Monday, September 30, 2019

Analysis of Theme for English Essay

The premise behind this poem is that the speaker is a black college student whose instructor has given his students an assignment to write a paper about themselves. While the poem takes the reader through his walk home from class and his thought process about â€Å"who he is†, the final line of the poem, â€Å"This is my page for English B† (ll. 41) suggests that this poem is the paper he has written for class. Langston Hughes wrote this poem during the Harlem Renaissance of the late 1910s, so a reader might immediately assume that the main topic involves race or racial prejudice. The second stanza almost takes this direction when the speaker mentions that he is â€Å"the only colored student in [his] class† (ll. 10). The third stanza changes directions, though, when the speaker, addressing his white instructor, says, â€Å"I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races† (ll. 25-26). This suggests that he is not, because he is black, different than others, but rather, the same. White people might think that his preferences are different, but they are actually similar. Asking â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write† (ll. 27) is a creative play on his identity that will come across in the paper he will write for class; will it reflect his â€Å"blackness†?, he wonders. It â€Å"will not be white† (ll. 28) he knows, since he is not, but it will partially reflect his instructor, the one who gave the assignment. After all, both he and his instructor are human (â€Å"yet a part of me, as I am a part of you† (ll. 32)). As the poem closes, the speaker draws his conclusions about his own racial identity: he no more wants to be white than his white instructor wants to be black, but there is no denying the similarity between them. He’ll learn from the instructor (â€Å"As I learn from you†(ll. 37)) but the instructor will also learn from him (â€Å"I guess you learn from me† (ll. 38)). Perhaps he thinks the instructor does not understand what it’s like to be black. A quick scan through the lines of this poem reveals the frequent use of the words â€Å"I†, â€Å"me†, and â€Å"you†, which are a clue for the poem’s overall theme:  should one find his identity through his race, or through ordinary, everyday elements, likes and dislikes, enjoyable pastimes and perceptions of life? In lines 6-15 alone, the word â€Å"I† is used to ask questions, tell his age, race, and birthplace, his college, and route home to the Harlem Branch YMCA. This is how he identifies himself outwardly to others. The third stanza uses â€Å"I† and â€Å"me† to compare himself to â€Å"you†, the instructor. The speaker identifies himself with Harlem in the lines which read â€Å"But I guess I’m what / I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me, talk on this page† (ll.17-19). Many black people during this time were inspired by Harlem’s empowerment of their community. Having a black heritage was seen as positive and black poets, musicians and authors thrived in Harlem. The speaker has likely been encouraged by living in Harlem, and therefore sees his black identity in direct contrast to â€Å"you†, the white identity of his instructor. He’s not entirely sure, though, because the short line â€Å"Me – who?† (ll. 20) indicates that his identity isn’t clear to him, or maybe to whites. The fourth stanza’s conclusion about this issue recognizes that to allow blacks to be proud of their heritage is â€Å"American† (ll. 33). While this poem doesn’t seem to make use of specific figurative language, there is one instance of alliteration which makes a neat point. In the third stanza, the speaker points out the things he enjoys that help to identify him, including â€Å"records – Bessie, bop, or Bach† (ll. 24). This intentional alliteration identifies three different types of music: a jazz vocalist (Bessie Smith), the bop genre, and Bach (classical), to point out that even a black man whose culture strongly identifies with jazz and bop music, can like classical music which is often associated with white culture. The alliteration serves to highlight the â€Å"sameness† of these three, all of which he likes, but their difference lies in their cultural associations. Although there is no specific rhyme scheme, internal rhyme throughout and the rhyme at the end seem intentional. The internal rhyme has an almost sing-song sound to it, and provides a beautiful flow from line to line. In lines 16-17, the rhyme of â€Å"true†, â€Å"you† and â€Å"two† and the enjambment of the lines seems to ask the question â€Å"what is true of ‘you’ and me†? This same  rhyme patter is repeated in the fourth stanza in lines 35-36, â€Å"Nor do I often want to be a part of you. / But we are, that’s true!†. This seems to answer the question: the common factor between â€Å"you† and â€Å"me† is that we are part of each other, â€Å"that’s true!†. As the speaker comes to this decision in the end, the tone is final and the end rhyme becomes even, as though his decision is final and right. He says â€Å"I guess you learn from me – / although you’re older – and white – / and somewhat more free. / This is my page for English B†. The rhyme of â€Å"me†, â€Å"free† and â€Å"B† suggest an answer to his question: the instructor will learn from him, although it will not immediately change the identity of any person, white or black. This is one of my favorite poems because of its rhythm and rhyme. Lines like â€Å"Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me† (ll. 18-19) and the last four have a rhythm like music and the words just flow from my mouth as I read them. They’re short and simple, but pack such a powerful punch. And while I cannot identify with the racial divide so present in this poem, I like to think about how being white is assumed, and being black is not. It was probably such a simple assignment for the professor to give, yet how many of the white students would have written about being â€Å"white†? And does the speaker think that the instructor will expect him to write about being black? And will his paper reflect being black or will it be just as â€Å"white† as the others? Hughes makes a play on this concept with the line â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write?† (ll. 27). For me, this poem is easy to understand but not overl y simplified. The concept is a complex one, but is presented in a way that makes it seem like a neat little package.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Problem Based Learning

BASIC TEACHING & LEARNING COURSE (KAP CENTRAL ZONE/2013) 19 – 23 FEBRUARY 2013 ASSIGNMENT ONE (1) NAME| NUR AZIEMAH MOHD AZMAN| ID. STAFF| 302753| FACULTY| COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES| CAMPUS/ COLLEGE| SHAH ALAM| QUESTION NO. | 2| FOR iLQAM USE ONLY FOR iLQAM USE ONLY DATE RECEIVED: TOTAL MARKS: STAMP: DATE RECEIVED: TOTAL MARKS: STAMP: NUR AZIEMAH MOHD AZMAN BASIC TEACHING & LEARNING COURSE 19 – 23 FEBRUARY 2013 (CENTRAL ZONE) UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA (UiTM) ASSIGNMENT 1 – QUESTION 2â€Å"Learning is not a spectator sport.Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves. † Explain how you will conceptualise this principle in your classroom? | There is a saying that goes: â€Å"Give a man a fish; you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish; you’ll feed him for a lifetime. † As an educator, I hold on firmly to saying above.When I first started teaching, I told myself that I can either be a teacher who is only concerned about what need to be taught or I can be a teacher who is concerned about what and how something is supposed to be taught. I chose the latter. Why? Students had spent more than 12 years of learning in schools where most of the time, they sit and listen to what the teacher is teaching. Little or less participation on their behalf is incorporated during those 12 years. The main objective is to pass 3 ‘big and important’ examinations in 12 years.Sad to say, they soon forget a big chunk of what they had been learning for the past 12 years immediately after they finish their last paper for SPM. This is because students are only made to remember what they are taught; not to retain them. You can remember information for a specific length of time before you forget about it; but if you can retain that information, you’ll remember it forever. Let’s take mathematic as an example. We were taught how to do simple calculations such as addition since we were 6 years old. We not only learn how to add numbers in class, we also use it in our daily lives too.In a much simple terms, we practice what we learn in school and incorporate it into our daily lives. We retain the skills to do additions by doing and practicing. What about additional mathematics? Frankly speaking, if I was given a set of additional mathematics questions today, I would not be able to solve even the simplest question. Why? Because I did not use any of the formulas I was taught in school in my daily lives. I did not retain the information. Students are unique. They might not have the same way of learning.Lecturers and educators must be aware of their student’s ability in order to make the teaching and learning process a success. â€Å"Students have different levels of motivation, different attitudes about teaching and learning, and different responses to specific classroom environments and instructional practices. † (Brent and Felder, 2005) That is why, students learn best when they are incorporated and is actively involved during the learning process. The traditional method of teaching is more concerned on what the student should learn rather than how the student should be learning.In my class, I use Problem Based Learning (PBL) method. PBL is a new method of learning where there is a balance between what the students should learn and how they should be learning. â€Å"This new approach to learning is bringing about new ways in which students are involved in the learning process. Teachers know that students do not learn at their highest potential when they are in a classroom where the teacher stands at the front of the room and gives them knowledge. † (Utecht, 2003) During class, I e ncourage my students to speak and share information that they have on the topic.Before I start my lecture, I would first brainstorm the idea of the topic with my students. Initially, students would be reluctant to participate because they are afraid of saying the wrong answer. I encourage them saying that â€Å"if it is an opinion, there is no right or wrong answer†. Students in universities are andragogy learners; they are adult learners. As an adult, they would like to have more control of their own learning. â€Å"Andragogy reorients adult educators from educating people to helping them learn.The methods used may range from isolated instruction within a curriculum or integrated instruction. It may also encompass intentional and unintentional learning situations. † (Crawford, 2004) This type of students would be more interested to learn if they are given more power and control in the learning process. There are six assumptions on andragogy learners: 1. Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know) 2. Experience  (including  error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation). 3.Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the  planning  and  evaluation  of their instruction (Self-concept). 4. Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate  relevance  to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness). 5. Adult learning is  problem-centred rather than content-oriented (Orientation). 6. Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation). (Malcom Knowles, 1977) I planned and carry out my teaching and learning process using the 6 assumptions as my main guidance.Most of the time during class, I allow my students to voice out their opinion and share what they have to say on certain topics. I also let them know the objective of the learning and what they will acquire at the end of the class. If they feel that they did not achieve what they should at the end of the lesson, I encourage them to share their problems with their classmates so that they can come up with the solutions together. During my lecturer, I use simple examples which they can easily connect with in their daily lives. I usually share my experience and ask them to share theirs with the class.It takes the seriousness out of the learning process and students felt more comfortable sharing their problems and experience. For me, a relaxed and simple learning environment will encourage the students to be more active and not be reluctant to join in the discussions. A rigid classroom will make the students as cold as ice. Before I started teaching, I told myself to be the teacher that u have never had; the teacher I want to have but did not. I want my students to them around me and to not be ashamed to tell what they have in mind, because I believe the most valuable knowledge is the knowledge that we shared.References Brent. R, & Felder M. R. (2005). Understanding students’ differences. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 57-72 Crawford S. R (2004). Andragogy – Malcolm Knowles. Retrieved March 21 from http://academic. regis. edu/ed205/Knowles. pdf Knowles, M. S. (1973). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Houston:  Gulf Publishing Company. Utecht R. J. (2003). Problem Based Learning in Student Centred Classroom. Retrieved March 21 from http://www. jeffutecht. com/docs/PBL. pdf

