodirecteur geregeld, deze zorgt ervoor dat de wensen van de Raad van Bestuur door gegeven worden aan de medewerkers. Voor een communicatieoverzicht: Zie bijlage

The University Should Focus More Upon Classic Works of Literature :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

The University Should Focus More Upon Classic Works of Literature When I declared English as my major, I was both nervous and eager to begin the program. I thought I would finally be able to read all the books I had wanted to read throughout high school. I was prepared to embark on an exciting yet difficult journey, reading great works of literature by authors such as Dickens and Austen. Unfortunately, while at my university, I have not read as many classic works of literature as I expected. Instead, most of my assigned reading has been from works by modern writers from various ethnic and minority groups. Hence, I feel I am missing something in my pursuit of an English degree. The English program at the University should focus more of its attention on classic works of literature. Many would argue that it is more important for today's students to read ethnic and minority literature. In today's diverse society, one must be exposed to all kinds of cultures and ethnic groups. Therefore, it is better for English students to read more ethnic literature so that they are aware of the experiences of other ethnic groups as expressed through literary forms. Many English instructors feel that ethnic literature is a field that contains many hidden treasures of literature. They are assigning students to read these works more frequently. For example, in a recent study conducted by the National Association of Scholars, researchers found that "based on the relative frequency with which she is cited in course descriptions, Toni Morrison now ranks sixth among all authors who have ever written in the English language." Only Shakespeare, Chaucer, Austen, Milton, and Woolf had more citations. The researchers note, "Given the heavy disproportion of male to female authors over the c ourse of English literary history, this is certainly an astonishing outcome, even if the literary excellence of Morrison is granted." (http://www.nas.org/reports/eng_maj/engmaj_exsum.htm). Toni Morrison is certainly a fine writer; however, I agree that her being ranked sixth out of every author who ever wrote in the English language is extraordinary. I am not suggesting that the study of ethnic and minority literature is not important. I agree that reading literature by diverse ethnic groups is beneficial to the English major. However, it seems to me that more attention is focused on ethnic literature than on classic literature. While ethnic literature is important, it is also necessary to give classic literature equal emphasis in the program, if not more.

Properties of Enzymes and Competitive Inhibitors

Index Page Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Materials and Chemicals used†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 3 Procedures†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Tables†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5-7 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Discussion†¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Works Cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Properties of Enzymes and Competitive Inhibitors. Abstract: Properties of enzymes were found in this experiment and some other factors, which affect enzyme activity.Enzymes are catalyst; they catalyze very specific reactions. Results relating to the active site of specific enzymes played a big role while performing this experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to fin how inhibitors affect enzyme’s activity by competing for the active site against substrates. Introduction: Cells have the ability to perform chemical reactions that at normal temperature outside the body proceed too slowly to support life. Cells are able to perform some reactions rapidly because they possess protein catalyst called enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze (i. . , increase the rates of) chemical reactions. Each enzyme has a unique globular shape, a small portion of which functions as an active site capable of binding to specific reactants or substrates. It was hypothesized that enzyme concentration, temperature, and inhibitors will affect the properties and abilities of the enzyme. Materials: 1Wax Marking Pens 150 ml Beakers 3 400 ml Beaker 1 container of parafilm 1 set of 20 spec tubes 1 regular test tube rack 1 small test tube rack 1 box Kimwipes Eye Droppers 1 thermometer 2-10ml Graduated Cylinders 1 Spectrophotometer 7  °C waterbath with test tube racks Solutions: 1 flasks of pH 7 buffered ONPG 1 flask of Lactose 8% 1 flask of pH 7 buffered 1 flasks of 8% beta galactosidase Procedure 1. Obtain five test tubes and label them (i. e. A, B, C, D, E) 2. Using a 10 ml graduated cylinder put: Note: It is very important to add enzyme last. 1 ml of pH 7 buffered ONPG + No Lactose 8%(0ml) +(1 ml pH buffer) + Enzyme (1ml) solutions into tube A. 0% Lactose. 3. Using a 10 ml graduated cylinder put: 1 ml of pH 7 buffered ONPG + Lactose 8% (. 25ml) +(. 75ml pH buffer) + Enzyme (1ml) so lutions into tube B. % Lactose. 4. Using a 10 ml graduated cylinder put: 1 ml of pH 7 buffered ONPG + Lactose 8% (. 5ml) +(. 5ml pH buffer) + Enzyme (1ml) solutions into tube C. 4% Lactose. 5. Using a 10 ml graduated cylinder put: 1 ml of pH 7 buffered ONPG + Lactose 8% (. 75ml) +(. 25ml pH buffer) + Enzyme (1ml) solutions into tube D. 6% Lactose. 6. Using a 10 ml graduated cylinder put: 1 ml of pH 7 buffered ONPG + Lactose 8% (1ml) +(0ml pH buffer) + Enzyme (1ml) solutions into tube E. 8% Lactose. 7. Cover each of the tubes with parafilm and place the tubes in the 37  °C waterbath for 30 minutes. . After 30 minutes, determine if the reaction has occurred in each tube, and notice change in color. 9. Test tube E acted as our control test tube because no competitive inhibitor was added. Lactose was the competitive inhibitor for this reaction into the test tube. Note: Because the result on steps 4 and 6 were not accurate for our particular experiment, steps 4 and 6 were performed twi ce. The following table and graph express the results after the measurements and mixing. Table 1. Measurements after mixing the solutions into the test tubes.Solutions| pH 7 Buffered ONPG (ml)| Lactose 8% (ml)| pH buffer (ml)| Enzyme B-Gal (ml)| Total amount of mls. | Test tube A| 1| 0| 1| 1| 3| Test tube B| 1| 0. 25| 0. 75| 1| 3| Test tube C| 1| 0. 5| 0. 5| 1| 3| Test tube D| 1| 0. 75| 0. 25| 1| 3| Test tube E| 1| 1| 0| 1| 3| This table represents the total amounts of each solution added to each test tube in order to get 3 mls for each test tube. This table is used only to represent how the result will look like. Graph 1. Measurements after mixing the solutions into the test tubes. This graph depicts the contents inside the test tubes after mixing the mentioned solutions.Measurement of O-nitrophenol. (ONPG) Although the appearance of yellow in the tubes indicated that O-nitrophenol was present, the color, alone, did not tell us how much was present. It was possible to measure the a mount of O-nitrophenol present by measuring the intensity of the yellow with a spectrophotometer. 1. The contents of the 5 tubes were poured into spec 20 tubes. The positions were labeled, but the spec tubes were left clear in order to have an accurate measurement absorbance. 2. Test tube E acted as the control tube for this, since that tube did not contain inhibitor.Note: Absorbance 420nm in this experiment will be a measure of the concentration of the O-nitrophenol molecules in each of the solutions. Using the Spectrophotometer The spectrophotometer was an instrument designed to measure the amount of light transmitted through solutions, or absorbed by substances in the solution. Light of a specific wavelength is emitted from a special bulb and passed through a tube containing a substance solution. The greater concentration of those particles; the greater the absorbance. It is very important to select the most appropriate wavelength of light for use.These procedures were followed i n order to set up the Spectrophotometer. 1. 420 nm was the wavelength to use in the inhibitor experiment lab designed because O-nitrophenol maximally absorbs a light at 420. 2. The Spectrophotometer was zeroed out with the control knob so that the needle reads 0% transmittance on the upper scale. 3. The control tube A was put in the holder, and the lid was closed. The light control knob was adjusted so that the needle could read 100% transmittance. 4. The control tube was removed from the holder. The lid was then closed noticing the needle again read 0% transmittance. 5.All other test tubes were placed into the Spectrophotometer and read as well. 6. Data for these results was recorded on the following table. Table 2. Effect of competitive inhibitor concentration lactose on the production of O-nitrophenol. Effect of Competitive Inhibitor Concentration on production of ONGP Product| Tube| Inhibitor Concentration| Intensity of yellow| Absorbance| ? moles of ONPG produced/30min | ? mole s of ONPG produced/min| A| 0%| ++++| 1. 55| 38. 75| 1. 291666667| B| 2%| +++| 0. 43| 107. 5| 3. 583333333| C| 4%| ++| 0. 13| 32. 5| 1. 083333333| D| 6%| +| 0. 02| 5| 0. 166666667| E| 8%| 0 | 0| 0| 0|Calculation of ? moles O-nitrophenol produced per minutes. Ex. Tube A: ? moles of ONPG produced/30min Absorbance/0. 004= ? moles of ONPG produced per 30min 0. 155 / 0. 004= 38. 75 ? moles Ex 2 Tube A: ? moles of ONPG produced/min ?moles of ONPG produced per 30min/ 30min 38. 75 /30=1. 291666667 ? moles of ONPG produced/min From the absorbance data that was measured the O-nitrophenol produced per minute was calculated. 1. Each ? mole of O-nitrophenol produced an absorbance of 0. 004. The absorbance measured was divided by 0. 004 to determine the number of ? moles produced during the experiment.The values were recorded in table 2, fifth column. 2. The measurements that were obtained in the fifth column were divided by 30(number of minutes left in the waterbath) to obtain the number of ? mol es of O-nitrophenol produced per minute. Graph 2. Absorbance measurements for inhibitor concentration lactose on the production of O-nitrophenol. Absorbance Absorbance Test Tubes Test Tubes Results According to the hypothesis that temperature, enzyme concentration, and concentration will affect the properties and functions of the enzymes. The hypothesis was supported because graph and tables express the change in absorbance, and ? oles produced. Discussion The tables were able to depict the result in order to get better and accurate results for this particular experiment. Measurements have to be performed with precaution, making sure the enzyme and the contents are mixed properly and at the same time. Conclusion Enzyme activity can be affected by other molecules. Inhibitors are molecules that decrease enzyme activity; activators are molecules that increase activity. Activity is also affected by temperature, chemical environment, change in pH, and the concentration of substrate.

