Court Terms Law Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Court Terms Law Assignment - Research Paper Example The party presenting the offer to the offeree can realize that the offeree did not have the intention of signing the contract, by verifying the consent of the offeree before allowing him or her to sign the form. At the same time, the offeror can test the offeree’s knowledge of the contents of the terms and conditions, by asking sample questions from the terms. The third way to test the offeree is by explaining the consequences of signing, and the implication of signing without consent. The seriousness of the terms will enable the offeree to be serious and eliminate all jokes when it comes to signing the consent. If the offeree insists on signing, the offeror provides enough time to the offeree to go through the clauses of the agreement before finally signing. The offeror can select the most critical clauses and expose them as matters of priority to the offeree before allowing him or her to sign. All actions must be before signing because after then, the signed terms are valid for critical transactions. In this case, the offeree will have no option other than to read the entire terms and conditions.Exercise 3: ConsiderationAgreement fails to get consideration if there is lack of consideration. At the same time, if there is an additional term that was not present from the onset, the rule of acceptance does not agree with the agreement in a case where A enforces a promise by making offers to B and B does not agree to the terms and conditions of the agreements.... All actions must be before signing because after then, the signed terms are valid for critical transactions. In this case, the offeree will have no option other than to read the entire terms and conditions. Exercise 3: Consideration Agreement fails to get consideration if there is lack of consideration. At the same time, if there is an additional term that was not present from the onset, the rule of acceptance does not agree with the agreement in a case where A enforces a promise by making offers to B and B does not agree to the terms and conditions of the agreements. In this case, A promises to present the terms and conditions for amendment, and B confirms that he or she has read the terms and understood them before signing the agreement. It lacks consideration because there is no consent of the offeree. Exercise 4: Agreement The agreement that A and B entered into could certainly not be enforced, since it lacked consideration. This is because it lacked acceptance due to unclear ter ms and conditions. Nevertheless, according to the theory of consent, offeror A would succeed in enforcing the agreement after B has read and signed the consent. This theory requires the offeree B to prove the following: That he or she has read every section of the terms and conditions of the agreement That he or she is serious and is in his or her right conscious That he or she has understood the terms and conditions of the agreement That he or she is interested in the contract and has willingly accepted the terms and conditions. Exercise 5: Reality of Consent and Fraud Perpetration Parties to a binding contract can perpetrate frauds and forgeries through impersonation or use of false unwarranted

EVOS Office Essay Example for Free

EVOS Office Essay The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 is considered as the worst environmental challenge that the state of Alaska has faced over the years. The incident led to the spillage of around eleven million gallons of oil from the Exxon Valdez tanker which immediately affected the immediate environment which resulted to the ecological imbalance within the water system affecting marine life and the loss of thousands of sea birds that dwell in the area. (â€Å"Crude Awakening,† 2008) Since the incident, Exxon Mobil has tried to resolve the problems and the impending threats and risks that come with the spread of oil within the water system by transforming the mission of the company as it inches forward to alleviate the effects of the oil spill. The mission of Exxon Mobil is to keep up with the growing demand for energy all over the world by providing and facilitating the abundance of oil and gas resources under the dimensions of financial stability, the adaptation of technological innovations, and efficiency and superiority in presenting the goods and services of the company. (Exxon Mobil, 2008a) To strengthen the position of the company in terms of social responsibility, it upholds the highest standards of ethical conduct by implementing principles that meet the conditions of ethics and morality. The guiding principles that Exxon Mobil observes are defined for both the internal and external members of the organization. Exxon Mobil acknowledges the role of stakeholders in the success of the company by working on improving products and services to ensure the return of investment and financial stability. For the company’s consumers, Exxon Mobil undertakes the responsibility of satisfying them, despite diversity or varied preferences. Aside from the company’s consumers, Exxon Mobil also follows guiding principles in handling employees. The company strives to sustain a highly competitive pool of staff, personnel, or employees by hiring, recruiting, and looking after the needs and demands of able individuals who meets the mission, goals, and objectives of the company. To enhance corporate social responsibility, Exxon Mobil observes practices that are geared towards satisfying the expectations of communities. Exxon Mobil assures society of their will to become a valuable asset of the community by adhering to and respecting laws, whether domestically or internationally, and consider the multicultural diversity at all times. (Exxon Mobil, 2008b) Due to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the company has worked towards transforming the mission statement of Exxon Mobil by incorporating other goals or objectives to address the problems brought about by the incident. Apparently, the company established the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council following the incident that damaged the ecological environment in Alaska. The mission statement of the council constitutes the determination of the company to re-establish the natural environmental conditions of the immediate location of the situation under the dimensions of the desirable quality of life based on set standards of living. (â€Å"Restoring the Resources,† 2004) Exxon Mobil’s focus included the mission of addressing environmental concerns that will lead to the restoration of the ecosystem in Alaska. The company exerts time, effort, and resources in conducting research, establishing plans for restoration, monitoring the progress or changes in the environment, providing reimbursements as payments for damages and other costs caused by the oil spill, working on the establishment of means of protecting the habitat or ecosystem in the area, and such. (NOAA, 2008) Overall, the oil spill in 1989 caused Exxon Mobil to become aware of the effects and influences of the incident to the environment. Since then, it has included in its mission not only the restoration of natural environmental conditions in Alaska, but the continued protection of environmental systems not only in the area but all over the world as well. References â€Å"Crude Awakening. † (2008). Retrieved November 23, 2008, from The International Bird Rescue Research Center. Website: http://www. ibrrc. org/Exxon_Valdez_spill_1989. html Exxon Mobil. (2008a). What We Do. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from Exxon Mobil. Website: http://www. exxonmobil. com/Corporate/about_what. aspx Exxon Mobil. (2008b). Guiding Principles. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from Exxon Mobile. Website: http://www. exxonmobil. com/corporate/about_operations_sbc_principles. aspx NOAA. (2008). About NOAA Fisheries’ EVOS Office. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. Website: http://www. fakr. noaa. gov/oil/ â€Å"Restoring the Resources. † (2004). Retrieved November 23, 2008, from Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Website: http://www. evostc. state. ak. us/Universal/Documents/Publications/AnnualStatus/2004AnnualReport. pdf

Skin Cancer :: essays research papers

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. There are two different types of skin cancers: Melanomas and non-melanomas. To understand both of these terms a little better you need to be aware that your skin is divided up into 3 layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The top layer, the epidermis, is very thin and serves to protect the deeper layers of the skin. The epidermis is also composed of basal cells, which in turn divide to form squamous cells and melanocytes. Melanoma skin cancer develops from the melanocytes and non-melanomas skin cancer develops from the basal and squamous cells. There are 2 types of non-melanomas cancer that result from these cells. The first is basal cell carcinoma; basal cell carcinoma begins in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal cell layer. This type of skin cancer tends to be slow growing and is usually is found in areas that are highly exposed to sunlight, such as the head or neck. The second type is called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 20% of all skin cancers, and penetrates the skin more than basal cell would, therefore, is considered to be more harmful. Surprisingly, even with these astonishing numbers people still continue to put themselves at risk everyday. The solution to all this is very simple, we all need to wear sunscreen when planning to expose ourselves to the sun. There are also other everyday preventive measures that we can take to decrease our chances of harmful exposure to the sun. It is always helpful to wear a shirt and a hat with a broad brim. Wear sunglasses that absorb 99%-100% of UV rays to help your block your eyes and the skin around your eyes from these harmful rays. The two most important things for most people who like to tan are to seek shade frequently and to never use tanning beds. You can put your body at even more of a higher risk of contracting skin cancer when staying in the constant heat. One of the most effective ways is to wear sunscreen when out in the sun. Sunscreens are designed to protect against sunburn (UVB rays) and generally provide little protection against UVA rays. There are two types of sunscreens, chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens contain chemicals such as benzophenone or oxybenzone as the active ingredient.