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Aquaintance Rape of College Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aquaintance Rape of College Students - Essay Example ed to formulate competent policies and measures to tackle the issue; the police, public safety officers, the school management and other enforcement agencies need to stay vigilant to prevent and wipe away this menace from the American campuses. This essay focuses on the various aspects of the problem of acquaintance rape in the American campuses with special reference to articles entitled â€Å"The Problem of Acquaintance Rape of College Students† by Rana Sampson and â€Å"Acquaintance rape on college and university campuses† by Felicia F Romeo. Deriving conclusions from the two articles, the essay also seeks to offer some practical guidelines and advices for the fresh students who attend the American campuses. As Sampson (2002) points out, most of the rapes in the colleges go unnoticed and unreported and this gives the false impression that the current prevention programs are adequate to tackle the issue. However, researches and available statistics underline the fact that the current policies and prevention programs on the issue are quite insufficient and inadequate. Sampson also deals with the other related sexual assault crimes in the campus such as stranger rape, drug induced rape, sexual assault other than rape, use of verbal coercion to obtain sexual intercourse, indecent exposure in college libraries, â€Å"peeping Toms† on college campuses, obscene phone calls made to college students, sexual harassment and stalking of college students, and purports that acquaintance rape in colleges can be prevented only when there are comprehensive measures and coherent college strategies to prevent these related issues too ( Sampson, 2002, p. 1). The available statistics on acquaintance rape in American colleges and universities is quite alarming and shocking and this in turn calls for better effective measures to solve the problem. Sampson (2002) cites a number of statistical information on the issue which highlight the depth and seriousness of the issue. The findings

Friday, September 27, 2019

Taxation Law Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Taxation Law Practice - Essay Example In Australia, income taxes are increasingly imposed with higher income earners paying a higher percentage than lower income earners (ATO, 2007) Where income is earned in the form of capital gains on prescribed assets, only half of the gain is measurable for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes if it was held for at least 12 months. If the assets were held for less than 12 months, then it is fully measurable for CGT purposes. A person's principal place of residence however is exempt from CGT. Where income is earned in the form of capital gains on prescribed assets, only half of the gain is assessable for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes if it was held for at least 12 months. If the assets were held for less than 12 months, then it is fully assessable for CGT purposes. A person's principal place of residence however is exempt from CGT. Medicare (National Health Insurance) is charged at a flat 1.5% rate. If you earn more than 50,000 and do not have private health insurance you are liable for an extra 1% of your taxable income. This extra charge is known as the Medicare Levy Surcharge. Companies and corporations pay tax on profits. Not just like personal income taxes which use a progressive range, corporate taxes in Australia are calculated at a flat 30% rate. Tax is paid on corporate income at the corporate range before it is distributed to individual shareholders as dividends. A tax credit called a franking credit is provided to individuals who receive dividends to reflect the tax already paid at the corporate level a process known as dividend imputation (ATO, 2007). GOODS AND SERVICES TAXES The Federal Government levies a multi-stage tax of 10% on the supply of most and services by entities registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST). There are lots of supplies which are GST-free just like many basic foodstuffs, medical and educational services, exports; input-taxed like residential accommodation, financial services; exempt similar to Government charges; or outside the scope of GST. The profit from this tax is disseminated to the States. State governments do not charge any sales taxes though they do impose stamp duties on a series of transactions (ATO, 2007). PROPERTY TAXES Local governments are typically funded largely by property taxes on residential, industrial and commercial properties. Aside from that, some state governments charge tax on land values for investors and primary residences of high value. The state governments also charge taxes on the transfer of property title and the registration of commercial leases. Fire Service Charges are also frequently applied to domestic house insurance and business insurance contracts. These charges are required under State Government law to assist in funding the fire services in each State (ATO, 2007). EXCISE TAXES Both the federal and state governments require excise

Thursday, September 26, 2019

SUMMARY Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

SUMMARY - Article Example Opinions may also be contradictory such as those on needs for high-quality social services and lower tax is an example. Public opinions may call for better quality of care but oppose tax increment that is necessary for the improvements. Misinformation is another limitation to governance by public opinion. People either lack facts on issues of moderate facts to suit their values and beliefs and these misinform opinions. Another factor to misinformation is lack of attention to available information. A significant percentage of American students, for example, do not know popular facts as British prime minister. Public opinion may however be valid without knowledge but knowledge of consequences is important. The author concludes by arguing that being informed is a necessity for better ability to solve problems and influence developments in the society. He notes availability of sources of information and advocates for dedication of time to these sources for informed public

Criminology Theories. A glimpse into the future Case Study

Criminology Theories. A glimpse into the future - Case Study Example . However, because of the stigma attached to the primary deviance, these same people often consciously considered a form of secondary deviance behavior that reinforced the beliefs of the same mainstream society that shunned them in the first place. It is my contention that with smoking outlawed, that the people who had been addicted to the substance before it was made illegal would have continued to smoke, but the process would have involved a number of illegal activities and hidden behaviors given the social condemnation of the act. These would include behaviors such as growing tobacco plants, harvesting and selling the substances, much in the same way marijuana is being grown and distributed in society today. It is clear that the changes mentioned in this case scenario would impact the types of laws that are of importance to society. For example it would appear that traffic offences and deaths would be substantially reduced due to the changes in transportation, and that inner urban areas would become more crowded as people moved from high population areas such as Florida for example, inland to where they were less likely to be affected by flooding.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Discuss why business ethics is concerned with issues of ''right'' and Essay

Discuss why business ethics is concerned with issues of ''right'' and ''wrong'' behavior in business context - Essay Example Further, a company with a bad reputation because of unethical practices tends to have difficulty when recruiting or maintaining its workforce. In many cases, job seekers prefer to work for institutions that uphold business ethics while giving them the opportunity to expand themselves within the organization (Miller & Jentz 2008:49). The result of this is that the effect of business ethics spills over to a company’s consumers because they experience satisfying services because of the unity that exists within a company. Potential employees also get attracted to companies with good reputation, not to mention buyers as well. Good ethics will improve the society. If no one dies or gets hurt at work, there is no exploitation, and no one is complaining, then that means the society is moving forward. Good ethics at work places creates a favorable working environment that means there is teamwork and coordination that leads to more productivity and higher profits. According to research, fair and sincere ethics like correction and motivation at the workplace contributes to employee growth and organizational commitment by employees as this instills values and treatment with respect (Parboteeah & Cullen, 2013:57). Additionally, corporate ethics also prevents criminal acts as it aids in detecting and reporting cases of theft and unethical conduct to the respective authorities. A company that observes the required business ethics operates within a sense of pride as its work force extends its reputation beyond the workplace, which influences a stronger public image. Scholars have established that the relationship that exists between ethics and good financial performance tends to attract positive result that may include prosperity for the company (Sims, 2003: 240). In many cases, the business ethics tends to influence corporate social responsibility and guided leadership. In this regard, this essay will delve in to the four alternative views of ethical behavior in busine ss enterprises and explain on its link with the definitions of corporate social responsibility using examples. As per the existing definitions, ethics defines the set moral code of principles that denote good or the opposite bad, right or the opposite wrong in an individual’s conduct. Essentially, an individual’s moral principles draws influence from family, culture, friends, learning institutions, religions, and personal experiences. Ethics and the moral code yield ethical behavior, which is relatively the acceptable ‘good’ and ‘right’ instead of the ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ within the context of regulating moral code. In many cases, society and individuals tend to view anything practiced within legal parameters to be ethical, but this may not necessarily be the case (Schermerhorn 2011). A better-placed example of this would be the way in which women could not participate as voters in any democratic process because it was la w. On the contrary, a practice may not be illegal, but this does not warrant it ethical as adhering to the law may not be entirely ethical (Lussier 2012: 69). In relation to a business setting, there is no justification when an employee skips work in the guise that they are sick with their intention

Monday, September 23, 2019

Reading Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Assignment - Essay Example The case of California Marinas illustrates that global warming has other ill effects to the environment and that it has economic consequence not only in terms of loss of lives and properties but also on the income foregone when it ruins the basis of basis which in this case, drying waters in the Marina dock which turns potential customers away. Drying the waters due to dry spell also has other consequences that harm business. It also threatens our food security such as in the case of Castro Valley in California where the agriculture sector also suffered from the dry spell. Time will come that if we will not change our ways to begin taking care of our environment, storms will not only become stronger but will also ruin our business and destroy our crops that we will no longer have source of income nor food to eat. Since the inception of the Drought Monitor in 2000, the entire state of California has recently experienced the three worst stages of drought. This level of drought is the highest stage affecting entire state California. It used to be unthinkable but it is happening now. Unlike in Castro Valley where the drought dried up the waters of its Marina dock turning customers away and in some areas harming its agriculture, the experience of San Diego and San Clemente are more deadly. These areas experienced seven wildfires where raze of fire was so huge that their smoke plumes can be seen by satellite and radar. These wild fires are caused by hot, dry conditions where the dry vegetation acts like a fuel for the fires. Coupled with gusty winds, these wildfires can spread the fire to other areas that could kill people and destroy properties. The destructive effective of global warming are taking its toll in many unusual ways. It no longer manifests in terms of storms and hurricanes, but also in rising seas. In many areas, it causes long droughts that cause water basins to dry up harming people’s livelihood. It also threatens our food security

