In times of conflict Essay

Conflict is both certain and unavoidable. Although conflict is mostly a terrible thing, it is because of conflict that the true nature of ordinary people is seen. The way people behave in times of conflict show who we are and how we are seen in civilization. There are some who, motivated by fear, conduct themselves in a disgraceful way during conflict but there are some who are able to rise above and act in extraordinary ways in times of conflict. This is evident in the history of Oskar Schindler, one of few who cared for the Jewish community during the holocaust and managed to save 1,200 Polish Jews. People don’t need to be known to be motivated to do great things, the unknown protester referred to as â€Å"Tank Man† risked his life during the Tiananmen Protests†¦ The defiance of â€Å"Tank Man† are also shown in the film Paradise Road as the women of a Japanese POW camp during World War 2 rebel by the use of a vocal orchestra. The Holocaust is one of the w orst things to happen in history, Nazis treated Jewish people like animals and killed over 6 million of them. Although the Jewish community was seen as an inferior race that didn’t deserve to live, there were many that sought to help them. Many people would hide Jewish families in their houses, risking their lives to save others as they knew it was the right thing to do. Oskar Schindler is an example of how an ordinary person can do extraordinary things during conflict, throughout the holocaust he managed to save approximately 1,200 Jewish people. As being a part of the Nazi party, Schindler was an unlikely ‘hero’ for the Jewish people, he was a businessman who made his money out of exploiting a cheap source of labour, the Jews. Schindler was a wealthy man, but he gave it all up to save the Jewish people that he employed, his courage and audacity saved over 1,200 Jews from the ‘final solution’, but left him with nothing, except respect from the Jewish community. Schindler saved these people through bribery and his ammunitions factory. He persuaded German offi cials to agree to build a camp for his workers close to the factory to cut down travel time and cost, he also bribed the guards and smuggled in food, clothing and medication to the camp. Schindler continued to make his factory a safe haven by continuing to bribe guards to make them stay outside the fence and denying entrance to anybody who hadn’t had his permission, Schindler would even sleep in his office at night to stop the `night calls’ the Gestapo (the ‘secret police’ of Nazi Germany) would make. Schindler’s factory was useless to the German army,  Schindler made sure that there was no working armoury coming from it. With his boldness came great danger, Schindler was arrested several times and was only saved through his Nazi party connections. When the war was over Schindler was honoured by the Jews but rejected by his own countrymen. Although Schindler is a very well-known person, there are many who remain nameless despite their great actions during conflict. People don’t do extraordinary things for fame or recognition they do it because they know it’s the right thing to do. Twenty years ago, on June 5, 1989, following weeks of huge protests in Beijing and a crackdown that resulted in the deaths of hundreds, a lone man stepped in front of a column of tanks rumbling past Tiananmen Square. The moment instantly became one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century, a symbol of the protests as well as a symbol against oppression worldwide, an anonymous man referred to as the ‘Tank Man’ acted in defiance and was seared into people’s minds around the world. The man stood in the middle of a column of approaching Type 59 tanks. With nothing or no one but 2 shopping bags in each hand the man was able to get the tanks to stop, as the tanks repeatedly tried to drive around the man, he simply followed in a show of nonviolent action, stopping the tanks further progression. After the tanks stopped their engines the man climbed on top of the tank and began talking to the driver. The man’s identity still remains a mystery and the menti on of the man is frowned upon in China but because of the tank man’s courageous act, people around the world use him as a symbol of oppression. The same defiance can be seen in the film Paradise Road. When looking at the tank man and references of paradise road, what is revealed is the inner courage and defiance that comes out in times of conflict when their life is on the line. During World War 1 many innocent women and children were captured and detained in Japanese prisoner of war camps. The true story of Vivian Bullwinkel, Betty Jeffrey and many others formed the basis of the film. As Japan never signed the Geneva Convention women and children were never off limits and were treated just as bad as men, as the ones the Japanese despised the most were â€Å"Europeans, then prisoners, then women†. The poor treatment, living condition, sexual harassment and constant oppression caused many of the women to start a vocal  orchestra as a way of keeping their spirits alive. One of the main characters that came up with the idea of an orchestra, Margaret, understood that many of the women in camps willpower to survive had vanished and realised the orchestra would boost morale of the prisoners. By the end of the film, Margaret passes away and although the women are not strong enough to sing for her funeral they begin to smack rocks together in a beat. As normally the Japanese would not allow such noise, this act is a direct defiance to them, showing that they still have a bit of control. It is clear to see, through conflict such as the holocaust that Oskar Schindler was involved in, the Tiananmen Protests where the unknown defiance of ‘Tank Man’ was seen, along with the defiance of the prisoners in the film Paradise Road, show that people are definitely capable of extraordinary things when under the influence of conflict.

Gatto Against the School Critique Essay

What is boredom? According to John Taylor Gatto, boredom is ruining the modern day society’s schooling. Gatto is convinced that we ourselves is to blame for boredom, and believes everyone should be able to entertain themselves. â€Å"How public education cripples our kids, and why†, written by John Taylor Gatto, is papered with evidences. Even though the literal beauty does not exist in the essay, he starts out blocking all the possible arguments that could be created in the first place by placing evidences in his essay everywhere, unable to criticize on his content, reflection and analysis. Such small concept such as boredom is ruining modern day schooling, according to Gatto. He starts off by how boredom overpowered the teachers and the students. Teachers are tired of students who are unwilling to learn, and students believe that teachers are unenthusiastic to teach. But Gatto believes that, mainly because he was influenced by his grandfather, that state of boredom has to be blamed on oneself, not others. And people who cannot handle the boredom are childish adults. This means that the way school is set up is already wrong. Unmotivated teacher and students in the school means failure to teach, meaning the function of the school is gone. â€Å"If we wanted to we could easily and inexpensively jettison the old, stupid structures and help kids take an education rather than merely receive a schooling †¦ But we don’t do that.† He denounces the current system, and also knows what is needed to be done. It’s true. Many of the teachers are not motivated to teach; it seems that they are waiting for their payday. Students are not motivated also – countless repeats of same concept, set academics – it seems even weird to be motivated. Gatto only uses logic to persuade the audience. All the evidence seems logical, and it seems morally right. Then he asks, â€Å"Do we really need school? I don’t mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years.† This question is actually frequently on topic. The questions are asked by different students every day, and even though it might seem like a legitimate question, He uses this question rhetorically to set up more evidences that shutdowns the argument of his opposite sides. He uses the Greats as an example, such as Twain, Carnegie, Rockefeller and Edison, who never went to high school. And right before, he uses Washington, Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, who were never part of the school system to prove his argument once again. Then he repeats, in different words, â€Å"What is the purpose of our public school?† And the answer was to become a good citizen, good people, and to be at one’s personal best, according to the cultural traditions. But the school system has been criticized so much by the scholars back in the days. Their argument is that the system of school’s originality is from Prussia, and adopted one of the worst aspects of Prussian culture: â€Å"an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens – all in order to render the populace â€Å"manageable.† This is an extremely controversial statement, but looking at the current society, people are busy feeding themselves more than fighting for what is right or sharing their own opinion about whatever. Then he quotes Inglis, a quite well-known Harvard Professor, claiming â€Å"the purpose of modern schooling is divided six basic functions.† â€Å"1. Adaptive Function – destroys the idea that useful or interesting material should be taught. 2. Integrating function – makes all the children alike as possible. 3. Diagnostic and directive function – determines each student’s proper social role by keeping a cumulative records. 4. Differentiating function – sorted by records and trained to their social role. 5. Selective function – favoritism, even if not meant. 6. Propaedeutic function – always cared, never stood alone.† According to Inglis and Gatto, this is how the school system works right now. The cultural tradition has been completely erased from the school mind, and Gatto uses perfect quote from Inglis to prove it. Even though some might argue that quote of Inglis might not be true, but it is from an influential and popular Harvard Professor, meaning it definitely has values to be looked at. Gatto does not leave space for any weak evidence in his essay. All the evidences and analysis are agreeable, even to people who does not understand completely because everything is logical. All of his evidences can be understood by knowing how the society is currently. At the end of the essay, he describes how people live on. He describes us as â€Å"trained to be employees and consumers,† which is true, in a society dream is only a dream and reality is reality. Overall, Gatto wrote an unarguable essay, and if so someone argues against Gatto, that someone will not have many supporters to breakdown the impact that Gatto left in his essay. Gatto, John Taylor. â€Å"Against School.† Harper’s Sept. 2003: 33-38. Print.

