OPERATIONS OF APPLE FOLLOWING THE IDEA OF NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI Essay

OPERATIONS OF APPLE FOLLOWING THE IDEA OF NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI - Essay Example Machiavelli, in â€Å"The Prince†, describes that a prince is not the same with the people whom he rules; rather, he poses a greater stature in the society. Expanding this vision propounded by Niccolo Machiavelli, the principles of ruling and managing a mass of individuals can also be deemed as applicable in modern organizational field of operations. In this regard, Machiavelli’s description of the qualities of a prince or a person or a corporation can be viewed as similar to that of modern day organizations, having its operations and influencing factors networked in the realms of politics, regulatory as well as economic and certainly in social paradigms as well. Moreover, as Machiavelli precisely mentions that gaining goodwill of the citizen is quite important with regard to rule properly with utmost effectiveness, his principles can be argued as justifiably applicable in 21st century organizational context where sustainability and moral principles are supposed to be o ne of the prime concerns. THESIS STATEMENT Critically analyzing the strategic operations of Apple Inc., this thesis will aim at discussing those bases or grounds where Apple’s operations follow the principles affirmed by Machiavelli and those opposing Machiavelli’s viewpoints. In addition, justifications will also be delivered on the inferences drawn so as to gain an in-sight to the concerned issue in this thesis. OPERATIONS OF APPLE FOLLOWING THE IDEA OF NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI Today, Apple is renowned as one of the leading Information Technology (IT) companies of the world. With its worldwide operations, the company has emerged as one of the most successful and renowned brands. It is in this context that alignment of the operational approach of Apple with that of the ideas presented by Machiavelli in ‘The Prince’ is quite likely to reward a succinct understanding of the possible influences, which can be reasoned as the causes of Apple’s success to dat e. In precise, Machiavelli describes about various principles of ruling, keeping in concern the autocratic system of the then scenario, i.e. of the 15th century. The principles thereby depict about the methods to be followed with regard to govern and maintain power in a particular demographic region, which can also be characterized as organizational environment in today’s context. Notably, sustainability constitutes major significance in these principles, in the form of the morally sound attitude deciphered by the ruler through his works, human behavior influenced by their heredity and surrounding environment as well as demand for transparency in the entire working process by both the ruler and those who are ruled. In accordance with this principle, Apple’s operations all over the world, intended to capture maximum share of the technology industry, can be found as emphasized on ethically sound principles rendering high priority to its customers’ needs, in accord ance with its stakeholders’ and organizational needs (Reuters, â€Å"Apple Inc (AAPL.OQ)†). Heading towards being more argumentive, the principles in Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince† depict that hereditary princedom is much beneficial from new princedom as it assures greater loyalty from the followers. Contextually, Apple is one of those companies that intend to operate in the competitive market in which they are present as a strong brand, following its hereditary princedom. This may also be considered as a major reason as to why Apple has been quite reluctant in reaching to the various non-competitive markets in the global realm. As Machiavelli argues, trusting in hereditary princedom is one such aspect that enables a prince to maintain his power and attain highest possible

The influence of diet and probiotics on the intestinal microbiome Essay

The influence of diet and probiotics on the intestinal microbiome - Essay Example These microbiota are influenced by various external factors and internal factors. Some of the external factors which are widely studied and are interesting for human health are diet and probiotics. In this essay, influenceof diet and probiotics onintentinal microbiota will be discussed. The intestinal microbiota play a major role in the various nutritional, immunological, physiological and metabolic processes of the human body. Certain dietary polysaccharides are indigestible and intestinal microbiota extract energy from these resistant starches and fibers. Such metabolic activities cause release of various vitamins like vitamin K, folic acid and B12, short chain fatty acids and various aminoacids which are not produced in the human body. The microbiota also participate in various pathogenic defence mechanisms like resistance of colonisation and production of various compounds with antimicrobial properties. The microbiota are also involved in the maturation, development and maintenance of various sensory and motor functions of the gastrointestinal tract, the barrier system of the intestine and also the immune system of the intestinal mucosa (Gerritsen et al, 2011). According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organi zation (cited in Hemarajata and Versalovic, 2013), probiotics are defined as ‘living microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefits on the host.’ The most commonly used probiotics are Bifidobacterium and lactobacillus. Other probiotics in market include certain species of enterococcus, streptococcus, propionibacterium and bacillus. Yeast like Saccharomyces are also used as probiotics. The probiotic organisms interact with the intestinal microbia either directly or through enzymatic action. They interact directly with the epithelial and mucosal layer of the intestine and thereby influence the functions of the intestinal

History of education Essay Example for Free

History of education Essay â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. † –Nelson Mandela The importance of learning is to enable the individual to put his potentials to optimal use. Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decision-maker. It achieves this by bringing him knowledge from the external world, teaching him to reason and acquainting him with past history, so that he can be a better judge of the present. With education, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to the outside world. A well educated man is a more dependable worker, a better citizen, a centre of wholesome influence, pride to his community and honour to his country. A nation is great only in proportion of its advancement in education. Education is Self Empowerment. Receiving a good education makes a person strong enough to look after himself in any given situation. It keeps him aware of the given surrounding as well as the rules and regulations of the society. Its only through knowledge that one can question authority for its negligence or discrepancies and only then that can a person avail his rights as a citizen and seek improvement in the structural functioning of governance and economy. As a whole, people can bring about development only when they know where improvement is necessary for the greater good of mankind. Education gives a better understanding to the person, it helps realize potential and qualities one possesses as a human being. It helps tap into latent talent, so that people can sharpen their skills. Education teaches what man lives and struggles for. It cultivates an integrated life. By so doing, it gives significance of life. It helps restores financial stability and dignity of life. It is the essential basis of a good life. Education enlightens and lifts a nation to heights of progress. The problem in India is that it has adopted democracy without preparing the ground for it by educating population. But its never too late to undertake mass programmes of Adult education or Social education. Adult education is the education of grown up men and women. In the complex modern times, people must be knowledgeable and be aware of what they are doing and what is being done to them. To create such sentience every responsible citizen should take up this social cause and educate the knowledge deprived people. Teaching a daily worker for just an hour daily can change their lives in propitious ways as it was rightly quoted by Neil Armstrong, ‘One small step is a giant leap for mankind’. In recent history our country has taken up good measures to ensure a high educated population by taking up several social causes and concentrating on the rural areas, since they comprise a majority but the system has been laid back due the restraints imposed by old cultural ethics. For the past few centuries in India, the girl has been completely neglected even as a human being, her sole purpose of life has been to feed the family and bear a child. Good education has been denied to women. It is argued that women have their domestic duties to perform and that, if they were educated, they would bury themselves in their books and have little time for attending to the management of their households. But what people fail to understand is education involves knowledge of the means by which health may be preserved and enable a mother to consult such modern books as will tell her how to rear up her children into healthy men and women and skilfully nurse them and her husband, when disease attacks her household. The purpose of education is not just earning a livelihood but education makes an individual into a good human being, which is passed on to the next the kith and kin. It is true that, the education of girls has lately taken a slight leap but this is only in a very small segment of Indian society. Unless the motion is fast and continuous, and includes more of poor urban and rural girls in the field of education, there can be no hope of having a developed and first world country status for India. â€Å"When a man is educated, only he is educated but, when a woman is educated, a family is educated. † – Indira Gandhi â€Å"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. † – Nelson Mandela.

