Proof of Unreliability in the Cask of Amontillado

Michael Ljubsa ID# 1790093 Rashmi Jyoti ENGL-103 CU85 Word Count: 998 Proof of Unreliability in The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe is an author known for his pieces of literature which capture the element of mystery. Many times, scholars debate over the true meaning behind his texts as they are often written as narratives. This combination of an unclear meaning behind his work and the fact that his stories are narratives often leads to the question of, â€Å"To what extent can the narrator be relied upon? † The same issue arises in Poe's, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†.The story is a reflection of the past, involving a plot that evolves into a murder mystery involving two gentlemen, Montresor and Fortunato. The story is told from Montresor's point of view, recalling an event that occured fifty years ago. Montresor secretly despises Fortunato due to past â€Å"insults† that are claimed to be unforgiveable. Montresor demands revenge for these acts and plans Fo rtunato's murder and later tricks him into death. The story provokes questioning as to whether the narrator of the story can be relied upon to accurately display the events described.In Edgar Allan Poe's, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, Montresor does not provide enough insight into the information that remains with hidden meaning. He fails to provide significant causes for action due to the lack of description and proof, and the arugment of whether Montresor could be considered insane also arises. Montresor only further confuses the reader by pointing out all the obvious irony surrounding the two main characters Montresor and Fortunato. Therefore, the narrator's accounts cannot be considered reliable.The lack of Montresor's ability to explain the past and why he feels such a hatred towards Fortunato is why his account of the story cannot be relied upon. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† begins with Montresor providing his own reason for wishing death upon Fortunato. The two first lines read, â€Å"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge†(218). Right from the start the reader is confused as to what this â€Å"insult† actually is, as it remains to go unexplained for the remainder of the story. In her article discussing â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, Elena V. Baraban asks, â€Å"Why did he do it? (47) The intrigue of the story comes from attempting to answer this seemingly simple question. Many stories would provide a motive and reason for such horrendous acts; however, Montresor provides no such explanation for the murder he commits. It can be continually questioned as to what this â€Å"insult† was, as no rational person would avenge an insult with murder. The narrator's reliabilty is questioned even further considering Montresor withstood â€Å"thousand injuries† borne upon him by Fortunato. It seems as though Montresor was not remotely bot hered by these injuries, which reiterates the question of: Why did he do it?What exactly made Montresor take Fortunato's insult in such a disrespectful and hateful way that would make him wish death upon Fortunato? This confusion proves the narrators unreliability. A second idea supporting the notion that Montresor is an unreliable narrator is the seemingly apparent insanity of Montresor. Restating the thought of Montresor murdering Fortunato over an insult supports the idea of Montresor being insane. An instance where Montresor could be viewed as insane would be where he is imprisoning the helpless Fortunato behind a brick wall that he has constructed. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. â€Å"(222) The gratification that comes of ease over Montresor as a result of his murder makes insanity a high possibility for a motif behind his actions. Montressor's fulfillment is also shown when he states, â€Å"My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so† (223). Even after fifty years, Montresor feels absolutely no remorse for his actions. Such a lack of sorrow and guilt, even after fifty years, could only be found with a psychopath. Montresor's insanity makes his description even more unreliable.Another aspect of the story that makes Montressor unreliable is all the irony that he brings to our attention. We find that Fortunato is named ironically, as Fortunato, closely resembles the word â€Å"fortunate†. This man resembling the word â€Å"fortunate† actually ends up having a very unfortunate death as he is manipulated by Montresor and gets buried alive. Additionally, Fortunato wears a jest costume complete with the cap and bells. This provides early signs that Fortunato is to become a fool. On the other hand, Montresor wears a silk black mask showing the readers that he is indeed the dark, manipulative figure in the story.Another example of irony is how the setting of the story is initially the carnival, and quickly turns into that of the dark, damp, catacombs. All of these examples make the story sound too ironic in a sense, therefore, its credibility is hard to trust. This, along with other ironic events such as the Montresor family crest meaning, â€Å"No one insults me with impunity†(220), and Fortunato drinking a wine named De Grave (grave), proves this story's undependable plot. It can be clearly seen that the narrator provides a recollection of events that are obviously unreliable.The fact that no reason for cause is shown by the narrator, as well as the likelihood of the character playing the narrator being unquestionably insane, proves that the story is unreliable. These factors, in addition to the confusion resulting of endless irony would make any logical reader question the validity of the narrators accounts. A story such as â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† shows readers that narratives require some sense of background information and that the character narrating should be viewed as logical, in order to be considered reliable.Also, the plot must not be twisted by some sort of other element, such as irony, which was seen in this story. A combination of such factors will allow readers to depict the narrators accounts as an accurate portrayal. References: Baraban, Elena. â€Å"The Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado. † Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 58. 2. (2004): 47-62. Print. Poe, Edger Allan. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado. † Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Eighth Edition. Ed. Michael Rosenberg. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 218-223. Print.

How Farmers Are Involved in Agricultural Extension Programme Planning in Ondo State Adp Essay

HOW FARMERS ARE INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMME PLANNING IN ONDO STATE ADP. The Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) were first launched as viable projects in 1972 only two years after the end of civil war, when Nigeria was facing its first food and fibre shock. It started in Northern Nigerian towns of Gombe and Gusau with two pilot projects assisted by the World Bank. The projects were to be funded under a tripartite agreement involving World Bank 66%, Federal government 20% and State government 14% in addition to payments of salaries of local staff. The two main objectives of the ADPs were to increase food production, and to raise the income of small-scale farmers. The ondo state ADP was created after the success of the three (3) pilot projects in 1975 covering an LGA in 3 States. The success of the pilot schemes lead to expansion to other LGAs and States (Ondo state inclusive) in the late 70s and by 1989, all the states of the Federation were implementing the integrated approach. The Ondo state ADP is the implementation organ of the state ministry of agriculture. Ondo State Agricultural Development Project (ODSADEP) is an institution structurally divided into two Zones, four sub-Zones, and eighteen Blocks/LGAs containing 162 cells/circles. The achievable number of farm families (FF) stood at 180,000 with EA: FF ratio of 1:1782.(ODSADEP, 2012) I. ADP ZONES: ZONE I (Northern part – covers 8 Local Governments) ZONE II (Southern part – covers 10 Local Governments) The order of hierrachy in the ODSADEP starts with The Project Manager of ADP, Mr Idowu Olabode,followed by Directors of each department, Deputy Directors, Zonal Extension officers,Area Zonal Extension Officers,Zonal WIA, Block extension supervisor, Block extension Agents, Extension agents, Radio/TV officers, audio visual technican, photographer, etc. SOME OF THE EXTENSION TRAINING PROGRAMMES CARRIED OUT BY THE ODSADEP IN THE YEAR 2012. Title | Organizers| Categories ofTrainees| Date| No. ofTrainees| Collaborators| Orientation/Review Training on FFS| ADP| Extension staffs| 23rd-24thApril, 2012| 27| FGN & AfDB| Training of Farmers ledfacilitators on FFS| ADP| Farmers | 18th-19thJuly, 2012| 34| FGN & AfDB| NPFS Women Training| ADP| Women farmers| 21st-24thAug., 2012| 268| FGN & AfDB| Sensitization of WomenFarmers Group on integratedfarming.| ADP| Womenfarmers| 26th Apr-24thMay, 2012| 1,602|Â  Ondo State Government| Demand Driven CourseTraining (NPFS)| ADP| Farmers | 14th-26thJune, 2012 | 201| FGN & AfDB| Establishment andManagement of HomeGarden Training (NPFS)| ADP| Farmers | 17th-27thJuly, 2012| 186| FGN & AfDB| (source: OSADEP, 2012) ILLUSTRATION OF HOW A SUCCESSFUL AGRIC EXTENSION PROGRAMME PLANNING IS CARRIED BY ODSADEP FOR FARMERS PROGRAMME: Farmers Training on Food Security in Bolorunduro in Ondo West Local Government Area. Writing and implementing an extension program requires planning. Extension program planning involves a process of selecting the best course of action to accomplish an objective. It deals with an individual extension worker’s decision. The precise patterns vary considerably as situations differ from one another, however, the following steps in planning should be taken into consideration: Collection of facts: . This includes facts about the village people of Bolorunduro in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State. Their physical conditions, existing farm & home practices, trends & outlook. Besides, other facts about their customs, traditions, rural institutions, peoples’ organisations operating in the area, etc. should be collected. 2. Analysis of the situation – After collecting facts, they are analysed & interpreted to find out the problems & needs of the people. 3. Identification of problems- As a result of the analysis of facts the important gaps between ‘what is’ & ‘what should be’ are identified & the problems leading to such a situation are located. These gaps represent the people’s needs which is food insecurity. 4. Determination of objectives- the aim of the training was to train farmers’ groups on how to utilise the knowledge and skills which they will acquire during the training in efforts to achieve food security. to train farmers in all aspects of farming and food production, farm management and to keep the farmers’ groups alive to enable them to have some joint benefits in the project. 5. Developing the plan of work – the calendar of activities is developed Operation| Teaching objective| Teaching methods| Time table| Staff to do the job| Training on food security| 1. to train farmers in all aspects of farming and food production, farm management andto keep the farmers’ groups alive |Â  LectureVisual aids| 12th-15th April, 2012| Extension agents| 6. Execution of the plan of work – arrangement for supplying the necessary inputs, teaching aids, extension literature etc. Was being made available & the specific action was initiated. 7. Evaluation – here, measurement of the degree of success of the programme in terms of the objectives & goals are set forth. This is basically done to determine the changes in the behaviour of the people as a result of the extension programme. The evaluation is done not only of the physical achievements but also of the methods & techniques used & of the other steps in the programme-planning process, so that the strong & weak points may be identified & necessary changes made. 8. Reconsideration – The systematic & periodic evaluation of the programme will reveal the weak & strong points of the programme. Based on these points the programme is reconsidered & the necessary adjustments & changes are made in order to make it more meaningful & sound. References Ondo State Agricultural Development Programme (2012): ondo state agricultural development programme Akure, national agricultural extension review and planning Meeting report for year 2012

