Compare and Contrast: Hunger Games

Dystopian literature is when the world is focused on making the perfect world. They often have a small percent of people making the perfect race or often known as the â€Å"favorites†, and the rest of the population, often a majority of people, are left to survive by themselves, on the bottom of the barrel.In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and the movie Gattaca are both dystopian media. In tough times both the rich and poor come together to fight through what the government set out to say wouldn’t happen, in both medias. In both dystopian medias Hunger Games and Gattaca want a perfect world. They are both similar; both types of governments want to disclude the non-perfect race.People from Panam and Gattaca are nice, for example Cinna in Hunger Games and The Doctor in Gattaca; therefore, The Hunger Games and Gattaca are similar dystopian medias. In both the Hunger Games and Gattaca in tough times the rich and poor come together to help each other.In the Hunger Games Katniss made friends with Cinna from the capitol. This happened because she seen the shape that Katniss was in when she got to the training center. I think Cinna really did care and didn’t want to just boost Katniss’s confidence. I think Katniss seen how rough it was in district twelve and thought she could help Katniss.Cinna over passed the fact that she was from the capitol, to go out of her way to make sure Katniss was to the best of her health entering the games. I think Cinna helped to comfort Katniss by doing â€Å"GIRLY† things to her by doing her hair hanging out, to help Katniss take her mind off dying or back home.This was similar to Gattaca because when Vince had the lifelong goal to get to space. The Doctor help him pass him fake I.D. Then Jerome who got injured out of the country let him take his I.D. to help him get there even though his heart wasn’t capable of going to Gattaca. Therefore, I Think the Doctor and Jerome seen that Vince could go but had to get passed the government who wouldn’t let the non-perfect people through.This is why in tough times know matter where you come from, rich or poor, people come together to help one another. In The Hunger Games and Gattaca the governments are to make the perfect world. The governments are out to disclude people. The government in Gattaca doesn’t treat everyone equal. If you have any little disease or personality that differs you from the rest of the population. Like Jerome he has a heart defect he has to change his identity to accomplish, his lifelong goal, of going to space. The Doctor help Jerome get through the government to get  into space.The Doctor does this because; he himself has a child with a defect as well. In the Hunger Games the government chooses two tributes to compete in the Hunger Games. They pick two from every district and never any from the capitol.The people in the capitol are rich. And some districts are better off than other distr icts. Like for example district 12 is very poor and they starve to supply the capitol with coal. And the capitol that are rich, fed, heat, and are healthy do nothing. The people in the capitol are usually born perfect and get to live there. But the people in the districts get treated like dirt by the capitol. They fend for their life with no food and little heat and electricity.Therefore this is why both dystopian literatures are very similar. Another similarity is that in both dystopian stories people in the capitol or Gattaca come together with people in poorer areas. Like districts in Hunger Games and the defected births in Gattaca.They see that even though they are different they can still accomplish what the perfect people can. Like in Gattaca when Vince gets help from the guy that got injured but no one knows where he went so Jerome helped Vince to take his identity. He did this because he seen that Vince was just as intelligent as him. And he was already over the limit of whe n he was going to die. After he got his identity changed from a â€Å"defect† to a perfect person he got Jeromes DNA.Then he went through to Gattaca and a The Dcotor let him through. The doctor let Vince whom was now disguised as Jerome through. He did this because the Doctor also had a child with a heart defect. And the Doctor wanted to use this as an example that you can do anything in life even if you are different. In the Hunger Games it is the same too when Cinna from the capitol makes friends with Katniss and gives her a sense of comfort. Cinna does this to take katniss’s mind of the games and from being away from home.Cinna comforts Katniss by doing girly things like doing her hair and hanging out. This is another example in how the understanding nice people come together even though people are different. This is another example on how the people come together when they see even if they are different, they can do what anyone can.

Love and Power in Marriage as Portrayed in A Doll House

A Doll’s House by Ibsen has become a starting moment for a new step in the development of drama genre. Prior to this play, Ibsen’s contemporary drama consisted of behavior plays and historical theatre. But A Doll’s House added a new aspect to the problems highlighted by the contemporary drama. Ibsen in his play introduced a crucial examination of social issues, and the nature of Victorian marriage. By revealing the background of Helmer marriage Ibsen makes the intimate private and stands up for women identity. Revealing the secrecy of marriage Ibsen overturns the customary roles of a woman and a man as they were regarded by the society before. Marriage in Victorian Society Ibsen provides Nora with the new role different from the role of wife and mother that was an innovation for the contemporary society. As it was customary to refer to woman’s identity in the context of her marital role, Ibsen’s play appeared as a protest, and this play is still regarded as a feminist writing, although the author denied it. The author touched a few intertwined themes, but marital relations are one of the most crucial issues, referred to in the play. Victorian age was cruel towards human identity in general, let alone woman’s individuality. The economical background buried the interest to the individuality within the society. During the period after the French Revolution the thirst for individual freedom was replaced by the economic power, and as the result, women were deprived of the power more than ever. Nora’s changed attitude towards her marriage is not just a problem in the relations between a husband and wife; it is the symbol of the most serious problems of bourgeois values of the middle class. By rejecting the marriage, Nora also denies these values, thus demonstrating the opposition between identity and economical stability: â€Å"I should try to become a human being† (Act Three) A Doll’s House reflects Ibsen’s own relation to the problem of woman’s self-expression. He was sure that women could express themselves, their individuality but in a real life woman’s role in marriage came to a sacrifice. Neither husbands nor society treated women as equals with their spouses. The scene of Torvald being afraid of his employers believing that he had been influenced by his wife is a perfect illustration of the relation to women in Victorian society. Marriage in Victorian society became a kind of a social trap, worse for woman than for men. Divorce was not forbidden, but it was accompanied by such a strong social ban that it could ever be regarded as the possible way to resolve the problems in family life. That’s why Torvald shows his inner weakness by his desire to pretend that he and Nora had a happy family, rather than bear the social antagonism: â€Å"From this moment happiness is not the question; all that concerns us is to save the remains, the fragments, the appearance – † (Act Three) On the contrary, Nora, as the symbol of woman, who wasn’t treated as a powerful identity, shows her force by her serious intentions in finding her individuality. Nora feels a fragility of love, but she doesn’t give up and feels the power to build a new happy life instead of her unhappy marriage. Love and Power in the Marriage of Torvald and Nora Nora, who at the beginning was displayed as a happy woman full of love and devoted to her family, realizes that that her happiness is just her dream, but not reality. Thus, she and her husband exchange their roles – Nora is strong enough to face the reality, while her husband is afraid of everything that may damage his habitual life. Nora understands that she was treated like a child used for amusement. The men around her, her husband and her father wanted to see her helpless, seeing her only mission in serving them: â€Å"I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you wanted it like that. You and father have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life. Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was father's doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls.† (Act Three) This is how the concept and picture of marriage changes as the plot of the play goes. At the beginning of the play Nora and her husband seem to be a happy family, a husband and a wife who love each other. However, this happiness and love are built on a lie. Nora pretends that she is helpless without Torvald’s protection and power: I would never dream of doing anything you didn’t want me to† and â€Å"I never get anywhere without your help† (Act One), while the reader and spectator knows that she has already rescued Torvald’s life, and Nora’s words acquires dramatically ironical nature. When Mrs. Linde asks Nora if he ever reveals her secret about the loan, Nora shows her awareness of Torvald’s real attitude to her as to a beautiful doll, which has to amuse him: â€Å"Yes – some day, perhaps, after many years, when I am no longer as pretty as I am now. Don't laugh at me! I mean, of course, when Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now; when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him then it may be a good thing to have something in reserve.† (Act One) Conclusion As the play starts, Nora makes an impression of a weak and powerless woman, whose life is fully devoted to her family life, while Torvald seems to be the personification of power and domination. Their relations are set against the life story of Mrs. Linde, who at first denied her strong love to gain power and financial security. But by the end of the play the situation changes, Nora finds herself and her individuality although loses her love, and Mrs. Linde turns back to her true feelings. The problems shown with the help of characters’ interaction are not resolved by the author. Ibsen demonstrates the conflicts, but does not give any ways out. He just offers the possibilities, offering the readers and spectators to find their own viewpoint and solution. Related article: â€Å"My Ideal Wife† References Ibsen H. (1991) A Doll's House, Tram. W. Archer. London               