Pros and Cons Capital Punishment Essay

Capital punishment (death penalty) is the severest form of legal punishment today. There are vast differences in the way people view the death penalty. Some oppose it and some agree with it. There have been many studies trying to prove or disprove a point regarding the death penalty. Some have regarded the death penalty as a deterrent, and some have regarded it as state sanctioned murder and not civilized. The death penalty has been attributed to societies for hundreds of years. More recently, as we become more civilized, the death penalty has been questioned to be the right step towards justice. During the course of this paper I will review the pros and cons of the use of the death penalty as we, Americans, know it. The death penalty is a highly controversial subject. No one knows who’s right or whose wrong-it’s fifty percent speculation and fifty percent research. It’s just a lot of thoughts and beliefs from people who have contributed to the death penalty hype . Who’s right and who’s wrong? That is the question. Problem Statements In order to list the pros and cons of the death penalty I will discuss a bit about what exactly is capital punishment. This will help better understand why people feel the way they do about capital punishment. Like mentioned earlier, capital punishment or also known as the death penalty is the most extreme of all sentencing options (Schmalleger, 2012). Almost all nations in the world have had the death sentence and had enforced it in many ways. It has been used in most cases to punish those who broke the laws or standards that were expected of them. There are a lot of methods of execution however not all are legal in the United States. Procedures authorized in the United States now are electrocution, the gas chamber, and the lethal injection. The most common form of capital punishment is lethal injection, with electrocution to be the second most common form (Schmalleger, 2012). When it comes down to sentencing a criminal to the death penalty, many say that it has never been a fair sentencing. Those against capital punishment claim that it has been inflicted on innocent people or that it is costly to execute someone (Schmalleger, 2012). Those for the death penalty claim that the criminals who committed horrifying crimes deserve to die for their actions (Schmalleger, 2012). For the reason being, that anything else other than death does not fulfill as a sanction for the crime (Schmalleger, 2012). Literature review The people who oppose the death penalty have very different reasons than people who agree with it. Those who oppose it feel that no matter how bad of an offense that the criminal has committed, they should not be executed. Arguing against capital punishment, Amnesty International believes that â€Å"The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life†¦It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There can never be any justification for torture or for cruel treatment.† It has been said that innocent people have been placed on death row for crimes they never committed and then executed. In my opinion, I find that very true and support this very strongly. From 1973 up to late 2009, over 138 people in 25 different states where freed from death row after being determined that they were innocent for the capital crime they had been convicted of (Dieter). One example of this claim is of James Bain, a Florida man, released from jail after being incarcerated for 35 years. He was formerly convicted back in 1974 for supposedly kidnapping and a 9 year-old boy and raping him in a nearby field (Schmalleger, 2012). What helped him gain his freedom in December of 2009 was the modern technology not available back then. Bain requested multiple DNA test, once approved the results came back negative for him meaning he was not the man who committed the crime. DNA test are now huge towards those placed in death row, it has helped freed many innocent citizens. When it comes down to the death penalty cases, there are many appeals that are made in court. The cost for a state for these appeals can run into millions of dollars for each individual case (Schmalleger, 2012). The death penalty is much more expensive than life without parole that is a fact. It is more expensive because it requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases (Woodford). This is needed to ensure that innocent men and women are not executed for crimes they did not commit (Woodford). Sometime with this careful long process the risk of executing an innocent person cannot be completely eliminated (Woodford). Those for capital punishment may state that although the official cost dealing with capital punishment is high, no cost is too high to bring justice to the world (Schmalleger, 2012). Some say that capital punishment deters crime from occurring. However, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long terms of imprisonment. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. States that have abolished capital punishment show no significant changes in either crime or murder rates. In my opinion and from what I have read it seems to be that the death penalty has no deterrent effect. I say this because people commit murders in the heat of passion, under the influence or because they are mentally ill, giving little or no thought to the consequences of their actions. Death penalty laws falsely convince the public that government has taken effective measures to combat crime and homicide. In reality, such laws do nothing to protect us or our communities from the acts of dangerous criminals Arguing for capital punishment, the Clark County, Indiana Prosecuting Attorney writes that â€Å"There are some defendants who have earned the ultimate punishment our society has to offer by committing murder with aggravating circumstances present. I believe life is sacred. It cheapens the life of an innocent murder victim to say that society has no right to keep the murderer from ever killing again. In my view, society has not only the right, but the duty to act in self-defense to protect the innocent.† There are still some who states that the death penalty is favorable in the United States. The proponents state that executing criminals will directly help stop the criminal rate in America; also, they declare that when the criminals that are sentenced are killed, the world is one less a murderer than before. Adding on, the argument that the wrong person would be killed is very slim; as a matter of fact, with the development of technology constantly evolving, the chances of the wrong citizen being executed are also constantly decreasing. Although many opponents state that the capital punishment is racist, there are statistics that more African-Americans do crimes than Caucasians. Research Methods After analyzing all the information towards capital punishment I became interested in doing some research about capital punishment statistics about the process of decision making when sentencing a criminal. If I were to conduct a case study about discrimination in death penalty sentencing, I would create surveys and interviews with inmates on death row and certain cases that appeared to been sentenced by discrimination. This type of study is hard to investigate for the reason that if the judge or jury based their answer off of the gender or race of the person it would be less likely that they would reveal the truth. My research study would be quantitative because I will be recording data about the rates on death penalty discrimination. It will also be a qualitative study because, a part from the data I will be recording I would conduct interviews with former judges and attorneys that have dealt with death penalty cases and what was the process of deciding the sentence like. Conclusion In today’s generation people have very different views on the death penalty. There are many who completely agree with it, and the concept behind it, and there are some who feel it is nothing but a cruel punishment. All in all, the capital punishment is a charge that will always be debated in America. However, the execution is a faster death for the criminal a much easier statement someone can receive. Half of the American population is against capital punishment for the execution of innocent people, discrimination, deterrence of crime and high cost leading to debt for the society. Those for capital punishment agree that this kind of action is what is needed to put a stop to brutal crimes. The criminal deserves to die for their actions and it is the only option to bring justice. The death penalty is and always will be a problem that is arguable from both sides, but, if someone tries to ultimately stop it, it is and always will be impossible. Reference ACLU. (2007, April 09). The death penalty: Questions and answers. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/death-penalty-questions-and-answers Baik, E. (2012). Gender, Religion and National Origin: Latinos’ Attitude toward Capital Punishment. Journal of Social Sciences (15493652), 8(1), 79-84. Hashemi, S. (n.d.). Abolish the death penalty. Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/campaigns/abolish-the-death-penalty?id=1011005 Methods of execution. (2010, April). Retrieved from http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/methods.htm Dieter, R. (n.d.). Death penalty information. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/home Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminal justice: A brief introduction. (9 ed., pp. 272-286). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Woodford, J. (n.d.). The high cost of the death penalty. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=42

Do You Have Stress Problem

Argumentative Essay: Do You Have Stress Problems? Name: Marguerite ID Number: 1130400040 Class Name: Grand Canyon According to the book called Stress Consequences edited by George Fink (2010), it says â€Å"Approximately 90% of suicide victims have a psychiatric illness at the time of their death. † Some people think psychiatric illness is generated by stress. Although they deem stress bad, other people claim that stress is beneficial. Actually the fact is that humans benefit a lot from stress.Because stress can promote blood circulation, motivate individual potential and enhance efficiency. Opponents of this idea assert that people become anxious when they face stress for a long time, and with anxiety accumulating day by day, people become fragile and weak. The other people claim that not all people are under stress everyday, since they can do something else to be happy. Furthermore, mild stress can promote blood circulation so that the capacity of people for handling stress is greater.Nowadays, people have to try something new and learn more skills, but all of these increase the burden on people. The stress makes people lose their confidence and be nervous to face life. Those who disagree with the idea maintain that stress can help people improve themselves since stress can motivate the individual potential when they are trying new things, even more, their confidence can be increased. Opponents have the idea that stress makes people lose their enthusiasms for work and study so that they are inefficient.To a certain extent what they indicate is right. But on the other hand, appropriate stress can enhance their attention and capacity, thereby, the efficiency can be increased. In conclusion, appropriate stress is â€Å"†¦there is now convincing evidence that people often experience benefits following stress and trauma, these benefits have been various labeled adversarial growth, benefit finding†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stress Consequence, George Fink, 2010). As the book says, people can benefit from stress.