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

E-Enterprise - Essay Example This is in the perspective of providing food, home furnishes, electronics, appliances, apparel, auto parts and also skilled labor (Franklin, 234). Apparently, such kinds of aspects were only initially available from a controlled or minute perspective. This is because retailers in the United States were in one way or the other limited to operating within the United States. Today, retailers have an unending exposure to a wide market, not only in their regions, but in every region around the world. All these aspects come hand in hand with the sole source of connectivity in the world, the internet (Darie). Through numerous online banks like PayPal, people can comfortably purchase products online at the comfort of their seats with deliveries coming to someone regardless of their position in the world. The internet has made starting a retail business a very simple and easy endeavor. All one has to do is have internet access and through social sites like face book, retailers advertise their products to the entire world. The ultimate effect is numerous sole proprietorships, which are making young innovative people earn a living with m inute effort compared to previous times (Books,102). Landing pages are very common with social media, search engines or email campaigns. The landing pages refer to a particular single web page that comes in, in the event of clicking on an online advertisement. In the same perspective, we should understand that the sole purpose if business is the making of profits. That is why advertisements will always be associated with sites that attract many people. These include social sites like tweeter, face book and YouTube. Search engines are always the first notion to anyone using the internet. They provide us with what we think or what we want to know. As a result, Google search engines will always have advertisements linked to its web pages. This is because all these sites possess the targeted audience (Peter,17). In the same

Successful security management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Successful security management - Research Paper Example Since security is a mission to protect the people, property and the business, an integrated approach in policy making is essential for successful security management. A formal security frame work in an organization incorporates various security controls which need continuous review for an efficient functioning of the security system. A good security management model envisages security standards for effective practice which increases confidence level of the various stakeholders of the organization. The structure for security management in an organization should be established with clear-cut authority and clarity in reporting system since coordination during the times of exigencies and emergencies will be very crucial. This ensures proper communication at all levels, improves coordination and avoids delays Talbot & Jackman (p. 10) state, â€Å"The term â€Å"security† can of course be a much broader term. For example, if we consider security as a â€Å"state of being protected from hazards, danger, harm, loss of injury,† it also includes elements of protection from natural disasters and concepts of organizational resilience.† Security management is closely related to risk management. Risk could emanate due to various factors, such as accidents in work place, damages due to acts of god, eruption of fire, wars, political and communal violence, theft and loss of confidential information and business secrets. Combination of one or more factors may lead to loss of financial resources and bankruptcy. Also, risks involve health and safety of people and property. Liberalization and globalization drive in various countries have actually increased the risk profile of the projects and businesses considerably due to innovations in information technology and telecommunications and pose threats to the lives of industrialists and politicians. Industrial espionage which is aided by sophisticated

First aid and personal safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

First aid and personal safety - Essay Example The following are the objectives set by the American Red Cross; Recognizing and handling an emergency, checking the scene of accident for safety and the victims for consciousness, how and when to remove a victim from a scene that is dangerous, how to do an interaction with emergency medical services and the time they should be called, learn how and why it’s important to use basic precautions so as to avoid disease transmission risk while and after provision of care, how to make a prioritization and care serious life-threatening sudden illnesses and injuries, how to identify a victim who is conscious for both life and non-life threatening situations, how to care and recognize for victims who fall ill suddenly, how to identify and take care of various kinds of wounds, which include bleeding and burns, how to identify and take care of a victim injured by cold or heat-related emergency, how to perform simple precautions so as to minimize the risk of transmitting disease, how to ch eck external bleeding and finally how to identify and take care of bone, joint and muscle injuries, which includes injuries to such parts as the neck, head and back. There are three different and separate types of first aid kits; for the car or truck, travel purposes and for your home or business. For a First Aid kit to be effective it should always be stocked in regard to the localized needs. For instance, the First Aid to be used along the coast is completely different from that likely to be used inland.

Examining the examples of European Green Energy and the ways to Essay

Examining the examples of European Green Energy and the ways to improve Canadian Green Energy - Essay Example This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of green energy and further identifies whether the current policy is an effective strategy for addressing climate change. People have become aware of the effects of global warming and for that reason; the world has turned into green energy to reduce the effects of fossil energy. Green energy is energy that comes from resources that are environmental friendly such as solar energy, geothermal heat, wind, and rain that are constantly replaced. Green energy can also be defined as alternative energy that is produced from other sources other than fossil fuels. Green energy is also referred to as renewable energy because it is the source of energy that does not consume the finite resources of the earth and can be quickly and easily replenished. Green energy has been internationally accepted because it has no pollutants that affect the air hence creating a less impact on the environment. Despite the evident need for green energy, global response has been scanty. The paper will begin with a brief introduction on the current issues facing the climate change and the role of green energy in addressing the problems. The introduction will end with a a clear thesis statement based on the topic green energy, which will later build up the main arguments of the paper. The next section will be a comprehensive review of literature that explains and supports the use of green energy. This section will provide an understanding of factors such as environmental and economic benefits. The next section will review the various debates and reasons given against the use of green energy. The next section will be a comprehensive discussion on the facts that have been identified in the body of the paper and finally, a conclusion and recommendation supporting or opposing the thesis statement supported by the facts provided in the discussion. The advantages of green energy include first, green energy is renewable in the sense that it

Introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Introduction - Essay Example cess as well as to make original contribution to literature, this paper discusses what criteria a budding restaurants needs to meet in order to set its foot and expand in the highly challenging and competitive contemporary food industry. This paper uses the Porter’s Five-Forces model to examine a restaurant’s competitive environment. Taking McDonald’s as a case study, this paper discusses the threats and opportunities an expanding restaurant faces today and the advantages and disadvantages associated with its strategic moves. McDonald’s is one of the most successful fast food chains of all time. Having achieved such a phenomenal success and expansion in a matter of much less than a century, McDonald’s has a lot to offer new and budding entrepreneurs in terms of mission, vision, strategic decision making, and ways to achieve success. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for McDonald’s that can help it even improve the pace of its success and the quality of its products and

Cubism movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cubism movement - Essay Example â€Å"Within the first two decades of the 20th century, a new art movement began that was unlike any other—Cubism. Started by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, most Cubist works are immediately recognizable due to their flattened, nearly two-dimensional appearance; an inclusion of geometric angles, lines, and shapes; and a fairly neutral color palette†.Imagination and influence of other artists was contagious and spread like the wild-fire! Artists were waiting in the wings, as if to tread the path of this novel mode of art. Additions and subtractions were made to the original conception of Cubism. The great artist Picasso was highly influenced by the works of Paul Cezanne and Jean Dominique. He experimented with ambiguous silhouettes. Next to catch his imagination was primitive and African art. Artists began to don the gowns of mathematicians. Cezanne advised the artists to treat nature in terms of the cylinder, cone and the sphere. Picasso and Braque did further improv ements. After conceiving the totality of the subject, they fragmented and analyzed and then reassembled it in an abstract form. They were criticized and appreciated for their extraordinary experiments—that they abandoned proportions, continuity of life samples and organic integrity and material objects. Critics said that the works looked like a field of broken glass.Notwithstanding the criticism and differences in opinions, Cubism thrived. â€Å"The Cubist emphasized a flat, two-dimensional surface and rejected the idea that art should imitate nature.

Quantitative Easing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quantitative Easing - Essay Example This act expands the excess reserves of banks and lowers the yield since the prices of the financial assets rise (Wieland & Research., 2009). Since this is a type of a monetary policy, it also includes expansionary and contractionary monetary policies. Expansionary policies include those in which the central bank purchases government bonds (short-term) in order to bring down the market interest rate. When interest rates are at zero and traditional monetary policy cannot be brought into play, quantitative easing is used to further boost the economy, and not only are short-term bonds purchased, but long-term bonds are purchased as well, and the yield would be most likely to increase. (Economist, 2005) This policy helps to keep inflation at the right percentage, neither too low nor too high. However, easing can become over-effective and result in deflation or be ineffective and lead to banks not lending out additional reserves (Economist, 2005). As aforementioned, the central bank imposes a monetary policy by a rise or fall in the interest rate. Then the interest rate target is also achieved by open market operations, which essentially involves the buying or selling of short-term government bonds from financial institutions including banks. The process involves the central bank lending out bonds, collecting the money from these bonds purchased, and this in turn changes the money supply in the economy and at the same time affects the price of government bonds, even though just the short-term ones. This entire process changes the interbank rates of interest (Fukasawa & Corporation, 2000). A liquidity trap occurs when the central bank cannot change the interest rate. Quantitative easing is then used to boost the economy without referring to the interest rate. The aim of quantitative easing is to affect the money supply and not the interest rate, which is impossible to reduce in any case. And this is referred to as a â€Å"last resort policy† in

Project Closures Essay Example for Free

Project Closures Essay Everything with a beginning must have an end and a project is not quite complete until the closing stage is considered successful. (Sanghera, P.2009 p.223) Scenario one: Closing a project that has met its objective This scenario delights the project manager and his or her team as it is the ideal end to any project. It involves closing all activities related to the project both the within and without. Here the project manager (PM) meets with the stakeholders to gain their final approval of the project, ascertain that the deliverable meets the completion standards, conclude contract arrangements with vendors, transfer responsibility of project output to other people, release people and other resources, and document lessons learned. (Sunny Baker pp330-331). Scenario two: Closing a project that was terminated early In this scenario a project can be terminated for a number of reasons. From the discussion question we saw that a project can be adjudged to have failed, if it cannot meet up objective, expected to fail or are no longer in line with the objective of the company can be terminated. Bommer Pease, 1991further provided reasons like paucity of funding, technological obsolescence, changes in consumer trends, mergers and acquisitions loss of the champion and negative cost/benefit ratio. However whatever might have being the underlying cause of the termination of a project, it is still very important that the project is closed formally. In that regard, there is no difference between closing a project that has met its objectives and a project that was terminated early in its life. Both scenarios must undergo the close project process and the close procurement process. But the following differences can be observed: (1)In the first scenario there is a tangible project deliverable that can be transferred to other people, it may serve as inputs to another project. While in the second scenario there may be no tangible deliverable. (2) The emotional currents observed in both scenarios are quite different, in the first scenario the PM and everyone associated with the project are elated and feels fulfilled, leading to more latent energy for future projects and commitment to the organisation. In the second case, negative emotions may be generated which can be counterproductive to future projects and the organisation. This situation can arise when senior management arbitrarily cancels a project without carrying the team along. Administrative closure This is the process of formally bringing to an end all project activities. It relates to the closing process group and the integration management knowledge area. (Sanghera 2010 p377) The accepted project deliverable after its verification is compared with the project management plan and other closure guidelines and procedures before it is handed over to the customer. This action is necessary for both scenarios one and two. Contract closure This occurs when the terms of the contract have been reached or when there is a termination before the terms can be reached. The latter case usually involves compensation. In multi-phased projects contract closure can occur more than once while administrative closure occurs only once. The acceptance of the deliverable takes place during the administrative closure. Conclusion Administrative closure and contract closure both occur in closing a project that has met its objective and one that is terminated early. In the latter case care should be taken to carry the team members along in the process of project termination in order to boost their morale and productivity for future projects.

