No Child Left Behind Act

With the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in early 2002, the Bush Administration put its stamp on the central federal law governing K-12 schooling, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) ratified in 1965. Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Bush summoned the ideas that are now law as a way to improve public education across the board, particularly for poor children. Vowing to end the soft prejudice of low expectations that he said has allowed too many poor children to fall enduringly behind in school, President Bush declared, â€Å"It's time to come together to get it (educational reform) done so that we can truthfully say in America, ‘No child will be left behind, not one single child'† Described in this way, the problem of low expectations proposes the solution most probably built into the provisions of No Child Left Behind: higher expectations. Though, the law needs not higher expectations which, after all, cannot be legislated but to a certain extent documented success, across the board and against a set of external standards. Expecting every child to succeed is one thing; needing that success is another. Supporters look upon the No Child Left Behind Act as a much-needed push in the right direction: a set of measures that will drive broad gains in student achievement as well as hold states and schools properly accountable for student progress. A number of critics see it fundamentally as a insincere set of demands, framed in an appealing language of expectations, that will force schools to fail on a scale large enough to rationalize shifting public dollars to private schools that is, as a political effort to reform public education out of existence through a policy of test and burn. (Levin, B. & Riffel, J, 1998). Sadly, No Child Left Behind appears, at best, to fix the wrong problem. The sanctions written into the law appear designed to compel teachers to teach and students to learn. Thus far, few children do not want to learn and few teachers do not want to teach. This is barely the biggest problem in struggling schools. What is missing is chance and support, not desire. Consider the gap between the reforms institutionalized through No Child Left Behind and the needs of John Essex, a high-poverty school in rural Demopolis, Alabama. The New York Times (Schemo, 2003b), reported: The truck full of stones showed up at John Essex School without explanation, as if some unnamed saint had heard Loretta McCoy's despair. As principal of this school in Alabama's rural Black Belt, Ms. McCoy struggles to find money for essentials: library books, musical instruments, supplies and teachers. So when the stones appeared, Ms. McCoy knew it might be the closest John Essex would get to landscaping and got pushing. A pile went by the back door, filing a huge pothole the children waded through when it rained. Another truckload filled a sinkhole by the Dumpsters, where garbage trucks got stuck in mud, and a third went to craters when the children took recess. Her pleading got John Essex five deliveries of rock: not enough to level the school's entrance, but enough to give its principal a small dose of hope. The K-12 school has 264 students, all poor and all Black. The building's cinder-block walls are unplastered, electrical lines are exposed, also the library includes books â€Å"that ponder how the Vietnam War will turn out† and â€Å"speak of landing on the moon as an ambitious dream† (Schemo, 2003b). Students have to master a foreign language to earn the academic diploma they require to get into college; however the school has no foreign language teacher, as well no art or music teacher. A few wrist bells comprise the school's collection of musical instruments. One person teaches chemistry, earth science, biology, and all the other science classes. Given the funding shortfalls and high failure rates extensively predicted for struggling schools like John Essex, it is hard to believe that sanctions are a good-faith prescription for accomplishment. Schools with fewer students and less funding will have even more difficulty attracting the best teachers, most of whom will prefer not to teach in a school branded failing. Though No Child Left Behind was signed into law with promises of not giving up on a single student, which proposes a commitment to ensuring that all children succeed, sanctions drive the law and almost make sure the opposite: failure. If this was not the case, if a state documented the success of each and every student that state no doubt would be criticized for cheating, grade inflation, or low standard. Pious platitudes regarding children being capable to learn and accountability for adequate yearly progress are poor substitutes for the cold, hard cash schools like John Essex need to attract good teachers and to finance the programs that might validate this rhetoric. While the federal contribution to total spending on public education is extremely small, about seven percent, the high-poverty schools most vulnerable to the sanctions rely excessively on this money. No Child Left Behind emerges not to address the very real problems in these schools, some of which rely on Title I dollars for more than a third of their spending, but somewhat to use those problems as a rationale for eroding public education. President Bush wanted to include vouchers for private schools in the No Child Left Behind law, however let this go when it became clear Congress would not pass the legislation with that provision. Debatably, however, No Child Left Behind lays the groundwork for exactly this result. The objective appears to be not to improve the quality of schooling for poor children, however rather to turn the problems of poor schools into a campaign to destroy public education. As growingly schools are deemed failing, the demand for vouchers likely will increase, paving the way for a transfer of students and funds to private schools. In the summer of 2003, the president invigorated his call for vouchers and backed a proposal to spend seventy-five million dollars in federal money on vouchers for private schools. Of the seventy-five million dollars, fifteen million dollars would go to families in Washington, DC for vouchers for two thousand of the sixty-seven thousand students in the district. The move came after a decision by the U. S. Supreme Court the year before that affirmed the constitutionality of permitting parents to use public funds to pay for religious and other private schooling. The case focused on a program in Cleveland, which offers private-school vouchers of up to $2,250 to approximately three thousand and seven hundred of the district's seventy-five thousand students. (Tozer, S. E., Violas, P. C., & Senese, G, 2002). Several students lack supports common in middle-class and rich households an adult at home in the evening, lots of books, and a quiet place to work. Others struggle to handle with the stress of living with constant economic insecurity evictions, homelessness, moving from place to place or of living in a community used by the larger society as a poisonous dumping ground. By paying no attention to this reality, No Child Left Behind continues the â€Å"blame-the-victim approach† that has long considered public schooling. Much more is needed than simply stating we now have high expectations for all children. Unaccompanied by a political commitment to construct a system where there is a cause to expect every child to succeed, such proclamations ridicule the ideals they bring to mind. Under the semblance of battling the soft bigotry of low expectations, policy-makers are moving in the incorrect direction in the long struggle to understand the ideal of equal educational opportunity. The stick side of the No Child Left Behind Act is operating: Schools not capable to meet annual achievement targets are being punished. Though, the carrot side of the law, something better for poor children in struggling schools, has not materialized. While funding for Title I has increased, it falls violently short of the realistic costs of achieving hundred percent proficiency. As the federal government reviewed states' plans for putting into practice No Child Left Behind in summer 2003, a related battle gathered steam when the Bush administration planned to overhaul Head Start, the federally funded preschool program that serves about one million of the nation's poorest 3- and 4-year-olds in community centers and schools. Under the proposal, the funding for the program would be distributed in block grants to states, under the control at first of up to eight governors. When Head Start was formed in 1965 as an initiative within the larger War on Poverty, then-President Lyndon Johnson intentionally avoided giving governors, antagonists in battles over civil rights, control over the program. (Levin, B. & Riffel, J, 1998). Critics of the proposal, including more than forty antipoverty and child welfare groups, protested that distributing Head Start dollars in block grants to states would take to bits the program by destroying the federal guarantee that the money will be used as originally planned namely, to provide an array of services to poor children, together with nutritional food, dental and health care, immunizations, as well as, in some centers, literacy programs for family members. To take this program away from communities this is a direct federal community program also hand it over to states without the national performance standards, without the requirements for complete services that make Head Start successful, and at a time when states are facing the biggest budget shortfalls in their history, is to destroy it. (Johnson, M, 2001). Under the proposal, Head Start employees would be needed to teach reading, writing, and math skills, and Head Start pupils would be required to partake in an assessment to find out if the new academic standards were being met. The proposal would need as a minimum half of all Head Start teachers to have 4-year college degrees by 2008, however would not require competitive salaries. Head Start teachers now earn merely about half the average salary of kindergarten teachers. Reference: Johnson, M. (2001, December). Making teaching boom proof: The future of the teaching profession. New Economy, 8(4), 203-207. This article describes how the staffing and retention of teachers could be enhanced to deal with national shortages. Levin, B. & Riffel, J. (1998, March). Conceptualising school change. Cambridge Journal of Education, 28(1), 113. This article attempts to discuss the implications for educational strategy makers suggested by the literature review Schemo, D. J. (2003b, July 11). Questions on data cloud luster of Houston schools. The New York Times. Retrieved from  Ã‚   http://www.nytimes.com This article discusses that hundreds of drop-outs were wrongly listed as transfers. Enrolment at alleged miracle high schools dropped noticeably during this time. Tozer, S. E., Violas, P. C., & Senese, G. (2002). School and society: Historical and contemporary perspectives (4th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill This text seeks to define an analytic framework that illustrates how and why certain school-society issues first took place in this country and how they transformed over time. In its assessment of the development of education in the United States, this text entails an engaging historical story.

