Philipino Tale: Juan Wearing a Monkey’s Skin Essay

This Filipino story was recorded in English based on a Kapampangan (Pampango, from the province of Pampanga) version in the early 20th century. There is also a Bicolano (Bikulano, from Bicol) version of this story. Once upon a time there was a couple which was at first childless. The father was very anxiousto have a son to inherit his property: so he went to the church daily, and prayed God to give hima child, but in vain. One day, in his great disappointment, the man exclaimed without thinking, â€Å"O great God! let me have a son, even if it is in the form of a monkey!† and only a few days later his wife gave birth to a monkey. The father was so much mortified that he wanted to kill his son;but finally his better reas on prevailed, and he spared the child. He said to himself, â€Å"It is my fault,I know; but I uttered that invocation without thinking.† So, instead of putting the monkey to death, the couple just hid it from visitors; and whenever any one asked for the child, they merely answered, â€Å"Oh, he died long ago.† The time came when the monkey grew to be old enough to marry. He went to his father, and said, â€Å"Give me your blessing, father, for I am going away to look for a wife.† The father was only too glad to be freed from this obnoxious son, so he immediately gave him his blessing. Before letting him go, however, the father said to the monkey, â€Å"You must never come back again to our house.† â€Å"Very well, I will not,† said the monkey. The monkey then left his father’s house, and went to find his fortune. One night he dreamed thatthere was a castle in the midst of the sea, and that in this castle dwelt a princess of unspeakable beauty. The princess had been put there so that no one might discover her existence. The monkey, who had been baptized two days after his birth and was named Juan,immediately repaired to the palace of the king. There he posted a letter which read as follows: â€Å"I, Juan, know that your  Majesty has a daughter.† Naturally the king was very angry to have his secret discovered. He immediately sent soldiers to look for Juan. Juan was soon found, and brought to the palace. The king said to him, â€Å"How do you know that I have a daughter? If you can bring her here, I will give her to you for a wife. If not, howeve r, your head shall be cut off from your body.† â€Å"O your Majesty!† said Juan, â€Å"I am sure that I can find her and bring her here. I am willing to losemy head if within three days I fail to fulfil my promise.† After he had said this, Juan withdrew, and sadly went out to look for the hidden princess. As he was walking along the road, he heard the cry of a bird. He looked up, and saw a bird caught between two boughs so that it could not escape. The bird said to him, â€Å"O monkey, if you will but release me, I will  give you all I have.†

Discretionary Use Of Police Authority

Police officers enjoy the much-envied monopoly of instruments of force. Only a state armed force has recognized legal rights to wage violence against the citizenry and employ all manner of force in the name of maintaining law and order. A look at a number of police actions leaves a doubt whether all might be provided for by the law. The police are permitted to use a certain level of force in enforcing the law and while making arrests and maintaining order.The force used in this case is supposed to be reasonable; this reasonableness is not measurable and is at the discretion of the police or to a large extent to the court of law. In their day to day activities, police follow scripted rules and guidelines, guided by the law and their professional ethics, but rarely is all that they do contained in the written codes. Majority of what they go through depends on their personal intuition and judgment of what is right.They are supposed to make a split judgment on the most appropriate decisi on in a certain situation, whereas such a provision may not be provided in the rules. The legality of such decisions sometimes is in question. It is not possible for the law to contain all the likely scenarios that the police can come across. The unpredictable nature of their work makes it hard to do that and it is only through effective training and a high level of discipline that proper judgment and sound decisions can be made; even in an extremely uncertain environment.This however is an ideal situation and most of the time police officers have been noted to go to the extreme ends and making unreasonable decisions that are inconsistent with the publics’ expectations. In carrying out their duties, the police sometimes seem to be following their own discreet codes, codes that cannot be fathomed by civilians. Their rules are paternalistic in nature and may not be in line with the spirit of democracy. This and more is what this paper hopes to look at. It will scrutinize the po lice use of discretionary authority and note whether sometimes this authority is extremely and unreasonably overstretched.Discretion can simply be referred to as that power or freedom accorded to individuals, or the police for that matter, to make judgment or decisions that they think are appropriate to a certain situation. It is the judgment of police on how to bridge the gap that exists between what the stipulations in the law contain and the challenges on the ground (Seumas M. , et al, 2006). The laws governing the police forces are not specific and should under no certain terms be specific. They leave gaps and spaces that can only be filled through individual intuition.Most of these laws are said to be ambiguous and clearly requiring the reasoning of a well trained police officer to enforce (M. L. Dantzker, 2005. ). While it is prudent to say that almost all state or public departments and agencies use discretionary powers, it is in the policing agencies that they are most often applied and with major consequences. It is the legislature that determines the nature of laws that exist in a certain region, but it is up to the people on the ground, who are the police officers, that determine how those legislations are to be enforced and in what manner.The law sometimes is strict on certain issues but it is up to the law enforcement agents in touch with the public to make it more flexible while at the same time making it less or more punitive depending on the situation. Question stands on whether such discretion cannot be abused. For example whereas the law categorically prohibits the arresting of individual on mere suspicion with no form of evidence, the police in most case will arrest people and claim it is on ‘reasonable grounds of suspicion’. This suspicion is based on subjective judgments of a person’s behavior at the moment.Some officers are trained to believe that if one moves away hastily after seeing the police, he or she is likely t o be guilty of something. This is what some would call ‘behaving in a suspicious manner’. This might not be true as there is no law against hastening ones pace upon coming across the police officers, but the forces discretionary powers allow them to hold such person and search him or her. â€Å"Reasonable suspicion† becomes an ambiguous term that is hard to define or quantify. It is not measurable and at the same time not disputable.Interestingly though, contrary to what one would expect, discretionary powers in the police force decrease as one goes up the ladder while increasing down the cadre and hierarchy. This is because the officers up in hierarchy rarely come face to face with the public. Theirs is mostly limited to the boardroom meetings, strategy laying and maybe dealing with the ever-inquisitive media. This is not to mean that they top chiefs do not possess discretionary powers. On the contrary they do, but it is the lower ranking officers that have more opportunities of exercising this authority due to their daily contacts with the pubic.This discretionary authority turns them into policy makers, only this time it is at the ground or street level. This is because the most important decisions are made at the point of contact or encounter. It is here that the police officers make the most vital decisions regarding the step to take after a wrong has been committed. Depending on the weight of the crime, the officer on the ground will know what action to take. He might decide to warn, book or jail depending on the gravity of the situation. This may not be what the law has provided for.It is these powers to make such discretions that raise tension and discontent from the public, as they lead to discriminate and disproportionate application of laws. The general characteristic of discretionary authority is that in one way or another it has to be applied selectively. The prejudices that are held by the society have also been imported into the police force and must in a way impede upon the judgment of the police officers especially when they are exercising their discretionary authority.To most people in today’s world, where vehicles are prevalently used as the single most preferred means of mobility. Peoples’ contact with the government is through the police. Interactions with the citizenry is most likely to be with the traffic police officers, and it is them that are likely to make decisions based on their own judgments. This most likely emanates from the fact that most of the traffic offenses committed by motorists are but of small consequence, they are minor and one can escape with a verbal warning.The traffic laws prohibit over speeding or any other reckless driving that might be injurious or inconveniencing to other motorists. The patrol officers are always on the look out for such characters and can flag down any motorist they suspect is under the influence of alcohol. Police here use their discret ionary authority in making the kind of decision to be taken upon