Xavier Andraca Vilar

Xavier Andraca Vilar To what extent can we say that language is a tool for power? How do you think that men in the past arrived to power? This is a really good question involving not also the brightness of these people, but also the way they could easily convince people to vote for them or to follow them. From the early ages of human history with the first tribes, to the actual campaign for a Presidency all around the world, men and woman have used their abilities as good speakers to convince people to join their cause but is language a tool for power?Let me remind you of something I have said before in my previous essay: The only aim of language is to convince people to do something in particular, for example: When we were kids we used to ask our mother to have a lollipop because we wanted it, and so we needed to use language to convince her why it was a good idea to buy that lollipop. This exact example happens every day at politics, why on earth then politicians are constantly mak ing political advertisement every time there is a really important decision to make for the country?Language has convinced a lot of people to do a certain thing such as to follow a leader or for a national cause because in order for that movement or that person to achieve their objectives, they need the support of the people and the best way of doing that is by language because now we have many things that helps them to promote their cause, for example: * Television * Internet * Radio * Any paper advertisement * Etc.During the age of Napoleon, Napoleon needed to convince his people that his idea of unification of Europe was the best option they could ever wanted but in order to achieve he needed an army in which he could relay his ideas and complete his objectives of international unification. Then he controlled every French newspaper of that era so every Frenchman or in another country, when people read it, they could realize of the intelligence of his plan and that it was the best for all.The bad part of this is that by controlling the media, it also brings bad consequences to every state. For example: Nowadays, countries where some internet webpages are intentionally blocked by the government are now facing a turbulent era because the people has realized that their government is corrupt and that they have been hidden the truth from it’s habitants and this could result in a national conflict or revolution. One of the best example everybody can think of is about a German guy with a little moustache, yes, we are talking about Adolf Hitler.After the first world war, Germany was forced to sign a treaty were they were blamed for having started the war in Europe and that they had to pay million of German Marks (The money of Germany in that time) to the allies and the rest of the countries in Europe to reconstruct what they had destroyed. Obviously German people thought this was a humiliation of Germany and its people but although people tried to stop the tr eaty for being paid, they couldn’t do anything about it because they where not in a very good social and political moment.So it was until the year 1932 when Germany started to see the light again when a little political group called: â€Å"The Nazis† started to gain the favour of the people and by that time, Hitler was beginning to make his name very well known for the speeches he gave to the society so in the general elections, Hitler completed his first objective: Gain the political seat of the supreme chancellor.When he arrived to this position, he started to convince people that the right way for progress was getting raid of the communism, liberalism, and Jews and he did it with his public speeches and even though he used secret police and the army to arrest people that were against him, the majority of the population followed what he dictated and they followed him and his ideals until his death in 1945.Language may be also used to make people fear of you and the g overnment you represent such is the case of George Orwell’s novel 1984 or one more recent case is the terrorist attack to New York eleven years ago or also any totalitarian state in the world such as the now extinct regime of Gadafi in Libya, In order to make your people do what you want in a certain country you must ensure that the ways of knowledge are closed to your population so that you can have control over them and also you need to have control in what you say to the people.For example: In the case of the terrorist attacks in New York 11 years ago, the United States said that they were going to take revenge over the Taliban’s for this and they blamed the Government of Sadam Hussein of helping the terrorist for these attacks so they declared war on Iraq with the slogan: â€Å"We are defending liberty†.But the truth in all these is that as we know, the United States has always been enriched by every war it has had in the last century starting by World War 1 , so in this particular situation they saw a perfect opportunity to use Iraq’s oil natural reservoirs for their own benefit but it was very important for the public opinion not to know it. After saying all these, I can conclude that language is indeed a tool to have power in politics, not only because the influence it has in people to do things, also because it’s a very important factor of our society and it will continue to be for the years to come.

Immigrant Access to Health Insurance and Medical Care Essay

Immigrant Access to Health Insurance and Medical Care - Essay Example Since many of them do not have health insurance, a single hospitalization is enough to drive most into financial insolvency and debt. Lack of health insurance in America approximately costs between $60 and $130 billion every year resulting from impairment of health and lost productive years of all uninsured people, let alone immigrants . Legal and illegal immigrants usually rely on a makeshift system of free hospitals and safety-net clinics, or even medical care at reduced prices, such as in the county and state owned facilities. They also have to rely on religious and charity-affiliated facilities. Immigrant reliance on these systems has led most communities and states, to voice their concern about health care costs that are uncompensated for these uninsured immigrants and the resultant local and state fiscal burdens. Access of Immigrants to Health Insurance Data from the US census indicates that it is more likely for immigrants to be uninsured than it is for native-born Americans. Non-citizen immigrants are thrice as likely to have no insurance at 44% as native-born Americans at 13% (Loue 782). Naturalized citizens come in at 17% being un-insured. Those who recently immigrated into the United States are more likely to be sans insurance with their rates of insurance increasing as their income increases. This can be explained by the fact that immigrants tend to get quality jobs with time and because their income increases with job experience and age. However, fewer immigrants tend to possess employer-sponsored insurance, which explains their lower insurance levels despite their high employment rates (Loue 782). The discrepancy between native-born citizens and immigrants persists in those that have income of less than $33,000 a year in a family of three (Loue 783). In the low-income category, 23% of native-Americans are uninsured when compared to 56% non-citizen immigrants. However, when low-income populations are considered, the reason for the insurance gap also changes. The main reason for this coverage difference among low-income citizens and immigrants has to do with fewer immigrants having access to public coverage for instance, Medicaid for the poor and Medicare for the elderly. Immigrants with low incomes also have minimal chances of possessing coverage sponsored by the employer or private means, although these gaps tend to narrow. Although, this data does not reveal the legality of these immigrants, it is vital that we recognize that sort of immigrants working and living in the US affects the profiles. Annually, the proportion of unauthorized immigrants has increased, which has caused the proportion of those who come in illegally to drop (Loue 783). These illegal immigrants are not eligible for state funded benefits and find it more difficult to secure private insuranc e. Private Health Insurance Access Insurance sponsored by the employer is the main form of health insurance for a majority of Americans, although this is not true

Vitamin D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Vitamin D - Essay Example The production of this very specific sub-type of Vitamin D that is Vitamin D3, takes place in the human skin. It is produced in the skin when a chemical called 7-dehydrocholesterol is in a chemical reaction with ultraviolet rays.The bi-weekly requirement of a normal human being is ten to twenty minutes of exposure to the sunlight, on either their arms, hands, back or the face without the application of a sunscreen. For this exposure, the ultraviolet exposure index must reach more than three. The case where there is exposure for a longer time, the supply of the vitamin produced may degrade very quickly – as quickly as it may be produced, in most cases. Vitamin D3 plays an important role in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the body. It also helps in the proper functioning of the minerals. Calcium and phosphorus form an important component of bones and teeth. The osteoclastic (bone breaking cells) cells break the bones to generate calcium when needed. Low levels of c alcium and phosphorus can hence cause different bone related disorders and dental problems. As a result, Vitamin D3 can also be an important factor in preventing rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis. The usage of Vitamin D3, at a normal rate, may not have any side effects; however, if taken in excess, it may make the user nauseate and may result in constipation. Vitamin D3 can be a source of causing kidney diseases, liver diseases and may result in causing a difficulty in absorbing nutrients from food.

Hume's Posteriori Argument against Miracles Is not Valid Essay

Hume's Posteriori Argument against Miracles Is not Valid - Essay Example The ‘a posteriori argument’ states that even if miracles were a possibility according to evidence, they in fact, have never occurred (Johnson & Anthony, 72). Hume’s ‘a posteriori argument’ has some merit from a general perspective, they are problematic from the perspective of an individual miracle test-case, i.e., the alleged resurrection of Jesus. I will argue that although the first of Hume’s three ‘a posteriori argument’s succeeds in showing that there may be no miracle proofs, it doesn’t show that there is not a sufficient probability for establishing our test case. Anti-Thesis In his first argument from a posteriori considerations, Hume sets out the qualitative requirements of a proof and a successful probability for a miracle along with the quantitative requirements of a miracle proof, and he argues for the (implied) thesis that the quantitative requirements of a proof have not been satisfied (Hume, Enquiry, 116-117). For Hume, the following qualitative conditions are required for a good individual miracle-testimony: the witness must be highly educated, socially outstanding, patently honest, have lots to lose by lying, and be situated in such circumstances that, if lying, exposure would readily result. But also, according to Hume, a "full assurance" i.e., a proof-based on the satisfaction of these qualitative conditions is not forthcoming, since there has not been "a sufficient number" of conjoinings of qualitatively good individual miracle-testimonies with the miraculous objects of those testimonies (Hume, Enquiry, 56,58). Thus, in defense of the thesis that the testimony for a miracle does not amount to a proof, he points out that there have not been enough witnesses who have these qualifications. Although Hume does not in "Of Miracles" defend his list of qualifications of a good witness, it is reasonable to think that Hume built up these criteria by his observation of human nature in many circ umstances quite independently of miracle reports. As Hume points out in the introduction of his A Treatise of Human Nature, We must†¦ glean up our experiments in this [study of human nature] from a cautious observation of human life, and take them as they appear in the common course of the world, by men's behaviour in company, in affairs, and in their pleasures (p. xix). In view of Hume's weigh scales consisting of opposing frequencies of constant conjoinings-now with those of the allegedly violated natural law on the one side and those of testimonies and their objects on the other-the implication of Hume's assertion is that the scales are heavier on the side of natural law (i.e., natural law descriptive of the physical, non-human world). Response to Anti-thesis Recall that Hume's first ‘a posteriori argument’ holds that there is in fact no miracle proof because history gives us no miracle attested by (1) a sufficient number of (2) highly educated, (3) socially out standing, (4) patently honest men who have (5) lots to lose by lying and who are (6) situated in such circumstances that, if lying, exposure would readily result (Hume, Enquiry, 116-117). I will examine each of these criteria of credible testimony individually and with respect to our miracle test- case, i.e., the alleged resurrection of Jesus. 1. No sufficient number is not sufficient for

Critical Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Critical Reflection - Essay Example It means that a leader has to have high emotional intelligence and be mindful in order to be successful and competent. In the public health sector, leadership may come in the form of a Medical Coordinator or the Director of a large health organization like World Health Organization (WHO). Whether in the political arena, organizations, family or in public health organizations, leadership is a key component of managing people. A leader has to guide and direct his followers. The leader can only do that if he/she has a significant influence on his people. Ego and leadership do not correspond because leaders who are egocentric usually possess little knowledge and vice versa. Furthermore, Good leadership and management in the public health care sector will always lead to efficiency, elimination of mistakes, positive patient outcomes, and better population health outcomes. Dr. Kiran Martin is an example of good leaders who transcended insurmountable odds to transform the society positively. Owing to the fact that no single leadership style can work in all situations, various leaders have chosen distinctive leadership styles that suit their prevailing needs. Whichever leadership style adopted should benefit the lives of the followers and those of their leaders as opposed to making them miserable. The major types of leadership styles include transformational leadership, transactional leadership, autocratic leadership, participatory leadership, servant leadership, transcendent leadership, situational leadership, and Laissez Faire Leadership Styles. Any one of these leadership styles may be applicable in unique situations, depending on the characteristics of the leaders in question. While others require active participation of the leaders, some require a passive approach to public health management. As far as Laissez Faire Leadership Style is concerned, it is worth