How successful is Shakespeare’s presentation of Macbeth Essay

In order to make a precise conclusion on how successful Shakespeare is on making Macbeth a tragic hero, the great speeches and monologues by Macbeth must be analyzed. Also the audience or reader must have to understand what makes a person a tragic hero. Obviously there must be certain conditions that the tragic hero has to fulfill. These will be discussed. Macbeth has them and I will try to give evidence to back up my points. To start with the character must be of noble birth, Macbeth is of noble birth and this is a fact as he is born the Thane of Glamis. Secondly the tragic hero must be of high moral worth as if he isn’t the audience can’t admire him so he wouldn’t be heroic therefore he wouldn’t be a tragic hero. Macbeth is of high moral worth as one of the first times in the play when Macbeth is seen as a hero is after the great battle at the beginning. Everyone is praising him, including the king. The king, as a reward for his heroic actions, makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor as the last Thane of Cawdor was found guilty of treason and was be-headed! The main thing that makes the audience respect Macbeth (helping us to see him as a tragic hero in the end) is when the sergeant reporting on the battle praises Macbeth calling him â€Å"brave Macbeth†, so we see that even from the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as brave and people respect him. When Macbeth meets the king towards the beginning of the play the king has only nice things to say about Macbeth and clearly respects him as he call him his ‘valiant cousin’ and a ‘worthy gentleman’. Because the king is obviously noble we trust his opinion of Macbeth so then we too share his high opinion of him. We know the King thinks this as he represents his feelings when he says to Macbeth â€Å"more is due than more all can pay†. Here Duncan is saying that Macbeth means a lot to him and the country. As the king is so proud of him hen trusts him more and naturally is more willing to give him things and help him become more successful throughout his reign as king. The king’s whole idea of Macbeth shows him as a hero, which is often shown so frequently at the beginning of the play. This whole idea of Macbeth being a hero at the beginning of the play is very common in tragic heroes as always at the beginning they are brave and heroic, but then they go tragic things/or bad things, which makes them tragic heroes. Another thing that a tragic hero must posses is a flaw in their character. In Macbeth his flaw could be seen as being his ambition (to be king) or him not thinking about the consequences of his actions, but personally I feel his flaw was ambition. I feel that this flaw was mainly the fault of the witches as after they told him he would become thane of Cawdor he did and they also told him he would become king so he proberly believed he would and as it was possible he would do anything to make himself king. At the beginning of the play Macbeth has feelings, but he knows that after talking to the witches he gets bad, evil thoughts as he says, â€Å"stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires†, basically saying that he knows that he has desires which are very bad and which no one should knows about. This helps us think of him as a tragic hero as he is still aware of what is good and bad. I think Macbeth’s dark thoughts almost eat up his goodness and his sense of what is right, leaving Macbeth as a cold man, a murderer. After the murder of Duncan, by Macbeth, we yet again are reminded how he could be a tragic hero. Tragic heroes must not be totally senseless and Macbeth isn’t as straight after the killing of Duncan we here him say to Lady Macbeth how he is ‘afraid to think of what’ he had done and how he wishes he could wake Duncan but he can’t. He also says how to ‘look on it again’ he dare not. This shows us how he isn’t totally cold-hearted and that he knows that it was wrong. A main reason why Macbeth turns into a cold man, a tragic man, is Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is like a catalyst in the play. She works on Macbeth’s â€Å"black and deep desires†, which are to kill, as she is almost power hungry and wants to be queen, and she makes them real life, making him kill people. The things that causes him to change his mind about committing the murder are the speeches that Lady Macbeth gave him ‘Does un-make you. I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I sworn as you have done this.† We see a lot in this scene how Lady Macbeth uses emotional blackmail and, how she attacks his manliness to get him to carry out the murder of Banquo. She starts off by saying to him ‘Art though afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire? Here she is basically saying is he too afraid to match his desires with his courage, and this contrast between action and desire is frequent in the play. She also uses the love he has for her to try and make him carry out the killings. The worst thing she does is when she attacks his manliness, as Macbeth is a great ‘valiant’ soldier and to be called a ‘coward’ by his wife must have really driven him to carry out the murder. Also she uses an old proverb as she says he is ‘like the poor cat I’ th’ adage’. Here she means he is like the cat that wanted to eat the fish but would not wet his feet. She is saying he wants, deep down, to kill them but he doesn’t wa nt to have to do the dirty work. These speeches shows her sheer evilness and how ashamed she is that her husband is prepared to go back on what they had agreed, and the fact that this kind of manipulation works on him is tragic! For a character to be a tragic hero the audience have to feel sorry for them and sympathise with them. The audience also has to try and understand why he did what he did. I feel that the main reason Macbeth did what he did was because of the witches. The first way in which Shakespeare shows the witches to be plain evil is in the very first scene in the book where they all chant together â€Å"fair is foul, and foul is fair. This is a word play and has an inverted meaning to that of a human. They are saying that their fair is our foul and our foul is their fair, inverted morals, meaning everything we find bad they find good. I feel the witches are almost totally to blame for Macbeth turning almost evil. The witches told Macbeth he could become a king one day, this was the greatest thing anyone could imagine. They also told him that no man born of woman could kill him, so Macbeth thought he wouldn’t be killed by any person, that he would die naturally or something like that. 43Macbeth should have known better as Macduff was born by caesarian birth. I feel this was one of Macbeth’s main problems I feel that instead of trusting his friends and those close to him he trusted the witches too much and took everything literally, he didn’t think about their evilness and in the end with Macbeth’s sight so clouded from wanting to be king and believing everything the witches said to be perfectly true he ended up dead. This was one of his flaws; he trusted the witches too much and didn’t think about them playing games and being evil. This is why we feel sorry for Macbeth and view him as being tragic as it was almost as if he was victimized by the witches and they took advantage of him and played games with him. Macbeth had some hard and cruel, cold blooded times. For example when he arranged for the deaths of Banquo and Macduff’s family, he ordered other people to do it as well which, firstly showed he was a coward and wouldn’t go through with the killings totally himself he needed other people to be involved. At these times though Macbeth hadn’t really any of his senses. At these times I think his ‘black and deep desires’ led him. I think he is aware though that his senses are a bit off as earlier when he thought he saw the dagger appeared to turn towards Duncan’s bedroom he questioned his senses as he said: ‘Mine eyes are made the fools o’ th’ other senses, Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still.’ Here Macbeth is saying how his eyes are deceiving him if his other senses are correct, or else they see correctly and are more reliable than the rest of his senses together. For a character to be seen as a tragic hero he must also gain moral worth through his suffering. In act five we see Lady Macbeth realizing what she has done. She says how ‘hell is murky’ This shows she is aware that what she has done is wrong and that she is going to hell. We actually start to feel sorry for Lady Macbeth here as all the time she has been there for Macbeth when he had doubts and things but she never had anyone for her. But for Macbeth it act five scene three where he gains self worth and realizes what he has done, but now he is more scared and we feel sorry for him as he is losing self-control. In his speeches on page one eight five we see Macbeth full of regret and despair, he talks about having nothing to live for and he thought that being king would make him happy but it didn’t. Here the audience sees Macbeth trying to reassure himself, as he says, â€Å"Fear not Macbeth, no man that’s born of woman Shall e’er have power upon thee.† Here we can detect a very insecure Macbeth. It is almost as if he has to reassure himself that no man can hurt him, but you can also detect how scared he is. Also when he says † I have lived long enough. My way of life Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf:† This makes us think he has had enough of being king and now just wants to die and has nothing to live for. He says his way of life has fallen into the sear, this means his way of life has almost withered faded away. In this scene the audience are made to sympathize with Macbeth. So he appears yet again tragic. He is nowhere near the strong â€Å"brave† noble fighter we were introduced to at the beginning of the book. In Act five Macbeth makes a speech once again. In this speech we see Macbeth becoming self-aware. He realizes that his senses have been dulled as after Seyton hears a sound of a woman cry he asks Macbeth whether it was a woman cry and Macbeth replies saying how he had ‘almost forgotten the taste of fears’. By this he meant that the desolate eeriness of the cry reminded him of former fears that he had. We also se Macbeth realising that the after life is important whereas earlier he said he would jump the life to come. We also see, later on in scene eight, an indication of Macbeth feeling guilty about killing Macduff’s family. When Macbeth and Macduff meet, Macbeth says how his ‘soul is too much charged with blood of thine (Macduff) already.’ Here he means that he feels guilty after killing his family as he says how ‘ his soul is too much charged’, meaning he feels bad in his soul because of what he had done. Towards the end of scene eight we see the return of the ‘brave’ ‘valiant’ fighter that was mentioned in the beginning. This reminds us and helps us see his more as a tragic hero, as we had almost forgotten that he had been noble, but this scene is a good reminder. Here we here Macbeth saying to Macduff how he ‘will not yield’ and how he will throw his ‘warlike shield’ he also says how he will ‘try the last’, meaning he will fight to a finish. This shows us the brave Macbeth who will not surrender. In conclusion I feel that Shakespeare’s presentation of Macbeth as a tragic hero really worked. He fulfills all the necessary criteria that a tragic hero needs. We all respected him at the beginning felt sorry for him when he did bad things and C then knew that his death was inevitable, and that his death made everything return to normal and that there was no other outcome that could have been had for Macbeth. Shakespeare made a perfect tragic hero in my eyes and using the evidence and quotes I have given you the phrase â€Å"tragic hero† is a great way to sum up Macbeth in a few words for this play.

Auteur theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Auteur theory - Essay Example Auteurism, or film analysis based on the idea of a directorial vision, grew out of his ideas. It spread to the United Kingdom, where the review Movie became its first primary practitioner. In the United States, Andrew Sarris introduced it in his 1962 essay â€Å"Notes on the Auteur Theory.† Sarris proposed some minimal requirements for a director to be considered an auteur: the director must demonstrate a level of competence in technique, evoke an individual style in terms of how a movie feels and looks, and even terms of overall theme. His work The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968, earned a reputation as the primary text for auteurism (Auteur theory). Auteurism has had its critics. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker objected to the idea of giving the director so much credit for a project that takes so many people to complete – not just the already mentioned scriptwriter, but the cinematographer as well. Also, auteurism can contribute greatly to the cost s of making a movie, and directors who develop a record of financial losses will not be able to bring a message of any kind to the big screen (Auteur theory). Also, New Criticism challenged auteur theory with its idea of the â€Å"intentional fallacy.† This referred to the idea that the words on a page of literature, or the images on a movie screen, are more important than the intentions of the author, or the intentions of the director. Because each viewer will approach a movie with a unique set of experiences and biases., the director's intention may never filter through the images and reach the mind of the viewer. In any discussion of directors who are considered auteurs, the name of Krzysztof Kieslowski comes to the forefront. Ironically, Kieslowski entered the study of film as a sort of detour on his original career path, which involved a desire to become a theater director. It was only when the College for Theater Technicians lacked a program for theater directors that he decided to study film as well (Krzysztof Kieslowski). Sieglohr posited that an auteur will see national identity as ripe fodder for "investigation and excavation" (Hill (Year) p. ). While Three Colors takes a look at the special significance of the three colors of the French flag, Kieslowski's early work took a look, as well, at the Polish national experience. As he studied film more extensively, he decided to make documentaries rather than directing plays. His first projects focused on the daily routines of workers, soldiers, and other citizens. However, even though Kieslowski's intentions were not to make political statements, even his attempts to depict the lives of Polish citizens realistically ran afoul of the censoring

Function of place in Mad Max 2 by Georgre Miller 1981 (film) Movie Review

Function of place in Mad Max 2 by Georgre Miller 1981 (film) - Movie Review Example The cinematography of Mad Max 2 makes very little use of interiors but instead invites the audience to a wide open desert space, reminiscent of the blue skies, red sand and rugged canyons that were common in traditional westerns. The characters in their black leather or white canvas clothing move around this desolate space, and the impression that is given is deliberately edgy and harsh. The sun beats down on the settlers’ camp, and the bikers circle like marauding Indians, and all of the humans appear to be in a frontier between civilization and a deadly wilderness. The way the camera approaches the action is very different from the predictable and safe western style, however. Car chases are filmed with the camera low to the ground, and the vehicles approaching at speed and this draws the audience right into the danger. The main character played by Mel Gibson, is a drifter, neither one of the robbers, nor one of the homesteaders with their homely pigs and chickens. This locat ion does not symbolize the pioneers taming the wilderness, but rather the wilderness has the upper hand and the settlers are very much at its mercy. This film uses location to underline the destructiveness of industrialization and the precariousness of human survivors after an apocalyptic war.

The Effects of Social Media on Employment Essay

The Effects of Social Media on Employment - Essay Example The report has considered reliable secondary data sources to analyze the gained data in order to meet the report objective. The report has summarized important facts that have come through data analysis in order to meet the developed assignment objective.As the discussion stresses social media can be defined as social interaction activities among individuals in which those individuals develop and share ideas and information in virtual networks and communities. Adoption and implementation of social media in business operation processes can be considered as an effective business strategy for the employers. Employers can identify right and appropriate talent for their organisations through the use of social media networking websites. On the other hand, several graduates and job seekers used to follow several leading social media networking sites and processes in order to get effective employment or job opportunity. Therefore, it can be stated that use of social media can obviously benef it both employees and employers in their employment activities.  It is true that several leading organisations around the globe are trying to capitalize on potential business opportunities that have been developed due to globalisation and technological advancements. Each and every leading domestic as well as international organisation is trying to develop and implement unique business operation strategies in order to gain potential competitive advantages over competitors.