a motorist who commits such an offense. A traffic offense that is not serious would carry a number of penalties ranging from citing, booking or ticketing in accordance with the dominant traffic policy.Most people would like the law enforcement officers make lenient decisions in regard to such minor offenses and make hard stances on the major crimes such as kidnappings and bank robberies. More police discretionary powers should be extended towards passing lenient judgments on traffic offences rather than creating friction on their relationship with the motorists (Peak, K. J. , 2006). Most police agents have strict laws and policies in relation to traffic rules and tend to have punitive attitudes towards these offenses.Most traffic officers end up citing motorists rather than letting them go off with verbal warnings. This is the ethical and professional dilemma facing most police officers, their discretionary authority n ot withstanding, even where the law is very clear on traffic offenses and the nature of penalties imposed. This how the law is, it is supposed to be comprehensive and touching on almost everything. However, the scarce resources allocated may not cater for this. The meager financial resources cannot facilitate the strict following of the law to the letter.If all the provisions of the law are strictly adhered to, the courts would be clogged with cases and jails would be overcrowded. It is hence important that the police officers use their discretionary powers to sort these people out (Seumas M. , et al, 2006). As mentioned before, due to the subjective nature of the police duties, selective application of discretionary powers is probable and very common. Racial, religious, gender and ethnic profiling becomes real. For the traffic police officers, it is very likely to let of an elderly person off with over speeding than with a teenager or a middle age.This is because it is not common t o see aged people over speeding; the officers will tend to believe that there has to be a reason for such an action. The provisions of the law on over speeding not withstanding, most police officers are bound to make the same decision. A study of police application of discretionary powers also would reveal that it all depends on the behaviors and attitude of the subject under consideration. For those who are very confrontational and rude when addressed by police officers over their mistakes, they might not enjoy any leniency.Those who are orderly and remorseful of their actions are likely to receive a lighter treatment. Police discretionary powers are likely to be applied favorably mostly when the subject displays a sign of respect. These powers may also be extended to the unpopular laws in the society. Police would shun taking action against offenders of some minor offences. This is if there has been a public uproar against such laws. They would not want to be dragged into a row, a nd hence opt to turn a blind away to such offenders.There are exceptions however to this; no matter how unpopular some of these laws might be, discretionary powers might have applied harshly. The issue of police discretionary powers is dogged with controversy. There are those who claim that these powers are okay as they give the police an opportunity to apply their own judgment in meting out justice rather than waiting for the strenuous and elaborate process of the law. It gives the law a human face and gives the police a chance to act with compassion. The police sometimes are faced with situations where if they strictly adhere to the laws, catastrophes might happen.A police arresting a driver for over speeding might result to a implication if for example such a driver was rushing a patient to hospital. It is important that discretionary powers be extended to allow police officers make decisions that are appropriate to a specific situation at hand rather than blanket application of the law just because the stipulations state so. This leniency in the discretionary powers is also a kind of public relations. As afore mentioned, contact of the public and the police in today’s world is mostly limited to the traffic.Most people’s attitudes and perceptions of the police might to a great extent be shaped by this limited interaction. Any harshness towards motorists may be interpreted to mean that the police are all harsh and inconsiderate. The law contains a mesh of provisions that cannot all be applied, as most likely they would turn the citizens into slaves of rules. Discretionary powers are hence important to sort these laws out and enable the police to make the best decisions possible at that instance depending on the prevailing circumstances (John Blackler, Seumas Miller, 2005).However, opposition to discretion emanates to the discriminate application of justice. As said before, it is a highly subjective practice that embodies the incorporation of pe rsonal and emotional values. Issues such as racism, ethnics and other discrimination based on creed, socio-economic statues and gender will come into play. Personal prejudices might have an upper hand when a police officer is making the decision in regard to who will get what punishment, who will get a booking and who is to be released. A motorist may get away with over speeding, or driving under the influence just because he or she looks innocent or is remorseful.Police have been known to apply leniency to people who look remorseful after giving them a stern warning and arresting those that they think are disrespectful and self-righteous. This however should not be a criterion to be used while deciding who is to booked and who is to be let go. The law is clear on this and should be applied non-selectively. Allowing the use of discretionary powers by police officers is jut but breeding ground for corruption and bribery. Police officers are likely to take in bribes from criminals or petty offenders so that they may look the other way and apply discretionary powers.It may also lead to a breeding ground for more hardened offenders. A motorist who has escaped once with an over speeding offense may make it a habit of repeating the same mistake and preying on officer’s leniency. People might not be vigilant enough in regard to the petty offenses because there will be a likelihood of them getting away with such mistakes. A high number of people would be in favor of controlling the use of police discretionary authority, mostly as it is likely to be abused by police officers.This emanates from the image that most people have of the police; an image imparted through their interactions with the police, who most of the time are found to hostile and unreasonable. The police are not trained in psychiatry and should not base an individual’s guilt on ones behavior, remorse or lack of it thereof. It should be left to the court or tribunals to pass a verdict. If t he law states that a certain offense is finable then be it and this fine should be applied across the board and not selectively. The police are governed and bound by the law and all its comprehensive principles.The law is dynamic but it is also very clear on many issues. It is predictable and outcomes in many cases are certain. The same case should apply to the police force; their decisions should be predictable and consistent. The police force is in the executive arm of the government, its function is to implement the laws passed by the legislature, allowing it to make decision regarding the law is superseding the authority and can be a recipe for chaos. Unlimited use of police discretionary powers can to a greater extent be said to be undermining democracy.Laws under the tenets of democracy are a preserve of the legislature which is just but a of group of individuals representing the citizenry, who are democratically elected. The police represent the executive and in most cases wi ll be furthering the sitting government’s interests. They do not consult before passing the extra judicial pronouncements. The public has no room to scrutinize these decisions. Had there been an opportunity to review some of these discretionary powers, the system could work out efficiently (John Kleinig, 1996).However, as much as the public may wish to demonize the use of discretionary authority by the police, they are more than necessary. The law, despite being broad, is not comprehensive; it does not provide solutions to all the possible case scenarios likely to be faced by the police. Discretionary powers by the police come into play to bridge the gap between what the stipulations contain and what the situation on the ground is. The bone of contention is the likelihood of these powers being abused and applied selectively to favor a certain group of individuals over others. There is no provision in the law on how these powers are to be utilized.They are mainly subjective an d depend on a specific officer’s personality and orientation towards many issues in life. It would also depend on the nature of the mood of an officer at the time of the incident. It is unpredictable and lacks in consistency. It is apparent though that these discretionary powers cannot be done away with completely, effort hence should be geared towards curtailing them to a level that is acceptable to the public. Police should be well trained to ensure that their use of discretionary authority does not deviate from the law and is not applied discriminately. References John Kleinig, 1996. The ethics of policing. Cambridge University Press. John Blackler, Seumas Miller, 2005. Ethical issues in policing. Ash gate publishing Ltd. Seumas Miller, John Blackler, Andrew Alexandra, 2006. Police ethics. Waterside Press. Peak, K.J., 2006. Policing America: Methods, Issues, and Challenges. 5th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ. M.L. Dantzker, 2005.Understanding today’s Police. Criminal Justice Press.