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function Bicarbonate Supplementation Slows Progression of CKD and Improves Nutritional Status Ione de Brito-Ashurst, Mira Varagunam, Martin J. Raftery, and Muhammad M. Yaqoob  Lay Abstract Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term damage of the kidney. Symptoms only start presenting when the disease is progressing towards the advanced stages. It is a disease of the elderly population, and with the UK’s ageing population, cases are likely to increase in the near future. Metabolic acidosis (MA) is a common complication of CKD and treating this has been thought to slow down the decline in kidney function. Bicarbonate supplementation has previously been used as an experimental treatment on rat models to correct the MA but results have been inconclusive. There is also a lack of long-term trials investigating the effect on humans. The results showed bicarbonate supplementation was beneficial to kidney function and nutritional status of patients, while causing minimal side effects. More clinical trials need to be performed to consolidate these findings and to look at alternative treatment regimens before being implemented into clinical practice. Background Information and Rationale for Carrying Out the Work Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term decline in kidney function. It is defined as kidney damage resulting in a GFR ≠¤ 60 mL/min/1.73m2 for more than 3 months, or kidney damage for more than 3 months with evidence of structural or functional abnormalities, with GFR not necessarily reduced (1). In advanced stages it can lead to metabolic acidosis (MA) due to a decreased tubular bicarbonate secretion, which has been known to cause protein catabolism and increased insulin resistance (2), and impaired ammonium excretion (3). The lesser stages of CKD are quite common in communities but ESRD is quite rare in populations. CKD is a disease of the elderly with around 30-40% of the population > 75 years having CKD at stages 3-5 (1). It is usually asymptomatic until the later stages of the disease and during ESDR, the only possible life supporting treatments are transplantation or dialysis (4). Obesity is associated with an increased risk of CKD by over 2.5 times (5). With obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension all on the rise (6-8) , there is likely to be a boom in the number of CKD cases within the next couple of decades. There is clearly a need to address this future burden on the healthcare system. Correction of MA in dialysis patients has shown to slow down protein degradation in a small number of short term clinical trials (9, 10). Studies on rat models have shown inconsistent evidence where MA has been shown to slow down progression of renal failure (11). Due to the short term nature of these studies, there has been inadequate evidence on the impact of renal function. There have been very few studies investigating the correction of MA in CKD in humans and also the lack of long term studies of the effect on pre-dialysis patients, which were the main motives for carrying out this study. Approaches to the Question and Key Results The research question raised was whether bicarbonate supplementation to patients with MA in CKD could slow its progression and improve nutritional status. A single-centre, open-label, randomised, parallel-group study was carried out to investigate this question. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were stated explicitly. 134 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either routine standard care or oral sodium bicarbonate tablets 600mg TID which was increased as necessary to maintain bicarbonate ≠¥ 23mmol/L. The treatment assignment procedure was done by an external statistician and involved block stratification, then randomisation carried out within each stratum of men, women, diabetics and non-diabetics. This method helped to balance each of the patients’ covariates and ensured adequate concealment. As a result, 67 patients were assigned to the control group and 67 patients to the treatment group. To reach a power of 90% which would allow an absolute difference of 30% to be detected, 63 patients in each group would have to be studied, but to allow for non-compliance, this was increased to 67. Calculation of statistical power ensured a large enough sample size. The 2 groups had similar baseline characteristics (Table 1) and ap art from the bicarbonate supplementation, they were both treated equally. Patients were followed up every 2 months for 2 years for the primary outcome measurements while nutritional assessments were carried out at 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months by a single dietician. All patients were able to be analysed with none of the patients being lost to follow up or discontinuing the intervention, however 5 withdrew before receiving the treatment. Intention to treat analysis was performed. The investigators, statisticians and the single dietician were blinded to the initial group assignment as they were directly involved in assessing the outcomes, but since the trial was open-label, it suggests that patients and external clinicians were not. The outcomes were focused on the research question and were measured in a standard way. The primary outcomes were the decline in renal function, the number of patients with rapid progression of renal failure, and the development of ESRD that required dialysis. After 12 months, the rate in decline of CrCl was lower in the treatment group at 1.88 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% [CI] 0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) than the control group at 5.93 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) (P Secondary outcomes were measurements of changes in normalized protein nitrogen appearance (nPNA), dietary protein intake (DPI), serum albumin and mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) to identify the nutritional status of patients. Results showed an increase in DPI (P Likely Impact of Research Outcome The fact that there was both a slowdown of the decline in kidney function and a reduction in the number of patients progressing to ESRD is clinically beneficial. However, the confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. Statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control, but the bicarbonate supplementation clearly does offer some benefit to stage 4 CKD patients. There are also significant nutritional benefits to CKD patients. Poor nutrition leads to protein energy wasting (PEW) and a low serum albumin which increase morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients (12), but this can be easily reduced with bicarbonate supplementation. The patients studied in this trial are not 100% representative of the population. This trial had to exclude 30 out of 184 potential subjects due to eligibility criteria. The exclusion criteria included morbid obesity, congestive heart failure, chronic sepsis, malignant diseases, cognitive impairment or uncontrolled hypertension so findings will not apply to patients that fall into these categories, however the findings will be important for the majority of patients with CKD. The trial was only a single centre study on patients at the Royal London Hospital in the East End of London. The demographic in this area of London is likely to vary from demographics in other parts of London and the UK. I think all the outcomes of interest to the patient were considered before the trial. Side effects of worsening hypertension and oedema that required an increase in therapy and loop diuretics respectively were minimal (Table 3). Blood pressures rose and oedema worsened more in the treatment group but these were not statistically significant (P=0.17 and P=0.5). The single main issue was that 6.5% of subjects experienced a bad taste taking the tablet of the sodium bicarbonate, which was then switched to a powder form. In the long term I think this trial will form the basis of a future change in clinical practice. The change will not be immediate as this is the first RCT on pre-ESRD patients with MA and more clinical trials need to be carried out in this area, with a subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis. Overall, the bicarbonate supplementation does offer an advantage over standard treatment, and the fact that bicarbonate itself is simple and very cheap to source and produce with minimal side effects also works in its favour. Future Work and Conclusion There are some changes I would make to the trial. The confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. So statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control. In order to achieve a more precise CI, a larger sample size could be used, and a multi-centre trial could be conducted so that the findings can be applied to a wider population. I think the accuracy of the outcomes would also benefit from the use of a placebo and double-blinding. This study focused only on patients in stage 4 CKD. While these patients are likely to experience MA, it may also be beneficial to study the effect on patients in stage 3 CKD. Patients especially in stage 3b CKD (GFR 30-44 mL/min) are at risk of slipping into the stage 4 category and bicarbonate supplementation has potential to act as a preventative treatment. The serum bicarbonate level in the treatment group was maintained at 23 mmol/L or greater. There was no upper limit for the bicarbonate level and considering that the normal range of serum bicarbonate is 22-28 mmol/L, we can see that the trial looked at the lower end of the reference range. I think a future clinical trial should look at the effect of bicarbonate supplementation on stage 4 CKD patients when serum bicarbonate is controlled within a middle range of 24-26 mmol/L and at the upper end range of 26-28 mmol/L. It is encouraging to see that there have been more RCTs investigating the positive outcomes of bicarbonate supplementation on CKD (13-15), however further investigations still need to be carried out to reach an optimal and definitive treatment plan. References 1.Barratt J, Topham PD, Harris KPG. Nephrology. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009. 2.Kopple JD, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Mehrotra R. Risks of chronic metabolic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(95):S21-7. 3.Bailey JL. Metabolic acidosis: an unrecognized cause of morbidity in the patient with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(96):S15-23. 4.Smart NA, Dieberg G, Ladhani M, Titus T. Early referral to specialist nephrology services for preventing the progression to endà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ stage kidney disease. 2009. 5.MacLaughlin HL, Hall WL, Sanders TA, Macdougall IC. Risk for chronic kidney disease increases with obesity: Health Survey for England 2010. Public Health Nutr2010. p. 1-6. 6.Klahr S, Morrissey J. Progression of chronic renal disease. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003;41(3 Suppl 1):S3-7. 7.Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010;87(1):4-14. 8.Guh DP, Zhang W, Bansback N, Amarsi Z, Birmingham CL, Anis AH. The incidence of co-morbidities related to obesity and overweight: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2009;9(1):88. 9.Graham KA, Reaich D, Channon SM, Downie S, Goodship TH. Correction of acidosis in hemodialysis decreases whole-body protein degradation. J Am Soc Nephrol. 1997;8(4):632-7. 10.Williams AJ, Dittmer ID, McArley A, Clarke J. High bicarbonate dialysate in haemodialysis patients: effects on acidosis and nutritional status. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1997;12(12):2633-7. 11.Jara A, Felsenfeld AJ, Bover J, Kleeman CR. Chronic metabolic acidosis in azotemic rats on a high-phosphate diet halts the progression of renal disease. Kidney Int. 2000;58(3):1023-32. 12.Lowrie EG, Lew NL. Death risk in hemodialysis patients: the predictive value of commonly measured variables and an evaluation of death rate differences between facilities. Am J Kidney Dis. 1990;15(5):458-82. 13.Kovesdy CP. Metabolic acidosis and kidney disease: does bicarbonate therapy slow the progression of CKD? 2012. 14.Abramowitz MK, Melamed ML, Bauer C, Raff AC, Hostetter TH. Effects of oral sodium bicarbonate in patients with CKD. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2013;8(5):714-20. 15.Gaggl M, Cejka D, Plischke M, Heinze G, Fraunschiel M, Schmidt A, et al. Effect of oral sodium bicarbonate supplementation on progression of chronic kidney disease in patients with chronic metabolic acidosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (SoBic-Study). Trials. 2013;14:196.

History of Tuberculosis Essay example -- Medical Biology Disease TB

History of Tuberculosis Abstract This paper discusses the historical aspect of the fatal and contagious disease now known as tuberculosis. It discusses the history of Tuberculosis beginning with Ancient Egyptian mummies to the most current discovery of TB. Greek philosopher such as Hippocrates and Plato observed the first cases of tuberculosis. They are two out of the many people that gradually discovered the TB out of the many. It talks about the different remedies that different philosophers and physicians came about that have been revised. Tuberculosis, also known as â€Å"the white plague,† (The history of tuberculosis 2) is a silent and unknown prehistoric air borne disease that quickly spreads and kills nearly two million people worldwide (Tuberculosis-Revolution). Today, tuberculosis is the most deadly disease known to man, more deadly than HIV/AIDS. Despite advances in treatment, TB is a global pandemic, fueled by the spread of HIV/AIDS, poverty, a lack of health services and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the bacterium (Tuberulosis-revolution Health). However, TB has an unknown past, and in order to understand tuberculosis, one must know its history. Evidence of Mycobacterial infection has been found in the mummified remains of Ancient Egyptians 1000 B.C. The â€Å"Father of Medicine,† Hippocrates (460-377 B.C), made the first breakthrough in TB research. He named the disease â€Å"phthisis,† which means the â€Å"shrinking of the body,† because the majority of the cases he found occurred in the spinal area. However, the majority of the population of that time commonly called the illness, â€Å"Pott’s disease.† Which is tuberculosis of the spine. The Greeks thought that phthisis was a heredity issue, while others though... ...http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/lung/tuberculosis/tubercul osis?section=section_00>. "Defintion: Sputum from Online Medical Dictionary." 1997-2007. Center of Cancer Education. 29 Jul 2007 . "Healthline-Dictionary Search." Healthline-Scofula. 2005-2007. Center of Cancer Education. 23 Jul 2007 . The History of tuberculosis. 2005-2007. Center of Cancer Education. 23 Jul 2007 . â€Å"Tuberculosis." EncyclopÊdia Britannica. 2007. EncyclopÊdia Britannica Online. 29† July†  2007http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-253299. Brief History of tuberculosis." Brief History of TB. 23 Jul 2007 .