Argumentative Essay In Favor of Euthanasia Essay

â€Å"Euthanasia is the administration of a lethal agent by another person to a patient for the purpose of relieving the patient’s intolerable and incurable suffering†. When we talk about euthanasia it is meant as a means to help someone to achieve a good death. The majority of those who seek euthanasia are terminally ill and do not have any other options. Either they stay alive and suffer from the severe pain, the symptoms, and the side effects like bedsores, or they decide to end their agony and choose the only other alternative. Unlike what some people think, euthanasia is used as a last resort and is only meant for people who face an imminent death. It is not meant â€Å"to kill†, but to help the dying die with dignity. Given that everyone has the right to die with dignity, as soon as the suffering comes to a decision to shorten his or her last days or weeks in order to end the unbearable pain, the society should accept it and do everything in their power to make it possible. Euthanasia is considered accepted among its supporters only if the following ethical guidelines are met. The person must be an adult in a rational state of mind, whose terminal suffering happens to be unbearable despite the best medical efforts. Secondly, the person must have clearly made a considered decision. As Timothy M. Quill illustrates in his essay â€Å"Death and Dignity† Diane, a woman diagnosed with terminal leukemia, her husband, and her son talked about her disease and the options including treatment extensively; however, â€Å"She remained very clear about her wish not to undergo chemotherapy and to live whatever time she had left outside the hospital†. An individual can express his or her preferences about healthcare at the end of life, for example by writing a living will, or even, in today’s more open and tolerant society, freely discuss the option of euthanasia with a health-care professional or a family member. Timothy M. Quill notes in the same essay Diane’s wish to die, once she â€Å"lost control of herself and her dignity†. She discussed this wish with her family and her doctor and asked them for their help and support. They were not happy about this, but they agreed to respect her choice, and that is what they did. Her doctor had regular meetings with her and talked to her about â€Å"the philosophy of comfort care†, but also about the â€Å"Hemlock Society†. As her condition worsened, she called up her closest friends including her doctor and said goodbye to them. Two days later she  asked her husband and her son to leave her alone for an hour after saying goodbye to them. After an hour, they found her dead â€Å"covered by her favorite shawl†. Euthanasia should not be carried out at the first knowledge of a life-threatening illness, and the individual must seek reasonable medical help to cure or at least slow down the progress of the terminal dise ase. Life is precious and is also worth a fight. Euthanasia is only an option when the fight is hopeless and the agony unbearable. However, once the decision is made, the treating physician must be informed and his or her response should be considered. It is always possible, that the diagnosis has been misheard or misunderstood; furthermore, the individual’s decision could have been triggered by major depression or any other curable mental illness. I think everyone would agree that each physician confronted with a patient seeking help to commit suicide should involve psychiatric consultation in order to rule out major depression before euthanasia should even be considered. After excluding any form of a treatable illness, it should be the physician’s choice whether or not to assist the patient to commit suicide. Under normal circumstances we do not have the right to kill or to let someone die, but there are some exceptions to this rule. A physician is permitted to withhold treatment and let the patient die, if it is so desired by the patient or a legal representative. However, if the same person under the same circumstances wishes to be helped directly in order to end his or her suffering, the physician is not allowed to assist this person put an end to his or her life. According to the American Medical Association â€Å"The physician who performs euthanasia assumes unique responsibility for the act of ending the patient’s life†. On the other hand the AMA also states â€Å"Physicians have an obligation to relieve pain and suffering and to promote the dignity and autonomy of dying patients in their care. This includes providing effective palliative treatment even though it may foreseeably hasten death.†The above statement shows us that AMA prohibits active euthanasia, â€Å"the administration of a lethal agent by another person to a patient for the purpose of relieving the patient’s intolerable and incurable suffering.†, yet allows passive euthanasia, â€Å"at least in some cases, to  withhold treatment and allow a patient to die†. James Rachels argues for why physicians should place passive euthanasia in the same category as active euthanasia. First, techniques of passive euthanasia extend the suffering of the patient, because it takes longer to passively allow the patient to die than it would if active measures were taken. Second, Rachels argues that passive euthanasia encourages the physician to make decisions on irrelevant grounds. For example, children born with Down’s syndrome often have correctable congenital defects, but sometimes the parents refuse the surgery, because they do not want a child with Down’s syndrome; therefore, they let the infant die. Rachels’ example might be a little extreme, but if we really want to be honest with ourselves, we should recognize that active euthanasia seems to be more humane in some cases than passive euthanasia. Advances in medical technology brought about a number of miracles to keep us healthy and to help us live longer; however, modern medicine has not entirely solved the problem of terminal illness and pain. It has even contributed to the complication of the decisions we might be confronted with towards the end of our life, or the life of a loved one. We are going to face life-and-death decisions, we should always choose life over death when life is truly possible, but tragic circumstances can make the afterlife a better life for some people. Euthanasia is an option not a destination. After all â€Å"No one wants to live to be one hundred, until you ask the man who is ninety-nine.† Reference pagehttp://www.starcourse.org/euthanasia.htmhttp://www.togopeacefully.com/http://www.missouri.edu/~philwb/Quill.HTMTimothy E. Quill, M.D. Death and DignityA Case of Individualized Decision MakingPrinted in The New England Journal of Medicine,March 7, 1991, Vol. 324, No. 10, pp 691-694. http://www.banned-books.com/truth-seeker/1994archive/121_5/ts215n.htmlDeath and Dignity: Making Choices and Taking Charge by Timothy E. Quill. W.W. Norton & Company, New York.  ©1993The American Medical Associationhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/8458.htmlhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/8457.htmlhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/8459.htmlJames Rachels : Active and Passive