Internet Usability Importance

Internet Usability Importance Internet usability is a very important activity that helps to improve the internet-user interface mainly by utilizing domain names. Internet usability refers to the design and positioning of a website for ease of interaction with the users.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Usability Importance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Internet usability entails such activities as web site design, human-computer interaction, Web site usability, online brands, and online marketing, among others (Bevan, Kirakowski Maissel 1991). Domain names are an essential ingredient in the process of trying to enhance the internet- user interface. Effective domain name policy is thus important in improving internet usability. The application of domain names is different from one country to another and this may result in contradictory domain name policies, thereby inconveniencing end users. There are enormous benefits associated with improved internet usability including higher customer satisfaction, higher sales, reduced support costs, and higher productivity. Internet usability is also affected by the application of domain name policies. Available literature calls for the establishment of standards for use by domain name policy makers in their quest to enhance domain names usability. Modern day domain name policies differ markedly within a country and between countries. As a result, these contradictory policies tend to inconvenience end users, in effect reducing the certainty of the domain name of a given entity. Nielsen (2003) opines that when users are examining how credible a given destination is, they often have to use domain names. Consequently, the ability to predict these kinds of domain names is paramount. In a recent study conducted by Cutrell and Guan (2007), the researcher found out that users spent nearly a quarter of their time (25%) while online searching for various domain names on different sea rch engines. It is important to understand the concept of usability and how it can be tested. Usability refers to the interaction between a system and / or product with the user. Usability is an assessment of the potential of a product to fulfill the objective of the user.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Product usability can be determined by visual consistency, ease-of-use, as well as a coherent, spelt out process for evolution. Internet users use the usability testing technique to assess the task time, ease-of-use, and the perception of users about the experience they have had with the internet. A formal usability testing of the internet entails the use of a usability lab armed with video cameras. On the other hand, usability testing can also be done informally, in which case paper mock-ups of either a web site on a given application are utilized. Various renowned web sites have enrolled the services of usability engineers who ensure that the site is friendly and easy-to-use, to give the customers a positive experience. Some of the parameters that may be used to measure usability include satisfaction, acceptability, and performance (Bevan, Kirakowski, Maissel, 1991). In addition, Nielsen (2003) argues that domain names are a very critical element of web user interface. Nielesen (2003) further opines that individuals will try and guess the different names of sites that they may have visited previously, or not. The allocation of domain names in a consistent manner may enhance website usability. Some of the benefits associated with improved website usability include reliable domain name structures, enhanced usability for end users, as well as steadfast internet access through following of the established domain name allocation standards. Domain branding enhances internet usability. Arnodl (2007) contends that there is scarcity of experimental studies on domai n name branding. Separately, Haara and Nilsson (2000) are of the opinion that unforgettable domain names are crucial in helping to enhance online brands. Similar sentiments have also been echoed by Nielsen (2003), who further argues that individuals will attempt to deduce the names of different domains for those sites that they may or may not have had an experience with before. The usability and predictability of domain names is largely dependent on successful domain name policy. If at all we hope to overcome the challenges associated with poor domain name usability, there is the need to implement a policy evaluation framework for the domain name in question.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Usability Importance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion Internet usability refers to the design and positioning of a website for ease of interaction with the users. In order to improve internet usability, there is need to ensure effective domain name policy. Some of the benefits associated with improved internet usability include higher sales, reduced support cost, enhanced customer satisfaction, and higher productivity. Website engineers use such parameters as satisfaction, acceptance, and performance to test internet usability. The branding of domain names also leads to enhanced internet usability. Reference List Arnold, B., 2007. auDA and dot-au statistics. Web. Bevan, N., Kirakowski, J., Maissel, J.,1991. What is Usability? Proceedings of the 4th  International Conference on HCI. Stuttgart, Germany: Elsevier. Cutrell, E., Guan, Z., 2007. An eye-tracking study of information usage in Web search: Variations in target position and contextual snippet length. Conference on  Human Factors in Computing Systems. San Jose, California, USA: Microsoft Research. Haara, A., Nilsson, G.., 2000. The Web Site as a Brand an Empirical Investigation of Four Online Companies. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nielsen, J., 2003. Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. Web. Appendix   Graphic Organizer

The Definition, History, and Impact of Redlining

The Definition, History, and Impact of Redlining Redlining, a process by which banks and other institutions refuse to offer mortgages or offer worse rates to customers in certain neighborhoods based on their racial and ethnic composition, is one of the clearest examples of institutionalized racism in the history of the United States. Although the practice was formally outlawed in 1968 with the passage of the Fair Housing Act, it continues in various forms to this day. History of Housing Discrimination Fifty years after the abolition of slavery, local governments continued to legally enforce housing segregation through exclusionary zoning laws, city ordinances which prohibited the sale of property to Black people. In 1917, when the Supreme Court ruled these zoning laws unconstitutional, homeowners swiftly replaced them with racially restrictive covenants, agreements between property owners which banned the sale of homes in a neighborhood to certain racial groups. By the time the Supreme Court found racially restrictive covenants themselves unconstitutional in 1947, the practice was so widespread that these agreements were difficult to invalidate and almost impossible to reverse. According to a magazine article, 80% of neighborhoods in Chicago and Los Angeles carried racially restrictive covenants by 1940. The Federal Government Begins Redlining The federal government was not involved in housing until 1934 when the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created as part of the New Deal. The FHA sought to restore the housing market after the Great Depression by incentivizing homeownership and introducing the mortgage lending system we still use today. Instead of creating policies to make housing more equitable, the FHA did the opposite. It took advantage of racially restrictive covenants and insisted that the properties they insured use them. Along with the Home Owner’s Loan Coalition (HOLC), a federally-funded program created to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, the FHA introduced redlining policies in over 200 American cities. Beginning in 1934, the HOLC included in the FHA Underwriting Handbook â€Å"residential security maps† used to help the government decide which neighborhoods would make secure investments and which should be off-limits for issuing mortgages. The maps were color-coded according to these guidelines: Green (â€Å"Best†): Green areas represented in-demand, up-and-coming neighborhoods where â€Å"professional men† lived. These neighborhoods were explicitly homogenous, lacking â€Å"a single foreigner or Negro.†Blue (â€Å"Still Desirable†): These neighborhoods had â€Å"reached their peak† but were thought to be stable due to their low risk of â€Å"infiltration† by non-white groups.Yellow (â€Å"Definitely Declining†): Most yellow areas bordered black neighborhoods. They were considered risky due to the â€Å"threat of infiltration of foreign-born, negro, or lower grade populations.†Red (â€Å"Hazardous†): Red areas were neighborhoods where â€Å"infiltration† had already occurred. These neighborhoods, almost all of them populated by Black residents, were described by the HOLC as having an â€Å"undesirable population† and were ineligible for FHA backing. These maps would help the government decide which properties were eligible for FHA backing. Green and blue neighborhoods, which usually had majority-white populations, were considered good investments. It was easy to get a loan in these areas. Yellow neighborhoods were considered â€Å"risky† and red areas (those with the highest percentage of Black residents) were ineligible for FHA backing. The End of Redlining The Fair Housing Act of 1968, which explicitly prohibited racial discrimination, put an end to legally-sanctioned redlining policies like those used by the FHA. However, like racially restrictive covenants, redlining policies were difficult to stamp out and have continued even in recent years. A 2008 paper, for example, found denial rates for loans to Black people in Mississippi to be disproportionate compared to any racial discrepancy in credit score history. In 2010, an investigation by the United States Justice Department found that the financial institution Wells Fargo had used similar policies to restrict loans to certain racial groups. The investigation began after a New York Times article exposed the company’s own racially-biased lending practices. The Times reported that loan officers had referred to their Black customers as â€Å"mud people† and to the subprime loans they pushed on them â€Å"ghetto loans.† Redlining policies are not limited to mortgage lending, however. Other industries also use race as a factor in their decision-making policies, usually in ways that ultimately hurt minorities. Some grocery stores, for example, have been shown to raise prices of certain products in stores located in primarily Black and Latino neighborhoods. Impact The impact of redlining goes beyond the individual families who were denied loans based on the racial composition of their neighborhoods. Many neighborhoods that were labeled â€Å"Yellow† or â€Å"Red† by the HOLC back in the 1930s are still underdeveloped and underserved compared to nearby â€Å"Green† and â€Å"Blue† neighborhoods with largely white populations. Blocks in these neighborhoods tend to be empty or lined with vacant buildings. They often lack basic services, like banking or healthcare, and have fewer job opportunities and transportation options. The government may have put an end to the redlining policies that it created in the 1930s, but as of 2018, it has yet to offer adequate resources to help neighborhoods recover from the damage that these policies inflicted. Sources Coates, Ta-Nehisi. â€Å"The Case for Reparations.†Ã‚  The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 Aug. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.â€Å"1934: Federal Housing Administration Created.†Ã‚  Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1934-FHA.htmlâ€Å"The Legacy of Redlining in Rust Belt Cities.†Ã‚  Belt Magazine, beltmag.com/the-legacy-of-redlining-in-rust-belt-cities/.Redlining (1937- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, www.blackpast.org/aah/redlining-1937.â€Å"Understanding Fair Housing,† U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Clearinghouse Publication 42, February 1973. Electronically accessed,  law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/documents/cr11042.pdfLab, Digital Scholarship. â€Å"Mapping Inequality.†Ã‚  Digital Scholarship Lab, dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/.