Night World : Soulmate Chapter 1

The werewolves broke in while Hannah Snow was in the psychologist's office. She was there for the obvious reason. â€Å"I think I'm going insane,† she said quietly as soon as she sat down. â€Å"And what makes you think that?† The psychologist's voice was neutral, soothing. Hannah swallowed. Okay, she thought. Lay it on the line. Skip the paranoid feeling of being followed and the ultra-paranoid feeling that someone was trying to kill her, ignore the dreams that woke her up screaming. Go straight to the really weird stuff. â€Å"I write notes,† she said flatly. â€Å"Notes.† The therapist nodded, tapping a pencil against his lips. Then as the silence stretched out: â€Å"Uh, and that bothers you?† â€Å"Yes.† She added in a jagged rush, â€Å"Everything used to be so perfect. I mean, I had my whole life under control. I'm a senior at Sacajawea High. I have nice friends; I have good grades. I even have a scholarship fromUtahState for next year. And now it's all falling apart†¦ because of me. Because I'm going crazy.† â€Å"Because you write notes?† the psychologist said, puzzled. â€Å"Um, poison pen letters, compulsive memo taking†¦ ?† â€Å"Notes like these.† Hannah leaned forward in her chair and dropped a handful of crumpled scraps of paper on his desk. Then she looked away miserably as he read them. He seemed like a nice guy-and surprisingly young for a shrink, she thought. His name was Paul Win-field-â€Å"Call me Paul,† he'd said-and he had red hair and analytical blue eyes. He looked as if he might have both a sense of humor and a temper. And he likes me, Hannah thought. She'd seen the flicker of appreciation in his eyes when he'd opened the front door and found her standing silhouetted against the flamingMontana sunset. And then she'd seen that appreciation change to utter blankness, startled neutrality, when she stepped inside and her face was revealed. It didn't matter. People usually gave Hannah two looks, one for the long, straight fair hair and the clear gray eyes†¦ and one for the birthmark. It slanted diagonally beneath her left cheekbone, pale strawberry color, as if someone had dipped a finger in blusher and then drawn it gently across Hannah's face. It was permanent-the doctors had removed it twice with lasers, and it had come back both times. Hannah was used to the stares it got her. Paul cleared his throat suddenly, startling her. She looked back at him. † ‘Dead before seventeen,' † he read out loud, thumbing through the scraps of paper. † ‘Remember the Three Rivers-DO NOT throw this note away.' ‘The cycle can be broken.' ‘It's almost May-you know what happens then.' † He picked up the last scrap. â€Å"And this one just says, ‘He's coming.' â€Å" He smoothed the papers and looked at Hannah. â€Å"What do they mean?† â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"You don't know?† â€Å"I didn't write them,† Hannah said through her teeth. Paul blinked and tapped his pencil faster. â€Å"But you said you did write them-â€Å" â€Å"It's my handwriting. I admit that,† Hannah said. Now that she had gotten started, the words came out in gasping bursts, unstoppable. â€Å"And I find them in places where nobody else could put them †¦ in my sock drawer, inside my pillowcase. This morning I woke up and I was holding that last one in my fist. But I still don't write them.† Paul waved his pencil triumphantly. â€Å"I see. You don't remember writing them.† â€Å"I don't remember because I didn't do it. I would never write things like that. They're all nonsense.† â€Å"Well.† Tap. Tap. â€Å"I guess that depends. ‘It's almost May'-what happens in May?† â€Å"May first is my birthday.† â€Å"That's, what, a week from now? A week and a day. And you'll be †¦ ?† Hannah let out her breath. â€Å"Seventeen.† She saw the psychologist pick up one of the scraps-she didn't need to ask which one. Dead before seventeen, she thought. â€Å"You're young to be graduating,† Paul said. â€Å"Yeah. My mom taught me at home when I was a kid, and they put me in first grade instead of kindergarten.† Paul nodded, and she thought she could see him thinking overachiever. â€Å"Have you ever†-he paused delicately-â€Å"had any thoughts about suicide?† â€Å"No. Never. I would never do anything like that.† â€Å"Hmm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Paul frowned, staring at the notes. There was a long silence and Hannah looked around the room. It was decorated like a psychologist's office, even though it was just part of a house. Out here in centralMontana , with miles between ranches, towns were few and far between. So were psychologists-which was why Hannah was here. Paul Winfield was the only one available. There were diplomas on the walls; books and impersonal knickknacks were in the bookcase. A carved wooden elephant. A semi-dead plant. A silver-framed photograph. There was even an official-looking couch. And am I going to lie on that? Hannah thought. I don't think so. Paper rustled as Paul pushed a note aside. Then he said gently, â€Å"Do you feel that someone else is trying to hurt you?† Hannah shut her eyes. Of course she felt that someone was trying to hurt her. That was part of being paranoid, wasn't it? It proved she was crazy. â€Å"Sometimes I have the feeling I'm being followed,† she said at last in almost a whisper. â€Å"By†¦ ?† â€Å"I don't know.† Then she opened her eyes and said flatly, â€Å"Something weird and supernatural that's out to get me. And I have dreams about the apocalypse.† Paul blinked. â€Å"The-apoc †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The end of the world. At least I guess that's what it is. Some huge battle that's coming: some giant horrible ultimate fight. Between the forces of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She saw how he was staring at her. She looked away and went on resignedly. â€Å"Good.† She held out one hand. â€Å"And evil.† She held out the other. Then both hands went limp and she put them in her lap. â€Å"So I'm crazy, right?† â€Å"No, no, no.† He fumbled with the pencil, then patted his pocket. â€Å"Do you happen to have a cigarette?† She glanced at him in disbelief, and he flinched. â€Å"No, of course you don't. What am I saying? It's a filthy habit. I quit last week.† Hannah opened her mouth, closed it, then spoke slowly. â€Å"Look, Doctor-I mean, Paul. I'm here because I don't want to be crazy. I just want to be me again. I want to graduate with my class. I want to have a great summer horseback riding with my best friend, Chess. And next year I want to go toUtahState and study dinosaurs and maybe find a duckbill nest site of my own. I want my life back. But if you can't help me †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped and gulped. She almost never cried; it was the ultimate loss of control. But now she couldn't help it. She could feel warmth spill out of her eyes and trace down her cheeks to tickle her chin. Humiliated, she wiped away the teardrops as Paul peered around for a tissue. She sniffed. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. He'd found a box of Kleenex, but now he left it to come and stand beside her. His eyes weren't analytical now; they were blue and boyish as he tentatively squeezed her hand. â€Å"I'm sorry, Hannah. It sounds awful. But I'm sure I can help you. We'll get to the bottom of it. You'll see, by summertime you'll be graduating withUtahState and riding the duckbills, just like always.† He smiled to show it was a joke. â€Å"All this will be behind you.† â€Å"You really think?† He nodded. Then he seemed to realize he was standing and holding a patient's hand: not a very professional position. He let go hastily. â€Å"Maybe you've guessed; you're sort of my first client. Not that I'm not trained-I was in the top ten percent of my class. So. Now.† He patted his pockets, came up with the pencil, and stuck it in his mouth. He sat down. â€Å"Let's start with the first time you remember having one of these dreams. When-â€Å" He broke off as chimes sounded somewhere inside the house. The doorbell. He looked flustered. â€Å"Who would be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He glanced at a clock in the bookcase and shook his head. â€Å"Sorry, this should only take a minute. Just make yourself comfortable until I get back.† â€Å"Don't answer it,† Hannah said. She didn't know why she said it. All she knew was that the sound of the doorbell had sent chills running through her and that right now her heart was pounding and her hands and feet were tingling. Paul looked briefly startled, then he gave her a gentle reassuring smile. â€Å"I don't think it's the apocalypse at the door, Hannah. We'll talk about these feelings of apprehension when I get back.† He touched her shoulder lightly as he left the room. Hannah sat listening. He was right, of course. There was nothing at all menacing about a doorbell. It was her own craziness. She leaned back in the soft contoured chair and looked around the room again, trying to relax. It's all in my head. The psychologist is going to help me†¦. At that instant the window across the room exploded.

Synopsis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synopsis - Assignment Example As Browning demonstrated, well over eighty percent of the battalion’s men neither protested nor objected. They obeyed their orders and committed atrocities on a scale hitherto unimaginable. So cliche is the phrase â€Å"it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it† that it goes unnoticed, yet this was the attitude of reserve police battalion 101. â€Å"Ordinary men† just doing their jobs†¦ â€Å"With a conservative estimate of 6,500 Jews shot during earlier actions like those at J6zef6w and Lomazy and 1,000 shot during the "Jew hunts," and a minimum estimate of 30,500 Jews shot at Majdanek and Poniatowa, the battalion had participated in the direct shooting deaths of at least 38,000 Jews1.† Over and over again the book provides detail after detail of the depth to which the men sunk, â€Å"just doing their jobs† in the parlance of modern life. â€Å"Ordinary Men† seeks to answer the question of why these men would allow themselves to be ordered to commit such atrocities, and willingly comply. The experiments of Milgram were discussed. The effects of brainwashing were discussed. Various theories were examined and discussed in a hopeless desire to find some rational to explain the actions of reserve police battalion 101. There was none to be had.

IS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC AND OBJECTIVEEXPLAIN Essay

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Retail store selling hearing aide opening for the first time Essay

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Portfolio writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolio writing - Essay Example Dreamy images in my work are portrayed as a paradox between realism and idealism. The realism associated with the harsh and pleasant realities of life and human nature are expressed subliminally and submerged with idealism. These moments of pleasure are dreams, not escapist fantasies, that allows for transition through life’s pitfalls. It perpetuates hope, segregating it from the reality of life’s journey. It gives life meaning and the themes ‘dreams’ and ‘hopes’ articulate the meaning of life in my work. I spent my teen and adolescent years in foreign countries as well as completing my bachelor’s and master’s programs in the UK where I majored in Fine Arts (painting), all the while yearning for Korea. I have always remained nostalgic about Korea and drawn to the spiritual art of the Orient. These passions for Korea and the spiritual art of the Orient greatly influences the work that I produce. Upon returning to Korea, I incorporated the speculative spirit of â€Å"line† commonly used in Oriental art (linear art that frequently characterizes Oriental art) into my painting, photography and installation. Remaining true to this tradition, I also introduced into my work, condensed symbolic expressions which I am endeavouring to apply to medium in a variety of genres. Consistent with this approach, I have utilized experimental expressions of formative art and continue to do so. By taking this approach I have capitalized on a number of different ways to use art medium for creative expressions. I have a preference for stab painting over traditional application of paint to canvas. I also represent images from my memory by virtue of a combination of stab painting and repetitive lines. By taking this approach I am able to reflect a repetitive cycle through the object painted. These painting methods permits a unique connection to the world that I am creating by allowing me to become more intimately connected to the brush. While my

Accountability of Public Finances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accountability of Public Finances - Essay Example 2006). In case of financial statement, fraud or any the crime involving financial statements in the government organizations then the PAC is expected to carry out an investigation and table its report to the Parliament on debate and provide recommendations for the government (Kang et al. 2008). Members of the committee are expected to obtain information or evidence from public officers and even managers of the public organizations. They are expected to examine the Director of Audits report concerning any organization. The president, however, is not a member of the committee, and the committee is independent of any control by the executive. In China the process of reporting involves preparation of the audit report, then preparation of the tax reconciliation report and finally preparation of foreign exchange reconciliation for foreign companies operating in China. There is also profit Repatriation of the financial statements depending on tax clearance completion. The financial reporting process in China is coded as it was borrowed heavily from Germany. Previously, most of the companies were owned by the government, but after the 80’s they reduced though the government still has some control over their reporting. The source of capital is debt thus the reporting is inclined towards the requirements of their equity providers that is the government and banks. The management is responsible for the financial statements of an entity in China be it government’ public or private organization. Accountability of the financial statements is at the hands of the Chief Financial Officers and the top management who acts a s the agents of the owners. It is expected that all financial reports must be audited before getting published so as to show a true and fair view of the financial position of the firm. The must comply with the reporting standards issued by Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Shah