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Assignment - Research Paper Example The organization suffered greatly by having a single-legged man in ass-kicking contest with the same leg behind the back. The Seminole tribe being in war with the government despite the Casino being operated for 20 hours. The organization lacked control over the movement and fixing the machine. Workers were also unreachable during the weekend. There is further a weakness of lack of three rules, and each person does what he feels. Further, the firm could never okay the advertising. Further, the firm suffered from the unwillingness of customers to buy FL casino. Customers yawn to attend casino but are scared by the stringent rules. The state gaming competed with the casino. The firm suffered from the inability to operate outside the city due to lack of trust amongst the three brothers. The firm stands to benefit from the looming tax reduction that is moving downwards from initial 65% to 45% to the projected 25%. Moreover, with little competition arising from the last ten years and the tax reduction is an opportunity for expansion. In addition, there has been favorable legislation in WI dog and snowmobile racing making tribes to be aware of the casino ops hence turning out to masses. Further, the legalization of gambling by NY, PA is another lucrative opportunity for expansion. Further the exit by Atlantic City is also an opportunity for the organization to expand. The organization suffers from the threat of being highly taxed and regulated paying 45 cents per dollar. However, there has been a tax reduction from 65% moving downwards to 25% offering a lucrative opportunity for the organizational expansion. The other threat that affects the firm is that of Dade community campaigning against gaming. The stringent laws en enacted in Dade City that saw Jed Bush government winning in 2008 and subsequently restricting under 21 from accessing the Casino in the following year. Further, the gaming rules are so harsh that keeps away the potential customer’s posing a

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Violent computer games Essay Example for Free

Violent computer games Essay The huge influence media productions have on their audience is unquestionable. The use of quirky television advertisement to persuade the public to purchase a particular product ahead of other similar brands is a tried and tested method used by manufactures. The millions of pounds spent on a major celebrity endorsing their franchise is a risk that companies are willing to take. Newspapers campaigns aimed to manipulate their readers opinions on world issues, political campaigns and even the winner of a reality television show have been successful for many years and are another way of swaying the publics views. But could a video game really influence a human being into committing crime or even murder? . In 1993 Jamie Bulgar, a three year old boy from Liverpool was abducted from a shopping mall by two 10 year old boys. Jamie was taken over two miles away from the mall, being heavily tortured on the way. Jamie was eventually killed by the boys who then left his remains on a railway track so that a train would get rid of the evidence. However the murder was not put down to cold blood alone, it was largely discussed at the time by the media and in court what the real motivators of the boys actions were. The two boys, Thompson and Venables had access to a collection of violent films, one of which was Childs play 3 in which a possessed doll kills young children. Although no testimony was presented at the trial the films in question were subsequently banned and removed from video rental chains. There are several theories to explain the various effects the media has on its audience. Firstly, the hypodermic syringe model, the type of consumption that has the most impact. As the name implies this short term effect theory this short term effect theory is based on an idea that the violence witnessed on screen injects itself into the audience like a needle. There is a belief that as a consequence, this may lead to people imitating or rein acting a violent scene. There are several different cases to support this theory: In 1982 an American, John Hinkley JR, shot President Ronald Regan in an attempt to impress actress Jodie foster when he became obsessed by her after seeing her in the film Taxi Driver. In the film, Foster plays a young prostitute who is rescued by a man that plans to murder a presidential candidate. Hinkley harassed Foster and told her he would come to rescue her as she had been in the film. In 1978 Michael Ryan went on a killing rampage through a small town on Hungerford, shooting 13 people. Ryan was dressed on military uniform, although there was no conclusive evidence, it was suggested that Ryan had been inspired by Sylvester Stallones character in the film Rambo. The second theory is the inoculation model. This time the suggestion is that long term exposure to the media de-sensitises the audience to its content. This means the viewer could become immune to the messages and watches passive state. It is hard to shock this type of viewer as they have seen it all before. This is potentially as dangerous as the syringe theory, as it makes it hard for them to distinguish between fiction and reality and the right thing and the wrong thing as violence, gore and bad language have no effect on them. The final theory is the gratification theory. Here, the viewer is in control, we select and reject media in an active and thoughtful way. The media is consumed to satisfy certain needs, for example, TV soap operas can provide an artificial community for people that dont have the opportunity to experience one in real life. Documentaries, soaps and dramas can also help reinforce a viewers identity. Viewers experiencing difficulties in their lives may find it comforting or supportive if the topic concerning them is raised publicly. Video games can be played on several types of platforms: home consoles used with TV sets, computers, and computers with access to the Internet, coin-operated arcade machines, and handheld devices including games systems and mobile phones. In the past these electronically products were not available highlighting the fact that they have become developed and more poplar. There are a number of video games on the current market that have been campaigned against for causing an in fluctuation in crimes committed and in sighting violence. Grand Theft Auto and Carmageddon were accused of glamorising crime and subsequently blamed for causing in increase in road rage, car jacking and armed robbery. Tekken and Mortal Combat were heavily criticized for their trademark Finishing Moves which involved characters being decapitated, mutilated and tortured. In all these games, the players were rewarded for their sever brutality with bonus points.