Exploring the Concepts of Karl Marx and Mao Tse-Tung Essay

Karl Marx believed that in an industrialized society, the working class, known as the proletariat would revolt and take over the ruling class, and would in effect, create a classless society. Karl Marx believed this could only happen in an industrialized society. Once it became apparent that the working class would not rise above, Lenin intervened and confirmed Marxism obsolete in Russia. Since the late 1920’s the Chinese Communist Party has altered Marxism in China. It became a peasant party with an anti-Marxist petty-bourgeois viewpoint and through all the fluctuations of the left and right turns of world Stalinism, it kept a utopian and reactionary perspective; in Marxist terminology, reactionary refers to people whose ideas might appear to be socialist, but, in essence, contain elements of feudalism, capitalism, nationalism, fascism or other characteristics of the ruling class. It kept a nationally based and classless socialism, or â€Å"peasant socialism,† as worde d by Trotsky. To call Mao Tse-Tung’s communist or Maoist, philosophy socialism is an understatement. Though encompassing many Marxist values, China has done a more effective job of forcing the Maoist agenda through more ruthless violence by utilizing the multitude of peasants residing within its borders as a powerful force, unlike Marxism which calls for a series of revolution by means of class struggle and uprising in the proletariat. Though the Maoist ideology had subsisted in China for some years after his time, today it is an important economic force, but is government-run, leaving it unstable without government regulation as the economy is dominated by large state-owned enterprises, but private enterprises also play a major role in the economy. State-owned enterprises are a major source of profit and power for members of the Communist Party of China and their families and are largely favored by the government. Karl Marx wove economics and philosophy together to construct a grand theory of human history and social change. His concept of alienation, for example, first expressed in his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, plays a key role in his criticism of capitalism. Marx believed that people, by nature, are free, creative beings who have the potential to totally transform the world. But he observed that the modern, technologically developed world is apparently beyond our full control. Marx condemned the free market, for instance, as being â€Å"anarchic,† or ungoverned. He maintained that the way the market economy is coordinated—through the spontaneous purchase and sale of private property dictated by the laws of supply and demand—blocks our ability to take control of our individual and collective destinies. Marx condemned capitalism as a system that alienates the masses. His reasoning was like this: although workers produce things for the market, market forces, not workers, control things. People are required to work for capitalists who have full control over the means of production and maintain power in the workplace. Work, he said, becomes degrading, monotonous, and suitable for machines rather than for free, creative people. In the end, people themselves become objects—robot-like mechanisms that have lost touch with human nature, that make decisions based on cold profit-and-loss considerations, with little concern for human worth and need. Marx concluded that capitalism blocks our capacity to create our own humane society. Marx’s notion of alienation rests on a crucial but shaky assumption. It assumes that people can successfully abolish an advanced, market-based society and replace it with a democratic, comprehensively planned society. Marx claimed that we are alienated not only because many of us toil in tedious, perhaps even degrading, jobs, or because by competing in the marketplace we tend to place profitability above human need. The issue is not about toil versus happiness. We are alienated, he maintained, because we have not yet designed a society that is fully planned and controlled, a society without competition profits and losses, money, private property, and so on—a society that, Marx predicted, must inevitably appear as the world advances through history. Here is the greatest problem with Marx’s theory of alienation: even with the latest developments in computer technology, we cannot create a comprehensively planned system that puts an end to scarcity and uncertainty. But for Marxists to speak of alienation under capitalism, they must assume that a successfully planned world is possible. That is, Marx believed that under capitalism we are â€Å"alienated† or â€Å"separated† from our potential to creatively plan and control our collective fate, but if comprehensive socialist planning fails to work in practice it is an impossibility. In consequence of China’s sizable rural population, the greatest point of conflict between the two lines of thought is Mao’s inclusion of the peasantry in the proletariat differing greatly with the Marxist-Leninist view that the beginning of socialist revolution should come from the urban working class. The Maoist faith in revolutionary enthusiasm and the positive value of the peasants’ lack of sophistication as opposed to technological or intellectual elites fueled the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s. The disastrous consequences of both upheavals led Mao’s successors to abandon Maoism as counterproductive to economic growth and social order. Maoism, since then, has been embraced by insurgent guerrilla groups worldwide. The Communist Party of the Philippines has adopted the ideas and concepts of Maoism which promote the use of revolution to obtain their goals. Professor Jose Maria Sison, the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines states, â€Å"Mao is indubitably correct in identifying the revisionism of degenerates in power in socialist society as the most lethal to socialism, and in offering the solution that succeeded in China for ten years before it was defeated in 1976. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the full restoration of capitalism in revisionist-ruled countries in the period of 1989-91 have vindicated Mao ´s position on the crucial importance and necessity of the struggle against revisionism and the theory of continuing revolution under pro letarian dictatorship.† The Philippines today practices modern democracy. This shows the sharp difference of ideology within countries. It is shown by Sison’s diction that he is passionate about Communism to the degree that he strongly adheres to Maoist theory by promoting revolution in the proletariat. In 2008, the New People’s Army in the Philippines managed to make 200 tactical offenses and captured 200 high powered rifles. Ka Oris claimed that the group has managed to return to the level of activity of when it was at its peak in the 1980s. The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, remains the â€Å"biggest threat† to national security according to National Defense Secretary Gilbert C. Teodoro Jr. This shows how Maoism only subsists with sheer violence. They seek to implement their agenda by compromising national security and putting many lives in danger. In order to form a fully Maoist society one needs to realize that the only means of achieving this is by deteriorating the conditions wi thin a county. â€Å"The history of the NPA in Mindanao dates back to 1971 when a handful of inexperienced but determined communists established two cells — one in Iligan and the other in Davao. The years that followed saw it exploit widespread poverty among both indigenous peoples and poor peasants in the countryside, as well as among many Christian settlers.† As one can see, poverty was a result of the attempts made by the NPA to form a communist/Maoist nation; therefore, the effects of revolution in the name of Maoism only worsens the well-being of the people as violence is utilized to oppress the people. Maoism is characterized by an extreme eclecticism and by subjectivism in theory and voluntarism in politics. Many traditional views of ancient Chinese political and philosophical thought have helped nourish Maoist ideology. From the anarchists Mao Tse-tung borrowed such principles as the absolutization of violence (â€Å"Power grows out of the barrel of a gun† and â€Å"To rebel is justified†) and reliance on nonproletarian, declassed elements and politically immature layers of young people to â€Å"organize† revolutions without regard to whether there is a revolutionary situation. According to Maoist declarations, similar revolutions, which in fact are a form of total purging and suppression of the real and potential enemies of Maoism, should be repeated periodically. If the inherent violence that Maoism encapsulates should be repeated, it would lead to the suffering of many people, which makes it unstable to the degree that the government forces outnumber the Maoists: a force that keeps them at bay. The Maoists cannot obtain their goal without the use of hostility, making it immoral and unstable. â€Å"Since 1978 hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty [in China] – yet hundreds of millions of rural population as well as millions of migrant workers remain unattended: According to China’s official statistics, the poverty rate fell from 53% in 1981to 2.5% in 2005.† However, in 2009, as many as 150 million Chinese were living on less than $1.25 a day. The infant mortality rate fell by 39.5% between 1990 and 2005, and maternal mortality by 41.1%. Access to telephones during the period rose more than 94-fold, to 57.1% as did in many developing countries such as Peru or Nigeria. This shows inconsistency with data to instill communist propaganda. They only show what they want to. They never display the harsh violence committed in order to execute their agenda, which is also in the roots of Marxist theory. In consequence of Mao’s recognition of th e peasantry as a powerful source of revolution, his political endeavors were largely aimed at rural China and less on urban industrialization. There is a strong emphasis in Maoism placed on the capability of conscious human action to overcome a lack of material resources. This is in reference to what Mao saw as great feats of endurance, such as the Long March and the resistance against Japan during the Sino-Japanese War. According to Mao, the success of such campaigns rested upon the commitment of man, without the aid of technology or material involvement. Complementary to such experiences, Mao naturally developed a theory that highlighted success as a product of the mind, not matter. As such, material goods were not constituent of, or significantly important to Maoism. â€Å"It should be pointed out that in the present conditions, agriculture occupies first place in our economic construction.† Mao was mainly concerned with agricultural production as a means of survival, and saw no political gain from mass industrialization. In fact Mao believed that industrialization weakened the proletarian movement, by creating fu rther means for factory owners and management teams to exploit workers. However the Marxist-Leninist approach to socialist reform which contrasted against Mao’s agrarian views, relied heavily upon the encouragement of advanced industrialization in order to strengthen the sense of proletarian repression. In this sense there was a strong point of conflict over industrial and agricultural production values between Mao and the Russians, which was in direct consequence of the peasants over workers dispute. A fundamental facet of classical Marxist ideology is economic determinism; a concept whereby social change is driven by the economy. However Mao placed a much larger emphasis on the shaping of humankind, and the capacity to change human nature through sheer will power. â€Å"Mao’s real conflict, of course, was not with Russia nor with revisionism, but with human nature.† He believed that the ordinarily extended process of change could be hastened with appropriate stimulation; a positive political frame of commitment and action. While Marx also believed in the evolution of human nature, in contrast to Mao he regarded it to be a process beyond the control of man. Marx developed the theory of material determinism, which suggested that the economy is essential to social change and the development of human nature, a relationship almost ignored by Mao. Features of society such as classes, politics and ideologies were seen by Marx to be outgrowths of economic activity, whereas Mao regarded changes to such features as a result of human will. â€Å"[Mao’s] process of remolding human beings†¦[is] almost in defiance of orthodox Marxist historical and material determinism.† However what is generally agreed upon by Marx and Mao, despite the way in which it is done, is that this remolding of humankind could take many revolutions, which led to the development of the ‘continuous revolution’ theory, a concept whereby the proletarian’s struggle against the bourgeoisie is everlasting. Basically, the goals of Mao, Lenin and Marx were alike in terms of achieving a classless socialist society; there were distinct contrasting elements within the paths chosen to achieve these aspirations. Mao believed in the revolutionary and violent power of the abundant peasantry class, whereas the Marxist-Leninist approach to socialist revolution was to lead from the urban working classes. Resulting from this major disagreement came differing views on industrialization and urbanization, Mao tending to pay closer attention to agricultural development which was a large factor in China, and the Russians to urban development. There was also ignorance on Mao’s behalf of the nature of economics, a subject of which Marx was an expert which is most likely the reason why there is little on economics found on Maoism. Marx recognized the economy as a major driving force in social development, whereas Mao regarded human nature as something that could be changed by will. However while Mao may not have attempted to achieve socialism as Marx intended, a great difference between Russia and China during the twentieth century made such a turn away from classical Marxism to some extent. One could claim that Marxism has never truly been achieved in any setting, and with both China and Russia now leaning more towards capitalism, it leads one to question whether given the nature of humankind, such change is even possible; however, it can be concluded that both doctrines encapsulate instability and hostility, creating an oppressive environment.

