Lincoln: the Great Emancipator Essay

Until it was abolished in 1865, slavery thrived in the United States since the nation’s beginnings in the colony of Jamestown in 1607. In 1776, the founding fathers stated that â€Å"all men are created equal† when they declared independence and started a war that freed the 13 colonies from the oppressive rule of Great Britain. However, after â€Å"the land of the free† had been established, slavery had yet to be eliminated. After the war of 1812, sectionalism began to grow prevalent in America. The Industrial Revolution in the early to mid-1800s advanced the country technologically while further dividing it as the North became industrialized and the South became more agrarian and reliant on slave labor. Sectionalism was increased by westward expansion, and began to manifest itself in American politics. The country could have gone to war by the early 1800s, but various political compromises held the two sections together for another half of a century. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 are two important examples. Tensions built over the 40 years of compromise. Abolitionists worked to gain support in the North while they caused outrage in the South. In the government, everything had to be compromised and everything was a competition, such as legislature and westward expansion. Fortunately, when sectionalism and tensions around slavery boiled over, Abraham Lincoln came to the forefront of US politics. He created a reputation for himself and the Republican Party with a political platform against the expansion of slavery. He became known in the South as an abolitionist through the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and his election in 1860 sparked the secession of 11 southern states from the Union and the beginning of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was the most important contributor to ending slavery in America because of his actions toward winning the Civil War and emancipating the slaves, and he was able to do this because he was an extraordinary politician who handled the circumstances as nobody else could have managed. Abraham Lincoln’s ability as a politician was crucial in his role as commander-in-chief of the US army during the Civil War, because to end slavery, Lincoln knew he had to win the war. The first thing Lincoln did as president, in his Inaugural Address, was try to calm the frantic South, re-stating that he had â€Å"no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery where it exists,† (Halsall). Lincoln’s  primary goal was to preserve the Union. As he put it, â€Å"If I could save the union without freeing any slave, I would do it,† (Majerol, 25-26). He needed the support for the war from the Northern citizens, many of whom were not abolitionists. Lincoln was faced with another difficult issue throughout the Civil War. Four states—Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware—held slaves but remained in the Union. If Lincoln waged a war that strongly opposed slavery, he risked losing those Border States to the Confederacy, which would probably cost him the war. Another issue that Lincoln had to deal with over the course of the war was incompetent generals. Lincoln discharged many of his generals throughout the war, which made it difficult to carry out his plans. In a telegram to General McClellan, Lincoln urged him to attack Lee â€Å"The present hesitation to move upon an entrenched enemy is but the story of Manassas repeated,† but McClellan ignored the order (Ayers et. al, 369). It was not until Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant commander of all Union armies that he started having consistent success. If Lincoln had not been elected president, slavery may have continued for much longer in America. Besides the fact that Lincoln, as commander-in-chief, lead the Union Army to win the Civil War, the many proposed compromises in 1860 and 1861 might have allowed slavery to continue in America, such as the Crittenden Compromise. Another important way that Lincoln’s skill as a politician benefited the Union was his treatment of the Confederacy. Lincoln reasoned that since it is unconstitutional to secede from the Union, the Confederacy and its government was illegitimate, and Lincoln’s administration refused to recognize the Confederacy’s independence. This became important later in the war when other nations refused to recognize the Confederacy’s independence. When the time was right, Abraham Lincoln masterfully changed the ideology of the war to focus on slavery, and he used the slaves themselves as a powerful force in the war and on the home front. Lincoln did this through the First and Second Confiscation Acts, the Emancipation Proclamation, and his Second Inaugural Address. Early in the war, three slaves escaped to the Union Army, raising the question of what to do with fugitive slaves. Under the Fugitive Slave Act, they had to be returned to their owners in the Confederacy. However, Lincoln adopted an ingenious policy of taking slaves as â€Å"contraband  of war,† treating them as property as the Confederacy did. Lincoln went on to sign the First Confiscation Act in August 1861, which emancipated slaves that escaped to Union lines. In July 1862, Lincoln signed the Second Confiscation Act, which essentially gave him the authority to emancipate the slaves in Confederate territory (on the grounds that they helped the war effort and were contraband). This legislation helped the Union Army greatly. Over 190,000 soldiers, sailors, and workers came to the Union Army from the Confederacy (McPherson, 193), and at the end of the war, African Americans made up 20 percent of the Union Army (Majerol, 26). The escaped slaves also influenced soldiers in the army who now â€Å"were talking with real men and women who had been (and perhaps still were) slaves,† (Goodheart, 15). However, a vastly more important document was the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln drafted the document in July 1862 and showed it to his cabinet. William Seward reminded him of the importance of timing, so Lincoln waited until the army won the Battle of Antietam to issue the Proclamation. In a letter Lincoln wrote in 1864, he stated â€Å"when, early in the war, Gen. Fremont attempted military emancipation, I forbade it, because I did not then think it in indispensable necessity.† Lincoln then cites two more examples of him holding off efforts at emancipation (Fehrenbacher, 257). When it was issued on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the ideology of the war. It took a war that had been officially about preserving the Union and made it about ending slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was a bold move for Lincoln to make because of the pro-slavery Border States. Lincoln had made â€Å"earnest, and successive appeals† there for compensated emancipation, but was rejected (Fehrenbacher, 257). He then had to make a choice between â€Å"surrendering the Union† or â€Å"laying a strong hand upon the colored element,† hoping to outweigh losses with benefits (Fehrenbacher, 258). Over a year later, Lincoln said he felt no losses, and a gain of 130,000 soldiers, seamen, and laborers. Lincoln certainly had good timing when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Britain and France were coming closer to aiding the Confederacy, and in Britain’s case, they only wanted the Confederacy to win one more battle to prove that they were on the winning side of the war. Antietam was a terrible loss for the South, and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation prevented Britain and France from aiding the Confederacy because they both had  anti-slavery governments, and the war was now about slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was a wise move for Lincoln as an abolitionist, because it allowed blacks to fight in the military, which might lead to citizenship and the right to vote for blacks (â€Å"Civil War Black Soldiers†). Lastly, Lincoln focused public attention on the issue of slavery in his Second Inaugural Address, reminding the people know what their brothers were fighting for. Abraham Lincoln’s most important quality was that he was a great politician, which allowed him to manage the difficult situations put before him in order to provide actual results that ultimately ended slavery in America. Among these results were Union victory in the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the First and Second Confiscation Acts, the Gettysburg Address, and the Thirteenth Amendment. The Union victory in the Civil War is a simple fact, but it was the most indispensable step to the end of slavery in America. Ending slavery meant nothing if the Union did not win the war and control the South again. Additionally, without a war in the first place, slavery might not have ended. It is possible that a compromise could have held the divided nation together without putting an end to slavery. Lincoln’s talent as a politician was also crucial in the Emancipation Proclamation when he released it in time to prevent any foreign nations from intervening and aiding the Confederacy. Lincoln showed his skill as a politician in the Lincoln-Douglass debates, when he took a careful stance on slavery that he thought would best suit the needs of the nation at the time. Lincoln was constantly stressing that he was not an abolitionist, and it was ridiculous to assume that â€Å"Just because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife,† (Fehrenbacher, 106). Lincoln proved himself when he ran against Douglas in the presidential election of 1860 and won. Lincoln orchestrated the defeat of the Confederacy and the end of slavery using his political position as president and commander-in-chief, and his cunning as a politician to influence the people of America. It could be argued that the slaves played a more vital role in securing their freedom than Abraham Lincoln did. The slaves had influential leaders such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. The Underground Railroad  freed hundreds of slaves, and it was led by a former slave, Harriet Tubman. Frederick Douglass wrote a book about his life as a slave which influenced public views of slavery in the North. He also published an abolitionist newspaper, the North Star. He also showed people that slaves were treated like animals and stripped of the quality that defines humans: independent thought. â€Å"these words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called to existence an entirely new train of thought,† (Douglass, 20). He told about how he was like other slaves until he learned to read and write, and became a human who was able to create his own destiny. These contributed to raising tensions and starting war, which was a necessary evil for slavery to be abolished and the Union to remain whole. These contributions also put pressure on the government to oppose slavery. Moreover, the 190,000 soldiers, sailors, and laborers who escaped slavery and came to the Union Army contributed greatly to the war effort, fighting valiantly and supporting the Army off the battlefield as well. By the end of the war, these soldiers made up 20 percent of the Union army, as well as influencing public opinion in the North. These were valuable aids to the end of slavery in America, and without them, slavery might not have ended in 1865. However, they are insubstantial compared to the contributions of Abraham Lincoln. First, the emancipation of nearly 200,000 slaves happened because Lincoln had not issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the First and Second Confiscation Acts. He transformed the ideology of a nation when he directed the war at slavery. In comparison with Lincoln’s monumental tasks, the contributions of slaves are insignificant. In conclusion, Abraham Lincoln was a more important constituent in ending Slavery in America than the slaves themselves because of his contributions as Commander-in-chief to win the Civil War and emancipate the slaves, and he was able to do this because he was an outstanding politician who handled the circumstances with unparalleled capability. Lincoln dealt with the difficult issue of fighting a war in which he could not make many bold decisions for fear of the Border States seceding, and he applied his ability as a politician to lead the Union to victory. Lincoln faced another difficult  issue of how to treat escaped slaves during the war, and altered the entire ideology of the war so that the focus was slavery. He did this with his First and Second Confiscation Acts and, most importantly, a well-timed Emancipation Proclamation. Lastly, Lincoln’s capability as a politician led to concrete actions he took towards ending slavery, including the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment, and of course, winning the Civil War, the element without which the end of slavery in America might not have been possible. Lincoln influenced the history of America and (unintentionally) became a martyr. Today, racial discrimination does not exist in US legislation and America is constantly getting closer to complete racial equality. Works Cited Ayers, Edward L., Jesus F. De la Teja, Deborah G. White, and Robert D. Schulzinger. American anthem. Ed. Sam Wineburg. Orlando. Fla.: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. â€Å"Civil War Black Soldiers.† , Black Soldiers, Robert Gould Shaw, 54th Massachusetts. 2007. Civil War Academy. 24 Jan. 2013 . Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Fehrenbacher, Don E. Abraham Lincoln. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1964. Goodheart, Adam. â€Å"How Slavery Really Ended in America.† New York Times 3 Oct. 2011: 12-15. Halsall, Paul. â€Å"Internet History Sourcebooks.† Internet History Sourcebooks. July 1998. Fordham University. 24 Jan. 2013 . Majerol, Veronica. â€Å"The Emancipation Proclamation.† The New York Times Upfront 7 Jan. 2013: 24-27. McPherson, James. â€Å"Who Freed the Slaves?† Drawn With the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War. 1996. 192-207.