The Impact of ICT in Contemporary Diplomacy

The Impact of ICT in Contemporary Diplomacy HOW HAVE THE CHANGES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AFFECTED THE ROLE OF THE MODERN DIPLOMAT? INTRODUCTION It is no longer news that the revolution of Information and Communication technologies (ICTs) has revised the practice of conventional diplomacy. Lees evident, however, is the extent of the impact of revolutionized ICT on the role of modern diplomats, and how this will either aid diplomatic roles or augment them. In addition, ICT has contributed immensely towards two important elements in the conduct of diplomacy; namely space and time. Communication tools and environments have paved way towards the compression of space and time in the international political environment. For example, the attack of the twin towers in New York in September 2011 was transmitted around the world instantaneously; however, â€Å"the transmission of the news of the independence of America in (1776) to Southern America, took about the same time it took to reach England by ship†( Abeyaoonasekera and Ransinghe, 2012 p.2 ) This is the ability of ICT to narrow space and time differences between states. This essay aims to illuminate this narrative by examining the revolution of ICT in the 21st century focusing on aspects that concern modern diplomats in their functional and strategic roles. Whilst evaluating the role of revolutionized ICT in contemporary diplomacy, this essay specifically discusses the utilisation of ICT as a positive too, in diplomats achieving international relations objectives. ICT has not only created equality between players in the international political environment but it has also brought awareness to the general public. In the end, I will highlight the enormous opportunities available to diplomats and their representing countries on capitalizing on ICT. THE ICT REVOLUTION The end of the cold war brought a pragmatic restructuring and advent of two important factors: the increase in the size of the members in the state centric world system and the astronomical development in science and technology. Development in science and technology have become drivers in the international political system and knowledge of such trend in major field has become an essential prerequisite to effective international negotiation and conduct of relations by diplomats. As a result, ICT is now an unavoidable part of everyday life as well as integral element to large scale economic, social and political restructuring. Nevertheless, strategic advancement in ICT has changed the communication environment. Ranging from the first satellite, Anik 1, a Canadian satellite evolved in 1972 (Pierre, C. 2003), to internet (Formerly known as ARPANET) in 1983 and then the establishment of the World Wide Web in 1991. It has evolved to the point where instant messaging has become the norm. However, the Global system for Mobile Communication (GSM) has provided a new platform to effective and efficient communication. In addition, the World wide web, has replaced radios, telephones and televisions and has compelled them to include themselves in making the world wide web the primary source of information and communication in the world. File sharing; video conferencing, audio and visual streaming have transformed the simple presentation of information to be more complex but yet interactive, efficient and speedy. The technologized world of today has empowered citizens to constantly evaluate, and upgrade their socio, political and economic bonds. However, business communications and transactions are largely conducted using ICT. This is an era where digital signatures are gradually replacing conventional ones; where paper documentation has also taken precedence over traditional filing. Governments are catching up to the ‘digital frenzy by including information in the public domain, allowing citizens to obtain public services on line. THE EFFECTS OF ICT ON TRADITIONAL DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES A year after the transatlantic war was over in 1886 with the completion of the transatlantic cable between the United States of America and Europe, the United States formed a telegraph office to deal with the new method f communication such as telegraph in international affairs. This development in communication, accelerated diplomacy and restraine the independence excersied by diplomats, thereby centralising foreign plicy. Treaties and gareements were no longer formulated across green tables amngst diplomats with surplus tim (Gottemoelle, R. 2012). As at today, diplomats are still in the ‘catch up’ phase, whilst citizens have embraced the new technologically advanced environment. Nevertheless, the world wide web, the internet, digital imagery have changed the environment in which diplomacy operates. The three factors that enhanced the transformation of the environment in which diplomacy operates are : shrinking costs, increase in capacity, speed of application ( Grant, R. 2004). Advancements in ICT has revised conventional diplomacy, so much that the new diplomacy is known as ‘Public Diplomacy; has been pushed forward as a useful business tool in the international arena connecting diplomats not only with their counterparts but also extending to new activists such as citizens, NGOs, Journalists, etc directly communicating with them in a more sophisticated manne using tools such as image building, reputation management and multiparty dialogue to meet their foregin policy ends which may or may nt result into a compromise. Nevertheless, there is the certainty that the advent of 21st century ICT has reconstructed access to information which has automatically compelled foreign missions and diplomats to adapt to the new system and its practices, in order to protect their national interest. Conventionally, diplomats have been forced to explore methods beyond those encoded in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Missions 1961. Diplomats ae constantly trying to deal with the consequences of the development of ICT, forcefully changing their method of diplomatic conduct to adapt to the fast rising media and non-state actors who have complicated the diplomatic profession, which is now operating in a multi polar international system. Whilst citizens and the corporate world at large, have several primary roles such as collecting information, representing their home country†¦etc. THE EFFECT OF ICT ON THE ROLE OF MODERN DIPLOMATS THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ICT ON THE ROLE OF MODERN DIPLOMATS Being one of the earliest forms of international relations in the state, diplomats play the following roles; negotiator, mediator, information manageing, and messenger. In addition, diplomats also act in recncialiation, conflict resolution and preventive diplomacy. This section of the essay, examines these roles in details and how ICT has either contributed or augmented the service delivery. INFORMATION GATHERING Information is an essential aspect of diplomacy. Most if not all actions in iplomacy are taken based on information. Information dealt with by diplomats is highly sensitive and confidential. As a result, diplomats have the responsibility to negotiate with the sensitivity and confidentiality of information. However, ICT plays a vital role provides necessary tools to ensure efficient management. The economic, political, and social conditions and giving feedback to the headquarters remains a key role and function of a diplomat. However, this has transformed in the technologized age. Prior to this, diplomats, had the responsibility of collecting newspapers and transporting them to the foreign missions. But the information age has enabled diplomats to adopt sensitivity to local and cultural relations to provide analytics of crucial information filtered out of media and other important actors such as NGOs an the public at large byy fllowing online information dissemination and social media tols. Fact finding is no longer as tedious and difficult as it use to be. Information on demographics, is available at the beck and call of a diplomat through internet services such as goggle scholar, Wikipedia, CIA WORLD FACT Book etc. The traditional ‘diplomatic bag’ has been replaced by the use of the ‘intranet’ which can be customized to suit the extreme confidentiality levels necessary in diplomatic communications with access limitations for different level of the heierarchy. Collecting information and data from various sources via the internet and distributing and disseminating it through a structured intranet has and will compress the time and the cost factors that are involved with diplomatic information management. MEDIATION In circumstances, where a face to face dialogue will not be condiuuycive, ICT can help by not only saving time but costs and lives in most cases. Computer led communications can create a safer and non-cnfrontatinal channel of dialogue between groups. An example of this is when the Unite States institute of peace mediated an ICT led peace intitative to put a halt to a 14 year civil war in Liberia enaging Gyude Bryant, the leader of the National Transitinal Goovernment of Liberia in a virtual town hall meeting with Liberian Diaspora on the prospects of peace for the country (Radunovic, 2010). Negotiation Negotiation is an essential role of a diplomat. Bilateral and multilateral negotiaations have gained insight from ICT advancements reaping benefits from the time, space and even cost compressions that have taken place. In a post-recession era where overheads of ministries have dwindled and budgets have been e-concentrated on militarization, ICT has and will be tremendously helpful in the negotiation process. Before the actual negotiation, ICT can play a major role in re negotiation and preparation by creating new channels of information both internal and external that helps There are many situations that take place before actual negotiation between two or more parties, and the use of ICT has made each phase of the prcess mre productive. CONFLICT RESOLUTION, PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY AND RECONCILITION Effective information sharing acts as the key to conflict resolution, reconciliation and preventive diplomacy. ICT through main stream media platforms and new media can play a big role in supporting diplomats in conflict resolution, reconcialiation and revention efforts. Most especially in situations where engagement of international actors, local activists, citizens and diaspora is necessary for the efforts to succeed, ICT can be used to create awareness and publicity for policy initiatives adpted to address core issues, to create open discussions and receive feedback on ‘state thinking’ amongst non-state actors. The Si Lankan government’s intiative through the Ministry of external Affairs is a good example where e-diplomacy has been employed to educate the Diaspora and the international community on efforts taken in reconciliation and prevention of the re-escalation of the armed conflict which ravaged the country for over thurty years. ICT AS A BOOSTER OF SOFT POWER IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Cyber pwer can be used to produce preferred outcomes within cyberspace or it can use cyber instruments to poduce preferred outcomes in other domains outside cyberspace (Nye, J, S. 2012). An enormous number of people are beginning to rely on ICT fr information ad communication. The diplomat’s audience is no longer confined to his external counterparts and internal cllegues. He is force to interact with ndviduals supplying their own souces a blogs to terrorists producing and web publishing graphic videos of killings ( Grant, R. 2004). The following are situations where ICT can be sed in achieveing two major elements of Public diplomacy RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AMONGST KEY DIPLOMACY PLAYERS A diplomats relationship is no longer exclusive. Diplomacy has lost its exclusivity and ability to operate in insular, protected circles. Influence is no longer in a single direction i.e from diplomats to citizens. Diplomacy has become more democratized (Grant,R. 2004). Therefore, diplmats should embrace this democratization and expand their utreach and use ICT tools to manage the ld and new players in the system. Virtual deks and netwoks connecting key players such as the academia, NGOs, corporate, citizens and the Diaspora, active participation/interactions in the ‘blogsphere’ and social media can induce confidence and trust and credibility amongst the new players such as NGOs, corporate, citizens and the Diaspora, active participartin/interactions in the ‘blogsphere’ and social media can induce confidence and trust and credibility amongst the new players such as NGs and citizens wh have immense mobiliing power in the public domain. ADVANCEMENTS OF POLICY GOALS ICT has been used for advocacy amngst players such as NGOSs, interest groups etc. It is a well knwn fact that the ‘Arab springs’ which took overthrew regimes and the policy fabric of the Middle Eastern world was ably supported by new media tools. Similarly, foreign policy gals cn be lobbied by government through the use of ICT tools. The ‘CNN EFFECT’ which became popular during the Gulf war era has been put forward as an example where media has been the driver of foreign policy of one major state (Piers, R.. 2010) . ICT can be used not onlyl as a river, but also as a ‘producer’ of consent aimed at achieving policy goals of a government. (Saddiki, S. 2006) . CONCLUSION Evolution of ICT’s poses fundamental challenges to conventional diplomacy such as breaching confidentiality, promoting openness and transparency, and reducing hierarchy. Despite this, the business case for ‘virtuality’ in diplomacy and diplomatic relations is compelling in that it is more efficient and acts as a leveraging tool. The use of ICT in international relations is especially beneficial to developing countries and countires that are in post conflict resurgence situatins. Furthermore, GSM phones to satellite televisions, emails to the Wi-Fi(internet), to voice and video conferencing over skype have not only revised the way and manner diplomats view the world around them and redefined the manner in which the international environment is being conducted, there has also been an astronomical shift in the international environment. This shift has not only affected the conduct of diplomacy, but also the context in which diplomats carry out their roles. Primarily, an increase in the number of non-state actors, the involvement of citizens in both foreign and domestic foreign policy making all have an effect on the traditional state as it reduces the power of autocratic states. Notwithstanding, modern diplomats are advised to adapt quickly to the new hi-tech communication environment. Furthermore countries such as Nepal an Sri Lanka can use ICT to attract and build networks with Diaspora who have immigrated to other countries due to the country situation and encourage returnees and build broken bonds with them. Moreover, news can be presented in a more authenthic fashion with the se f new media platforms rather than the run of the mill press conferences and statements ssued in connection. ICT can not only be used for its functional benefits but also strategically as an advertisement platform of a ountry;s competencies, socio political and economic ideals and realities As mentioned earlier, diplomacy has been democratized by the onslaught of technological advancements . This democratization should be seen as an advantage and not otherwise. In essence, democratization coupled with the decentralization of information has helped forecast events in the international sector gearing diplomats to formulate responses beforehand rather than ‘fire fighting’ during and in the aftermath of an event. Considering all this determinant factors and obvious changes, it is important that diplomats take note of the technological developments and get in to line with the information environment created y them to prevent redundancy in the ICT age. Developing countries, ought to take a step and reassess and analyse the training programmes made available for diplomats in ICTS. In addition, developing states such as Sudan, ought to see ICT should be seen as ‘a blessing in disguise’ that will strengthen their diplomats to overcome either socioeconomic or political challnges that are thrown their way in the path of development.