Biography of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)

Biography of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Jorge Luà ­s Borges was an Argentine writer who specialized in short stories, poems, and essays. Although he never wrote a novel, he is considered one of the most important writers of his generation, not only in his native Argentina but around the world. Often imitated but never duplicated, his innovative style and stunning concepts made him a â€Å"writer’s writer,† a favorite inspiration for storytellers everywhere. Early Life Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luà ­s Borges was born in Buenos Aires on August 24, 1899, to middle-class parents from a family with a distinguished military background. His paternal grandmother was English, and young Jorge mastered English at an early age. They lived in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, which at the time was a bit rough. The family moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1914 and remained there for the duration of the First World War. Jorge graduated from high school in 1918 and picked up German and French while he was in Europe. Ultra and Ultraism The family traveled around Spain after the war, visiting several cities before moving back to Buenos Aires in Argentina. During his time in Europe, Borges was exposed to several groundbreaking writers and literary movements. While in Madrid, Borges participated in the founding of Ultraism, a literary movement that sought a new sort of poetry, free from form and maudlin imagery. Together with a handful of other young writers, he published the literary journal Ultra. Borges returned to Buenos Aires in 1921 and brought his avant-garde ideas with him. Early Work in Argentina: Back in Buenos Aires, Borges wasted no time in establishing new literary journals. He helped found the journal Proa, and published several poems with the journal Martà ­n Fierro, named after the famous Argentine Epic Poem. In 1923 he published his first book of poems, Fervor de Buenos Aires. He followed this with other volumes, including Luna de Enfrente in 1925 and the award-winning Cuaderno de San Martà ­n in 1929. Borges would later grow to disdain his early works, essentially disowning them as too heavy on local color. He even went so far as to buy copies of old journals and books in order to burn them. Short Stories by Jorge Luis Borges: In the 1930s and 1940s, Borges began writing short fiction, the genre which would make him famous. During the 1930s, he published several stories in the various literary journals in Buenos Aires. He released his first collection of stories, The Garden of Forking Paths, in 1941 and followed it up shortly thereafter with Artifices. The two were combined into Ficciones in 1944. In 1949 he published El Aleph, his second major collection of short stories. These two collections represent Borges’ most important work, containing several dazzling stories that took Latin American literature in a new direction. Under the Perà ³n Regime: Although he was a literary radical, Borges was a bit of a conservative in his private and political life, and he suffered under the liberal Juan Perà ³n dictatorship, although he was not jailed like some high profile dissidents. His reputation was growing, and by 1950 he was in demand as a lecturer. He was particularly sought after as a speaker on English and American Literature. The Perà ³n regime kept an eye on him, sending a police informer to many of his lectures. His family was harassed as well. All in all, he managed to keep a low enough profile during the Perà ³n years to avoid any trouble with the government. International Fame: By the 1960s, readers around the world had discovered Borges, whose works were translated into several different languages. In 1961 he was invited to the United States and spent several months giving lectures in different venues. He returned to Europe in 1963 and saw some old childhood friends. In Argentina, he was awarded his dream job: director of the National Library. Unfortunately, his eyesight was failing, and he had to have others read books aloud to him. He continued to write and publish poems, short stories, and essays. He also collaborated on projects with his close friend, the writer Adolfo Bioy Casares. Jorge Luis Borges in the 1970’s and 1980’s: Borges continued to publish books well into the 1970’s. He stepped down as director of the National Library when Perà ³n returned to power in 1973. He initially supported the military junta that seized power in 1976 but soon grew disenchanted with them and by 1980 he was openly speaking out against the disappearances. His international stature and fame assured that he would not be a target like so many of his countrymen. Some felt that he did not do enough with his influence to stop the atrocities of the Dirty War. In 1985 he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he died in 1986. Personal Life: In 1967 Borges married Elsa Astete Milln, an old friend, but it did not last. He spent most of his adult life living with his mother, who died in 1975 at the age of 99. In 1986 he married his longtime assistant Maria Kodama. She was in her early 40’s and had earned a doctorate in literature, and the two had traveled together extensively in previous years. The marriage lasted only a couple of months before Borges passed away. He had no children. His Literature: Borges wrote volumes of stories, essays, and poems, although it is the short stories that brought him the most international fame. He is considered a groundbreaking writer, paving the way for the innovative Latin American literary boom of the mid-to-late 20th century. Major literary figures such as Carlos Fuentes and Julio Cortzar admit that Borges was a great source of inspiration for them. He was also a great source for interesting quotes. Those unfamiliar with Borges works may find them a little difficult at first, as his language tends to be dense. His stories are easy to find in English, either in books or on the internet. Here is a short reading list of some of his more accessible stories: Death and the Compass: A brilliant detective matches wits with a cunning criminal in one of Argentinas best-loved detective stories.The Secret Miracle: A Jewish playwright sentenced to death by the Nazis asks for and receives a miracle...or does he?The Dead Man: Argentine gauchos mete out their particular brand of justice to one of their own.

Counseling Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Counseling Strategy - Essay Example Introduction The rationale of the project is to propose a preferred clear solution to neutralize the emotional dilemma of Bruce after he lost his wife, Cindy and his daughter, Chelsea in an accident in 2000. Bruce also had dwindling relationship concerning his family. The act of revenging her family`s death was burning deep inside him that he even hired Justin, a professional lawyer, to help him deal with the murderer. Bruce needed to know that revenge was not the solution to his problem and that the solution was in a short-term strategy offered by this type of counseling. Solution based short term pastoral counseling, BSPC align with the intention of God by using a more collaborative methodology (Kollar, 2011, p. 20-23).   With this the student counselor definitely, will come to know much earlier in his or her process of trying to understand the problem engulfing the life of the care-seeker, that they are not, in any way game-changer. This method is an identification of a means wh ich empowers, in a collaborative, the relocation, That is, a purposeful and collaborative way of making one move from where he or she is to where they are suppose to be through a direction which is well-defined in terms of goal. As opposed to problem-focused methods that need more time, the SBSPC approach manages counseling process more effectively. It`s also time-oriented with an average of 70 minute time span per session (Kollar, 2011, p. 25-28). SBSPC provide a challenge to the student counselors that enable them to reconsider existing paradigms as well as to value each counselee like colleague image-bearer. With this kind of reflection, it often cultivates the... From this paper it is clear that SBSPC provide a challenge to the student counselors that enable them to reconsider existing paradigms as well as to value each counselee like colleague image-bearer. With this kind of reflection, it often cultivates the most essential interpersonal required skills such as considerate, empathetic and authentic, to blend with a counselee problem minus compromising grace and truth. The moment a problem is understood in a satisfactory manner, goals and solutions will be collaboratively established.This discussion outlines that  a plan to carry out actions is engaged to shift away as well as outdo the problem and move into the future minus the problem. This is suitable and process that doesn`t assume the counselee can move into realization of his goal alone. Immediately the key to his solution is realized, effort is put to identify as well as secure partners so as to support counselee`s forward progress. The approach in this project challenges every stud ent counselor to function under the authority of God`s word and in Holy Spirit`s power and intentionally go after the imitation Jesus Christ and taking others the in the way of faith and imitate their creator in a community lead by accountability.  A solution-centered approach pay more attention to counseling in order to rob the counselee of his attention to the problems instead help the counselee to give more attention to the solution that leads to emotional stability as well as psychological well-being.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 48

English - Essay Example According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the companies have increased their budget of marketing through Social Media (Tadena). Moreover, they can easily quantify the outcome through online surveys. Facebook is the biggest sensation when it comes to Social Media. Almost each and everyone has a Facebook account these days. Instagram came in after Facebook, and it has a different approach to connecting people. The users install this application on their smart phones and then click photographs through this application. One can connect with a lot of people through photographs. I have my account in both of these applications and they have been very helpful to me when it comes to connecting with my friends and family. I personally feel, that social media will never become out of practice because the mindset of the society is changing day by day. In this busy schedule, I feel that people do not have the time to personally call up their friends, rather they prefer to keep in touch wi th them through the social