Givenchy

Luxury fashion brands that were established three or four decades ago were born out of passion fashion and to create a legacy that could be passed down from one generation to another. The items from the past speak of opulence, elegance and status that t remain ever popular in the present days – some call it classics while others deem it as collectors’ items. Whatever one chooses to name it, fashion houses are capitalising on fashion trends of today and bringing the trends from the past back to the runway. A fashion house that is creating ripples of admiration is Givenchy with its Fall/Winter 2013 collection for women.Hubert de Givenchy, one of the first and most important haute couture designers worldwide, set the trends of Parisian fashion and defined elegance worldwide and fast forward to the present and the Parisian luxury label currently designed by Riccardo Tisci, still preserves the code set by Hubert de Givenchy: playing with a palette of non-colours, grey, black , white and beige, to better outline an uncluttered silhouette while adding the personalised touch of Riccardo which is mainly dark romantic. Together they make Givenchy one of the most appreciated brands in the world.An array of bag collections was unveiled at recent preview of Givenchy’s FW 2013 collection, and among them, the HDG and Antigona – two of this season’s collections stand taller than the rest. It is fast becoming the IT bags to be seen on the arms of stars, celebrities and the likes of them. Creating a collection after iconic individuals is a way of immortalising these icons and to ensure their presence lingers with the brand for generations to come, and the HDG pays homage to the man who put Givenchy on the fashion map of the world.The Givenchy HDG Fall collection is Riccardo Tisci’s perception of a French couture house creating a bag for the dynamic urban woman. It is about class and elegance with a hint of sporty attitude that is easy to wear. All these fundamental notions are what the name Givenchy stands for. Its simple shape with pure lines is twisted with a chunky metal chain, adding a masculine feel. The HDG comes in a medium or small size in herringbone cotton, calf leather, eel, or sea-wolf. The printed version features ‘maison Givenchy' as a reference to what was written on the labels sewn onto haute couture creations.The House of Givenchy is thrilled to be bringing back the star of Fall/Winter 2010 – the Antigona collection. This collection designed by Riccardo Tisci first debuted on the runway in the Fall-Winter 2010 Ready-to-wear collection alas the nature of the Antigona collection is timeless, the fashion house felt it is apt to reintroduce it to fashion connoisseurs in the Fall/Winter 2013 collection. Its sharp details and boxy construction represent Riccardo Tisci’s love of the masculine and feminine contrast and with a recognizable, structured shape, this new design combines the f eminine aspects of a classic Boston bag with masculine features.Several references are made to its military spirit such as a large industrial zipper or a triangle padded leather patch. Exclusively designed metal hooks and loops were developed alongside a leather shoulder strap to allow the Givenchy woman to carry the Antigona in different ways. Inspired by â€Å"Antigone†, a strong female figure in Greek Mythology whose name stands for â€Å"unbending†, the Antigona is a modern bag that will remain a classic in Riccardo Tisci’s accessories collections for Givenchy.Some of the stars who have been spotted with this classic on their arms are Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Zoe Saldana, Kate Moss and Demi Lovato to name a few. Overall, the Fall/Winter 2013 women's collection marries the strength of gypsies and the romanticism of a Victorian feeling to celebrate women. Riccardo Tisci revisits the signature shapes and prints of his Givenchy archives to create bold feminine silhouettes. Looking at the gypsy aesthetics borrowing men’s clothes but adding femininity in cutting and mixing them with women’s pieces, Riccardo Tisci creates a collection constantly playing with the feminine and the masculine.Biker jackets, bomber jackets, sweatshirts and collar-less duffle coats are paired with under-the-knee skirts and flow-y balloon-shaped dresses. Delicate flounces, graceful ruffles and micro-pleats animate blouses, shirts and dresses. Graphic patchworks of fabrics and prints reveal elaborate techniques of construction and a contrasting take on textures. The sensuality of lace or silk chiffon is reworked in a mosaic-like geometry.Flower-printed flannel, rose-painted chunky tweed and paisley jacquard are paired with lumberjack checked shirts, Madonna-printed velvet and shark jaws men’s prints. Embroidered tulle and chiffon display stars, large sequins and crystals. Sharp boots show hand-stitched stripes of multi-coloured elaphe, python, whip snake or eel. Chain bracelets in palladium feature an engraved medal. Carrier straps are turned into braided leather or crystal pave belts. The Fall-Winter 2013 Women’s Givenchy collection is turning out to be a lust-worthy contender for your precious hard-earned salary.

Statistical Analysis of Colored Stones by Using Random Sampling

Statistical Analysis of Colored Stones by using Random Sampling Naomi Malary Lab Report 1 Ecology Lab 312 L-1 October 12, 2009 Introduction Random Sampling, a method often used by ecologist involves an unpredictable component. In this method, all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected as part of the sample. The results involving random sampling can be categorized as descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Montague 2009). Descriptive statistics includes simplified calculations of a given sample and arrange this information into charts and graphs that are easy to contrast. Trying to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data alone describes inferential statistics. To document the results of sampling, qualitative and quantitative data is used. Quantitative data lack is measured and identified on a numerical scale, whereas Qualitative data approximates data but does not measure characteristics, properties and etc. The purpose of this experiment was to use statistical analysis to evaluate random sampling of colored stones (Montague 2009). While conducting this experiment, we came up with a few null hypotheses. The first null hypothesis is that all the stones that have the same color weigh the same. The second null hypothesis is that there are more blue stones than red or yellow stones. Therefore the Blue stones will be picked the mosr. Our final null hypothesis is that the stones of the same color have the same length and that they will not vary in size. Method Our team was given a box of one hundred and two red, blue, and yellow stones. Team members A and B took turns choosing stones via random sampling, team member E recorded the color of the chosen stone. Team member C measured the weight of the stone with a scale, and team member D measured the length of the stone using a vernier capiler. Team members A and B placed the stones back into the box, mixed it, and we then repeated the procedure. Three sample sets were taken . The first set I were the first 5 samples taken (n=5), set II consist of n=10, and set III consist of n=30. Results There appeared to be a small difference between stone color and their average weight (Table1. and figures 1-3). Upon observation, you will see that the yellow stones were larger than the blue stones, and the blue stones were larger then the red stones (Table2. and figure 2-3). It can also be noted that the only sample set to have red stones selected was in set III (Figure 3). additionally, figure7 shows that blue stones were picked in greater proportion than the yellow and red stones. Discussion I hypothesized that all stones that share the same color weighs the same. According to table 2, all the stones of the same color do not share the same weight. Though the average seemed relatively the same, there still was a difference in the weight. Therefore, I must reject my null hypothesis on account of this information. The second null hypothesis stated that there are more blue stones than yellow or red stones, therefore more blue stones will be picked than any other stone. According to figure 7, the blue stones accounted for 44%, the yellow stones 38%, and the red stones 18%. Therefore I will not be rejecting my hypothesis on the basis that there were more blue stones present than any other color. The final null hypothesis stated that the stones of the same color have the same length. Table 2 and figures 5-7, accounted for the fact that the yellow stones were usually the longest and the red stones the shortest. Based on this information, I will not be rejecting this null hypothesis. Figure 1: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set=5 Figure 2: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set n=10 Figure3: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set n=30 draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Figure 4: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set=5 Figure 5: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set n=10 Graph6: Graph shows the average weight of each colored stone for set n=30 {draw:frame} Figure 7: Pie chart shows the total proportion of the stones Reference Montegue, J. M. 2009. BIO 312L: Ecology Lab – Exercise 01 2009. Slides 10,11 Wikipedia, Random Sampling. www. wikipedia. com/random _sample

Majority Rule and Minority Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Majority Rule and Minority Rights - Essay Example Majority rule means a system of government in which the will of the majority if given full force and effect within the laws and regulations of the country. Minority rights are those liberties and privileges that naturally accrue toward those who do not necessarily agree with the will of the majority. The latter rights have been associated with the concepts of natural law and human rights, whereby those in the minority deserve to be treated with a certain minimum level of dignity and respect simply because they are humans and citizens of the country that acknowledges and respects those natural rights. In many ways, the United States Constitution does not really set up a majority rule system. A close evaluation of the various branches of government reveals that the only body that is designed to be truly responsive to the will of the majority is the House of Representatives, established under Article 1.