Book Review: Supercrunchers

We re likely to discount discomforting evidence and focus Instead on evidence that supports our preexisting beliefs. Reason 3: Most people are overconfident while they make prediction to the future while some people tend to be undercoating and slow to change In the face of new evidence. And overconfidence becomes severe when the problems become more complicated. 2. The author suggests that equations should not be without some kind of â€Å"over ride† capability. What is the â€Å"over ride† capability? Why does the author suggest this is necessary?Do you agree or disagree with this. Answers: â€Å"Over ride† capability refers to some kind of discretionary escape hatch some way for a human to override the prediction of the formula. Just like the rejection area of hypothesis test. It is necessary because a statistical procedure cannot estimate the causal impact of rare events because there simply aren't enough data concerning them to make a credible estimate. The r arity of the event doesn't mean that it will not have a big impact when the event does in fact occur.It Just means that statistical formulas will not be able to future the impact. In such case, a â€Å"over ride† capability is needed. I agree with this point because it is common in the day to day life. We need to find out when does the statistic way loose effectiveness. Every method has its own drawback; we need to figure out a systematic way to â€Å"automatically' reflect the time that a statistic method fails. 3. The author puts forward that if one concludes that equations are in fact better than experts, then one must ask the question of where experts fit Into the process of prediction.Explain the place for experts In a world where predictions are made by equations. Answers: In a word, the most Important thing that is left to human experts Is to use our minds and our intuition to guess at what variables should and should not be Included in statistical analysis. A statist ical regression can tell us the weights to place upon various factors. Human By Ranchers Chem. Email: [email  protected] Deed experts, however, are crucially needed to generate the hypotheses about what causes what.The regressions can test whether there Is a causal effect and estimate the size f the causal impact, but somebody needs to specify the test itself. In addition, humans are crucial not only in deciding what to test, but also in collecting and. At times, creating the data. Reason 2: Once we form a mistaken belief about something, we tend to cling to it. We are likely to discount discomforting evidence and focus instead on evidence that to change in the face of new evidence. And overconfidence becomes severe when the than experts, then one must ask the question of where experts fit into the process of reduction.Explain the place for experts in a world where predictions are made by equations. Answers: In a word, the most important thing that is left to human experts is to u se our minds and our intuition to guess at what variables should and should not be included in statistical analysis. A statistical regression can tell us the weights what. The regressions can test whether there is a causal effect and estimate the size humans are crucial not only in deciding what to test, but also in collecting and, at

Siting a Theatre based on the Findings Research Paper

Siting a Theatre based on the Findings - Research Paper Example In specific, three communities provided the basis upon which the information was gathered. Target groups within these communities were families as a basic unit of a society. This unit was considered based on the socio-cultural trends the three communities seemed to have in common. Research Methodology The research process involved data collection, techniques using various tools which included, the use of interviews, the use of questionnaires, visiting sites during the data collection process. These techniques were blinded by the use of both the structured as well as non-structures sub-categories, giving validity to the information collection process. The use of Questionnaires The questionnaire was a method that was administered to respondents in a user-specific form. It slotted for the three communities in question and was used to collect numerical data. This method was fundamental in the sense that it addressed the issue of time and precision. Because the information needed was not to be treated as crucially confidential, the questionnaire provided the platform where respondents could confidently give their honest opinion about the intended data. This also helped to focus this process on objectivity. The Use of Interviews During the data collection phase, there was also involved in the process, one on one encounter with the respondents. This form of data retrieval was to ascertain the validity of the content of questionnaires. In other words, the two processes in data collection were intended to run concurrently. As this information was sociologically retrieved, there was a need to justify the validity and precision standards of the information collected. Visits to Sites The various communities involved; communities A, B, and C, were those in the immediate vicinities of study sites, as to the appropriate location for the establishment of the theatre. In this regard, the communities depicted a representative target population for the fundamental information nee ded.

Anti-terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Anti-terrorism - Essay Example We are here. Speak to us. Listen to us. Tell us what you think and why. The attrition of human rights by the government policy inclined to fight terrorism developed over decades in relation to the conflict in Northern Ireland, and this was given renewed impetus by the UK's actions in response to the attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001.Then came the events of 7 and 21 July 2005 in London and its suburbs, when a series of explosions rocked a business-like morning in London. Ever since the 11 September 2001 catastrophe, the UK authorities have passed a series of new laws, even though the UK already had some of the toughest "anti-terrorism" laws in Europe. These laws contain sweeping provisions that contravene human rights law, and their implementation has led to serious abuses of human rights. The shooting and killing of an innocent man in broad daylight by police officers is a stark reminder of the law and order in the UK today. People suspected of involvement in terrorism who have been detained in the UK under the new laws have found themselves in a Kafkaesque world. They have been held for years in harsh conditions on the basis of secret accusations that they are not allowed to know and therefore cannot refute. After the events of 7 and 21 July 2005 in London, more draconian measures were proposed. These included a new Terrorism Bill currently before Parliament. Some of its most sweeping and vague provisions, if enacted, would undermine the rights to freedom of expression, association, liberty and fair trial (United Kingdom, Human Rights: a broken promise, amnesty.org, referred on 15.04.2006).1 2.0 Anti Terrorism Provisions "In 1974 when the Irish Troubles once more flared up, the UK government responded with a Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The PTA made it an offence for any individual to belong to a banned group and contained special powers of arrest and detention. After 9/11, however, the Terrorism Act (TA) was hastily augmented by Parliament in the form of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA) in 2001. ATCSA made further provision for dealing with terrorism by freezing terrorist owned funds and property, disclosing of information, stop weapons of mass destruction, and enhancing police powers. Parliament introduced a new regime called "Control Orders" under PTA of 2005.Under this legislation the Home Secretary can, subject to judicial oversight, make orders which place a wide range of restrictions on the rights and freedoms of individuals suspected of being involved in terrorist related activities. Any individual within the UK, including

The Discovery of the Taung Child Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Discovery of the Taung Child - Essay Example Physically, the skull was rounded, a high forehead without brow ridges and a foramen magnum that appeared towards the skull. From Dart’s analysis, the child must have had a bipedal posture. The hole in the skull had a downward orientation indicating that the spinal cord balanced in the middle of the skull. This is contrary to the position of the hole in skulls of an early man walking on fours and the primates whereby the balancing occurs near the rear of the skull. Dart concluded that Australopithecus africanus was the intermediate between the modern man and apes. The young child had a small cranial capacity. Dart attributed its death from an eagle’s attack because of the hole near the eye (150). Discovery of the skull brought about a lot of controversy as the science community. The fact that the skull had a small brain placed it at an earlier age than all the other skulls previously discovered. The young skull was older than all other fossils discovered in Asia and Europe. This meant that all humans had lineage from Africa, fact that very few believed. The discovery of the ape-like skull brought about the issue of ethnicity among many scientists. Some of them did not accept the African lineage because of the inferiority associated with the continent. It is interesting how acceptance of the skull as evidence of early hominid forms took twenty years. The acceptance came after the discovery of more skulls from South Africa presenting sufficient evidence that hominids really lived in Africa about two million years ago.The discovery of Taung Child change the perceptions of the past that life had begun in other continents and brought about a quest for more scientists to explore Af rica looking for other fossils to serve as supporting evidence that early hominids resided in the continent.     