Forensic evidence on Major criminal case Research Paper

Forensic evidence on Major criminal case - Research Paper Example me notable criminal cases witnessed in the 20th and 21st century, there are significant representations of the practice and art of criminal law particularly pertaining to analysis of evidence and incrimination. Taking, for instance, the unsolved case of Peggy Hettrick’s murder, a lot is revealed concerning evidence and incrimination analysis. Briefly, this is typically a case whereby Peggy Hettrick, a manager of a clothing shop in Fort Collins Colorado, was murdered on February 11, 1987 as she left a the prime minister’s pub and grill in the company of her ex-boyfriend Matt Zoellner. When her body was found, she had been knifed in the back of her head, and further investigations as well revealed her body to have been sexually mutilated in a surgical manner (Lichtenwald, 2009. p. 52-54). The forensic evidence introduced in the trial were linked to Timothy Masters, who was the first suspect. Although there was no any physical evidence linking him to the murder, he was a key suspect based on the fact the he saw the body but did not bother to report the incidence to the police. Consequently, the police searched his school locker and home where they found a Knife collection, pornography materials, and over one thousand pages of violent artistic writings. Based on these outcomes, the knife collections, pornography magazines, and artistic drawings of violence were the forensic evidence introduced at the trial, allegedly linking Masters to the murder. During the investigations and hearings, expert testimonies were given by Dr. J. Reid Meloy. Dr. Meloy played a significant role in the testimony since he was a forensic psychologist from California, who analyzed Masters artistic drawings and writings. From his analysis, he interpreted the drawings of the body being pulled and a knife cutting into the female genitals as emphatically pinning Masters to the crime. This was with respect to answering the questions of the surgical mutilations and the reason Masters did not

SEE Business Services Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SEE Business Services - Literature review Example However, various factors might result to this kind of scenario. For instance, the ever-changing business environment will push many business people and entrepreneurs to seeking more information on how they can utilize the business opportunity effectively. Because of this, the membership will increase because one of the objectives of the organization is to develop members. Additionally, the members have a forum to share their experiences and educate each other on various business and entrepreneurial ventures. Another major cause of increase in membership is favorable business environment that will encourage business hence the need for people to join the organization in order to gain knowledge. The driving force for this is that the organization provides an environment of sharing between members. Moreover, the organization encourages and celebrates outstanding business practices. Similarly, a favorable business environment will lead to an increased number of businesses and as a result, more people would want to join the organization in order to benefit and improve their business (Franz & Huemer 2007, p.6). Consequently, a favorable business environment will also lead to an increased number of entrepreneurs hence increasing the number of people who want to join the organization. ... Furthermore, the organization is bridging an information gap that exists in the market hence many want to join and benefit from the services that it offers. Another reason for the sharp increase in the number of people wanting to join the organization is the few number of organization that offer similar services. These are some of the courses for the increasing number of people that want to become members of the organization. However, for the organization to manage this increase effectively without negatively affecting the value of services it provides then it needs to develop smaller business development teams at the regional level that will deal with all the needs and concerns of members. These business development teams will perform a similar function as those in the head office in order to, effectively, manage the rising number of members without having a breakdown. However, they will not be in a position to make decisions. The management of the organization will be the sole cust odians of all rights and privileges. Additionally, these development teams will work as the head office directs. 2.0 Change Facilitation (a) Force Field Analysis Diagram +10 +5 0 -5 -10 \\\\\ The size of the arrow signifies strength i.e. the longer the arrow the stronger the force the shorter the arrow the weaker the force (Harris, 2002, p. 20). However, looking at the Field Force Analysis Diagram, there are several forces that the organization is facing. These forces are from all involved parties in the organization. For instance, the regional officers are advocating for decentralization in the organization so that more members can get services closer to them and faster than when the head office

Issues Relating to Arbitration in Outsourcing Contracts Essay

Issues Relating to Arbitration in Outsourcing Contracts - Essay Example The essay "Issues Relating to Arbitration in Outsourcing Contracts" aims to find out how a foreign arbitral award can be implemented or get annulled by Indian courts. The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996- section 48 deals with the stipulations for the implementation of foreign awards in India. The reasons for refusal to implement a foreign award in India are that of analogs to the New York Convention. As per section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1966 of India, the ground for setting aside for a foreign arbitral award would be any of the following: †¢ If a party to the contract was under some incapability; or †¢ Under the governing law, if the arbitration agreement was not valid; †¢ No proper notice of either the arbitral proceedings or the appointment of the arbitrator was given to any of the parties; †¢ If the award exceeds its scope of the submission; †¢ If the award is pertaining to a dispute not agreed by or not falling within the purview of the subject matter of the arbitration. †¢ If the arbitral procedure or the composition of the arbitral tribunal was not in tune with the consent of the parties; †¢ Arbitration process may not be used for arriving at a conclusion as the subject matter of arbitration is so grave; †¢ Where the arbitral award is against the public policy of India. It is to be noted that even if a nation is a signatory to the New York Convention, it doesn't automatically connote that an arbitral award passed in such a nation would be enforceable in India.

SEE Business Services Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SEE Business Services - Literature review Example However, various factors might result to this kind of scenario. For instance, the ever-changing business environment will push many business people and entrepreneurs to seeking more information on how they can utilize the business opportunity effectively. Because of this, the membership will increase because one of the objectives of the organization is to develop members. Additionally, the members have a forum to share their experiences and educate each other on various business and entrepreneurial ventures. Another major cause of increase in membership is favorable business environment that will encourage business hence the need for people to join the organization in order to gain knowledge. The driving force for this is that the organization provides an environment of sharing between members. Moreover, the organization encourages and celebrates outstanding business practices. Similarly, a favorable business environment will lead to an increased number of businesses and as a result, more people would want to join the organization in order to benefit and improve their business (Franz & Huemer 2007, p.6). Consequently, a favorable business environment will also lead to an increased number of entrepreneurs hence increasing the number of people who want to join the organization. ... Furthermore, the organization is bridging an information gap that exists in the market hence many want to join and benefit from the services that it offers. Another reason for the sharp increase in the number of people wanting to join the organization is the few number of organization that offer similar services. These are some of the courses for the increasing number of people that want to become members of the organization. However, for the organization to manage this increase effectively without negatively affecting the value of services it provides then it needs to develop smaller business development teams at the regional level that will deal with all the needs and concerns of members. These business development teams will perform a similar function as those in the head office in order to, effectively, manage the rising number of members without having a breakdown. However, they will not be in a position to make decisions. The management of the organization will be the sole cust odians of all rights and privileges. Additionally, these development teams will work as the head office directs. 2.0 Change Facilitation (a) Force Field Analysis Diagram +10 +5 0 -5 -10 \\\\\ The size of the arrow signifies strength i.e. the longer the arrow the stronger the force the shorter the arrow the weaker the force (Harris, 2002, p. 20). However, looking at the Field Force Analysis Diagram, there are several forces that the organization is facing. These forces are from all involved parties in the organization. For instance, the regional officers are advocating for decentralization in the organization so that more members can get services closer to them and faster than when the head office

Db4 2 managing organiz change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Db4 2 managing organiz change - Research Paper Example For instance, organizations consult to have their staff trained in using more sophisticated technology, for knowledge on the best programs to employ, cost implications involved, and structural adjustment needed. The impact of technology on the process of organizational change is evident considering a significant number of businesses are continuously incorporating the latest technology in their operations (Kiernan, 1995). Currently, almost all organizations have set a technology and information system department with the aim of achieving a more efficient and profitable change process. In my opinion using technology as a catalyst or the means of implementing change should be considered positive. Technological programs allow quick communication, sharing and transfer of information among employees regardless the location. For example, the VIP Task manager is one of the software commonly used during organizational-change process. It enables organizations pass information to its clients, update management plan, as well as, enhancing collaborations and communication of change strategies (TMG, 2004). In conclusion, with the current advancements in technology more programs on change management are expected. For instance, programs that allow access of internet in developing areas will enable organizations develop business in area that could not before due to lack of communication means. Additionally, incorporating technology will lead organizational change focusing on global strategies so as to be competitive globally. Task Management Guide (TMG). (2004). Change management software - example of effective tool for carrying out organizational management. Retrieved from