Affirmative Action Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Affirmative Action Policies - Essay Example Only in the late decades of the last century the federal government and the Supreme Court, Republicans and Democrats, and various human rights organizations implemented systematic approach to resolve the problem of discrimination in employment and education, but the results were usually inconsiderable. Racial conflicts and discrimination persisted as well as attempts to eliminate them. In the second half of the 20th century the latter were labeled as 'affirmative action' policies. The origins of these policies dates back to 1961, when President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order number 10925 proclaiming the 'affirmative action' policy the central axis of the US employment and educational policies. The Civil Rights Act became the next step toward elimination of discrimination in the United States. After its approval in 1964, the necessity emerged to change a number of traditional policies and official procedures, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, which included discriminatory provisions. In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed his Executive Order number 11246 stating that all government contractors and subcontractors were obliged "to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin". The order was immediately followed by a series of lawsuits that supported the policy of affirmative action. Thus, the Supreme Court ruling in Griggs vs. Duke Power Company case invalidated i ntelligence tests and several other discriminating criteria in employment. The newly created governmental institutions, the Office of Federal Contract, had to implement the order (Encyclopedia Americana, 1985: 241). The contemporary meaning of the term 'affirmative action' has not changed over years. The initial purpose of affirmative action also remained unchanged: elimination of racial, sexual, ethnic, disability, or any other discrimination. In 1996, President William Clinton defined affirmative action as "an effort to develop a systematic approach to open the doors of educational, employment, and business development opportunities to qualified individuals who happen to be members of groups that have experienced long-standing and persistent discrimination" (Clinton, 1996: 131). In the recent years the affirmative programs has become one of the most widely discussed domestic issues in the United States. A number of analysts tend to consider the affirmative action policy a very effective tool that significantly reduced discrimination against non-white and female population of the United States. However, there is also an opinion that the affirmative efforts have been nothing but a great illusion from the very beginning: the positive results were made up to justify huge sums of money spent on implementation of affirmative programs. Although both standpoints have seemingly strong arguments, it will be closer to the truth to state that affirmative action policies largely failed. Main Discussion First of all, there are credible data that demonstrates the increase in well-being of some representatives of racial minorities was achieved not at the expense of the white majority, but at the expense of other representatives of the same minority: "The civil rights movement, anti-discrimination

Evaluation of Open Source Operating System Assignment

Evaluation of Open Source Operating System - Assignment Example There are also companies who concentrate their efforts on open source software like Sun and IBM who consider the open source systems as an opportunity to undermine the monopoly of Microsoft in the computer software. The third group of users is public institutions and government agencies especially in Europe who consider the use of open source systems as a viable alternative for US technology and because of the increased safety and security that can be built in the open source systems.  There are also companies who concentrate their efforts on open source software like Sun and IBM who consider the open source systems as an opportunity to undermine the monopoly of Microsoft in the computer software. The third group of users is public institutions and government agencies especially in Europe who consider the use of open source systems as a viable alternative for US technology and because of the increased safety and security that can be built in the open source systems.  Definition a nd Functions of Open source Systems (OSS) Originally at the time of initial developments, the software was known as ‘free software’ as defined by the GNU project. The term ‘open source’ has been coined later and according to Stallman it is an attempt to express the same kind of concept as that of free software but with a more prudent and palatable approach. The functions of OSS include:(a) Facilitating and monitoring user interface(b) Effective job management to save computer usage time(c) Efficient task management to act as an aid to facilitate multi-task completions(d) Efficient data management to accommodate more volume of data  (e) Better device management for an efficient handling of the associated hardware and(f) Ensuring the security of data which is the foremost requirement of any efficient operating system.

Concept Comparison and Analysis Across Theories Term Paper

Concept Comparison and Analysis Across Theories - Term Paper Example Nursing theories contribute an important part of the profession and according to Mary and Patricia (2008), nursing knowledge includes theories, philosophies, research and practice wisdom of the discipline. In the nursing profession, acquisition of this knowledge is essential for guiding practice (CN, 2011). Nursing theory is a group of concepts, relationships, definitions and assumptions or propositions resulting from nursing models or other disciplines. The theory illustrates an intended and systematic view of phenomena through formulating particular interrelationships among the concepts, with objectives of describing, explaining, predicting and prescribing (Cowling, 2007). In this respect, knowledge structure in the nursing profession is studied in different headings, including nursing philosophies, conceptual models and grand theories, metaparadigm, nursing theories in addition to middle range theories and nursing theories. According to Fawcett (2000), conceptual model is a representation of the way of judgment about a particular problem or a method of representing the complexity of functionality of a particular aspect. One main defining characteristic of conceptual models is that they are not usually based on a particular nursing theory. In this regard, the models are usually based on various theories, which enhance comprehension of a particular nursing problem in a different setting or context.... Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory emphasizes on the role of environment in promoting cure and health to a person. According to environmental theory, the role of nursing is to provide fresh air, cleanliness or hygiene, warmth, appropriate diet and a silent environment to facilitate curative process of patient (Barrit, 1973). In reference to the theory, Nightingale considers a person in the nursing context as a patient served by a nurse and affected by environment and as an individual possessing reparative abilities (Fawcett, 2000). To promote health, the environmental theory recommends provision of necessary physical, psychological and social support to the patients. In this respect, environment forms the basic component of the theory. The theory consists of all environmental aspects including social, psychological, physical and all other external conditions that influence a person’s health. To ensure the maintenance of health, the environmental theory holds th at the healing powers within a person should be utilized to their maximum (Mary and Patricia 2008). This is achieved by deliberately controlling the physical, psychological, and social needs to prevent the occurrence of disease. In this respect, Florence Nightingale attributed the emergence of disease to nature, argued that ill health is reparative, preventable, and managed by controlling the relevant external and internal factors surrounding the patient (Florence Nightingale Museum). Therefore, according to the environmental theory, the focus of nursing professionals is management of the patient’s health and disease, whereby they should help the affected individuals regain health by providing a favorable environment. Faye Abdella’s topology of twenty-one

THE IMPACT OF COMPETITION ON AIR TRAVEL SERVICES A CASE STUDY OF Research Proposal

THE IMPACT OF COMPETITION ON AIR TRAVEL SERVICES A CASE STUDY OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC - Research Proposal Example This study will use quantitative methods of research tom collect data on the effects of competition on the operational and organizational structure of Virgin Atlantic Airlines (Utton 2007). The researchers distributed questionnaires to the respondents and the data collected sampled for analysis. Similarly, some respondents who were not in a position to fill in the questionnaires were interviewed to determine the specific impacts the entry of new airlines would have on the general operation of Virgin Atlantic (Utton 2007). The analysis the collected data through questionnaires was done through statistical programs, and specifically SPSS. Correspondingly, the interview data will be analyzed for four major themes that includes a number of crucial factors. The quotations from the interview will be used in the illustration of study findings from this research work. This research will ascertain that any form of competition either through entry of new airlines into the market, introduction of similar products of service delivery systems into the market and differences in pricing policies have significant effects on the operation and survival of the Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Any form of competition in any viable firm, though instrumental in defining the operational structures of the firm can be detrimental if not countered by appropriate policies (Malaval & BeÃŒ naroya 2002). This research recommends that Virgin Atlantic Airlines be more vigilant and proactive to any changes in the market systems. By checking on the operational strategies of competing firms and establishing better service delivery systems than the competition firms, Virgin Atlantic will be in a better position to attain a fairly high competitive market advantages. The management of Virgin Atlantic should aim at being a leading airline in terms of service delivery and efficiency. Like any other service industry, Virgin

Model analysis of Perfume Extract Terrier and Baby Grenouille Essay Example for Free