Delia Jones Transformation in Sweat Essays -- Sweat Essays

Delia Jones' Transformation in Zora Neale Hurston's Sweat Through external conflict exhibited by three significant occasions with the antagonist and husband, Sykes Jones, Zora Neale Hurston takes her leading character, Delia Jones, through an internal change from a submissive character to an aggressive and defensive character in her short story, "Sweat." When the story opens, one finds Delia Jones on a Sunday evening washing clothes, as was her profession, and humming a tune, wondering where her husband had gone with her horse and carriage. Little did she know that within the week she would stand against her abusive husband and watch him die of the situation he would create. Delia's repose was suddenly upset by interference from her husband, Sykes, who dropped "something long, round, limp and black" upon her shoulders. Delia's worst fear was that of snakes, and her husband found joy in mocking and terrifying her. After brief argument, Sykes continued to disrupt Delia's work by kicking the clothes around and threatening throw them outside or hit her. He also mentioned a promise to "Gawd and a couple of other men" that he would no longer have white people's clothes in his house. At this she responds in a manner greatly surprising to Sykes: Delia's habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her... She seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her. It cowed him and he did not strike her as he usually did. By nightfall, Sykes had gone for the evening without saying where or when he would be bac... ...lia Jones endured fifteen years of violence, disrespect, and infidelity, and only in those last few months was she able to muster some form of resistance. Until Sykes threatened all that she had, her home and her job, she was content enough just sweating it out. However, Sykes made that grave mistake on his own accord, and when leaving Delia with nothing to lose, he found that he had set himself up for a losing battle. Delia had surrendered to him in all those years, but Sykes had finally found a way to bring out the worst in his wife, and her aggression was finally realized by defending all that she had. After such pain and endurance, one can easily recognize how Delia Jones played the lead role in a short story called "Sweat." Works Cited: Hurston, Zora Neale. "Sweat." Norton Anthology of Southern Literature. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York: Norton, 1998.

George of the Jungle :: Art

George of the Jungle The film â€Å"George of the Jungle†, directed by Sam Weisman is a romantic comedy and parody. In other words, it fully rips off Tarzan and makes a classic story seem stupid. In the beginning of the film the audience is shown a short cartoon about how George came to be in the jungle. When he was a baby George was flying over the jungle in a plane when it crashed. The passengers never found him and so apes raised him. Then the scene it cut to the present when a woman called Ursula came to the jungle as a tourist. She meets her materialist fiance Lyle Vanderbrute unexpectedly who wants to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. Lyle drags Ursula to see the apes but then a lion traps them. This is when George appears and saves Ursula by owning the lion in wrestling. Then George carries her off, takes care of her and goes back to the city with her. Then George’s friend, an educated ape, is kidnapped by poachers and George races back to save him. Ursula realises she loves George and goes after George, helps him bash the poachers and lives with him happily ever after in the jungle. This film is extremely good, if the audience were three–year–olds. It has an extraordinarily shallow and predictable plot and the gags and jokes are simply not funny. The actions of the characters are overtly exaggerated and very unrealistic. And the depth of the characters is about that of paper cuttings. This movie is designed to be viewed by people with the IQ of under fifty points. And frankly, I feel insulted at being made to watch this poor excuse of a study subject. There are, however, silly moments in the film. Like when we see a picture of a powerful, godlike human swinging through the jungle. The narrator has built up our expectation of greatness then, suddenly. The â€Å"hero† slams into a tree. This provides the audience with a laugh – the first time, but then, as if the scriptwriter ran out of ideas, they keep doing it again and again and again†¦ I was trying not to chuck things at the television and video recorder after the fifth time. I mean, its good making the viewers laugh – it’s a comedy, after all. But if I could I would slap the film crew each around the face and say: â€Å"Look people, if you can’t think of more than one gag for a comedy, try doing a serious film instead embarrassing yourselves in front of millions of people and corrupting their minds!† George of the Jungle :: Art George of the Jungle The film â€Å"George of the Jungle†, directed by Sam Weisman is a romantic comedy and parody. In other words, it fully rips off Tarzan and makes a classic story seem stupid. In the beginning of the film the audience is shown a short cartoon about how George came to be in the jungle. When he was a baby George was flying over the jungle in a plane when it crashed. The passengers never found him and so apes raised him. Then the scene it cut to the present when a woman called Ursula came to the jungle as a tourist. She meets her materialist fiance Lyle Vanderbrute unexpectedly who wants to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. Lyle drags Ursula to see the apes but then a lion traps them. This is when George appears and saves Ursula by owning the lion in wrestling. Then George carries her off, takes care of her and goes back to the city with her. Then George’s friend, an educated ape, is kidnapped by poachers and George races back to save him. Ursula realises she loves George and goes after George, helps him bash the poachers and lives with him happily ever after in the jungle. This film is extremely good, if the audience were three–year–olds. It has an extraordinarily shallow and predictable plot and the gags and jokes are simply not funny. The actions of the characters are overtly exaggerated and very unrealistic. And the depth of the characters is about that of paper cuttings. This movie is designed to be viewed by people with the IQ of under fifty points. And frankly, I feel insulted at being made to watch this poor excuse of a study subject. There are, however, silly moments in the film. Like when we see a picture of a powerful, godlike human swinging through the jungle. The narrator has built up our expectation of greatness then, suddenly. The â€Å"hero† slams into a tree. This provides the audience with a laugh – the first time, but then, as if the scriptwriter ran out of ideas, they keep doing it again and again and again†¦ I was trying not to chuck things at the television and video recorder after the fifth time. I mean, its good making the viewers laugh – it’s a comedy, after all. But if I could I would slap the film crew each around the face and say: â€Å"Look people, if you can’t think of more than one gag for a comedy, try doing a serious film instead embarrassing yourselves in front of millions of people and corrupting their minds!†

The Case against ‘The Case against Perfection’