Leadership and Management Essay

Education is a very important institution due to the role it plays in transmitting social skills and knowledge required of any member of the society (Hofman, Gray & Daly, 2004). It is worth noting that the levels of development of a country’s education systems bears close correlation to the economic and social conditions that the said country will afford. It is therefore upon members of the society and the education system to ensure that members of the society achieve as much as possible from this system. High attainment in eduction is far much beneficial than low level education in the modern society due to the high level of educational attainment. A doctorate degree is currently what an undergraduate degree was in the 1990’s (Hofman, Gray & Daly, 2004). The level of educational attainment requires an individual to posses at least a masters degree to stand out among others. The need to stand above others and gain some advantage over them in the competitive job market is the main reason for my pursuance of a doctoral degree. In choosing educational leadership and management of higher institutions in Singapore the key consideration was my vocation. I have personally worked in the educational field in different capacity. Having served as an assistant head of international programs at Crestar institute, human resource management with a Christian association, lectured English at Kaplan city campus and being a full time consultant trainer at NTUC, my life has centred around management and higher institution of learning. Understanding the nature of higher education leadership and management in Singapore is therefore relevant to my career. Relevance of USQ Doctorate studies is about mastery and application of principles and theories studied in class. A doctorate graduate should be able to analyse and relate issues related to their area of specialisation by giving varied dimension. Doctorate graduates are expected to be above other levels not just in their approach to thinking but they must also display high levels of norms and values expected of the society (Mok, 2006). Mastery of principles that are relevant to the needs of the society, and the development of norms and values that are expected of the society are just but a few of the benefits expected of a USQ professional doctorate; it is thus clear that the program not only makes better specialists but also better members of the society by integrating the values of determination, team spirit and courage into the students. The role played by the education system just like any other social systems cannot be done by any other system. Propagation of social norms and development of skills that are relevant to the needs of the society are some of the objectives of the education system. Though the education systems is one of the oldest institution, the development of the higher educations sector in Singapore is a recent event. Singapore’s education system though quite organised as compared to its neighbours’ is faced with a number of challenges (Lee & Fredriksen, 2008). Most challenges in the education system can be traced to the management and leadership of the education system. Despite the education system being a social systems it still falls prey to the effects of partisan politic. The involvement of the central government on educational matter cannot be avoided since the education system is under the government’s care, however, the education system should be shielded from the negative effects of poor politics. Corruption lack of professional knowledge and nepotisms are some of the issue that affect the education systems at the low level. Researching on education management and leadership in higher education sector not only develops my research skills but also ensure awareness on issues that affect management and leadership of higher education sector and is therefore relevant to efficient delivery in future. Personal Capabilities Doctorate studies require good academic background and interest in the area of study. Determination defines me; level of education attainment and the nature of jobs that I have been involved in give me the experience and skills required to undertake a doctorate course. I am well versed in the management of the education system and problems faced by low level personnel like tutors and professors. My position places me in a situation where I can look at the issues from both the management and implementation level which is a capability that few have. My academic qualification is beyond question for I am a holder of a masters degree in education. I therefore possess the skills and qualification required of doctorate degree and there is no cause for worry on my abilities. Literature Review The education system thought critical to the development of the society is no stranger to controversy. Implementation of the education system goals has especially been under fire with some coming up with the view that the education system, just like any other social system is responsible for social reproduction (Kassem, Mufti & Robinson, 2006). The education systems is seen by such critics as a tool used by those in power to ensure they maintain their position while disregarding the needs of the less empowered. It is quite true that commercialisation of education has led to increase in levels of educational attainment. Increase in levels of educational attainment is characterised by increase in the cost of acquiring higher education. The costs of education at a level that is relevant to the development of technical skills required by the job market is high and borders exploitation (Kassem, Mufti & Robinson, 2006). Projection shows that the cost of education is likely to go up with increase in demand for education. This is blamed on commercialisation of education which has made it business like and therefore probe to the market forces of supply and demand the only differences being that the demand is always on a high. On the other hand, the commercialisation of education and strategies developed by the government and other stakeholders who are blamed for the problems facing education by social reproduction theorists is cited as the first step towards the development of the high education sector (Mok, 2006). Take China as an example, the reforms which included allowing privatisation of the higher education sector and formulation and implementation of cost sharing mechanism are cited as the key driving factors to the levels of development achieved (Mok, 2006).

Is greater life expectancy always desirable? Essay

The quest for the elixir of life has been going on throughout history. In every civilisation, there are myths which depict heroes and heroines who live long lives, some even forever. There is also recorded history of men and women, called alchemists, who experimented to discover means by which people could live forever; or at least for very long times. Mod ¬em medicine too aims to prolong lives – often even of very sick per ¬sons with no hope of recovery from their ailments. In fact, one of the signs of a progressive nation is when its statistics show that its popula ¬tions has a high life expectancy; that is that they can live longer than their forefathers. The longer the life expectancy of a nation; the better that nation. All these show that it is in the human consciousness to want to live for a long period of time. The question now is whether this is always desirable. Seen in the light of the individual, longer life expectancy certainly seems desirable. Almost everyone would like to live and enjoy life longer. Hu ¬mans have generally shown a reluctance to die and leave this beautiful world and their loved ones. This is in the survival spirit with which every person seems to be born. Almost all of us want to prolong our lives and live as long as we can. However, there is a condition to this. We also want to live well. If we are in dire economic consequences or incurably ill or in great suffering, we would not want to live too long, as doing so will prolong the difficulty and pain. If with greater life expectancy comes greater health, it would be a good thing. Suppose a person can be made healthy till the day he dies, then he will not be dependent on anyone and greater life expectancy would be most welcome. Usually, we say that life expectancy has increased, in a society, with reference to statistics. These are likely to be simple and just show that over a number of years, people are now living longer. There is usually no reflection about the quality of life that has been lived by the people who now live longer. The statistics show an average without saying which of the people who have lived longer have lived disease-free lives and which have lived lives of comfort and happiness. It is possible that some of the people who have lived longer lives have actually lived miserably in retirement homes where the doctors have tried their best to make sure that the retirees  live as long as possible. If by longer life expectation we mean that people live longer, but with no improvement in the quality of their lives, then it would be much better if we do not have a longer life expectancy. In such cases, longer life expectancy would be undesirable. It would be better to live shorter but happier l ives than have one’s life prolonged, to suffer and die slow, lingering and painful deaths. Another consideration about greater life expectancy is about the effect it would have on society. Unless longer life expectancy also brings about with it greater health, there is going to be chaos. If people live longer, it could mean that it would take them longer to live out their old age. This means dependence on the younger population. The younger and health ¬ier generation, or indirectly the state, has to support the older. In fact, there have been forecasts that as time goes on there will be more old people in proportion to the younger. If this is a consequence of greater life expectancy, it will place a strain on the younger people as they would have to look after their parents and grandparents while they themselves struggle to make a living. The final thing to consider is whether there will be overpopulation if there is greater life expectancy. It is easy to see that the earth’s resourc ¬es are not limitless. There may come a time when there are too many people in the world to be able to survive. On the other hand we cannot rule out the possibility of earth colonies on the moon and perhaps even other planets. This seems to be a possibility in a century. In conclusion, though it is apparent that greater life expectancy is a good thing, there are certain conditions that should go with it. The most important thing is the ability of the people to live longer lives indepen ¬dently. There is also the consideration of the earth being able to support the larger number of people living on it. References Coale, A.J. 2003. â€Å"Increases in expectation of life and population growth.† Population and Development Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 113-20. Riley, J.C. 2001. Rising Life Expectancy: A Global History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.. White, K.M. 2002. â€Å"Longevity advances in high-income countries, 1955-96.† Population and Development Review, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 59-76. Wilmoth, J.R. 1998. â€Å"The future of human longevity: A demographer’s perspective.† Science, No. 280, pp. 395-97.

Intuition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Intuition - Essay Example It is much easier to apply intuition if you know already some peculiarities of a person or situation you should deal with. For instance, you may have to tell something unpleasant to your younger sister or brother, but this are the news that may affect him/her negatively. What to do in this case? As a rule, you think over the best moment that will be the most suitable for sharing the information you need. You may select a quite place to do that. How can you know that this very time and place will be the best ones in this situation? No doubts, it is your intuition that helps you to make the right decision. However, it is necessary to remember that your brother or sister may have another intuition, as in Dan Ariely’s examples about nurses. That is why you should learn more about his/her intuition in order not to make a mistake. It should be noted that the situation about bandages experienced by Dan Ariely explains a lot of things concerning intuition and its importance. It turns out that it is necessary to test and practice intuition. Moreover, if one’s profession is closely connected with communication, one should take into account other people’ intuitions as well. This will help to understand their feelings and improve the process of working with people. It is known that Dan Ariely has very poor attitude towards the nurses from the hospital he was treated at. If they just tried to understand his feelings and use his intuition, the process of recovery would not last so long and there would be only positive feedbacks from Dan Ariely. Unfortunately, people working with people seldom resort to the use of their intuition. In the majority of cases they just do not have enough time for that. For example, those nurses were expected to spend only an hour to change the bandages. This action caused much pain to their patients. The nurses had problems with their intuition without even knowing this fact. This example demonstrates the consequences when pe ople do not want to test and improve their own intuition. However, this would help to understand others and their needs. It is necessary to stress that, of course, the patient with burned body knows better how to take of the bandages with less pain. There are several possible ways to distinguish intuition. For example, this word is translated as ‘to look at’ from Latin. So, intuition means looking at some situation or problem in detail with the help of one’s inner feelings. It is necessary to stress that intuition really helps people to live an easier life. Our inner man knows better what we need to do in certain situations. Thus, in the majority of cases it is not conscience but intuition that makes us apologize for some words or actions. Our inner man feels that the person you respect may be offended by the above-mentioned things. You feel that if you do not apologize, this will be the end of friendship or love. It means that if people listened to their intuiti ons more often, there would be fewer divorces in families and misunderstanding among people. Resorting to the use of intuition will help people to economize much time and effort on doing a lot of things. If one uses intuition in order to handle some problem, he/she does not need to spend sleepless nights in order to select the best way to solve the problem. Intuition gives an opportunity to make fast decisions and not to