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation - Essay Example This essay will critical evaluate the entrepreneur and enterprise activities to demonstrate a thorough and practical understanding of the entrepreneurial process. Lacey, born in 1968 in London, had a passion for business from a young age. At an early age, Lacey had a dream to run a business and help companies in all industries to recruit the best personnel required (Phillips and Gully, 2012). Before entrepreneurship, Lacey worked as a business develop manager in Techpartners International Company and INS for five years, and as a sales account manager in Sysdeco UK Limited for five years (Lacey, 2015). With a wealth of experience in IT sales and networking, Lacey can handle almost any challenge posed by the sales and recruitment sectors. Like all businesspeople, Lacey has experienced the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and understands the demands of entrepreneurship. Fortunately, Lacey has very understanding parents who saw such actions as part of an education and did not interfere with the expression of ideas. Together with the business partner, Darren Rosenfeld, the ambitious men started Next Ventures from 2001 and have overcome many chall enges to make it success today (Hemingway, 2013). Lacey’s story is an example of what most entrepreneurs go through when starting entrepreneurship. There are many decisions to make, which are also accompanied by a degree of uncertainty that puts most businesspeople in a dilemma. Some of the main challenges Lacey faced included branding and marketing, delegation, and health and safety (Horn, 2013). Marketing was especially challenging because it was very difficult to convince individuals and organisations that it was worth a try (Solberg, 2013). Based on own experience, Lacey recommends that prospective entrepreneurs join hands with other like-minded individuals to actualise goals and objectives. One can even engage in entrepreneurship as a part-time venture instead of putting all efforts into one business. People

Online Enrollment System of Act Essay Example for Free

Online Enrollment System of Act Essay 1. Background of the Study The need for powerful and flexible data management systems is increasing in science, engineering, business and the personnel fields. The success of an organization depends on its ability to acquire accurate and timely data about its operation, to manage this data effectively, and to use it to analyze its own activities. Nowadays, web-based applications are widely used due to their ubiquity. This universal availability of information is sparking an era of collaboration. The Internet is neither an extraordinary communications tool nor revolutionary. It simply represents the current stage in the development of human capabilities through written language, which itself derived from the spoken form (Holmes, 2006). Given its current and potential growth, the Internet, which emerged as a powerful tool for information management, has become a prodigious avenue for e-commerce, offering transaction convenience and service efficiency. Continuing innovation in technologies can lead to organizational changes that range from improvement of day-to-day operations and for easy access it provides for the end users (Forman, 2007). Many schools today have adapted this innovation. Among these are online services offered by the Western Mindanao State University (http://www.wmsu.edu.ph/) and Far Eastern University (http://www.feu.edu.ph/). Challenged for such innovation, a group of researchers have decided to conduct a study in Asian College of Technology (ACT), one of the academic institutions here in Cebu that offers ITE (IT Education) courses. Through potent marketing and advertisement strategy, the institution continues to soar its heights towards academic excellence and gains the hearts of some parents in all status, to send their children to college. To meet the demands of the large number of employee and student population, a web-based enterprise system is proposed for the academic institution which includes different sub-systems that will cater the needs to improve its service, operation, processing and other transactions critical to the institution from the enrollment procedures, storing of student permanent records and accounts, student evaluation and as well as grade management. In lieu to this, the researchers divided the enterprise system into sub-systems and each member is assigned to a particular module. The researcher decided to focus on proposing an online enrollment system which will soon enhance their enrollment process as part of the proposed web-based enterprise system. Though an existing enrollment client system, a desktop application has already been used to facilitate the student enrollment process but still a demand on a faster, systematic and more convenient way of student admission and enrollment procedures are technically vital. The study considered the prevailing process of the institution and how the current process can be modified for a more efficient and effective enrollment system. One of the factors to be considered for the proposed system is the lack of manpower to accommodate numerous enrollees, the tedious task of filling up application or enrollment forms, the inaccuracies of information provided by the enrollees, the inefficiency of selecting subject schedules and the slow process of adjusting the schedules enrolled by the students. These factors cause enrollment delay, which really affects the impression of the institution towards its clients and as well as to the enrollment personnel. 2. Statement of the Problem Asian College of Technology, as of 1st semester of SY 2012-2013, has increased its student population. The problems arises during the enrollment period were prevalent as those really affect the impression of the institution. The system seeks to solve the following problems: †¢ Lack of manpower to accommodate large number of enrollees; †¢ Tedious task of filling up and submission of application or enrollment forms; †¢ Inaccuracies of information provided by the enrollees; †¢ Inefficiencies of selecting subject schedules by the enrollment personnel to the enrollees; and †¢ Delay and tiresome processing of schedule adjustments. In order to help students and enrollment personnel to overcome the mentioned difficulties, the researcher came up with an idea of enhancing the existing enrollment procedures through an online enrollment system. 1.3 Goals and Objectives The main objective of this research is to design an online enrollment system as a response of the encountered difficulties during the course of the enrollment period. Furthermore, it specifically aims to: †¢ Provide availability of the system via web to facilitate preliminary enrollment procedures; †¢ Provide a user-friendly interface in filling up student information without the hassle of queuing; †¢ Improve accuracy by providing user data validation features; †¢ Improve efficiency by providing the student a user-interface to select the desired subject schedules; †¢ Minimize delay for processing of schedule adjustments by providing the students a ubiquitous and better system via web without the hassle of queuing. 4. Significance of the Study The proposed study will be beneficial to the following: †¢ Schools: It serves as an essential and efficient tool for improving the current enrollment procedures. †¢ Enrollment Personnel: It will provide them better facilitation, customer service and better technical assistance to student enrollees. †¢ Students: It will give an elated impression to them since the system provides convenient and hassle-free features for enrollment transactions. †¢ Researchers: It will help them in the field of automating and improving current systems and set them to discover things where technology is involved. The system provides them the opportunity to apply their skills and be able to share their knowledge through system development. †¢ Future Researchers: This may open doors for researchers related to enhance and improve online enrollment system utilizing latest and current web technologies. Further, this will serve as a useful reference and guide for further research and develop their own projects. †¢ Readers: The study may serve as valuable reference for further studies on how systems are developed and designed. Further, this may motivate them to be in the technical field and will aid them in the development of their own projects in the near future.