Describing the Warfront Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Describing the Warfront - Essay Example Describing the Warfront The passage comes from the work of Walter Benjamin, One-Way Street, and Other Writings. It considers the narratives of a soldier in the war front. The narrator shows awareness of the concerns shared by the troops while on the fighting front. This includes the concern on death and fatal enemy assaults. It pointed out that narrator lives in fear over his life due to the depth of the risks. The narrator shows the ease upon which loss of life is achieved in his station. This stimulates concern in his entire session. At some point, he finds himself dreaming about the losses he might suffer upon his death. This is captured by use of a reflection of his childhood friend, whom he has not shared information for a long time. Understanding the depth from where the author gets his inspiration allow for the meeting of the interests aspired by his work. Such an interest is achieved through reflection of tone, wording and language used in the work. The caption allows for the reflection of the lives of the victims through their own words and flow of thoughts. A tone of anguish, fear and pain remain well relished in the entire caption. The author is portrays the entire concerns that remain attributed to the respective reflection through the aid of these virtues. This narrative holds the themes embraced by Walter Benjamin in his work. The narration is on a sad theme that involves reflection on fear and death in a single piece. The whole novel, One-Way Street, and Other Writings, has similar themes of sadness.

The Battle of the Bulge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Battle of the Bulge - Essay Example It had the aims of annexing and capturing France, Luxemburg and Belgium. The major front through which the encroachment was made included the Ardennes Forest. The aims were to take the enemy by surprise. Since the Germans had a knack of taking the rivals by surprise and gifted with the Blitzkrieg and other war instruments, the aims were to repeat the heroics that they had done so in the first phase of the Second World War when it overtook the minnows of the war in no time. Over two hundred and fifty thousand troops were engaged in this battle by the German high command and the point was clear, it had been done to break the sequence of frustration pouring events that had recently taken place in the course of Second World War. The battle had its repercussions upon the Western powers, United States of America and Germany. Each was deeply moved through the battle, it is therefore termed as one of the most critical points of war in those days of the entire episode of Second World War. The significance of this battle was the fact that the Western powers and their allies were caught completely off guard, they had little expected this and had no war insight of this one coming, as a result the impact fell upon the number of casualties suffered and other major losses incurred in the entire events that unfolded in this particular battle. United States also suffered damages in this particular battle. The battle had a direct impact on the German side as well. Having invested heavy in to this expedition, the Germans had to compromise on other fronts and in other battles in order to compensate for the manpower and the financial funds and armaments that were made for this particular endeavor undertaken. The main target was the American army’s 106 Division (Spiller, p 79). It did not enjoy great expertise or experience of such critical moments and it thereby failed to provide and deliver the heroics that were expected of

Starbucks Corporate Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Starbucks Corporate Culture - Essay Example More than half of these branches are located in the United States, with the United Kingdom following by far with more than 100 branches (Starbucks Corporation. 2008). The company’s corporate culture is one of the most relaxed, and considerate in regard to the community. It is classified amongst the companies where employees are satisfied with remuneration packages and other attached benefits even as companies are suffering due to financial crisis (Reilly, 2008). The company is largely focused on the empowerment of employees through several benefit schemes which assist in career development and improved productivity. Employee retention is enhanced, which contributes to the organization’s overall productivity. The management emphasizes on the improvement of skills amongst the employees through training. They are trained through workshops and other classes that offer essential information on coffee, such as the history of coffee production, customer satisfaction and several other vital subjects aimed at creating employee awareness. These are mandatory classes for new employees in the company (Rose 2002). On top of training, the organization portrays its considerate attention to all employees regardless of their employment terms in regard to whether they are full time or part time. Both groups are entitled to a health and dental benefits, insurance against disabilities, compensation during vacation and leave, programs meant to assist the employees in personal matters as well as personal and financial development (Richards, 2007). All the benefits that employees are entitled to, significantly contribute to organizational productivity. They generate a sense of appreciation amongst them, thereby improving their commitment to the achievement organizational goals. The flexibility of working whereby employees work part time and still get benefits as the full time workers is significant in the enhancement of work life balance amongst the employees. This helps in

Argumentative Structure in A Long Way Gone and Sizwe's Test - A Essay

Argumentative Structure in A Long Way Gone and Sizwe's Test - A Comparative Study - Essay Example More importantly each of them have revealed an as yet undiscovered face to the causes that they explore – adding significantly to our understanding of them and their potency. The purpose of this paper is to discern the argumentative structure in either narration and to provide a comparative study based on specific examples from either. Very often, such a study in itself can be very fruitful towards understanding the works better as a pivotal change in narration, a particular emphasis on a style of argument that permeates a given work, or certain paragraph that stand out clearly in it’s narration as opposed to the rest of the text, add significantly to the depth of the work and subconsciously affects the reader’s enjoyment adding or subtracting from it as the case maybe. Before we proceed to the core of our discussion, it would be advisable to consider both works separately and understand the gist of their argument, as this would be important for understanding why a particular work has adopted a particular point of narration. A Long way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, written by Ishmael Beah, published in 2007, is an autobiographical account of the plight of boy soldiers in world’s conflicts and in particular tell this story from the war ravaged Sierra Leone. ... He presents his story in front of the United Nations where he meets many other people like him and story carries him to the United States where he begins a new life 2. The story tells the hardship of the life of boy soldiers, children who anywhere else in the world are still in the innocence of their childhood and hands that carry books haven’t yet the crassness of a knife. Sierra Leone opens before us in wonderful detail, with the layers of it’s social interaction being visible in greater strides finally dissolving into a medley of social interactions that we all can identify and relate to. Sizwe’s Test by Jonny Steinberg, published in 2008, tells the story of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. No other country perhaps has been at the peril of this scourge as perhaps South Africa where one in eight men are HIV positive1. Steinberg is puzzled that despite this, most people do not get tested for HIV, nor do they adopt widespread safe sex practices. His story tells us the complex socio – economic realities in the suburban slum of Lusikisiki, thorugh the eyes of Sizwe – a local shop owner 3. The story begins and then proceeds at a casual tone of narration, getting the reader to the characters and the environment in which they live. Then they reveal in wider and ever expanding circles the layers of this semi-urban community and finally tells us why the people are so stigmatized about HIV. Sizwe has had unprotected sex with many women and is at great risk himself, but he refuses to get tested. He becomes the window through which Steinberg narrates the tale of Lusikisiki. The absolute lack of privacy, the fear of being shown as

Managment in Aviation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managment in Aviation - Case Study Example But these conventional languages are flattering less common for the theoretical regulation. Every now and then even industrial dealings and employee associations are confusingly scheduled as synonyms, though these normally demote to the relationship between management and workers and the behavior of labours in corporation. The hypothetical regulation is based mostly on the supposition that workers are individuals with altering goals and needs, and as such should not be contemplation of as essential business resources, such as trucks and filing cabinets. The field takes a constructive vision of workers, supercilious that practically all wish to contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main obstacles to their comings and goings are lack of knowledge, inadequate teaching, and failures of procedure (Armstrong, Michael, Human Resource Management Practice, 10th edition (2006). Practitioners in the field see HRM as a more innovative view of workplace management than the traditional approach. Its practices force the managers of an endeavour to express their goals with specificity so that they can be unspoken and assumed by the workforce, and to make available the resources needed for them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, HRM techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall. HRM is also seen by many to have a key role in risk reduction within organisations. Synonyms such as personnel management are often used in a more restricted sense to describe activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing its members with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. So if we move to actual definitions, Torrington and Hall (1987) define personnel management as being: "Those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all levels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage"( While Miller 1987, p. 352). Academic Theory The goal of human resource management is to help an organization to convene planned goals by drawing, and preserving workers and also to administer them successfully. The keyword here possibly is "fit", i.e. HRM advancement looks for to certify a fit between the management of an organization's employees, and the overall strategic direction of the company (Miller, 1989). The essential principle of the academic theory of HRM is that humans are not equipments; therefore we need to have an interdisciplinary assessment of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, industrial engineering, industrial and organizational psychology, industrial relations, sociology, and critical theories: postmodernism, post-structuralism play a chief role. Many colleges and universities tender bachelor and master degrees in Human Resources