Love Cycle Essay Example for Free

Love Cycle Essay The rain starts pouring that particular early evening. Other students run towards buildings for shelter, but I do not notice the cold. How I feel is more overpowering than the disgust I would have felt for me getting soaked at any other time. My feet automatically stop right next to the bench where I have first seen her. That was what, more than a year ago, and I have not seen her for six months now. My beautiful, sweet Angie. Nothing could have prepared me for that one, fateful night when I passed by the same spot on my way home and, against the darkness of the park, I noticed a girl with her head bowed, her arms propped against the bench, and her hair covering her face. It was raining then, too, and that forlorn figure got me worried in spite of myself. So I had approached where she sat, and carefully asked, â€Å"Uhm, miss? † She did not look up. Maybe she was a stone sculpture, until I heard a hiccup. â€Å"Miss, are you OK? It’s raining and, uh, it’s kind of dark here. † The girl slowly sat upright until she was looking at me directly. I swear I heard angels singing when she trained those eyes on me. But they were sad, tear-stained eyes. I could not help thinking what possibly made such beautiful girl cry. Yes, she was beautiful even with the dark stains in her cheeks. Despite the situation, the guy in me just could not stop checking her out. She looked tall and slender. Her hair was long, almost reaching her elbow. She had these thin eyebrows, the kind I usually looked at in women. They made her eyes look bigger and God, didn’t she have the longest eyelashes. What guy wouldn’t fall for a woman who looks like her? My scrutiny halted when she muttered, almost inaudibly, â€Å"I’m OK. † Her voice sounded sweet to my ears. I have never been a picky person, except when it comes to women. I can eat anything, anyone can be my friend, but I can never just pick out one woman from the crowd and pursue her ‘til she say that sweet ‘Yes. ’ I guess maybe that’s the reason why I fell hopelessly in love with Angie. She just appeared into my life without warning, and she never sent any signal to my direction that she likes me, too. A week after that incident, I was forced to do some researching at the main library. By any choice, I would have chosen to play hoops with the guys, but my grade was on the line. Little did I know that I’d see her for the second time, in the library. The funny thing was we were obviously looking for the same thing because we reached for an old book at the same time. When we looked at each other, I found out it was her. She must have recognized me because she tentatively smiled. â€Å"Uh, go ahead,† I said, ever the gentleman. She took the book and said, â€Å"I guess there’s only this copy here. By the way, I’m Angie. You were that guy. † It made me smile because she did remember. â€Å"Yeah! I’m Skip. † When she looked puzzled, I added, â€Å"Actually it’s Steven, but I’m usually called Skip. † It was a year ago now, but I can still remember the way she smiled when we studied that book, or the way her face lit up whenever she talked. Eventually we became friends as we found out we had the same teacher but a different schedule on a subject. That friendship entitled me to see her everyday and talk with her. As days and months passed, I became more attached to Angie. Sometimes I would decline my mates’ invitation for one basketball game just so I could accompany Angie to wherever she wanted to go. I found out that I immensely enjoyed her company because we have so many things in common. We both grew up in a broken family; she lived with her father, while I grew up with my mother. The comfort we found in each other after talking about a similar experience drew us ever closer. It dawned on me one day that I have fallen in love with Angie. Every time she’s away, it creates a hollow feeling that only she can fill. Even my friends noticed the change in me. I was too afraid to let her know. The last time I pursued a girl, she turned me down even before I could ask her. I felt that it might happen the second time around with Angie. That would surely crush my heart, or any chances of her and me ending up together. More days passed. I got the shock of my life when one night, while I was at the apartment studying with my friends, she came barging into the room wearing the biggest, most beautiful smile. I was imagining her telling me, â€Å"Skip, I just found out that I could not live without you! † Instead, she told me and everyone else, â€Å"Skip! My goodness, you wouldn’t believe this! Will finally asked me! † I frowned upon hearing that name. I only met Will once or twice, and it didn’t dawn on me that he was pursuing my Angie, too. I didn’t even know if the two dated. After Angie told me about him, I felt like the world was crushing me. Would she have worn the same, big, beautiful smile if I asked her? Probably not. I died when she next announced, â€Å"Skip, he asked me. How could I not say yes? We dated a few times but we always see each other during Math II and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I no longer heard the rest of it because I stood up and, without saying anything, locked myself in my room. I didn’t hear her knocking, nor her voice pleading me to come out and tell her what’s wrong. The erratic beating of my barely functioning heart was too loud for me to hear anything. What Angie said, it was like a dagger. After all this time, I’ve been building my courage to finally tell her how I feel. But she beat me to it, with a very cruel message. Anger, regret, and resentment rolled up until I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to shout, to hurt myself. But how could I rewind the time, back to the days when I was on the verge of professing to her? I never felt so bad in my life, not even the way I feel about my last unfortunate episode with a girl can compare. I have loved Angie, so much in fact that I can give up anything. I nurtured this feeling until it blossomed into full-blown love that is far from what any man can comprehend. I wanted her back. I wanted back my Angie. It was so unfair. I know I haven’t indicated that I feel something special for her, but how could she not notice? It was like telling me, in my face, that she doesn’t think I’m good enough for her. It was too much that I found myself crying into the night like I never did before. The tears just wouldn’t stop even if I reminded myself it was not a macho thing. But who cares? The woman I’ve secretly loved for so long, just fluttered away. I found out it was hard. Since that night I avoided her, ignored her calls, her messages. I was hurting so much that I didn’t want to see her. Eventually the calls and messages stopped. I barely saw her in the months that followed. If I did, she was in the company of that guy who could have been me had I dared to tell her. I tried to move on because I can see that she’s happy. I was just unsure if it would be a great idea right now to be friends with her again. So the days and months that followed, I immersed myself into studying, hanging out with my friends and signing up for other activities to help me forget. I knew there was no other way but to forget, and forget I did. So in that early evening, I sit where she sat more than one year ago. The rain was accommodating, falling endlessly and washing the tears from my eyes. I was not crying because of regret, but because of the fact that I really did move on after all. I prop my hands over the edge of the cold bench and watch as droplets of rain create ripples in the puddle of water on my feet. Suddenly, rain stops falling in the puddle but it does not stop entirely. A pair of shoes appeared just next to the bench, and I noticed that a shadow stretches over the lawn in front of me. A female voice carefully asked, â€Å"Excuse me. Are you alright? † Yeah, it’s time for me to let go. Time can heal all wounds, and rain can wash away tears. I couldn’t help smiling at the turn of two similar events: one more than a year ago, and the other, right now. With a smile I looked up into the worried face of a girl holding an umbrella towards me and I said, â€Å"Yes, I’m OK. †