The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System Research Paper

The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System - Research Paper Example The report recommended nurses to join the talks regarding the transformation of healthcare service delivery by giving them a greater voice and control in making reliable and effective decisions (RWJF, 2012a). The main objective was reforming the healthcare delivery approach, and ensuring patients received better and reliable care at much lower costs that they could afford. To make service delivery more affordable and efficient, nurses had to be the focus in all deliberations; they are much closer to patients in healthcare facilities. Such were the proposed strategic decisions to transform the future of nursing in improving healthcare delivery. The IOM report on the future of Nursing was of much importance to the nursing profession. Nurses have varying levels of education and competencies raging from the licensed practicing nurses, who in most cases are in contact with patients in nursing homes, to nurse scientists who are actively involved in research work on how to improve the care of patients and improving the nursing profession. The IOM report considered all classes of nurses across education levels, roles, and settings in envisioning the future of the profession (Institute of Medicine, 2010). ... Â  states, with regulations related to the scope of practice defining what activities a qualified nurse has to perform, all which affect different nurses in different ways (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Moreover, the recommendations of the IOM committee sought to improve the nursing profession by recommending that nurses had to achieve higher levels of education and training by going through a much-improved education system with seamless academic progression (Institute of Medicine, 2010). This was aimed at ensuring nurses are better equipped to deal with the rapidly changing patient needs, which are becoming more complicated. By advancing their academic levels, nurses would be better equipped to deliver high-quality care with competencies such as leadership, system improvement, health policy, and research and development being injected in the nursing profession. According to the Institute of Medicine (2010), the purpose of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action intended to guide the implementation of the recommendations by the Institute of Medicine report on the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health; a report that was considered a blueprint in the medical sector. It was taken as the roadmap for future direction and actions in the nursing sector, towards making the recommendations of the committee a reality. The campaign aimed at enabling and preparing the nurse to lead changes within their areas of operations, advancing and improving the nursing education, removing barriers in nursing practice across the states, fostering an effecting interprofessional collaboration between various stakeholders, enabling an infrastructure for data collection in interprofessional healthcare staff, among other reasons (Institute of Medicine, 2010).

Honesty versus Justice and Due Process versus Crime Control Essay

Honesty versus Justice and Due Process versus Crime Control - Essay Example According to the classic definition of Justice each person should get his or her due. Aristotle more than two thousand years ago defined that "equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." This fundamental principle has been followed by many nations while developing the laws for their country and countrymen. Our legal system is based on a system of justice. The whole lot from Police to Judiciary and legislature that enacts the laws play a part in the legal system; in fact all have their roles defined in the criminal justice system. As far as honesty is concerned it has been often alleged that it has taken the worst beating within the criminal justice system and judiciary while dispensing justice gives more importance to technicalities than sometimes the truth that though is quite apparent but has no witness to falsify the opposition's claim. This debate has continued for centuries on the trot. It doesn't mean that the system is there for the corrupt and the dishonest. When the leading functionaries within the criminal justice system like the Judges, Police officials are inducted they take an oath to uphold the integrity of their office with all honesty. There are sometimes a few among the flock who bring a bad name to the whole system by manipulating the system to satisfy their narrow e nds, they should be dealt with sternly when their conduct comes to light. The other pillars of the criminal justice system have a role to play. For example it is true that Police can be misused by lodging a false complaint against someone, but if the cops are honest to their duty then there are inbuilt procedures within the system to be followed during the investigation process that can make clear at the first stage itself if the offence alleged is true or not without committing the case to the court. Here at this stage itself sometimes the Investigating officer by being careless and negligent during investigation can book the innocent victim, who later might be honorably acquitted by the court but in the process undergoes a lot of harassment, shaking his faith in the whole system and starts to think that the system is corrupt. The same can be said about the judiciary that follows the rule quite diligently that an innocent must not be punished. Sometimes some overzealous lawyers in order benefit their client's interests manipulate the truth or facts on record to suit their end. But it can be said that lawyers are professionals and they have a work to do. It is their duty to put the facts before the court in the best way possible and then for the court to dispense justice. Generally Lawyers cannot be expected to turn the apostle of peace, honesty and justice when they see there are many loopholes in the prosecution case and they exploit those to the hilt. Technically it can be called dishonesty but as discussed above that it is their job to protect the interests of their client in the best possible manner. Here the burden of upholding the truth is more on the judges and to bring the rules and procedures within the system to their best use so that the truth, honor and honesty is not a victim within the criminal justice system. Within the Criminal justice system and private security 'due process' and 'Crime Control' are given a lot of importance. According to the 'Random House Dictionary

Reflective exercise for studing marketing module Essay

Reflective exercise for studing marketing module - Essay Example My knowledge on the topic of international marketing has improved tremendously as a result of the classes and lecture sessions. I have learnt that the strategies of marketing for internal businesses have become a crucial and cumbersome task in today’s competitive world. Globalisation is one of the most important contributing factors to international marketing strategies. My information was updated to a much greater extent in the areas of international marketing and its impact on global factors to an organization’s managerial decision making, the approaches of entering new markets, designing and developing new products for international markets, the attributes of marketing research internationally, the marketing mix for international business and a lot more. Our group comprised of three members including me. We had diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds two of us are Chinese and one belonged to Saudi Arabia. Due to the difference in cultural and religious backgrounds I learnt how to communicate and manage a diverse team. We as a team found out that the business rules of International Marketing are not the same as they used to be few years ago. The reasons behind these change of rules and strategies is globalisation and its associated threats and opportunities. I got the information that due to various factors like increased globalisation, technological advancements and increased role of internet, the competition has increased greatly these days in every industry. Due to this reason, businesses have to adopt newer methods and strategies in order to survive in the competitive world and have a sustainable business. I also got familiar with the difference of conventional marketing and international marketing and due to this I realised that the modern marketers have changed their mind sets for global development. In today’s world the traditional ways of marketing are not sufficient for this reason the marketers and the executives need to be more innovative thinkers, create newer and better ideas to market internationally and possess quick decision making capabilities. The concept of innovation in marketing techniques was also highlighted in one of the lectures and I think this is one of the basic requirements for international marketing methods of today’s world. Examples of innovative marketing techniques are video clips posted on social networking websites and viral marketing. The conventional tools for assessing the decision making abilities of an organization which includes the SWOT analysis and the PESTL analysis are found to be quite different from a global business perspective. Important to note, that I studied and analysed that now more number of factors are needed to be analysed and examined in SWOT and PESTL analysis for a global organization. I would also like to accept and appreciate the skills of my teacher who encouraged and motivated us to learn the concepts of International marketing from a broader vi ew point and effectively implement it in the practical world when possible. The lectures, seminars and the reading materials were adequate enough to bring deeper insight in the students and held up to date information. We also studied and learnt to determine the opportunities present in the global marketing with the help of real-life case studies. Moreover, it was studied that the

Choo Bee Metal Industries Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choo Bee Metal Industries - Coursework Example The company registered a marginally lower profit before tax of RM5 million in 2010 compared to the figure of RM18 million in 2009. This decrease is attributed to the fall in steel prices and dampened business activities. Because of the slumping price situation, the Group also adjusted their inventory net realizable value by taking on a write down of RM10.2 million. The company earned revenues of RM221 million in 2010, which was 13% more than the prior year's results (RM196 million in 2009). The net income fell at from RM14 million in 2009 to RM5 million in 2010. The dividends per share (Sen) remained fixed at 4.50 while the earnings per share (Sen) decreased from 18.49 (2009) to 14.80 (2010). Since most companies in the supplies and fixtures areas of construction do not pay a dividend, the positive trend Choo Bee Metal Industries has shown in dividend payments, deserves a special mention.

Not just children Essay Example for Free

Not just children Essay The essay is effective in that it provides some convincing examples of potential internet dangers that can be experienced, with emphasis on how these bad guys can get away with their deeds with no law to control their actions. I must agree that people who use the internet should not be exempt from many of the rules and regulations that govern their conduct elsewhere. Its arguments about general online business holds much merit. I do agree that there should be laws against copyright violation, fraud, child pornography, trust violation, and child-stalking. However, the essays great failing is that it does not address the issue of freedom of expression as much as I think it needed to in the context of the topic, especially concerning pornography. Internet pornography is certainly a complicated topic, considering that many children have internet access. The essay contends that pornography must be controlled, particularly because of these children. Although the welfare of children should indeed be of concern to us, I subscribe to the idea that if you dont want to see, dont look. Encountering pornographic sites (or going anywhere on the internet for that matter) generally requires an active decision by a person. I take the view that sites on the internet are public only in the sense that they are accessible when a person chooses to access them; but that these sites are not publicly displayed in the sense that a billboard on the street is. Since seeing content generally involves the decision of a person to visit, making whatever information accessible to whomever chooses to access it seems to be reasonable. There have been times when a search using a seemingly innocuous phrase turns up results with nudity or pornographic content, especially when Im using a search engine with filters turned off. It seems to me that encountering sites with offensive or objectionable content is unavoidable, even if one does not want to come across them. I feel that childrens access to pornographic sites should be restricted. I recognize that total censorship would be very difficult to impose, but still, measures should be enacted to deter or hinder young children from accessing such sites. One solution that has been proposed to solve this problem advocates a change in the domain naming system that will easily identify sites that are â€Å"for adults only† (i. e. , pornographic sites). For example, if sites with adult content ends in â€Å". xxx† rather than the usual domain identifiers, users will know that the site contains adult content, and therefore, can steer clear from it. Using this system, it will also be easier to filter out those kinds of websites. However, if there is any censorship, it will affect everyone, not just children. I still subscribe to the notion that it should be the parents/elders responsibility to protect children from the darker side of the internet. History has shown that anything that is suppressed by the government does not really disappear, but goes underground. Censorship in any form is a blow to the whole notion of the freedom of expression of the public. With this freedom comes responsibility, and it might actually be better to allow the public to take care of themselves (on the internet) in this regard.