Movie Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie Review - Essay Example The plot revolves around different people, the local fishing community, homeless kids, prostitutes, Russian cargo pilots, a night watchman, a priest and many others but linked by a common thread – the fishing of the Nile Perch in Lake Victoria for export to Europe and the subsequent import of arms to perpetrate war in Africa. And when the Russian pilot says; â€Å"The children of Angola receive guns for Christmas, the children of Europe receive grapes†, we somehow get an idea of the dystopian manner in which globalization and social and ecological disintegration have impacted the lesser privileged societies of the world and we cannot help but accept the truth with a pinch of salt. The past decade has been one of large scale production, mass consumption, commercialization, globalization and much more. With the advent of the capitalist and consumerist culture, the world has seen many of the developing economies involving themselves actively in global trade and exports. An d many of these nations have prided in higher economic stability and rates of growth as well as an improvement in the standard of living of their people. But what Hubert Sauper tries to explain through â€Å"Darwin’s Nightmare† is the fact that much of this holds true only in statistics and numbers and the reality is no way near agreement with figures and findings. Centered in and around Lake Victoria in Tanzania, Sauper tells the story of how the incessant fishing at the lake has left a devastating aftermath on the ecology and economy of the country. In the 1960s the Nile perch was introduced in to the lake perhaps as a means of food for the local population. However, as time progressed, the predatory perch attacked and destroyed most of the native fish and living organisms thereby causing massive damage to the natural ecosystem and biodiversity of the lake. This was followed by continual fishing of the perch which was being processed as fillets and exported to Europe for consumption. It is appalling to see how the perch in its best form is eaten by the people of Europe while the fishing community in Lake Victoria is left hungry with nothing but the carcasses to feed on. But Sauper’s story telling doesn’t stop there. And that is the most remarkable feature of the film and why I feel the film surpassed my expectations. He shows us not only the ecological effect of the Nile perch and its subsequent fishing but also its adverse impact on the social, cultural and economic aspects of the Mwanzan community. So the ‘nightmare’ is not confined to the Darwinian element alone but is in reference to a lot of other issues such as poverty, social and economic inequalities, lack of political focus, ignorance, misanthropy and the disturbing truth that the weakest sections of society are in many cases unable to receive the benefits of so called foreign aid and support. In other words, Sauper is able to incorporate varied and equally d ifficult themes of such magnitude using a single canvas and in its most basic form. And the message he conveys comes across loud and clear. There are many visual images and conversations that refuse to leave your mind even hours after the movie ends. One character who needs to be mentioned here is Raphael, the night watchman who ‘protects’ the National Fisheries Institute for a dollar a night. Whether he speaks of crocodiles in the river, how the

Roxanne Swentzell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Roxanne Swentzell - Essay Example The artwork by Roxanne gives full focus on the human beings and their daily interaction with the environment. The term environment here refers to the general surrounding. As in people besides the other person, are they the work one does, house chores, defined by gender or political aspects. Human on the other aspect refers to any person. Young or old, a child, woman or even boys. She tries to express her feelings through them and the effects of the environment to their lives. Or even the impact of their lives on the environment. Humans react differently to their environment. Roxanne has strived to bring out the aspect of their feelings. She has balanced the emotional dimensions of the children, shyness, and love to children and how they interact with each other from the general perspective (Swentzell, Roxanne, & Gussie 44). In her artwork of making babies for Indian women, she has designed a Pueblo woman. The woman has a port on her head and babies are emanating from it. Others carried on her laps, some standing on her shoulder while she seats on the ground. The one standing is eager to know who these others are coming from the pot. The sculpture is symbolic. The port represents the birth process. Pueblo is African in nature. From the cultural view, African women should bore and rare to a big number of children and manage it the best way possible. It is disbelief that children are sources of wealth and symbol of a wealthy family. The pot is symbolizing the woman’s uterus: an organ in which conception takes place. Before been expelled through the birth canal, that is the neck of the pot to the point where the children are seen peeping. These depict that an African woman is expected to be very healthy and fertile. In turn, it will enable her conceive as many children as possible. The man, on the other hand, will deal with the task of rearing, educating them. The artist