Oscar Niemeyer Design Philosophy

Oscar Niemeyer Design Philosophy Being born as the son of Brazils Federal Prime Minister, Oscar Niemeyer was living in a Portuguese colonial style house with beautiful tropical setting: a wide carriageway, neatly lined with tropical trees, that curves along the broad seawall looking out to the dome of Pao de Acuacar guarding the bays mouth; lawn designed as formal gardens Niemeyer obsessed over the landscape of his motherland Brazil. No matter how different his house designs vary through time, the element of landscape is always strong and evident. This essay focused on Niemeyers house designs. Being an icon of modern architecture, Niemeyer pushed the limit of reinforced concrete and revealed the expressive charm of this artificial material. The contemporary architecture was monotony. Niemeyer wanted to challenge it. Niemeyer is well-known mainly because of his design for some of the most dominant governmental buildings in Brasilia, Brazil. As one of the early pioneers of modern architecture, Niemeyer opened up a unique approach to contemporary architecture using bold free-form curves in design. Some of his house projects were equally powerful in terms of his dramatic application of free-form. But other projects indicate more thoughts in Brazils colonial background and his own formal exploration throughout his career. Niemeyer did a series of house projects with a huge time span from 1936 until now. Among the dozens of house projects, there are extremely luxury houses he designed for wealthiest Brazilians, there area also some house he designed for middle-class friends and family. Niemeyer also designed four houses for himself. One house, Casa das Canoas, was his most published and well-known work. Four houses designed in year 1942, 1949, 1953 and 1960 had varies characters and different concepts. As Niemeyers other house design sometimes have to fulfill his clients requirements, his own house designs seems to be trademarks of his career, evolving through different phases. The first house he designed for himself is located on a sloping site in Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro. Graduated from National Fine Arts School in 1934, Niemeyer was deeply influenced by Le Corbusiers visit to Brazil in 1929. He joined Costas office in 1935, and from 1936-1942, he was working mainly on the Ministry of Education and health Building, on which, Le Corbusier was invited as project consultant. During this period, influence from the modern master was obvious and they got clearly reflected in Niemeyers first house. The three story house was zoned with clear rationality. The main living room and bedrooms are clearly separated from the service area. A set of scissors ramp is just identical as the one appeared in Le Corbusiers Villa Savoye in terms of its function as the only connection between different floors. The rectilinear upper floors sit on columns on the ground floor, with curvilinear walls direct the flow from entrance to garage and later towards the ramp. Horizontal openings on the facade give a clear indication of free elevation. However, the house is not a simple duplication of Le Corbusiers work. Niemeyer started to explore forms and material in the context of Rio, which is a humid tropical Brazilian city. A single direction slanted rooftop deals with the massive rain water during the monsoon season. A veranda on the second floor fully opens to the lake view. The material he used for the elevation is also unique. Different from his later larger public buildings which mainly deals with reinforced concrete, brick and wood was applied as elevation infill. On the top floor, the wall is composed with wood trims originally painted in blue. Wooden louvered panels were added to cover the veranda. Wood was also widely used as the material for interior finishes as well. The symbol of house as a machine, ramp, in Villa Savoye was no longer represented in cold metal frames and concrete finish. It was covered in wooden panels on the side and a wooden frame. On the ground floor, bushes were planted from the irregular sit e boundary towards the hose edge, defined by a hard pavement following the outline of the elevated second floor. In this project, although marks from Le Corbusier are clear through the use of free plan and clear zoning in a house project. Niemeyers awareness of context and site was already obvious. This prototype of dwelling on top of the landscape evolved and became one of the most frequently used prototypes in his later house designs. In 1949, Niemeyer designed another house in Mendes, RJ. The house was built and later demolished. The house has a very dominant feature which was the slanting screens shelter the porches for living room and bedrooms. Different from his first house for himself, this house was located on a flat piece of land with the trees surrounding it and a stream runs in front of it. The setting is purely natural, not urban. The difference in the context led to a very different design solution. The single floor house is organized in a rectilinear order with all the rooms facing the screen and indoor garden in between. Here, a hint can be found between his modernist approach and traditional colonial architecture. The old colonial porch was transformed into a screened indoor garden, blending the artificial indoor and purer nature outside. This became a prototype which the landscape and the artificial indoor environment was articulated on the same level through a buffer garden. In 1953, Niemeyer designed his most published house, Casa das Canoas. The design was open to the world and shocked the audience with its curvilinear roof. Just before the CIAM meet for the first time in Brazil in 1954, the house was finished. Niemeyer faced some of the most dominant figure in modern architecture with their critics on the house. Walter Gropius and Mies van de Rohe were both attracted to its beauty but pointed out the uniqueness of its geometry became he limit that it can not be multipliable. Faithful to his ideology of mixed ancestry and Antropofagist hybridization, Niemeyer proceeded to infect the classical pavilion with the organic, spontaneous architecture of the morros, mixing Western achievements in the field of domestic architecture with tropical exuberance and lessons from Brazils colonial past and popular present. Case das Canoas is one example of Niemeyers treatment of continuity between the interior and exterior. Curve and landscape became the media that he utilized to achieve it. With the irregular curvilinear roof lines, the nature surrounding the house became closer and farther, varies according to the geometry. A large piece of rock placed right at the edge of the glass wall, penetrating the transparent faà §ade and made it even less dominant. The warm wood finish of the interior partition wall conter-balance the rigidity brought by the steel frame of the glass faà §ade. The white ceiling and black floor becomes the frame of the this transition between na ture and artificial. The exploration of the form continued and became more vigorous when he designed an unbuilt house in Tel Aviv, Edmond de Rothschild House. This time with the desert becomes the setting, the free-form geometry was reverted from edge of the house to its inside. A free-form garden is enclosed by a rectilinear volume. Just at the time when Niemeyers free-form house design became a signature image. In 1960, he designed his house in Brasilia in a totally traditional colonial style. It creates a very strong contrast between the ideology of Brazils independence and its colonial historic roots. On the one hand, with the huge governmental projects, Niemeyer was creating the most powerful formal language, trying to declare to the world that Brasilia represents Brazils new future. On the other hand, he showed his respect very thoroughly to the colonial style, honest and modest. The houses feature a covered porch with red-tiled gable roof, whitewhased walls and regularly spaced windows. More houses will be discussed following the category of the four houses Niemeyer designed for himself. These houses includes: Edmundo Cavanelas House Allvorada Palace Carmen Baldo House Burton Tremaine House Weekend house for Juscelino Kubitschek Cavalcanti house Overlaid with the complexities of Brazils history and stratified society, these scenes evoke contradictions that Niemeyers designs have always balanced: natural shapes created by artificial technology, structural logic and ecstatic emotions, simple forms and complex purposes. Niemeyers house design showed his critical thinking and evolving career, just as strong as his public buildings. His public building may be restricted to their formal strength as a responsibility to speak for the nation. However, in his house design, there are clear trademarks of his weighing of traditional vernacular concept and modern formal exploration. Curves in Niemeyers house projects are more utilized as a mean to explore the relationship between nature and artificial, building and landscape, indoor and outdoor etc.

The Empire Strikes Back Essay -- French Revolution, French Society

France’s revolution of 1789-1799 destroyed the age-old monarchy, eliminated aristocratic privilege, and established the inalienable rights of all citizens. Dedication to the ideals of equality and freedom for all men is enshrined in the national motto, â€Å"libertà ©, à ©galite, fraternità ©.† Regardless of France’s longstanding commitment to the principles of liberty, contemporary social attitudes and policies have fallen far from the revolutionary ideal, particularly vis-à  -vis France’s burgeoning population of immigrants and their descendants. Despite its extensive and tortuous history of immigration, twenty-first century France remains vehemently committed to antiquated notions of citizenship and national belonging. France’s persistent refusal to acknowledge its de-facto multiculturalism has created a brutal cycle of marginalization, in which ethnic minorities are prevented from expressing their cultural identities and successfully in tegrating into mainstream French society. Immigrants from the Maghreb – a hilly, arid region in North Africa situated between the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea – represent the largest segment of France’s considerable ethnic population. France is currently home to over 3.5 million foreigners, more than a million of whom are Magrà ©bins, primarily from Algeria and Morocco (Sekher 25). Contemporary Magrà ©bin immigration began in earnest in the years following World War II. After defeating Germany, the United States launched an ambitious program to revitalize the devastated economies of Western Europe and create dynamic markets for mass-produced American consumer goods. From 1948-1951, The European Recovery Program, commonly known as the Marshall Plan, provided unprecedented levels of developm... ...ologist Franà §ois Dubet notes, â€Å"Une socià ©tà © construite sur une à ©galità © des chances parfaitement juste pourrait, en mà ªme temps, à ªtre parfaitement inà ©galitaire† (qtd. in Rosello 237). To provide special benefits to minorità ©s visibles would undermine the egalitarian ideal of â€Å"republican assimilation† by treating them as more than equals. Such reverse discrimination would represent an unacceptable breach of the sacred credo of â€Å"libertà ©, à ©galite, fraternità ©.† Hence, minorità ©s visibles generally receive an insufficient level of social spending, with derelict public housing projects and minimal welfare payments the only programs currently providing benefits (Smith 176). Continued adherence to outdated concepts of citizenship therefore facilitates the separate and unequal treatment of minorità ©s visibles by concealing persecution under the guise of official equality.

Data Envelopment Analysis and related literature Essay

As already stated, a rich history of literature and research which is demonstrating the importance of processes in analyzing the performance of an organization exists (Chase, 1981; Chase et al. , 1983; Levitt, 1972; Roth et al. , 1995). Especially, Roth et al. (1995; here and in the following) showed that the key drivers are process capability and execution in an empirical way. It was described in their study that an inappropriate design of certain processes and also the poor execution of a process can lead to process inefficiency, and that both process capabilities and people as major factors affect business performance. When estimating the performance of processes usually a number of different outputs have to be taken into consideration. Data Envelopment Analysis, the estimation method described in this chapter and used as a basis for measuring the efficiency of business processes, deals with these multiple outputs by the use of frontier estimation. In this process, it is specifically determined which relative performance amongst multiple inputs and outputs are present. This in turn is achieved by calculating ratios of weighted outputs to weighted inputs, and the determination of the relative efficiency (which is seen as the distance from a peer object to the best practice frontier) compared with the efficiency of other so-called Decision Making Units (Charnes et al. , 1978). Decision Making Units can be defined as firms or public-sector agencies, but also as single processes or process instances (Sengupta, 1995). Data Envelopment Analysis is therefore used in different areas of daily life, for example in education programs of schools, or the production and retail business (Metters et al. , 2003). The Data Envelopment Analysis method was introduced into the operations research literature by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes in 1978 (see Charnes et al. , 1978). They presented it as a new nonparametric (meaning it is entirely based on the observed input-output data and not based on the assumption of a normal (Gaussian) distribution underlying the measured parameters) and multi-factor productivity analysis model (Sengupta, 1995). The Data Envelopment Analysis model as it was originally formulated by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes, later referred to as the â€Å"CCR model†, has the important and critical characteristic of the reduction of the multi-output, multi-input situation for each Decision Making Unit to that of a single â€Å"actual† output and a single â€Å"actual† input. In fact, the respective measurement of efficiency for a Decision Making Unit is identified by the original Data Envelopment Analysis model by developing the ration of weighted outputs to inputs to 3 he maximum under the assumption that alike ratios for every Decision Making Unit are not larger than one (here and in the following Frei et al. , 1999). This in turn results in a number of efficiency scores less than or equal to one, as well as a reference set of Decision Making Units identified as efficient. The method has also come to be known as the â€Å"input-output oriented model†, because by holding outputs constant and at the same time evaluating to what degree the inputs would have to be changed in order for a Decision Making Unit to be considered an efficient one, the overall efficiency score is determined. The also existing â€Å"output-oriented method† is very alike to the input-oriented method. Using this approach, the ratio of weighted inputs in relation to the outputs is minimized in order to be able to evaluate the actual amount that each Decision Making Unit’s outputs have the chance to be improved whilst holding the inputs on a constant level. In summary, in both cases, a Decision Making Unit identified as efficient has no potential for improvement, whereas as Decision Making Units seen as inefficient have efficiency scores that reflect the actual potential for improvement which is based on the achievement of other Decision Making Units. A proportional (linear) program must be carried out for each of the Decision Making Units to be able to define the relative efficiency scores. Because of the use of a linear function, the implied presumption is that the efficient frontier is piecewise linear. As a fact, the original model of Data Envelopment Analysis comes up with a ranking of the different Decision Making Units in the system in a scale of relative efficiency from the lowest to the highest, where the highest is considered to be one hundred percent efficient (Sengupta, 1995).