Beyond the Meat :: Writing Education Writer Essays

Beyond the Meat Ok then, so far you have been told that the theme paper is the meat of the main course for the meal of college writing, and in order to excel in the process of education you must master the boundaries of the five paragraph dilemma. You must know how to use the knife and fork of discovery. To know the boundaries is to know style. You have learned the technique of writing (or eating a theme paper). Congratulations to yourself! You are well on your way to enlightenment or in the very least employment! Ok then, so you are well acquainted with the boundaries of the theme and have even picked up a few interesting techniques along the way. Now you must cross over the borders... invade the undiscovered country of whatever monster (forms) lie beyond. It is easy to cross the borders, just take a step and your over; and then... what? You definitely do not want to look out of the window and describe what you see, that would be too much like that masterpiece of ambiguity "Untitled". You have nowhere to turn to so you ask your sleeping cats if they have any clue as to what lies beyond the theme (just in case there is some modicum of truth between the myth and the reality). Dada-dee, Dada-dum... Ok, so you decide that writing is about boundaries, about how a form is contained, and in themes boundaries help you to express ideas -- Right? Maybe to express ideas about what lies beyond the theme you have to cross more boundaries. Cool, you decide that you will not use pronouns; or better yet, you will interchange pronouns -- I, You, He, she, It, We, They (and sometimes "Y" and and "W") -- just randomly substitute one word for another. Meaning looses all sense of subject importance. How much MEANING do you really want to convey or understand? [INSERT METAPHOR HERE] Ok then , so you think "MEANING", Dada-dee, Dada-dum. Clarity is in the eyes of the beholders and you feel beholden to whomever said that. Words come floating into your room, they circumnavigate the breath of your understanding and settle next to your sleeping cats... Phonemes, paroles, logocentrism, signs and signifiers... RATS! Words have a connoted meaning to the reader. A random placement of the articles of language will move you outside of the borders; but into an Eitherland of gibberish.

The Psycho Lady of Flight 735 :: Personal Narratives

The Psycho Lady of Flight 735 Back in summer of summer of ’99, my mom, Judy, my dad, Dale, my brother, Brian and me, Michelle, took a vacation to California. Our trip was awesome! We went to Disneyland, Universal Studios and all those other tourist attractions. Everything was great until we got to the Los Angeles International Airport to fly home, on my very first plane ride ever! When we got there, we looked on the screen to see if our flight was still running on schedule, but to our surprise, our flight was boarding! My dad then screamed, "Let’s move it!" We sprinted through the airport to the terminal. I was struggling because I had three bags filled to the brim, since I’m a very heavy packer. Finally we reached the terminal and we were ready to check-in and board. My dad handed our tickets to the hostess, but she gave us a confused look, "Sorry Mr. Snover, we just closed the doors to board this flight. You will need to book another flight at a later time." We were all disappointed and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so after a little arguing and convincing, she gave in. She did tell us that our seats got separated, but we all could deal with that. We got to our seats and sat down to finally relax. Of course, I, the very unlucky one, got stuck beside a very large woman. Not to be rude or anything, but she took all of her seat and half of mine and had the worst body odor I have ever smelled! It was so bad I actually started to gag. I thought to myself, "Could this possibly get any worse?!" Yes, yes it could! The flight was going as good as it could get at that point, until I looked up from my book and saw all the flight attendants’ faces and their little side conversations. They all had very scared looks on their faces, as if they all saw a ghost or something. Something was wrong and I grew a little worried. I got really frightened when I saw the co-pilot run back through the plane. A few minutes later, the pilot ran to the back too! Now, I was terrified. I thought two things, "What the heck is going on, and who the heck is flying the plane?" All of a sudden, a flight attendant came over the loud speaker and said with a very shaky voice, "Attention all passengers, we need to make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado.