Michael Sandels essay The Case against Perfection (The Atlantic Monthly, April, 2004) is basically a stand that opposes the idea of genetic enhancement primarily via cloning. Sandels places forward his idea of what is wrong with genetic engineering. He admitted its benefits, but he also tried to show how bad it could be allow cloning and genetic engineering. Sandels starts with a thesis that states his stand over the subject matter. His choice of words even in the first sentence alone shows his opposition to the idea of using genetic engineering to enhance the next generation   offspring of a couple.. Throughout the text, the readers find Sandels pondering on perspetive of the advocates of genetic engineering, talking about the possibilities of the technology and then giving the possible good effects that the development of the technology might bring. He then talks about the how the different popular issues against genetic engineering may be invalid. He defends the stand of genetic engineers, but not to really defend it, but only to show why some reasons some parties are against it are not valid at all. Then, he would present the case which he believes is the more valid reason why genetic engineering should not be used to enhance the future generations. Sandels attacks the issue by presenting its different facets using analogies and logical reasoning. Even a s he ended the essay, he quoted what he must have believed to be the stronges and the most tempting reasons why genetic engineering should be given a chance to be used to enhance future generations – perfect muscles, right height,   intelligence, and freedom from diseases.   Yet, like in the other paragraphs, Sandels only refuted the idea of genetic engineering, however, his he failed to lay in details his counter against the satnd of the last author he quoted. In his attempt to show all the sides of the issue to avoid being biased, Sandels showed clearly how the idea of the advocates of genetic engineering works. But most of the time, he is unable to discuss clearly why the idea of the advocates he mention the different parts of the essay are wrong. In some cases, he had problems with reasoning. Let us start with the first issue he raised in the first paragraph. The last part of the paragraph sounds strong, but there are flaws in his reasoning: â€Å"In liberal societies they reach first for the language of autonomy, fairness, and individual rights. But this part of our moral vocabulary is ill equipped to address the hardest questions posed by genetic engineering.† This reasoning is like an ad hominem, only, it does not attack the speaker but the words which encompass the basis of the liberal societies in advocating genetic engineering. In ad hominem, the argument attacks the speaker rather than the reason, but here the words â€Å"autonomy†, â€Å"fairness†, and â€Å"individual rights† appear to be the sources f the argument and are the ones being attacked instead of the arguments that are according to Sandels, founded on these words. Instead of focusing on the reasons, he preempted the arguments of the believers of genetic engineering by claiming there is something wrong with how we define the â€Å"autonomy†, â€Å"fairness† and â€Å"equal rights†. It can further be noted that Sandels himself refuted the oppositions to genetic engineering that are based on autonomy. He did not define clearly what he meant by autonomy in his essay. Moreover, instead of strengthening the position of the opposing parties that base their arguments on autonomy. What he strengthened rather was the stand of genetic engineers when he made analogies between cloning and using botox and steroids. When he countered the argument about autonomy, the first reason he gave why the argument was not convincing is: â€Å"†¦it wrongly implies that absent a designing parent, children are free to choose their characteristics for themselves. But none of us chooses his genetic inheritance. The alternative to a cloned or genetically enhanced child is not one whose future is unbound by particular talents but one at the mercy of the genetic lottery.† (par. 5) His point seems rather ambiguous, for what is the sense of the second sentence of the excerpt? How can an enhanced child be at the mercy of the genetic lottery when the parents have already determined the child’s genes? Moreover, he mentioned that the argument has a wrong implication – that children whose parents did not choose their genes for them are free to choose their characteristics for themselves. The argument states that parents disallow the rights of the child to an open future by choosing a genetic structure of the kid in advance. His does not imply that children can choose their genes. It only wants to say that if their genes are not pre-selected by their parents, they can choose their career paths based on what pleases them and not based on the genes that their parents designed for them, and he even explained it this way. In paragraph 8, he drags the issue to theology, that claiming that it is a matter of moral. He makes it appear that the only way to resolve this issue is by consulting theological thoughts about the issue. He is pushing the idea that this issue can only be resolved if we look into the moral status of nature and proper stance of the human beings toward the given world. He may be right that this is a moral issue, but the grounds on which he based his arguments seem not well founded. This part of his paper appears more like a moralistic fallacy. He seems to be setting up the readers for something that would discuss how things should be and let that be the basis of the argument against genetic engineering or be the argument itself. In paragraph 9, he made a generalization, â€Å"Everyone would welcome a gene therapy to alleviate muscular dystrophy and to reverse the debilitating muscle loss that comes with old age.† This is perhaps a swift overview or an overgeneralization. How could he be sure that everyone would be open to the idea? He did not even present any survey to support his claim at least inductively. This is a sweeping statement that can be toppled any who would say that he does not welcome a gene therapy to alleviate muscular dystrophy or to reverse the debilitating muscle loss. In the same paragraph, he made weak analogy. The author claimed â€Å"The widespread use of steroids and other performance-improving drugs in professional sports suggests that many athletes will be eager to avail themselves of genetic enhancement.† Logically speaking, it does not follow that though A and B have similarities, what applies to A will apply to B. Though his claim may be true, he fails to make the necessary connections to establish a strong analogy between genetic engineering and performance enhancers. Again, as he had done in the earlier paragraphs, in paragraph 11, Sandels presents an argument against genetic engineering and refutes it: â€Å"It might be argued that a genetically enhanced athlete, like a drug-enhanced athlete, would have an unfair advantage over his unenhanced competitors. But the fairness argument against enhancement has a fatal flaw: it has always been the case that some athletes are better endowed genetically than others, and yet we do not consider this to undermine the fairness of competitive sports.† Here, mentions that the fatal flaw in the argument is that there have always been athletes who are disadvantaged because some athletes are better endowed. That some athletes are better endowed than others is true, but that this fact is a fatal flaw is the flawed idea. This is a case of fallacy of relevance. Being genetically or drug enhanced is very different from being genetically endowed by nature. A person endowed by nature with genes that make him competitive may have an advantage over those who are not endowed, but both have the equal chance to enhance their abilities through practice. However, it must be considered that an athlete is more likely genetically endowed than not. Hence, the biggest factor is not the natural abilities of the athlete, but perhaps the preparedness of the athlete for a contest. If an athlete is drug enhanced or genetically enhanced, he may not need to practice or train as hard to achieve the results he wants. Therefore, Sandels conclusion that â€Å"if genetic development in sports is ethically offensive, it should be for motives other than fairness† is invalid. In paragraph 14, Sandels proposes two reasons why we should worry about bioengineering – â€Å"Is the scenario troubling because the unenhanced poor would be denied the benefits of bioengineering, or because the enhanced affluent would somehow be dehumanized?† Above this is his belief that â€Å"worry about access ignores the moral status of enhancement itself.† In his argument, Sandels commits a fallacy of presumption, specifically, a fallacy of dilemmas. He limits the situation to two negative scenario – the poor cannot afford the cost of genetic enhancement and the rich who can afford become dehumanized. The question is, â€Å"what evidences point to the situations he is saying?† What he is saying may be plausible, but he is not able to develop it logically to make the premises strong and firm. Limiting his choices to only two scenarios makes it appear that there is nothing more to bioengineering than deprivation of the poor of it and the dehumanization of the rich. This reasoning also makes it appear that only the rich may be able to access genetic enhancement. Furthermore, he limited the tern dehumanization to the rich. This poses a sort of bias to those who can afford it, when earlier in the paper he was talking about athletes who might access genetic enhancement the way they do performance enhancement drugs. Towards the end of paragraph 14, Sandels had a firm claim that â€Å"the fundamental question is not how to ensure equal access to enhancement but whether we should aspire to it in the first place.† This is a misleading notion of presumption. He makes this assumption and lets the evidences suit it rather than conclude based on empirical data and logical analysis. It seems that only because â€Å"the fundamental question is not how to ensure equal access,† then the major concern is whether we should desire for it (bioengineering) in the first place. What he is saying may be true, but the way he develops it makes his reasoning invalid. It weakens his propositions. He repeats the same fallacy in paragraph 18 when he claimed that the real question about growth hormones is not its availability but whether we want to live in a society where the parents spend for genetic enhancement. In his discussion about the possible solutions to problems of unequal access to bioengineering, he made it sound all too simple for the government to subsidize the demands even of the poor. He did not realize that had the governments of different countries the money or funds, they would rather use that money to make sure nobody gets hungry, and not on expensive genetic enhancement that does not have any promise to save people from hunger based on any study. He created a scenario that seemed too easy to happen just to let his idea stand out. His proposition is perhaps a more important question, but the way he brings it out hurts the validity of his arguments. Another issue on his discussion of genetic enhancement is the ability of the parents to choose the sex of their child. In the previous paragraphs he would always state the case of something that is already prevalent and then compare it with genetic engineering. Here, he only mentioned that where folk remedies failed, genetic enhancement or bioengineering can be of help. Through bioengineering, a couple can choose the sex of the offspring. He pointed out in his discussion about this matter that choosing the sex of the offspring somehow removes the giftedness when the child comes. The child not longer comes as a gift, but more like a planned object. He did not criticize how folk remedies also tend create the same effect whether they are effective or not. It is clear ere how he leans toward a bias in attacking genetic engineering. Sandels also had reasons that are too far flung from reality. Consider his argument in paragraph 30. While it is true that effort is not everything, it would not have been possible that a basketball paler who trains harder than Michael Jordan would be a mediocre player. It would take a lot to be more than like Jordan and to earn more than he did, but one who trains harder he (Jordan) did would not remain mediocre. He is using an impossible scenario to create his point. And that does not make much sense at all. In paragraph 40, Sandels said that â€Å"Genetic manipulation seems somehow worse — more intrusive, more sinister — than other ways of enhancing performance and seeking success.† There is a grave error here suggesting that all efforts of parents in seeking to enhance the performance of their children so they may become successful are bad, intrusive, or sinister. What of parents who personally train their children? What of parents who lets their children attend to trainings that they want to attend, because they (the children) want to be successful in that endeavor? Would that be sinister? Maybe that is not what he means, but that is the message his paper seems to be putting across. It could have been better if he specified which ways of enhancing the child’s performance are sinister. In paragraph 53, Sandels wants to pint out that genetic engineering does not only violate religious morals, but also secular morals: â€Å"The moral stakes can also be described in secular terms. If bioengineering made the myth of the â€Å"self-made man† come true, it would be difficult to view our talents as gifts for which we are indebted, rather than as achievements for which we are responsible. This would transform three key features of our moral landscape: humility, responsibility, and solidarity.† He denies religion in this part, but he talks about gifts for which we are indebted. The question now, is, â€Å"to whom are we indebted?† Taking our talents as gifts inevitably leads us to a proposition that involves religion, for where will the gift come from? If the gifts were merely from nature, to whom do we owe humility, responsibility, and solidarity? He further argues that genetic engineering takes away these three. He forgets to consider that the characteristics of a person are but secondary. What a person, whether genetically endowed or not, savors most is life itself. With or without genetic enhancement, a person has reasonability to his fellowmen. In the same way, whether genetically enhanced or not, a person may be boastful or humble depending on how the parents reared him. Solidarity has nothing to do with genetic enhancement or endowment. People unite for a common cause, for love and for peace. His argument is presuming that genetically enhanced individuals are incapable of humility, responsibility, and solidarity, but he did not develop the issue logically. If his statements in paragraph 53 were factual, why did he have to mention, â€Å"The more we become masters of our genetic endowments, the greater the burden we bear for the talents we have and the way we perform†? Immediately following this, he mentioned about the future scenario in which a basketball player may be blamed now for missing rebound, but in the future for being short. Here is another reasoning error, for who would hire a small basketball player if not for his exceptional skill? Basketball payers are usually tall, hired for height and skill, so what is saying is another far flung argument. The last argument in favor f genetic engineering he mentioned pondered on the possibilities of enhancing IQ and physical abilities of children. All he said about this is, â€Å"But that promise of mastery is flawed. It threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a gift, and to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside our own will.† If it were indeed flawed, then how is it flawed? How can it banish our appreciation of life as a gift? How can he say hat it leaves us with nothing to behold and affirm with our free will when he himself talked about being endowed by nature? He may be right to think that cloning and other forms of genetic engineering have setbacks, but his essay provided arguments that are pro genetic engineering that he failed to counter effectively. References Sandel, M. J. (April 2004). The Case Against Perfection. Retrieved 9 April 2008, from http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0056.html)   