Friday, September 20, 2019

A Brief Summary Of Chinua Achebes Life English Literature Essay

A Brief Summary Of Chinua Achebes Life English Literature Essay Chinua Achebe in full Albert Cinualumogu Achebe was born at the 15. November 1930 in Ogidi in South-east Nigeria. His father was a teacher at an evangelical Christian missionary school. His parents christened him Albert from Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. They installed in him many of the values of their traditional Jgbo Culture. 1944-47 Æ’Â   He attended the primary school, before he went to the Government College in Umuahia. 1948-53 Æ’Â   He was educated at the University College of Ibadam, where he studied English, history and theology. 1953/54 Æ’Â   He worked as a teacher 1954-66 Æ’Â   He worked for the BBC and later for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos. 1967/70 Æ’Â   He was the special representative of Biafra. He became engaged in the Struggle for independence of the state of Biafra. 1970/71 Æ’Â   He began to teach African literature at the University of Nigeria. 1972-75 Æ’Â   He taught at American Universities (e.g. Amherst / Massachusetts; Storrs / Connecticut) 1976-90 Æ’Â   He went back to Nigeria and taught at the University Nsukka. 1990-97 Æ’Â   He had a terrible road accident and confiued to a wheelchair. He went back to the USA and taught at the Bard College. 1998 Æ’Â   He was guest lecturer at the Harvard University in Cambridge. 2002 Æ’Â   He got the Peace Prize from the German book trade. Now Æ’Â   Chinua Achebe lives in the USA. The story played in the era of Cross- Culture Experiences: Transition and Conflict. The white people have not learned to understand the native people. The white people took no notice of their culture, so the natives got in trouble with the white people. In the story the natives pulled a school building down and trampled all the flowers down in relation with the barbed wire around the unused path. 2. Summary of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Dead Mens Path The short story Dead Mans Path written by Chinua Achebe, 1953, of the book One Language many Voices is about a man called Michael Obi and his wife Nancy who try to lead a Central school in Africa. But there (are) many problems with an old path, the Dead Mens path, which cross the school premises. The whole story deals with the setting and the culture of the natives, the biggest subjects in story. Michael Obi is the headmaster of the Ndume Central School. He gets an order to reform the unprogressive school in the neighbourhood bushes, Africa, into a modern and beautiful school. His wife Nancy in infect by his passion for modern methods for a long time. They stick together and work hard to improve the school. So they are saw lots of flowers, tidy up the whole school and build a barbed wire around the path. This was a big mistake, because they take no notice of the culture of the natives, who lived in a village near the school. This is a big mistake because they do not follow the culture of the natives, who live in a village near the school. In this way the conflict with another important person is unavoidable. Days later the village priest, call Ani, come to school and give Obi message about the path and the culture of the natives from the village. He pleases him to take the barbed-wire away, so that the people can take the path of their ancestors, but Obi is not interest in it. The village-priest go away and some days nothing happen. One day Obi wake up and the school he have improve is only a ruin. The flowers are trample, the barbed wire around the path is destroyed and one school-building is pulled-down. This day a white man comes to inspect the school. It is a bad report for Obi and Nancy, but what happen with them? 3. Identify devices of reductionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ General information about Short Storys Short stories exist for a long time. In the fifteens century the first short stories were written and often the poor people like farmers read it. The farmers had a bad time, because they had not enough money and have to give up lots of recourses to their masters. So they read the stories to entertain themselves and to forget bad situations. The short story Dead mens path A short story is set at only one place. In the short story Dead mens path it is set up at the central school near the neighbourhood in Africa. No person has left the setting. There is for example the priest, who comes from a village, but his action plays only in the school. It is important, too, that a short story just contains one situation. You have no information what happened before the story has started and what happened after the end. So you can not find out what happened with Mr. Obi, Nancy and the school after the Supervisor has inspected the destroyed buildings. But in our way the story contains not only one situation, because the setting is change and so the situations of the people, too. Another point is, that the in the main characters and particularly the setting in this story described exact. The other characters, like the wives in the story, are spoken very rare, you can see at page 110 line 13 The wives of the other teachers would envy her position. In the short story the setting plays a particular role and is so described very well, to give the reader lots of information about stranger culture and living-standards. The most important point of a short story is the message of the author. So this story will inform us in our thesis about the stranger culture and living-standards and those foreigners must accept it. They can not do all the staff they have in their head, before they talked with the natives because it is in this way not their country. 4. Describe the Settingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In the story à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Dead Mens Path the setting change themself, from unprogressive to beauty and than into ruins. First there was an unprogressive, untidy school in Africa, Nigeria with there less educated ones. Then a white man with a promotion to a headmaster and his wife came to school in Africa. It was the Ndume Central School and the characters called Obi and Nanny. They accepted to turn this untidy place to a place of beauty. So they built a fence around, tidied up the whole school and plant new flowers. The school compound was now a place of beauty and the garden from Nancy came with the rain to life. All the flowers blossomed. There were blossomed beautiful hibiscus and allamanda hedges in lots of different colours on the school premises. That was surrounded of the rank neighbourhood bushes. It was an almost disused path from the village across the school compound. Where the path entered and left the school premises was a fence with barbed wire. After a time the priest of the village came to school and told them the history of the old path. Mr. Obi had built a fence with barbed wire arou nd the path, which cross the school compound. But Obi did not accept destroying the fence around the old path. So the old priest went away and some days nothing happened. After a time Obi woke up and the school was only a ruin. The hedges were torn up, the flowers were trampled and one of the school buildings pulled down. It turned into a place of horror. The setting contributes to the atmosphere and the way of life to represent it. The story Dead Mens path is coined by the setting since the setting changed three times in the progress of the history. Furthermore the fit adjectives contribute to imagine the story, the setting and the characters in the mind. So you can also say that the setting is very figurative described. Beautiful hibiscus and allamanda hedges in brilliant red and yellow marked out the carefully tended school compound from the rank neighbourhood bushes. (book p.111 / l. 40-42) 5. Identify the narrators point of viewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The story Dead Mens path is written in the third person perspective. He was appointed headmaster of Ndume Central School in January 1949. (book p.109 / l.2-3) There are many reasons, why the author takes this form. The omniscient narrator knows everything. Her little personal misfortune could not blind her to her husbands happy prospects. (book p.110 / l.23-25) So he can describe the whole characters and know their thoughts. She began to see herself already as the admired wife of the young headmaster, the queen of the school (book p.110 / l.10-12) The effect for the reader is that they can find out the thoughts from the characters, also they can see the future from the characters (What they will do or react at something) The reader has the impression that the priest destroys the school with the village people because this behaviour was a little bit angry. 6. Characterisation Michael Obi Mr. Obi is the main character. He is only a twenty-six old man, but looks like thirty or more. He is stoop-shouldered and trail his leg. In his present posture all his bodily strength seem to have retire behind his deep-set eyes, giving them an extraordinary power of penetration. He has married his wife two years ago. He is the headmaster of the Ndume Central School since January 1949 and his wife helps him by this connection very well. The author argues that the main character is self-centered, when he is solely concern with his own needs and wants. He sees the first piece of evidence of this self-centeredness when Michael and his wife talk about the school and the wives of the other teachers. So they work together to creating the beauty school which was before a unprogressive and untidy school. It is also explain that we see the second piece when Michael and one of his teachers are talking about the park. Nancy Nancy is the wife from Michael Obi. She becomes completely infected by Obis passion for modern methods and his denigration of these old and superannuated people in the teaching held who would be better employed as traders in Onitsha. So Nancy is easy to convince. Michael infected her in their two years of married life. She sees herself now as the admired wife of the young headmaster, the queen of school. She wants to set new standards because of that the other wifes of teachers envy her. Considering that Nancy feels himself better than others wifes or persons. The Priest The priest of the village is called Ani. He is an old man and walk with a slight instruction slood. In the story he has the instruction to inform Mr. Obi and Nancy about the old path. This path is blocked for the native people and the ghosts of the ancestors. In our opinion he has an ellect badly laugh and he is arrogante. I have no more words to say, said the old priest already outside. (book p.113 / l.39) The role from Michael Obi Michael Obi was very zealous, in order to reform and structure the school. He invested a lot of time and Energy in the school. Through the zeal, he do not show considering for the foreign cultures, the past and the ancestors who has used the path. So he seals the evil destiny for his school. 7. Comment on the short storys themeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Christian R. My thesis to the theme Colonialism is that is not correct to do something like this. The colonial powers exploit the mineral resources from the colonial countries. In the colonial countries the natives culture and the natives were oppressed. The natives had to speak the language of the colonial powers. That is not correct, everybody has the right to live their culture and speak their language in their own country. In the story the white people ignore the culture from the natives, refer to destroy the school. The commerce is authorized in order to show the white people or the colonial powers what can happened when someone oppressed the culture from the natives people. All in all I am against the Colonialism era and hope that something like this never come back. The author of the story dead mens path used many suitable adjectives, so you can imagine the setting, the characters and the atmosphere from era of colonialism good in your mind. Although the story is short, nevertheless the author brings the message to reader how the colonial era was and how the natives feel about it. So in my opinion the author has written a good story. Christian K. In my opinion the short story à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Dead mens path described the alliance between the natives and the colonial powers, very well. The short story gives us much information about the culture of the natives in Africa, which is not accepted by the white men. I am sorry , said the young headmaster. But the school compound cannot be a thoroughfare. It is against our regulationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.' (book p. 112-113 / l. 34-38) This is an important part, because it tells us the bad situation and the suppression of the natives. You can see that the natives learned a lot of things from the white men, for example the language. However the white men were not interested in the habits of the natives. So I think that the colonialism and the suppression of the natives was a dark side in the history of the humans. I hope that this dark time never comes back. So I come to the conclusion because of the adjectives in the story, which could give me a big view in the important situation. Literature proof We have only used the book and our heads! We know a lot of things about the Colonial era from the history lessons. Dictionary: http://www.leo.org; MS Word XP Dictionary; Duden

Thursday, September 19, 2019

New Forms of International Conflict Essay -- International Politics

The conflicts of the last few centuries have been dominated by the West. The two world wars and the subsequent Cold War were dominated by Western states and ideals. It is posited that as the USSR collapsed and the Cold War ceased, the conflict of the West subsided and allowed conflicts of other nations and factions have come to the fore. As the bipolar world system became unipolar, other issues emerged or gained prevalence, the economy seeped back into world economy, technology has advanced at a rapid rate completely changing the way wars are fought and America pursued its goal of democratisation. America became the dominant superpower in 1989, as the world moved into a unipolar system; thus changing the country’s foreign policy. Instead of fighting the ‘evil empire’ (Reagan: 1983) the foreign policy changed to protecting international stability and leading a worldwide movement for democracy. This policy has portrayed figures, arguably rightly, as modern-day Hitler’s. Saddam Hussein, Colonel Gadaffi and Hosni Mubarak have seen this treatment, until the pretence of forming a ‘new world order’ (Carpenter: 1991: 24) The US has been seen to have become the world police. This has created anger amongst many Arab states as the US attempts to force democracy on countries with mixed results; Grenada and Panama were successful whilst Lebanon and Iraq proved costly, in terms of money and human lives, and the failure to establish an effective democracy. Lebanon saw 250 American casualties whereas Iraq has seen 4483. (iCasualties.org:2011) This chang e in conflict has been brought on by nearly global acceptance of democracy and the lack of a significant opponent to challenge the US. China may be where the world is looking to rival the US but ... ...Order (2002) 7. B Gokay and R B J Walker (eds), 11 September 2001: War, Terror and Judgement (2002) 8. Ronald Reagan, ‘Evil Empire Speech’, March 9th 1983. http://www.nationalcenter.org/ReaganEvilEmpire1983.html 9. Icasulties details the casualties occurred during the Iraq war. http://icasualties.org/iraq/index.aspx, 07.12.2011 10. Geohive, a website, 2011, that gives estimated world population numbers. http://www.geohive.com/ 11. Google public date explorer, 2011, gives information about various economic statistics about world states http://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:CHN&dl=en&hl=en&q=china+gdp#ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:CHN:USA:GBR&ifdim=country&hl=en&dl=en 12. M. Van Creveld (1991) On Future War. London: Brassey’s.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Comparing Evil in The Elephant Man, Romeo and Juliet, and Let the Circl

Comparing the Evil Exposed in Christine Sparks' The Elephant Man, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Mildred Taylor's Let the Circle Be Unbroken  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   "Evil is the underlying element in the life of a living creature." This quotation, by Ray V. Sjorvek, expresses the idea that all living creatures contain a certain degree of evil inside themselves. In literature, protagonists usually express their sinister sides through words or actions when trying to prove the point that one's hidden emotions cannot be concealed. Authors generally write about evil causing the downfall of society. In many cases, authors speak of hatred persuading people to aid in the corrosion of civilization. Christine Sparks' famous novel, The Elephant Man, William Shakespeare's play, "Romeo and Juliet", and Mildred Taylor's novel, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, all convey the idea that hatred, which develops out of the evil within man's heart, can only lead to destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In Christine Sparks' novel, The Elephant Man, many of the characters express hatred towards a character referred to as the Elephant Man. One of the first characters introduced in the play is Mr. Bytes, the keeper of John Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). Bytes continually beats Merrick like he would an animal and he uses Merrick to gain money by performing at "freak shows". Because of his appearance, society views Merrick as an outcast. Furthermore, Bytes expresses his frustration towards Merrick by beating up the "Elephant Man". Another character in the novel named Dr. Treves is a kind, compassionate man. However, when he first meets Merrick, he chooses not to associate with John because of his outward appearance and apparent lack of intelligence. Lastly, we meet Jim Renshaw ... ...judice towards blacks and other minorities was nothing odd during the 1930's. The protagonist of the story, Cassie, first experiences an example of racial tension when she notices a drinking fountain and cannot drink from it because it is "White Only". Another example of prejudice occurs when Suzella, who looks white but is actually half white and half black, gets attention from many white boys. However, when the boys find out that Suzella is partially black, they stay away from her. Lastly, society's hatred towards blacks displays itself when a young boy named T.J. Avery is falsely accused of robbing a store. T.J.'s imminent conviction shows us that the judicial system, the one thing that should defend people's rights can be warped according to the way society wants it to be it to be. Therefore, we can conclude that prejudice is yet another manifestation of hatred.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Surprising Moby Dick :: Moby Dick Essays