Model analysis of Perfume Extract Terrier and Baby Grenouille Essay Paragraphs Synopsis: this extract reveals both the character of Terrier and reveals his response to Grenouille as a baby. Through omniscient narration, we share his feelings and physical responses to the child in his arms. His early rapture quickly turns to revulsion and this analysis will examine the ways that Suskind constructed his characters and our response. 1. The first description of the babe, smallredtwitched sweetly Our first response to the baby is almost protective, he is described as sweet and small and we can visualize a tiny innocent baby held in the arms of a protector, a man of God, a kind man with strong values. He is a normal citizen.who had taken a warm and fragrant wife This insistence upon smell links us to our emotional response throughout the extract. The act of smelling and the use of our senses conveys his response to the baby and the romantic idyllic life he was fantasizing about. 2. Terrier indulges in a fantasy, changing his role from that of a monk to a normal man, a father and protector Terriers character is constructed by what he is thinking and how he responds to the baby. Through the use of third person omniscient point of view, we see his rapturous response to this lost child, this sweet babe, who is so dependent on his protection. For a moment he is swept up into a fantasy of a real life, which in turn reveals to us his inner torment, torn between a demanding God and church rules and the normality and warmth of family life Terrier felt his heart glow with sentimental cosiness. 3. The use of language positions us in the present, as the action takes place. Through the use of baby talk we respond to his actions poohpoohpoohpeedooh.The thought of it made him feel good. Terriers clumsy yet sincere attempts to cuddle the child are revealed through language poohpoohpoohpeedooh.The thought of it made him feel good. We feel for him and his lost chances. At the same time, this glowing description of his feelings is in stark contrast to the end of the extract. It sets us up to expect a loving, positive outcome. The shock of his final response makes us resist the appeal of the so called sweet babe at the end. 4. Then the child awoke. The babe is now called a child. It has lost its innocent appeal, its dependence and cuteness is replaced by a growing sense of unease. It is described in animalistic terms, Its nose awoke firstIt sucked air in and snorted it back out | Our warm response to Terrier and the child changes slowly yet drastically from this point on. The babe is renamed the child and through language it is transformed into an inquisitive demanding animal like creatureIts nose awoke firstIt sucked air in and snorted it back out. The child is no longer a beautiful desirable babe, it is now ugly the childs dull eyes squinted into the void, the nose seemed to fix on a particular target, This makes Terrier feel like he is the intended target and begins to foreshadow his growing discomfort and disillusionment. 5. The description of the child is gross: The eyesoyster grey and creamy opal white covered with a .slimy film Instead of being sweet and red the child is now described as having The eyesoyster grey and creamy opal white covered with a .slimy film. The reader is revolted by the physical description. We can perceive a picture of an ugly, blinded mole like child, who squints, sniffs and targets Terrier. The reader can share in his appalled response as the child awakens and behaves in a rodent like manner. Thereby destroying his fantasy and making his protection unnecessary and indeed threatening his spiritual and psychological well being. 6. The use of language is fairly modern yet set in an 18th C setting. Suskind uses modern expressions and language to create the character of Grenouille. An example of this is poohpoohpoohpeedooh, and the almost scientific description of : The eyesoyster grey and creamy opal white covered with a .slimy film which create an immediacy and a sensory perception of the child. 7. The nose seemed to fix on a particular targethe himselfwas that target. Terriers growing sense of unease foreshadows his rejection of the child as he thinks, The nose seemed to fix on a particular targethe himselfwas that target. This ominous description of Terriers growing panic makes us feel extremely uncomfortable. He appears to be an ignorant man, we are modern readers, yet Suskind has managed through the use of sensory images to make us feel uncomfortable and to empathise with Terrier. 8. Irony as tiny is juxtaposed with fear The description of the childs nose, waking, seeking, targeting is both similar to the unfolding of a carnivorous flower and a predator. Ironically, the juxtaposition of the use of Tiny with fear adds to our growing sense of horror and revulsion. Tiny wings of fleshtiny holes in the childs facecreate an eerie suctionthe child saw him with its nostrils this use of description as the child wakes up, coupled with Terriers imaginative response positions the reader to understand his response and to share his opinion of the seemingly innocent child/monster in his arms. 9. Metaphor carnivore and death As the childs face is compared metaphorically with a carnivorous plant similar to a Venus fly trap, we see how Suskind has objectified Grenouille. He is an it, not a person, an anonymous being, semi human, semi animal. A predator who is seeking to cling to Terrier like an incubus, to devour him. His panic stricken response is a natural response to danger. Through punctuation we can see his fear smelling at him shamelessly, that was it! the use of exclamation marks emphasizes his fear and anger. His changing tone foreshadows his rejection. Through the use of language Terrier creates an image of the child as the Other an alien, threatening to his dogmatic view of normality and romance view of the role that children should play in the world. 10. metaphor death Terrier becomes convinced that the child is going to kill him, Using its nose to devour something wholeIt was establishing his scent! At this stage, I felt that Terrier was exaggerating, yet the repetition of his imaginative response grew on me and I felt a sense of revulsion towards this child also. Grenouille appears to be hunting the man who out of the goodness of his heart saved him. From this moment, our response to him becomes negative, wary, revolted by his physical description regardless of the illogic of it all. 12 Like a rape Terriers response becomes similar to that of a rape, an intensive personal invasion which cannot be avoided, His most tender emotions, his filthiest thoughts lay exposed. He can no longer accept that this is an innocent child. He feels invaded, tainted by corruption and victimized, all by this child. 13. Structure Terrier no longer felt safe, Gone was the homey thought that this be his own flesh and bloodidyll of father and son and fragrant mother. He regarded the babe/child/it as a creature a non human being A threat to his spiritual and physical wellbeing A strange, cold creature lay there on his knees, a hostile animal he would have hurled it like a spider from him. Terriers final rejection of Grenouille was significant on many levels. This may have been the only chance of a normal upbringing or real affection lost. It creates a Gothic like fear of the unknown, the rejection of people who do not fit in or conform. There is a gap between the values of the church dogma and the rights of the individual as this child is not a person, it becomes a monster in the eyes of the monk. The reader is encouraged to support Terriers decision to reject the child, yet with the advantage of a modern upbringing, it seems inhuman to totally abandon an innocent child regardless of how strange they look or behave. At this stage the beginning is juxtaposed with the ending. The idyllic father/son image is destroyed and a spider/rodent like child has emerged from the cocoon of our literary expectations. Conclusion Suskinds text introduces both characters, themes and conflicts. We see the emergence and transformation of Grenouilles character, like a butterfly he is transformed from a baby to a spider. Our response changes from empathy to horror. His eventual fate is set by this earlier abandonment on so many levels.

Analysis of Human Resources at Solar Plant

Analysis of Human Resources at Solar Plant Introduction: The detailed analysis of training and development and talent management process is providing through human resources management in solar industries. According to this report is based on case study of solar industries at talent management. Planning and development should be proper implemented in the solar industries. The report includes how the training and development and talent management to be implement. However research found that to continuing competitive advantage people are the only real source. Prahalad and Hamel (1990) HRM is considered a logical approach to the management of an organisations most valued assets. (Armstrong 2007). The term personnel management has been replaced by human resource management and human resources. Armstrong, Michael (2006). The managers of an activity state their goals with HRMs techniques, the work force implicit and carry out the activity with its techniques which requires resources to accomplish their coursework successfully. The objective of HRM is to help an organisation, maintaining employees to congregate strategic goals and also to manage them effectively. The personnel administrators constant complaint is that they lack status. This proves their inability to make contribution and to make impact on their management associates. Their continuous worry is their inability to prove that they can make impact on their management associates. Drucker (1954) Thus, solar industry is getting more and more important day by day especially Solar Energy. And this is why solar industry developing rapidly in every part of world. So the Human Resource also becomes an important part to manage man-power, technology, research and development etc. Human Resource Management Theory: The objective of HRM is to help an organization, maintaining employees to congregate strategic goals. The key word here perhaps is fit that is to make sure that there is healthy relationship between the management of employees and on the whole strategic direction of the company. (Miller, 1989). However, there are many HR functions which are struggling these days to get the task of management and member of staff and they are unconsidered rather than intentionally practical partners for the top management. Further, in the solar industries HR have difficulty in proving that their activities and processes are accumulating value to the company. In modern times, HR scholars and professionals decided to develop models that can measure the value. HR. Smit, Martin E.J.H. (2006). Human Resource Strategy: The strategy of HRM is to implement the specific functions of HRM. Planning, organizing, training and development is the main function of the human resources. In order to correspond with the whole business strategy HRM needs to correlate various areas of HR. This strategy of HR is to be implement in the solar industries. HRM Activities in Solar Industry The three key HRM activities in solar industries are Recruitment of the best employees Development of Leadership Development of Management The main objective of Solar Industries is to identify and describe the broad range of policies, technical, financial, regulatory, and other market related factors that affect of renewable energy technologies. Firstly, recruiting the right employees with the right competencies at the right time had to fit in the solar industries as there is skills shortage at all levels in the organization. Secondly, HR manager has to develop a leadership training plan to manage their leadership skills to get experienced people in the industry. Finally, management development activity is to be fit in the solar industries to manage organization. Planning, organizing, leading and coordinating resources are the activities included in management. Thus, for the above reason recruiting the best employees, leadership development and management development are the three key activities that should be fit into overall corporate objective of the company. HRM Model in solar industries: 1) The Harvard Model The Harvard model of HRM had to deploy in the solar industries. To guide all managers in relations with employees soft version of HRM has to concentrates on the Harvard model. (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quin Mills and Walton, 1984). It focuses on employee commitment that is not control. (Wood, 1995) The model is useful to know the agreement, capability and effectiveness of cost for employees in the organization. Work system Employee influence Human resources flow Rewards For recruitment, and selection process human resource flows are used in the organization. They are used in the organization through placement, promotion, out of the organization as termination pay. To attract and to keep employees motivate the reward system is organized. Thus, employee influence is used to put controlled on authority and decision making. The jobs are defined and not based on particular tasks like classical approaches. The employee having high commitment led to better job performance is the advantage of this model. (Beardwell, Holden and Claydon, 2004). The selection policies were based on competence and it includes the element of suitability and flexibility. Thus, the right employees fit for the right jobs led to effectiveness. The main aim of reward system is to attract and motivate held performance appraisal but it is not a tool for evaluation. The Harvard model is praise in analytic aspect as an advantage by Pettigrew and Hendry (1990). However, on basis of resource this system is bad form labor point of view. There is an argument that soft aspect of HRM has conflict in the Harvard model regarding business focus of the organization and it changes the cost minimization and profit maximization. (Armstrong 1987, Legge, 1995) 2) The Michigan model The solar industries can also deploy the Michigan model because it includes hard version of HRM. (Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna, 1984) To managed employees like resources they use resources inexpensive and carefully to developed and exploited fully. The model includes HRM activities as follows. Selection Appraisal Rewards Development To obtain organizational performance this model includes selection, appraisal, development and rewards policies. The surrounding idea was ignored for its situational factors, stakeholder interests and the concept of strategic choice. (Cusworth and Franks, 1993) The model shows the internal and external factors in the policies of HR along with strategy of business. The market performance and organisational growth is an advantage of this model. It is useful in cost minimisation for employees which is inexpensive. However, market failures are the disadvantage of this model. It is due to ignorance of environments. Moreover, HRM planning certifies the future requirements of the organization that are minimal. Further, this model fails in range of group and internal conflict. (Chuang et al, 2004) Thus, it led to organizational performance failure. (Bagshaw,2004) According to this two model of HRM solar industries deploys because in the case study performance of the solar industries are not going well, work system, rewards and development growth, appraisal for example like shortage of skills(learning skill, training development skill etc) sort of experience and labour turn over levels are high. So according to this above two model of HRM are bring in action in the solar industries. Training and development: Training refers to efforts that help enhance employee skills for carrying out the present job. To do particular job the training is an act of increasing knowledge and skills Edwin B Flippo. Development is a permanent change in knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviour that comes through experience. Training is must for every individual when he enters into the organization. Even though the candidate has experience he also should get training. Why because the organization culture, values and beliefs are different from one organization to other. Thats why the training program plays a key role in every organization. Training program followed by solar industries is formal assessment tools for recruiting, structured induction training. Solar industries have not developed an effective induction programmed. New employees employed at solar industry get off to a bad start and they do not understand the organization itself or their role in it. Hence, this has lead to employment turnover which is high-18% for managers, 17% for engineers, 20% for sales and marketing and 15% elsewhere. As a result, it is increasingly difficult to find good replacements, and also lowering of morale for the remaining staff. In solar industries HR planning and development methods are high involvement practices, integrated HR practices and reward approach but in spite of all this, things are clearly not going too well, so for this they need to view plans as adaptable. A solar industry requires more attention to planning. It is both possible and desirable to plan for uncertainty. The emphasis in HR planning will be on maximum future flexibility. The objectives of HRP play a useful role in the management of organization: recruitment, training and development, staff costing, redundancy, collective bargaining and accommodation. Recommendations: Firstly, I recommend that board of directors of solar industries could improve its strategy towards training and development of its management staff by using formal induction course. It will save inductors and managers time by dealing with a group than dealing with individuals. It ensures that all new recruits are given a positive message and consistent information. It can employ a range of communication techniques including: group discussion and projects, presentation, visits and guided tours, off-site training sessions, involvement with suppliers, customers and contractors. It enables new recruits to socialize with each other and build cross-functional relationships. This process of training and development is easy to arrange. Secondly, try to avoid by providing too much and too soon to the inductee. This will make the procedure simple and relevant. It will be suitable for everyone in the industry and for their roles within the organization. By this way the process should be shared. Moreover, induction programmed will generate unreasonable expectations. Finally, I recommend that according to effective induction training and development programme and proper HR planning solar industries improved its strategy towards training and development of its management staff. According to effective induction training and development is done by formal and informal course. Thus, industry needed proper learning skill, training plan and developing strategy in the industries management staff in corporate world. Talent Management: Talent management is a position of employees with business priorities to deliver greater performance and results. As agencies strive to meet strategic goals, they must ensure that they have a continuous process for recruiting, training, managing, supporting, and compensating their employees. Emerging technologies are changing the employee competencies needed in organization. There is need of improvement in solar industries in areas of planning, growth and development, management skill by talent management system. The specialized products of the solar industries are electronics. Talent management provides solution to provide better services to organisations like solar industries. The solar industries should make strategy of talent management that give advice to various areas of industries. The process of talent management helps solar industries to recruit, deploy, develop and retained employees in the organization. Solar industries should focus not only on recruiting and retaining talent, but also focus on talent savvy organization support their employees on issues they care about most. Industry has to focus on strategic recruitment in the organization because there are shortage of skill employees at all the levels. They have to deploy about matching the correct employee to a critical job or project. The organization must focus on their critical talent to achieve strategic objective by ensuring their skills, interest, and capabilities. It creates successful work force in the industry to develop a public reputation for being a great place for work, which fosters loyalty among current employees. The employees will be more interested in working for a company that gives importance to its employees and give them opportunities for continued success. Talent management is necessary in the solar industries to retain employees, new skilled workers to be recruited. The war for talent is the process of attracting and retaining employees between firms. (Article in 1998 David Wilkins of soft scope) In solar industries it is necessary to implement talent management system to work into the business strategy. The company has to implement talent employees in the solar industries. It should be implemented at all the levels of the organization in the industries to attract and retain employees. The talent management is not same in different organisation. From talent management stand point, employee evaluations has fear of two major of measurement performance and potential. The talent management is necessary to be practiced in the solar industries and must practiced consistently; Performance management Leadership development, Work force planning (identifying talent gaps), Recruiting. The employees in the solar industries should be talented and talent market should be implemented. It is useful for industries and the most productive employee can select the projects and assignments that are most perfect for particular employee. Talent management is kind of human capital management based on human resources management field that make work easy in the organization where the situation is critical. To manage employee talent in the industries they have to develop effective plans and to implement it in the company. Their responsibility is to develop skills in all the areas of management for this they have to develop new business strategy. Recommendations: To improve the organizational performance of the solar industries, I recommend that they should allocate talent management in their industries. Firstly, solar industry needs workforce diagnostic capabilities that enable more effective strategic decision making across all components of workforce planning. For example solar industry has high percentage of employees labour turnover at all levels would be an indicator that requires attention of senior management. Secondly, a solar industry has experienced expansive growth from around the globe location play an increasingly important role. The ability to find individuals with particular knowledge and bring them together in a virtual environment can make it easier for employees to share good practices. Thirdly, industries have to develop proper recruiting and development activities to get the right employee in right job with right skill. Finally, industry has to develop a talent marketplace by a standard classification of employee roles, skills and competencies and potential managers can identify individuals with relevant skills and capabilities. Conclusion: Finally, I think that training helps people to learn different things in a different ways. Training and development helps in the organisation to develop there information, methods in a systematic way to perform all the activity in the solar industries. Talent management is method of aid in the organisation. It helps talented employees to develop their skills and knowledge. And also develop their effective plan to manage talented employees in the industries. However, talent management and training is the key role of human resources management in the solar industries.