Becoming an Informed Voter

Georgia’s 5th Congressional District was created in the year 1827 after it was redistricted from the single multi-member district, the At-large district. During the first congressional elections held in same year, the district voted for Charles Haynes, a Jacksonian. In 1829 however, it was redistricted to the multi-member district.Ever since 1845, the 5th congressional district has been an independent district in Georgia, electing representatives to the House after every two years. Notably, the congressional seat has mostly been won by Democratic candidates.The only exceptions were in the 1851, 1868, 1873, and 1967, 1969, and 1971 elections. During five of these elections, the Republican nominees emerged victorious. It was only in 1851 when Thomas Hackett, a third-candidate running on a Unionist flag won the elections. From 1987 to the moment, John Lewis, a Democrat has won all the elections by a significantly wide margin. To a large extent, Georgia’s Fifth Congressiona l district has voted along party lines during presidential election.During the 2004 elections, the two presidential nominees, Democrat John Kerry and Republican George Bush received 78 percent and 28 percent respectively (Congressional Quarterly, 2005). In the 2008 elections, the district largely voted for the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama (79. 12 percent of the popular vote as compared to McCain who managed to scoop a mere 20. 1 percent of the popular vote) (Cost, 2008). Born in Troy, Alabama in 1940, John Lewis was to become one of the most renowned politicians in Georgia. It was during the Civil Rights Movements of the sixties that he increasingly came into the public arena.He is infamous for having chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a student civil movement that purported to challenge the widespread racially-based discrimination. Similarly, his role in the struggle against racial segregation is said to have been enormous – participating and l eading peaceful demonstrations such as the Selma-to-Montgomery march of 1965, and coordinating the Mississippi Freedom Project (Hill, 2002). Despite the fact that he suffered immensely under the brutal hand of authority agencies, Lewis endured, and was not only determined to lead by words, but through actions as well.It was in 1977 that Lewis first ran for elective office. This was after the congressional seat fell vacant, a situation occasioned by Andrew Young, the incumbent congressman’s appointment to the UN. Nevertheless, he was beaten by Wyche Fowler. In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council, a position he served till 1986 when he opted to vie for Congress. He managed to defeat Julian Bond (47% to 35%) in the Democratic primaries, a success largely attributed to his championing for city ethics and zoning. Thus, he became the second black American (after Young) to represent Georgia in Congress since the era of Reconstruction (Hill, 2002).Since 1987 to the momen t, Lewis has been reelected without little or no opposition at all, scooping more than 70% of the vote on many occasions. During his political career, he has interacted with many politicians irregardless of their racial background. He has also served in various Congressional committees including the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, and Subcommittee on Oversight; as well as non-legislative committees such as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, 21st Century Health Care Caucus, and the Caucus on Human Trafficking (Project Vote Smart).One dichotomy that inevitably emerges whenever the difference between Democrats and Republicans is considered is that of liberalism versus conservatism. In essence, the Democrats are considered as liberals, while the Republicans are often described as conservatives. Although this stereotyping may not necessarily be correct, majority of Republicans tend to be strong advocates of the established traditions, while Democrats are more libe ral in their approach, thus stronger advocates of change.Numerous interest groups rate U. S. representatives and Senators based on their voting affiliations. These include National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), American for Democratic Action (ADA) and American Conservative Union (ACU) among others. In the year 2007, respective groups rated Representative John Lewis as follows: NARAL, 100%; ACLU, 100%; ADA, 85%; and CDF, 100%. Overall, seven interest groups gave him an average of 94%.In essence, this high score is a strong indication that Lewis is a liberal politician. The fact that he has been given a rating of 100% by groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice America implies that he is very supportive of progressive as opposed to conservative policies. Part 2: US State of Georgia The U. S. State of Georgia is among the thirteen original colonies that entered the Union and formed the Confede rate in 1788. Except in 1864 when it had temporarily seceded from the Confederate, the state has participated in all presidential elections.A closer observation of historical trends reveals that Georgia political history in regard to voting as largely inclined to supporting the two major political parties in the country, Republican and Democrat. Between 1868 and 1960 for instance, the state was persistently supportive of the Democrat party, voting Democratic presidential nominees in every election (Martis, 1989). However, the controversy surrounding the Civil Rights Act championed by the Democrats in the early sixties precipitated a change in voting coalitions beginning 1964.For the first time in history, the largely conservative Georgian Democrats voted in a Republican presidential nominee particularly due to their discontentment with the Act. In the 1968 elections, the state voted for George Wallace, an Independent presidential candidate. However, this was the last elections that saw a third-party nominee receive electoral votes in Georgia. Since then, the state has remained largely Republican. The only times when the state supported and voted for a Democrat was in 1976 (Jimmy Carter) and 1992 (Bill Clinton) (Congressional Quarterly, 2005).From a critical point of view, support for Democrats during the two presidential elections was largely rooted in the fact that both presidential nominees were from the southern states. During the 2008 presidential elections, McCain (Republican) received the majority of Georgia’s popular vote (2,048,759 or 52. 23 percent as compared to Obama who received 1,844,123 or 47. 02 percent of the popular vote). As Compared to the 2004 presidential elections, the Republican-Democrat winning margin during the 2008 elections was significantly low (5. 21% compared to 17 percent in 2004).To a large extent, the narrowed margin was attributable to the high voter turnout of African American voters. Nevertheless, McCain scooped all t he fifteen electoral votes. Out of the all the other presidential candidates, only Bob Barr running on a Libertarian ticket managed to get a significant portion of the popular vote (28,731 votes) (Cost, 2008). To a large extent, Georgia can be described a Republican stronghold as evident from presidential and congressional elections. Notably, the state has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton won the state in the 1992 elections.Despite the fact that African American voters turned in large numbers during the 2008 presidential elections thus reducing the margin between the Republican and Democrat vote, the state managed to maintain the Republican legacy through McCain’s win. With its substantial fifteen electoral votes, Georgia emerged as the 2nd largest state (after Texas) to be won by the Republican presidential nominee. On the 15th of December 2008, all the fifteen electors voted for McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin. McCain was able to carry eight out of Georgia’s thirteen congressional districts (Cost, 2008).Based on the 2008 as well as previous presidential elections, Georgia can be said to be currently leaning Republican. Senator Saxby Chambliss was born on the 10th of November, 1943 in Warrenton, North Carolina. After completing his high school education, he joined Louisiana Tech University where he pursued a degree in Business Administration, and later graduated with a Jurist doctorate from the University of Tennessee (Project Vote Smart). Chambliss entered into the political limelight in 1994 after he was elected to the House of Representatives on a Republican ticket.He was reelected in 1996, 1998, and 2000. During his terms as a Representative for Macon-based eighth congressional district, he served on the U. S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, besides chairing the House Intelligence on Terrorism and Homeland Security (Project Vote Smart). In 2002, he vied for the Senate seat where he faced the incumbent, Max Cleland. Notably his focus was on two major issues: homeland security and national defense. Flagging a Republican ticket, he managed to win the election with a significant margin of 7%.In the 2008 elections however, neither him nor Democrat Jim Martin, his close opponent, managed to receive the required 50%, a situation which precipitated a runoff. Nevertheless, Chambliss defeated Martin 57. 5 percent to 42. 5 percent (Congressional Quarterly). As a Senator, Chambliss has been appointed to various committees including the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Select Committee on Intelligence, and Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe among others.He has also been a member in Caucus committees such as the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, Senate caucus on Military Deports, Arsenals and Ammunition Plants, and Rural Health Caucus (Project Vote Smart). Although Senator Chambliss has been actively involved in bi-par tisan legislation, for instance the Emergency Stabilization Act (2008), a closer scrutiny of his voting record depicts him as largely conservative. This is largely reflected in interest group ratings. In 2003 for instance, for instance, LCV gave him a rating of 0% on environmental issues, while NAACP gave him rating of 27% on civil liberties and rights issues in 2007.In 2007, he was rated as follows by other interest groups: NARAL, 0%; ACLU, 10%; ADA, 10%; and CDF, 40% (Project Vote Smart). Overall, he received an average rating of 15%. The fact that his average score is relatively low implies that Chambliss is a conservative Republican. According to the National Right to Life Committee and NARAL for instance, the Senator has maintained a pro-life voting record in as far as abortion issues are concerned (Project Vote Smart). References Congressional Quarterly. (2005). Guide to U. S. elections. New York: CQ Press, 2001. Cost, J. (2008). Georgia: McCain vs. Obama – polling aver ages. RealClearPolitics.Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://www. realclearpolitics. com/epolls/2008/president/ga/georgia_mccain_vs_obama-596. html. Hill, C. M. (2002). John Lewis: from freedom rider to Congressman. New York: Enslow Publishers, Inc. Martis, K. C. (1989). The historical atlas of political parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Project Vote Smart. Representative John R. Lewis (GA). Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://www. votesmart. org/bio. php? can_id=26820 Project Vote Smart. Senator C. Saxby Chambliss (GA). Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://www. votesmart. org/issue_rating_category. php? can_id=22029