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 143

Discussion - Essay Example However, this is where the influence ends. Contrary to conventional logic, man is neither inherently superior to other beings nor the custodian of nature (Huxley, 1936). In fact, even from an intuitive standpoint, some animals complement nature better than man. Ecologically, man exists in nature, not vice-versa. For example, children are born in environments in which the elements necessary for survival (water, breathable air, sunlight, etc.) already abound. As such, man along with other beings, forms part of the mostly passive occupants of the natural world. Nature affects man more than man affects it, and the relationship between the two entities relies on man’s responsibility towards nature (Huxley, 1936). The universality of nature means that through individual responsibility, everybody has a right to make decisions concerning nature. Nature is everywhere, whether in the hinterland or 21st-century cities. When many people make bad decisions about their respective ecosystems, a diffusive effect is created that puts the universe in jeopardy (Dillard, 2011). This implies that individual responsibility is the best way to coexist (not govern) nature. In summary, although resources can be controlled via legal avenues, nature itself can not be controlled by a designated

Healthy Eating and Obesity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Healthy Eating and Obesity - Assignment Example After overcoming difficulties and succeeding in juice fasting, the narrator also undertook the task to help an American driver he met during his trip. The message conveyed in the video includes the necessity to plan one’s diet including right products into it. Moreover, if people were aware of the properties of the products they eat daily and the rules of how to plan their nutrient budget, the problem wouldn’t be so disturbing. At the same time, the narrator conveys the message based on his own experience: if one wants to be healthier and get rid of the weight that causes discomfort and health issues, it only takes motivation and time. 2. The documentary under consideration deals with extremely relevant social phenomena of nowadays – increasing level of obesity and health problems caused by abnormal eating habits and – what goes hand in hand with these two – necessity to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Nowadays people – similar to the man in the video – confuse priorities placing wealth and many other aspects higher than health, although health is the primary value we all have and any further achievements are possible even if this one is present. Unhealthy eating including junk food addiction and the sedentary lifestyle increase the threat of various diseases’ development and obesity. As it was illustrated in the movie, the obesity level growth has already overrun the borders of the U.S. (which is virtually the homeland of fast food) and spread on Australia. That is why people gradually start thinking about this problem and taking measures either to fight or to prevent it. 3. The problem under consideration is, in fact, a product of many societal forces including family, media, and culture. Family as an influential factor might act either positively or negatively as eating habits and priorities on the â€Å"local† level are formed by the family and adopted by a person in childhood.  Ã‚  

To what extent do you believe public pressure to bring the troops home Essay

To what extent do you believe public pressure to bring the troops home may have sped up the withdrawl of US forces from Europe - Essay Example However, while France and other Allied forces conceded to anti-war public demands, the United States opted for â€Å"moderation† (Ripsman). Because of this, the influence of anti-war propaganda on U.S. policy was not that extensive. Nevertheless, despite the policy of Roosevelt’s government towards moderation, the 800,000-member organization, AFC, specifically only its New York chapter, was able to receive as much as $190,000 from the public as well as support from famous American figures like Charles Lindbergh, Sinclair Lewis and Walt Disney. The AFC pushed for the neutrality of the United States in the Second World War, through the 1939 Neutrality Act, which hoped to make President Roosevelt keep his promise of not letting the United States participate in WWII. For the AFC, American neutrality is based on the idea that the United States must rather be defensive and must not join the war in Europe simply for some Jews’ desires to destroy Germany, and that it is only in this way that it can preserve its democracy. These goals were echoed in the speeches of Lindbergh across the United States in several AFC rallies. The passing of the 1939 Neutrality Act, however, was all changed when the Japanese b ombed Pearl Harbor (â€Å"America First Committee†). In 1943, the pressure from pro-Jewish campaigners pushed Roosevelt to go on with the war and establish the War Refugee Board. This means that although the anti-war protesters were strong, the President listened more to the pro-war protesters (Gibney & Hansen 263). Therefore, public pressure to send American troops back home from Europe in World War II was not that strong. The war pushed through and there are still even American soldiers in Europe until now (Shock Poll). â€Å"Shock Poll: 51% of Voters Want US Troops Out of Europe.† 2012. The American Interest. 26 Jan 2013.

Retail Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Retail Marketing - Essay Example The emergence and popularity of the free trade policies have facilitated the international expansion of the multinational corporations as the free trade policies have multiplied the opportunities in the international market. In case retailing marketing, the international exposures have paved the way for better market expansions and hence many leading retailers like Wal-Mart, Tesco, and Sainsbury etc have entered many international markets with better opportunities. However, many academics believe that from the very early period of business, the retailers used to go for international business. At presented, the entire process of international trade have become more structured and as retailers have started to open their international divisions and units with multiple retailing stores. The multinational retailers have realized that potential opportunities underlying in the international and development market like China, Middle East, India etc. The process of international retailing bec omes a notable instance during late 1990s. With increasing global competition, many scholars perceive that for long term sustainability, retailers must opt for the internationalisation of their business as some of expert retail analytics have commented that â€Å"by the year 2005....retailer will either be global...or they will be gone† (Lamba, 2002, p.06). This paper will also attempt to present a retailer’s international viability through analysis and discussion. Therefore, as a retailer, India’s retail chain group, Shopper’s Stop has been selected as it does not have international business unit. In order to assess its international viability, an internal analysis of this retailer will be conducted using the value chain model. Next, for international exposition, retailer also needs to understand the basics of international retailing. Hence, it is necessary to identify the factors affecting the international retailing and the way to gain the competitive advantages. Moreover, for international retailing expansion, strategic framework must be in according and hence, finally, a set of plausible and relevant recommended strategies will be given followed by a conclusion. 2. Brief Overview about Company: Shopper’s Stop Shopper’s Stop is a popular Indian retail chain and it is primarily India-based retailing company. This retail chain was established on October 07, 1991 and it was founded by the K. Raheja Group of Companies, one of pioneers in hospitality and real estate business. Initially, the retail chain was brand shop and gradually, it a brand store family store for Fashion and Lifestyle. It has experienced a rapid growth in Indian competitive retailing industry and many considered it as â€Å"the highest benchmark for the Indian retail industry†, and moreover, it keeps expanding its business in the domestic market by target the non-catered regional markets (Shoppers Stop Ltd.-a, n.d.). It is an public ltd. Compa ny and listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company aims to be the top retail company in India in department store category with a set of pre-defined