The effect of background noise on free recall

The effect of background noise on free recall The effect of background noise upon free recall of visually presented words was investigated. A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological study. The experimental groups were the speech condition (N=20) and the whale sound condition (N=20) whereas the silent condition (N=20) accounted for the control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to each group. The speech, whale sound and silence accounted for the three levels of independent variable whereas the subjective free recall accounted for the dependent variable. This study formed two hypotheses. Hypothesis one proposed that more words will be recalled in the control condition than in the experimental conditions and hypothesis 2 proposed that fewer words will be recalled in the speech condition than both the whale sound and silent condition. The present investigation employed a between groups design. One way ANOVA showed that participants in the control condition (M = 12.85 SD = 2.97) significantly recall ed more words than the whale sound experimental (M= 9.05 SD =2.13) and the speech conditions (M= 9.65 SD= 3.49) (p= Key words: working memory, free recall, silence, whale sound, speech Investigation into background noise and participants free recall performance Background noise has been established to be among the most notable forms of interference in the in offices and educational settings causing stress and discomfort for workers and learners and affecting performance (Hugh Jones 2001). Background noise from aircraft, road traffic, and trains have all been shown to impair learning (Enmarker, Boman, Hygge 2006; Hygge, 2003; Wible, Nicol, Kraus, 2004 in McNeil). The working memory model proposed by Salame and Baddeley (1990) constitutes of the visuo-spatial system and phonological system, however, the memory system that is concerned with verbal visual and auditory presentation is the phonological store. The phonological store, together with the process of articulatory rehearsal constitutes what is unknown as the phonological loop (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003). Prominent psychologists have investigated the phenomenon of background noise and its interference with the working memory processes and recall impairment. For example, Salame Baddeley (1982 in Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003) argued of the irrelevant speech effect which refers to a reduction in the immediate recall of lists of presented items when irrelevant auditory material is presented together with the items to be memorized (Gisselgard et al, 2003). Salame and Baddeley argued that irrelevant sound effect interferes with the temporary storage of verbal material within a phonological input store of limited capacity (Gisselgard, 2003). Jones (2004) also argues that auditory verbal stimuli have direct access to phonological system whereas visual verbal has indirect access whereas the visual verbal stimuli endeavour a process of sub vocalization before passing through the articulatory suppression system. (Jones, Macken Nicholls (2004: the phonological store of working memory). Other psychologists argue that the irrelevant speech will interfere with the representations of list items if and only they are being held within the phonological store. However, during the rehearsal process (articulatory suppression), the irrelevant sound effect may be abolished (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003), therefore not impairing word recall. Beaman Jones (1998) acknowledge that one of the earliest explanations produced for the irrelevant sound effect was the acoustic primary memory masking hypothesis (Colle Welsh, 1976) which postulates that irrelevant auditory stimuli have the action of masking phonologically recoded visual stimuli in an acoustic primary memory store. According to this approach, the items lose their distinctiveness by being masked, making their retrieval difficult (Beaman Jones, 1998). Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001), on the contrary, argue that as the memory task and irrelevant speech are presented in different sensory modalities, the effect cannot be attributed to some kind of interference (or masking) at sensory level as suggested by Colle and Welsh( 1976). Instead they argue that this disruption must be attributable to: A confluence of processing from the ear and the eye at some level beyond the sensory organs; this can be explained as a breakdown in attentional selectivity. Despite the intent of the person to concentrate on the memory task, the irrelevant sound intrudes therefore impairing recall. (Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones, 2001) Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001) suggest that interference results from the similarity of events represented in memory, a phenomenon known as phonological similarity. One subtype proposes that the disruption is based on a conflict of content between what is seen and what is heard. This may be through similarity (phonological similarity) in the identity of the irrelevant sound to the items being rehearsed (Salame Baddely 1982 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001) through shared temporal cues or through degree of overlap of modality-independent features in the irrelevant speech with the items in the visually presented to-be-recalled list (Neath, 2000 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001). The phonological similarity is particularly relevant in this study as a back ground speech by Martin Luther King, in English will be employed and administered in the background. It is worthy of acknowledgement that irrelevant sound hypothesis has been predominately investigated for serial recall (Lecompte, 1994 Beaman Jones, 1998). The irrelevant speech effect has been found to effect and disrupt the learning of list of words in a sequential order and Salame and Baddeley (1990) did establish that background noise was disruptive. However, free recall has also found to be affected by the irrelevant sound (Beaman Jones 1998). In light of this, the present study will investigate the irrelevant sound hypothesis through assessing free recall of subjects. Moreover, Studies (Beaman Jones, 1998 have shown that the irrelevant sound effect does equally effect serial or free recall, without distinction. For example, in testing the free recall and the irrelevant speech effect, Lecompte (1994) study found that a) irrelevant speech inhibited free recall more than white noise. In addition Lecompte (1994) had found an effect on irrelevant sound on free recall in four cond itions (Lecompte, 1994). This is also supported and acknowledged by Beaman Jones (1998). The present study will be employing whale sound as one of the independent variables although animal sound with relation to memory recall impairment have been investigated by Neath Surprenant (2000) (the nature of remembering) In other studies, the irrelevant speech effect was not found in free recall (Salame Baddeley, 1990 in Lecompte, 1994). Although there is substantial research which has found that noise disrupts learning, there is however some other investigations which established that background noise had a facilitative effect on learning as oppose to a detrimental effect dependent upon the level and frequency of the noise and subjective ratings of levels for interference (Hughes Jones, 2001). It is noteworthy that although Salame and Baddeley (1989) used Japanese speech in the background which accounted for the irrelevant speech the present study will use English Martin Luther King speech. Use of English narrative as an independent variable has also been investigated. For example, Jones, Miles and Page (1990 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) performed an investigation in which forward, reversed (English narrative) and Welsh (narrative) irrelevant speech were contrasted. Each produced a large and almost identical effect on the recall of consonant strings. In another study (in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) irrelevant Italian and English produced a similar degree of impairment (Morris, Jones Quayle., 1989 in ibid) the psychologists argue that the phonological similarity effect isnt the cause of poorer recall as Salame and Baddeley (1989 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) have argued. The aforementioned mentioned study by Jones et al (1990) demonstrates that background speech which is similar to the language of the listener will be equally disruptive when compared to other languages such as Welsh. Oswald et al (2000 in Hughes Jones, 2001: the intrusiveness of sound) tested participants comprehension of sentences of meaningful speech, meaningless speech and in quiet. They found that performance was worse in both speech conditions relative to quiet, but most noticeably, meaningful speech was more disruptive than meaningless speech. This study therefore supports Salame and Baddeley (1990) similar phonological effect hypothesis with relation to interference and disruption, which will also form one of the hypothesis for the present study. Amidst the scope of studies already performed in the domains of irrelevant sound effect and its effect upon the phonological working memory, this present study too, aims to investigate whether or not the background speech and whale sound will impair recall for words presented visually. Method Participants A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological research. Each of the eight investigators for this study recruited eight participants. The control or silent condition comprised of 20 participants, the whale sound condition comprised on 20 participants and the Martin Luther King speech condition comprised of 20 participants. All these participants were randomly assigned to each of the eight investigators. All of the participants were over 18 and no other demographic variable such as specific age group or gender was considered in this present study. The participants were either related or associated with the investigators. Design variables A between subjects experiment design was employed. Participants were randomly allocated to each group. This study used one independent variable with three levels of background noise which were silent, speech, and whale sound. The silent condition was the control condition whereas the speech and whale sound were the experimental conditions. The dependent variable is the number of words correctly recalled by the groups. The noise level of the speech and whale sound was 66 -70 decibels. The present study employed the free recall methodology. Hypotheses Recall of words will be higher for the silent (control) condition than the whale sound and speech sound (experimental) conditions. This accounts for hypothesis 1. The recall of words will be lower in the speech sound condition compared to both the whale and silent conditions to investigate the phonological similarity effect and its effect of interference with information processing and recall. This therefore accounts for hypothesis 2. Stimuli and materials Martin Luther King speech (experimental condition 1); Whale sound (experimental condition2); Silence (Control condition); 20 words were selected from the Toronto Word Pool with neutral but similar levels of concreteness and imaginability. The lower level of imaginability and concreteness ranged from 1 to 3 and high ranged from 5 to 9 but the words selected were at level 4.font was Ariel size 12. The format of the words was a visual presentation of in a list form. Procedure Participants were briefed and informed consent was obtained prior to commencement of experimentation. In the silent (control) condition the participants were presented with the words. Participants learned the words for 3 minutes. Participants were then given a further 3 minutes to recall the words followed by debrief. In experimental (1) whale sound and experimental (2) speech conditions participants were presented with words and were allowed 3 minutes to learn the words accompanied with either background whale sound or speech. A further 3 minutes were given for the written free recall of words followed by debrief. In the brief the participants were informed of the whale and speech background noise, neither any approach to learn the words was mentioned. Other background interferences and auditory disruptions, other than the intended noise were kept to a minimum. Results The effect of background sound (silent, speech, whale sound) on recall of words was examined using one-way subjects ANOVA. It was expected that participants in the silent condition would recall more words than the participants in the speech and whale sound condition. The mean scores revealed that more words were recalled in the silent condition (12.85 SD = 2.97). There was almost equal number of words recalled in the whale sound (M= 9.05 SD=2.13) and the speech condition (M=9.65 SD=3.49). There was significant difference between the recall scores of the control and experimental conditions F (2, 57) = 9.748, p0.05). Participants in the speech condition recalled significantly less than the silent condition (Mean difference = -3.2 p=0.05). Therefore this experiment supports the hypothes1 and therefore the null hypothesis will be rejected. Lower recall in the speech condition compared to the silent but similar levels of recall compared to the whale sound condition partially supports hypo thesis 2. Condition Recall N Mean Standard Deviation Silent 20 12.85 2.97 Whale 20 9.05 2.13 Speech 20 9.65 3.49 Total 60 10.51 3.33 Table 1 shows the mean score for each group together with their standard deviations. The silent condition recalled the most number of words and the whale and speech conditions scoring the similar number of words. Sound Sound Mean Difference Sig. Alpha 0.05 Silent Whale 3.80 0.00 speech 3.20 0.00 whale Silent -3.8 0.00 Speech -.60 0.79 speech Silent -.32 0.03 whale .6 0.79 Table 2 Multiple comparisons showing the scores of each group, inclusive of mean difference and their significance. There is a significantly larger difference between Silent compared to whale and speech conditions. There is a significant difference between whale and silent condition but not with speech condition. There is a significant difference between speech and silent but not with the whale condition. This test supports hypothesis 1 expected the recall for words in the control condition to be higher than the experimental thus supporting the experimental hypothesis and rejecting the null hypothesis. However, there is not a significant difference between the speech and whale noise condition therefore as fewer words were recalled in the speech condition compared to the silent condition and assessing that there is not a significance recall difference when compared to the whale noise condition only partially supports hypothesis 2. Recall Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. ÃŽÂ ·p2 Between Groups 166.933 2 83.46 9.74 0.000 0.25 Within Groups 488.050 57 8.56 Total 654.983 59 Table 3 is showing the between and within groups mean scores and shows that the differences between the groups is significant (p= Discussion This present study attempted to investigate the effect of background sound on recall for words. The investigation manifested that overall the recall for the control (silent) condition was higher than the experimental (whale sound and speech) conditions. Therefore is supportive of the hypothesis 1 of this study and of the irrelevant sound hypothesis, and therefore rejecting the null hypothesis. The minor partial eta square effect is also noteworthy showing that the independent variables did not greatly affect the participants recall of words. In relation to the phonological similarity effect due to the administration of English words and English speech, it was found that articulatory suppression in the speech condition did not abolish the phonological similarity effect as well as the irrelevant speech effect which are known to impair the processing and retrieval of visually presented words. This is evident through lower production of words in the Speech condition. Therefore this study has supported the phonological similarity effect and its impairing effects upon processing visually similar verbal information. This investigation has shown that the practice of rehearsal or articulatory suppression did not abolish the both the phonological similarity effect and the irrelevant sound effect. The abolishment the phonological similarity hypothesis through articulatory suppression is well documented by Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar (2003). The findings of these results can therefore be extended to the wider world where people are reading verbal information and listening to verbal auditory concurrently, albeit individual differences can also be taken into consideration. It was acknowledged that hypothesis 2 was partially supported because even though significantly fewer words were recalled in the speech condition than the silent condition but the difference is not statistically significant when compared to the whale sound condition. This finding is therefore also interesting as animal whale noise had equal level of disruption than human verbal speech. Despite the interesting findings, this study however, does have some limitations. This present study didnt take into consideration other individual variables such as age, gender. Considering these variables could yield further complimentary or contradictory results which could be subjected to empirical analysis. In a study performed by Ellermeier Zimmer (1997) individual difference was found with relation to susceptibility to the irrelevant speech effect. One study demonstrated that males and females perform differently in the presence of music when undertaking different tasks and exercises (Miller Schyb, 1989). In future studies, demographic variables and specific sample can be considered to ensure more reliable and valid results. Moreover, this present study did not take vocal or instrumental music as an independent measure and variable, although these variables may also be critical. Therefore, in future studies the inclusion of music condition and how background music facilitate s and impairs learning can also be considered. Hillard and Tolin (1975), for example, showed that if the background music was well-known to the subject, they performed better on the given task than when unknown music was present. The domains of familiarity and unfamiliarity of music can therefore, also be explored. Moreover, in another study, the psychoacoustics found that music that contained speech had significant detrimental effects on the participants ability to perform tasks (Martin, Wogalter Forlano, 1988). Extensive studies can be performed in light of all of the aforementioned variables.