Formal assessment & Austin (1991) Essay Example for Free

Formal assessment Austin (1991) Essay Formal assessment has been described by Austin (1991) as a process of â€Å"gathering information and utilization of that that information for individual and institutional improvement (p. 2). The information gathered may include the students’ weakness and strengths in certain subjects’ areas. Emphasis in formal assessments is focused on the results of a standardized evaluation tests that are administered under strict and regulated environments. However, that information is very important for student since they are able to know how well they are progressing and measures to undertake to deal with their weaknesses. Assessment forms an important component of teaching and leaning that has a greater impact on student learning (Saliu 271). Saliu goes on to demonstrate that assessment should be able to measure the criterion for which it was intended while maintaining consistence at the same time (271). This paper will discuss major components of formal learning which include reasons for assessing and administering tests to students, relevant formal assessments that may be administered, advantages and disadvantages of each particular assessment. I will however, put forward some recommendations on what the teacher and institution needs to pay attention to in order to achieve the objectives of formal assessment. Reasons for assessing and administering testing to students The main reason for administering assessment is to monitor the student’s progress in learning as compared to other students of the same age or level (Wilson and Scalise 11). Assessments results are useful in screening and making decision on the level of qualifications to base career growth activities. The results are very useful to the curriculum developers and syllabus preparation by both governments and institutions (Council of Europe 6). Results provide a good guide for program or course evaluation since it presents the information in form of scores. The results obtained are used by local and federal departments’ in policy formulation and implementation. Formal assessment should be viewed as a tool that can be used to measure the level at which students receives information from the teacher rather than just giving of grades 1 to 5 (Saliu 272). Moreover, formal test can give valuable information regarding a student progress in mastering the subject content of a particular course at certain levels of study. The results offers a good insight to the teacher when organizing the materials and content for students to lean at comfortable pace yet achieving at their best level possible (Saliu 272). Clearly delimited results are very useful in facilitating students to focus their time and energy towards self improvement . The information obtained from standard test is very useful in deciding a student’s career interests and future goals. The assessment report should be able to reflect a student’s goals and give a clear indication on which areas need help. Motivation is an affective factor in formal assessment which propels the teacher to be devoted towards helping students to learn (Wiggins 38). The teacher gets encouraged after seen students pass well in the subject or course given to students by that teacher (Fitzpatrick and Michael 101). Students get to care about their learning and seek to improve on their weaker areas after the results are released. When a teacher is encouraging and appears to be responsive to students’ feeling, students respond by becoming very constructive and enthusiastic towards achieving higher scores (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 4). The information obtained from formal assessments may guide the teacher to group the students in a way that they can help each other hence creating a class relationship that supports learning process. There is a sense of self acceptance created by students admitting difficulties. This forms a healthy atmosphere for learning from peers (Saliu 273). Grading in formal assessments provide documented information of what a particular student learnt which is useful in job application and academic advancement admissions (Saliu 273). Despite being crucial widely applied by all leaning institutions, grading has several shortcomings which have been put forward by critics. An example of critics includes Wilson and Scalise (2006) held a view that grading does not have a match with the effort students put in answering examination questions. The ultimate grading does not allow the feedback by the students since it denies them the opportunity to review their work after a formal examination. Moreover, students do not get useful comments upon which they can build future progress on their work- those comments are destroyed with their poor grades (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 6). When feedbacks finally are given by the examiners it is either very shallow for instant a single line comment or so late since students may have moved to another grade. Evaluation of the learner’s performance has been difficult for instance marking open-ended questions in standard exam papers (Wilson and Scalise 11). Since individual needs of students cannot be met fully by teachers, limited opportunities for the learner’s growth to realize quality results dominate. To make it worse, inability of all pupils to produce good hand written work hence true reflection in scores limit the learners capacity to acquire more knowledge and to develop deeper understanding of the subject involved. These make it difficult for the pupils to be plausibly and effectively answer or tackle examination questions (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 8). No effective follow-up can be done by students who might be interested in enhancing their academic performance (Wilson and Scalise 11). Grading in formal assessment has failed to accurately give students’ strength and weakness to the teacher since it does not give adequate time. Nevertheless, it is not flexible both in terms of content to be tested and level of ability of each student (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 12). If we consider a grade of â€Å"2† in philosophy of education course awarded, it will only say that a student learned a great deal of the information but it will no show what content was or was not mastered (Wilson and Scalise 12) Teachers form the majority of assessors of students’ learning for formal assessments. Students can also test their work and test that of their peers and provide an immediate feedback for improvement. The test can be administered by other external examiners such as Standard Aptitude Tests (SAT) (Council of Europe 8). Assessment may be administered at any time of student leaning but it has to be regulated if its purpose is to achieve a defined set standard. The nature of an assessment is determined by the type of cohort of students and upon the need for assessing. The content of what to asses should entirely be guided by the desired end results and the application of those results (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 5). Pros and cons of deferent forms formal assessment Formal assessment may take different dimensions according to where it is administered and the target group. Tests may be in form of standard set examinations which are mainly norm-referenced. Formal assessment may also include examinations designed locally by a faculty to offer an objective or subjective assessment (Council of Europe 9). Standardized exams are administered to a specific group which is entirely structured in a multiple-choice question (objective) or descriptive questions (subjective) in one subject area. The results are compared with a set standard (reference). It is applied to students in a given program, course or a level. The main advantage of standard set examination is that it can be adopted view quickly and its implementation is quite easy. It reduces the faculty time requirements in tools design, development and grading (Council of Europe 9). Norm-referenced assessment gives objective scores which provides for generalizations of the results with other student in other places or times. It provides a reference group that is required by the faculty or the testing body. Another benefit of standard test is its application by state or national standards exist for a given discipline or profession such as accountancy, medicine among others (Saliu 273). May be beneficial or required in instances where state or national standards exist for the discipline or profession. It can be applied in comparing the levels of knowledge across several institutions (Astin 3). There are several shortcomings that are associated with this form of assessment. One of the major disadvantages of standard tests according to Wilson and Scalise is that, it has a limit of what it can measure in during testing time (636). It is a culprit of the elimination of the proper process of learning by not reflecting what a student has actually learnt in a given program or course. It may not be able to completely evaluate a particular objective of an entire course (Council of Europe 9). Since most standardized tests are done at the end of a course or program, they fail to provide relevant feedback to both the teacher and the student which would otherwise be used to motivate the student learning. The tests can neither determine a student’s progress on a daily basis nor the achievements in varying periods (Hart 17). They cannot also effectively evaluate the knowledge of a specific course content area which keeps on changing such as social sciences. Another demerit of standardized achievement tests arises due to the administration of multiple-choice tests which pose a grater potential error of guessing the correct answer. (Saliu 243). It only provides a summary evaluation of few parts of whole course. The outcomes may not have direct deductions for course improvement or that of an individual student’s advancement. The results are highly liable to misinterpretation by the teacher or other interested parties such as admitting institutions and employers. Since majority of these tests are commercialized someone (student or program) have to pay to obtain them. When pressure is so much pressed on the passing the tests, the teacher may be forced to teach to the test and not the development of the student skills (Council of Europe 9). A single test is not perfect in providing enough information that ensures a complete assessment. Different tests on a particular subject at deferent times provide almost different information on a student. Locally developed exams can be beneficial since its content and mode is inclined to specific objectives and students’ features of the course or program (Wiggins 37). It can establish specified criteria for measuring performance associated with to curriculum. It can be useful in the development of relevant process of learning of particular group of students. A more localized grading system by faculty can provided a speedy feedback mechanism for teaching betterment. The teacher will have a greater control over the analysis and use of the results in improving students leaning processes and course materials (Wiggins 38). However, locally developed tests require a substantial coordination more so throughout the phases of design and development (Fitzpatrick and Michael 101). It may not provide a basis for cross-institutional comparisons for students in same level of study. These particular tests are time consuming on side of the teacher since they require a lot of attention and effort in designing and administering. In order to provide validity and reliability in these tests an expert may be required expertise in accurate measurement (Council of Europe 11). It may not provide the element associated with the external comparison in relation to other institutions offering similar course or program. Performance appraisals are another form of formal assessments that can be administered to measure competency of acquired skills in a real world situation (Burke 29). They are set standards that seek to evaluate students in a specific class or level (Hart 74). They are credited to providing a relatively direct measure of what has been learned rather than taught in a program or course (Ryan 290). They are mostly preferred to other methods of measuring since they are able to evaluate the application skills learnt in specific settings. They are in tandem with aims of professional training programs and fields which have well specified skill development programs (Ryan 290). Nevertheless, performance appraisals have their share of limitations which include high costs associated with effort and time consumption. Their grading are mostly more subjective than other formal assessments (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The sample of performance appraised might not as well be the typical of the student since it might have been triggered by the presence of appraiser. An aptitude test forms yet another important form of formal assessment. An aptitude test has the advantage of measuring the level of knowledge that a student already possess before entering a grade level or a program (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). This provides the teacher with prior information on the likelihood of a students degree of performance and success in the class. It will determine the information which a student already has compared to set norms. This will further illustrate the level of learning for a particular student which comes in handy when designing individualized instructions (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The teacher will have no difficulties in giving advanced instruction for those students that are gifted while at the same time giving a remedial assistance to those who need help. Since modern education is taking learner-centered approach, results of aptitude test provide relevant information that can teachers use to group students for effective cognitive learning. The results are applied in determining when a student develops a learning disability (Council of Europe 12). Aptitude tests face some challenges and limitations that are usual to test. They are limited to measuring students’ capacity to learn new projects and accomplishments. The results do not reflect on the skills or knowledge that students have had no previous training (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). Since information obtained from an aptitude test gives skills and knowledge students had already acquired in past, it fails to guide the teacher on the application of future instruction. Teacher involvement in formal assessment Recommendations for reducing the shortcoming of formal assessments lie heavily on the teacher and the entire institution involvement in setting exam questions and administration of the examinations. The teacher should choose a test very carefully that will match with the requirements of a course or a program (Council of Europe 28). The teacher should review information on previous sample of performances to ensure the test’s reliability and validity from test publishers. The faculty should engage experts to review the previous summary reports of similar exam results in creating a more updated report for the faculty (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The teacher is not supposed to teach to exam otherwise the results would be compromised. The instructor or teacher should be involved in grading systems that focus more emphasis on the feed forward. The institutions should make sure that standardized tests are marked and the papers that can be returned are done in time increase the feedback flow. The grading system should be focused on the offering a true picture of what has been mastered and what has not fully mastered. There should be model answers drawn from others student solutions to provide those who have failed with a way of what was expected of them (Saliu 274). A syndicate with other institutions which have similar objectives in testing can be formed to reduce the costs of developing instruments and to provide an element of externality. The exams department should incorporate outside experts to provide relevant input for development and grading system (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). In order to reduce the shortcomings associated with performance appraisals training for appraisers should be provided so that they are able to stick to specified criteria (Wiggins 38). It is imperative to alter criteria till acceptable consistency of measurement is reached for testing in multiple situations. Since the result of performance appraisal cannot be used alone to grade a student, Ryan (1994) suggested that results should be cross-validated with other measures of performance (290). Formal assessment includes undertaking fixed, regulated and standardized tests. Grading forms a major part of measurement for mastery of content. Although grading in standard tests is a norm accepted everywhere, it its shortcomings. There are several reasons for formal assessment and standard testing which include monitoring students’ progress, comparing the results with peer; it also provides a measure of level of student knowledge. When the assessment is done appropriately, it can be a source of both the student and teacher motivation. It can create trust among the students and teacher. The component of grading has been an issue of hated debate due to its inadequacy to address all areas of students’ learning. Grades are issued but they cannot be rectified since the doors are closed immediately after results are released. Standard tests, locally developed tests, aptitude tests and performance appraisal are major shapes taken by formal assessment. Although formal assessment provides a standard measure for evaluation of learning among students of a particular cohort or group, it fails to give comprehensive ability of a student. Works Cited Astin, Alexander W. Assessment for Excellence: The Philosophy and Practice of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Portsmouth: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1991. Burke, Kay, ed. Authentic Assessment: A Collection. Illinois: Skylight Training and Publishing, Inc. , 1992. Council of Europe. Common European Framework of Reference fo Languages: Learning Teaching, Assesment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. , 2001. Fitzpatrick, Jody L. and Morris Michael. Current and Emerging Ethical Challenges in Evaluation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999. Hart, Diane. Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators. . New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994. Ryan, Alan G. Towards Authentic Assessment in Science via STS. Bulletin of Science, Technology Society (1994): 290. Saliu, Sokol. Constrained Subjective Assessment of Student Learning. Journal of Science Education and Technology (2005): 271-284. Weeden, Paul, Jan Winter and Patricia Broadfoot. Assessment. New York: Routledge, 2002. Wiggins, Grant. The Case for Authentic Assessment. ERIC Digest (1990). Wilson, Mark and Kathleen Scalise. Assessment to Improve Learning in Higher Education: The BEAR Assessment System. Higher Education (2006): 635-663.