Liberty in the history of America Essay Example for Free

Liberty in the history of America Essay Liberty is defined as the manner in which one or groups of people or organism are let free from oppression, starvation, slavery or disturbance of what ever kind. However, there are different definitions and perspectives of the term as used by different personalities, communities, and groups of people. In the history of America, liberty has been used differently to express different ideas. If you tethered a cow on a green pastureland to feed you would be surprised at it when it feeds a little then starts to stretch away from the green pasture. If it is untied, it begins to feed just around the same spot. It wants to be free. There is good pasture. Why is it that the cow can not just feed and wait to be driven home in the evening? If a toddler was given an interesting play toy and left in a locked room with plenty of light, it would stop playing and start to fight its way out of the locked room. Why would it begin to cry and stop playing yet it is not tethered, it is not sick or uncomfortable? We must look for freedom even when we are not pressed down so hard. In fact, liberty according to Lincoln’s observation in 1864 is a term that is used to refer to different things or terms when used by different groups of people. Lincoln emphasizes that liberty means differently in the South as well as in the North. He says that though liberty is the same word for all, it has different implications for different persons and regions. In other wards, the meaning of the term liberty is depends on the context within which it is used by the speaker. This essay focuses on the different perspectives of the term liberty as used by different personalities, at different situations, and at different times or seasons. The North, for example, has its own understanding of the term victory. More so, Douglass differs with Lincoln, in the opinion of what liberty is. On the other hand, the factory owner and the planter have different definitions of the term liberty. Douglass feels that freedom from slavery would be best known as liberty. He came up with a new idea on what slavery entailed. Although in most cases slavery was only associated with offering services in cotton farms of in America, Douglass felt that it was wide spread to as far as the rice farms in South Carolina. He also talks of slavery being exercised in the household services offered to the elites of Boston. In addition to this, Douglass feels humiliated by lack of freedom in the carting services in Manhattan as a means of transportation of goods. He calls this slavery. He is disappointed by the manner in which Black Americans were mistreated, how the freed slaves were mishandled along the streets as well as the interaction of the white reformers, slaves and freed blacks. At this point in life, Douglass decided to recapture the drama of their fighting interaction with a focus on the black Americans, some of whom he recaptured dramatic experiences as they fought for republican slogans fulfillment. Douglass wrote very moving stories on slavery and liberty thus describing what freedom would have meant to the enslaved. In his text entitled, ‘Death or Liberty,’ Douglass highlights the plight of African American Slaves and the experiences with their masters. For example, Qouk Walker, a freedom fighter and a slave who is said to have taken his master to the court. Jones who was enslaved at Delaware house and had to purchase liberty, is also described as a freedom fighter by Douglass. For sure slavery is inhuman since some of the slaves lost there lives due to ignorance of the masters, some were mistreated and had poor health besides working so hard. Some slaves went through a revolutionary act in order to buy their freedom. Although the revolution was a good way to demand for freedom, Douglass argues that the plotters had little or no courage to pursue it as effectively as to gain the liberty they wanted. However, it is undisputed that the activists in the Northern States got their freedom through the battle. Nevertheless, they would not have found equality. It was a matter of death or liberty. Freedom from slavery had to be obtained through a revolution in America. Liberty, according to Abraham Lincoln, is defined differently from the north. Eric Foner says that civil war in America was a source of freedom blessings. Thus the civil war was paramount. â€Å"Civil war resulted in a new birth in freedom,† remarked Lincoln. The United States fight for independence in the civil war is seen to have been very necessary since it resulted in new forms of liberty. Liberty is not only found in the lack of enslavement but also in politics, economics and civil strives in America. Independence Declaration in America underscores the most fundamental human right of Americans. More so, the constitution publicizes its rationale in securing the good fortune of freedom. In fact, President Roosevelt declared that the United States of America fight for the Civil War was not to be taken for granted since it brought with itself different forms of freedom. To emphasize on liberty, the president said that America’s liberty is symbolized by liberty caps, the legal â€Å"statutes of liberty,† and the liberty poles. In Americas expression of freedom they burnet draft cards, escaped from slavery, exercising the voting rights, as well as the burn of stamps. In this way Roosevelt expressed contentment in the four kinds of freedom achieved by the end of Civil War. To confirm the result of the war as a source of freedom, Bunch Ralph authored a text in the year 1940 stating that all persons within the streets of U. S were aware of the fact that America was well known as â€Å"land of the Free. † The term liberty in America did not stop growing after the civil war. It has been growing and changing with the history of the country. Freedom will be used in economic terms as freedom of economy where there is a misconception of the freedom to the access to fire arms by different individual and anti-government militia who claim to be oppressed in different ways. They argue that the right to own arms should be prioritized. According to modifications of the of the 1776 modern America’s â€Å"Declaration of Independence† some economic freedoms have been expressed. Today, Freedom from different forms of taxation, United Nations membership by the U. S. , welfare declarations and regulation of economies, encompasses freedom. Globalization is a form of economic freedom which comes along with heated debates over who to trades with who and how? In reality, freedom has changed from just the mere decline of the civil wars’ blessings to economic and political terminology. That is why Lincoln thinks that freedom in the North is different from freedom in the South. Yes, the â€Å"new birth of freedom† as described by Lincoln defines the widening of freedom contents. Freedom in the South meant independence towards governance of self, assurance of property security and economic independence for more valuable and innovative opportunities. The freedom from slavery was one of the main intentions of the participation in the civil war by the Southern Whites. Majority of the Southern Whites strangled for independence in order to eliminate slavery since they felt that slavery had been used as a means of getting freedom. Although many where fighting to end slavery, Thomas Jefferson owning more than 100 slaves authored a text on â€Å"the inalienable right to liberty. † In one way or the other he was right since the ownership of slaves meant security and prosperity in economic status of an individual during the 19th century. Unfortunately, one would ask, whether the slaves were not entitled to freedom of movement and self expression and individual security. In addition, it was easy then to ask, whoever was entitled to freedom and what the meaning of freedom was. The Northern Whites on the other hand fought for the security of Union as one way of gaining liberty. This entailed the ending of slavery for liberty to prevail. Lincoln further evoked the masses in the Northern by telling them that freeing slaves would be like freeing the free. The 1862 December was the Emancipation Proclamation Congress, in which Lincoln was moved to stir up the understanding of freedom in terms of freeing slaves. The termination of slavery would help to free the whole society, the rich and the poor. It was emphasized that freedom of the United States Whites would signify freedom to the entire globe. With reference to Lincoln, the term liberty provoked different understanding of from different personalities. He said, â€Å"†¦but using the same word we do not mean the same thing. † This was an observation he made in 1864. According to his observation, he states that in the North, freedom is a term used to refer to personal ability to enjoy the fruit of his sweat. The motive in the Northern residents was to work for good product and enjoying it. While in the south the move towards freedom referred to the ability to become a master and enjoy the result of other persons work. The advocated for slavery. This was against the principles of work as per Lincoln’s understanding. Lincoln feels that it slavery reflects theft of some kind since slavery stole other person’s of their hard work. The master enjoys the fruit of slaves’ hard work. Furthermore, it is from the First World War that the rights of voting are granted to women who attained the age of 18 year. The 1865 Union’s victory evoked the debates on nationality of Americans. Victory meant national norm. The redefinition of who an American citizen was became of paramount importance to incorporate different races of America as citizens. The fight for citizenship and voting rights as well as property ownership soon became a source of freedom to the enslaved. Union victory became symbolic of war freedom in terms of empowerment and equal opportunity to all American citizens. As mentioned earlier in this text that Douglass felt that freedom came only if the Black American was fully freed from slavery. He insisted that unless the black American had the right to vote then he was not free. The black American was allowed to vote. Nonetheless, by1890’s the South scraped off their voting rights thus emancipation of the Africa Americans. Liberty as defined by the Southern Planter class, did not allow African Americans on the choice to work on plantations. After the civil war most Southern Whites expected to continue with plantation farming at the expense of African American’s freedom. This meant that African Americans would only receive some form of wages for the labor they offered. Conversely, they were not free to choose on whether or not to work in the plantations. By 1865, Freedom had not yet come to the former slaves in the South even after the end of slavery. Freedom to the Black was confined within limited boundaries which meant advanced slavery. In this context, a planter wrote that beside a man being free, they may lack independence, which implied that African Americans needed not be given the right to vote nor the ownership of land. It was later on discovered that the African American slaves’ freedom implied freedom from forced labor. The reconstruction of 1865- 1866, came up with a rules and regulations governing their freedom limits. The African American former slaves were forced to sign labor contracts and start working on the plantations in the South. This was a rule under the president Johnson who as a result was impeached for the violation of human rights. The question on citizenship was so disturbing that even in the 1940s it was not easy for Asians to gain citizenship by naturalization although their children born in America automatically became citizens. There was still lack of freedom for American residents. Racial discrimination resulted from the barriers of citizenship. While Southern economy was based on agriculture, the northern economy was based on industrialization. Many factories were growing fast and making enormous profits in the North where freedom was experienced in transport systems. There was freedom of economy with factories making maximum profits. Unfortunately, that the immigrants of America within the cities especially in the factories worked under stressful and dangerous working conditions. Although some factory owner created habitable places for their workers most of them failed to acknowledge the need for hospitable working and living conditions for their workers. There was need for freedom from poor working conditions. Factory owners needed to be reminded on the need for clean working conditions. The cotton gin increased production at the expense of slave labor. Women fell victims of enslavement and needed to be freed. There was great desire to broaden freedom quotations for African Americans in the U. S factories. Despite the constant strive to gain liberty in different perspectives; White Americans have sluggishly accepted the African and Asian American as equals. It has take centuries to even have African American be recognized as people who need equal constitutional rights. Nevertheless, the situation is changing with modernity to extend of electing a Black American president as recently Barrack Obama was. Non whites have had to fight uncontrollably to gain that position. Numerous reconstruction presidential reconstruction amendments have been put in place in the fight for liberty. Women were termed as unequal; men took a superior position in all domains of learning and economics as well as politics. In conclusion, there are different definitions of the term freedom depending on the region or the speaker. Lincoln discussed freedom in the South as economical in which masters had power over their servants. The servants were basically slaves. He also described freedom in the North as one that set slaves free from all aspects of forced labor, taxation any form of mistreatment. The planter also describes freedom as the one in which a freed slave would only need to get some wages but have no choice of whether or not to work in the whites plantations. It was mandatory for the slave to work for the master in order to ensure freedom of the Southern masters in terms of economic development. Finally citizenship and freedom of the union victory were form of freedom for the U. S residents. However, it is undisputed that most of the early African Americans bought their way to freedom and citizenship through slavery or even participating successfully in the civil war. Some African American had to take part in revolution in the fight for freedom. We still have to reexamine the meaning of freedom in more fields in the U. S where there is discrimination and racial prejudice. References Donald Herbert D. (1995). Lincoln. New York: Simon and Schuster Eric J. (1993). To wake the Nations: Race in the Making of American Literature. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Eric F. (1995). Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology Of the Republication Party Before Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press. Herman B. (2000). A New Birth of Freedom: The Republican Party and Freedmen’s Rights, 1861-1866. New York: Fordham University Press. Neely M. E. (1991). The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties. New York: Oxford University Press. Paul C. N. (1971). The Sacred Trust: American Nationality 1798-1898. New York: Oxford University Press.

Crucible Character Analyses of Abigail Williams Essay Example for Free

Crucible Character Analyses of Abigail Williams Essay The play Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692; the government is a theocracy. Hard work and church consume the majority of a Salem resident’s time. Within the community, there are regular disputes over land; but disagreement over land boundaries is not the only simmering situation that becomes out of control. Abigail, the orphaned niece to Reverend Parris, is cast out of the house of John and Elizabeth Proctor because of her part in the infidelity and adultery committed with John Proctor. Her uncle is suspicious of her hasty exit, and even more so when he discovers her dancing in the woods. In order to avoid punishment, Abigail claims to be victimised by evil, thus causing madness that spread like wildfire through Salem, claiming many innocent souls. Yet the one who escaped punishment, Abigail, is not innocent. However, her crime, invisible to the eyes of the judges, for whom faith had replaced psychology, is not to have trafficked with the Devil; it is, with truly diabolic determination, to have brought about the ruin of the woman she cannot forgive for being married to the one she loves. Throughout the play, the people of Salem are consumed by paranoia and fear. Abigail is able to prey on that fear, as well as every other humanly weakness, and with her cunning, she is able to bend others to do her will. With a combination of lies and threats, as well as her capability to take advantage of paranoia and hysteria, Abigail seems to be an untouchable antagonist. When first introduced to the antagonist, we develop sympathy for Abigail, enters a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with endless capacity for dissembling. We are told that she is strikingly beautiful which undoubtedly gives us a brief visual aid of her appearance, author Arthur miller may have chosen to tell us this to suggest she is seductive and he emphasises the fact that she is beautiful with a powerful adverb, strikingly. We then become aware that she is an orphan, this uses the readers emotions to develop some sympathy for abigail, one could also suggest that with out that adult, mature, and older figure to nurture and advise abigail, she has not only become very independent, but possibly unaware of morals which maybe be the reason for the heartless actions she makes to get her way. In addition we are told that she has an endless capacity of dissembling, she is able to hide her true emotions/feelings in all situations, this tells us that she is a deceitful, lier but very intelligent, resourceful and highly mischievous girl. Already without abigail actually speaking, her impression has twisted and turned but is a mainly negative view. In addition when interrogated about her where about and the events that took place the previous evening, we begin to see a ruthless character unfold, one can perceive Abigails talent in the area of villainy. She lies continuously in order to protect herself. She denies her role in the witchcraft as she is being questioned by Parris, But we never conjured spirits. Not soon after she also refuses to admit other events that took place. No one was naked! You mistake yourself, uncle!. It is obvious that Abigail is a compulsive liar. She sees no problem with concealing the truth and would use imperatives to manipulate people even her own family to ensure and change their thoughts and opinions. Abigail is known to some as a Jezebel figure, someone who is commonly associated with the devil and scheming. Abigail’s evil can be seen through her interactions with the other characters in the play; she threatens Betty and Mary Warren, â€Å"Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and i will a pointy reckoning that will shudder you† this shows a side to her that is devilish, threatening and in a way powerful, these threats are used to manipulate the other girls, to take part in her evil schemes only for her selfish gain.