History Repeats Itself Essay -- History Historical Research Papers

History Repeats Itself   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History repeats itself. This concept applies not only within the realm of a single nation's history but throughout and between nations. That is to say, that what one nation endures, throughout its economic and political history, may be compared to and be strikingly similar to that of many other nations. As we analyze social change thought the world we have noticed a cyclical pattern of histories, both economic and political, in the countries of Spain, Holland, Britain, and the United States. I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historical Periodization:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history and during alternating time periods, countries have grown from feeble entities, defeated by or ruled by the governing structures of foreign nations, to powerful nations. Between the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, SPAIN ruled as a great power among other nations. Its empire began when, in 1492, Spain financed Columbus's expeditions and explorations to conquer territory in the New World. Once it held its new established territory, Spain relied on the influx of gold and silver from the New World. Spain was the first country to start an empire and consequently started a trend. Once HOLLAND gained their independence from Spanish rule, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, it moved on to become a great power. Holland had relied on seafaring and the economic success of Amsterdam until around 1620. "By mid-century, however, they had used their technical sophistication and control of vital raw commodities to build successful industries . . . and supported by Holland's bourgeois virtues, trading preeminence and credit, Dutch manufactures soon dominated a number of European markets" (BP 198). Holland remained in power until its decline began in the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1750, the Dutch started losing European markets but continued as the number one market country in Europe. The British moved in where the Dutch had been. GREAT BRITAIN reached great heights in the middle of the eighteenth century. Starting out as the home of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was considered the workshop of the world. However, by the 1890's Britain was losing ground in the global market of manufacturing, specifically to the United States and Germany. The UNITED STATES, is the youngest of the nations studied in this essay, which became a major power a... ... decline again. In Great Britain polarization was reversed by redistribution of income, socialism, and welfarism. This benefited the middle and lower--middle class citizens but hurt the elite. In the UNITED STATES at the end of the "Roaring Twenties", when the stock market crashed, the major financial institutions were left to fail and die out. When the bubble of the 1980's burst, however, the United States government bailed out the companies and caused the country to go into economic decline, deficit, and ruin the budget. The "Roaring Twenties", and the "Anxious 1980's" are examples of rises and later declines of economic and political prosperity and power. Decline in the United States is occurring on both an economic and social level. America has witnessed a rapid centralization at the seat of federal power and a capital more influenced by interest groups than by voters. "Imperial capitals don't become notorious until they display wealth and develop serious, parasitic elites, not true of Washington until it came of age in the late 1960's and 1970's" (AC 29). "There is no point in mincing words. Aging great-power capitals often become parasitic cultures"(AC xix).

Financial Markets Assignment Essay

Explain how interest rates decline following major Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities. The FED implements quantitative easing by buying financial assets of longer maturity, e. g. , mortgage-backed securities, from commercial banks and other private institutions in order to inject a pre-determined quantity of money into the economy. This is a means of stimulating the economy and lowering longer-term interest rates further out on the yield curve; quantitative easing increases the excess reserves of the banks, and raises the prices of the financial assets bought, which lowers their yield. Graphically, this can be explained with the aid of Figure below. The supply of money is shifted from point 1 to the right (MS1 to MS2) and, all else equal, the new equilibrium point (with aggregate money demand curve) is at point 2, where the interest rate is lower. i i1 i2 AD1 MS1 MS2 Quantity of Money 2. What could be the implications of lower interest rates for households and businesses? By implanting the policy of purchasing mortgage-backed securities, the FED has set its sight on increasing consumption and investment, which will ultimately increase employment. As described in question one Bernanke’s policy decreased interest rates to new record lows, encouraging borrowing for both businesses and households. The ability to borrow money at more attractive rates stimulates investment in durable consumer goods, such as automobiles, and in operational necessities such as buildings and capital equipment for businesses. Indeed, after the implementation of the policy mortgage applications increased significantly. Because of low interest rates households and businesses as investors could shift their preference away from bonds and into stocks. According to frbsf. org, the increase in stock trading volume has the effect of raising the value of existing stock portfolios, which in turn stimulates consumer and spending across the country due to the psychological effects of rapid capital appreciation. Lower interest rates can have negative effects on the value of the local currency compared to other currencies. As foreign investors dump their local-denominated investments in favor of more profitable currencies, exchange rates can shift to the detriment of the local currency. The weakening of the local currency serves to increase the attractiveness of local goods to foreign purchasers, which has the effect of boosting exports and international sales. All of the factors mentioned above have the combined effect of increasing productive output, or GDP, and increasing employment across a wide range of industries. As individuals, businesses and foreign investors are encouraged to spend more due to increased access to capital, higher portfolio valuations and weaker currency values, businesses in nearly every sector experience an increase in sales, often requiring them to grow their operations and employ additional labor. However, there are some negative implications from this policy. Without a strong commitment to control inflation over the long run, the risk of higher inflation is one potential implication of experiencing real interest rates below the economy’s natural interest rate. Low interest rates provide a powerful incentive to spend rather than save. In the short term, this may not matter much, but over a longer period, low interest rates penalize savers and those who rely heavily on interest income. If short-term interest rates are low relatively to long-term rates, households and firms may overinvest in long-term assets, such as Treasury securities. If interest rates rise unexpectedly, the value of those assets will fall (bond prices and yields move in opposite directions), exposing investors to substantial losses. Finally, low short-term interest rates reduce the profitability of money market funds, which are key providers of short-term credit for many (large) firms, e. g. the commercial paper market. 3. Explain the Fed’s policy dilemma and try to rationalize why unemployment in the US is stubbornly high while inflation is low. Based on the theory of the Philip’s curve diagram we notice that there is an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment. Stated simply the lower the unemployment in an economy the higher the rate of inflation. Philip’s Curve Inflation Unemployment The explanation of the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment is based on two assumptions. The first has to do with the fact that as unemployment rises there is no room for workers and labor unions to demand an increase so a wage inflation that would increase the prices of the final products cannot occur. Secondly high unemployment is a reflection of the decline in economic output and indicates an economy’s slowdown. Therefore competition among firms in recession will lead the prices at lower levels. But this is not the case currently in the US since we observe high unemployment and low inflation. The FED is concerned about the unemployment rate and in an effort to stimulate the economy and improve the labor market conditions it started implementing the quantitative easing policy. So the FED purchased MBS, helped banks to rebuilt their balance sheets, contributed into maintaining price stability, preserved interest rates near zero for more than three years, and prevented the economy from slipping into greater recession. Despite all these efforts the situation in the labor market did not improve. Apparently the fact that unemployment is still very high depicts the limitations of the monetary policy. The low business confidence, policy uncertainty, and the government’s reluctance to act are beyond the FED’s capacity. What is more the infinite use of the quantitative easing may produce undesirable effects in the long run such as stagflation. The only optimal solution under these circumstances is the co ordination of the FED’s monetary policy with the government’s fiscal policy plan that could boost the society’s confidence. . Do you think that another round of quantitative easing (QE) by the Fed would help stimulate the US economy? Please explain. The FED declared that the use of QE will be aggressively continued until the economy is improved. The cash injections into the economy helped interest rates to remain at low levels. Consequently everyone wins from this decision in the short run; homeowners can borrow at historical low levels of inter est rate, corporations can also take advantage of this act and invest, consumption increased and also the banks increased their profits and the stocks record a growth. So as long as the QE is active in the short run everyone is a winner. But in the long run things become vague. First of all historical evidence shows that despite the fact that interest rates may be at levels near zero it remains uncertain whether this will be the incentive to boost the actual economy. Secondly the fact that consumers will have more money to spend but fewer goods to buy might lead to a hyper inflation. Furthermore by repeating the use of QE is very possible to lead to a liquidity trap, unless the economy finds ways to stimulate production. Last but not least the FED’s decision to inject cash into the economy by purchasing MBS is questionable; Mortgage backed securities entail the risk of defaulting once again as they did in the real estate crisis and that would cost the Americans a lot more money repeating the history that started back in the September of 2001. To sum up the use of QE is indeed very effective but only in the short run. Short periods of economic recession can be avoided by stimulating the economy temporarily through cash injections but to maintain growth on the real economy we need to improve labor market conditions, productivity, innovation and bolster the economy’s confidence. So a combination of fiscal and monetary policy is the only way to prevent an economy from collapsing, and also is this is the only way to avoid a possible systemic risk that will negatively affect all the institutions and individuals. . How is a loose Fed monetary policy in the US affecting fundamentals (such as inflation, asset and commodity prices) in other countries? What does that imply about global monetary policy? Since the dollar is the vehicle currency in the global economy almost every country is tied to its value and everyone is affected by the monetary decisions of the FED. By the QE, the supply of dollars is increased and consequently the dollar depreciates against foreign currencies. This means that America’s exports will increase and on the contrary the imports will decrease. So countries trading with the US fear about the capital inflows and the possible inflation on commodities. On the other hand the FED support that there can be no further inflation since the global economy is in recession. Moreover countries experiencing huge capital inflows resulting in inflation can implement fiscal policy, such as imposing taxes, in order to contain the effects of foreign capital inflows which push up local stock prices and the currency itself. Every country should focus on its own monetary policy adjusting it to the problems that may experience. For example the US chose to inject more money in the economy. The results of such a decision are low interest rates, more exports but always with the risk of inflation. On the other hand a country experiencing high inflation might limit the money supply, increasing the interest rates with the risk of experiencing a decline in exports.