Auteur Theory and Directorial Burlesque Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Auteur Theory and Directorial Burlesque - Essay Example In the domain of cinematic extravaganza directorial role evolves as â€Å"consequential volume of discourse on a ?lm’s director and on consecration itself† (Hicks & Petrova, 2006, p. 180). The emergence of the auteur theory circumscribes around the role of the director in a movie. The auteur theory is actually a way of reading or the appraisal of the films through the indentation of an auteur (author) especially the director. The underlying mechanism of the theory states that quality of a film centers around the director as author. The paper will deal with the crux of the auteur theory with reference to a reputed director of Hollywood, M. Night Syamalan and his great works in the field of cinema. Auteur theory Developments and the proponents Historically, the notion of the authorship developed the essence of a secluded individual working fervently for the creation of the bodies of art. As for example the characters in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, there have been a perfect permeation of the romantic stereotype of the tortured Bohemian artist. The term auteur is basically a French word and the word prefixed with it i.e, ‘auoto’ means one. ... In one of the two comparative popular history texts of the recent origin, Nowell-Smith, Sarris and Bogdanovitchare are mentioned. In 2004, the ISI Web of Science Citation Indexes for the arts and the social sciences figured out that Sarris, The American Cinema was cited around 100 times while on the other hand, Truffaut’s phenomenal ‘Politiques des auteurs’ was only cited 12 times (Hicks & Petrova, 2006, p.184). . The notion of the theory The theme of the theory conjectures upon the fact that the director of a film with his or her personal influences and artistic control over their films are so immense and charismatic that the director may be regarded as the their author and their films are recognized collectively as cluster of work sharing common notion or the ambience spread expresses the rigid predominance of the an individual’s style or vision (Auteur Theory, n.d., p. 3). The theory finds its roots of development of the influential essay written by Fran cois Truffaut in Cahiers du Cinema in 1954. The auteur theory differs from the straightforward theory of directors which could be found from Ian Cameron’s article â€Å"Films, Directors, and Critics†, in Movie of September, 1962 where the comment he made goes as follows: â€Å"The assumptions that underlies all the writing in the Movie is that the director is the author of the film, the person who gives it any distinctive quality. The significant premise on which the theory stands is the distinguishable personality of the director as a criterion of the value. Over through a wide array of films, the director wills exposit certain characteristics of style which will be represented as the signature of the director. The way in which the storyline of the movie flows largely depends on the thinking and

Transforming for Success Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Transforming for Success - Assignment Example Transforming for Success Based on Darling-Hammond's (2010) research there are five features of successful schools which make them ideal institutions designed for producing students ready for real world adaption. a. Small size learning communities within the school The size of learning groups matter and affect the success of learning outcome. Higher incidents of safety issues, decrease learning rate, impersonal teacher-student relation and disinterests are often the results of large learning groups. To organize for success, Darling-Hammond (2010) emphasizes on small size of school units. Small groups are manageable and allow opportunities for learning and experiencing education - they can be seen, heard, noticed and participate in any activity they want. She also emphasizes that "Overall, smaller high schools are associated with greater safety, more positive student attitudes about school, higher levels of student participation and attendance, much lower dropout rates, and...higher achievement" (Darling-Hammond 2010, p.245). Small learning units therefore create an environment that fosters positive student behavior towards education. With size, personalization also becomes effective. Small learning communities foster personalization and long-term relationship building among teachers and students. Large education systems cannot be effectively managed nor can their students enjoy positive learning experience. On the other hand, small learning units can easily incorporate advisory systems through counseling, academic support and family connections, and reduce loads for teachers to pay particular attention to individual student.

Child Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Child Abuse - Essay Example It is due to this clinical background training in systematic investigation techniques, and evidence in collecting of data (, e.g. bruises, lacerations) that allows the forensic nurse to be part of child abuse prevention/investigation team.   Child abuse can be defined as physical abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse/ neglect. While child abuse has been known to involve the physical, psychological, social, emotional, and sexual maltreatment of children, the survival, safety, self-esteem, growth and development of the child is threatened (Hick, 2006, p. 127). The extent of child abuse is depressingly wide. It crosses all economic, cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries. Physical abuse of children covers such things as deliberate violence that causes any kind of injury or even death to a child. As Richard J. Gelles (1982) states in his article â€Å"Child Abuse and Family Violence†, physical acts of child abuse include punching, biting, kicking, beating, and threatening to use or using a weapon against a child (28). Signs of this type of abuse can be found on the body in the form of bruises, scars, broken bones, burn marks, or deformities. However, such injuries may not be present even though ab use has occurred. As stated by Gelles (1982), many children have been pushed downstairs or punched and kicked by their parents without receiving a concussion or broken bones (28). Physical neglect involves the negligence of a guardian to provide the necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attention necessary to the physical well-being of a child. Sexual abuse, which sometimes occurs along with physical abuse, involves an adults use of a child for sexual gratification. Very often, it is a family member that perpetrates the abuse, but sometimes strangers are involved. Alvin A Rosenfeld offers the following precise definition:   The phrase, sexual abuse of children refers to a disparate array of situations that

Energy Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Energy Security - Research Paper Example However, there should be development of alternative ‘clean’ energy sources, which do not rely on fossil fuels and which have a tolerable environmental effect in order to meet the raising global demands for energy and to allow for the depletion of fossil fuel supplies in the future (332). For effectively use of renewable sources, there is a need of consistent ways of storing energy for example, rechargeable batteries and high-temperature superconductivity as well as developments in hydrogen storage (Dresselhaus and Thomas, 333). Due to high demands, the strained global energy systems has caused high prices hence increasing global anxiety over the world’s ability to meet energy needs. It is evident that there is a challenge trying to administer the growing complexity of an energy-interdependent world while on the other hand trying to meet environmental, security, and economic goals. This necessitates a more advanced energy policymaking approach one that fully values the complex nature of energy security, the need to manage the trade-offs inherent in energy policy decision-making, and the interdependencies of global markets (Verrastro and Ladislaw, 95). On the other hand, each energy source has some adverse effects. Fossil fuels processes emit carbon dioxide, and perhaps other contaminants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and ash. There is production of radioactive fission products in the nuclear plants. While dams and large lakes are needed for hydroelectric plants, large areas are necessary f or solar and wind energy although they are limited geographically. Then again, geothermal sources are restricted to very few locations and those methods using small temperature gradients need very large heat-exchanger areas because of the low thermal efficiencies in the earth or oceans (Dresselhaus and Thomas, 332). One of the alternative energy supplies that the globe can rely on is solar

Contract Case Map Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contract Case Map - Essay Example She alleges that because she had asked for two bedrooms in her suite and not two bathrooms, this in effect amended the contract. GE Marquette Medical Systems is a company that had engaged the Biomedical Systems Corp. to make home uterine activity monitors (a.k.a. HUAM) These medical devices are regulated by the FDA. The contract between GE and Biomedical contained stipulations which stated that GE had to obtain pre-market notification clearance from the FDA, which for that purpose, Biomedical needed to give 90 days notice of intent to market the device to the FDA. The 90 day notice is for the FDA to check if the HUAM is substantially similar to other devices already approved for sale. However, GE instead requested that the FDA reclassify the HUAM device, which is a process that took over three years to complete. Thus, Biomedical sued GE for breach of contract and the jury awarded it damages. GE filed an appeal on the allegation that that the clearance procedure Biomedical wanted in the contract violated FDA procedure. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower ocurt's ruling. The Court struck down GE's raising the defense of illegality because this defense is not available. The contract with Biomedical clearly stated that GE would apply for clearance which it failed to do. Furthermore, the Court held that the FDA itself would have decided if clearance was proper. Petitoner won the case Kain v. Bluemound East Industrial Park, Inc., 2001 WL 1042674 (Ct. App., Wisc., 2001) Bluemound East is in the business of real estate, and had sold to Kain a parcel of land, which had been filled. Kain had informed Bluemound that he intended to construct a building which would exert 3,000 pounds per square foot. Bluemound stated that the land was safe for that building, and even warranted it in the contract. Kain had built a building that exerted even less than 3,000 pounds per square foot, and in a few years had sunk 2 inches. This resulted in Kain having to pay substantial sums for damage repair and preventive measures against further sinking. He then filed suit against Bluemound for breach of warranty. The lower court dismissed the claim for lack of evidence, thus Kain appealed. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's ruling. It held that Bluemound had made a warranty as documented in the contract of sale, which is an assurance by one party to a contract of the existence of a fact upon which the other party may rely. A warranty is intended to relieve the promisee of any duty to ascertain the fact for himself, and amounts to a promise to indemnify the promisee for any loss if the fact warranted proves untrue. Seeing as the warranty by Bluemound is clear and unambiguous, and proof that the sinking was not due to Kain's own fault or negligence, the lower court is reversed. Petitoner won the