KFCs Ethical Policies

KFCs Ethical Policies KFC Corporation, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken is a fast food chain based in Louisville, a subsidiary brand of its parents company Yum! Brands. Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, while the idea of KFCs fried chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company adopted the condensed form of its name in 1991. KFC has doing some ethical social responsibilities for years; like the KFC Colonels Scholars Program is about to give scholarship up to $20,000 offered to high school seniors planning to attend a public in-state college or university. Also in Social Diversity, their global culture is developing a workforce that is diverse in different segment actively, where everyone can make a difference. In this report will be discussing about business ethics of KFC, their main ethical dilemmas together with theories and relative importance and, the good practice and values behind that together with some recommendations and strategies. This Ethical Audit Report of KFC was divided into four main structures to cover all elements, first is main ethical dilemmas of KFC, continue with part two which is relative importance and ethical theory to the dilemmas of KFC. Follows with part three, good practices and values of KFC and the last part is recommendations and strategic options to KFC. 1. Main Ethical Dilemmas of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) The main KFCs ethical dilemmas which they are currently facing with, and how they affect various stakeholders. Business simply means a structure of an applied system that practice ethical principles and moral problems that occur in a business environment. Where as dilemmas can be defined as A situation that requires one to choose between two equally balanced and often equally unpleasant alternatively or, a predicament that seemingly defies a satisfactory solution (David Murray 1997: pg. 112)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In doing a business, especially international or in a global company, a person must be able to compromise all different cultural in different countries, it is not easy to make a business to success. From the aspects of ethics, cultural relativism is so much related into it. The ethic of cultural relativists views other cultures, not as wrong, but as different. This means that they define â€Å"good or right† as â€Å"communally approved† by the majority in a given culture in a country or a particular land, this may because everyone in a particular land does it, peoples beliefs and practices is already shaped by the environment. 1.1 Chicken Abuse, and the PETA Every year, KFC needs 700 million supplies of chickens for the entire worldwide restaurants. While KFCs claim that they â€Å"only deal with suppliers who promise to maintain our high standards and commitment to animal welfare†. But about the treatment of the chickens it buys, a proof of graphic evidence, a video was taken by an investigator of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had showing that the chickens was purposely abused by the workers. The video was taking in a slaughterhouse, at a Pilgrims Pride plant in Moorefield West Virginia, where the workers kicking live chickens like playing footballs, thumping them into walls, apparently those workers do it just for fun. This does not happens once, the investigation of PETA on KFC shows that there are so many suppliers of KFC had committed into this behaviour. Only in United States many suppliers have involved in, one of them is Tyson slaughterhouse. In the slaughterhouse showed that birds purposely were burnt to death, were blown apart by makeshift firecrackers, and broke their legs by the workers so that it can be fit into slaughter-line shackles. Tyson is KFCs number one supplier. (All related pictures please refer to Appendix 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other country, the most popular issue on the abuse by the supplier of KFC is happens on India. Chickens was found overstuffed into awfully crowded warehouse plagued with chicken carcasses, cruel breeding practices, sick and injured chickens but never received any medical attention, and they suffering at the hands of cruel workers who neglected to examine even minimal ethics of animal welfare. (For details in this issue please refers to Appendix 2) Animal abusing can be defined as the most serious Ethical Dilemmas on KFC. 1.2 Health Problems, Fried fast food Fried is like almost everything in KFC, the main course from the menu in KFC is actually fried chickens. Unlike any other fast food brand, common one-McDonalds, which in their menu french fries is just a side dish. In the past few years, KFC has been sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI), charged with the food contains â€Å"staggering sum† of trans fat. In one three-piece chicken combo meal contains 15 grams of trans fat, which is over the limit that a person should have in one week. CPSI (2006) through press release said that â€Å"The class-action suit asks that the court prohibit KFC from using partially hydrogenated oil, or that at the very least, signs be posted in KFC outlets notifying customers that many KFC foods are high in trans fat.† The suit was filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These trans fat is actually harming consumers health, KFC as the worlds most popular chicken fast food chain, over 14,000 outlets around the world, with more than 12 million customer eating their â€Å"fried† chickens every day. Just imaging, their unethical behavior has influenced widely against their customers. It is a serious ethical dilemmas which can be found in KFC. 2. Relative Importance and Ethical Theory to the Dilemmas of KFC 2.1 Relative Importance and Ethical Theory to the dilemmas on Chicken Abuse, and the PETA KFC and its parent, Yum Brands, states at their website on Animal Treatment that: â€Å"Yum! Brands and KFC believe treating animals humanely and with care is a key part of our quality assurance efforts. This means animals should be free from mistreatment at all possible times from how they are raised and cared for to how they are transported and processed. Our goal is to only deal with suppliers who provide an environment that is free from cruelty, abuse and neglect.† (http://www.kfc.com/about/animalwelfare_principles.asp)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yet, all the abuse behaviours still occurs in almost all KFC suppliers slaughterhouse. A spokeswoman for KFC responded for the video said: â€Å"the company wouldnt tolerate the type of behaviours in the video. KFC will require that the employee or employees responsible be terminated, and further violations will â€Å"result in termination of our relationship.† (Bonnie Warschauer 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  KFC has formed the KFC Animal Welfare Advisory Council, which consists of greatly regarded experts in the field. The Council provides KFC with information and suggestion based on relevant data and scientific research. KFC has done something for the issue, but it seems like not really effective on defeating to the problems. But in fact, one of the advisors in the council had come out to say that â€Å"KFC never had any meetings. They never asked any advice, and then they touted to the press that they had this animal-welfare advisory committee. I felt like I was being used.† (Dr. Adele Douglass, former animal welfare advisor to KFC, Chicago Tribune 2006)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the year 2003, as the works done by KFC does not improving the situation, PETA sued Kentucky Fried Chicken and called for a boycott to KFCs food, demanding that it require its suppliers to give chickens more room in factory barns, stop forcing growth so rapid that it cripples birds, and to gas birds before hanging them so they feel no pain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ethical theory Theological or Consequentiality state that to judge whether an action is right or wrong is by looking at the consequences justify the means. It is corporate Social Responsibility to see that all rules and Code of Conduct is adhered to by KFC. 2.2 Relative Importance and Ethical Theory to the dilemmas on Health Problem, Fried Fast Food According to this trans fat issue, a spokesperson from KFC Laurie Schalow (2007) issued a statement saying that: â€Å"We take health and safety issues very seriously. We provide a variety of menu choices and provide nutrition information, including trans fat values, on our website and in our restaurants so consumers can make informed choices before they purchase our products. Our company is reviewing alternative oil options, but there are a number of factors to consider including maintaining KFCs unique taste and flavour of Colonel Sanders Original Recipe, supply availability and transportation, among others.† This has prove that KFC has initiative to take action on the issue, but yet, still have other profits relates concerns, such as in the statement stated, they afraid they might lost the unique taste thus losing customers at the same time, and it sure will decrease the annual profits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  KFC has taken a big step in their chains history by launching the Kentucky Grilled Chicken. In this combo meal, contains only 395 calories, even lower than a subway Italian B.M.T sandwich which contains 450 calories. And the main point is, guarantee no trans fat. KFC promote their new Grilled Chicken on the famous show Oprah Winfreys daytime talk show, by offering free meal using print out coupon on the related site. (For the coupon picture and details please refer to Appendix 3) The action taken was proved that KFC has strong initiative to promote both Fried and Grilled Chicken in their chains, as people now is really concern and sensitive on what they are eating especially on fast food meals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This big move has pop up more questions; based on the history of KFC, the main focus of the meal is Fried Chicken, when the focus added with Grilled Chicken meal, should they also change their name into Kentucky Grilled Chicken? The problem that the company facing is, how to promote their new meal and also keeping their regular customer who used to Fried Chicken while doing so. The greed to keep old customers that are loyal to only fried chicken especially the name, are immoral. The last but not least, why would this healthy Grilled Chicken meal only available in US but not worldwide while KFC is an international fast food chain?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respect for persons- Kants ethics and duty explain that it is the age of enlightenment was marked by an emphasis on human reason. According to Kants first formulation and the Categorical imperative was- â€Å"I ought never to accept in such a way that I can also will that my Maxim should become universal law†. KFC should act in such a way in accordance to Kantian view- â€Å"that act always to treat humanity- never always as a means but always at the same time as an end.† I always believe that humans are rational animals because of their power and reason. (Essentials of Business Ethics, George Chryssides and John Kaler, pg 31-34)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ethic of Natural Law explains the fundamental moral rights that every company should have towards their customers and those associated the organization for instance stakeholders. 3. Ethical Good Practices and Values of KFC KFC as a worlds most famous chicken fast food chain has uncountable employees working for them. Basically, the employees are representative of KFC as they work immediately to the customers. Thus, as their employees produce goods (prepare foods), provide services (serve walk-in customer in KFC restaurant) to the customers everyday, a good practices of to train a professional staff, and how they treating their employees is a must to KFC in order to constitute the essential outputs of the company. 3.1 Protect Employees Health and Safety, as Working Condition Every year, there are more than 5000 workers are killed and over 3,000,000 are seriously injured as a results of work accident in the world. Workplace hazard always the main causes workers get hurts, include not only obvious categories like mechanical injury or burns but also extremely heat and cold, skin irritants or noisy machinery. In KFCs restaurants kitchen, their workers facing with deep fried machine, hot oven, cutting machine and bad air condition everyday. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (1994), is the most recent legislation in Malaysia, to safe guard safety and health of works. KFC should abide by the rules and this act, is ethical. When their employees feel save in their work place, firm will have good reputation though. 3.2 Provides Job Satisfaction, as Working Condition The work of Manuel G. Velasques (1996) emphasis that the rational parts of the organization put a high value on efficiency: All jobs and tasks are to be designed so as to achieve the organizations goals as efficiently as possible. When efficiency is achieved through specialization, the rational aspects of organizations tend to incorporate highly specialized jobs. As we known, working in a fast food restaurant is definitely bore with keep on repeating the same jobs everyday with no exception. This leads to job dissatisfaction to the workers, it will change their attitudes when they feel annoyed in doing their works, this is also why some customers complaint on they got rude services in the chain. Efficiency is achieved by understanding the workers motivational patterns. Professor Abrahim Maslow cited in his research the 5 need factors, for example security, social and esteem. This factors are ethical and enhances productivity at KFC both local and internationally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When employees happy, they will work happily and then treat their customer better, the golden rule is to recognize the differences is cultures and economic development of the countries. To better value KFC, the fair trade concept is to be utilized further to firms, community involvement, targeting should be the code of practices in KFC. 4. Strategic Options and the Recommendations to KFC To my understanding and learning the recommendations and strategic options to KFC to improve and to defend themselves against the critics. KFC should have the responsibilities to take care their employees health and safety in their workplace, what employer can and should do is offer higher wages to compensate the risk measure by different position. A better one to ensure their workers against unknown accident that might happen anytime, employer should provide them with suitable insurance programs. A little bit costly, but a good one is advise KFC to form a special team, to collect information, researching on the health and safety issue on the working environment which where their workers facing everyday. Then come out with the results together with solution and steps recommendations information available to all KFC employees around the world. â€Å"Excessive job specialization is undesirable for other reasons than that it places unjust burdens on workers. There is also considerable evidence that it does not contribute to efficiency. Research findings have demonstrated that there is a link-age between worker productivity and programs that improve the quality of work life for workers by giving workers greater involvement in and control over a variety work tasks. † (Manuel G. Velasques 1996: pg 462) Thus, KFC should make the operation efficiently like held parties involved customer and workers quarterly, or a outstanding idea such as choose the best worker in different country and offer them to have exchange colleague (similar with exchange student) to work in other countrys outlet with a duration one to three months with fully allowanced by company, this sure will motivated workers to do hard work on their working days. The stakeholders management should include the improvement in Communications, where there is possible setback the whistle blowing ethic should be applied as a strategic option where as the recommendations would be to set up a panel to do constant analysis on different options as the Marketing, and Operations issues, for instance the coordination activities in Service Management, Public Relation and Advertising techniques. The ethical theory of Technological or Consequentialist states the â€Å"end justify the means†. This further is depended by Kants ethics of duty. The consequentialism is that human welfare is best served by moral responsibilities. Equal rights refers to equal opportunities for all workers with out exploitation. Buddha in his teachings said â€Å"do not do what is evil, do what is good, keep your mind pure†.