The Surprising Moby Dick      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moby Dick was not the novel I expected.   I was under the impression that it would be about seafaring and the whale Moby Dick.   Instead, Moby Dick is a story about Captain Ahab's obsession.   There is very little in the story about the revenge itself, just about Ahab's monomania.   Out of 465 pages, only forty-two of them deal with the actual battle between Ahab and Moby Dick.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The novel places very little emphasis on actual seafaring. Ishmael never even steps on a boat until page seventy-four.   Even when the ship finally leaves port, the mention of anything involving sailing or the life of sailors is kept to an absolute minimum.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is, however, plenty of emphasis is on whaling, the anatomy of whales, and their behavior.   The book goes into great detail describing the whalers of Nantucket, and gives in-depth explanations of the different types of whales, quoting several outside sources in the process.   The narrator mentions the awesome size of the sperm whale, and how few books even try to describe it.   He also shows great respect for people who go whaling, and describes the camaraderie that forms between them.   This is an annoying inconsistency in the novel, since Ishmael (the narrator) tells the reader that he has never been on a whaling ship before, and has never seen a live whale.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first twenty-three chapters focus on Ishmael's thoughts and actions.   He introduces the reader to whaling and describes the Pequod. After the ship sets sail, he seems to vanish from the story. At certain intervals, however, he plays minor roles, and it is Ishmael that survives to tell the story.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From chapter twenty-four onward, the novel is almost completely about Ahab hunting for Moby Dick.   He has the blacksmith construct a special harpoon, made from the finest iron, and soaked in the blood of the three harpooners.   The forging of the harpoon is somewhat ironic, since the rope attached to that same harpoon is what drags Ahab to the bottom of the sea.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite Ahab's apparent madness, he still seemed able to reason clearly.   He carefully and methodically located the region of the sea that

Language diversity Essay

I understand â€Å"language diversity’ to refer to the use of a vast range of different languages (an expression of communication). In the case of the prescribed article, this is applied in the context of South Africa as a country. It is our cultural diversity and by extension, our â€Å"rainbow nation† image that is one of the first things foreigners associate with us as a country†¦ well, that and Madiba and Bafana-Bafana. It is an image we sell to the world, of the once divided country who overcame the crippling stigma of apartheid to rise as one people, one nation. This is one reason why it is so painful to see the statistics listed in the article, that a staggering third of the people who participated in the study felt threatened by other cultures. The study attributed this partially to the large number of people in this country who fall into the lower income bracket, who may not necessarily come into contact with other cultures. While I accept that this may be the case in some instances, I find it very difficult to see this as the main, contributing factor. Apart from our rainbow nation image, South Africa has a reputation for being the land of possibilities. Where other countries may turn a blind eye to the suffering in other parts of the world, leaders like Desmond Tutu and Madiba have never been afraid of speaking up about the injustices done to people. We have become a country of refuge, for people who simply cannot survive in their own country of origin. The incidents that have been reported in the news recently show us that there is definitely a feeling of being threatened by other cultures. Foreign owned businesses under attack and people fleeing for their lives. One cannot attribute this to not having contact with other cultures. I think it is a combination of factors, one of the most pressing being the overwhelming levels of poverty we see in these communities. Desperation breeds intolerance and ultimately, violence. Another is the legacy that has been left behind by apartheid. Fear and discrimination of differences. In the light of the present political climate, it is people like the Greaves family who may just be the example we look to; of how we need to move forward as a nation. People who do not let culture and race be the determining factor in who they choose to love and call their own; who embrace the unifying element of humanity over other dividing differences, as difficult a process as it may be. Taking the step to adopt across cultural and colour divides would present many challenges and questions like these could be raised: 1. How do families who adopt children from a different language background cope? I imagine that it must be a very difficult process for both the child concerned and the family, to assimilate oneself into a different culture. Different language and cultural backgrounds determine not only the spoken word, but our behaviour. Older children especially, who have been raised in one culture and then removed and placed in another, could have major problems adjusting and miss-communication between the members of the new family unit could occur. Language and culture are intertwined, and something as simple as lowering one’s gaze in the presence of an elder out of respect could be misinterpreted as insolence, or fear, etc. This is just one example of why it is so important for prospective parents to research and learn about the culture surrounding the children they would like to adopt. An article I read online (find at: http://family.findlaw.com/adoption) suggested some creative ways for adoptive parents who want to create a family life more inclusive of their child’s culture/language. Some of these suggestions included: Becoming members and participating in multi-cultural support groups Participating in religious services. Researching and including food and festivals into family life. Learning the child’s birth language. Placing the child in a school environment that encourages and celebrates cultural diversity, with students across the culture spectrum. How do people deal with the issue of multiple languages in the same family? Multilingual families are formed for many different reasons. There is the monolingual family who deliberately introduce a new language into their home and lives as they feel it enriches them as people; the family who emigrates and therefore has to learn the new language of their new home, or the family unit where both parents come from different language backgrounds. Then there  is the case of the multilingual family who learn a new language as a result of it being their adoptive child’s home language and the child learning theirs. Christina Bosemark, founder of the Multilingual Children’s Association, suggests the following ways where multilinguism in a family can not only be managed, but fostered: 1. Both parents should be in full agreement of which languages will be spoken in the family home. It could be detrimental to the family dynamics if an insecure parent feels excluded by virtue of his/her spouse speaking to their child in a language that he/she doesn’t understand. 2. While it is an exciting prospect to learn a new language, one needs to remain realistic about the time it will take. Research indicates that children need to be exposed to a new language on average of 30% of their day, in order to be fully conversational in it and to learn the finer nuances of it. 3. Create a plan and follow it. If the parents are learning their adoptive child’s language of origin, they need to figure out the best way for them to do so and move forward with it. Conversational language classes, formal lessons, etc. If it is the child who is learning a new language, look at the age of the child and their interests as a starting point on which methods may be best for them. Younger children learn best in context to their real-world life, their environment. Immersing themselves in the new language, speaking and being spoken to in it; is often the best way for them to learn it speedily. Teenagers learn differently to younger children. It is important that they be able to choose the learning methods best for them. Most do not learn in a linear fashion anymore due to the digital world they have been brought up with, this should be a point considered when deciding on the best methods moving forward. 4. Networking is not only a domain of the workplace. Building a support network with other individuals who are also raising their children in the same languages as you are, are an invaluable asset. Apart from providing emotional support and sharing knowledge, your children will benefit from learning the language from others their own age through play-dates. Research constantly shows us that children learn best through play, so books, movies, toys, etc., in the new language are fantastic  educational tools. 5. Lastly, patience is the greatest virtue when embarking on such a difficult journey. I presume there would be many hurdles on the path to a happy, truly multilingual family. For every setback, it is important to remind oneself about the bigger picture. If a plan is not working, never be afraid to re-examine and work out alternatives. All families are not the same and what works for one may not for another. Is adoption across cultural, ethnic and language divides a good thing? This question is obviously very loaded, not to mention, an extremely subjective one. I think that it boils down to the particular couple doing the adopting. People like the Greaves family obviously do not think that the colour of a person’s skin defines them as an individual; nor is it something to consider when it comes to the choice of whom to love. However, not all people feel the same way. Research shows that for many South African couples, the choice of adopting a child from another culture is based on availability. Statistically, there are more children from black backgrounds and for some reason, coloured boys, not girls; than there are white, Indian, Chinese, etc. People looking to adopt within their race can be put on a waiting list for years before they can find the baby of their choosing, if at all. From my own family, I know of a few people who have chosen to go the adoptive route, after having tried unsuccessfully to have children of their own. One couple flew to Pakistan and went through the costly and long wait to adopt a baby who would fit into their Indian-Muslim family, a child who wouldn’t raise eyebrows in their community. Another distant cousin flew to Chechnya to adopt. She adopted two boys, at 4 year intervals. In her case, the process was even longer and even more expensive. Her first son was adopted as an infant but the second son was adopted at the age of 5. He had memories of his first family and the war-torn country he had grown up in. Also, he had lived in an orphanage for  the last two years of his life and had become, like many children do, â€Å"institutionalised† in his demeanour and behaviour. Back in South Africa, they struggled to help him with processing his insecurities and difficulties. At meal times he would eat until he became physically ill because as much as they reassured him that they would always have food available, his memories of near starvation haunted him. His adoptive mother tried everything to get him to bond with her and see her as a parent but beyond acknowledging them as a provider to his physical needs, he refused to engage with her and her husband. After many, many years of therapy and work, they are now in a much stronger place as a family. I have heard the reasoning, of how it places a lot of pressure on parents and their adoptive children when there are race differences within a family. Of the communities that can be cruel and the challenges it presents. I remember when an Indian, Muslim friend of mine and her husband adopted a little black boy. An old aunt of hers wept openly, and implored her to consider the consequences of her actions. When her son grew up, her aunt reasoned, who in their community would give their daughter’s hand to him in marriage? I hear the reasoning but personally speaking, I applaud the couples and individuals who do it anyway. If we are truly going to build a better world where we see people as people and not as merely a representative of a particular faction, it starts with families like these. Success and happiness are surely sweeter when one knows that one had to work at gaining it. And there are many advantages to having a family that is multicultural too. In response to any bias they may face from outsiders, probabilities are that a family that is multicultural will be a very close one with the children feeling very supported by their parents. Children from these homes are taught acceptance and tolerance of differences. Research shows that children who grow up in a multi-lingual home develop the ability to be flexible in their thinking abilities, probably as a result of receiving and processing information in more than one language. People who come from  multi-cultural homes are often rich in heritage and multi-faceted in character. The question to adopt across divisions is ultimately a very personal one. A person should look very carefully at who they are as individuals before taking the leap. As difficult as it may be though, I’m sure any family who have done so will tell you that the wonderful family they created was definitely worth the challenges they faced. Bibliography of articles researched: 1. http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/bilingualkids1.htm 2. http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/bilingualkids1.htm 3. http://princessa.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-raise-multilingual-children 4. http://www.adoption.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62:story5&catid=12:adoptive-parents-&Itemid=83 5. http://babiesinmind.co.za/adoptions 6. http://adamcap.com/schoolwork/the-pros-and-cons-of-intermarriage/ http://ddeubel.edublogs.org/2010/08/02/the-teenaged-language-learner/ http://termcoord.eu/2014/02/age-factor-second-language-acquisition/ 7. http://family.findlaw.com/adoption)