Endospore-forming Bacteria and their Role in Biodefense Essay Example for Free

Endospore-forming Bacteria and their Role in Biodefense Essay Bacteria that have the ability to produce non-reproductive structures or endospores during unfavorable environmental conditions are termed endospore-forming bacteria. Two genera of bacteria in which sporulation are predominant are Bacillus and Clostridium. Bacilli are rod-shaped bacteria, species of which are either obligate or facultative aerobes. The genera include both free-living and pathogenic species. When conditions become unfavorable, the bacterial populations thrive by producing endospores or cysts which can remain dormant and viable for prolonged periods. The genera include several species such as Bacillus anthracis, B. coagulans, B. megaterium, B. cereus, B. globigii, B. natto, B. infernus, B. licheniformis, B. subtilis, thuringiensis, B. polymyxa and B. sphaericus. Of these, the most pathogenic ones are B. anthracis and B. cereus. B. anthracis causes anthrax. B. cereus causes a foodborne illness. B. subtilis and B. coagulans are microbes that cause food spoilage. B. thuringiensis, is an insect pathogen and is therefore a potential biocontrol agent, while B. subtilis is used as model organism in research. Clostridium is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, which are obligate anaerobes. They are also capable of producing endospores under stressful or unfavorable environmental conditions. Species include Clostridium acetobutylicum, C. beijerinckii, C. aerotolerans, C. bifermentans, C. chauvoei, C. botulinum, C. butyricum, C. difficile, C. formicaceticum, C. colicanis, C. laramie, C. perfringens, C. ljungdahlii, C. novyi, C. piliforme, C. phytofermentans, C. sordellii, C. scatologenes, C. tetanie, C. tyrobutyricum and C. sporogenes. Five species of this genus are highly pathogenic. These are C. botulinum, C. perfringens, C. tetani, C. sordellii and C. difficile. C. botulinum causes botulism by producing toxin in food or wound. C. perfringens causes varied disease symptoms such as food poisoning, gas gangrene, enterotoxemia in cattle. This species also causes food spoilage. C. tetani causes tetanus. C. sordellii is a microbe associated with deaths of women post childbirth. C. difficile causes pseudo-membranous colitis. Both these genera of gram-positive bacteria are capable of producing endospores in response to nutrient depletion. According to Liu et al (2004), spores are dormant bacterial morphotypes able to endure harsh environments for decades, thus making it easier to be formulated and dispersed as a biological weapon. B. anthracis spores are highly persistent and can simply be â€Å"weaponized† for routing through air, food or water. The formulated spores are usually dry and concentrated, which can reach the human body by inhalation, ingestion, or cutaneous contact and cause anthrax. Infection is severe upon inhalation on endospores of B. anthracis. When inhaled, the spores enter lungs and reach deep into the alveolar spaces. From there they traverse into the medistinal and peribronchial lymph nodes. Once they reach the blood stream, they begin to multiply by switching on to the vegetative cycle and produce toxins that are lethal (Young and Collier, 2002). These are potential biodefense agents because, B. anthracis endospores when dispersed in the air as 1-to-5- µm particles may create a threat over a larger geographical location. In Russia, an accidental release of endospores from a military biologic-weapons facility in Sverdlovsk caused anthrax in humans as far as 4 km from the site, and cases in animals extended as far as 50 km away (Swartz, 2001). The detection of anthrax spores is also not easy and technologically also it is not realistic for rapid in-place detection to be done (Webb, 2003). Nevertheless, when diagnosed immediately the severity can be decreased, administration of oral antibiotic prophylaxis during the incubation stage has proved to be successful. However, once the fulminant stage is attained, the disease is clear of treatment and without doubt lethal (CDC, 2002). According to Inglesby et al. (2002), vaccination is supposedly effectual but the drawback is that a series of six shots over 18 months followed by annual booster shots is a pre-requisite for complete immunity. Therefore, it is obvious that when used as a biological weapon, spores of B.anthracis are capable of inflicting immeasurable torment on man and animals. This elects it to be an ideal candidate for biodefense. References CDC. (2002). Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (November, 2002) www. bt. cdc. gov_agent_anthrax_index. asp. Inglesby, T. V. , O’Toole, T. , Henderson, D. A. , Bartlett, J. G. , Ascher, M. S. , Eitzen, E. , Friedlander, A. M. , Gerberding, J. , Hauer, J. , Hughes, J. , et al. (2002). Anthrax as a Biological Weapon, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 287, 2236–2252. Liu, H. , Bergman, N. H. , Thomason, B. , Shallom, S. , Hazen, A. , Crossno, J. , Rasko, D. A. , Ravel, J. , Read, T. D. , Peterson, S. C. , Yates J. and Hanna, P. C. (2004). Formation and Composition of the Bacillus anthracis Endospore. Journal of Bacteriology. 186 (1), 164–178. Swartz, M. N. (2001). Recognition and management of anthrax an update. N Engl J Med. 345, 1621-1626. Webb, G. F. (2003). A silent bomb: The risk of anthrax as a weapon of mass destruction. PNAS. 100(8), 4355–4356 Young, J. A. T. and Collier, R. J. (2002) Attacking Anthrax. Sci. Am. 286, 48–59.