Dragon Slayer :: essays research papers

Dragon Slayer The musty odor lingered across his nose. "This was it, this was the cave" he whispered under his breath. He knew this would be a challenge. The entrance of the cave was scattered with the bones of many who dared entered. He knew he had to do this even if this was the last thing he ever did. The young knight entered the musty cave with all the silence of a stalking leopard. The cave was a gloomy sight, even in the interior of the cave there were bones of many past knights. This was no ordinary dragon. This dragon had killed more then most and had experience in fighting. He was the most sought after dragon in the world. He has stolen more gold from castles and killed more royal families than any other dragon. This is why the young knight was here, his king sent him on this mission because of his daughter's kidnapping. The dragon snatched her off the castle balcony and took her to this cave. The knight worked his way through the many winding turns of the cave. He knew this could either change his life or end it. The knight knew he had to stay silent and stay in the shadows. If the dragon would hear him it would be all over. The knight could sense the change in the smell as he went deeper into the cave. The smell was at first a musty old smell, the smell that most caves had, but this was different it was as if a rotten carcass had been setting in a warm room for weeks. He knew this smell; it was the smell of a dragon. He was near, so near he could feel the warmth of the dragon's body coming up the tunnel. Then without the slightest clue of danger a ball of flame shot straight by him, so close he could feel the hairs on his face singe with the passing ball of flame. He knew this was a time for action. He ran as fast as he could towards the route the flames had come from. No more than 50 yards of running took him into the dragon's lair. The lair was an awesome sight. There were more riches than any kingdom could imagine in a thousand years. The lair had the knight so awe struck that he had forgotten why he was there.

The Concept of Satan in World Religions :: essays research papers fc

The concept of Satan in world religions is an interesting one that has not sufficiently been studied by scholars. We all know that Satan is a familiar character from Christianity; does the red-pajama'd, soul-stealing badass, however, appear in other religions as well, drinking the blood of newborn babes and raping evildoers with his white-hot thorned penis? As it turns out, he does (although not in his characteristic red pajamas). In Hinduism, for example, there is an evil trickster known as Majapudu, who is reputed to have twelve horns, eyes of fire, and noxious flatulence that can kill an entire village in minutes, like mustard gas. Worshipers in the south of India and in Burma, fearful of Majapudu's power, reportedly have developed an elaborate set of rites intended to pacify this worst of demons. Some of the rites include the ritual sacrifice of all infants born in the month of D'vindi (roughly mid-November to mid-December of our calendar). The religion of the aborigines of the Ukraine has a similar character, Thauraza. No traditions give any direct description of Thauraza, though, He is said to travel around the countryside in a giant ball of fire, only stepping out to devour the occasional soul and send it to thousands of years of torment in his miles-long sulphurous bowels. Not all Satan characters in world religions, though, are terrifying. Others are more like tricksters, or, even worse, like that frat brother everyone had who was always able to score at any party, no matter what. The Indonesians, for example, tell of a mysterious stranger known as Jobimba, or "mystery man," who would occasionally come into a town, seduce all of the women under thirty, and then leave them pregnant and unfulfilled by their less seductive husbands. The resulting social dysfunction that would ensue was said to be worse than that caused by a thousand episodes of "Dr. Phil." In sum, many world religions talk about Satan (or someone who looks a lot like him). Maybe that's the most important thing about Satan-- he goes by many names and wears many faces (the Devil, the Lord of the Flies, Prince of Darkness, even Jobimba).

Achieving the American Dream :: Essays on the American Dream

From the nineteenth century to the present, the United States has been hailed as a â€Å"land of opportunity† where individuals could achieve personal, political, religious, and economic freedoms. The image of the â€Å"land of opportunity† was true to different degrees for the African-American sharecropper in the postwar South, the immigrant at Ellis Island, and the wealthy capitalist or manager in the period from eighteen-sixty five to nineteen-fourteen with the African-American being at the low end of the rung and the capitalist being at the top.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The newly freed African-American in the postwar South had the hardest time achieving freedoms due to white men considering them as inferior. As on southerner of the time said, the â€Å"ex-slave was not a free man; he was a free Negro† . This is best exemplified in the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws of the time. If we look at the African-American of the time and compare them to the rest of the citizens of United States then they were seriously lacking in the basic freedoms granted to American Citizens. However, if we take a different approach and compare them to what they were only decades earlier, then we see that they had gained many freedoms which they formerly did not have which Reverend E.P. Holmes, a black Georgia preacher best stated when he said â€Å"Most anyone ought to know that a man is better off free than as a slave, even if he did not have anything, I would rather be free and have my liberty† .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  African-Americans established their own churches, schools, social clubs, and even businesses which provided services such as insurance, banking, hair cutting, and funerals to the black community. With the help of the federal government they took great steps in gaining more freedoms. The Freedmen’s Bureau was the first step congress took to aid the newly freed slaves. The Freedmen’s Bureau’s main purpose was to help negotiate labor contracts, provide medical care, and help set up schools for the freedmen. The second step congress took was in passing the Civil Rights act of 1866 which states that â€Å"all persons born in the United States†¦ excluding non-taxed Indians, were citizens entitled to full and equal benefits of all laws† . Two years later, congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment which reaffirmed citizenship for all persons- regardless of race-born or naturalized in the United States and forbade any state from abridging th e privileges and immunities of citizens; to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; or to deny any person equal protection of the laws.