Monday, September 16, 2019

Facing the Giants Reaction Paper Essay

The secret of the team’s success is their faith to God. Their coach and the team itself seems to be hopeless and almost to give up, but their coach make a stand and seek God, His revelations and His sovereignty in their situation. Our events team almost has the same situation. We seem to be hopeless in mounting our own event because we are running out of time and we still don’t have an approved title. The good thing is, our professor gave us last chance and our event manager gathered all of us to discuss and vote for our titles proposal. Finally, we were able to hit the mark and get an approval because of our teamwork and perseverance even if there is no hope. This is a very good movie to watch for families and for people who are losing hope in their own situations. I realized that in life, there is nothing we can’t accomplish with faith. We have our own giants, but we cannot face them without God in our side. The movie shows that it is also important that our li ves should be guided by the Word of the Lord because His Words can renew our mindsets and spirits and His Word can light up our journey in this world. I also learned that, wherever God puts me, I must do my best not for myself, not for anybody else, but for His name to be glorified. My life must be a great testimony that will inspire and will encourage others. Giving up is never an option. If we feel like quitting, we must ask ourselves why we started. In everything we will do we must give our best and all that we have, all for our Lord. This movie gives its watchers something to treasure a lifetime. It will move every heart. I was teary eyed in the part where the son was saying sorry to his father after realizing that he really needs to respect his father. It is a good example to follow because nowadays, teenagers don’t have this respect for their parents. Movies nowadays will leave us stunned or give us some laughters but this movie gave us lessons that we can really apply to our families and career life.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Morality and Sacrifice Essay

â€Å"Sacrifice† is the surrender of a greater value for the sake of a lesser one or of a non value. Thus, altruism gauges a man’s virtue by the degree to which he surrenders, renounces or betrays his values (since help to a stranger or an enemy is regarded as more virtuous, less â€Å"selfish,† than help to those one loves). The rational principle of conduct is the exact opposite: always act in accordance with the hierarchy of your values, and never sacrifice a greater value to a lesser one. â€Å"Sacrifice† does not mean the rejection of the worthless, but of the precious. â€Å"Sacrifice† does not mean the rejection of the evil for the sake of the good, but of the good for the sake of the evil. â€Å"Sacrifice† is the surrender of that which you value in favor of that which you don’t. If you exchange a penny for a dollar, it is not a sacrifice; if you exchange a dollar for a penny, it is. If you achieve the career you wanted, after years of struggle, it is not a sacrifice; if you then renounce it for the sake of a rival, it is. A sacrifice is the surrender of a value. Full sacrifice is full surrender of all values. If you wish to achieve full virtue, you must seek no gratitude in return for your sacrifice, no praise, no love, no admiration, no self-esteem, not even the pride of being virtuous; the faintest trace of any gain dilutes your virtue. If you pursue a course of action that does not taint your life by any joy, that brings you no value in matter, no value in spirit, no gain, no profit, no reward—if you achieve this state of total zero, you have achieved the ideal of moral perfection. If you wish to save the last of your dignity, do not call your best actions a â€Å"sacrifice†: that term brands you as immoral. If a mother buys food for her hungry child rather than a hat for herself, it is not a sacrifice: she values the child higher than the hat; but it is a sacrifice to the kind of mother whose higher value is the hat, who would prefer her child to starve and feeds him only from a sense of duty. If a man dies fighting for his own freedom, it is not a sacrifice: he is not willing to live as a slave; but it is a sacrifice to the kind of man who’s willing. If a man refuses to sell his convictions, it is not a sacrifice, unless he is the sort of man who has no convictions. Sacrifice could be proper only for those who have nothing to sacrifice—no values, no standards, no judgment—those whose desires are irrational whims, blindly conceived and lightly surrendered. For a man of moral stature, whose desires are born of rational values, sacrifice is the surrender of the right to the wrong, of the good to the evil. The creed of sacrifice is a morality for the immoral—a morality that declares its own bankruptcy by confessing that it can’t impart to men any personal stake in virtues or values, and that their souls are sewers of depravity, which they must be taught to sacrifice. By its own confession, it is impotent to teach men to be good and can only subject them to constant punishment.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Who is most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Essay topic: Who is most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? The tragic death of Romeo and Juliet can be amounted to the many factors and influences, however, it can be condensed to the feuding households of Capulets and Montagues, the good-hearted Friar Lawrence and the actions of the ‘star-cross’d lovers’. The ill-fated death of the young lovers is a consequence of the unfortunate events and circumstances created by these characters mentioned. The ‘ancient grudge’ between the Capulets and Montagues sets the foundation for unfortunate events that catapults their offspring to their ultimate demise.The ‘pernicious rage’ between both households ‘alike in dignity’ has significant impact on the course of Romeo and Juliet’s lamentable love story. Most importantly, the existence of the quarrel presents a considerable impediment for Romeo and Juliet to ultimately ‘be together’ and enjoy their courtship. The ‘canker’d hate’ between old Capulet and Montague has being so saturated in Romeo and Juliet that from the get go, both conceal their relationship and take the‘faithful vow’ in surreptitiously. The quarrel has resulted in violence as an accepted part of life for the two and an acceptable way to resolve problems.Romeo is forced to defend his family’s honour and his own by avenging the death of Mercutio resulting in the death of Tybalt although Romeo had indeed attempted to avoid any violence with the cousin of this dear wife leading to the banishment of Romeo to Mantua. The authoritative parenting causes Romeo and Juliet to irrational decisions as a means to solving their problems as they see no other way. Old Capulet and Lady Capulet in particular are much more forceful of their opinions on Juliet and expect her to uphold their wishes.After the death of Tybalt, OId Capulet hastens his preparations for the marriage between the count and Juli et pushing Juliet over the edge leading her to disastrous and dangerous decisions to be with her ‘true love’. The actions of the Capulets and Montagues are accountable for the many events that lead to the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet. The benevolent Friar Lawrence creates many complications in the tale of Romeo and Juliet although his intentions are good-hearted. Although the Friar is ary of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, he immediately agrees to be Romeos ‘assistant’ in hopes of turning their ‘household’s rancour to pure love’ and unites the lovers with a ‘faithful vow’. The friar not only disregards his ‘misgivings’ but also plays privy to the relationship and marriage of the ‘star-cross’d lovers’. The priest inadvertently feeds Romeo and Juliet irresponsible and extreme ideas and devises to ensure that their love will live on. When Juliet came to him with ‘wild looksâ₠¬â„¢, Friar Lawrence suggests that Juliet take a sleeping potion before her ‘marriage’ to Count Paris and feign death until the arrival of her lord, Romeo.This again necessitates the use of dishonesty for Juliet to her parents. When Romeo receives news the ‘death’ of his ‘true love’ he jumps to conclusions and purchases a vial of poison to take his own life with. Friar Lawrence was not prepared for this turn of events though he devised a plan that Romeo should ‘know our drift’ things did not occur so and Romeo takes his life. When Juliet awakens to find poison be Romeo’s ‘timeless end’ she too takes her life after the friar had unintentionally promoted and encouraged the hasty decisions of the two lovers.Although the friar had kind-hearted intentions he was ‘miscarried’ and consequently was responsible for the bereavement of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet’s own hasty and naive decisions c ontribute largely to their ‘untimely death’. Both Romeo and Juliet recognise the danger in their courtship when the come to the realisation that their love is ‘sprung from†¦only hate’ but continue to court each other in clandestine and still believe that they can associate with each other.The resolution of marriage for Romeo and Juliet was one of hastiness and impulsiveness; the couple had known each other for but a few hours! Although Juliet feels that that their love was ‘too rash†¦too like lightening’ she still mentions marriage.. Romeo heeds no avail of the friar’s wise words to be ‘wisely and slow’ and agrees to exchange the ‘faithful vow’. The pair are an ‘hour but married’ and Romeo is ‘banish’d’ for slewing Tybalt, once again the young lovers rush to consummate their marriage before Romeo escapes to Mantua.When Balthasar brings tidings of Juliet’s ‘ death’, he also advises Romeo to ‘have patience’ but Romeo inflicted with desperation and self-pity, yet again pays no attention and hastens to the Capulets monument where he proceeds in taking his life swiftly although he had noticed that Juliet’s lips were ‘crimson’ still. The couple in their passionate throws and young naivety held no respect to the wise advice they were given by the friar nor did they take notice of their own suspicions of warning and ultimately their ‘untimely’ death can be attributed by their own actions and behaviours.In conclusion, the grievous death of Romeo and Juliet is consequently the responsibility of not one lone character but various characters and events that took place. The ‘fury’ of the Capulets and Montagues, the naive Friar Lawrence and Romeo and Juliet themselves play key roles in the misfortunes that led to the fatality of not only Romeo and Juliet but Tybalt and Mercutio as wel l, ‘all are punish’d’.