The Threat Of Natural Disasters To Cambodia Environmental Sciences Essay

The Threat Of Natural Disasters To Cambodia Environmental Sciences Essay A Discussion on Building Resilient Communities, A Case Study of Cambodia. All through the 20th century, cities of the world have grown in size and importance, with an estimate of about half of all people living in urban areas and their numbers are expected to rise to at least 60 per cent by 2030 (UNHSP, 2002). Ironically, while cities are of vital importance as economic engines, hubs for transportation and communications, cultural centers and homes to the majority of the earths people, they are particularly vulnerable to natural and environmental hazard impacts. During the 1990s, losses from natural disasters were more than four times greater than during the 1950s, with more than 500,000 fatalities and over $1 trillion in damages (Walter, 2003). The existence of multifaceted and cascading hazards in Cambodia has occurred in time past causing large destructions. These hazards that occur are most times unavoidable but their impact could be reduced if the necessary circumstances are put in place. Managing natural and environmental hazards is essential because they pose significant threat to the human populace, carrying the potential to disrupt economic and social activities, cause substantial damage to property and even kill people. The best form of addressing such situations is to make the necessary investigations and preparations for emergency response when (before and after) these hazards occur. Basically, building resilient cities are an act of preparation for the inevitable natural hazards. Cambodia is located in the tropical zone, Southeast Asia, about 10-13 degrees north of the equator. Its climate is dominated by the annual monsoon cycle with its alternating wet and dry seasons, making it warm to hot throughout the year. It covers an area of about 181,035 square kilometres and is divided into 24 provinces as seen in figure 1. It is bordered to the North by Thailand and Laos, to the East and South by Vietnam, and to the South and Southwest by the Gulf of Thailand. Most of Cambodias land is relatively flat with vast tracts of land given over to rice production. Annual rainy season commences in July, with flooding occurring between September and December. During the monsoon season, Cambodia experiences flash floods usually after heavy rainfall. The provinces of Battambang, Kampong Chnang, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Kampot, Kandal, Pursat and Rattanakiri are regularly hit by flash flooding. The second type of flood, the much slower but prolonged flooding, is caused by the overflow of Tonle Sap River and Mekong tributaries, inundating the provinces of Kampong Cham, Kratie, Kandal, Prey Veng, Stung Treng, Svay Rieng and Takeo. In 2000, Cambodia saw the worst flooding in recent history, with a total estimated damage of USD150 million. It affected more than three million people in 22 of the 24 provinces of the country, displacing 85,000 families and killing 182 (ECHO, 2008). Drought in Cambodia is characterized by loss of water sources caused by the early end or delays in expected seasonal rainfall. The traditional drought/lean season is between the months of August and November. Although not as severe as floods in terms of impact, it severely affects farming productivity especially among rice growing communities who rely solely on rain or river-fed irrigation. Low agricultural yield due to extended drought has increased indebtedness of families and contributed to widespread food shortages. The worst drought incident in 2002 had affected two million people and incurred a total damage of USD 38 million, (ECHO, 2008). No one can stop natural disasters. However, we can reduce the impact of natural disasters on the physical and the socio-economic losses in society. It is notable that victims of disasters mainly come from the least wealthy and influential; those in unsafe houses and engaged in more dangerous activities, who have limited options and entitlements. In any case, university students killed in school annual graduation or new born babies in health care facilities are especially disturbing aspects of the aftermath of disasters. Surely, these places should put safety issues first. Due to environmental degradation and human activities, natural hazards have been persistent. The Mekong flood in 2000 gave Cambodia the most terrible incident in the last 70 years, causing both socio-economic and physical damages. According to the official report of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) (2006), the floods affected about 3.4 million people with 347 fatalities, 80 percent of which were children. Moreover, schools and other infrastructures such as hospitals, houses, and pagodas were seriously damaged, with a total estimated loss of US$161 million. Again, floods hit Cambodia in 2001 and 2002, damaging approximately US$36 million and US$12 million respectively. In 2001, the floods killed 62 people while in 2002 the floods killed 26 (40 percent of whom were children), and many schools were destroyed. Figure 1.Map of Cambodia with Provinces cambodia-map-provinces.jpg Because many Cambodians depend upon subsistence agriculture for their source of revenue, they are particularly vulnerable to suffering hunger, poverty, or even the loss of life, when such disasters hit. This vulnerability has increased in recent years because of a series of almost consecutive annual disasters that have not allowed people the opportunity to recover from previous floods or droughts. The Royal Government of Cambodia and other stakeholders, including NGOs and the donor communities, have been increasing cooperation to allow for joint responses to the needs of the affected population when disasters strike. The overall goal is to ascertain and address the root causes of vulnerability to disasters. There is thus a need to identify and prioritize areas that are prone to natural disasters, and areas in which the population suffers most when disasters strike. Flood affected areas, rice dependency, and food security are considered when determining areas that should be prioritised for flood related interventions. The extent to which each an area is affected by flood waters, depends on rice production, and incapability to manufacture enough food to feed itself during flood years are taken together to classify areas into different levels of precedence. Two major types of flood were identified in Cambodia: Flash floods which result from heavy downpours upstream on the Mekong River which affect the provinces along the Mekong River and in the southern areas of the country. Central area floods are large floods that result from a combination of runoff from the Mekong and heavy rains around the Tonle Sap Lake. The waters affect the areas around the lake, but also flow heavily down the Tonle Sap River and the lower portion of the Mekong to flood the southern provinces. The first priority area is rigorously affected by any type of flood, the second a rea is only affected by the big central area floods, and the third area is only affected by flash flooding of the Mekong. These three priority areas are shown in figure 2. Figure 2: Flood Prone Communes image7_02.png The method applied to define areas vulnerable to drought is similar to that discussed ealier. The concern evaluate include: drought affected areas, rice dependency, and food security. Areas were defined as highly rice dependent if more than 80 percent of households are fully engaged in rice production. Food insecurity was measured as above for the drought year of 1998. Definitions for three levels of priority were again developed. First priority areas are defined as those with low precipitation and NDVI, high rice dependence, and food insecurity in 1998. These are areas where droughts are likely, and where they will have the most terrible consequences. Second priority areas have the same criteria as the first priority communes, but were not food insecure during the 1998 drought year. Third priority communes have low precipitation and NDVI, and are thus drought prone, but are neither highly rice dependent nor food insecure. The three levels of priority communes are presented in figure 3. Figure 3 Drought Prone Communes image7_03.png Vulnerability well-meant is the exposure and sensitivity to livelihood shocks and risks. Risks are the combination of the probability or frequency of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences. Natural hazards often cannot be prevented, and if they materialize, can generate a shock that affects households and communities in both predictable and unpredictable ways. Vulnerability is only to some extent determined by the type of hazard, while it is mainly determined by social systems and power (Wisner et al. 2006). The degree of vulnerability depends on the nature of the risk and a householdà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s resilience, or ability to recover after shocks. Vulnerability can be lessened by reducing exposure to risks of shocks that affect many people (e.g., frequent droughts) or shocks that affect individuals or households (e.g., the death of the household head) and increasing the householdà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s ability to manage sho cks. However, chronically food-insecure households often are not resilient to shocks and are continuously vulnerable. The government in Cambodia has initiated poverty reduction policies that attempts to reduce poverty, increase food security and thus reduce vulnerability of poor households. The concept of vulnerability links the relationship that people have with their environment to social forces and institutions and the cultural values that sustain or contest them. Vulnerability refers to the totality of relationships in a given social situation producing the formation of a condition that, in combination with environmental forces, produces a disaster. Disaster, risks and outcomes are socially produced at the intersection of a complex and dynamic range of hazard and vulnerability patterns, associated with underlying social, economic, territorial and political processes operating in specific locales. The concept of vulnerability links general political economic conditions to very particular environmental forces to understand how basic conditions such as poverty or racism produce susceptibilities to very specific environmental hazards. Vulnerability, thus, integrates not only political economic, but environmental forces, defined in terms of both biophysical and socially constructed risk. The working definition provided by Blaikie et al. is currently among the most utilized: By vulnerability we mean the characteristics of a person or group in terms of their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of a natural hazard. It involves a combination of factors that determine the degree to which someones life and livelihood is put at risk by a discrete and identifiable event in nature or in society(1994:9). The DIPECHO project was implemented in partnership with three local NGOs for the period of 15 months (from 15/02/2007 to 14/05/2008) in three operating provinces. The project activities centre of attention primarily is on the poorest and most excluded community members, identified as being particularly vulnerable to disaster, including women and children, poor farmers, fishery communities, landless people, ex-Khmer rouge soldiers, displaced people, wage labourers, people living with or at risk from HIV and AIDS, Vietnamese minority groups, and people with disability. The total number of direct beneficiaries identified through the project was recorded as 15153, (ActionAid International, 2006). The project aim is to build the capacity of community members and local authorities in 48 target villages in the project areas in the three provinces to better understand and prepare for recurring flood and drought by implementing the following strategies: Organise and build competence of the local community Create and strengthen institutional systems at the village and commune level Working in alliance with other actors and government on disaster risk reduction programmes Advocating on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) issues and influencing the concerned officials and institutions Capacity building of the existing institutions, communes and the various organs of the National committee on disaster management at commune, district, province level Conducting a detailed vulnerability analysis, developing village level disaster plans and formulating commune disaster risk management plans The following were the outcomes on the completion of the project: The capacity of Commune Committees for Disasters Management and Village Development Committees was enhanced to analyse their vulnerability and actively prepare their communities for the risks of flood and drought. Increased availability of Disaster Preparedness knowledge and skills across community members in target villages. Reduced vulnerability to disaster through small-scale disaster preparedness and mitigation initiatives carried out at the village community level. Formal structures and network of partnerships for community-based disaster risk management in Cambodia (CBDRM) comprise of an approach that builds upon existing capacities and coping systems of communities to jointly plan and apply appropriate and durable reduction and disaster preparedness plans. The strategy involves the participation of local actors, particularly vulnerable communities, who actively work to identify causes of vulnerability and actions to mitigate the impact of vulnerability from these natural disasters. Furthermore, the strategy aids communities towards long term capacity to adapt. With recurring drought and flooding and threats from other natural disasters in Cambodia, CBDRM is seen as a pacesetter in reducing massive loss of life, property and livelihood. The Cambodian government considers CBDRM as an essential part of its rural development program to alleviate poverty (ActionAid International, 2006). The major purpose of sustainable development is to generate and preserve flourishing ecological, social and economic systems. There exists an intimate link between these systems as humans can transform the ecological system and they also depend on it for food, wealth and security. Human actions can severely affect the ability of the ecosystem to perform its natural functions with adverse consequences for vulnerability, human life and security. Several case studies have helped shed more light on the connection between resilience, sustainability of social ecological systems and diversity (Berkes and Folke, 1998). Resilience basically refers to the degree of shock that concerned system can endure and stay within a given state. It can also be the degree to which the system concerned can organize itself or build capacity for learning and adaptation. It has been argued that two components of any given system affect its resilience, one being its adaptive capacity which is directly related to its heterogeneity and broadly equivalent t the diversity of its institutions and assets available in social systems. The second is its robustness and this refers to the properties of a given system that allow it accommodate disturbance without additional adaptation. Resilience and robustness refer to the capacity of the system to accommodate disturbance without losing functionality. Disaster management style or procedure can destroy or build resilience depending on how the community concerned organises itself in response to management actions. Building societal resilience requires understanding of ecosystems that incorporates knowledge of local users (Olsson and Folke, 2001). Structured Scenarios and active adaptive management have been recognized as fundamental to building resilience. Circumstances are used to envisage option future scenarios. Applying this action, resilience building strategies can be acknowledged and applied within the framework of sustainable development. The probability of sustainable development is improved by management for resilience in a dynamic world full of astonishments. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use aimed at meeting human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present but also for future generations. It brings together the concern for carrying capacity of natural systems and social challenges faced by humanity. It is now clear that sustainable development that regard the impact of manà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s activities on the natural environment and attempts to reduce damage to the natural environment is the key to poverty reduction, environmental security and management and mitigation of weather and water related hazards. It basically targets resource poor and landless communities especially in the coastal regions because of population density, rapidly declining natural resources, work and income security and a high level of vulnerability to these hazards. With the understanding that environmental degradation can be tackled by knowledge and technological empowerment of the resource poor, illiterate rural man and women, the major aim of these programmes is to blend technological frontier with local knowledge in order to provide an integrated orientation to technological development and dissemination. As local communities confront the impacts of glacial melting, rainfall fluctuation, flooding and drought, they will need support to strengthen their capacity to withstand these changes and increase their resilience to the effects of a changing climate on international waters. Rivers, lakes and coastal ecosystems are increasingly being impacted by deforestation, land degradation, poor water management, and aquatic species loss as well as changes in fisheries habitats, water scarcity and floods or droughts precipitated or exacerbated by climate change, making communities more socially, economically and physically vulnerable. Local communities have shown, through ecosystem restoration, integrated water resources and coastal management and development that these activities can help communities associated with international waters increase their resilience to climatic variability and future effects of climate change. While in some cases it may be too early to gauge the adaptation success of local projects since it may entail preparing for future climate events and impacts, this publication provides some examples of how communities have successfully conserved their resources, restored their ecosystems, reduced their vulnerability and improved their livelihoods and increased their resilience to environmental threats and climate change in international waters. Resilient communities are far less vulnerable to hazards and disasters than less resilient places. For this assumption to be validated and useful, knowledge of how resilience is determined, measured, enhanced, maintained, and reduced is vital (Klein et al., 2003). It is not obvious what leads to resilience within coupled humanà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬environment systems or what variables should be utilized to measure it. Because of the multidimensional nature of resilience and its different component parts, a broad model of resilience has yet to be empirically tested at the community level (Cumming et al., 2005). CONCLUSION The existence of a growing incidence in the occurrence of natural hazards can be accredited to a multifaceted world where increase in population is present. Vulnerability are ever-increasing in communities due to human activities. However, climate change and sea level rise may be accountable for augmented occurrence of some of these hazards. Globalization also spreads the cost of natural hazards going beyond the borders of the country directly affected. Technological and science based progress in our pursuit to understand natural hazards, applications and technological responses have clearly been insufficient. Response to disaster happen mostly after the event and so much is required to be put in place to sustain research and draw up programmes for risk assessment, recommend countermeasures, build and strengthen resilience in communities at risk. Researchers and disaster managers need to work hard to ensure vigorous knowledge takes a essential role in policy development. In this, loc al communities will be more resilient to natural and environmental hazards

Interest Groups :: essays research papers

Interest Groups Help More Than Hurt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Voter turnout has declined since 1960 but participation in interest groups has been growing. Participating in interest groups allows people to take action on issues that are most important to them. Unlike some linkage institutions, interest groups have a very close connection to government. Interest groups are an essential part of the democratic system because they allow the public to enter the political system, bring up specific issues in government, and help congress in various ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interest groups specialize in policies where as interest groups are policy generalists. Statistics show that most Americans are neither radically conservative or liberal but in between or moderate. Both parties have lately tried to conform to the moderate view, but this makes it hard for voters to commit to one party. Many people are split-ticket voters. Both candidates and parties are hard to agree with totally because there are so many different issues. Interest groups give people the chance to support specifically what they care about most. These groups are significant to the democratic system because they allow the public to get involved and in their political system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Political parties (policy generalists) have a great amount of issues on their agenda to be concerned with while interest groups get to concentrate on a single issue. Interest groups can call attention to an issue that could be ignored otherwise. Since groups know more about specific issues than the government, they can make sure that an issue is not overlooked. Interest groups bring attention to the issues that government should focus on. Thus, the government can determine which issues have priority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through interacting with congress, interest groups motivate the House and Senate to concentrate on their issue. The relationship between congress and interest groups is one where both benefit. Groups interact with congress with lobbying, electioneering and litigation. Groups help congress by giving them information, doing research, providing money, helping with political strategy, helping with campaign strategy, or other chores that congressmen do not have time for. Congress, in turn, helps interest groups by supporting their issues in congress.