Women Victims of Violence

Women Victims of Violence Throughout most of the world, more often that not, women are usually the victims of violence. In America violence against women is becoming one of the most prevalent problems. Domestic violence occurs in many homes all over the world. As a crime against women, rape is uniquely horrible in its long-term effects. Many claim that victims of violence deserve what they get. According to the book Gender Crime in the UK most women live their lives in constant fear of being at risk for violence. It was stated that women who have been victims of violence end up having a wide-ranging list of health problems. According to statistics, 1 in 4 women may experience violence in their relationships with men throughout their lifetime. Throughout most of the world, more often that not, women are usually the victims of violence. In America violence against women is becoming one of the most prevalent problems. It has been shown that most of the men committing these crimes against women are not strangers. They are people whom they live, work and/or socialize with. This seems to be linked to the fact that most men want to be in total control at all times and if for some reason they are put in a situation where they arent in total control, then they become violent against their women partners. Domestic violence occurs in many homes all over the world. Usually people have been less likely to report this kind of behavior out of fear of getting their partner in trouble. So they ignore the violence they are facing because they love and care for the person who has been abusing them. Domestic violence in some places is not taking as seriously as in others. Some consider it a private issue that should be dealt with in the priv acy of their home and are less likely to admit if they have it going on in their lives. This thought alone is absolutely ridiculous and must be dealt with immediately. No woman deserves to go through violence whether it is by their husband or a stranger. As a crime against women, rape is uniquely horrible in its long-term effects. The distress it brings is often followed by an abiding sense of fear and shame. Research on risk factors examines the complex relationship of social, cultural, situational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal forces that perpetuate sexual violence. How ever, some researchers have tried to determine whether particular women are more vulnerable to rape and attempted rape. It has been shown that most women who are rape before the age of eighteen are more likely to be rape as an adult just because their self esteem has been shattered and they begin feeling as if they are worthless and of no use. In most cases it seems as if blaming victims for their predicament with violence is the universal thing to do. Rape victims are more often than not; accused of alluring their attacker, causing them to do what they did. Many claim that victims of violence deserve what they got. Many victims feel that the ways they were treated by the authorities, friends and family was just as bad or worse than the actual situation. In many cases it left them feeling alone at the time in which they most needed others. Thus, after a while many women begin to blame their self. They find numerous ways to convince their self that they deserved what ever they got. They usually have no one to turn to, so if there is no other outlet for these women they usually end up turning to alcohol and drugs to rid them of the pain and embarrassment they feel. Since the 1970s and the early 1980s there have been many changes made to the criminal justice system when it comes to dealing with women as victims. Before today, it was not strange for women to be of less importance than there male partner, thus giving him the right to punish her when he thought she was not doing as she should. It wasnt until the womens movement and the victims right movement came along did they take a stand against the criminal justice system, making it mandatory that situations in which men were being violent against women were dealt with right away and not taking for granted. Even though victims would like for police to always arrest on spot, the police sometimes consider the people in which they are dealing with some people may look down on the police for doing this but some may think this is the best way to deal with it. They feel that violence can be described in many ways and not all types of violence should end in arrest; even though some feel that it all sh ould. These are the overall topics of my paper so I will now begin to compare and contrast each topic and how it relates to the United States and the United Kingdom. They are many differences but there are also many similarities between the two countries. Gendering the victim: the extent and nature of violence against women The effects of violence against women After doing research it seems that violence has been used to describe a variety of different behaviors such as, sexual, physical, and emotional assault, murder; stalking sexual harassment; and prostitution. In recent times, violence against women has begun to draw serious attention; the police today are much less lenient than they used to be. According to the book Gender Crime in the UK most women live their lives in constant fear of being at risk for violence. Whether or not the woman has ever been a victim of violence she is still more inclined to feel less safe throughout her life time than the average man. This is why when a woman has indeed had to deal with domestic violence her fear of violence and vulnerability increases so much more. It was stated that women who have been victims of violence end up having an wide-ranging list of health problems. Domestic violence According to, The UK statistics on violence, 1 in 4 women may experience violence in their relationships with men. Severe, repeated and systematic violence occurs in at least 5 of every hundred marriages in Britain; Between 40 and 45% of murdered women are killed by their male partners; Between 1 and 2 women are murdered by their male partners every week; more than 25% of all violent crime reported to the police is domestic violence of men against women, making it the second most common violent crime: 100,000 women per year seek treatment in London for violent injuries received in the home 30,000 women and children stay in refuges in the UK every year; In Wolverhampton, UK, 1 in 6 women had suffered some form of domestic abuse; One quarter of all assaults are in domestic circumstances. Attrition in rape According to (Gender Crime 2008) In the UK, it seems that there have been high rates of rape, yet low rates of conviction. Of all serious crimes it seems as though this crime is the least dealt with. These rapists are not getting put behind bars their cases are being dropped in the initial investigation stages and nothing further is being done. Police are have been getting attacked about the amount of rape cases that they have been just letting slide by. Depending on where you live in the UK the number of rape cases the end in conviction vary. There is a disproportionate amount of support services for people who have been raped. In the United States also referred to as the rape culture, it seems that rape is it seems rape statistics are as follows: According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, 1 out of every 4 women has been raped. There were 102,560 reported rapes or attempted rapes in 1990. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 130,000 women were victims of rape in 1990. The Justice Department says that 8 percent of all American women will be victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. From an interview sample of 4,008 women, the study projected that there were 683,000 rapes in 1990. Statistics have shown that in America 12.1 million American women, has or will be the victim of forcible rape sometime throughout her lifetime. Reconceptualizing domestic violence as torture The role of the Criminal Justice System in protecting women In the legal area, class action civil suits against police responded more slowly and with less seriousness to violent crimes committed between non strangers than they did to stranger crimes. Finally, social science researchers published scientific evidence claiming that arrest was more effective in deterring domestic violence than were other police responses, a development that fell neatly in line with the already growing demands for more rigorous criminal justice system intervention. As has already been stated, in the past police have been more lenient on certain types of violence but now they have been immediate in their response. Just about every violence against women report received; ends in an arrest. Statistics on law enforcement (Commission on Domestic violence) Approximately 60% of family violence victimizations were reported to police between 1998 and 2002, up from about half between 1993 and 1998. Among felony assault defendants convicted in State courts, 45% of persons sent to prison for family assault received a sentence of more than 2 years, compared to 77% of non-family assault offenders sent to prison. Federal courts convicted 90% of defendants adjudicated for an interstate domestic violence offense. Black women (67%) reported their victimization to police at significantly higher percentages than black men (48%), white men (45%), and white women (50%). No difference in white male and female percentages reporting emerged (45% versus 50%). Hispanic females reported intimate partner violence to the police at higher percentages than did non-Hispanic females (65% versus 52%). Among victims of violence by an intimate partner, the percentage of women who reported the crime was greater in 1998 (59%) than in 1993 (48%). In conclusion we can see that the United States and the United Kingdom have very similar statistics and ways in which they handle things. Laws seem to differ between the countries but other than that there are many similarities. Domestic violence and rape are the same where ever you are. Whether in the US or UK women are still less likely to report domestic violence or rape by someone they know.