Friday, September 13, 2019

IBIS Technology Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

IBIS Technology Corporation - Essay Example A qualified opinion may be expressed for one or more of the following reasons: The auditor has concluded that there are material but not pervasive misstatements with respect to the appropriateness and application of accounting policies as well as the adequacy of disclosures in the financial statements The auditor cannot obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence on which to base an opinion but concludes that the possible effects could be material but not pervasive, including limitations imposed by management; and circumstances beyond the company’s control. There are uncertainties in relation to whether the company would be able to continue to operate as a going concern During the course of an audit it is a requirement that the auditors take into consideration the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern assumption in the preparation of the financial statements. The going concern assumption is a fundamental assumption in the preparation of financial statements. Going concern assumes that the business will continue in operation for the foreseeable future with no intention to liquidate. This type of qualified opinion suggests that the possibility exist that the organization may not be operational in the foreseeable future (BPP 2009). It indicates that there are a number of factors that could give rise to this including declining sales and profits or increasing losses. This is also an indication that an organization may not be able to honor its obligations as they fall due if it cannot generate the level of revenues necessary to do cover its costs and leave some in reserves. Additionally, if an organization continues to make losses thereby eroding reserves it may... During the course of an audit, it is a requirement that the auditors take into consideration the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern assumption in the preparation of the financial statements. The going concern assumption is a fundamental assumption in the preparation of financial statements. Going concern assumes that the business will continue in operation for the foreseeable future with no intention to liquidate. This type of qualified opinion suggests that the possibility exists that the organization may not be operational in the foreseeable future. It indicates that there are a number of factors that could give rise to this including declining sales and profits or increasing losses. This is also an indication that an organization may not be able to honor its obligations as they fall due if it cannot generate the level of revenues necessary to do cover its costs and leave some in reserves. Additionally, if an organization continues to make losses thereb y eroding reserves it may not be able to carry out any major investments or any projects in the form of research and development. In a case where an organization is no longer a going concern, the organization’s noncurrent (fixed) assets are valued at the price they are likely to fetch in a forced sale and their current assets such as stock and debtors will also be discounted to the price they are likely to fetch in a liquidation. This value will be substantially less than the values in the books which assume that the organization is a going concern.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Batting lineup against any one particular team Research Paper

Batting lineup against any one particular team - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that statistics are useful in almost any area of life. Consider the workplace, home, social organization, or sports arena. Statistical analysis enables us to consider where we have been, where we are going, and how effective we have been at both stages. It is a process that allows us to consider and realize trends, either positive or negative, and lead us to conclusions about what to do next. Owing to this reality, it is therefore important to consider the myriad of uses that statistics brings to everyday life. To accomplish this, this paper will examine a hypothetical problem and propose a research question that can be solved through statistical analysis. Consider the sport of baseball. Each team has a manager who bases many of his decisions on various pieces of statistics that are given to him. A team’s batting lineup, for example, often is a critical piece to the number of runs a team scores, and their ability to win games. It can be said, therefore, that a team’s batting lineup depends upon statistical analysis and affects their ability to score runs, hit off certain pitchers, and avoid putting hitters in situations where they are likely to fail. The problem in baseball, like many of life’s situations, is that basing a decision on wrong assumptions can be disastrous. The batting lineup in baseball is a critical component. All aspects of the hitter and the opposing team’s pitcher must be considered when making out the lineup.... Research Question The research question for this problem would be: What batting lineup will prove the most effective against any one particular team? Data Collection To answer this question, there is a plethora of data the collected in order to assist in the statistical analysis that will lead to the formation of an effective batting order. To begin, the manager would need to collect various components of a player’s batting average. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, the following items: 1) A hitters overall batting average, 2) A hitters average with runners in scoring position, 3) A hitters average against right handed pitchers, 4) A hitters average against left handed pitchers, and 5) A hitters average against the specific opposing pitcher assigned to any one particular game (Albright, 1993, p. 1178). The data to be collected can be gathered by taking a look at a player’s combined batting averages over the course of a season. In today’s day and age , this is usually simplified with the use of technology. It is important to collect the data from one season only, as a hitters performance tends to fluctuate season by season, so their performance in previous years may not reflect on this current ability, or inability, to hit well against a particular pitcher this year (Talsma, 1999, p. 738). When thinking about much how much data is needed to solve this problem, more is definitely better. The more data that can be covered, in as many relevant areas as possible, the more benefit the statistical analysis can be to provide a manager with the accurate picture they need to assess player performance as the season progresses. Data Analysis It is not enough to simply collect a bunch of data related to hitting in baseball. The data must then be analyzed

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The trial of Saddam Hussein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The trial of Saddam Hussein - Essay Example According to Michael Sharf, the Saddam Hussein trial can be classed as one of the most important cases in international law because (a) the scale of atrocities was high (b) Hussein was a top ranking leader (c) interest of the international community due to the coalition led against Iraq (d) sets a legal precedent for international crimes and (e) effect of the trial and whether it was perceived as fair.1 While Saddam Hussein was guilty of heinous offences against his countrymen, nevertheless, the question of whether or not his trial was fair and whether any substantive human rights issues were raised is a legitimate one, in the interest of future trend sin international criminal law. The basic premise that underlies human rights law is the fact that they are universal2, and therefore transcend social, cultural and political barriers and differences3. An international crime cannot be left within the exclusive jurisdiction of the national authority that would normally exercise control o ver such instances4 since international crimes may implicate those in positions of power and authority in the local Government. War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity5, torture and aggression are all included under international crimes and international criminal law is the law that governs such crimes.6 The International criminal Court which came into being in 2002, has jurisdiction over nationals for crimes occurring on the territory of all states that have ratified the Rome Statute.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

The Galapagos Island Tortoise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Galapagos Island Tortoise - Essay Example The Galapagos Tortoise are the largest living breed of tortoises in the world. They inhabit the nine islands of the Galapagos archipelago. While Charles Darwin was the first to research these animals, they were actually discovered by a Spanish explorer in the 1500’s. â€Å"Galapago† means tortoise in Spanish and most likely derives from the word saddle. The Galapagos turtles have a distinctive shell that is in the shape of a saddle. The size of these creatures is what sets them apart from other species. The adults can weigh over 660 lbs while they are approximately 4 feet long. Scientists have not figured out a maximum life expectancy for the tortoise however they are expected to live around 200 years. They are believed to belong to one species called Geochelone elephantopus, with approximately 14 different sub speciesThe arrival of the Galapagos tortoises is thought to be descended from a common ancestor that arrived from the mainland. They are capable floating quite e asily on the water. Scientists believe that the original colonist of tortoise washed aboard one island then its descendants were dispersed around the other islands-floating on the ocean currents. In the 1600’s buccaneers used the Galapagos Islands as a home port to repair their boats before attacking Spanish colonies on the South American mainland. They collected the tortoises and stored them aboard their ships because they lived for a long while. They were eaten as a source of food as well as killed for their turtle oil. The early settlers hunted them for their meat up through the 1800’s. ... If they feel threatened by another animal, they withdraw its head, neck and forelimbs into its shell for protection. Sometimes this is not enough as the top of their shell opening can leave a gap. Originally, this was never an issue because there were no native predators on the Galapagos Islands. It is only when settlers introduced domesticated animals that went wild that they became susceptible. And of course, they were hunted by the settlers for food. The conservation efforts of the tortoise populations still face challenges today. Rats, dogs, and pigs eat the eggs and young tortoises. Goats are in direct competition with them when acquiring food so many of them devastate the vegetation. Also, cattle, donkeys, and horses trample the ground squashing the tortoises nests. Efforts have been made to safeguard tortoises nests. One such example is that eggs are collected in the wild and incubated at the Charles Darwin Research Station. After they hatched, they would remain under vigil until they were large enough to fend off attacks from rats, dogs, and pigs. There have also been campaigns to eradicate the wild animals that pose a threat to the tortoise. These methods of preserving the giant tortoises have worked really well as it is predicted that only 120 turtles have been killed over the last 17 years. With all the work that has been put into the effort to keep the main attraction of the Galapagos islands from becoming extinct, there is still more work to be done. Many of the animals that are not native to the island should be removed in the effort to keep the these fascinating turtles alive and well. When Charles Darwin made a trip to the Galapagos Islands, he found a huge

Monday, September 9, 2019

Behaviorists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Behaviorists - Essay Example According to Guthrie such change could be achieved if a person is determined to replace the old behavior with something new instead. This could be achieved employing his suggested methods to include the threshold means, exhaustion, and incompatible response approach. Guthrie’s idea of threshold adjustment states that behavior of a person can change if the stimulus is weak or could be tolerated. For instance, people who smoke may not be elicited to puff a cigarette if he can indulge reducing the number of sticks a day until eventually he would endure not to smoke. The threshold method is further reinforced through sidetracking. This is avoiding the cues that may compel undesirable behavior (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009) such as avoiding friends who smoke. Another helpful strategy is adopting the exhaustion mechanism which suggests repetition of the habit until the person feels the anguish of fatigue. An example would be to let the person smoke until he coughs or get sick. Such reac tion to smoking habit enables him to ultimately give up the habit. Equally important strategy is the use of incompatible response. Allowing the person to chew gum helps forge the link between the habit to smoke and the relief from smoking. Despite the proposed methods above, habits are hard to break. This is attributed to the familiar neural pathways involved.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Analyzing The Glass Castle examining characters (Rex; the father) Essay