Quantitative Techniques

Classification of Quantitative Techniques: There are different types of quantitative techniques. We can classify them into three categories. They are: 1. Mathematical Quantitative Techniques 2. Statistical Quantitative Techniques 3. Pprogramming Quantitative Techniques Mathematical Quantitative Techcniques: A technique in which quantitative data are used along with the principles of mathematics is known as mathematical quantitative techniques. Mathematical quantitative techniques involve: 1. Permutations and Combinations: Permutation mearns arrangement of objects in a definite order.The number of arrangements depends upon the total number of objects and the number of objects taken at a time for arrangement. The number of permutations or arrangements is calculated by using the following formula:=  Ã‚  Ã‚   n! n r ! Combination mearns selection or grouping objects without considering their order. The number of combinations is calculated by using the following formula:=  Ã‚  Ã‚   n! n r ! 2. Set Theory:Set theory is a modern mathematical device which solves various types of critical problems. Quantitative  Techniques  for  Business     Ã‚  5 School  of  Distance  Education 3. Matrix Algebra:

Race Crime Essays

Race Crime Essays Race Crime Essay Race Crime Essay There have been many studies conducted by both academics and government organisations to gain further insight into the reasons why, when compared to their representation as members of the population as a whole, people from black minority ethnic backgrounds, widely referred to as BME groups, are massively overrepresented in the criminal justice system in England and Wales (Webster, 2007;111). However, Feilzer and Hood have warned that all research has failed to conclusively prove whether different outcomes for minority ethnic people have been due to discrimination or as a result of other factors (Webster, 2007;112). This essay aims to critically account for the disproportionate presence of BME groups in the criminal justice system, in particular the police, the prison service and the courts, exploring possible reasons for the overrepresentation such as social exclusion and socio-economic disadvantage. The essay will also draw comparisons with other countries such as the United States of America and Australia. Criticism of the police and their relationship with BME groups is nothing new, and tensions within British society were exacerbated with the influx of West Indian immigrants in the 1950s. A study conducted in the 1960s compared urban and rural policing and described the negative stereotype that police officers held of members of the black community (Spalek, 2002;77). More recently, the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent Lawrence Inquiry produced a startling insight into the degree of, what Lord Macpherson termed, institutional racism within the criminal justice system (Macpherson, 1999). Recent statistics from the Ministry of Justice (MJ) illustrate the overrepresentation of BME groups in the criminal justice system. The Ministry of Justice report, Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2008/2009 (MJ, 2010) highlights some of the substantial differences that exist between the experiences of people from BME groups compared with those from a white background (MJ, 2010). The report illustrates that BME groups are disproportionately represented at every stage of the criminal justice system but specifically in stop and search, arrests and the prison population. However, this is not simply an issue in England and Wales, but reflects problems faced by criminal justice systems in other countries around the world (Bhui, 2009;50). It has been well established by many authors and studies that the use of stop and search powers by the police has been the most controversial issue (Bowling and Phillips, 2003;534) when dealing with the topic of policing minority ethnic communities. Stop and search powers are governed by section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, which requires the police to have reasonable suspicion. It is this concept that gives rise to concerns about discrimination and racial profiling (Davies et al, 2005;170). People from BME backgrounds are also more likely to be stopped under the stop and search powers of section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and are less likely to be given a reason for being stopped (Davies et al, 2005;171). Black and Asian people are 26. 6 and 6. 3 times more likely to be stopped and searched respectively than white people, under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Townsend, 2010). This is a higher stop and search ratio than that recorded before the publication in 1999 of the Inquiry report into the murder of the black teenager, Stephen Lawrence. Section 60 powers enabled the police to use such stop and search in exceptional circumstances but has subsequently allowed the abuse of such powers through increased stereotyping, further alienating the most affected communities (Townsend, 2010). The report concluded that the overuse of stop and search had created significant mistrust in minority ethnic communities (Travis, 2010), and contributes to the idea that the system is institutionally racist. The Ministry of Justice report found that there has been a 70 per cent rise in BME being stopped and searched over the past 5 years. In England and Wales as a whole it was recorded that 18 people of a white background and 135 of a BME background per 1000 of the population were subject to the use of Stop and Search by the police under section 1 of PACE 1984 (MJ, 2010). The statistics show that under PACE, Black people were 7. 2 times more likely, and Asian people were 2. 1 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people (MJ, 2010). It could therefore be argued that stop and searches are disproportionately carried out on people from BME backgrounds, under both PACE and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. However, there was a large variation in the number of stop and searches throughout England and Wales. In London the number per 1000 of the population was 47 white and 210 black. This variation is a result of several factors. Firstly, 54 percent of the black population of England and Wales live in London, and are therefore more likely to be stopped and searched than any other area. Secondly, 42 percent of all stop and searches are carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service, which only serve 14 percent of the whole population of England and Wales (MJ, 2010). In contrast, there are other areas within England and Wales such as Cumbria and Durham where the rate of stop and searches per 1000 of the population for those from black backgrounds compared to white backgrounds was 0. 7. This means that more white people are stopped and searched per 1000 of the population than black people (MJ, 2010). Findings from the report Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003-06 suggested that an individuals ethnic group was not significantly associated with increased or reduced likelihood of offending (MJ, 2010). It is however, believed that BME communities are considered to be suspect populations (Webster, 2010;95) with the tendency for black and Asian communities to receive greatly inferior treatment by the police, leading to their involvement with the criminal justice system. Similar to the stop and search statistics, people from BME groups experienced more arrests per 1000 of the population than people of white backgrounds, and black people were 3. 3 times more likely to get arrested than white people (MJ, 2010). However, Phillips and Browns study in 1998 found that of the cases that went to the Crown Prosecution Service, the proportions that were terminated were 27 per cent for Asians, 20 per cent for black people and 12 per cent for white people (Bhui, 2009;35). This strongly suggests that black and Asian people were more likely to be arrested and charged without sufficient evidence to prosecute. Despite the conviction rates being substantially higher for white people compared to those from BME groups (MJ, 2010) in 2008, the percentage of white adults sentenced to immediate custody for indictable offences was under 29 percent, while BME groups ranged from 42 to 52 percent (MJ, 2010). This higher percentage is not necessarily due to discrimination, but rather a number of other factors, such as the seriousness of the offence committed, mitigating or aggravating factors and whether or not the defendant pleads guilty. Research has shown that people from BME backgrounds are more likely to plead not guilty, and hence be tried in a Crown court (MJ, 2010). In fact 48 per cent of black offenders plead not guilty compared to 30 per cent of white offenders. If offenders are found guilty after pleading not guilty, they are often given heavier and longer sentences (Marsh et al, 2010;178) and this may be a reason why there are more black offenders in prison. Although people from BME backgrounds account for less than 11 per cent of the British population, they account for a much higher proportion of the prison population. On the 30th June 2009, 20 percent of prisoners identified themselves as being from BME groups (MJ, 2010). The total prison population excluding foreign nationals has experienced increased numbers from all ethnic backgrounds since 2005, but most notably from Asian and Mixed groups. Those from a white ethnic background had the smallest increase (MJ, 2010). The result of such overrepresentation of people from BME backgrounds, in particular black people, is that there are some prisons in the south east of England that are now virtually all black (Ramesh, 2010). The disproportionate presence of people from BME groups could mean one of two things. People from BME groups may be discriminated against at the point of entry into the criminal justice system and this subsequently continues to the point of imprisonment. Alternatively, the groups are actually more involved in crime than others for reasons particular to that group (Hale et al, 2009;419). It is of common belief that the true answer lies somewhere between the two theories, yet self report studies have indicated that white people commit just as much or even more crime than those from BME groups (Kalunta-Crumpton, 2010). Evidence from several studies has shown that there are three overarching causes for the overrepresentation of BME groups in the Criminal Justice System, all of which compound each other. Firstly, social exclusion is a longstanding primary cause (House of Commons; Home Affairs Committee (HC), 2007). Secondly, factors specific to the black community such as family patterns and cultures amongst black people, both fuel and compound socio-economic deprivation. Thirdly, the structure and the way the criminal justice system operates mean more young BME people come into contact, and stay in contact, with the system (HC, 2010). There is considerable racial inequality in the criminal justice system with a massive underrepresentation of people from BME backgrounds in judiciary and court positions (Marsh et al, 2010;179). A recent report by the Ministry of Justice found that, as of April 2009 in the courts based judiciary, a mere 4. 5 per cent of judges were from BME backgrounds, and represented just 3 of the 163 High Court judges (MJ, 2010). This is a point that was highlighted in the Lawrence Inquiry, and in particular the failure of the police service to recruit minority ethnic officers. Recommendation 65 of the Lawrence Report stated that the police service ought to develop more initiatives to increase the number of minority ethnic recruits (Bhui, 2009;54). Despite such attempts to recruit more people from BME groups, the police force is still a predominantly white institution with only 4. 