A Career as an Animator Essay -- Career Research Paper

Animations are a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of objects, like puppets and models, which are different from each to create a variety of entertainment for the audiences. Animations are what brings excitement and mystery, hooking the audience in through interest. It is a form of some sort of â€Å"magic† where things that aren’t real but from the imagination comes to life in front of people who live these mundane, ordinary lives, adding color to the eyes and mind. The creators of such amazing arts and creation are animators. Animators are people who create images such as drawings or computer generated things to come to life through graphics. This job is quite suitable for those who have creative artistic skills such as drawing or modeling, in addition to good computer skills in order to communicate with the audience with accurate detail of the images which contribute into the motion pictures. Work done by animators are everywhere; they are commonly found in films, shows, commercials, pop videos, computer games, websites and other sorts of media and entertainment. These works are done by obtaining images of each movement and, done in a certain way, it turns into some sort of amazing piece of the character’s or object’s actions. A standard animator is to be creative and artistic. Many artistic people go into the field of animation. Animation holds many advantages and opportunities. Multimedia artists and animators put their creative work on the Internet. If the images become popular, these artists can gain more recognition, which can lead to future employment or freelance work. With drawing and sculpting skills for stop frame animations, these artist should be patient to concentrate and passionate on what they ... ..." Animator Job Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. . (3) "Animator." - Job Description, Salaries, Benefits and Useful Links. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. . (4) "Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. . (5) "Animator: Required Education For a Career in Animation." Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . (6) "Best Animation Studios." - Top Ten List. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . (7)

The Absurdity of Man Essay -- essays research papers

Absurdity is defined as that which is contrary to reason; clearly untrue, unreasonable or ridiculous. It is often a topic in existentialist writings relating to life. This subject is prevalent in Camus’ â€Å"The Stranger† and â€Å"The Myth of Sisyphus.† Camus depicts absurdity bringing about happiness or indifference in each of these literary works. In â€Å"The Myth of Sisyphus,† it is made clear that Sisyphus is aware that his existence is absurd. He is sentenced to an eternity of rolling a boulder up a steep mountain only to let it roll back down when it reaches its peak. His tragedy lies in the fact that he is conscious of the extent of his own misery. What makes his struggle very absurd is that he knows that there is no death at the end of it. The last sentence in this essay is in itself absurd, after describing the dilemma that Sisyphus eternally faces, Camus exclaims, â€Å"One must imagine Sisyphus happy.† This paradox is upheld because S isyphus is left refusing to recognize that there is nothing to hope for, and that he must live solely with what is known. Sisyphus’ redemption is seen in his ongoing struggle against the absurd. In â€Å"The Stranger†, Meursault does not realize his absurd situation until the end of the novel. It is illustrated, however, in his indifference toward life and lack of emotion throughout. In the beginning of the novel, Meursault is seen as a detached observer of life who is devoted to appreciating sensation. His physical wants and needs overpower his reason and...

A Gap of Sky by Anna Hope Essay

A Gap of Sky is a short story by Anna Hope which deals with the pressure from society and the consequences of it. In our modern society many young people feel the pressure to be perfect like a heavy weight on their shoulders. You need a long, good education. You need to be attractive, be social and have lots of friends. Sometimes the pressure can become too much and you forget what is important in life and gets on the wrong track. In A Gap of Sky we meet Ellie a nineteen year old girl clearly struggling with the pressure from society and her own dreams. She seems in conflict with herself about what she really wants. She studies at a university in London but is close to getting expelled due to her lack of activity and finished assignments and when she wakes up after a long night of partying, she remembers that she has an assignment about Virginia Woolf and if she does not hand it in, she will very likely be expelled. The short story is written chronological and by an omniscient third person narrator but A GAP of Sky also uses the stream of consciousness. We are inside the head of Ellie and are constantly hearing her inner thoughts. For example on page 2 line, 36 â€Å"Should she do the essay first, print it in the morning? No. No time. Needs to be handed in at nine.† We are inside the head of Ellie and hearing her steam of thought. It easily feels like Ellie are the narrator also because of the language used. There is a lot of swearing â€Å"How the fuck did she manages to sleep for so long† (page 1, line 16), â€Å"coffee plunged, poured, slurped; hot, fuck that’s hot† (page 1, line 35). The narrator is not just telling what is happening but how Ellie perceives it. Ellie are having troubles in her life. She is doing drugs, having a hard time performing well in school, and that she does not have a profound social relationship. And it seems she has a difficult relationship with her parents. I will later discuss her relationship with her parents further. In text 4 â€Å"Consequences of youth substance abuse† It mentions that people who frequently use addictive substances often experience problems such as academic difficulties, health problems and low social life. This is all things that Ellie are affected by.

Ethical Considerations for Teachers Essay

Ethics and its essential considerations are fundamentals of human nature. Just like in any field of profession, the principles behind ethics are of undeniable significance to the educational setting. This is basically due to the concept that the teachers and the rest of teaching professionals are the ones who influence the thoughts, values and even conducts of the young ones. Such condition creates an enormous responsibility for teachers to ideally shape the future members of the society hence it is expected of them to correctly practice what they teach or preach. Beyond the theories, ethical considerations are of utmost importance in the performance of the teaching profession. It is essential to carry out ethical ideas in manners that are practically acceptable to human attributes. Teachers are required to impart moral principles to their students. However, it will always be the educators’ innate characters and individual behavior which spell the difference in eventually producing respected or morally upright persons. In order to come up with an ideal educational system, therefore, it is vital not to just adhere but also live up to necessary ethical considerations. In an educational setting, members of the learning organization particularly teachers are supposed follow or exercise specific ethical considerations. This is because there is a constant struggle between a teacher’s personal interest and professional commitment. Citing May (1990), this situation was emphasized by Smith (1996) who said that teachers are always susceptible to their respective concern as well as dedication to live up and maintain the dignity of the academic field. In effect, such conflicts have resulted into relevant ethical dilemmas that have inevitable implications to other learning professionals, the students and one’s mandate to the teaching career (Smith, 1996). In order to address, if not resolve the issue, Smith mentioned the suggestions made by May. That is, there is a need to recognize and even reiterate significant ethical considerations which teachers are responsible of. These include the sincere manifestation of respect for any colleague or student as an individual. Truthful communication and encouraging others’ confidence are also the needed ethical considerations. Most importantly, it is fundamental for teachers to help create just and caring cultural and social structures that uphold the benefit of all people within the educational organization (Smith, 1996). To carry out such ethical considerations, teachers are also required to perform several standards of professional communication. It is required for teachers to help their respective organizations to achieve their academic goals. Educators also need to exert additional efforts for the respective professional and individual enhancements of their colleagues and students. The ethical consideration of professional interaction likewise calls for teachers’ kindness as well as comprehensive and reasonable evaluation of functions of students and co-teachers. Lastly, teachers need to perform their roles in manners that support and even exceed the principles of ethical considerations (Smith, 1996). When the said ethical considerations are incorporated on existing educational policies, students will be completely empowered and provided with ideal instructional materials thus preventing teachers from providing documents outside the required curriculum. Students will also be assured of a teacher’s presence resulting to better education. The carrying out of examinations and making of grades will happen in ways beneficial both to teachers and students. In doing all these considerations, the educational setting is sure to exemplify a successful professional condition and effective relationship between teachers and students (Smith, 1996). Similar to any other professions, ethical considerations are of extreme relevance to the educational environment. Therefore, it is empirical to realize the individual behavior of teachers. This is due to the underlying principle that what teachers do and how such activities are performed are sure to ultimately affect all the people within the educational setting. Reference Smith, R. M. (1996). Essential ethical considerations in education. Retrieved February 6, 2009, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qa3673/is_n1_v117/ai_n28677142/pg_4? tag=content;col1

Farewell to the Light Essay

I am Ana’s doll. Left seated on this nook set, I have been waiting for her for hours. She said she’ll be out for a while to dine with her mother and some family colleagues. I could not join them for she said she has to be a lady tonight. She laughed at her reasoning then she kissed me farewell. I watched her leave in a dress different from all her usual dining outfits. She was wearing a new pair of stockings and heeled shoes, and her hair was poised into a lady’s coiffure. She was wearing a thin make-up as mother told her to do so, and she carried a small purse for the talc she may use to rebuff her looks later. I knew she would take long but I did not expect her to be this long. My eyes are starting to become heavy. I remember four days ago, I stood inside a doll store on one of the commercial streets of Southampton. Past the glass display window, I watched as different sets of prospective customers came. Alighting from brown and black Cadillacs, they would enter our store optimistic for a good find. Most of them mothers with daughters looking like their smaller versions, dressed in flowing silk dresses paired with mob cap hats. Some of them are lucky enough to leave with a box of Stacy, Flora, or Claudia while others settle for glances and decide to check another store for comparison. Ana and her mother looked more regal than any other customers who entered the store. As they walked past me, I overheard their conversation about a trip to America with Major Archibald Butt at noon. Ana’s mother said Major Butt, whom she had met in a restaurant some two days ago, is an important man in America and he had invited the two of them in a trip aboard a newly built state of the art steam ship. An invitation from such a man cannot be refused. † I heard Ana’s mother said. Looking at Ana who stood before me, her eyes sparkled with excitement of traveling on a very-much-talked-about ship. Trying to read her thoughts I presumed she had been in many other voyages through the years. When her father died during the Spanish-American war of 1989, Ana, just a few months old and her mother, a beautiful Northerner from a well-to-do merchant family, traveled to Europe selling various merchandise to the rich families in the different parts of the continent. They never settled and both land travels and sea voyages became a normal part of their lifestyle. But the voyage Major Butt offered her mother sounded special as according to the spreading news, the ship they will be boarding is the biggest ever made and many rich European families will be there. Boarding it will also make them a part of history as they will be passengers in the ship’s maiden voyage. Ana contemplated on this as her mother grabbed my hand and went to the counter. Then there was darkness. At noon the same day, after Ana and her mother had packed everything they would need for a free trip to the Americas, they rented a black Cadillac and headed for the port. The port was thick with so many people, some just there to be part of history and others are relatives of passengers. When we alighted from the car, Ana and I looked past the thick line of people and saw the new empress of the sea, the grandiose ship far bigger than the Olympic. The SS Titanic, afloat by the docks, belittled other vessels surrounding it with its enormous proportions. There was nothing like it and people envied us for our fortune. As we boarded, Major Butt met up with us in one of the two private promenades connected to our suite. We were to have lunch along with other prominent persons like Colonel Washington Roebling, Colonel John Jacob Astor and two more ladies I could not remember. It was the best luncheon in the trip of a lifetime and everyone in the group was talking about the structure of the Titanic and how it can accommodate more than 2000 people. Two thousand people and many elites, women in layered gowns and fine jewelry; wearing elaborate feathered hats even at night. Men wore tuxedos with flaps on the stomach and carried walking sticks though they can walk straight. In their pockets are gold time pieces some bejeweled. Ana and I were prohibited on the lower decks, thus we have no inkling of the lives of people from the other class. We were the elite; the first class and the Titanic seem to have been made especially for us. Over dessert the ladies discussed the expensive chinaware, the authentic crystal glassware, the high quality fabric of the table linens, and beautiful crystal chandeliers. The men were concerned about the casino, amazed by the built-in hospital, and the lush palm garden. Ana and I sat quiet, contemplating on all of it. According to the captain, E. J Smith, who walked us to the promenade earlier, the ship is the epitome of comfort and stability in voyages, as was very obvious in the facilities. There are 20 lifeboats that can accommodate 40-60 persons for emergency, to which he emphasized to have a low probability, since the Titanic was skillfully designed to survive all known causes of ship accidents. He added that all the heavy steel plates are held together by millions of rivets and the vessel is fully equipped with water-tight steel compartments that will prevent entry of water in case of a collision. â€Å"Thus-† he concluded, â€Å"-all passengers may sleep well at night. † This is our fourth night on the ship and this is so far the most uncomfortable. I feel very cold as if the Atlantic winds are blowing inside the room and the lights all around are flickering. The usual music playing in the background is gone, replaced by weird sounds, shrilling screams, and rushing footsteps. The room sways and the crystal chandeliers above the nook set sways with it. I looked at the door of our suite and was surprised to see water seeping through the gap between the threshold and the door. I heard a blasting sound from outside. The lights went out. The room moved rapidly to one side carrying everything with it. I shut my eyes. I heard my porcelain face shatter as I was thrown off the chair and hit the wall. As the shards fall on the flooded floor, I saw my body and the beautiful red silk doll dress Ana put on me earlier floating and being carried away. Chandelier shards are everywhere. I saw the custom made ruby ring on my right ring finger shining in the dark, carried away with my body. Then I heard the sound of cracking wood and bending steels all over, and the screaming outside become louder and louder. The unsinkable Titanic is sinking. The heavy steel compartments did not work. Ana, I guess won’t be back anytime soon. I have to shut my eyes now for salt water makes it itch and it’s too cold. I envy those wavers at Southampton, for tomorrow they will still see light.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 12