ARTICLE CRITIQUE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ARTICLE CRITIQUE - Assignment Example The title of this article is precise and discusses the topic in a transitory description of the chronological and premeditated framework of the advancement of diplomacy. The title also aids in a number of roles. The purpose of this essay is it offers us mutual ground and terminology to sightsee the occurrences in a scientiï ¬ c and simpliï ¬ ed manner. Specifically, it assist us institute the element that the diplomatic establishment has been established as a result of political leaders’ response to the political and strategic atmosphere. This essay also demonstrates that patterns and norms are self-implementing as political rulers and leaders have preserved and replicated them for quite a long duration. This essay is particularly useful for those who are not acquainted with the disparities of the establishments and roles of diplomacy throughout past (Henrikson,1976, Pg. 1). The role of this analysis is to offer a complete criticism on the chronological development of diplomatic institutions. The audience targeted draws comprehensively on the empirical literature on the antiquity of diplomacy and the English school. Nevertheless, this work entails other noteworthy and tremendous evidence with more wide-ranging dealings of the antiquity of international relations reviewed by many authors in this case analysis. In inference to this work, the description of the ordinary history here omits several significant features of diplomacy that are not immediate applicable to transnational rows or conï ¬â€šict resolution. According to this work, the author has disaggregated the historic development of diplomatic establishments into numerous chronological eras. All descriptions of the past chronologies are factual well documented through some important inherited institutional elements of current diplomacy evolutions in the â€Å"Future of Diplomacy†. It also accounts a calculated problem both domestic and international behind the

Sun and Stone Fountain Essay Example for Free

Sun and Stone Fountain Essay ‘Another typical day,’ I said to myself when I woke up this morning; but I could never have been so wrong in my entire life! It was a Tuesday morning and the moon was still out. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I bathed and got ready to get out my house since my bus was due in 10mins. As soon as I got out the moon became the colour of pure red blood. It intrigued me. So I got on the yellow knocked up bus and got out my little ‘Blue Note’ and started surfing the web and finding information and jotting down ideas about ‘The Blood Moon,’ or so it was called according to the web, but there was no information I could attain. I looked out the stained window on my right and I saw a red bright beam of light coming from the graveyard. I found it intriguing, so I got off and went to where my curiosity had led me – the darkest corner of the graveyard. And there it was†¦ â€Å"Is what I see before me actually there or is it a hallucination of what I desire? † I whispered to myself with caution. I got closer and closer to the shimmering light and when I got to the source of the light, there was a stone fountain with a ruby in the center of it, with some hieroglyphics carved on the edges of the circle shaped stone. What do these ancient letters mean? The colour of the ruby was the same colour as the Blood Mo † I said out before I got disturbed by a voice from the shadows. â€Å"Yes laddie well spotted son the colour of the ruby is exactly the same as Blood Moon! † Said a Scottish accent coming from the bushes. â€Å"Who goes there? Why are you lurking behind the bushes? † I questioned the man! As he stepped out the shadows, breaking branches every step he takes, first thing I noticed was the black glistening shoes and the fresh dry cleaned suite. My name is Scott Lander. I’m an archaeologist, I Specialize in Egyptian hieroglyphics. † He said mysteriously. â€Å"Well then Lander since you Specialize in hieroglyphics. Then translate what’s on the stone fountain? † â€Å"When the ruby lusters red as blood, the moon will fall, the sun will rise, and like the story of the phoenix rising from the ashes, when the dawn is near, the world will burn in flames, but it will not seek to rise. He said getting quitter and quitter till there was nothing left to say. We looked at each other and Lander and I knew that there was nothing we could do to stop the havoc that was to fall upon us. He took a bottle of whisky out his blue timeworn bag then brought to glasses out and filled a quarter of the glass. At that point the sun was about to rise the sky was turning bright orange so we sat on the fountain and clinked our glasses as we watched the world end before our eyes.

Aztec Calendar Stone Essay Example for Free

Aztec Calendar Stone Essay Obtaining the knowledge that was passed down to them from earlier Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs carved the calendar stone in 1479 (Smith 253). At the time, the Aztecs lived in a very civilized world filled with amazing architecture, an impressively complex government system, and they also employed intricate systems of writing and calendric systems (Taube 7). The Calendar Stone was made by basalt stone. For the Aztecs, everything was pictorial in nature around this era. The calendar stone depicted different pictograms or Codex Magliabechianoand, which was primarily written on religious documents (Aztec-History). Art was centered around religion in this era. So the pictograms of the gods on the calendar stone would correlate with that subject matter. The Aztecs were a highly ritualistic civilization devoted to divination and their Gods. The Aztec calendar stone was created as a divinatory tool which was used for rituals, to forecast the future, and to determine which days were lucky and which days not for the outcome of various actions and events (Smith 254). The calendar had two systems. It had the sacred Tonalpohualli, which was based on the 260-day cycle and the Iuhpohualli, which was a 365-day cycle (Palfrey). Seen by the count, there is a five day difference between these two calendars. The five day differences were thought to be the most unholy, unlucky days of the year (Smith 257). The world was thought to be coming to an end. On the Aztec Calendar, the year was divided into 13-day periods. Each group of 13 days had a different deity ruling over the unit. This is because these units were thought to have a special symbolic influence and the deities were to ensure a positive outcome (Smith 256). In the middle of the Sun Stone, is the sun god Tonatuih. His tongue protruding between his teeth resembles a sacrificial flint knife. In his claw like hands he clutches human hearts (Palfrey). ‘Many scholars have debated on the stone’s meaning and purpose. Some suggest that, fixed horizontally; it served as a sacrificial altar, which would make sense because the stone was dedicated to the sun deity. Most agree though, that it offers a graphic representation of the Mexica cosmos’ (Palfrey). In The Aztecs, Smith sums up what is to be believed the thought of the Aztecs when they carved the calendar stone â€Å"The Aztec calendar stone conveyed the message that the Aztec empire covered the whole earth (territory in all four directions), and that it was founded upon the sacred principles of time, directionality, divine warfare, and the sanction of the gods† (Smith 270). Keeping the Aztec calendar is proof of ancient cultures mathematical and scientific achievements without the aid of modern technology. The study of the sun stone could lead to further advances in mathematics and acts as a road map to our celestial bodies from that era of our history. The Aztecs believe they felt justified in believing in this calendar because of numerous events that changed the course of history for them. Because Aztec Indians were fervent astronomers, they tracked the stars and correlated that between the days to create this sun calendar. Examples of events happening within the timeline of the calendar stone being built are these: Between 1452 and 1454, their capital city Tenochtitlan suffered from flood and famine, the following year on 4/16/1445 (Julian calendar) there was an eclipse of the sun. From 1473-1479, there were 4 more solar eclipses within a five year time frame (Aveni, Calnek). During this time the Aztec nation conquered and sacrificed many of the neighboring towns. Their leaders were wounded or killed, followed by violent earthquakes (Aveni, Calnek). There may have been even more visible eclipses seen by the Aztecs that have not been discovered because they were lost, or destroyed, or even confused with other natural events (Aveni, Calnek). If one were to take into consideration the Aztecs being a society with strong beliefs in deities, the Aztecs constant state of turmoil from wars and death and then couple that with a constant flow of solar eclipses; it wouldn’t take much to consider that the Aztecs might have thought there Gods were planning on ending their world†¦. again. The Aztecs might have carved this massive calendar from stone to give their future generations a chance to do things right, where they did not. Many other artifacts of the same caliber and craftsmanship were excavated around the time the calendar stone was. This was an amazing find, because in the early colonial period of the sixteenth century, pre-Hispanic stone sculptures were considered potent satanic threats to successful conversion (Taube 25). With the Spaniards thinking this, this lead to the destruction of many great pieces of art, manuscripts, and other forms of architecture. Thankfully, with the Aztecs foreseeing this frame of mind being a possibility and other circumstances occurring, many artifacts survived by being hidden in caves, on mountain tops, and even buried under Mexico City (Taube 25). After the artifacts were excavated, rather than being destroyed, they were treated as objects of curiosity and to be studied (Taube 25-26). I account for any differences between reception then and today by knowing people today have so many different religions and beliefs. Whereas the Aztecs were ignorant of the different beliefs we have today. They just had knowledge of what was taught to them by their elders as we do ours. There were not that many differences and very many similarities between American Indians of this era. In the way they did things to their architecture and sculptures. As a matter of fact, the Aztecs calendar was based of the earlier Mayan cultures. The Aztec calendar stone and Mayan calendar share many similarities. Both calendars have ritual days. The Aztec ritual day that was formed is the Tonalpohualli and the Maya ritual day is the Tzolkin. The day names on both calendars are also very similar. Both calendars used 18 months with 20 day counts along with other counts. The Aztec and Maya calendar stone is believed to have both mythological and astronomical significance. Both Native American cultures regarded their calendars as religious. Using the calendars, the Aztec and Maya priests dictated when to grow crops, when the dry and rainy seasons were, when to go to war, etc. (World Mysteries). The main way the Aztec calendar differed was in their more primitive number system and less precise way of recording dates. The year also started with different months. The Maya calendar tracked the movements of the planets and the moon. From this came their reckoning of time, and a calendar that accurately measures the solar year to within minutes. The Aztecs also kept the two different aspects of time, the Tonalpohualli, which was counting the days and the Xiuhpohualli which was counting the years (World Mysteries). The Aztecs believed they were living in the fifth and final stage of life. Because the Maya used a 360 day long cycle, they could tell that there were time periods way longer than the age of our universe (World Mysteries). It helped me figure out what some of the major celestial events where during the time the Aztec Sun Calendar was created. Palfrey, Dale. Mysteries of the Fifth Sun: The Aztec Calendar. n. p. Web. 8 January 1999. http://www. mexconnect. com/articles/199-mysteries-of-the-fifth-sun-the-aztec-calendar This is a website with basic information about the Aztec Sun Calendar. It gave me more insight into what the calendar looked like. Aztec-History. N. p. , nd. Web. 1996-2012 http://www. aztec-history. com This website has an enormous amount of information about Aztec Indians, from clothing to their demise and pretty much everything in between. The website gave me most of the information about the calendar stone I have so far. Smith, Michael. The Aztecs. Blackwell Publishers Inc. , 1996. Print. The book is Aztec Indians and their culture. This book helped me to understand the calendar stone more and why it was just a big part of Aztec life. Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. British Museum Press, 1993. Print. This book detailed facts and myths about Aztec and Mayan Indians. This book helped me find what the Aztecs art and idols were see as in the early colonial period.