4 percent of officers in post coming from a BME background (Hansard, 2010), and this is reflected in the feelings of people from BME groups. A study conducted by Shute et al showed that one fifth of black defendants felt that their treatment had been influenced by racial bias (Marsh et al, 2010). Of the black and Asian defendants who thought that they had been given longer custodial sentences, over half put it down to their ethnicity rather than what they had done or said in court (Marsh et al, 2010), indicating the feeling amongst people from BME groups that institutional racism still exists within the criminal justice system. Such thoughts of institutional racism within the criminal justice system were again identified with the tragic incident in March 2000 when Zahid Mubarek, a 19 year old Asian prisoner at Feltham young offender institution, was murdered by a cell mate with a history of racist and violent behaviour (Nacro, 2003). It is regarded that social exclusion is the key reason for the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities within the criminal justice system. BME groups are socially and economically disadvantaged compared with white people and are more likely to come to police attention (Bhui, 2009;34). This socio-economic disadvantage stretches back to the post-war period when the first settlers from the Caribbean were forced into ghettoes because of racial prejudice and restricted access to accommodation, resulting in them being stacked in deprived areas where schools were substandard, employment opportunities were minimal and long-term prospects to hold the family together were limited (HC, 2010). It is believed that the disproportional presence of ethnic minorities has arisen due to the idea that policing bares down more heavily on those that frequent public spaces more often (Maguire et al, 2007;437). This happens to be black and Asian people as they are still subjected to high rates of unemployment, homelessness and nocturnal shift work. It is noted that 80 per cent of black African and black Caribbean communities live in particularly deprived, high crime urban areas such as Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas (Bhui, 2009;32). It is the combination of all of these factors that place such individuals at greater risk of being stopped and searched (Maguire et al, 2007;437). The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee found that in 2007, all the minority ethnic groups within the black category are consistently below the national average across all Key Stages, at GCSE and equivalent and Post-16. At GCSE and equivalent, 45 per cent of black Caribbean pupils, and 51 per cent of black African pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C grades compared to 57 per cent nationally (HC, 2007). The committee concluded that the failure of the education system to educate our black boys provides a breeding ground for disaffection that undoubtedly leads many to seek alternative means to obtain a good standard of living or gain respect from their peers (HC, 2007). Conversely, the recent report How Fair is Britain produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), shows that ethnic differences are narrowing at GCSE level, except for the top two highest performing groups; Chinese and Indian (EHRC, 2010). Educational underachievement is fed by rates of exclusion, which is higher for black young people than any other ethnic group. The 2006 Department for Education Skills (DfES) report shows that 9. 6 per cent of black Caribbean young people had had a fixed period exclusion compared with a national average for all pupils of 5 per cent (DfES, 2006). Excluded young people, regardless of ethnicity, are twice as likely to commit offences as children in mainstream school according to the Youth Justice Boards (YJB) survey completed by MORI. In a recent survey 23 per cent of young people in mainstream school said they had committed an offence in the last 12 months, while 60per cent of excluded young people say they had committed an offence over the same period (YJB, 2009). This is a clear indication that young black people are more likely to be excluded from school, and subsequently more likely to offend. Asian children on the other hand had the lowest exclusion rates, followed by children with one white and one Asian parent (EHRC, 2010). The success of Asian children in education ties in with their low offending rates. Such traits have traditionally been explained as the result of strong informal controls said to inhere in Asian culture and family life (Webster, 2010;97). In 2007, at a time of growing gun and knife crime, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, insisted that we needed to stop pretending it was a problem for the general population (Blair, 2007), but rather an issue for the black community to resolve (Hale et al, 2009). This idea has been reaffirmed in statistics such as the figures from Operation Trident, a Metropolitan Police Service operation intended to deal with shootings among black people living in London in 2006. The operations findings detailed in the Home Affairs Committee report showed that, of all the firearms homicides and shootings in 2006 in London, 75 per cent of victims and 79 per cent of suspects were black (HC, 2010). These statistics reflect the idea that the majority of offending by people from minority ethnic backgrounds is intra-racial. It was also found that the boroughs with the highest firearms offences such as Hackney and Lambeth had the highest density of black population in London, as well as being some of the most deprived (HC, 2010). Furthermore, recent research in the UK suggests that homicide rates are associated with levels of poverty and deprivation (HC, 2010). It is this level of involvement and overrepresentation that is the greatest cause for concern for some sections of black and minority ethnic communities. The Director of Equalities and Policing at the Greater London Authority, Lee Jasper said of the situation we have, quite literally, a crisis in the black community among our young black people (HC, 2010). Self report studies ask some general questions about the respondents social and economic situation and then they are asked to describe any offences that they have committed. This technique relies solely upon the honesty of interviewees to reveal their offending behaviour. Self report surveys have produced controversial findings and in particular have suggested that race differences usually observed in official records are either absent or much reduced (Bowling and Phillips, 2002;99). The 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice Study found that in actual fact, white respondents were more likely than black or Asian respondents to say that they had offended (Bhui, 2009;32). The findings of such studies have indicated that the dark figure of crime is more likely to be committed by white people than those from BME backgrounds (Kalunta-Crumpton, 2010). In Australia, they face a slightly different issue, in that the indigenous population of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people are massively overrepresented in the justice system, and it is a result of historical discrimination, over-regulation and unfair treatment (Australian Law Reform Commission, 2006). Indigenous people make up 2. 5 per cent of the population in Australia, yet in 2008 they accounted for 29. 3 per cent and 24. 1 per cent of the female and male prisoners respectively (Bartels, 2010); a rate 17 times higher than that for non-indigenous people (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010). These figures varied throughout the different territories of Australia. For example, in Victoria, Indigenous people accounted for 6 per cent of the prison population, much lower but still overrepresented compared to their presence in the general population. In the Northern Territories however, the situation is much worse, with Indigenous people representing 83 per cent of the prison population. This is a startling illustration of the massive overrepresentation of Indigenous population in the criminal justice system. One explanation considered by some authors such as Bartels, is that the Indigenous population is significantly younger than the non-indigenous population. A census in 2006 found that the median age for both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous populations was 21 and 37 respectively (Australian Government, 2008), and thus a reason for the high number of Indigenous people coming into contact with the criminal justice system. In the United States of America, they face a similar if not more extreme situation than in Britain and most Western European countries. The Washington DC based research group, The Sentencing Project reported that today there are more African American men in prison and jail than in college (Walker et al, 2007;xiii). Despite black people only representing 12 per cent of the United States population, nearly half of all prisoners in the USA are African-American (Webster, 2007), and it is predicted that nearly one third of African-American males born today will go to prison (Ramesh, 2010). The US Justice Department have released statistics that suggest approximately 40 to 45 per cent of the US prison population is black (Ramesh, 2010), and that black people represent 31 per cent of arrests and 37 per cent of all violent arrests. Walker et al concluded in The Color of Justice, that the US criminal justice system is contextually discriminatory, in that discrimination does occur within certain parts of the system but not all parts, all of the time (Walker et al, 2007;419). The recent statistics from the Ministry of Justice paint a very clear picture as to the substantial differences that exist between the experiences of BME groups compared with white people, and in particular the experiences of black people. The central problem with the disproportionate presence of ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system is their under-representation in criminal justice professions coupled with their overrepresentation as suspects, defendants and prisoners (Newburn, 2007). Longstanding tension between the police and ethnic minorities still plays a significant part in the discrimination of ethnic minorities and is demonstrated in such documentaries as The Secret Policeman (Daly, 2003), highlighting that racism within the police force still occurs. Although many positive steps have been taken to eliminate institutional racism within the police force since the Lawrence Inquiry, there is still more that needs to be done. The police are not the only institution criticised of being discriminatory, with the Prison service also displaying such traits. It could be argued that the criminal justice system as a whole is still considered institutionally racist. Minority ethnic communities around the world are suffering from the same issues faced by those in England and Wales. The Australian prison population figures illustrate the startling discrimination the indigenous population of Australia face. The United States of America have a justice system described as contextually discriminatory (Walker et al, 2007;419), with an increasing population of black prisoners, many of which have committed violent or drug related offences. Despite numerous studies by academics and government departments, it has been considered that all research has failed to conclusively prove whether the disproportionate presence of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in the criminal justice system is through discrimination or other factors (Webster, 2007). It would appear however, that BME groups are most definitely overrepresented at every stage of the criminal justice system. From the findings of self report studies it can be inferred that the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities is not a result of disproportionate offending, but rather a combination of different factors. Similarly, the issue is not one solely of institutional racism within the criminal justice system. Unfortunately people from minority ethnic backgrounds live in the most deprived urban areas, with the highest crime rates, and therefore are undoubtedly over-policed. Young people from BME backgrounds are consistently underachieving in education and are almost twice as likely to have a fixed period of exclusion compared to the national average, and subsequently twice as likely to offend. Upon being charged for an offence, people from BME backgrounds are more likely to plead not guilty, and hence tried in the Crown court, where if found guilty, will receive a heavier sentence. It is the compounded effect of these factors that are the major cause of the disproportionate presence of ethnic minorities within the criminal justice system, and without addressing these issues first and foremost, their presence will simply increase.