â€Å"It's going to be a lovely day – perfect for a picnic,† Meredith observed calmly. Bonnie had tactful y but firmly steered Celia into Matt's car instead of Meredith's, and so Meredith was alone with Alaric – at last! – for the first time since he'd arrived. Half of her just wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and kiss him and kiss him, she was so glad that he was final y here. Al through the insanity of the last few months, she'd wished that he were there to fight by her side, to depend on. But the other half of her wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and demand that he explain to her exactly what his relationship was with Dr. Celia Connor. Instead, here she was, driving placidly, hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, making smal talk about the weather. She felt like a coward, and Meredith Suarez was no coward. But what could she say? What if she was just paranoid, and making a ridiculous fuss about a strictly professional relationship? She glanced at Alaric out of the corner of her eye. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said. â€Å"Tel me more about your research in Japan.† Alaric ran his hands through his already tousled hair and grinned at her. â€Å"The trip was fascinating,† he said. â€Å"Celia's so intel igent and experienced. She just puts together al these clues about a civilization. It was a real eye-opener for me to watch her decipher so much from the evidence in the graves there. I never knew much about forensic anthropology before, but she was able to reconstruct an amazing amount about the culture of Unmei no Shima.† â€Å"Sounds like she's simply amazing,† Meredith said, hearing the acid in her tone. Apparently Alaric didn't notice it. He smiled a little. â€Å"It took quite a while for her to take my paranormal research seriously,† he said rueful y. â€Å"Parapsychology isn't particularly wel regarded by the experts in other scientific disciplines. They think people like me who choose to spend their lives studying the supernatural are charlatans, or naive. Or a little crazy.† Meredith made herself speak pleasantly. â€Å"You were able to convince her at last, though? That's good.† â€Å"Sort of,† Alaric answered. â€Å"We got to be friends, anyway, so she stopped thinking I was a complete fraud. I think she's found it al a lot more believable after the one day she's spent here, though.† He gave a wry smile. â€Å"She tried to hide it, but she was blown away yesterday when Stefan saved her. The existence of a vampire makes it clear that there's a lot conventional science knows nothing about. I'm sure she'l want to examine Stefan if he'l let her.† â€Å"I would imagine so,† said Meredith dryly, resisting the urge to ask Alaric why he thought Stefan would cooperate when he had seemed so displeased that Alaric had told Celia about him. Alaric slid a hand across the car seat until he was close enough to run a finger gently along Meredith's arm. â€Å"I learned a lot while I was gone,† he said earnestly, â€Å"but I'm real y more concerned about what's going on right now in Fel ‘s Church.† â€Å"You mean this dark magic that is supposedly rising here?† Meredith asked. â€Å"I mean the dark magic that seems to be targeting you and Celia,† Alaric said forceful y. â€Å"I'm not sure either of you is taking it seriously enough.† Me and Celia, thought Meredith. He's just as worried about her as he is about me. Maybe more. â€Å"I know we've faced danger in the past, but I feel responsible for Celia,† Alaric went on. â€Å"I brought her here, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her.† Definitely more, Meredith thought bitterly, and shrugged off Alaric's hand. She instantly regretted the motion. What was the matter with her? This wasn't who she was. She'd always been the calm, rational one. Now here she was feeling like, wel , like a jealous girlfriend. â€Å"And now it's threatening you, too,† Alaric went on. He tentatively touched her knee, and this time Meredith let his hand stay. â€Å"Meredith, I know how strong you are. But it's terrifying to me that this doesn't seem to be the kind of enemy we're used to. How can we fight what we can't even see?† â€Å"Al we can do is be vigilant,† Meredith said. Her training had been comprehensive, but even she didn't understand this new evil. Yet she knew how to protect herself much better than Alaric realized. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His window was open a crack, and the breeze ruffled his sandy hair. They knew each other so wel , yet he stil didn't know her biggest secret. For a moment she considered tel ing him, but then he turned to her and said, â€Å"Celia's putting on a brave face, but I can tel she's scared. She's not as tough as you are.† Meredith stiffened. No, this wasn't the right time to tel Alaric that she was a hunter-slayer. Not when she was driving. Not when she was this angry. Suddenly his hand felt heavy and clammy on her knee, but she knew she couldn't push it off again without betraying her feelings. Inside, though, she was raging at how the conversation kept coming back to Celia. Alaric had thought of her first. And even when he was talking about the danger to Meredith, he couched it in terms of what had happened to Celia. Alaric's voice became a buzz in the background as Meredith clutched the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles whitened. Real y, why was she surprised that Alaric had feelings for Celia? Meredith wasn't blind. She could be objective. Celia was smart, accomplished, beautiful. Celia and Alaric were in the same place in their lives. Meredith hadn't even started col ege yet. She was attractive – she knew that – and certainly intel igent. But Celia was al that and more: She was Alaric's equal in a way Meredith couldn't be just yet. Sure, Meredith was a vampire hunter. But Alaric didn't know that. And when he did know, would he admire her strength? Or would he turn away from her, scared of her abilities, and toward someone more academic, like Celia? A black bubble of misery fil ed Meredith's chest. â€Å"I'm beginning to think I should take Celia away from here if I can get her to leave.† Alaric sounded reluctant, but Meredith could hardly hear him. She felt as cold as if she were being enveloped in a fog. â€Å"Maybe I should get her back to Boston. I think you should leave Fel ‘s Church, too, Meredith, if you can convince your family to let you go away for the rest of the summer. You could come with us, or maybe there's a relative you could stay with if your family wouldn't like that. I'm worried that you aren't safe here.† â€Å"Nothing's happened to me yet,† said Meredith, surprised by the calm of her own voice, when such dark emotions were boiling inside her. â€Å"And I have a responsibility to be here and protect the town. If you think Celia wil be safer away from here, do what you and she think is best. But you know there's no guarantee that whatever's threatening us won't fol ow her somewhere else. And at least here there are people who believe in the danger. â€Å"Besides,† she added thoughtful y, â€Å"the threat to Celia may be over. Maybe once the attack is averted, it moves on to someone else. My name didn't appear until after Stefan saved Celia. If so, then the danger is only to me.† Not that you care, she thought viciously, and was surprised at herself. Of course Alaric cared. It was just that he seemed to care about what happened to Celia more. Her fingernails cut into her palms around the steering wheel as she careful y fol owed Stefan's car off the road and toward the parking lot for Hot Springs. â€Å"Stop!† Alaric shouted, panic in his voice, and Meredith automatical y slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a halt. â€Å"What?† Meredith gasped. â€Å"What is it?† And then she saw her. Dr. Celia Connor had gotten out of Matt's car to cross to the path up to the springs. Meredith had come speeding right toward her. Only inches from Meredith's front bumper, Celia was frozen, her pretty face gray with fear, her mouth a perfect O. One more second, and Meredith would have kil ed her.