8 Common Types of Computer Viruses Essay

Dictionary.com defines a computer virus as â€Å"a segment of self-replicating code planted illegally in a computer program, often to damage or shut down a system or network (â€Å"Virus,† 2012).† The term virus has become more generic over the years and has come to represent any type of malware, or malicious software. There are many types of malware that can be classified as viruses but it is the intention of this paper to examine 8 of the most common types. These types are virus, worms, trojans, adware/pop-up ads, spyware, keyloggers, rootkits, and scareware. * Virus- as defined above, a virus is self-replicating code planted in a computer program. This malware’s sole purpose is to destroy or shut down systems and networks. (â€Å"Virus,† 2012). * Worms- These are standalone programs whose sole purpose is to replicate and spread themselves to other computers. Their main use is to search for and delete certain files from computers. * Trojans- This malware is designed to look like a useful program while giving control of the computer to another computer. It can be used for several malicious things: * As part of a botnet to use automated spamming or distribute denial-of-service attacks. * Electronic money theft * Data theft * Downloading or uploading of files to the computer * Deletion or modification of files * Crashing the computer * Watching the viewer’s screen * Anonymous internet viewing * Adware/pop-up ads- â€Å"The definition of adware is a software package which displays or downloads advertisements to a computer. These ads are usually in the form of pop-ups, and the goal of adware is to generate revenue for its author. In itself, adware is harmless, however, some of it may come integrated with spyware (What is the definition of adware? 2012).† * Spyware- Malware used to collect information about a user’s browsing habits  or to intercept personal data. (â€Å"Spyware†, 2012). * Keylogger- Using dedicated software or implanted hardware, this malware covertly monitors and records every keystroke made on a remote computer. (â€Å"Keylogger†, 2012). * Rootkits- â€Å"A rootkit is a collection of tools (programs) that enable administrator-level access to a computer or computer network.† â€Å"A rootkit may consist of spyware and other programs that: monitor traffic and keystrokes; create a â€Å"backdoor† into the system for the hacker’s use; alter log files; attack other machines on the network; and alter existing system tools to escape detection. (â€Å"Rootkit†, 2012) * Scareware- This is a class of malware that represents itself as antivirus software even though it is fake. It is used primarily to scam people into purchasing it but in most cases it does not actually do anything. Sometimes it will contain another piece of malware that it injects into the computer system. References Virus. (2012). Virus. Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com /browse/virus. Spyware. (2012). Spyware. Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com /browse/spyware. Keylogger. (2012). Keylogger. Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com /browse/keylogger. Rubenking, Neil J. (2010) â€Å"Antivirus, and much more: when most people talk about antivirus software, they’re really talking about an app that blocks spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, scareware, Trojans, and more–not just viruses. We review 13 antivirus apps that do just that.† PC Magazine : 72+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/ps /i.do?id=GALE%7CA226958047&v=2.1&u=itted&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w. What is. (2012). What is the definition of adware? DirectHit.com. Retrieved from http://www.directhit.com/shopping-answers/what_is_the_definition_of_adware?oo=0 Different Types. (2012). Different types of computer viruses. Buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-computer-viruses.html Rootkit. (2012). Rootkit. SearchMidmarketSecurity. Retrieved from http://searchmidmarketsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/rootkit Scareware. (2012). Scareware. Ask.com. Retrieved from http://www.ask.com/wiki/Scareware

Disorder/Illness of hand

The hand of a man is one of most active organs of the body. It consists of various parts such as bones, muscles, fingers, thumbs, nerves and skin all of which can be affected by different forms of ailments. Common disorders in the hands include injuries, ganglia, and infections, ailments of the nerves, blood vessels, skin, osteoarthritis and tendonitis. Injuries can result to fractures on part of the bone, rupturing of ligaments and even dislocations (David, 2004). The largest part of the hand is composed of fingers.Disorders in this part of the hand may occur on the joints as a result of strained activity or due an infection of arthritis. The curling of the fingertip which leads to failure of the fingertip to straighten is known as the mallet finger. In most cases, this disorder results from an injury which leads to tearing of the tendon from the bone. This condition is treated by placing the affected finger in a straight position and maintaining it for some time to let the conditio n heal. Button-hole deformity is a disorder which affects the joint of the middle finger.The finger bends in a fixed position in the direction of the palm. In addition the outermost finger tends to portray an excessive bending in the direction away from the palm. This disorder is caused by the rheumatoid arthritis infection. The swelling on the finger joints forming cysts is known as osteoarthritis of the hand causes painful swellings on affected the part of the hand (David, 2004). Ganglion is another disorder which presents itself in form of gelatinous swellings which appear on the back of the palm or wrist.They develop into firm shaped swellings which protrude above the surface of the skin. Even though they are painless, ganglia causes a lot of discomfort on the patient which limits efficient use of hands. Infection disorders may be related to bacterial and viral infections. Common bacterial infections on the hand cause abscess or swellings. These may occur on parts with injured c ells such as wounds and bites. Application of antibiotic prevents the possibilities of getting these kinds of infections. Infections of the soft pulp tissue of the fingertip are known as felon.This causes swelling leading to death of surrounding tissues. The common viral infection on hand results in Herpetic Whitlow which is caused by the infection of herpes which spreads to hands forming fluid-filled blisters on the skin of the fingers. This disorder however disappears with treatment of herpes infection. Osteoarthritis presents itself through the extension of the bones over the outermost joints. This leads to formation of painful swelling on the finger joints. Joints between the fingers are not affected by the condition.The affected joints may be misaligned forming a crooked hand. Erosive osteoarthritis forms a swelling around the affected tissues. Sometimes the bands of the fibrous tissue (tendons) along the palms may tighten forming a claw like hand. This is known as palmar fibro matosis. It is treated trough injection of corticosteroid into the tendons. Severe cases may require a corrective surgery. This condition has been found to have hereditary characteristics and in most cases it affects men over the age of 45 years (Taylor, 2008).Numbness on hand is caused by the cutting of supply of blood or compression of the nerves at the wrist due to the bending of the wrist. This mostly happens when one is sleeping. Numbness as a result of compression of the nerves is referred to as Carpal Turner Syndrome (David, 2004). One is advised to keep the hand straight to prevent the development of this condition. Concisely, most of the ailments of the hands lead to a restriction on the use of the affected hands. Seeking of proper medical attention is necessary to rectify any condition in time.

My Graduation Day

Dear Alice, Hi, how about your academic result? Getting full marks again in Mathematics paper? It’s ok you did not attend my graduation day as you were sitting for your final year examination. Well, I will give you a vivid account of what happened on that day. One of the biggest moments of my life was the day of my graduation. I was walking towards a new beginning in life, a new chapter that filled my body with excitement. At that moment I realized how fast the time had passed by, and that I was no longer a child, but an adult. As the graduation day was an important moment in my life, I must dress up nicely to â€Å"to kill†.I went shopping with my friends to choose some beautiful clothes. I also picked some attractive accessories to put on my clothes. It will give me a nice look during the graduation ceremony. Receiving some card and messages from the friend and relatives, I felt gratified and delighted. They congratulated me for successfully graduating from a prestigi ous university. Besides encouraging me to chase my dream, they also wished me to be successful in my new chapter of life. The day of graduation finally arrived. I woke up early to go get my hair, nails, and make up ready for the big day. I dressed up in a purple and red robe.I was on cloud nine when Professor Tan said that I was dressed â€Å"to kill†. Tell you secretly, I was not used to wearing the high-heeled shoes. It made me feel uncomfortable when walking. Wearing the gown and mortar board, I felt extra special and confident. Students and their parents congested the hall. Happiness was written on their face. I scoured the hall, looking out for daddy and mummy. I tried to spot them but to no avail as the throng of people crowded the hall. I finally found them by using the mobile phone. Mummy doesn’t usually use make up. Yet, on my graduation ceremony, she did it.I was pretty surprised that mummy looked twenty years younger than her actual age. My friends even prai sed that we didn’t look like mother and daughter but sisters. The thunder of applause from the students rocked the hall when the guest of honour entered. After a series of speech was delivered, it was the time to deliver the scrolls to the graduates. Many waited eagerly for their turn to go onto the stage to receive their scrolls. I started having butterflies in my stomach. Daddy and mummy just stared at me and that just made me even more nervous because I knew what they were thinking â€Å"our baby girl is grown up now†.So I just smiled right back to cover up my nervousness. Yet, in fact, my heart was thumping relentlessly. â€Å"Nancy Yeow†, my name was finally called. Walking up to the stage, I received the scroll. At that moment, I felt a sense of success. Everything was over in a few seconds. For me, the photo-taking session was much delightful. Daddy, mummy and I smiled broadly and took photos in front of the hall. I captured many photos with my friends to o to keep as treasured memories. I had lunch in a restaurant with daddy and mummy and I shared my happiness with them too.I also attended a graduation party at friend’s house in the evening. Playing and chatting, we enjoyed the gathering very much. I was happy that I graduated with all my friends and moved on to something bigger, as in the society. But I couldn’t help the fact that I was sad about leaving the university and being separated with my buddies. I will not forget the memorable event. I love the university life very much. Alice, always put your best foot forward in academics and enjoy your secondary school life. It will be your treasured memory. Till then, do take care. Your loving sister, nancy