Michael Moore´s Bowling For Columbine Essay -- Film Movies

Michael Moore ´s Bowling For Columbine Bowling For Columbine is a well-directed documentary that informs people about gun violence in America. Michael Moore is successful in showing that America has been going through many gun tragedies; and portrays the sense that America’s problems are out of control. He conveys this through informative facts, images, and comparisons. Throughout the film Michael Moore throws many cold facts on the screen that makes it obvious that the strong nation of America is unruly. One of the facts that stand out the most is the number of deaths caused by guns in America per year. In comparison to the other countries, America has an outstanding of 11,127 gun related deaths a year. This is ten times more than all the countries together that are mentioned in the documentary. With this extreme comparison it shows that there is something in America that is making people turn on their fellow man and shoot them in the head. On April 19, 1999 two boys Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, went to school and killed 12 students and one teacher. Michael Moore does not really need to go further than just stating these few words to show how incredibly devastating this day was. How have the social standards reduced themselves to a world where two high school students feel that they have the right to bring firearms to school and open fire? O ne is reminded of an old saying, â€Å"like father like son.† The American government can be seen as the father to all the ...

The Diviners: How Does Morags Past Influence Piques Life :: essays research papers

The Diviners: How does Morag's Past Influence Pique's Life Pique is the inheritor of French-Indian and Scottish-Canadian roots. She is raised her mother in Canada and England. However, her growth is affected by Morag's life style and Morag's past life. There are three events in Morag's past that affects Pique's life. Morag moves away from Christie when she goes to college and she rarely comes back to Manawake, "Going to Winnipeg this fall. To college. And I'm never coming back." She does not seem care for her stepparents. In certain respects the parent-child relationship between Morag and Pique resembles the one between Christie, the Scavenger, "You've never had somebody tell you mother was crazy between she lived out her alone and wrote dirty books and had kooky people coming out from the city to visit?" (P.446) And both, in different ways, attempt to deny their parents. At one point, Pique, having run away from home, ends up in a mental hospital in Toronto after "a bad trip", "Can't you see I despair you? Can't you see I want you to go away? You aren't my mother. I haven't got a mother." (P.111) Furthermore, Morag does not get married with Jules. When her husband is Brooke Skelton, she has a sexual relationship with Jules and gets pregnant. Later, Pique is aware that Jules is her father. Pique has an idea about why she is different from the others because a typical family should have a mother and a father, but she comes from a single parent family. When Pique first meets her father she is at about five years old. Jules sings a song to Pique which she finds fascinating and meaningful to her. Pique, at 18, is more mature than her mother at the same age. She loves her father very much and wants to live with him, however, Morag does not approve that Pique should stay with Jules, "Why did you have me?" "For your own satisfaction, yes. You never thought of him or of me." We are aware that Pique needs care and love from both of her parents because Morag cannot fulfill Pique's desire. She runs away in search of what she thinks she is missing all along, which she, herself is not sure what it is. Later on, she dates Dan McRaith, who is a husband of Bridie. They have a abnormal friendship between them. As we know Dan Scranton and Gord are boyfriends of Pique. It is coincidental with Morag's boyfriend first name is also Dan. These two individuals occurs in Morag and Pique's life as their names are the same.

Head Start Essay -- essays papers

Head Start Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs which serve children from birth to age five, pregnant woman and their extended families. They are child-focused programs that have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. . These programs try to prepare young children intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically for their future educational and social endeavors. ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002).. The programs prepare the parent(s) to be supportive in the endeavor. Head Start has the philosophy that parents are a child's first and most influential teacher. The Head Start program is beneficial to early learning. In 1964, the Federal Government asked a panel of child development experts to draw up a program to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. The panel became the blueprint for Project Head Start (U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, 2002). Beginning as an eight-week summer program out of the Office of Economic Development, the Head Start program was well received by the education community. From the outset the program offered not only an education program, but also a health program for children. The program strongly encouraged parental involvement and offered the parents social service help if warranted. Right now the program is administered by the Administration for Children and Families. There are Head Start programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories ( The Online Head Start Resource Center, 2002). In 1994, the Early Head Start Program was established, because it was determined that children from birth to t... ...n. (ERIC Document Re-Productive Service No. ED327313) 6. Schweinhart, L. (2002). Recent Evidence on Preschool Programs. (ERIC Digest No.____). Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearing house on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproductive Service No. ED458046) 7. Head Start Works, But Needs More Funding and Better Teachers, (2002). Retrieved on November 5, 2002 from NIEER (National Institute for Early Learning Response, http://nieer.org/media center/index.php?pressid=7 8. Merrow, J. (2002, September 25)., The Failureof Head Start. Educationweek. Retrieved on November 5, 2002, from http://wwwedweek.org/le/ewstory.cfm?slug=04merrow.h22 9. Lubeck, S. (1990). Four-Year-Olds and Public Schooling. (ERIC Digest No _____). Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproductive Service No. ED325204)