The Power of a Front-Yard Garden Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research

The Power of a Front-Yard Garden Instructor’s comment: This student worked hard to forge a straightforward journalistic style that was supple enough to accommodate moments of poetic perception. This essay is a beautiful piece. Written with hard-won simplicity, it’s alive with images, and brimming with information about the possibilities of front-yard gardening. They were out there almost every day. Not always the same ones. Once, a line of preschoolers came by. Holding hands in twos, name tags swinging from bright bits of yarn, they stopped and turned with military precision. Wide-eyed, they peered through the bars of the wrought iron fence to watch. This time, I looked up to see a mom and two little girls. I was pruning the lavender. â€Å"Hi! What’s this spiky green stuff? Look, little blue flowers!† As I broke off a prickly, pungent sprig of rosemary and held it out to them, I had to smile. I’d made a lot of friends while working this bit of ground. I was about to make three more. My front-yard garden didn’t grow friendships in the beginning. I still hear the disbelieving voices of my neighbors, on the day I marched out to do murder with a pitchfork and shovel. â€Å"You’re going to do what? Take out the lawn!† The Lawn: icon of gracious living, verdant goddess of suburban virtue. Gardeners pay weekly homage to it. Teen-age sons are indentured to it. Nothing spells success quite so well as that unwalkable surface of emerald velvet fronting a house. The lawn marks the difference between Us and Them. What would happen to a nice neighborhood if someone just up and decided to rip out the front lawn? Questions hung in the pale winter sunshine. My neighbors eyed me, wincing each time a shovel full ... ... Some came to ask for cuttings. They made their own changes. A lavender border edged a drive. A waterfall of prostrate rosemary cascaded from a planter box. Ideas blossomed from such small changes. Xeriscaping was becoming popular. Three more people actually removed their turf. In one drought-tolerant planting, a dry creek of river-rock wound its way through native perennials. Another front garden featured an old-fashioned wood glider-swing under a vine-covered trellis. My own garden continued to flourish. The neighbors came often. Smiles had replaced their worried frowns. Bob tumbled the walls of Jericho one morning when he brought his granddaughter to see the hummingbirds. Tiny Sarah said her first word there. â€Å"Kitty,† she pronounced. She stroked a furry leaf of peppermint geranium and nodded, brown curls bobbing. Laughing, she repeated, â€Å"Kitty.†

W.L. Gore & Associates Essay -- Business Management

This paper takes a look into the organization of W.L. Gore & Associates by examining their unique corporate culture, their associates and teamwork, and their compensation program; as well as determining whether or not I would like to work at W. L. Gore & Associates (Module 5 Lecture Pages, n.d.). I will answer four questions that pertain to the areas above, as I discuss the interesting and unique organization of W.L. Gore & Associates. â€Å"How is the corporate culture of Gore different than other firms† (Module 5 Lecture Pages, n.d.)? W.L. Gore & Associates differ from other organizations because they work as self-managed teams without a supervisor; each team member is responsible to each one of their team members and to the group as a whole (W.L. Gore & Associates, 2011). Gore & Associates organization is very unique, because it does not function like a traditional organization (W.L. Gore & Associates). For instance, there are no chains of commands, they don’t follow a typical organizational chart, and there is no direct line of communication (W.L. Gore & Associates). In essence, employees at Gore & Associates are their own bosses, and each of them have an equal say to what their team will or will not do; this helps give each team member a clear sense of purpose, as well as acts as a driving force for innovation (W.L. Gore & Associates, 2011). W. L. Gore & Associates firmly believe in their unparalleled corporate structure approach, as it has been the contributing factor in their success (W.L. Gore & Associates). The unique organizational structure that has been implemented at W.L. Gore & Associates is in contrast to a more formal bureaucratic or hierarchical corporate structure (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009). For instance, ... ...d the team work mentality the organization has in general. Personally, I would like to work for an organization that encompasses some of the principles and concepts that W.L. Gore & Associates implements in their organization. Works Cited Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational Behavior: key concepts, skills & best practices (Fourth Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Module 5 Lecture Pages. (n.d.). Colorado State University-Global Campus. MGT301: Perspective on Organizational Behavior Reingold, J. (2007, October 8). A Job that lets you pick your own boss. Retrieved from money.cnn.com: http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/08/magazines/fortune/goretex.fortune/index.htm W.L. Gore & Associates. (2011, n.d.). A Team Based, Flat Lattice Organization. Retrieved from www.gore.com: http://www.gore.com/en_xx/aboutus/culture/index.html

Preparation of a Halogenoalkane Essay

Hence pure product can be obtained when we distillate the mixture at a temperature of 45oC-55oC. Discussion The reaction between HCl and the 2-methylpropan-2-ol will build up pressure in the conical flask. It is because the reaction is exothermic, it causes serious evaporation, giving out a large amount of water vapour. And the sudden build up of pressure may break the funnel hence HCl is added in 10 portions but not all together. The separating funnel is used to separate 2 immiscible layer of liquid. When the mixture is stable, the denser liquid will be at bottom and the other will be on top. When we open the tap, the bottom layer can be obtained, leaving the upper one left in the funnel. The liquid at the junction of the 2 layer should be removed as that is a mixture of the 2 layer which is impure. Although this can ensure a pure product obtained, but this will reduce the yield since some chemical is lost. Anhydrous sodium sulphate is added to make sure all water is removed. Because the presence of water may increase the difficulty of distillation. Since high temperature favor the dissolve of product into water. Also if water is presented in the distillation process, water may evaporate and contaminate the distillate. Hence all water must be removed. The reaction of sodium sulphate with water is as follow: Na2SO4+10H2O? Na2SO4†¢10H2O Filtration can remove insoluble substance from a mixture. With the use of filter paper, only liquid passes through, the solid is left as residue. A clean mixture can hence be obtained. Distillation is used to separate a miscible mixture with distinct boiling point. One liquid can be distillate when the solution reaches its boiling point. The other liquid will be left behind since the temperature is not high enough to vaporize that liquid. The water in of condenser should be at the lower end to make sure water can stay in the condenser for a longer time. In this synthesis SN1 reaction is favored for several reasons. Firstly, a tertiary alcohol is presented in the experiment. The alcohol we used have 3 alkyl group, the molecule is therefore sterically hindered, this will favor SN1. Cl- is the weak base used in the reaction, this will also favor SN1 reaction. Thirdly the carbocation formed, is stable, since the three attached alkyl groups do positive inductive effect on the carbocation, making it less positive. The stable carbocation will also favor the SN1 reaction. It should be noted that acidic medium is necessary for the reaction. It is because OH- is a poor living group, in normal situation it may attach back to the carbocation. In an acidic medium, the –OH group is protonated first. The breaking of C—O bond will give a H2O molecule which is a stable living group and prevent OH- to interfere the experiment. In the experiment NaHCO3 is used to remove HCl rather than NaOH or other strong base. It is because a reaction between HCl and a strong base will produce a large amount of heat. The increase in temperature combine with the acidic medium will favor elimination which is unwanted and may affect the yielding of the reaction. There are several errors in the experiment: the alcohol used in the reaction is volatile, this will lead to a loss of material during the process. We should perform the experiment faster in order to reduce the loss and to obtain a larger yield of product. When we separate the organic layer and the aqueous layer using the separating funnel, the liquid in the junction of 2 layers is removed. This will drain away some chemical. The loss in the chemical content will reduce the yield. We can improve the situation by removing the organic layer as less as possible. During the transfer of material, some material will be left behind. The loss of material will also reduce the yield. We should wait when we transfer the material, until all material adhere to the surface is transferred. While filtrating, some solution is left on the filter paper, which will lead to a loss of chemical. We should wait until no more liquid is drained from the filter paper to make sure all chemical is collected.

Genesis Essay

Genesis gives me a lot of insight to â€Å"the beginning†. As I have read the Book of Genesis, it gave me total but not complete insight of how things were in the past to get where we are now according to the scriptures. What really intrigues me was how the human identity was formed because many ideas are said that we come from animals and evolved over time another, also is said that we come from the Lord himself, lastly one is said that we come from even nature. This chapter in this book showed me a lot and how the world was created and how things like family, the natural world and the covenant was brought upon us. The book of Genesis refutes the opening verses says that there are many believers and disbelievers of God(s); Such as atheism which believes there is no God at all, Pantheism believes that all is God, Polytheism believes that many god exist, materialism which is matter is eternal, humanism which is man is the measure, and naturalism which is nature is ultimate. O.T Allis says and believes that He (God) is the creator of both! Primeval History shares how Israel’s purpose by going through God’s redemptive program and messianic lineage from Eden to Abraham. The first two chapters of Genesis describe God’s original creation. (Yates, 55) The world is a place that was created by God according to the book of Genesis. The pinnacle of God’s creation was said to be â€Å"Man†. But in the creation it tells us how original creation was impacted so negatively by sin in the world he created. Adam and Eve were a good example of this, it was said to us since we were little that they plagued the world by giving into the devil himself and eating the apple off the tree when God asked them not to. Which they were issued a punishment, which they wouldn’t have eternal life, and they would have to suffer together and grow old and die. They had kids and their (Adam and Eve’s) descendants rebelled against God just like their parents. I believe that this is how human relationships were formed. God had little sorts of ways to manipulate people to bring his word about and how to connect with people. He chose to use the FLOOD to connect with Noah because as sin approached its epic proportions as human race became involved more and more. Noah stood out as a righteous man who walked with God every step of the way, which God went to him and told him to build a arch because he was going to flood the world and everything in it to restore creation. The creation of human government with the power of capital punishment was a deterrent to prevent humanity to regress back to violence. Genesis 1-11 on these topics it mostly shows me that the world mostly grew on Sin. Sin was a big time factor we had growing up from Adam and Eve and their descendants. This teaching regarding Adam and Eve shows how their sinful acts of rebellion against God. This goes to show how people in everyday life disobey God or break the Ten Commandments. Genesis 1-11 teaches me that human relationships should involve man and women. Not man and man or women and women. Adam and Eve were created to show the world a human relationship. Adam and Eve also showed me human Identity they were the first human’s created. Adam was created as a symbol of God himself with the Hebrew word Adam known for â€Å"Mankind† and Eve is known for â€Å"To Live†. Chapters 1 through 11 teach how the world’s creation, the mankind of origins and what the Hebrews thought about in the creation of the world. The story of Adam and Eve tells the myth of the truth about our mankind. The last chapter says that there was only one language that God put in because of what people built in the babel tower. Genesis of the Babylonian Exile, added the story of anthropologists developing languages over thousands of years and created new languages and evolved older languages. Which seemed to develop the story of the Tower of Babel. (Yates, 59) This changes my view of the world because in the first passage it is said that God created heaven and earth. Before he created those things he existed prior to making those two. The book only speaks of one God; it shows the creation of the Lord by making the universe. Since, he created heaven and earth, he must be above his creation. The Book of Genesis is given readers an accurate understanding and interpretation of the world. This should teach individuals how they look at the world. Through all these teachings I understand that the world portrays God in many ways and they do not even know it!