The achievements of the rules- essays

The achievements of the rules- essays With the end of the Second World War , the United States wanted to give an early boost to trade liberalization and to begin to correct the legacy of protectionist measures which remained in place from the early 1930s. The combined package of trade rules and tariff concessions became known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), first signed in 1947 and entered into force in January 1948. Drawn up by twenty-three countries, the agreement was designed to provide an international forum that encouraged free trade between member states by regulating and reducing tariffs on traded goods and by providing a common mechanism for resolving trade disputes. As a matter of course, the GATT organised a set of rounds, most of them devoted to continuing the process of reducing tariffs and providing rules to govern international trade. The Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the 1970s was the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs and to improve the system. The eighth, the Uruguay Round (1986-94), was the last and most extensive of all. It led to the creation of a legal institution, the World Trade Organization (WTO), in order to replace the provisional GATT, and a new set of agreements. In order to assess the achievements of the rules-based system of world trade over the past years, this essay will first deal with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its weaknesses, then with the GATT rounds and its both positive and negative achievements, and finally focuse on the changing international environment that occurred since the last decade. As highlighted by N. Grimwade (2000, pp.323), the main pillar of the GATT system was the principle of non-discrimination, which underlie two principles : the Most Favoured Nation (MNF) treatment clause and the system of national treatment. The...

Frost at Midnight Essays

Frost at Midnight Essays Frost at Midnight Paper Frost at Midnight Paper Essay Topic: Literature Frost at Midnight written by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes the scene of the writer sitting in his cottage as his son sleeps beside him on a winter night, reminiscing of childhood that of his own and of his child. The stanzas are written through the first person narrative, providing a scene of intimacy to the reader. This intimate scene if further developed through the poets use of tone, repetition and imagery to name to name but a few of the poetic techniques evident in the poem. Through these devices the reader is transported through a world of solitude, melancholy and inspiration. The poem is written in four stanzas, each conveying the effect of nature and childhood through its blank verse. As a conversational poem, a form popular in the Romantic period, Coleridge reflects upon the serenity of nature and his surroundings. Frost at Midnight has been written in blank verse, lines of unmetered iambic pentameter. The narrative of the poem begins with the speaker sitting in his cottage with the sleeping child beside him. The reference to the Frost and its secret ministry may be subtle but is a powerful force of nature. Along with the personification of the capital F in Frost an ominous mood is created which is only enhanced by the owlets cry. The stanza continues describing the nights calmness, so calm that that it disturbs and vexes with its strange and extreme silentness, the consonance s sounds through out these lines is effective as its brings the quietness of the night to the forefront of the poem, a scene of tranquillity. The speakers mind wanders between the Sea, hill and wood (10) and the nearby village with the numberless goings-on of life (12) are mild distractions to the speaker. : Coleridge choice of language draws the reader into the intimate cottage scene. The solitude of the outside is soon transferred though the interior of the cottage as the poet becomes entranced with the dwindling fire flame. The film on the fire symbolises the motion inherent in nature, with the repetition of Coleridges use of fluttered or flutters, it appears the erratic motion stimulates the poets imagination. Words such as dim sympathies (18), echo and mirror (23) help establish the speaker in a state of peaceful harmony with nature through out this stanza. Enjambment can be detected as the first stanza leads into the second stanza, (24). This technique emphasises the connection of the film and the memory it clearly evokes in Coleridge, while separating the present from the time being recollected. It could be suggested that Coleridge wanted a clear separation of the past from the present, wishing to recall the past in the calmness of the present therefore passing on the lessons from his own unhappy childhood to his infant son. From the hush of nature (17) the tone of the second stanza changes as Coleridge recalls his own childhood. The repetition how oft (24 and 26) emphasises how the speaker is recollecting a habitual experience, rather than a one time event in his childhood. . Once again, the fluttering, (26) triggers Coleridges memory to recall his sweet birth-place enabling the poet to recollect his childhood hometown. Personification allows the speakers pining of his childhood home become apparent as his heart leaped up, reinforcing the memories that haunt Coleridge in his adulthood. As mentioned previously, the tone of the second stanza changes from the tranquillity that was evident in the first. Words such as brooded (36), stern (37) and hasty (40) highlight the unhappiness that Coleridge portrays. The allusion of the fluttering stranger (26) allows the speaker to describe the fluttering flame which in turn relates to an old superstition that a flickering flame suggests a visit from a stranger. This visit from a stranger is picked up once again towards the end of the second stanza, as Coleridge hoped to see the strangers face (41), signifying once again how the speaker wished to return home, hoping the stranger will be a much loved family member. Coleridge returns his infant son in the third stanza and the wonders he has yet to experience. The deep fatherly love Coleridge feels for his son is clear through his reference Dear Babe (44), the breathing of the child has brought the speaker back to the present and the future of his son. Coleridge rejoices in the knowledge that his son. shalt learn far other lore, And in far other scenes, (50, 51). A deep contrast to Coleridges upbringing in the great city, pent mid cloisters dim, (52) a reference to his childhood at Christs Hospital School in London where he was sent at the age of nine after this death of his father, (Owens and Johnson, 1998, page 437). The theme of nature is brought to the forefront of this stanza, as the speaker uses the powerful simile that his son shalt wander like a breeze, showing the freedom that the child will experience in the country. Throughout the stanza the reader is aware that Coleridge bitterly regrets the influence of nature on his childhood. The imagery is enhanced as the speaker describes the natural world, lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds which image in their bulk both lakes and shores, (55 57). This image shows the true magnificence of the natural world, and is not only evident in the physical mountains or lakes but also mirrored in the sky and clouds above. The tone of tranquillity has clearly returned to the poem. Coleridge closes the third stanza referencing God as the Great universal Teacher, (63) who shall mould thy spirit, (63-64) of the poets son. Through these closing lines the speaker relates children, in particular his son, and the natural world to God demonstrating how seeing, hearing and experiencing nature will allow his infant son to be closer to God and therefore understand him better. A key principle to Coleridge was the God- like quality that was a fundamental element in all human beings, in this instances his son, (Allen, 1996, page 75). With this the final stanza at Frost at Midnight, Coleridge gives his blessing to his son hoping the infant will appreciate nature. The relationship between the child, natural world and God are depicted that all seasons shall be sweet to thee (65), as long as this relationship continues. The awe inspiring beauty of nature is personified whether the summer cloth the general earth with greenness, (66-67) letting the vividness life become the focal point. As well as the greenness of the grass, the reader is also invited to see the beauty within the wildlife of the bird as it sings betwixt, an image that mimics the sounds a bird would make, a technique known as onomatopoeia. The repetition of secret ministry of frost (72) provides the poem with a full cycle of events. Frost at Midnight has gone full circle from past, present and finally the future of childhood, reflecting the unity of nature that is the inspiration of the poem. The frost ties the present to the future which in turn reflect the infant and his education, while the film in stanza two ties the present to the past, reflecting the speaker and his education. The poetic devices within Frost at Midnight provide a distinct insight into the central themes that influenced the writers of the Romantic period. Childhood is one of the most important elements to this poem, it is not only the key theme but Coleridges son is also the inspiration to the poem. The natural world is believed to be the ideal place, as nature is the most important education in the world. It could be argues that a pure connection between childhood and nature are created in Frost at Midnight, a time when innocence is links both of these themes to god, leaving the reader in a state of reflection. Through Coleridges upbringing in London, the reader is able to detect the solitary that he experienced without the influence of nature, a precious education that the poet himself was deprived and now wishes for his son. Coleridge recognises that there is a city outside the calmness of the cottage, that his son will eventually discover when he reaches adulthood. However, Coleridge hopes the access to nature will help his son develop a connection with the natural world that surrounds him and God.

7 Tips for Writing an Email Message

7 Tips for Writing an Email Message 7 Tips for Writing an Email Message 7 Tips for Writing an Email Message By Mark Nichol What’s so difficult about writing an email? Nothing. That’s the problem: It’s too easy, and you should take care that a professional message is just that especially if you use email primarily for social interaction and are unaccustomed to sending business emails. Here are some guidelines for businesslike electronic communication. 1. If you write professional emails from a personal address rather than a company account, use a professional-looking address. Don’t ditch your quirky or ribald account name, but acquire a more sedate one, consisting simply of your name and/or a description of your professional services, for business communications. Also, avoid using animations, complicated fonts, and busy backgrounds in your messages. 2. Use the message header to encourage recipients to read your message, stating the purpose of the message distinctly and concisely. 3. Use a formal salutation unless you’re on a first-name basis with the recipient for example, â€Å"Mr. Smith† or â€Å"Dear Ms. Jones,† followed by a colon. If you don’t know the recipient’s name and can’t obtain it by contacting the recipient’s company, write â€Å"Dear Sir or Madam.† (Double-check now that you’ve entered the recipient’s correct email address and have not inadvertently included any other addresses.) 4. Introduce yourself and the purpose of your message in the first paragraph. Use short paragraphs separated by line spaces to clearly and concisely communicate well-organized information. Don’t clutter your message with detailed apologies (though you should certainly begin with a brief apology if your message is overdue, and then get to the point) or with digressions. 5. Conclude with a summary and, if you have any requests, a courteous and concise explanation of actions you would like the recipient to perform. If you are not requesting a response, simply inform or remind the recipient that your services are available, or mention something similar that is appropriate to the context. 6. Sign off with â€Å"Sincerely,† â€Å"Respectfully,† or the like and your full name, followed by your job title and company name, as well as your company’s website and other social-media contact information, or your own if you are self-employed or are contacting the recipient as an individual, not as a representative of a company. 7. Use your email program’s spell-checking tool, proofread your message, and read it aloud in a separate pass. If you used any language that might not be perceived as professional, save the message without sending it and review it later, when you can be more objective about whether it is appropriate. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"Does "Mr" Take a Period?Grammatical Case in English