Plain language v legalese Essay

There is an ongoing debate over whether legal practitioners should use plain language in legal writing; or whether legal practitioners should carry on with tradition and write in a more lawyerly manner some call â€Å"legalese†. As with any debate, there are two opposing sides and a middle ground. Proponents of plain language believe that since legal documents are read by both legal professionals and laymen, they should be understandable to a wide audience. Proponents of legalese believe that since legal documents are primarily written for an audience of other legal professionals, the traditional style of legal writing is perfectly understood by its intended audience. There is a long history of traditional legal writing law that sounds very important and archaic to the modern ear. Words such as substantiate, elucidate, and notwithstanding are seldom found anywhere outside of a legal document. There are also many phrases that are rarely used outside of a legal document, such as: â€Å"until such time as†; â€Å"render assistance†; â€Å"including but not limited to†; â€Å"owing to the fact that†; and â€Å"in the event thatâ€Å". The use of Latin phrases is common in traditional legal writing. The precise meaning of the phrases is obscure to readers who lack a knowledge of Latin. Latin phrases such as â€Å"habeas corpus†; â€Å"prima facie†; and â€Å"quantum meruit†; are likely widely understood only by legal professionals. Other Latin phrases used in traditional legal writing, such as â€Å"ab initio†; â€Å"de facto†; and â€Å"ex post facto†; might be understood by a well educated audience as well as legal professionals. Boilerplate language is another convention of legal writing. So-called â€Å"boilerplate† language is a grouping of words, sentences, and sometimes lengthy paragraphs that may have meaning beyond their plain meaning. For example, clauses in a property deed for a house contain language that has been parsed, defined, and argued for decades. The precise meaning of each boilerplate clause is related to the definitions and arguments that accompany it. Boilerplate language refers to any language that is always the same and is perceived as standard wording, such as â€Å"standard contract† clauses. The term boilerplate originated in the days of hot metal type. Publishers would use blocks of type that were made to be unchangeable, one sheet of metal printing plate with full paragraphs, clauses, or â€Å"standard† wording on it. These metal sheets resembled a plate on a boiler, and that is how the term came about. (Black’s 1991). Another convention of traditional legal writing is its repetitiveness. Personal pronouns, such as he, she and they; are generally not used. Instead the person’s name is used each time. Or a person’s position in a cause of action, such as defendant, plaintiff, respondent, or petitioner; is used each time. Similarly, the word â€Å"it† is seldom used. Instead the word for the thing or the word for the idea is used each time. Descriptive phrases in traditional legal writing are also confined to the same descriptive phrase each time. For example, words used to describe a vehicle would always be the same words each time they appeared in the same legal document. A red pickup truck would always be referred to as just that, â€Å"a red pickup truck†. The descriptive words would not be changed to â€Å"a Ford truck† even though the descriptive phrase could just as easily describe the same vehicle. â€Å"Plain language† is a phrase that defies definition. Like defining art or pornography, a prevalent attitude is that there is no encompassing definition, but we know it when we see it. Would it be fair to say that plain language is language that most people easily understand? That question begs for the next question, who is â€Å"most† people; and what is their level of understanding? So, then when we speak of plain language in legal writing, does that mean at a reading level that all or most adults can comprehend? Does plain language in legal writing mean only college educated adults? According to the most recent National Adult Literacy Study: â€Å"The National Literacy Survey shows that the average adult in the U. S. reads at the 7th grade level, with nearly 50% below the 6th grade level and over 80% below the 10th grade level. † (DuBay, 2004). So does that mean that plain language in legal writing should be written at a 7th grade reading level? In 1969 Harry McLaughlin devised the SMOG readability formula and it is still commonly used today. To use McLaughlin’s formula â€Å"count the words of three or more syllables in three ten sentence samples, estimate the square root, and add three. † The number generated is the readability score which corresponds to the reading grade level at which the paper could be read and understood. There is a deviation of plus or minus 1. 5. On his website, McLaughlin offers a readability calculator, just copy and paste any document into the box, and the calculator generates a readability score for that document. I plugged in one page of this paper and a score of 17. 34 was given. Since my intended audience is my professor and my academic colleagues, I believe this is an appropriate level of writing. (McLaughlin, 2008). Plain language, most simply defined, has to be just that, readable for the widest possible audience. Plain language does not seem to rely on multi-syllabic words when a shorter word will do. Words such as substantiate, elucidate, and notwithstanding can be replaced with prove, despite and clarify, respectively. Some common phrases used in traditional legal writing have a concise plain language substitute. In the event that† translates easily to â€Å"if. â€Å"Until such time as† means â€Å"when†. Plain language in the context of legal writing means using a translation of the Latin word or phrase, rather than the more scholarly sounding Latin. Proponents of maintaining a traditional style of legal writing believe that continuing to use the traditional con ventions, Latin phrases, and boilerplate language preserves legal culture. The use of Latin phrases adds a certain panache to writing, and some of the Latin does not translate very well. Few individuals outside of the legal profession will ever read a Supreme Court opinion. The process of legal argument, legal reasoning and legal writing are so intertwined that it becomes impossible to express legal opinion except in traditional legalese. In fact, for attorneys the use of traditional legal writing is more efficient because it is most commonly used; therefore, most commonly understood; understood by attorneys that is. The conventions and tradition in legal writing are much more than meaningless archaic language. Legal documents are written for specific legal situations. Sometimes legal language is purposely broad and imprecise so that unknown and unforeseeable future circumstances may somehow be addressed. Other wording is precise and well defined to clearly define the expectation of both parties, like the wording in a contract. A contract may have many clauses and if they can be simplified by using traditional standard language then all the better. It is after all, attorneys, communicating with attorneys. (Bast, 1995). Many attorneys choose to use published forms as the basis for contracts because they can easily be adapted to a specific client and situation. These attorneys believe that it is too time consuming for them and expensive for their clients to write a complete contract for each client and each situation. For example, in a contract a saving clause, also called a severability clause, allows the contract to remain in effect even if one or more of the provisions of the contract is breached or is found to be unenforceable. (Bast, 1995). This clause may or may not be written in plain language, but the meaning is the same. Attorneys reading other attorneys’ contracts easily grasp the intent and meaning of contract clauses, whether the language is standard legalese or written for a mass audience as long as the wording is precise. If the legal language found in a contract is familiar and precise attorneys can save themselves time and effort. And they can save their clients money, because they have no reason to analyze or parse out each word or clause, the meaning, to them is clear. Proponents of traditional legal writing style also assert that the repetitiveness in legal documents is necessary. While other types of writing demand variation of word choice to describe an object, person, or event, legal writing demands consistency in word choice. This consistency provides clarity and precision. There can be no question as to who â€Å"they† refers to in a legal document, when the word â€Å"they† does not ever appear at all. Proponents of plain language in legal writing claim that much of so-called traditional legalese is nothing but gobbledygook. Legalese is jargon and is used to obscure meaning. Webster’s Dictionary defines jargon as â€Å"confused, unintelligible talk; the special speech or vocabulary of a class, as of technicians, artists, thieves. † (Webster, 1987). In fact, the purpose of jargon among members of a group is to communicate among themselves without being understood by outsiders. Police and criminals each have their own jargon, hoping the other will not understand them. The goal of jargon among legal professionals is so that the public will not understand the law. If the public cannot understand the law because the public cannot understand the legal terminology then the public has no choice but to seek legal advice to interpret every legal document. So, legalese is very important to attorneys as job security. The most compelling argument in favor of plain language in legal writing is that consumers often sign legal documents in the course of their everyday lives. Nearly every agreement that a consumer enters into is bound by a written contract. If that contract is unintelligible, then the consumer’s rights are at risk. Consumers enter all types of contracts, including cell phone contracts, mortgages, and insurance. Laws and ordinances also have impact on people’s lives. It is popular to say that ignorance of the law is no excuse. However, laws are passed at a dizzying rate, and in truth most of us, including attorneys, are ignorant of many laws that might affect us. If we can comprehend the meaning of a law, we have a much better chance of following the law. And if we can understand a proposed law on the ballot we have a better chance of voting appropriately. Many states have gone so far as to legislate plain language in legal writing. In Florida, property insurance policies must be written in plain language. In California, they have legislated the use of plain language this way: Section 6215 of the California Government Code states: â€Å"Each department, commission, office or other administrative agency of state government shall write each document which it produces in plain, straightforward language, avoiding technical terms as much as possible, and using a coherent and easily readable style. † When it comes to personal safety, plain language is even more important. After a series of studies found that the improper use of child-safety seats was the leading risk factor in fatal injury to children in car accidents, two public health officials began to investigate. Dr. Mark Wegner and Deborah Girasek suspected that there might be a relationship between the improper use of the child-safety seats and the installation instructions. The pair analyzed the readability of the instructions of 107 different child-safety seats and published their findings in the medical journal â€Å"Pediatrics†. The team found that the installation instructions that came along with most of the child-safety seats were written at the 10th grade level. Far higher than the national average reading level of 7th grade, and much higher than the 5th to 6th grade level recommended for health related writing for consumers. This type of safety instruction is not legal writing per se. However, product liability is strict liability. And, if the safety instructions on a product are unintelligible they might as well be non-existent. Manufacturers risk substantial loss in tort actions if their product’s safety notifications are useless. In a letter to Senator Bob Bennett dated September 17, 2008, Ruth Anne Robbins, president of the Legal Writing Institute wrote: â€Å"Bureaucratic legal writing, including government writing, has long been difficult to read. It is convoluted and dense. Even those of us who are legal writing professors are challenged by it – and it is challenging for us to teach our law students how to properly read and interpret it. The government would benefit from paying more concern to the efficacy and readability of its communications. We teach our students to be reader-friendly rather than writer-centered. Unfortunately, government documents are too often writer-oriented rather than reader-oriented. † (Robbins, 2008). Since I believe that the purpose of writing is communication, not obfuscation, I support plain language in legal writing. The world today is a complicated place, and there is no reason to make it even more difficult to navigate than it needs to be. Whenever possible precision should be chosen over vagueness. When crafting wording for legislation, lawmakers should be careful to choose words that as clearly as possible show the intent of each law. Judges at all levels should strive to write their court opinions clearly and concisely. Laws and court opinions will always be subjected to interpretation, and that is one of the things that makes our country great. But, the interpretation of laws should be directed towards applying laws and opinions to a changing world, rather than trying to understand the original intent of those laws and opinions. There is no mention of the right to privacy anywhere in the U. S. Constitution. Justice William O. Douglas, in his landmark Supreme Court opinion , Griswold v Connecticut, (1965) wrote that our right to privacy is a constitutional right, and that right is included in the penumbra of rights emanating from the specific guarantees of the constitution. This type of expansion of personal freedoms is, in my opinion, the best and highest use of legal reasoning. The cumbersome challenge of interpreting obscure and arcane legalese is intellectual quicksand, and to be avoided at every opportunity.

Directing Act II †the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet Essay