Analysis Of Radicalisation And Extremism Criminology Essay

Analysis Of Radicalisation And Extremism Criminology Essay Radicalisation is a complex term which has different meanings and can be used in different contexts. To be radicalised does not necessarily mean that one has to resort to violence or terrorism. It is not a synonym to extreme religious teachings or activities either. Radicalism can be intolerant behaviour or intolerance towards the views of other people. It can be intolerance towards homosexuality, ethnicity, race, colour, religion. Being radical can be intolerance towards the western culture or Asian immigrants living in Britain as well. The US Southern Baptists do not recognise homosexuality as a valid alternative lifestyle (Kahn, 2006). The army of God, a Christian extremist group in the US murders doctors who practice abortion (Gray, 2007). A former Dutch immigration minister sought to deny asylum to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iranians, threatening to deport them back to Iran which imposes a death penalty on homosexual conduct (Human Rights Watch, 2007). Do the above examples not illustrate radical and extremist behaviour? Therefore Radicalisation can vary from having extreme views about something to intolerant behaviour towards certain people, to violent radicalisation which has severe consequences. For the purpose of this research we shall look into extremist radicalisation or violent radicalisation with religious or political aims. According to Precht (2007), Radicalisation is a process of adopting an extremist belief system and the willingness to use, support, or facilitate violence and fear as a method of effecting changes in society. In this definition we can see that a person is radicalised when they adopt an extremist belief system and perceive society as defective and aim to change it through non-violent or violent ways. There is a very fine line between extremism and radicalisation. According to Archbishop Desmond Tutu extremism is when you do not allow for a different point of view; when you hold your own views as being quite exclusive; when you dont allow for the possibility of difference (Tutu, 2006). One could argue that there is nothing wrong with extremism or radicalisation, as it does not necessarily lead to violence but on the other hand the very fine line can easily be crossed over. However when extremism starts to have a political end, for example to force governments to the table of negotiation or to changes in policy it then converges into radicalisation (Davies, 2008). And when the willingness to use violence for a political or religious change combines with this radicalisation it can lead to terrorism. Radicalisation is a process where an individual adopts extreme political or religious ideas and goals, becoming convinced that the attainment of these goals justifies extreme methods (Ongering, 2007). In the context of this research we shall look into Islamist radicalisation or violent Islamism. Before we look into the literature we should not confuse the terms Islam and Islamist. Islam is a religion and the follower of this religion is known as a Muslim not an Islamist. Islamist or Islamism is a term coined by the West to differentiate between Islam the faith or religion and Islamism as the ideology or political Islam. Islamism refers to a political ideology that strives to create a state and society in conformity with religious doctrine and Shariah (Islamic) law. An Islamist is a person who uses religious arguments to further political goals; in contrast a militant Islamist or violent Islamism is when there is a willingness to use violence to advance their goals (Precht, 2007). Again there is a difference between adopting political Islam in a non-violent way, as many Muslim organisations in the contemporary world do, and adopting political Islam in a violent way portrayed by the violent acts perpetrated in the name of Islam by certain groups and individuals who distort the teachings of Islam in their own extremist ways. It is the latter that leads to terrorism. How do young Muslims become radicalised and resort to violence. There have been numerous studies with respect to the process of radicalization. In the view of the NYPD (New York City Police Department) study, the adoption of the Salafi-Jihadi ideology is a key driver that motivates young men and women to carry out acts of violence and terrorism (Silber and Bhatt, 2007). This study conducted by the NYPD (Silber and Bhatt, 2007) suggests that the radicalisation process is composed of four distinct phases. The first phase is pre- radicalisation, in which an individual has a normal life and this is a period before the journey to extremism and the adoption of Salafi-Jihadi ideology. The second stage is self-identification, where individuals explore Salafi Islam and move away from their old identity towards a new world view and begin to associate themselves with like minded people. The catalyst in this phase usually is a cognitive opening or a crisis like losing a job or international conflicts involving Muslims. The third stage in the process is indoctrination, where the adopted Salafi-Jihadi ideology intensifies. This leads the individual into militant jihad and this phase is usually facilitated and driven by a spiritual sanctioner. While the final and fourth stage is jihadization, where individuals accept their duty to participate in jihad and self designate themselves as holy warriors. Ultimately they begin operational training for jihad or terrorist attacks (Silber and Bhatt, 2007). For Silber and Bhatt (2007) a person is radicalised when they go through these stages in a systematic way as if it were a funnel. Some would go all the way through the funnel and become terrorists and others would exit in any of the early stages. An important point to note in their study is: Entering the process does not mean one will progress through all four stages and become a terrorist. However, it also does not mean that if one does not become a terrorist, he or she is no longer a threat. Individuals who have been radicalized but are not jihadists may serve as mentors and agents of influence to those who might become the terrorists of tomorrow (Silber and Bhatt, 2007:84) I beg to differ with Silber and Bhatt (2007) on the observation quoted above. It is not necessary that if a person does not go through the whole process of radicalisation and exits at some stage, we should still perceive him or her as a threat. There is ample evidence that many individuals who have been radicalised and who do not become terrorists can still continue and live as normal peace loving citizens. They do not always serve as mentors or agents of influence for the terrorists of tomorrow. If we study biographies of former Islamist radicals or extremists, we do come across real life examples of people like Ed Husain, Majid Nawaz, Shiraz Maher and Hassan Bhatt who joined radical Islam in Britain, got radicalized to a great extent and then left it, becoming normal peace loving citizens of their country (Biggar and Hogan, 2009). Ed Hussain, a former Islamist radical tells his story of how he joined radical Islamist groups in Britain, moving from Jamaat Islami to Young Muslims Organisation (YMO) and then to the more radicalised Hizb-ut-Tahrir. After several years of activism in radical Islamist groups he finally realized in the mid 90s that he was disillusioned with these groups and became more interested in traditional Sufi Islam and non political scholars in Islam. Living a normal life with his wife in Britain, he is a devout Muslim and a believer in traditional Islamic teachings and has shunned radical and political Islam (Husain, 2007). Realizing how he misinterpreted Islam initially and fell prey to radical and political Islam; and viewed Islam as an ideology rather than a religion, he states: For me, being a Muslim is not a political identity- Islam does not teach us a monolithic approach to life. The Prophet did not create new systems of government, but adopted existing paradigms from seventh-century Arabia (Husain, 2007:269) This refutes Silber and Bhatts (2007) study because their radicalisation process does not acknowledge that radicalized individuals can revert back to a normal peace loving life. It does not have room for individuals who have been radicalised and then shunned radicalisation, as they are still seen as a threat in their model. Husain furthers his argument and explains how he feels about the non political nature of Islam, In Mecca I met Muslims who were unalike in their background and culture but united in their belief. For me that is the true ummah- a spiritual community, not a political bloc (Husain, 2007: 269-70). Another example is Majid Nawaz, who got involved with radical Islamist groups in Britain and later realized how he had misinterpreted Islam: As I studied various branches of traditional Islamic sciences, however, I grew more and more surprised. The sheer breadth of scholastic disagreement that I found, on issues I had believed were so definitive in Islam, surprised meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It slowly dawned on me that what I had been propagating was far from true Islam. I began to realise that what I had subscribed to was actually Islamism sold to me in the name of Islam (Nawaz, 2007). However, having explicated that, it does not mean that the study carried out by Silber and Bhatt (2007) does not hold any relevance at all regarding the radicalisation process. I concur with their view that extreme religious ideology (Salafi-Jihadi) is a key driver that motivates young people to get radicalised. The spread of Salafi-Jihadi ideology and books by radical ideologues such as Mawdudi and Syed Qutb have proven to have great influence in the radicalisation process of individuals (Husain, 2007; Nawaz, 2007; Change Institute, 2008) I will shed some light on another model of the radicalisation process with similarities to Silber and Bhatts (2007) model. Tomas Prechts (2007) analysis on the radicalisation process is similar with the four stages by Silber and Bhatt (2007). Precht (2007) explains that there is no single cause or catalyst for radicalisation. One of the differences in these models is that in Prechts model, he focuses on the far broader cause of extremism rather than the individuals adoption of the Salafi-Jihadi ideology in his conversion and identification stage. He focuses on three broad sets of causes which are: Background factors: a Muslim identity crisis, experiences of discrimination, alienation and perceived injustices Trigger factors: Western foreign policy and provocative events, the presence of