Aunt Jennifers Tigers

Ashlee Purcell Dr. Wagner Enc 1102 27, Nov. 2012 Critical Response Adrienne Rich was an amazing poet who expressed certain matters and women’s needs through her writings. Her poem â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† was used to express male and female relationships or maybe one in particular. Although many critics argue the point of view, the overall theme of â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† is Aunt Jennifer’s oppression through marriage, and the use of embroidery as the form of self-expression.The first verse of â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† is used to describe the tigers. They â€Å"prance across a screen†. This implies no sadness, the term â€Å"prance†, according to Dictionary. com, is defined to spring from the hind legs; to move by springing, as a horse, to ride gaily, proudly, or insolently, to move or go in an elated manner; cavort, and to dance or move in a lively or spirited manner; caper. This shows that the tige rs are moving in a happy, lively fashion. They are â€Å"topaz denizens of a world of green†.Topaz is unquestionably an ancient healing stone and gemstone. The Egyptians believed that topaz was colored with a golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. Because of this they believed that topaz was very powerful and protected faithful against harm. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who was their god of sun. The Romans considered topaz to be a symbol of power of the ruler who had it. They also believed that it bestowed wisdom on the ruler. The royal crown of England is set with nearly five hundred topaz stones.These stones have been said to have been mined in the Erzgebirge better known as Ore Mountains. According to the Bible, topaz is one of the many stones that protect New Jerusalem. In ancient Mexico topaz was used in conflicts to ascertain the truth. Aunt Jennifer expressed herself as a tiger mixed with the topaz stone has a important meaning of a certain power, and these tigers are unafraid knowing of the power it holds according to the verse â€Å" They do not fear the man beneath the tree†. In the second verse Aunt jennifer’s fingers â€Å"flutter† through the wool.Although the meaning of the word flutter could be used both in a negative and positive way, they way send is having difficulty pulling the ivory needle in the next line persuades the reason to believe the fluttering is a sign of stress. Reading on to the next line, â€Å"The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band†, describes possibly why Aunt Jennifer is in distress. His wedding ring â€Å"sits heavily upon† her hand. The Uncle is not around anymore to wear his ring. Did he leave? Did he die? Because the ring itself cannot possibly be so heavy to affect her stitching, it must serve a symbolic meaning of the Uncle.How could the Uncle feel heavy upon Aunt Jennifer? Was he violent, demanding or opressive to Aunt Jennifer? Althought we are not prov ided with any further information I believe it is safe to say the Uncle had some kind of a negative effect on Jennifer’s emotional state if she is displaying physical signs of agitation. Work Cited â€Å"Adrienne Rich. † Wikipedia. org. Wikipedia. 1 Mar 2009. Rich, Adrienne. â€Å"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers. † Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Kennedy, X. J. , Dana Gioia. New York: 2010. Print.

1450-1750 Ap World History Essay

Technology, Demography, and the Environment 1450-1750 The main trend relating to technology, demography, and the environment from 1450 to 1750 are †¦ Some of the most influential new technologies were guns, improved shipbuilding, and better navigational devices. The invention of guns would forever change the way wars were fought. Instead of swords, bows and arrows, or lances, guns would emerge as the dominant global weapon. They were lighter than cannons and more efficient than bows and arrows. They were also effective as a long or short range weapon. Guns were essential to the expansion of the Islamic empires that raised during this time period, hence the title Gunpowder Empires. Guns were also important in the West African slave trade. Many Africans would trade other Africans to the Europeans in exchange for guns. The minor trends are seen as Shipbuilding technologies also became better during this time. The increased cross-cultural interaction led to a combination of shipbuilding technologies from many countries. There were many advantages to the new styles of ship building, including the fully rigged ship, the more economic and more streamlined â€Å"caravel† ship design, the sternpost rudder, and lateen sails. All of these improvements from the culminated technology of many civilizations made ships sturdier, more maneuverable, faster, and cheaper to build. Navigation also improved in the Early Modern Age. Likewise, another minor trend was maps and charts that became more accurate and navigational instruments became easier to use. The ease of navigation made people more prone to exploring. This contributed to the increased water traffic seen in this time period all around the world. This image represents the main trend of technology, demography, and environment from 1450 to 1750 because shipbuilding was used as an advantage for faster transportation. Key Words: caravel, ships, bow & arrow, guns Culture 1450-1750 The main trends relating to Culture from 1450 to 1750 are for elite culture in China, their main religion was neo-Confucianism because it was considered an intellectual religion which caused a lot of patriarchy. As for the pop culture in china, they had a development of novels and fiction which caused higher literacy rates for the middle class. The upper class looked down on it which caused a division of culture. In China, they isolated themselves from any other culture. They continued to trade, but only set up one port for trade with the Europeans. They traded their own items, but wouldn’t accept anything but silver from Spain, which eventually caused them to go bankrupt The popular culture was interested in floating worlds which are cities of entertainment. These worlds lead to the obsession of new theatres, poetry, and Dutch learning. The elite culture became interested in native learning, Shintoism, and native learning. They also tried to get rid of all outside influences besides Japanese. In Japan, they also isolated themselves from other influences. However, the only country they allowed in Japan was the Dutch, who were allowed in Nagasaki and developed Dutch Learning. They allowed the Dutch in because they wanted to also keep up with European advancements. The minor trends are seen as the elite culture was based off of western European style culture. They cut off all the men’s beards and learned manners due to the visits from Peter the Great. As for the popular culture, they kept old style Russian traditions. This image represents the main trend of Culture from 1450 to 1750 because of Neo Confucianism in China. Key Words: Shintoism, neo-confucianism Politics 1450-1750 The main trends relating to Politics from 1450 to 1750 are Three new empires: the Ottoman, the Safavid, and the Mughal – rose between 1450 and 1750, and collectively they supported a new flowering of Islamic civilization. However, competition between them also led to important political divisions and military clashes. All three originated in the Turkic nomadic cultures of the central Asian steppe, and they all had absolute monarchs who modeled their courts on those of earlier Islamic dynasties. The Ming Emperors continued to rule China until the mid-1600s, but the dynasty was in decline for many years before that. Although its cultural brilliance and economic achievements continued until about 1600, China had some of the same problems that the Muslim empires had: borders difficult to guard, armies expensive to maintain, and transportation and communication issues. The minor trends are seen as The Ottoman Empire was one of three Islamic Gunpowder Empires that arose in Eurasia during the Early Modern period. This empire had very distinct political and social traditions. The Ottoman Empire was a military creation, like most empires. They also conscripted the sons of conquered peoples for use in their army, and these people were called Janissaries. When the Ottomans conquered Egypt, they also gained a powerful navy, making the Ottoman Empire even more of a militaristic power. The political structure of the empire placed the emperor at the top. The emperor owned and distributed all land and had the power to hire and fire officials at will. To try and avoid succession problems, the Ottomans kept their empire tightly centralized and gave emperors power to kill off his brothers. Likewise, another minor trend is Political dynamics: In Japan from the twelfth to the sixteen century a â€Å"shogun† or a military governor: ruled Japan through retainers we received political rights and large estates of land in exchange for their military services. The emperor was merely a figurehead with the shoguns having the real power.