The convention governing the International Whaling Commission (IWC)

President Clinton, when announcing his decision last October to delay the implementation of sanctions on Norway following that country's recommencement of commercial whaling, stated the United States' strong commitment to science- based international solutions to global conservation problems. The convention governing the International Whaling Commission (IWC) states similarly that its â€Å"regulations with respect to the conservation and utilization of whale resources †¦ shall be based on scientific findings†. But the practice differs greatly from the principle. The IWC took a decision in 1982 to impose a global moratorium on all commercial whaling at a time of growing scientific evidence that the Antarctic minke whale population, at least, could certainly sustain a limited harvest. Whaling countries, angered by this decision which they considered to be without scientific justification, hit back later in the 80's by making use of a provision in the IWC Convention which allowed them to issue permits to their nationals to catch some whales for the purpose of scientific research – research is conducted as a part of these â€Å"scientific† whaling operations, but is that their primary purpose? Most recently there is the proposal for a whale sanctuary throughout the Southern Ocean – a transparent attempt to prevent the resumption of whaling on the 3/4 million strong Antarctic minke population for reasons which have nothing to do with science. This has been accompanied by the unedifying spectacle of Western nations and â€Å"conservation† (or, more accurately, â€Å"preservationist†) groups desperately searching for some plausible surrogate scientific rationale with which to attempt to justify the proposal. These other reasons are discussed elsewhere in this volume. My brief is to address aspects of President Clinton's expressed concern at â€Å"the absence of a credible, agreed management and monitoring regime that would ensure that commercial whaling is kept within a science-based limit†. SUSTAINABLE UTILISATION Obviously such limits should be consistent with â€Å"sustainable utilisation† – but exactly what does that mean? The most ready analogy is that of a pensioner whose sole asset is a capital sum invested in a bank. Sustainable utilisation for him means living off the annual interest without dipping into the capital. In other words, harvesting only the natural annual growth of a population, without depleting it to a low level where this growth is greatly reduced. THE IWC'S NEW MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE In the 1970's, in response to mounting public criticism following the substantial depletion of many whale populations by whaling conducted under its aegis, the IWC introduced the so-called â€Å"New Management Procedure† (NMP). The underlying principles were fine – essentially to get whale populations to and keep them at reasonably high proportions of their size before exploitation started, by ensuring that catch limits set did not exceed sustainable levels. But the NMP proved unworkable in practice. Why? Not because there was anything wrong with the concept, but because the NMP didn't go far enough. It failed to specify how the â€Å"annual interest† (i.e. the sustainable catch level from a whale stock) was to be calculated, what data needed to be collected to do this, and how to take account of uncertainties. CALCULATING SUSTAINABLE YIELD LEVELS So how can sustainable yield levels be calculated? For the pensioner, the process is simple: to evaluate how much interest will become available annually, ask the bank teller how much capital is in his account and what the interest rate is, and then just multiply the two together. So why isn't fisheries management equally easy? – because the teller is unco- operative. All he will tell you, and only once a year, is how much you have in your account, which he can get wrong by typically 20%. And he certainly won't tell you directly what the interest rate is. How do we then get the information needed to be able to perform this key multiplication to calculate the sustainable yield for whale populations? For the capital component, sighting surveys are conducted from research vessels to determine the numbers of whales. By the standards normally attainable in fisheries research, the results obtained are good (error margins of typically 20%). The difficult component is the interest rate. Basically some (careful) exploitation is needed before this can be evaluated, because the calculation requires the information from a series of sighting surveys on how the size of the population changes in response to this harvesting. THE FUNDAMENTAL RISK-REWARD TRADE-OFF The bottom line then is that some trade-off is inevitable. If such initial harvests are kept too low, the potential productivity of the resource remains undiscovered. But if these catches are set too large, there is a high risk that unintended heavy depletion may occur before this is realised and corrective action can be taken. The goal of a risk-free harvesting strategy is unattainable, for exactly the same reason that no car or aircraft can ever be made completely â€Å"safe†. Risk can be reduced (though never eliminated), but only at the expense of higher costs – or correspondingly, lesser rewards in the form of smaller catches in resource utilisation terms. WHERE DOES THE COMPUTER COME IN? The role of the computer is to calculate the sizes of the anticipated trade-offs between risk and reward when harvesting whale populations. This is the basic function of the computer simulation trials used to test the IWC Scientific Committee's proposed â€Å"Revised Management Procedure† (RMP). Quantitative information about these trade-offs allows a sensible choice to be made between the extremes of rapid extinction of the resource under unsustainable catch levels, and complete protection which forbids any harvesting ever. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A â€Å"MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE† AND THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT? How does such a â€Å"Management Procedure† approach differ from the usual methods used to regulate fisheries? There catch limits are calculated according to the current â€Å"best perceptions† of the status and productivity of the resource. But it is then not entirely clear how the answer obtained should be adjusted to take the inevitable uncertainties in these perceptions into account – in other words, how to make proper allowance for risk. In contrast, the â€Å"Management Procedure† approach puts such uncertainties up front, by insisting that if these current â€Å"best perceptions† are in error, the trend in catches set over the longer term must be such that the Procedure self-corrects before there is any substantial risk that the resource could be damaged. For example, it has been suggested that global climatic change could result in a change in the environment which is deleterious for whale stocks. The RMP has already been tested to ensure that catch limits for whales would be adjusted downwards appropriately should this occur. Why are such Procedures needed for whales in particular? Whales are long-lived animals and their populations can at best grow at only a few percent per annum. Thus even relatively low levels of catch, if continued, can lead to problems unless there is adequate monitoring and an option for adjusting catch limits. In other words, the risk involved in harvesting whale populations can be evaluated sensibly only for a Procedure which is to be consistently applied for a number of decades. Thus, as in sport, a Management Procedure involves all the parties concerned agreeing the rules before the game is played (and sticking to them during it!). IS THIS APPROACH BEING USED SUCCESSFULLY ELSEWHERE? This approach is not entirely new in fisheries. Iceland has been applying it in the management of its capelin fishery. Arising out of the IWC's initiative for whales, South Africa has now come to base catch limit decisions for its major fisheries for hake, sardine and anchovy on the approach. WHAT SORT OF CATCH REGIME FOR WHALES WOULD RESULT UNDER THE RMP? As far as catch limits for whales under the IWC Scientific Committee's proposed RMP are concerned, these would initially be set at annual levels of about 0.5% of current population sizes. That would apply to stocks of species not greatly depleted by past whaling activities, such as many of the world's minke whale populations. For stocks still markedly depleted such as the blue and fin whales of the Antarctic, this percentage would be considerably less – indeed zero for those and many other stocks for a number of decades yet. In addition, there would be provisions to ensure that catches are widely spread, rather than concentrated in a few small regions. This is necessary to provide safeguards against uncertainties in knowledge about the positions of the boundaries between stocks. The annual percentage take could be increased over time, but this would be permitted only provided the results from the monitoring population trends over time by sightings surveys suggest that such larger levels of catch are sustainable. However, if the survey series stops, catches are phased out quite rapidly. TO WHAT LEVEL OF RISK DOES THE RMP CORRESPOND? What risks would be involved in the application of the RMP to whale stocks? Broadly speaking, there would be no more than a 5% chance, even under the worst set of circumstances or misconceptions likely, that catches (other than perhaps ones of a negligible size) would be taken from a population reduced to more than 10% below its most productive level. (This is the so-called 54% â€Å"protection level† – an abundance 54% of that before any harvesting took place.) And populations would need to be reduced to well below that level before any real concerns about possible extinction might arise. HOW DOES THIS LEVEL OF RISK COMPARE TO THAT ACCEPTED IN HARVESTING OTHER OF THE WORLD'S MARINE RESOURCES? If this criterion (no more than a 5% chance that the population is below 54% of its pre-exploitation size for harvesting to be allowed) were applied to the rest of the world's fisheries, nearly all would have to be closed immediately. Off the northeast coast of the US and off western Europe, for example, harvesting continues from cod stocks which are below not just 50% of their pristine levels, but arguably less than as little as 10%. Even when allowing for biological differences between whales and fish, the low levels of risk some nations demand be met for harvesting the former, are totally inconsistent with the much higher levels which they are prepared to accept for exploiting their own stocks of the latter. ABORIGINAL WHALING ON THE BOWHEAD WHALE OFF ALASKA President Clinton's statement made reference to the aboriginal whaling on bowheads in which native Alaskans engage. Some years ago, there was justifiable concern that these activities were putting this population at risk. However, the US has commendably invested considerable research effort towards addressing this problem, with results which show that there can now be no serious scientific reservations that current levels of catch place the population under any real threat. Yet, were the RMP to be applied in this case, it is so risk averse that an immediate cessation of these whaling activities would be required. THE NMFS REVIEW OF THE RMP Recently, the US National Marine Fisheries Service commissioned an independent review of the RMP by a panel of seven North American scientists. Their brief to assimilate and comment upon seven years of work by the IWC Scientific Committee (without having had any prior involvement therein) in the short space of five days was a daunting one. The panel concluded that the RMP as it stood could be used safely for a period of at most 20 years, but also recommended that some further computer simulation trials be carried out. However, it seems to me that all the specific extra trials which they recommend have effectively already been carried out and considered by the IWC's Scientific Committee. It is unclear from the panel's written report whether they were unaware of this, or did actually have some reservations about what had been done, which their report fails to elaborate. Obviously the panel should clarify this ambiguity expeditiously to the IWC's Scientific Committee. NORWAY'S RESUMPTION OF COMMERCIAL WHALING Norway has, of course, resumed commercial whaling on minke whales. This it is legally entitled to do, since it lodged an objection to the IWC's 1982 moratorium decision. I understand that the annual catch limit set by the Norwegians for their overall operation is within the limit which the RMP would specify, so that there are no scientific grounds to query that decision. However, I understand also that the areal distribution of the catches permitted by Norway is not in accord with the provisions of the RMP, and I believe that legitimate questions can be directed at Norway on this point. Of course, such a deviation from the RMP does not necessarily mean that any real danger to the resource will eventuate. But if Norway does wish to depart from the RMP's provisions, I believe that it has some scientific obligation to present the results of computer simulation trials to the IWC's Scientific Committee to demonstrate that such deviations as they might plan do indeed not involve undue long term risk. THE POTENTIAL EFFECT OF INCREASED CONSUMPTION BY GROWING MARINE MAMMAL POPULATIONS ON COMMERCIAL FISH RESOURCES What of the concerns often expressed that increasing marine mammal populations will consume more fish and thus put fishing industries at risk? The counter argument often made is that there is no scientific proof that this is so. But equally, there is no scientific proof that it isn't. The scientific methods which have been used in the past to address this question have been crude, and there has been a justifiable argument that basing management decisions (such as a marine mammal cull, for example) upon their results would be premature. Marine science can never, by its nature, prove something without some residual doubt. But methods are being improved, and cases may soon arise where the preponderance of indications that growing numbers of marine mammals will impact fisheries is so strong, that hard decisions will have to be faced to avoid the chance that important industries are put at risk. For example, growing fur seal herds off southern Africa are now more than 2 million strong. Their consumption of commercial species equates to the total catch by all the fishing industries in the area, and their continued growth may constitute a threat to the region's most valuable fishery for hake. IN CONCLUSION To conclude, let me return to President Clinton's concern for science-based limits, and credible management and monitoring for potential commercial whaling. From the scientific side, the RMP has been more thoroughly researched and tested than any comparable marine resource management system worldwide. Its own requirement for regular sighting surveys, as well as the regular review process associated with its implementation for any species and region, ensures adequate monitoring. It is so risk averse that the only real scientific basis for questioning its immediate implementation is that it is so conservative that it will waste much of a potential harvest. If the United States fails to endorse the RMP, is there any way that the US could then avoid the judgement of complete hypocrisy, unless it immediately suspended not only the aboriginal whaling by Alaskans, but indeed closed every one of the country's fisheries?