Psoriasis Case Study

Psoriasis Case Study Case Study P.D. a twenty-three-year-old female presents with symptoms of psoriasis. She has several thick scaly, well defined, erythematous plaques, which are silvery in color. The patient reports that she has just returned from a twelve-day trip to southern Louisiana to work the ecosystem as part of her education as an environmental engineer. During the trip, she had significant solar exposure, although she wore sunscreen. The expanded and prominent plaques cover her elbows and thighs, and there is a patch on her scalp. Her lesions cover about fifteen percent of her body. She occasionally applies moisturizing lotion or witch hazel if it becomes too irritating. All other body systems are normal. Patient states â€Å"I have always had some rashes, although usually not this bad.† Past Medical History â€Å"Some rashes, otherwise non-contributory Social History Recent trip to southern Louisiana for ecosystem work related to studies as an environmental engineer. Physical Examination Several thick scaly, well define, erythematous plagues, silver in color. Expanded plague and prominent plagues cover elbows and thighs, with an area on the scalp. Plague coverage is fifteen percent of the body. Significant sun exposure All other body systems are within normal limits. Reviewing the symptoms, the primary diagnosis is plague psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin in which the production of epidermal cells occurs at a rate that is faster than normal. The cells in the basal layer of the skin divide too quickly, and the newly formed cells move rapidly to the skin surface and become evident as profuse scales or plagues of epidermal tissue. The psoriatic epidermal cell may travel from the basal cell layer to the stratum corneum and be cast off in three to four days, which is in sharp contrast to the normal twenty-six to twenty-eight days. As a result of the increased number of basal cells and rapid cell passage, the normal events of cell maturation and growth cannot take place. This abnormal process does not allow the formation of the protective layers of the skin (PubMed Health, 2012). Psoriasis, one of the most common skin diseases, affects approximately two percent of the population. There appears to be a hereditary defect that causes overpopulation of keratin. The primary defect is unknown. A combination of specific genetic makeup and environmental stimuli may trigger the onset of the disease. There is evidence that the cell proliferation is mediated by the immune system. Periods of emotional stress and anxiety aggravate the condition, and trauma, infections, and seasonal and hormonal changes are trigger factors. The onset may occur at any age, but is most common between the ages of ten and thirty-five years. Psoriasis has a tendency to improve and then recur throughout life (PubMed Health, 2012). The clinical manifestation The lesions appear as red, raised patches of skin covered with silvery scales. The scaly patches are formed by the buildup of living and dead skin that results from the vast increase in the rate of skin-cell growth and turnover. If the scales are scraped away, the dark red base of the lesion is exposed, producing multiple bleeding points. These patches are not moist and may or may not itch. The lesions may remain small, giving rise to the term â€Å"guttate psoriasis. Usually, the lesions enlarge slowly, but after many months they coalesce, forming extensive irregular shaped patches (PubMed Health, 2012). Psoriasis may range from a cosmetic source of annoyance to a physically disabling and disfiguring affliction. Particular sites of the body tend to be affected by this ailment; they include the scalp, the area over the elbows and knees, the lower part of the back, and the genitalia. Psoriasis also appears on the extensor surfaces of the arms and legs, on the scalp and ears, and over the sacrum and intergluteal fold. Bilateral symmetry is a feature of Psoriasis (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). The disease may be associated with arthritis of multiple joints, causing crippling disability. The relationship between arthritis and psoriasis is not understood. Another complication is an exfoliative psoritic state in which the disease progresses to involve the total body surface (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). Management The goals of management are to reduce the rapid turnover of the epidermis and to promote resolution of the psoriatic lesions. Thus, the goal is limited to control of the problem, because there is no cure (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). The therapeutic approach should be one that the patient understands; it should be cosmetically acceptable and not too disruptive of life-style. It will involve a commitment of time and effort by the patient. First, any precipitating or aggravating factors are removed. Then as assessment is made of life-style, since psoriasis is significantly affected by stress. The patient must also be advised that treatment of severe psoriasis can be time-consuming, expensive, and esthetically unappealing at times. Treatment will begin with Vectical ointment (calcitriol) 3mcg/g, topical use only. Apply twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, the maximum weekly dose should not exceed 200 gram (National Institute of Health, 2012). Treatment will extend to eight weeks, with follow up in office at that time. Each gram contains 3 micrograms of calcitriol. Vectical should not be applied to the face, eyes, or lips. It should be used with caution in patients receiving medications known to increase calcium serum levels, such as calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, and thiazide diuretics. Vectical may cause sunburn more easily, avoid the sun, sunlamps, or tanning beds while using Vectical ointment. Use a sunscreen or wear protective clothing when having to be outside for more than a short time (National Institute of Health, 2012). Vectical ointment is indicated for the topical treatment of mild to moderate plague psoriasis in adults eighteen years and older. Calcitriol (Vectical) contains 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, the hormone active form of vitamin D3. Calcitriol 3-mcg/g ointment is similar in efficacy to calcipotriene 0.005-% ointment for the treatment of plague type psoriasis on the body and is better tolerated in intertriginous and sensitive areas of the skin (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2012). Vectical contains calcitriol, which studies have shown to be fetotoxic, and should be used in pregnancy only if the potential benefits justify the potential risk to the fetus. It is not known if calcitriol is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Vectical ointment is used by nursing women. If the patient thinks she may be pregnant, they will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Vectical ointment while pregnant (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2 012). Patient Education Use only as directed, for external use only. Vectical is to be applied only to areas of skin affected by psoriasis. Vectical should be gently rubbed into the skin so that no medication remains visible. As you may sunburn more easily, avoid the sun, sunlamps, or suntan beds/booths while using Vectical ointment. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater; wear protective clothing when you must be outside for more than a short time (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). All medications may cause side effects, but many have no, or minor, side effects. Minor skin discomfort at the application site is the most common side effect of Vectical ointment. Notify the medical provider if these side effects occur; rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, swelling of the face, mouth or lips, new or worsening skin irritation ( blistering, flushing, burning, severe discomfort, or redness), symptoms of hypercalcemia (weakness, nausea, confusion, constipation, excessive thirst, fast, slow or irregular heartbeat) (National Institute of Health, 2012). Treatment Plan Vectical (calcitriol) 3mcg/g, 100 G tube; twice daily. Follow up appointment in eight weeks. Laboratory testing to include calcium serum levels and hCG testing now and at followup visit. Additional laboratory testing to include skin biopsy for fungal infection. Patient education on use and precautions of medications, and supplements. Referral to psoriasis support group for emotional support and education. Differential Diagnosis Review of symptoms and history of working in the environment leads to questioning if the patient presentation is a case of Tine Corporis and Tina Capitis. As the patient was in an environmental area that is subject to large fungal growth and exposure to a wet climate increases the risks for fungal infestation, this is the differential diagnosis (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). Tina capitis is a contagious fungal infection of the hair shafts. Microsporum and Trichophyton species are dermatophytes that infect hair. Clinically, one or several round patches of redness and scaling are present. Tinea Corporis or Tina circinata begins as an erythematous macule advancing to rings of vesicles with central clearing. The lesions appear in clusters, usually on exposed areas of the body. These may extend to the scalp, hair, or nails. As a rule, there is an elevated border consisting of small papules or vesicles. Coalescence of individual rings may result in large patches with bizarre scalloped borders. Use of a woods lamp will help in the diagnosis. The fungal infection will glow under the light. Skin biopsy will confirm the presence of fungal infestation (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2012). References Brunton, L., Chabner, B., Knollman, B. (2011). Goodman Gilmans: The pharmacological basis of therapeutics (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. Katzung, B., Mastes, S., Trevor, A. (2012). Basic Clinical Pharmacology (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. National Institute of Health. (2012, January). Vectical ointment. Retrieved from U.S. National Library of Medicine: http://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/druginfo.cfm PubMed Health. (2012, November). Psoriasis. Retrieved from PubMed Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001470