Ethics in Action: Suspected Impairment Essay

Ethics is defined as the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. For the physical therapy assistant, it means a standardized conduct geared towards proper and successful patient care. The physical therapist assistant follows a certain standard for ethical conduct to effectively aid physical therapists and to be sensitive and efficient health workers. In this situation, we are dealing with the case of a 35 year old stressed-out woman with an odd behavior, who later on presented with slurring of speech. Slurring of speech can be due to many factors but majority of which are associated with cerebrovascular disease or stroke. In this situation, we are going to apply the American Physical Therapy Association Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant. The seven standards of ethical conduct seem to show us the values of an ideal physical therapy assistant: respect, trustworthiness, competence, compliance to legislations and responsibility. In analyzing this case, we realize various problems. At the start of the session, the patient was behaving oddly. Although she claims to be euphoric, signs of lethargy still seemed apparent. Later on, she succumbs to this lethargy or generalized body malaise by falling asleep on the mat. Later on, she manifests slurring of speech, which may be due to some problems. The most common cause of slurring of speech is stroke. Other factors that may cause this manifestation are electrolyte imbalance caused by strenuous physical activity, side effects of medications or it is simply due to drowsiness. However we see an imminent danger; she lives far from the clinic where you live and wants to drive all by herself—in her condition. We quickly realize a possible outcome—the danger of meeting accidents on the road in her condition. Recognizing our problem, some of our values as physical therapist assistants are challenged. The situation challenges our respect towards our client. Respect is defined as consideration and the avoidance of interfering with or intruding upon. In this case, we are breaching against the right of the patient to make her own decisions. We seem to not respect this right because we want to have things done our own way and not hers. Thus, this situation does not only concern our patient; it also concerns the physical therapy assistant. In this situation, we are having a patient-health care professional relationship. In turn, this situation challenges us to practice the rest of the 7 standards of ethical conduct. This situation motivates us to practice trustworthiness towards our patient. In this sense, we should show our patient how worthy we are of their trust towards us. We should show them that we are concerned about their health and well-being. We should explain to our patient that we think driving in our condition poses a hazard to her and makes her prone to road accidents. By doing this, we should tell her our real intention—that we are just after her health and safety. Standard 6 of American Physical Therapy Association Standards of Ethical Conduct states that a physical therapy assistant shall make judgments that are commensurate with their educational and legal qualifications as a physical therapist assistant. Judgment per se means â€Å"good sense†, discernment, understanding, the act or mental faculty by which man compares ideas and ascertains the relations of terms and propositions. In this situation, we discern that our patient should not continue driving her own car alone. In our understanding, she is not fit to do it and we are subjecting the patient to harm and injury, as she is prone to accidents in her present condition. Also, it is in our discernment that she should go to the nearest hospital to have her neurological status assessed and her health problems addressed properly. By doing these things, we are fulfilling Standard 7, which states that a physical therapist assistant should protect the public and the profession from unethical, incompetent and illegal acts. In addition to the above values, this situation requires moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral courage. All these individual processes are needed in our situation. Morality means conformation to the principles of good conduct and virtue. By being morally sensitive, we mean that we are easily affected and moved towards betterment and towards good conduct. In our case, we are moved towards helping our patient and towards helping her attain good health and well being. We are moved towards preventing her from being alone, and we are moved towards accompanying her to the nearest medical hospital so that proper medical attention shall be given. Moral judgment means discernment towards the good of the patient. We discern what is best of her. We anticipate the accidents she will be at risk of and the many problems that may be etiologies of her neurological deficit. Motivation is defined as a process which incites to action and the determination of the choice or movement of will. In that case, moral motivation is also applicable in this situation. We are moved towards helping our patient; our action is for her good health and safety. Moral change is also needed in our situation. It is the process of encountering danger and difficulties with firmness and with intrepidity, for a good and noble cause. We have the courage to act for the well-being of our patient and we go beyond our duties to ensure her safety. This situation does not only involve the physical therapy assistant and the patient, it also involves the family members. In this case, it is proper that we talk to the other family members about the patient’s condition. It is essential to differentiate four terms in this context: the terms problem, dilemma, distress and temptation. A problem is defined as a question proposed for solution, decision or determination; a knotty point requiring clarification. A dilemma means a situation requiring a choice between equally objectionable alternatives; a problem that seems incapable of being resolved satisfactorily. Distress means extreme pain, anguish of the body or mind; that which causes suffering, affliction, calamity, adversity, misery and calamity. The term temptation means an enticement to an act which is evil, immoral or unwise. Yes, our situation is a problem by itself; it needed immediate solution and decision. It is also a dilemma because it poses a choice—whether to let the patient do what she wants or to accompany her to the nearest hospital beyond our duty hours. Our situation is not necessarily a distress but is a prelude to suffering, injury and misery. Certainly, this is not a temptation per se but temptation lurks for every health care professional who counts his or her duty days and does not extend his or her duty in terms of danger or calamity. The dictum for every health care professional is: Love your work. Temptation to do things our way and to be selfish and insensitive to the needs of our patients is a barrier to every health care professional. There are some health care professionals who punch in at 8 AM and go home at 5PM, regardless of what happens to their patients. These are the type of health care professionals who think of their jobs as routine and who takes these jobs as just a job for financial security, but is not their career. A career is something a person puts his or her heart into. As health care professionals, we must think of caring for patients as a career, not as a routine job. This problem, obviously, is not treated with silence. It entices action of the health care professional who cares deeply for his or her patients. In this sense, the situation requires a moral action, brought about by moral sensitivity, judgment, motivation and courage.