Profiling of Street Crime in Philippines Essay

Introduction Street crime is – criminal activity that happens in a public place usually in a town or city, for example stealing people’s personal possessions or snatching, vandalisms, theft, physical injury and extortion. Street Crimes are usually committed in outdoors and it can be happen in strange or to an unfamiliar places. It can even take place to your own community. Street Crimes can be done in many different forms such as pick-pocketing, bag, necklaces, earrings and gadget snatching, car theft, motorcycle theft and even hit and run and many other related criminal acts that takes place within a street. (http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/buhay-pinoy/buhay-pinoy-features/15180-how-to-protect-yourself-from-street-crimes.html). These Street crimes are very wide spread in the area of responsibility in of DV-Soria, police community precinct 01. Criminals usually choose to commit these crimes in a specific places and specific times to attack their victims. Does the street crime only exist in the night time? Or, does the street crime is rampant in day time? Who are the usual victims of street crimes? Male or Female ? Young or adults ? These questions will be answered by means of this study. Actually, the researcher was a victim of this street crime. Way back then, when he was in high school his class schedule ends at night time and he could still remember the time when he was walking alone along the Velez St. heading home to Capt. Vicente Roa St., there was a group of people who blocked his way and threatened him while asking a big amount of money, but he have nothing to do but to give what he has. Being a victim of Street Crimes is not a good experience, at first it could leave a trauma to the victim such as being afraid to walk alone in the evening especially if there is a group of people gathering to a particular area. Everyone could be a victim of Street Crimes especially all of us go out to our houses. The researcher decided to pursue the study of street crimes received in police station 01 because it was introduced by his instructor and he wanted to know how it contributes outcome in our community in terms of the percentage of crime volume. The Community Precinct 01 was placed in the heart of the city along Abejuela /T. Neri /Burgos Sts, Cagayan de Oro city. Station is one of the very high populated areas in Cagayan de Oro because of the affordable items in stores and many other business establishments which bring a large number of people to visit the place. The Police Station No.01 (PS 01), formerly Operation Kahusay ug Kalinaw (OKK), is located at the heart of the city along Abejuela /T. Neri /Burgos Sts., this city, with the boundaries from North – Barangay 17 and 18, South – Barangay 01, West – Carmen River and East – Barangay 03. PS 01 composed of Twenty (20) Urban Barangays from 01 to 20 with a total land area of ninety three point seven hundred twenty five (93.725) hectares. Based on present statistics, it is inhabited by more or less 18,446 inhabitants. Vital installations located in the Area Of Responsibility (AOR), Twenty Nine (29) commercial establishment and Four (04) government banks, Three (03) churches, Fifteen (15) government offices, One (01) water reservoir, One (01) mall, Three (03) communication towers and Four (04) private hospitals.. In the Independent Variables of this study includes the: Classification of Street Crimes Theft / pick pocketing: Is an act where any person taking the property belonging to another person without force or violence. Any person who steals objects or items from the pocket or shoulder-bags of the other person in a public places or of any establishments along the street. Physical Injury: is an act of any person inflecting pain, damage, harm or hurt to another person. Robbery / Extortion: The act of securing, seeking, money or favors by means of threat, blackmail or intimidation. Hit & Run: It involved in or denoting a motor-vehicle accident in which the driver leaves the scene without stopping and give assistance to the harmed or injured person, or give information to the police. Vandalism: Is an act of a certain person writing the wall or any part of the establishment by use of paint, coal, of any forms of writing instrument by destruction. In the dependent variables of this study includes the: profiles of street crime victims Profile of Victims: refers to the profile of any person or individual being injured, extorted, snatched, pick-pocketed, and more being stated in the independent variables. Age of the Victim: Refers to the age of the victim during the incident, if the common victims are children, teenagers, adult or even old. Gender of the Victim: corresponds to the sex of any person and which is integrated in this study to see the usual victims of street crimes. MALE: refers to a boy [Masculine] FEMALE: refers to a girl [Feminine] Time of Incident: refers to the time when crime was committed if it is dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening and midnight, it is being included to this study to discover what time usually a certain street crime will occur. Date of Incident: Refers to the month of the incident when crime was being committed, and it is included in this study to determine what month, a certain street crime will be having a large number of existence. Location of Incident: Refers to the Address or place were the crime was committed, and it is included in this study to identify which place of the community precinct 02 area of responsibility crime was much uncontrolled. Statement of the problem This research studied the classification of street crimes from January to December in the year 2011. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions. 1.What is the most extensive street crime in the area of responsibility in Police Station 02 in the year of 2011 and 2012. a.Theft / Pick Pocketing b.Physical Injury c.Robbery / Extortion d.Hit & Run e.Vandalism 2.What is the profile of victims in each street crimes in terms of a.Age of the Victim b.Gender of the Victim c.Time of Incident d.Date of Incident e.Location of Incident Significance of this study The objective of this study is to collect information or data on the classification of street crimes received in police station 02 in the year 2012 and to be a reference of the for future researcher for related studies and compare the volume of street crimes before and nowadays in the record of police stations specifically in station 02, next is to present to the community precinct 02 the exact place and time were a certain crime is over exceeding. PNP Personnel, this study will serve as the basic guidelines of the police personnel to perform their job well and to be more alert to a certain area in a certain time; it will also help them to make plans for their future action in preventing the occurrence of the street crimes. To Community, On the other hand the police community relation could disseminate the information to its community and make the civilians aware to the existence of such street crime existing to a specific area and time, and to avoid being a victim of it. Barangay Officials, the local government unit will also be alert and Should deploy barangay police to a specific place where a high incidence of street crime is existing in order to maintain the peace and order and prevent those criminal minds in committing such street.

Forensics, Health And Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Forensics, Health And Ethics - Essay Example From this article, it is clear that authorities have the upper hand towards what the corpse might be put into. There would be institutions who would honor legal documents while some would need other supporting documents that families would need to satisfy. With regards to ethics, there are still undetermined standards and guidelines concerning people who are mentally challenged. This should be the aspect of health care and ethics, even forensics, which should be further expounded by different associations. It is to protect the rights of people with the mental problem yet is still very much alive and has the same human rights as any normal human being. Appelbaum (1997) even stated that â€Å"Violations of moral rules, in fact, are an inevitable consequence of the complexity of life.† When emotions are put into play, balancing the facts and ethics sometimes become impossible. Emotions would weigh too much that it is the ethics that will overrule the facts which would create conflicts. Some might even go into extremes just to prove their point even if it is not feasible most of the times. People have lost their loved ones and others have lost their careers by not being able to balance facts and ethics properly. However, for some, it is the facts that are weighed more and unethically make decisions. The latter occurs not much as the prior scenario. There should be a different code of ethics for each branch of health science and healthcare. Answering to the needs of people in different situations would mean different judgments to be considered.

The web and visual arts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The web and visual arts - Essay Example Furthermore, the differences in interpretation are significant in influencing the opinions and perceptions of readers. Nonetheless, additional sources add extra information on the subject matter that would have been omitted by other sources. Therefore, this paper will discuss the different analysis of this piece of art by sources from Wikipedia, National Gallery website and Visual Arts-Cork website and provide a correlation with the discussions we have had in class. Firstly, Wikipedia provides up to date information just about anything historical, academic or non-academic. With regards to its analysis of The Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban, it offers information on its history, frame, inscription, description and significance. Furthermore, the presentation is simple and accessible to anyone interested in historical paintings. For instance, it details the artist’s background, his date of birth and how the concept of the painting came about when he was in exile. It influences our perception on the artistic masterpiece that Jan van Eyck drew and paints an image of an artist with exceptional abilities. The intended audience is the general web user who has an interest in artistic, historical works. Additionally, it correlates with the discussions we have had in class on the history of art, albeit Wikipedia delves a little further and is more informative. Secondly, Visual Arts-Cork is an independent website with information on The Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by Jan van Eyck.

Performancemangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Performancemangement - Essay Example t hand and to keep with the competition, the company has taken up the decision to focus more on the new costing and pricing techniques to keep their focus on the customer and on maximization of the profit through cost reduction. The company uses the traditional costing methods to base the cost of their surgical equipments which are quite outdated and are therefore show a lesser profit as compared to the new costing methods which can help a company to maximize their profits. The traditional method used by the company does not focus on the reason for the occurrence of the cost i.e. whether the cost is directly linked with the production of the equipment or the cost is merely an overhead cost. (Exact Cost n.d.) Therefore, the cost is incorrectly charged to the product which decreases the profit margin for the company. It does not differentiate the cost on the basis of their use. As a certain material used in the production of equipment may be more costly than the other but is required in a limited quantity while the other may be cheaper but required in huge quantity. Costs cannot be properly allocated on the basis as to which department has provided the maximum amount of service to the particular department and the large amount of cost may be allocated to a department which has provided no service at all thus increasing the cost of that particular equipment. In contrast with the traditional costing methods which have certain deficiencies, a modern costing method can be used. This method is known as Activity Based Costing (ABC). Some points regarding this method are discussed in detail below: This method is based on the actual costing of a particular department as people who are connected to the department are involved in the costing process extract the data of cost to be allocated and allocate the cost to the production or service department as per the level of service provided. Since the costs are properly allocated to the respective departments in the

Learning Vocabulary for Saudi Arabian Students Research Proposal

Learning Vocabulary for Saudi Arabian Students - Research Proposal Example Focusing on the methods of teaching the English language, vocabulary was disregarded and reduced, while grammar and pronunciation were given more emphasis (Al-Jabri, 2005). According to Harmer (2007), teachers are very unsure of how to determine a suitable method of teaching English because of the variety of different approaches and methods available. They can gradually, with experience, create their own method of teaching. This could be the most appropriate method they can use according to the context they teach in (Scrivener, 2005). Students usually choose a low-effort strategy when they are required to do a task (Krashen, 1987). They seem to prefer translation of new vocabulary rather than getting their meanings from the contexts or from doing pair-works (Prince, 1996). It is significant to shed light on the effectiveness of the English teaching methodologies in order to increase the awareness of English teachers to re-evaluate their teaching methods, considering the applicability of these methods on the social and cultural situations. Based on my teaching experience, therefore, I propose to investigate whether the Grammar- Translation method is more effective than CLT approach at the vocabulary level. Much has been said and talked about the traditional ways of teaching. One of the ways is the Grammar Translation Method which dates back to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries when foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek. In the process of teaching and learning English, translation is used in the Grammar Translation Method. According to Boey (1970) the student is first required to learn the vocabulary lists consisting of L2 words and its equivalent L1 words. L1 is used to teach the grammatical rules of L2. Thereafter, practice exercises are given to students where they have to translate the L1 sentences into L2 sentences by applying the grammatical rules to the vocabulary learnt. On the other hand, the main aim of the Communicative Language Approach (CLT) is to produce churn out students who are communicatively competent. In this method, the teacher first gives a presentation and thereafter, students are made to use the language through activities, such as games, role plays and problem solving tasks. (Larsen, 1987) According to Maleki (2005), the main purpose of these two languages - GTM and CLT was to promote the intellectual skills of its speakers. Therefore, it was extremely important to focus on sentence structure, grammatical rules, learning of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. The other method which is now more prevalent for teaching is the Communicative Language Approach. Wen Wu (2008) stated that Communicative Language Approach is mainly based on the idea that the primary function of language use is communication. According to Al-Shabbi (1994), due to its emphasis on fluency over accuracy approach, the Communicative Language Method has not paid much attention to spelling in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom. Even the great appeal of Communicative Language Teaching has not been able to overcome the psychological barriers which becomes a hindrance in the learning process. Though it's unfortunate, that CLT is quite in use,