Le Corbusier: Five Points of Architecture

Le Corbusier: Five Points of Architecture Five Points of Architecture Le Corbusier is one of the most significant architects from the 20th century. He is known as one of the pioneers of modern architecture due to many of his ideas and ‘recipes’ within architecture. One of his most famous was ‘The Five Point of a New Architecture’   that he had explained in‘LEsprit Nouveau’  and the book ‘Vers une architecture’, which he had been developing throughout the 1920s. Le Corbusier’ development of this idea altered the architectural promenade in a new way, which was presented in 1926.[1] The five points are as follows: pilotis, the roof garden, free plan, free faà §ade, and the horizontal window. Le Corbusier used these points as a structural basis for most of his architecture up until the 1950’s, which are evident in many of his designs. The essay ‘Les Cinq points dune architecture nouvelle’ by Le Corbusier focuses on questions that are raised within architectural design, suggesting a foundation and arrangement in it. Similar texts for example the progress of ‘cellule’  and figures of the Maison Standardisee, do not have relation to the design process of the five points. The Modulor, which is the study of proportions of the human body scale that is used as a system to plan a number of Le Corbusier’s buildings, is another theoretical attempt, which did not achieve a proper relation to the design process and also the architectural search for form that personifies the five points. On the other hand, these ideas can be portrayed more freely as ‘merely theoretical ideas’.[2] One exception is the concept of the tracis regulateurs (regulating lines), which uses proportions of geometry in buildings. It predicted certain ideas behind the five points in a number of aspects. The first point is the piloti, which are columns or piers that elevate a structure off the ground. The fact that the structure is lifted provides many functional advantages. As the pilotis raise the building off the ground, it allows circulation beneath the house, which frees the building site, and allows a driveway, parking space, or a garden to be placed beneath the house. The pilotis provides many advantages, and also new constructional possibilities. The artistic moments as well as the extended usefulness are the results of those ‘recherches assidues’ and those ‘acquis de laboratoire’[3]. The same area is also gained on the flat roof. This area is known as the next point, which is the roof garden. This is to balance the green area that was already used by the building and substituted it onto the roof, which is then used for domestic purposes. Free plan is the next point, which means the floor space can be arranged freely without the concern for supportin g walls into rooms. Replacing interior load-bearing columns from walls dividing the space, and moving the structure of the building to the exterior is a way to achieve this. Le Corbusier designed an open floor structure called the Dom-ino house in which the model removed load-bearing wall and the supporting beams for the ceiling. This invention was most unexpected at time; it was a ‘forecast of the potentialities of reinforced concrete, of mass-production, of human scale, of the modern factory.’[4] The frame did not depend on the floor plans of the house, giving the architect freedom when designing the interior. Free faà §ade is another point. It is the ability of designing the faà §ade freely as the walls are non-supporting, which is the result of the free plan. The next point is the horizontal window. This allows the faà §ade to be cut along its entire length. By doing so it allows maximum illumination, better ventilation and also gives views of the surrounding yar d, which is evident in the Villa Savoye. The five points were demonstrated in many of Le Corbusiers architecture throughout his career. One of first designs that Le Corbusier attempted to include the points in was the Maisons Citrohan. The house was developed through different versions. Numerous elements of the houses design turned out to be essential factors, which make up Le Corbusiers style. Certain characteristics of the Maison Citrohan can be detected in most of the villas in the 1920’s.[5] Maison Citrohan introduced the ‘five points of new architecture’. The house was elevated by pilotis allowing free circulation on the ground, and also consisted of a reinforced-concrete frame structure, which was achieved from the Dom-ino’s constructional system. The open space created by the pilotis and the flat roof increases the small area that already exists. It also had a roof garden/terrace. Le Corbusier voiced himself on the subject of the Maison Citrohan in the first volume of the ‘Oevre compl dte’: â€Å"Stuttgart, cest Ioccasion enfin!. Le Corbusier did not talk of individual objects or designs; he talked about the constant development of an idea stretched over many cases.[6] Le Corbusier studied the essential philosophies of Egyptian, Hindu, Byzantine, and Greek architecture in ‘Vers une architecture’, which is a collection of essays that supports study of the concept of modern architecture.[7] Egyptian and Greek architecture were particularly important for Le Corbusiers application of the five points. From Egyptian architecture, Le Corbusier acquired the idea of symmetry and repetition. In addition, Le Corbusier obtained the notion of movement and contraries from Greek architecture. The lesson of regular repetition from Egyptian architecture, as mentioned above, provided the idea of using repetition in vertical supports that Le Corbusier would later apply to his architecture as a constant scale, a rhythm, a restful cadence. Le Corbusiers design theories were put in practice to a certain level within a number of his designs such as the Maison Cook, the Villa Stein, and also at the Villa Savoye. In these buildings ‘the regular grid of columns served as a foil to the organic shapes of the curved walls and stairs, which together combined to organize a pleasant architectural promenade with asymmetrically balanced views’ according to the lessons of Greek architecture. [8] Similar to the Citrohan House, the Villa Stein had a roof, which became a terrace garden; regularly spaced structural piers, which allowed freely curved interior partitions, and also horizontal windows that extended across facades. The Maison Cook was a terrace house. The upper floors of the house were supported by concrete piloti, and the ground floor consisted of a open plan which had a parking space, entry, and a terrace. The roof was also used as a garden terrace. Le Corbusier wanted to show that the partitions of the rooms on each floor were independent of structural supports, thus the partitions were curved.[9] The Villa Savoye follows the five points best strictly, and can be considered as a built plan of Le Corbusier’s five points. The exterior maintains the idea of symmetry as all four elevations are really similar, which consist of horizontal windows and openings running the width of the faà §ade at the second floor level, supported by regularly spaced pilotis.[10] Within the points, the free plan is the most important in the design, where the large wall curves freely between the pilotis on the ground floor, which reflects the idea of the ‘free plan’ the strongest. As much as the five points have contributed to the development of modern architecture greatly, some points such as the horizontal windows are not necessary in terms of the designing of good architecture. Also the idea of the roof garden has been criticised over the years for leaking, it also would be considered very strange in domestic houses in countries such as the UK, as they use the more traditional pitched roof as it seems more homely. Furthermore, Le Corbusier abandoned the idea of the piloti shortly after some point; his later work does not strictly follow the points. Le Corbusier’s ‘Five Points in Architecture’ manifesto, as explained above, has had great influence on modern architecture. This is evident in The Villa Savoye, which summed up the five points, which turned out to be a masterpiece of the 20th century design and one of the greatest works by Le Corbusier. The five points have allowed a wide variety of ideas and possibilities within designing arc hitecture even to this day such as the use of free faà §ade in Zaha Hadid’s Performing Arts Center in Hague (2010).   Ã‚   [1] Le Corbusier, Choisy, and French Hellenism: The Search for a New Architecture by Richard A. Etlin. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Jun., 1987), p.275 [2] Les Cinq Points dune Architecture Nouvelle by Werner Oechslin trans. Wilfried Wang. Assemblage, No. 4 (Oct., 1987), p.84 [3] Les Cinq Points dune Architecture Nouvelle by Werner Oechslin trans. Wilfried Wang. Assemblage, No. 4 (Oct., 1987), p.93 [4] Five Points of Architecture; the Promenade Architecturale, mimesis (copying), p.43 [5] Key Houses of the Twentieth Century:Plans, Sections and Elevations, Laurence King Publishing, 2006 , p.56 [6] Les Cinq Points dune Architecture Nouvelle by Werner Oechslin trans. Wilfried Wang. Assemblage, No. 4 (Oct., 1987), p.84 [7] Le Corbusier, Choisy, and French Hellenism: The Search for a New Architecture by Richard A.Etlin. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Jun., 1987), p.275 [8] Le Corbusier, Choisy, and French Hellenism: The Search for a New Architecture by Richard A. Etlin. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Jun., 1987), p.276 [9] A World History of Architecture by Marian Moffett, Michael W. Fazio, Lawrence Wodehouse, 2003 edition, p.509 [10] Design and Analysis by Bernard Leupen, 1997, p.51 What is white space? What is white space? What is white space? White space, also recognized by most as negative space, is the unmarked space between graphics, texts, and margins. To be precise, it is basically all spaces that possess absent of contents. Sandy Wheeler argued that, most people do not understand the role of white space and often consider them simply as ‘blank space.However, in my opinion, this perception is incorrect. Even though white space does not hold contents in the way that a photograph or text holds meaning, it essentially serves to carry meaning through context to both image and text. It is an important element of design which allows the objects in it to even exist. In addition, it may even make or break the effective transmission of image and text. As designers, we are trained to often use white space where it is appropriate in our designs. This is not limited to only graphic design, but also extends to other types of design such as web, product, interior, architecture, and many others. First of all, let us explore the use of white space in graphic design. White space can be categorized into 2 categories, the ‘macro white space which represents the space between major elements in a composition, and ‘micro white space which represent the space between smaller elements, several of which include those between list items, between a caption and an image, or between words and letters and the rest of the small spaces. White space is also often used to build a balanced and harmonious layout. The white space other than can be categorized into macro and micro white space, both marco and micro white space can also be divided into active and passive white space. The active white space is space which is left empty intentionally. Also, it serves to lead a reader from one element to another. As for passive white space, it is the white space that does not appear to be intentional. In other words, most passive white space is â€Å"unintentional† which means it is just the unconsidered space or left over space present within a composition.In my opinion, all white space in a good design, whether active or passive, should be planned out by the designer from the very first. If a designer only planned on the macro white space used and let the rest of the white space unconsidered, it will be just considered as poor design. Passive white space creates breathing room and balance and its role cannot be underm ined. A web design aims to allow visitors to subconsciously develop an impression and predict where the navigation and content areas will be as they navigate from page to page. A well-designed webpage includes active white space as an intentional page element that visually separates the navigation, content, header and footer. Lacking of which can result in the website appearing cluttered, and visitors might feel that the information they are looking for would be difficult to find and thus head to other websites. Micro white spaces often help improve legibility. Many people disregard the importance of the micro space and always feel that the small little spaces will not make much difference in design. In some cases, white space can be very limited and a lot of information has to be fitted into a page, for example newspaper, yellow pages and etc. When a lot of information is crammed together, the layout will eventually to be appearing messy and hard to read. This is when we, the designers come in to find ways to solve this problem. One good example is ‘The Economist newspaper, which has been redesigned as the owner of the company realized that their newspaper design was too heavy and the contents are too difficult to read. This is an important issue as the design and legibility of the newspaper affected the sales of the newspaper. The company hired Erik Spiekermann, a German designer and typographer to search for a solution. In newspaper design, information is often dense and many times, it is difficult to add in additional whitespace because of the content requirements. Spiekermanns solution to this was to use a lighter typeface for their body content with plenty of whitespace surrounding the characters. Spiekermann redesigned the typeface by adding more whitespace to the individual characters while retaining the quirkiness of the original Economist typeface. He proceeded to set the type slightly smaller and using leading. All these small changes added up to create more micro white space to the design, r esulting in the content being more legible. The overall feeling of the newspaper was lighter, while the amount of content remained the same.Spiekermanns successful redesign for ‘The Economist proves that the space between the â€Å"itsy-bitsy† stuff can have a big impact on the effectiveness of a design. This concept could essentially be applied to designs for other magazines, yellow pages, the web and other medium that require a substantial amount of texts. Shown below is the redesign of typeface from ‘The Economist by Spiekermann, illustrating how such small changes could make a big difference. The images below show two typical spreads, one before the redesign, when ‘The Economist was printed in black and white with bits of red, and another article after the redesign which has went on to full color. In addition, white space also plays an important role in brand positioning. On the surface of paper, white space is â€Å"that of chosen not to print†. From the perspective of economy and conservation, white space should then be at a minimum, and logically all space should then be used up and not come to a waste. In this case, white space is used for purely semiotic values. It is insisted then, that the image of what is presented is more crucial than what the paper that could save. In countries such as Japan, some printing jobs are very costly as they would still charge for the printing plates, separations, paper, and four-or-more color presses even to print white space.Therefore, average brands that have a limited budget would try to fully maximize the whole paper by including as much contents as possible. On the other hand, some designers utilize white space to create a feeling of luxury and elegance to upscale brands. With the sensitive use of typography and image, generous white space is seen over several luxury market products. Extensive white space is used in marketing material to sell to the target audiences the idea that the products are of the highest quality and extravagant value. Images below show the examples of white space used in some luxurious brands. Essentially, it all boils to which target audiences are designers after. There are indeed exceptions of which white space may not be necessary in design. For example, in direct-mail products, designs need to be appeared down-market to work. By adding white space to it, the design would appear to inherit an undesirably upscale quality, which may not appeal to the targeted mass audience in the community.Below is an example of direct mail versus luxury brand design. The contents shown above are the same, including the text information and image. However, the two designs stand at opposite ends of the brand spectrum. Such comparison illustrates how less white space portrays a cheaper image, while more white space portrays a more luxurious image. The discussion of white space is not simply restricted to the contemporary. In my opinion, the significance and role of white space has change and evolved over time. According to Ken Kelman, in older days, white space was not considered to play a too important role.However, I believe that designs in the past do utilize white space, such as to emphasize a particular content or object. However, a distinct difference between the use of white space between the past and modern days design would be that older designs tend to cram contents together. Even though compositions and macro white space within designs are considered, micro white space is often less regarded or even neglected. The posters below show examples of older days designs when an entire page is often filled up with text and image. The typefaces used in such posters are often big and bulky compared to modern day designs where white spaces hold more importance. Often, large crammed texts with little white space in between are often spotted in vintage design. I believe that in todays world with improvement in technologies, better designs have emerged as we designers are able to create even spaces between each lines of text. We are also able to experiment and play around with composition within design with ease, compared to the past when such hardware did not exist. With this, we could create design that look more professional and clean. Over the time, with the good use of white space by designers, more and more people start to appreciate and realized about the importance of white space in design. Therefore, more of better design pieces are born and white spaces are used more often by designers nowadays compared to the past. Examples of vintage design Example of modern design Not every posters of the past disregard the concept of white space. One such example is the poster below, which was considered to be a success in terms of delivery of its message content. This was partly due to the effective and unique design elements employed which were rarely seen in its counterparts during that period. Using short and straight forward text, with ample of white space around the contents, the importance of the contents stood out and its message was effectively emphasized. Another cause for the change of the signification of white space over time in my opinion is influenced by the changes in human lifestyles. According to a survey by Austin Mott Anastacia, people nowadays are getting busier, more stressful and impatient than ever before. Only 30 percent among 20 000 adults have enough sleep most days and the rest are too busy doing more â€Å"important† stuffs such as working, studies, playing games and so on.In my opinion, because of the busy lifestyle, people would not be willing to spend more time on anything else than what they want to do, not to mention spending too much time on an advertisement. Therefore, designers nowadays tend to use more white space and less content for that purpose. Taking a billboard advertisement for example, a simple, creative and straight forward advertisement is always more successful than the advertisement with a lot of contents as readers would need more time to read and too much contents make the advertisement appear messy. Most readers have busy lifestyle; they would only be willing to spend a limited amount of time on that advertisement. Moreover, billboards are mostly placed along road or highways which made the readers who are travelling in cars have much less time for it. The billboard advertisements would need to convey messages across to readers in a few seconds. Comparing to olden days where most people have more time to spare, they would have a higher chance to spend time on advertisements that are packed with contents. Below are two examples of advertisements for the purpose mentioned above. Another change of signification of white space over time in my opinion is that olden days design put in as much details to minimize as much white space as possible to represent luxury where modern days designers tend to use as much space for that purpose. Focusing on interior and product design as references, olden days tend to put in a lot of details and minimize white space in their design. Regardless of any country and culture, their olden days designs tend to share this same character. To support my point, shown below are the examples of olden days interior design from a few different cultural background such as Europe,   Modern designs In my opinion, olden days folks appreciate details and craftsmanship very much because with the lack of building and engraving technology and machine exist in the olden days, to have a piece of furniture engraved in detail, it needed a lot of effort, time and labour. Only rich people in the olden days could afford that craftsmanship. In another word, it represents status and luxury. As the saying goes ‘less is more. Such wisdom cannot be more emphasized in the concept of white space. Increasingly, white space is being regarded and recognized as part an important design element, and also a design technique. Once you know how to design and manipulate the space surrounding your content, youll be able to amazing feats such as giving your readers a head start in your design, position products more precisely, and last but not least, perhaps even begin to see your own design content in a new light.