Analyzing The Glass Castle examining characters (Rex; the father) - Essay Example In order to analyze the characters present in The Glass House memoir, it will take a more in depth approach than just physically describing them. Instead, there will be an approach taken to see the different quirks of each character and to see how this influenced the author. Jeanette Walls is the writer and also the narrator in the book so it is important to determine who she is and her relationship with each of the characters. In order to conduct this character analysis, there will be an identification of the character, their characteristics and any conflicts within the story that apply to the person’s place within it. As Jeanette is the main character, she is considered one of the major characters because the series of events which occur within the story all evaluate around her and her perception of them at the particular time in her life. As the narrator, she describes her life starting out by recalling seeing her mother as she was rummaging in the dark in the dumpster, homeless in New York City while Jeanette was headed to a party. Since it had been months since she had seen her own mother, she had become overcome with panic. This initial introduction within the first few paragraphs of the book foreshadows an awkward past that Jeanette had lived and moved past. Most people would be ecstatic to see their parents if they had not seen them for several months but Jeanette almost looked upon her mother as a lost memory. Jeanette actually offered a thorough analysis of her own perspective at this point saying that while her own mother stood 15 feet away, there were rags tied around her shoulders whil e she dug through the dumpster alongside the dog. All gestures were familiar to Jeanette as she looked at her from the taxi as an adult, as they had to her when she was a child. While she had aged and had gray matted hair with sunken eyes, she still reminded Jeanette of the mom she had been when Jeanette was a kid,

Obama's Views on War and Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Obama's Views on War and Terrorism - Essay Example President Obama’s agendas have proved to be stronger and more viable over time. President Obama is a law graduate. President Obama’s years of public services has seen immense achievements. He mentioned numerous pointers, or tasks to be completed, in his Inaugural Speech on 20th January 2009. These included reviving the economy by creating jobs for people, developing renewable energy resources, increasing the educational standards, economic and infrastructure development, scientific research and lowering the healthcare costs, and to make federal budget spending transparent in front of masses. Most of these objectives the president has already achieved and continues to improve on. The inaugural speech also contained a specific emphasis on war on terrorism and how the worldwide contempt and hatred is to be tackled. This is the world’s biggest concern so far and, as United States of America is the most powerful country in the world, it also shoulders a certain respon sibility regarding maintaining peace in the world. President Obama’s Inaugural speech received worldwide viewership and interest for his views and interests on the subject of war and terrorism. President Obama’s Inaugural speech contained specific references to the war-zones of that time. â€Å"We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet† (Obama). It is evident in these words that President Obama, at the time of gaining office, aimed to establish worldwide peace. He intended to retrieve the United States’ army from Iraq which had been deployed during former president Bush’s reign following the 9/11 chaotic incident. Obama’s priorities also included establishing peace in Afghanistan which had also deteriorated into a war zone in search of Al-Qaeda le ader Osama bin Laden and in search of nuclear weapons which were sadly never discovered. President Obama stressed that he would go to any lengths to establish peace in the region by communicating beneficially with both friends and enemies. As a super power of the world, President Obama specifically felt the responsibility of peace and hence placed extra emphasis on it. President Obama’s other notions have been successfully completed or are in the process. 2.6 million Jobs were added to aid the recession-stricken nation of America and for the country’s economic growth. This would also influence the education sector positively as more people would be able to acquire education if personal financial conditions were satisfactory. President Obama’s efforts do not end here as he furthers his cause and plan till the completion of his tenure. President Obama seems to be carrying a huge impact of his law schooling. He is a strict disciplinary regarding corruption and its legal implications. Not only has he applied his legal educational background to federal budget spending by placing it online in plain view of all United States citizens, but the same is also reflected in his foreign policies and his course of action against terrorism. When talking about President Obama’s views on wars, it is imminent that his views before his presidency were hardly any different. â€Å"I am not opposed to all wars. I am opposed to dumb wars† (Obama). It is clear from his 2002 speech against the Iraq

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Securing and Protecting Information Essay Example for Free

Securing and Protecting Information Essay The specific purpose of this paper is to describe the authentication process and to describe how this and other information security considerations will affect the design and development process for new information systems. The authentication process is a necessity for safeguarding systems against various forms of security threats, such as password-cracking tools, brute-force or wordbook attacks, abuse of system access rights, impersonation of attested users, and last but not least reply attacks just to name a few. In addition, it is imperative that authentication policies are interchangeable with the organizations in which information is being exchanged if resources are being shared between alternative organizations. Authentication in definition is simply proof that something is real or what it is meant to be. Public networks as well as private networks to include the internet use passwords as authentication to authorize logins. Data is required and is filtered through the password database if an effort to ensure that the user is authentic. Also, before anyone is allowed to access an organization’s intranet they must first be registered by someone that has the appropriate credentials to authorize them to gain access. There are plenty of businesses and alternative in the need of additional authentication methods and one method worthy of mentioning is the utilization of digital certificates issued and verified by a Certificate Authority or as commonly used the acronym CA. This process includes the creation of a strong password and an account lockout policy is created, logon hours are assigned, a ticket expiration policy is created, and clock synchronization tolerance to prevent replay attacks is set just to name some of what this process consist of. There are some things that must be taken into  consideration when a new system is design. Securing and Protecting Information When a team is appointed to designs a new system, that team must understand that all systems are not the same and that they all have their own unique attributes in their own way but the thought process must be the same in regards to security. It is quite challenging to insure that the application integration setting functions properly in a way that does not compromise the security needs. Security is especially necessary in applications that require systems in a company to be streamlined. Integration services might lead to security breaches because of the integrated systems and the holes that may exist during the integration process. To try to alleviate this from occurring, data security should be integrated into the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) from its beginning phase. This focuses directly on the knowledge security sections of the Syetsm Development Life Cycle. First, an outline of the key security roles and responsibilities should be addressed to insure that everyone involved knows what is expected. Second, ample data concerning the System Development Life Cycle is provided to permit anyone who is unfamiliar with the System Development Life Cycle method in order that they may grasp the connection between data security and also the System Development Life Cycle There are several ways exist that could be employed by a corporation to effectively develop a data system. A conventional System Development Life Cycle is known as a linear sequent model. The linear sequent model assumes that the systems are going to be delivered at a point near the top of its life cycle. Another SDLC technique uses the prototyping model that is commonly accustomed to development and understanding of a system’s needs while not really developing a final operational system. Complicated systems need continuous additional constant development models. Securing and Protecting Information Information system policies address security threats that may be harmful to a company. Sadly, there is no way to alleviate the numerous amounts of threats that haunt networks and computers worldwide. The foundation and framework for choosing and implementing countermeasures against them are very important. A written policy is vital in helping to  insure that everyone within the organization understands and behaves in an appropriate manner with regards to the fact that sensitive data and the security of software should be kept safe. When a security policy is developed, it should be well defined and the information in it should be clear and plainly understand and the objectives should be well defined so that there will be no confusion. Conversely, a data system with security policies is probably going to have an assortment of countermeasures that address a range of threats. Policies, standards, guidelines, and coaching materials that are known to be obsolete and not enforced could be dangerous to a corporation due to the data being outdated. As a result, management is basically drawn into thinking that security policies do exist within the organization when actually that is not the case. Counter measures which are outdated does not do an organization any good because without the appropriate patches in place, the organization’s network could have holes which would leave them extremely vulnerable. All organizations need to be compelled to actively put their security systems to the test and in addition they could even go as far as hiring an outside firm to ping the system to see if any holes appear that could leave the company’s system vulnerable. Of course there are preventive roles and measures that could and should be taken. Data security should be a crucial area of concern for small business owners. Knowledge of security compliance is no longer merely an area of financial concern Securing and Protecting Information As more and more data moves out of the file cabinet and into the electronic space, Information Technology departments will play an integral role in complying with all of the security policies. Once you take into account all the necessary information stored from economic records to customers data, it is not difficult to discover why only a single breach could seriously affect a business. With a number of basic steps and a few sensible on-line habits, youll prevent yourself from turning into simply another victim of cyber crime. (Ratha, Connell, Bolle, 2001) Some of the preventive roles and measures mentioned above are as follows: implementing sturdy strong passwords, use a mixture of capital and lower-case letters, symbols, and numbers and create it eight to twelve characters long, acquire  anti-virus/anti-malware software package, and last but not least, ensure your personal computer (PC) is properly patched and updated. It is important to mention that there is very little purpose in installing a very effective software package if it is not going to be properly maintained. As Watchinski explains, â€Å"while applications arent 100% fool-proofs, its necessary to frequently update these tools to assist in keeping users safe. It is also worthy of mentioning that scheduling regular backups to AN external drive, or within the cloud, may be painless thanks to make sure that all of your knowledge is kept safely. It must also be mentioned that it is not uncommon for an unsuspecting worker to click on a link or transfer an attachment that they believe is harmless just to realize later that the link contained malicious software that has compromised the company’s network. It is extremely important to teach your staff to practice safe on-line habits and beieing proactive with defense is crucial. Employees have a crucial role to play to keep your business and its knowledge secure. Securing and Protecting Information To touch on systems and devices in reference to security, security refers to providing a protection system to ADPS resources such as the central processor, memory, disk, software package programs, and most significantly data/information keep within the ADPS. As a part of the data systems security management, there are square measures peripheral devices installed so that the regulated community so to speak will listen. These peripheral devices will create an unseen threat (insider/third party threat). (Workman, Bommer, Straub, 2008) There are certain devices that appear to be harmless but could prove to cause issues such as USB devices (commonly known as flash/thumb drives), USB patch cords with mini/micro connectors, and Electronic notebooks just to name a few. In conclusion, security authentication is extremely necessary and relevant in the protection of an organization’s information. References CMGT/400-Intro to Information Assurance and Security DArcy, J., Hovav, A., Galletta, D. (2009). User awareness of security countermeasures and its impact on information systems misuse: a deterrence approach. Information Systems Research, 20(1), 79-98 Myers, J. G. (1997). Simple authentication and security layer (SASL). Zhu, J., Ma, J. (2004). A new authentication scheme with anonymity for wireless environments. Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, 50(1), 231- Sandhu, R., Samarati, P. (1996). Authentication, access control, and audit. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 28(1), 241-243. Rocha Flores, Waldo, Egil Antonsen, and Mathias Ekstedt. Information security knowledge sharing in organizations: Investigating the effect of behavioral information security governance and national culture, Computers Security, 2014.