Relations between the Sexes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Relations between the Sexes - Essay Example James Joyce is one of the authors who successfully depicted the relationship between the different sexes in his book titled Dubliners. The book comprises of different short stories, and many of the stories highlight the relationship between men and women in Dublin. In addition, Fritz Lang also depicted the relationship between different sexes in the movie titled Metropolis.   James Joyce authored stories that belong to the Victorian period. Although the book was first published in 1914, James Joyce had been writing most of the stories before that period. Therefore, many of the stories are estimated to have been written in the Victorian period, which spanned between 1840 to early 1900s. During this era, there were distinctive roles for men and women. The Victorian society had societal ideals that defined the relationship between the two sexes. In the story titled â€Å"A Mother†, Joyce tells the story of Miss Devlin, who eventually became Mrs. Kearney after marriage. Joyce introduces us to Mrs. Kearney, who settled down with Mr. Kearney a man older than she was because most of the young men she met did not have the capacity to give her a better life. Joyce depicts her as a perfect Victorian woman in the home setting because she takes care of her homestead, daughters, and husband (Schwarze 2002, p. 67). However, Mrs. Kearney is well educated unlike o ther women of the Victorian era. Joyce introduces the reader to some men in the society who had a lower place than Mrs. Kearney did. From the confusion exhibited by Mr. Holohan, it becomes evident that Mrs. Kearney is more intelligent than him. She is the one who helps him out with organizing his work and determining the right artist for each event. However, Mrs. Kearney respects her husband because she felt secure and protected with him.  Ã‚  

Fundamental of finance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fundamental of finance - Article Example This portfolio is best suited for Top Choice as they are high risk takers. The investment will yield an average return of (31.6% of ' 2,000,000) ' 632,000 with a standard deviation of (7.14% of ' 2,000,000) ' 142,800. This indicates that the return will be in the range of (' 632,000 - ' 142,800) and (' 632,000 + ' 142,800), i.e., ' 489,200 and ' 774,800 respectively. A company can be financed by a number of different modes. The type of capital financing that has been chosen for the company is referred to as the capital structure of the company. A company can be financed using debentures, equity shares, long term loans, etc. These options however are based on the nature of risk the investors are willing to take. The following sections will discuss the various financing options that are available for investors to finance their companies and the factors that affect the choice have also been discussed. a) Equity Financing: This is the most common mode of financing used by companies. Here companies raise monies for the business by selling stocks of the company. These can either be preferred or common stock and can be sold both to individuals as well as investors. This is also referred to as the share capital of the company. These stocks provide the buyers with an ownership in the company. This is perceived to be 'easy money' as it does not involve any debt. Here the company does not require repaying the amount to the investors, as long as the business makes profits. Equity financing is best suited for people who are risk takers (J Ogilvie & B Koch 2002). b) Debt Financing: This type of financing is when a company borrows money from other sources like banks, etc, under an agreement to pay back within a fixed amount of time. Here the lenders do not get any ownership of the business and the relationship remains active until all the monies are paid back. This can be of two main types a) short term financing, where loans taken are for a period less than one year. These are mostly taken by people who are willing to take risks. b) Long term financing is when loans are taken for period higher

Compare and contrast men and women in taking responsibilities Essay

Compare and contrast men and women in taking responsibilities - Essay Example As the report declares as adults men and women take up several responsibilities such as family responsibility, parental care, caring for the elder people, working towards the financial security, and above all the job responsibilities. Men and women have different outlook towards these responsibilities and handle them differently. This report stresses that while men compete for powerful positions, women are concerned with developing personal relationships and helping others. Men value gaining status by following "the rules," i.e. achievement over attachment. Where as women value being sensitive and maintaining good relationships, i.e. they give preference to attachment over achievement. Men are considered to be physically stronger than women. As a result, the physical duties of a household always seem to be a job for the man of the house. Parental care is one of the most important issues concerning the society today. In general it can be seen that men take active role in parenting by providing for more of the physical needs of the child rather than the emotional needs, such as providing good education, materialistic needs etc. Men's commitment to their children is a key to the quality of family life and the prospects of the next generation. Women play an active role in providing for the emotional need of the c hild and less towards their physical and materialistic needs. For instance, they take active role in teaching children, looking into their personal hygiene, feeding them with good nutritious food etc.

Louisa May Alcott-Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Louisa May Alcott-Term Paper Essay Many authors use experiences from their life as a guide to their writing. It’s a way to express their feelings and emotions, and it’s something in which they can be passionate. Writers and authors think on a different level than anyone else. They are constantly thinking of different ideas for novels, poems or stories. The best writing comes from those who use their own lives as a basis for their writing. They know what to write about and how to describe it perfectly. The best thing about writing from experience, I think, is that, since it’s still a fictional story, you can have an idea about what you want to write about, but you’re still able to add the interesting and fun details you want to. I believe that Louisa May Alcott has written from her own life experiences. In Eight Cousins, Rose Campbell’s father passed away and she went to live with two of her aunts and her uncle, closely surrounded by her seven male cousins, as well as their mothers. She was a sickly girl and the only cure her uncle could think of was to get active, whether it was considered ladylike or not. When the two first met, he immediately got her to be outside more and to spend a little less time thinking about her health. Alcott was perceived as a tomboy and would often play outside, climbing trees or running around. She had a boy neighbor, about her age, with whom she would often play. The two were almost inseparable for a while, and he was described by Alcott as the brother she always wanted. Continuing in Eight Cousins, Rose befriended the maid of the household, Phebe, and eventually adopted her as her own sister. Rose believed in a good education, as did Alcott, and would teach Phebe all sorts of different school subjects on her own time. Rose was well educated in Latin and loved to read. She very much enjoyed school, and was extremely smart, though most of the young women in her time weren’t educated. Both Rose and Phebe looked forward to the times when they would get to study together. Phebe was never educated before, though she wished to be, and really appreciated Rose for teaching her. â€Å"For women such as Alcott, the world in which they live included women who needed to move beyond the traditional domestic ideal.†(â€Å"Unsexed†) Rose was part of the family living in a house with a maid. She was expected to clean up after herself, as was everyone else, but she went beyond that, offering to cook or clean, even when the help wasn’t asked of her. She made sure she was educated and healthy, yet still humble at the same time. Rose always wanted to help. In Eight Cousins, it was prominently noted that once Rose went to live with her aunts, uncles, and cousins, there was a major improvement in her. â€Å"In an era when women had few options for earning money, Alcott determined to overcome her family’s poverty through her prolific writing.† (â€Å"Louisa† 3) Alcott’s family struggled when it came to money, but after moving several times, things got a little easier, especially when Alcott herself started making money on h er works. â€Å"In the later juvenile novel Rose in Bloom, the theme of women’s rights is interwoven throughout the lives of its characters.†(â€Å"Louisa† 3) Alcott never married, and part of the reason was that she didn’t want to give up her independence. This was an era where women weren’t given as much respect as men, and hardly had any freedom for themselves. Alcott was very much a pro-women’s rights advocate. She did everything she could to try and get a say in society. She joined clubs and groups, and protested against the treatment women were given. â€Å"Alcott was always a strong advocate for social reforms including abolition, prison reform, and temperance, but her primary efforts were directed towards the cause of women’s suffrage.† (â€Å"Louisa† 3) In Rose in Bloom, Rose returned from a two year voyage overseas and decided that she was going to leave her mark in this world. She was a wealthy girl, so she used a lot of her money to open up homes for women and children in need. Rose too believed that women deserved an equal say in this world. â€Å"Her juvenile stories emphasize self-sacrifice and devotion to duty.†(â€Å"Louisa† 2) â€Å"Such novels have remained extremely popular for over a century† (â€Å"Louisa† 1) Alcott was a classic writer and she used her writing as a way to speak up for herself. Both Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom can be considered almost auto-biographical, but her main story that related to her own life was Little Women, for which Alcott is most famous. Little Women was about four girls who went through their life experiencing different events along the way. When Alcott was writing, she received a request from her publisher to write a novel about a typical American girl. She was skeptical at first, but then agreed. Alcott used herself, as well as her three sisters, as her inspiration for the four main characters. â€Å"The heroine of Little Women, for example, is a rebellious young woman who strives for independence and personal achievement as a writer, but ultimately modifies her dreams when she gets married- a fact that has caused this novel to be regarded as antifeminist by some critics.†(â€Å"Louisa† 1) Although not all of the things that happened in the book happened to her, many of the events did occur in her own life. â€Å"A prominent theme in much of Alcott’s fiction is the conflict experienced by women who must choose between individuality and the bonds of family responsibilities and social traditions.†(â€Å"Louisa† 1) Alcott went beyond what was expected of her and chose to be an individual. She didn’t appreciate how women were treated, so she stood up for herself and used her books and writings to tell about it. â€Å"Her subversive sensational stories not only defied 19th-century values of womanhood, but also rebelled against the teachings of her father, Bronson Alcott, who believed in traditional ‘femininity’ and sentimentalism, in a search for human perfectionism.†(â€Å"Louisa† 2) Alcott truly used her life and feelings as her basis for writing, which is evident in her books. I believe that is why she turned out to be such a great writer. She wrote from her heart and wasn’t afraid to let people know who she really was. WORKS CITED Alexander, Lynn. Unsexed by labor: middle-class women and the need to work. bNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2011. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7008/is_4_22/ai_n32064431/pg_11/?tag. Ditchfield, Christin. Louisa May Alcott: Author of Little Women. Scholastic Inc., 2005. Print.