Asher Lev :: essays research papers

Asher Lev This story is about a Jewish boy from Brooklyn, who’s talent is painting. He introduces himself as a young man struggling with inner conflict between his religious upbringing and his extraordinary God-given gift that cannot be controlled and seems to possess a spirit all it own. He can not explain why he feels he must paint, and does not like the fact that he hurts everyone he loves, and insults everything he believes in, but continues on his path which seems to have been chosen for him. All throughout the book we see the conflicts between Asher and his family, and grow a hatred towards his father, even though he is a good man and respected highly in the community. As a young boy Asher is told by his father who seems to think that his artistic ability is foolishness and that he needs to focus his attention on his school work. We tend to like his mother, Rivkeh, because, even though she says she doesn’t want Asher to paint, we know that deep down she knows art is where his heart is, and it is the only thing that makes him happy. We can relate with her as she stands by the window worrying and wondering when her loved ones will be home. Asher does not get very much encouragement from other people until he meets the world famous Jacob Kahn, who becomes his inspiration, his teacher, and his link to the great work of art. The two meet at the Rebbe’s office. This meeting was not accidental. It was set up by the Rebbe, who Asher was not very fond of because he is sending his father to Vienna. The Rebbe understands Asher better than his parents do. He knows that Asher has this talent, and wants him to per sew it. When Asher’s dad goes away to Vienna, his mom stays back in Brooklyn with him in hopes that he will studyhard. He studies enough to get by, but still brings to life everything he sees. Jacob Kohn teaches Asher how to become a great painter, cautioning him what he is getting into. As Asher becomes Asher Lev the painter, instead of the son of Reb Aryeh Lev, his father becomes curious and wants to go to one of his shows. Aryeh wants to see some of his work but refuses to go if there are nude paintings.

Information Technology †Wireless local-area Networks (WLAN) :: essays research papers

Information Technology – Wireless local-area Networks (WLAN) In today’s world where organizations need to keep in contact with employees there seem to be more ways than ever to stay connected. This can be a burden for small organizations that do not have a large information technology (IT) staff to keep them updated with the latest technologies (Cisco, 2004). A significant way for employees to stay in touch besides cell phones, laptops and hand held computers is wireless local area networks (WLAN). Also known as LAWN, a wireless local-area network uses high frequency radio waves rather than wires to communicate between computers or other devices (Webopedia, 2004). Business owners are now recognizing the benefits of incorporating wireless network into their organizations. A wireless local area network can be very beneficial because of its mobility and increased employee productivity, but organizations still harbor doubts about its security and reliability. Wireless local area networks (WLAN) provide a variety of benefits to an organization. It can provide mobility and flexibility, which can all lead to improvements in productivity and business opportunities (Wireless LAN, 2004). Wireless local area networks (WLANs) keep mobile workers connected without information technology (IT) professionals having to install wiring through out a building. Temporary workspaces can be set up and internet access can be made available in different meeting locations without the need to rewire. Wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) are also offering access at various locations that would make it convenient to travelers and mobile workers (Public Access, 2004). They are able to connect their laptops or other devices without wires or having to find a data port in airports or hotels. Unlike the past when employees worked from the same location, organizations today enjoy more freedom and flexibility in their workforces because of wireless local area net works (Cisco, 2004). Both organizations and employees enjoy a combination of improved speed, collaboration and accuracy when they invest in a wireless local-area network (Intel, 2004). Wireless local-area networks (WLAN) have given workers the advantage of completing their work away from their office and as a result improve their overall productivity. NOP World through an independent survey discovered that wireless local-area network (WLAN) users stay connected long enough to show an increase in productivity (NOP World, 2003). Different organizations using wireless networks enable their employees to gain access to valuable information pertaining to the business whenever necessary. Not only would vital data be available that could aid an employee in closing a deal, but time could also be saved when correspondences can be answered quickly and at any place via e-mail.

Profiling Foreign Students is Rational and Legitimate Essay -- Septemb

Profiling Foreign Students is Rational and Legitimate Sixty years ago, the United States placed Japanese-, German-, and Italian-Americans in internment camps. Our country has also excluded people of various nationalities simply because we didn't like "their kind." The government's scrutiny of Middle Eastern students in response to September 11 has thus evoked acute suspicions and fears that the Hollywood scenario in "The Siege" will become a reality. Others are concerned that even if internment is a remote possibility, the recent heightened attention toward a group of foreign students amounts to racial profiling. These fears are perfectly reasonable but, thankfully, unsupported by what has happened thus far. As much as Americans today insist on treating people as individuals, there are some regrettable circumstances in which grouping has legitimate purposes. The Supreme Court has recognized the necessity of grouping by subjecting "inherently suspect" classifications like race to a standard of "strict scrutiny," while letting classifications with a reasonable purpose pass with "intermediate scrutiny." Fundamentally, the Court asks whether there is a "rational basis" for a government policy that treats a particular group of people differently. In its recent treatment of foreign students, the government has demonstrated a "rational basis" for measures that group people to meet a pressing state interest while minimizing the violation to individuals' dignity. Without casting aspersions on the people and the culture of the region, we cannot deny that the Middle East is a hotbed of fanaticism. Thousands of militants have been indoctrinated by calls for the violent destruction of entire gr... ...ent has presumed no guilt for the students it has sought records on, and it has neither publicized their names nor allowed universities to notify them because doing so would unduly arouse unnecessary fears of persecution. Educating foreign students is an important instrument of American foreign policy. Foreign students act as dual ambassadors, fostering better understanding between the citizens of their countries of origin and those of the United States. They bring elements of their culture to America while taking elements of our culture home to their societies. However, we must remember that this enlightened policy is open to abuse. Recent government actions with regard to foreign students amount not to racial profiling, but rather to plugging the holes in the system so that we may continue this valuable cultural and educational exchange program.