Innovative programs in special education Essay

Special education departments have introduced a variety of innovative programs for children with sensory impairment (deafness, hard of hearing, and blindness). There has been a good deal of success in opening access to regular school experiences to young people with sensory impairments and in educating their peers about the special concerns for children who are deaf and/or blind. There is a considerable body of evidence that innovative programs for teaching reading and spelling skills to children with disabilities should be both multi-sensory and phonic and that this type of teaching can benefit most children in any class at most stages. These are usually programs that are highly structured. They can be seen as essentially free-standing and can form a central element of the overall strategy for teaching children with disabilities. There are many such programs, often they have a slightly different focus, with different types of materials and strategies but they all include multi-sensory element and metacognitive aspects. The range of innovative programs for children with disabilities is impressive, and this work will provide some of the various types of programs and strategies that can be used in special education. Most innovative programs incorporate some or all of the following principles and approaches: multi-sensory; over-learning and automaticity; highly structured and usually phonically based; sequential and cumulative. Multi-sensory methods utilize all available senses simultaneously. This can be summed up in the phrase ‘hear it, say it, see it and write it’. These methods have been used for many years and have been further refined by Hornsby and Shear (1980) in phonic structured programs that incorporate multi-sensory techniques. Over-learning is deemed necessary for children with dyslexic difficulties. The short- and long-term memory difficulties experienced by dyslexic children mean that considerable reinforcement and repetition is necessary. The structured approaches evident in programs of work for children with disabilities usually provide a linear progression, thus enabling the learner to complete and master a particular skill in the reading or learning process before advancing to a subsequent skill. This implies that learning occurs in a linear developmental manner. Although there is evidence from learning theory to suggest this may be the case, there is still some doubt in the case of reading that mastery of the component subskills results in skilled reading. In reading, a number of cognitive skills such as memory and visual, auditory and oral skills interact. This interaction is the key feature; so, it is important that the skills are taught together and purposefully with the practice of reading as the focus. Sequential approaches are usually appropriate for children with dyslexia because it may be necessary for them to master subskills before moving to more advanced materials. Hence a sequential and cumulative approach may not only provide a structure to their learning but help to make learning more meaningful and effective as well. Programs based on the Orton-Gillingham approach have become a central focus for multi-sensory teaching (Hulme & Joshi 1998). The programs offer a structured, phonic-based approach that incorporates the total language experience and focuses on the letter sounds and the blending of these sounds into syllables and words. The approach rests heavily on the interaction of visual, auditory and kinesthetic aspects of language. Orton-Gillingham lessons always incorporate card drills, spelling and reading and usually include activities such as: card drills, word lists and phrases, oral reading selection, spelling of phonetic and non-phonetic words, handwriting, and composition. Once the child has mastered the letter name and sound, the program then advances to introduction of blending the letters and sounds. This begins with simple three-letter words and the child repeats the sounds until the word is spoken without pauses between the constituent sounds. The visual-kinesthetic and auditory-kinesthetic associations are formed by the pupil tracing, saying, copying and writing each word. Reading of text begins after the pupil has mastered the consonant-vowel-consonant words to a higher automatic level (i. e. , when the pupil can recognize and use these words). The initial reading material is taken from the program and contains words the pupil has learnt from the teacher’s manual. The program gives considerable attention to the learning of dictionary skills as well as development of written language from pictographs to ideographs and eventually to the alphabet. The program does appear to be more suited to a one-to-one situation, and it would be difficult to integrate the program within the school curriculum. As in many of the program derived from the Orton-Gillingham approach, the key principles of over-learning, automaticity and multi-sensory approaches are very apparent. In the USA, Morgan Dynamic Phonics have produced a series of phonic programs that focus on user-friendly approaches using the principles of Orton-Gillingham, which includes the use of humor and interaction (Hulme & Joshi 1998). The following programs are based on the Orton-Gillingham method: Alpha to Omega, The Bangor Dyslexia Teaching System, The Hickey Multisensory Language Course, Dyslexia: A Teaching Handbook, Units of Sound. Letterland, developed by Lyn Wendon, consists of many different elements. The materials are extremely useful for teaching reading, spelling and writing, and for developing and sustaining motivation. The programs are internationally renowned, as well over 50 per cent of all primary schools in England and Ireland rely on this program (Gersten, Schiller & Vaughn 2000). Letterland encompasses a number of teaching elements based on recognized and essential components of the teaching of reading. The major elements are: language, with an emphasis on listening, speaking and communicating; phonic skills; whole word recognition skills; sentence awareness; comprehension; reading and spelling connections; and preliminary skills in creative writing. The materials consist of teachers’ guides, wall-charts, code cards, flashcards, wordbooks, cassettes and song- books, photocopiable material, workbooks, games and resources, software, videos, and materials specifically designed for use at home. The program may also be seen as a preventative approach, since it is appropriate for early intervention and may also facilitate the reinforcement of important developmental concepts in learning, such as object constancy. The Letterland system essentially grew out of close observations of failing readers, and the materials reinforce the importance of a reading-for-meaning orientation to print (Gersten, Schiller & Vaughn 2000). Letterland focuses on letters and sounds, and by using pictograms encourages children to appreciate letter stages and sounds, thereby reinforcing both shape and sound of letters and words. Integrated within this, however, are the programs and exercises on whole-word recognition, reading for meaning, spelling and creative writing. Spelling is not presented as a series of rules, but instead through a story approach, focusing on the Letterland characters. Progress through the Letterland program is by a series of steps. These steps can provide the teacher with choice and flexibility, and the program can be implemented to the whole class, in small groups or individually. There are a number of aspects about Letterland that make it useful for some children with specific learning difficulties. These include the use of pictograms— which can be particularly beneficial to the learner with difficulties in phonological awareness and auditory skills. The use of the story approach to reading and spelling that encourages the processing of information using long-term memory is particularly beneficial to dyslexic children whose short-term memory is generally weak. The range of activities incorporating different approaches allows the learner to develop imagination and creativity in the use of letters and words. Other useful aspects include the focus on the context aspects of reading and the use of syntactic and semantic cues. Alpha to Omega is a phonetic, linguistic approach to the teaching of reading and can be used as a program or as resource material. It is highly structured and follows a logical pattern of steps that promote the acquisition of phonological and language skills. There is an emphasis on learning the 44 phonemes from which all English words are composed. These consist of the 17 vowel sounds and the 27 consonant sounds. There is also an emphasis on the acquisition of language structure, focusing on content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and finite words (prepositions and participles). There is, therefore, an emphasis on using words in the context of a sentence. The program provides a highly structured format for the teaching of sentences and for grammatical structure. There are also three accompanying and very useful activity packs designed for different stages. These packs provide appropriate back-up exercises to reinforce the teaching program. There is also an extremely useful program of learning games—before Alpha—that can be used with children under five. These games are in a series of structured stages, are multi-sensory and aim to foster language development and other pre-reading skills such as visual and auditory perception and discrimination, fine-motor control, spatial relationships and knowledge of color, number and directions (Gersten, Schiller & Vaughn 2000). The Hickey Multisensory Language Course recognizes the importance of the need to learn sequentially the letters of the alphabet. The third edition of The Hickey Multisensory Language Coursewas now incorporates aspects of the National Literacy strategy and the requirements of the Literacy Hour. The dyslexic child, however, will usually have some difficulty in learning and remembering the names and sequence of the alphabetic letters as well as understanding that the letters represent speech sounds that make up words. The program is based on multi-sensory principles and the alphabet is introduced using wooden or plastic letters; the child can look at the letter, pick it up, feel it with eyes open or closed and say its sound. Therefore, the visual, auditory and tactile-kinesthetic channels of learning are all being utilized with a common goal. These programs involve games and the use of dictionaries to help the child become familiar with the order of the letters and the direction to go (e. g. , he needs to know that T comes before ‘K’), the letters in the first half of the alphabet and those letters in the second half. The alphabet can be further divided into sections, thus making it easier for the child to remember the section of the alphabet in which a letter appears, for example: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. The Hickey language course includes: activities related to sorting and matching the capital, lower case, printed and written forms of the letters; practicing sequencing skills with cut-out letters and shapes; and practicing positioning of each letter in the alphabet in relation to the other letters (this involves finding missing letters and going backwards and forwards in the alphabet). The course also indicates the importance of recognizing where the accent falls in a word, since this clearly affects the spelling and rhythm. Rhyming games can be developed to encourage the use of accent by placing it on different letters of the alphabet. This helps to train children’s hearing to recognize when a letter has an accent or is stressed in a word. The course includes reading and spelling packs that focus on securing a relationship between sounds and symbols. This process begins with single letters and progresses to consonant blends, vowel continuations and then to complex letter groupings. The reading packs consist of a set of cards; on one side, the lower case letter is displayed in bold with an upper case (capital) letter shown in the bottom right-hand corner in order to establish the link between the two letters. The reverse side of the card indicates a keyword that contains the sound of the letter with the actual sound combination in brackets. Rather than providing a visual image of the keyword, a space is left for the child to draw the image. This helps to make the image more meaningful to the child and also utilizes and reinforces visual and kinesthetic skills. The spelling pack is similar in structure to the reading pack. On the front of the card the sound made by the letter is displayed in brackets, while the back contains both the sound and the actual letter (s). Sounds for which there is a choice of spellings will in time show all the possible ways in which the sound can be made. Cue words are also given on the back as a prompt, in case the child forgets one of the choices. Spelling is seen as being of prime importance by the authors of the program since they view it as an ‘all round perceptual experience’. This process involves over-learning and multi-sensory strategies. The Bangor Dyslexia Teaching Systemis a structured, sequential teaching program developed for teachers and speech and language therapists involved in supporting children with dyslexia. A useful aspect of this program is the division between primary and secondary pupils. Although it is acknowledged that some secondary pupils are still ‘beginning’ readers and need to go through the same initial stages of acquiring literacy as ‘beginning readers’ in the primary school, the program makes some special provision and adaptations for secondary students. This helps to make the secondary material more age appropriate. The basic philosophy of the program is not unlike that of other structured, phonic programs. It focuses on phonological difficulties and the problems dyslexic children have in mastering the alphabetic code. The program attempts to provide children with some competence, at the earliest stage possible, in recognizing and categorizing speech sounds. It is not possible for children to benefit from ‘top down’ language experience approaches to reading if they have not mastered the basic principles of literacy. Some of these principles, which the program for primary aged children focuses on, include: the teaching of basic letter sounds and the structure of words, long vowels, common word patterns, irregular words, alphabet and dictionary skills, grammatical rules and silent letters. The program shares the same principles as that utilized by other similar programs for dyslexic children. It is highly structured and the teacher has to proceed systematically through the program. The aspect of over-learning is acknowledged to be important, and therefore revision of material already learnt occupies an important place in the implementation of the program. One of the difficulties inherent in following the principle of over-learning is the aspect of boredom, which may result from repetitive revision of material already learnt. This program acknowledges that pitfall and suggests ways of overcoming it through the use of games and other adapted materials. The multi-sensory teaching element is also crucial in this program. Some of the exercises attempt to engage all the available senses simultaneously, thus acknowledging the accepted view that dyslexic children benefit from multi-sensory learning. The program also utilizes the particular benefits of mnemonics for dyslexic children as well as the notion of reading and spelling as an integrated activity. Some emphasis is also placed on encouraging dyslexic children to use oral language to plan their work. It is felt that such verbalizations help children clarify their thoughts and planning before embarking on a course of action. The secondary component of the program provides useful advice on dealing with the problem of teaching basic literacy to older students. Some effort is made to ensure that the student is familiar with polysyllabic words in order that the potential for creative writing is not unduly restricted. At the secondary stage the aspect of reading for meaning is of great importance in order to ensure sustained motivation. The Bangor Dyslexia Teaching System acknowledges this and suggests a range of techniques that can help to support the student through the decoding difficulty in order that maximum meaning and pleasure can be derived from the text. Such suggestions include: supplying difficult words; introducing the story and the book’s background and characters; pointing out clues such as capital letters and titles; encouraging fluency by reading from one full stop to the next; omitting words that are difficult, thus encouraging the use of context to obtain meaning; practice; and reading rhymes and limericks that aid sound and syllable awareness. The key principles found in the majority of individualized programs for dyslexic children-multi-sensory techniques, automaticity and over-learning-are all found in the Alphabetic Phonics program. Additionally, the program recognizes the importance of discovery learning. Opportunities for discovery learning are found throughout this highly structured program. The program, which stems from the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory approach, was developed in Dallas, TX, by Aylett Cox. Alphabetic Phonics provides training in the development of automaticity through the use of flash cards and over-learning through repetitive practice in reading and spelling until 95 per cent mastery is achieved. The program also incorporates opportunities to develop creativity in expression and in the sequencing of ideas. DISTAR (Direct Instruction System of Teaching Arithmetic and Reading) was originally designed for socially disadvantaged children in the USA as part of the Project Follow Through scheme launched by the US government in 1968 (Hulme & Joshi 1998). The program is orientated to achievement in basic attainments and tasks and skills to enhance effective learning. Some of the features of DISTAR include: the transfer of learning from specific examples to general concepts; continual, positive reinforcement to enhance motivation and success; and the monitoring of progress through the use of criterion referenced assessment. In addition to reading skills, the current DISTAR program covers language, spelling and arithmetic. Evaluation studies display impressive progress in attainments among students undertaking the DISTAR program – results that appear to continue through to secondary education. Some criticism, however, has been raised that the teacher’s manual is too prescriptive and places too much restriction on teachers. The focus of the program on transferring skills from the specific to the underlying general task concepts is, indeed, commendable and can make the DISTAR materials a useful resource. Three recent studies trained phonological awareness in children with reading disabilities using the Lindamood Auditory Discrimination in Depth program (ADD), a method that first encourages awareness of the articulation of speech sounds. Two studies used no control groups, but reported good progress for students who had made little progress with other programs. The third study used matched groups of children with severe reading disability at a private school. The control group received the school’s well-reputed program, which included auditory training and strategies for encoding and decoding written symbols. The trained group spent 6 weeks learning ADD before merging it with the regular program. All children improved substantially by the end of the year. The ADD group did not gain significantly more than controls on standardized tests of reading and spelling, although trends favored the ADD group. Compared to controls, ADD children did make significantly greater improvement in the phonetic quality of their errors in spelling and nonsense word reading. Besides being a well-structured phonemic-awareness program, the ADD approach holds theoretical interest because of its strong emphasis on developing concrete articulatory (speech-motor) representations to distinguish phonemic differences. The program includes associating articulatory labels, pictures, letters, and sounds, and using these articulatory concepts in phonological awareness work and manipulating letters and sounds in reading and spelling exercises. This work described some of the innovative programs that may be utilized in special education. The programs are logical and consist of small steps. They also incorporate elements of all the modalities—visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. Teaching is not only about providing information, but about accessing useful and transferable skills as well—for example, phonological awareness skills can be later transferred and utilized in writing skills. Essentially, the approaches involve thinking about thinking and the learners with disabilities consider how a particular response was arrived at. Children with disabilities is a whole-school concern, and not just the responsibility of individual teachers. Innovative programs require an established and accessible policy framework for consultancy, whole-school screening and monitoring of children’s progress. It is important to consider the rationale for using particular programs and strategies. Within the areas described here of individualized learning, support approaches and strategies, assisted learning and whole-school approaches, there are many effective means of dealing with disability. Therefore, the criteria for selection—the context, the assessment, the curriculum and the learner—must be carefully considered. It is important to link programs and strategies together because, while there are a considerable number of well-evaluated and effective commercially produced programs in special education, it is very seldom that the program can be used by untrained teachers. Even if a program has clear instructions, there is some skill attached to implementing such programs. Therefore, the teacher needs to be aware of strategies that can be used to reinforce the program and to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning that can take place through the use of the program. One of the main challenges facing teachers is the need to find varied approaches to learning that will motivate children and will provide the key elements that the child requires as well. If the child does not respond to a structured program, the teaching program should then be reevaluated. This would help to decide whether it is the most appropriate program to use. It is also important to consider other factors as the child may not be responding because she or he may only need a longer period to achieve the objective of the program. References Gersten, R. , Schiller, Vaughn, S. (2000). Contemporary Special Education Research: Syntheses of the Knowledge Base on Critical Instructional Issues. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. Hulme, C. , Joshi, M. (1998). Reading and Spelling: Development and Disorders. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. Hornsby, Shear. (1980). Alpha to Omega. Heinemann Educational Books. London. Lindamood, P. , Bell, N. , & Lindamood, P. (1997). Achieving competence in language and literacy by training in phonemic awareness, concept imagery and comparator function. In C. Hulme & M. Snowling (Eds. ), Dyslexia: Biology, cognition and intervention (pp. 212–234). London: Whur.