Romeo and Juliet was originally a play written by William Shakespeare, who was a talented and popular playwright in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. As there was no cinematography in his time, his plays were performed in theatres.  As I am directing Act II – the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, I have many advantages. In this day and age, we have the latest equipment and techniques for filmmaking. As a director I have to consider many technical factors such as camera angle, lights, effects, props and costumes. I am not going to muddle with the story line, but will make some changes, which will differentiate my scene from the original. To present a good performance, I will have to take some imperative factors into account. Such as the place the scene has in the overall structure of the play, historical background, the setting, development of character, themes and the use of language. Let me begin by describing the place the scene has in the overall play. Originally before Act II in Act I, we are introduced to the feuding families of the Montague and the Capulet’s. We learn that Romeo a youth, who is in despair with his unsuccessful love for a girl Rosanline, is the Montague’s son. Eventually Romeo is persuaded by his friend Benvolio and Mercutio to go uninvited to a Capulet ball. There he meets Juliet who is the Capulet’s daughter and falls in love with her at first sight. The events in Act II describe what follows with this new love story. This scene infact is the turning point of the play. The plot begins to thicken from this scene on. I have decided that I will stick to the basic story line and begin my film with similar events. The next factor I have to consider is the â€Å"historical background†. Originally the story is based in Verona, Italy. Verona is a city-state, which is governed by a prince, such as present day boroughs and counties administered. In Verona there are two very powerful and wealthy families the Capulet’s and the Montague’s. They have an ancient family feud between them of blood loss and killing. They are like cats and dogs always quarrelling with each other. My film will be based in Delhi, India. This is a huge district and is under the control of the commissioner of police. In Delhi there are two very powerful and rich industrialists who have a long aged feud between them. They would try to cause harm to each other at any cost. The â€Å"setting† is the factor, which will differentiate my scene from the original. As I have set my play in India. I will also set it in the modern era unlike the original, which was set in the seventeenth century. I will use modern day spoken English and not the original Shakespeare English. Modern day clothes will be worn, modern day props and environment will be used. I will have to keep factors such as camera angle, lights and effects in mind throughout the shoot of the scene. The set will be a massive mansion, which will be the Capulet’s house. This will just be a part of the house where Juliet’s balcony projects out. There will also be projections out of the wall where flowerpots will be kept and there will be creepers on the wall. This will eventually help Romeo to climb up to Juliet’s balcony. The filming of the scene takes place in the same manner as it took place in the original play. The shoot will take place at dawn, so that the dialogues correspond. The scene takes place like this; Romeo jumps over a wall and finds himself in a compound, which has a garden. He finds no one as it is early morning but sees the lights in Juliet’s room switched on. He tries to climb up to the balcony when suddenly Juliet appears. He remains quiet and listens to what Juliet is saying to herself. As Juliet is leaning on the balcony Romeo breaks his silence. Then both them become engaged in a romantic conversation. Then suddenly the nurse interrupts them. Juliet then becomes worried and excited tries to complete the conversation hastily. Eventually the they exchange vows and Romeo cautiously sneaks out of the Capulet’s mansion. The next factor is the â€Å"development of character†. As a director this is a factor I will have to stress upon in order to make my performance an attractive and successful one. In Act II – The Balcony Scene there are many changes in the character of Romeo and Juliet. Basing my scene on the original, I will use the original lines to signify the change in character. Romeo at the beginning of the scene is immature and foolish. After seeing Juliet at the ball and falling in love at first sight, he tries to encroach into the Capulet’s house to meet Juliet. This was foolish of him as he was walking into a pit. Then when he is spying on Juliet, he expresses his feeling for Juliet to himself. He is idealistic about Juliet, for example † It is the east and Juliet is the sun!† Then eventually he becomes romantic and poetic, for example â€Å"It is my lady, O it is my love!† and â€Å"The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp† and â€Å"Her eyes in heaven, Would through the airy region stream so bright, That birds would sing and think it were not night.† He is very elaborative in his views about Juliet, such as â€Å"O speak again bright angel, for thou art†. When Romeo meets Juliet he carries on the conversation delivering his dialogues in his poetic, romantic and idealistic way. At a point in the scene Romeo even wishes for physical desire. For example â€Å"O wilt thou leave me so unsatisdfied?†Eventually at the end of the scene he becomes mature and plain in his expressions. For example â€Å"By the hour of nine†, he says this when Juliet asks him what time they should get married. Overall Romeo’s character is unbalanced and not focused. He is immature in his approach and gradually matures by the end of the scene. Most of the time he expresses his love for Juliet in an idealistic, poetic and romantic way. He likes to flirt and tries to touch the sentiments of Juliet. On the other hand Juliet is a person who is mature in her views. From the beginning till the end of the balcony scene she remains sober and focused about her views and expression. Her character remains being practical and down to earth. She shows passion towards Romeo at all times but with control emotions and feelings. In the beginning of the play she sardonically refers to Romeo’s and her self’s parents acting as wall between their love. For example â€Å"Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love; And I’ll no longer be a Capulet†. She also goes on describing the significance of their names in their love affair, for example † ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy: Thou art thyself, though not a Montague†. When Romeo breaks his silence and when they meet, Juliet becomes puzzled and curious about his presence, but she is also pleased within as for the effort he made to come. She refers by saying â€Å"How cam’st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore; The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art†. As the scene progresses Juliet’s character remains as same, being practical and focused about her views. She replies to Romeos elaborated comments with control emotion and lucidness. For example â€Å"O swear not by the moon, th’inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable†.

Literary Analysis of Night

The Holocaust changed the lives of many people and survivors and had many adverse effects. Some began to question their faith in their beliefs and even questioned their god. They pondered upon the thought of how God could sit idly by and allow the atrocious actions committed within their own homeland be unjustified. Those that survived have many terrifying stories to tell. Many survivors are too frightened to tell their story because their experiences are too lurid to express in words or even comprehend. One of Wiesel's main objectives in writing Night is to remind readers that the Holocaust occurred, and hopes that it will never happen again. Night themes include the inhumanity of humans toward others and how death can cause potent harm to one’s psyche. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses many literary devices such as Tone, Imagery, and Repetition to portray the acts of death and inhumanity as well as their traumatizing effects. Elie Wiesel uses repetition to clearly state and emphasize what he has endured and shall never falter or be forgotten but shall always linger within the confines of his forever scarred conscience. Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of Ingles 2 Smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed m y faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never. † (Pg. 32) This quote displays not only the horrifying acts that were committed but the effects it had on the author’s conscience. Also, notice that Eliezer states that his God was murdered. â€Å"For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. †(Pg. 31) But in the final line Eliezer acknowledges him as God. Despite saying his God was murdered, it is clear that Eliezer is actually struggling with his faith and his God. Just as he is never able to forget the horror of that night, he is never able to reject completely disdain his religion. Elie Wiesel uses imagery to depict explicitly what happened within the concentration camps. The imagery used in Night also gave the readers a sense of what Eliezer endured and the many horrors he encountered during his time spent within the camps. â€Å"Babies were thrown into the air and the machine gunners used them as targets† (Pg. 4)

Against Bullfighting

October 24, 2011 Jose Pliego San Martin In 2010 15,000 bulls were killed only in Spain, you know why? Because of bullfighting. Bullfighting is a so called â€Å"tradition† in Spain, Portugal and some Latin American countries like Mexico and Venezuela. Reality is bullfighting is only a constant torture to a poor bull unable to defend itself. So that you can understand me better I am going to tell you about the Spanish-style bullfighting: A man, dressed like a clown, tortures and torments a bull with a red cape. Then the picadors keep on abusing him, provoking painful wounds that cut into his neck muscles with a pica.After that the banderilleros, blood-thirsty, with an item called banderilla weaken the bull even more. Severely injured, the bull charges with rage against the steel that destroys his organs. The matador is supposed to break the artery next to the heart, but that never happens. Instead he drills his lungs and the bull often vomits blood. Agonizing in a blood bath, t he puntillero puts an end to his life. Even then, he is not allowed a little dignity to leave this world in peace, his ears and tail are cut off (often when he is fully conscious), and his broken, bleeding body is dragged around the ring by mules.Not content with his suffering, which must be too horrible to describe with words, the crowds boo and mock at him. They even throw empty beer cans to the arena. His body is then taken away to be skinned, and even then he may not be dead when this happens. That’s what the crowd watches in the ring, but what is also really concerning is the previous preparation they give the bull. The bull is not an aggressive animal, and the reason he is angry and attempts to charge at the matador whilst in the bullring is mainly because he has been horrendously abused for the previous two days. In fact, what spectators see is not a normal, healthy bull.The bull has wet newspapers stuffed into his ears; Vaseline is rubbed into his eyes to blur his vis ion; cotton is stuffed up his nostrils to cut off his respiration and a needle is stuck into his genitals. Also, a strong caustic solution is rubbed onto his legs, which throws him off balance. He is kept in a dark box for a couple of days before he faces the ring: the purpose of this is to confuse him. When he is let out of the box, he runs desperately towards the light at the end of the tunnel. He thinks that at last his suffering is over and he is being set free — instead, he runs into the bullring to face his killers and a booing crowd.And it happens to more than 20,000 bulls a year!!!!! Calling â€Å"culture† the organized sadism, violence, pain or death is an insult to one’s intelligence and to the development of our evolution. Your indifference makes them powerful! You MUST manifest your disgust against that criminal party! Don’t collaborate with that insane game! BULLFIGHTERS MUST BE SENT TO JAIL! In recent years, there has been a sustained press interest in the atrocities involved in bullfighting and fiestas involving animal abuse. This media focus has caused worldwide concern.This has deeply embarrassed the Spanish Government who is under extreme pressure to change their laws. Also, it has made people in general more aware of the cruelties involved in bullfighting and the fiestas, and therefore less likely to visit bullrings. On September the 25th the last corrida in the Spanish region of Catalonia took place. This because the parliament of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting, making it the first region of mainland Spain to do so. The vote took place as the result of a petition brought to parliament, signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated.The ban takes effect in January 2012. It is only a matter of time before this abomination has ended, and bulls are allowed to live their lives in peace all around the world. We should all follow the example of the Catalonians and prohibit bullfighting. Now a days there are a lot of efforts to put it down. We only need to raise our voices and express our feelings against those assassins†¦ THINK: ARE YOU WITH IT OR ARE YOU AGAINST IT? It is cruelty, not culture. It is criminal, not fun. So†¦ VOTE AGAINST BULLFIGHTING!!