a charismatic leader or adviser and the glorification of jihad Opportunity factors: These are venues or locations where like minded people meet for the purpose of radicalisation by giving inspiration or serving as recruiting grounds. For example the internet, mosques, schools and universities and sports activities (Precht, 2007). For Precht radicalisation or terrorism is: Largely viewed as a sociological phenomenon where issues like belonging, identity, group dynamics, and values are an important element in the transformation process. Religion, as such, play an important role, but for some it probably rather serves as a vehicle for fulfilling other goals (Precht, 2007:71) Criticizing the religious ideology driven radicalisation process, Sageman (2004), emphasises the role of social bonds in the radicalisation process, social bonds play a more important role in the emergence of the global Salafi Jihad than ideology (Sageman, 2004:178). In another research study he concludes that the terrorists studied during trials in Western Europe and North America were not intellectuals or ideologues (Sageman, 2008:156-7). He believes that less focus should be placed on ideology and religion and instead the discourse should focus more on social networking to radicalisation and the jihad movement. Studying the profiles of radical Islamists we can see many inconsistencies. Some are well educated, some are well off, others genuinely poor, some are married, others single, some are western born and educated, others are foreign students, and some had integrated well in western society while others less so (Al-Lami, 2008) On the other hand certain similarities have also been identified in studying radicalised individuals. A key factor is that the majority of Muslim youth in the west who became radicalised or got involved in terrorism were religious novices. They had superficial knowledge of Islam and were easy lured into radical and extremist ideologies, distorting their interpretation of Islam. Since they were novices they could not authenticate this extreme version of Islam taught to them by radical preachers (Sageman, 2004; Choudhury, 2007; Husain, 2007). An interesting concept about radicalisation is offered by Mandel (2008), who says to be radical is to be extreme relative to something that is defined or accepted as normative, traditional, or valued as the status quo. What he means is that its a matter of perspectives. What one group may regard as radical, another may regard that as normal or acceptable. Adversaries may each regard the others act and motivating belief systems as extreme, perhaps overly so. In this sense, the attribution of being a radical or radicalised may be intended by the attributer as a negative characterization of the attributee. More specifically, the attributer may use the term radical to convey that the attributee poses a source of threat to the attributers traditional way of life (Mandel, 2008:9) Keeping this concept of perspectives in mind, it implies that for liberal governments in Britain, Islamists or Jihadists are seen as radicals who threaten their way of life. But for the Islamists the label may be seen as a virtuous characteristic associated with attempts to return to a society in line with their own belief systems and values. But this kind of concept can be a bit problematic in the sense that there is no universal definition of what is right and what is wrong. There are no black and white truths when it comes to belief systems or ways of life. What would be the limit of going radical in either direction, whether liberal or Islamist? Some scholars do not differentiate between the different forms of Islam and see the problem with Islam as a whole rather than with Islamism or radical forms of Islam. In their view Muslims are a different civilization altogether, and are convinced about the superiority of their culture (Huntington, 1996). The problem with this view is that it treats Islam as monolithic and uniform religion. In reality Islam is not like that and has many different faces and interpretations across both historical time and at the present (Murshed and Pavan, 2009:3). Identity politics is another key factor that contributes to radicalisation. Muslim youth in the West feel a need to carve out their own identities, because they cannot relate to their parents ethnic communities and the Western societies they live in simultaneously. Another key catalyst for radicalisation and terrorism is western foreign policy, which has backfired domestically; conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Bosnia and Chechnya come to be seen as crusades against Muslims (Al-Lami, 2008). Socio-economic disadvantage and political factors such as the Wests foreign policy with regard to Muslims and certain historical grievances play a part in the development of radicalisation (Murshed and Pavan, 2009). There have also been instances where opportunistic politicians in Western Europe have created hatred amongst the majority and minority communities, producing a backlash. Racism and anti Muslim immigration has also been seen as a driver for the radicalisation process, All over Western Europe there has been growth in single issue, anti-immigrant, especially anti-Muslim immigrant partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦racist messages that breed fear of minorities like Muslims, can emanate from attention seeking politicians, who campaign on a single issue that scapegoat a particular group for all of societys ills (crime, unemployment and so on) (Murshed and Pavan, 2009). Socio-economic deprivation, low education and unemployment have been one of the most common explanations for radicalisation. Statistics show that Muslims, compared to other religious groups, have the highest rates of unemployment, high prison population and poor housing facilities (Awan, 2007:211). However Sageman (2004) does not accept this explanation of radicalisation. He mentions that out of the 172 biographies of Salafi-Jihadists he examined, over 60 percent were well educated and a high proportion of them were professionals and most had semi-skilled occupations. Another interesting illustration of the radicalisation process in British Muslims is given by McRoy (2006). He suggests that there has been a systematic radicalisation in British Muslims mainly due to a number of incidents or events starting from 1988 with the controversial and anti-Islamic book, The Satanic Verses. The publication of Salman Rushdies book The Satanic Verses in 1988 was the defining watershed for British Muslim Identity and activism (McRoy, 2006:10). The book was publically burned in Birmingham, giving very strong signs of radical behaviour. The second major event was the Gulf Crisis of 1992-93, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, which was seen as an anti-imperialist action by Iraq. And when Britain supported the war against Iraq whilst rejecting similar action to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, it created more hatred towards the West and Muslims felt that the West had double standards when it came to helping out Muslims. And then came the Bosnian Crisis, when Muslims lost faith in the West and this fuelled radicalisation amongst British Muslims (McRoy, 2006). It is almost impossible to say with certainty what the causes of radicalisation are, as it is difficult to know whether a factor is instrumental or merely present. It is more helpful to think about radicalising agents- factors which are present and appear frequently across different cases, for example, key places, charismatic leaders, relationship links, experiences and assumed grievances (Briggs and Birdwell, 2009). As we have seen in the literature, there are many reasons scholars have stated for the radicalisation process. Religious ideology (Salafi-Jihadi), political ideology, social bonds, perceived injustices against Muslims around the world (Bosnia, Kashmir, and Palestine), Western foreign policy, influence by charismatic leaders, poverty and deprivation, low education, unemployment, identity politics, racism, anti- Muslim immigration and so on. Having understood that the radicalisation process can occur by any of these reasons or factors, for the purpose of this research I shall look into another factor that has not been given the attention and importance it deserves by many Western governments, that is radicalisation and violence caused by state power or by the policies which are developed for countering radicalisation and violence. How the UK counter terrorism policies have impacted on radicalising individuals in the UK. It is surprising why the UK government and the intelligence committees, while assessing the effectiveness of the counter-terrorism policies, did not acknowledge the potentially damaging effect counter-terrorism measures themselves can have in contributing to radicalisation (Blick et al, 2006). When we say counter terrorism policies it implies both domestic and foreign policies for the purpose of this research. Although there has been literature regarding this aspect, but this factor (state-power) has rare ly been treated as an independent factor which added to other factors could also perpetuate or contribute to the radicalisation process. I am undertaking this research to contribute to the growing literature in this area. Chapter 2: Policy Development and UK Counter terrorism strategy: If we look at UKs history in creating coercive counter terrorism laws, which targeted specific communities, it dates back to 1974, when the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was introduced, to deal with the Irish political violence (Hillyard, 1993). These laws were targeting the Irish community as a whole and were seen as a cause of the continuity and increase in the scale of the Irish related violence. The PTA established a dual system of justice, where conventional criminals who committed crimes such as murder, rape, theft were tried in the ordinary criminal justice system while a shadow and more draconian system developed to deal with those suspected of Irish terrorism'(Hillyard:1993). However For the purpose of this research, I shall discuss and analyse the legislation and counter terrorism strategies, post September 11th 2001. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part shall discuss the Counter terrorism strategy (CONTEST) of UK with special reference to the developments after September 11th 2001. The basis of the analysis on the legislation will be drawn from the terrorism act 2000. It will unfold the important components of the anti terror legislation through the analysis of CONTEST. The second part will focus on how this counter terrorist strategy was developed and the sources which have influenced these developments by examining it through a policy transfer model. This chapter will provide a foundation for the remaining part of the research. I. UK Counter terrorism strategy (CONTEST) There are five major pieces of legislation in the UK to combat terrorism, and these legislations and laws are the foundation of the CONTEST. They are Terrorism act 2000; Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005; The Terrorism Act 2006 and The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008. The UKs Counter-terrorism strategy knows as CONTEST, has been in existence since 2003 but was first published in 2006 and revised in 2009 to acknowledge the changing threat of terrorism (HM Government, 2009). The strategy has four elements- the four Ps: Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare. For the purpose of this research I shall discuss the Pursue and Prevent elements of the CONTEST. Pursue, is the most important priority for the government because it deals with stopping terrorist attacks. The pursue element of CONTEST aims to reduce the terrorist threat to the UK and UK interests overseas through the detection and investigation of terrorist networks and the disruption of their activities (HM Government, 2009:61). The Pursue element of CONTEST is intelligence led and it aims at close coordination and collaboration of domestic police and intelligence agencies as well as international agencies. This intelligence gathering is used to disrupt terrorists, by the use of prosecution as the first option but if that is not possible then other options like, deportation, control orders, freezing and seizing financial assets and proscription of organisations, can be used as alternative means. Successful prosecution in the courts, based on gathering the necessary evidence and apprehending those involved in planning acts of terrorism before they can carry out their intentions is the preferred method of disrupting terrorist activities according to CONTEST (HM Government, 2006:20). In facilitating the prosecution of suspected terrorists, section 44 of the Terrorism act 2000 extended the police powers of stop and search, which were widely and sometimes disproportionately used as a component of the pursue element of CONTEST. According to section 44, a senior police officer may specify or designate areas or places in which an officer may stop and search vehicles, drivers or pedestrians on suspicion of being involved or aiming to carry out terrorist activity (Terrorism Act, 2000 online: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/pdf/ukpga_20000011_en.pdf) These stop and search powers of the police have been very controversial and are disproportionately used against some communities. In 2004-2005 police stopped and searched 35,800 pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under section 44 and arrested only 455 people (just over 1 percent of those stopped). Very few of these 1% arrested, relate to terrorism. This law has been targeting Asians communities and has created a wedge between community relations which has dangerous consequences (Blick, et al 2006). There has always been speculation about the disproportionate use of these stop and search powers on certain communities. On one hand ethnic profiling could be seen as necessary to identify criminals or terrorists, as some people would argue that it is amongst some ethnic groups that terrorists belong. But on the other hand if a terrorist belongs to the Muslim community for example, is it fair to target the whole Muslim community and assume that there are more terrorists amongst them. Or do we need the help of that particular community to identify terrorists. If we target them disproportionately, there is a chance of isolating them and losing that opportunity of winning their support and confidence in order to identify terrorists or criminals. After the September 11th 2001 attacks there was greater collaboration between UK and US police and homeland security departments which led to greater searches. Between 2001 and 2007 there were 205,000 police searches for terrorist related activities in England and Wales. Out of these 205,000 stops and searches there were only 2,571 arrests, just 1 percent of the total (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009a). Another controversial law is the pre-charge detention. Under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, the police may arrest someone on reasonable suspicion that they are a terrorist and keep them in detention without charge till seven days (Terrorism Act, 2000). Pre-charge detention was further extended to 14 days in 2003 and then to 28 days by the terrorism act 2006, and now it is the highest number of days (pre-charge detention) compared to any democracy in the world (Liberty, 2007). The Joint Committee on Human Rights has noted that preventive detention is not permissible under article 5 (the right to liberty and security of a person) of the European Convention and warned that it could not be introduced without a derogation, which would require the government to claim that the life of the nation is in peril (Blick et al, 2006:48). This 28 day pre-charge detention has been vilified by human rights organisations all over UK. They are of the view that the police dont need 28 days to investigate someone on suspicion of terrorist activities. Between the time the pre-charge detention for 28 days was passed and October 2007, there were 204 arrests under the terrorism act. Out of 204 suspects only 11 were detained for more than 14 days. Eight of these were charged and three were released without charge (Liberty, 2007). This shows how14 days are more than sufficient for investigating suspected terrorists. The Terrorism Act 2000 gives the home secretary the power to proscribe groups involved in terrorism, and membership of a proscribed group is illegal. By 2009, 59 terrorist groups were proscribed by this act, including 14 groups belonging to Northern Ireland (HM Government, 2009). The 2006 terrorism act also makes it a criminal offense to encourage terrorism directly or indirectly inciting or encouraging others to commit acts of terrorism. This includes an offense of the glorification of terror- people who praise or celebrate terrorism in a way that may encourage others to commit a terrorist act. The maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment (Guardian, 2010: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jan/19/terrorism-act-2006). Many political groups and organisations are banned as a result of the pursue element of CONTEST, granted by the terrorism act 2000. A range of activities, including non violent activities of some of these groups, whose aims are geographical and political with regards to internal strife and conflict in their home countries such as Kurdistan, Sri Lanka, and Kashmir are banned and criminalized. These groups have connections to minority ethnic and refugee communities in UK. Supporting and even attending meetings of these groups is banned (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009a). Some of these groups are not terrorist organisations but aim to over throw their local governments due to oppression and violence against them. Are we not limiting the freedom of expression through the use of these coercive measures? The UK has always been seen as a champion of the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech, but it is not true any more. The 2001 Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA), which was introduced as a result of the September 11th attacks, led to new measures on asset freezing, account monitoring and cash seizures (HM Government, 2009). The 2008 Counter-Terrorism Act further strengthens police investigatory powers by introducing post-charge interviews. Other measures have been introduced to deal with suspected terrorists who cannot be prosecuted. There are control orders, created by the 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act, for individuals suspected of posing a terrorist risk but for whom a trial or deportation is considered impossible. These place indefinite and severe restrictions on an individuals movement, communication and associations through curfew, tagging and surveillance. They have proven to be among the most controversial of measures because they require no finding of guilt by the courts (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009b). The Prevent element of CONTEST is concerned with radicalisation of individuals and how to stop them from becoming terrorists. The aim of the prevent element is to stop radicalisation, reducing support for terrorism and discouraging people from becoming terrorists (HM Government, 2009:83). In order to understand how this strategy works I shall look into the definition of terrorism, provided by the terrorism act 2000, around which all these laws and legislations are established. But the Irony is that the definition of terrorism provided by the government is so broad, that it includes a lot of non-violent activity, threats or acts of serious violence against a person, damage to property and serious disruption of an electronic system as well as acts that create a serious risk to the health or safety of persons, whenever such acts or threats are made for the purpose of advancing a political, ideological or religious cause (Terrorism Act 2000, online) This definition gives the police and law enforcement agencies too much discretion. Many legitimate gatherings can be targeted by the use of this definition. For example, for several years cyclists have taken to the streets in cities around the world. The aim of the gatherings has been described as to reclaim the streets. However due to such a huge number of participants these rides can seriously disrupts traffic and can be said to pose danger to the health and safety of cyclists as well as other road users. They can also intimidate a section of the public; they arguably fall within the definition of terrorism (ARTICLE 19, 2006). The important components of the prevent element of CONTEST (HM Government, 2009) involves, challenging the ideology behind violent extremism and supporting moderate Muslim scholars and influential voices in order to defy the extremist ideology. Disrupting those who promote violent extremism and supporting the places where they operate. According to the government, the radicaliser is as important as the radicalised. Therefore using the powers under the 2006 terrorism act, the police will prosecute those who encourage or glorify terrorism and take action against the places where they operate. Supporting ind