Financial Planning Essay

|Topic: â€Å"Describe the essential element to be a successful financial planner in Hong Kong and China. Explain the challenges of | |practicing ethical financial planning in Hong Kong and China. † | The financial climate is changing constantly with the changing of numerous influential factors. Financial planning is one of the financial industries which gradually developed from a vague concept to a recognized specialty.However, this industry is still in a young stage so that there are some problematic issues concerned especially in some Asian districts like Hong Kong and China. It can be reflected particularly in the remuneration system and professionalization of financial planners as well as public recognition for this industry. To reach a mature level, the first step is establishing a public confidence. Therefore it is emergent for financial planners to think about how to become successful. As the role of helping clients makes some most important decisions of their lives, f inancial planners are required to satisfy a specific set of essential elements.The first and also the most basic requirement for them is strong professional knowledge. Financial planners should be able to implement a comprehensive process when help clients create financial plans and evaluate financial products packages independently to satisfy clients’ need. Well-rounded professional knowledge in varied fields is crucial at the moment which including not only the financial related areas such as economics, business management, and investment, insurance but also some other non-financial related areas such as psychology and sociology.Having the general base knowledge is the start but not the end in the career so that many financial planners are expected to have an expertise in particular field which can help them directly take an advantage position in satisfying some specific clients’ need. Take the insurance planning as an example; a financial planner who is expertise in the insurance industry as well as having the basic all round knowledge will be most likely to gain the clients’ trust.In addition, the ongoing learning is also essential since the financial environment is changing every day and all the decisions should be made according to the particular background environment. The Mainstay’s survey in 2006 shows that 85 percent of the population wants financial planners who are knowledgeable, skilled, and actually care beyond the transaction. And there are also other researches and evidences indicate that interpersonal skills are more important than technical expertise at most times.In this sense, the ability to have emotional resonance with clients and show one’s sincere and caring attitude would be crucial to attract new clients and establish a long term relationship with existing clients. Also it is applicable in making financial plans and implementing related strategies because clients’ assistances and cooperation p lay a significant role in the process. This implication can be obviously reflected in the second step of a formal personal financial planning process, gathering client data and determining goals.When communicating with clients, an excellent financial planner would be able to extract useful information to understand the client’s motivation as well as manage their expectations. It is no doubt that a good reputation is the most valuable thing for financial planners. In addition to professional knowledge and strong interpersonal skills, ethical behavior is a great concern. Proposed ethical behavior standards are based on principle of integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism and diligence.These principles given by CFP Board aim to encourage public confidence to financial planning industry as well as explicitly identify practitioners’ responsibilities and obligations to different stakeholders. However, practicing these ethical principles in real world may not an easy task. The following part of the essay will examine the challenges of practicing ethical financial planning in Hong Kong and China. With rapid wealth accumulation and increasing investor demand in Hong Kong and China, a higher potential development opportunity for financial planning services had been witnessed.But at the same time, a higher expectation for quality financial planning with insufficient confidence from the pubic becomes a source of challenges for this industry. It appears to be tougher when considering the implementation of ethical financial planning since the nature of the industry is based on trust between clients and planners. These challenges are reflected particularly in the following aspects. Firstly, fee-based financial planning barely exists in Asia due to the low consumer acceptance degree, which most likely to lead to an issue of interest conflicts.A financial planner is commonly compensated by commissions from selling product qu otas given by their companies and the selection of product may not be the best choice for clients. It also matters when considering the risk tolerance for financial planners’ income. Only commission-based compensation may result in unethical behavior practiced by financial planners to survive because of sharp drop in income during the business recession. Secondly, it is challengeable for financial planners to offer high quality services without sufficient confidence and trust from clients.Financial planners must have deep understanding about their client’s financial status, needs and concerns in order to give desirable advices. However, most Chinese consumers are not willing to offer their private information to people whom they are not familiar with, which make it difficult to decide the initial plan and identify the expected outcomes. It is true that an excellent financial planner should have the interpersonal skills of encouraging clients to provide related informat ion as much as possible.The contention about what degree an planner should pursue discovery conversations and how to justify the ethical position when making effort to gain the consumer information is concerned. Finally, the level of knowledge and education of financial services to the public are relatively low in districts for some undeveloped cities in mainland China, which may become a kind of misguided incentive of unethical behavior to financial planning services providers affected by the poor review mechanism and lapses of checks.It can be strongly reflected in the fairness issue such as disclose of information between planners and clients It will take long for this industry to develop mutually, some improvement measures can be practiced now. Efforts could be focused on several aspects including the closely supervise of cooperate governance, adequate training for practitioners’ competence and professionalism, as well as the education for the public.

Enrollment Process Essay

INTRODUCTION Enrollment is the process of entering and verifying data of students and faculty to register on a certain school. Different interconnected processes build up enrollment procedures called enrollment system. Enrollment system is used particularly in recording and retrieving students’ information. Tracking students’ information is also one feature of enrollment system, in which the school can trace the standing of a student. Verifying payments is also added to update or browse students’ billings. Enrollment system is a good example of a computer generated process. This can diminish the workload and provide accurate information needed of the school. Enrollment and Accounting System must be used in schools. It will provide and store the needed information faster and more convenient. Moreover, it allows the retrieval of information of student enrollees and faculties in a computer system that will lessen their time and effort of faculty staff in storing files of each student and faculty every now and then. The information here can be viewed in just a second without becoming anxious that a single file is lost. The idea behind an enrollment and accounting system is not a new concept since some schools are already using electronic enrollment system. In this study, the researchers concentrated on the developed of Enrollment and Accounting System for St. Andrew Academy to provide solution to the problem that they encounter in operating its manual enrollment and accounting system. The directress of the said school uses manual system in recording and retrieving students’ information. In fact, she does all the record keeping just by using ball pen and columnar sheet. On the other hand, the registrar also uses manual system in recording and retrieving student information. In connection to this, the researchers conclude that they are capable of creating a system to address the problem based on their background and knowledge they learned in their Database Management System 2. PROJECT CONTEXT (IPO) The system design project is Enrollment and Accounting System that will provide and store the needed information in a faster, more convenient way by  storing file of the student enrollees and payroll of the faculties in a computer system. This will also be exclusively used for the irregular students, freshmen, transferee, and professor/instructor in able to get access in course, subject, professor, and student enrollees. This will also be a big help to all the enrollment staff especially under the management information system because they are the ones who are entitled to touch and read the information. It will help the institution to have a system that will enhance the enrollment processes so as to meet the quality that the institutions are trying to meet. Input Process Output FEEDBACK Figure 1: Research Paradigm The paradigm of this research consists of three parts. First is Input wherein the researchers will identify the problems encounter of the existing of Enrollment and Accounting System of St. Andrew Academy, the Functional and Non-Functional requirements of the system, the Hardware and Software requirements, and last is the level of acceptability of the proposed system. This will enable the developers to work on the features of the system that will help alleviate, if not totally solve, the problems identified on the first phase of the study. The next phase of the study is the Process wherein the researchers will use the Unified Process (UP) in IPO is specifically from Inception to Transition. This is considered the most costly and laborious phase of the study as the developers will guarantee that the system addresses the problems determined in the first phase of the study. Last is the Output which will be the outcome of the concentrated system. The system will undergo intensive testing to evaluate the accuracy, efficiency, usefulness, responsiveness, and maintainability of the software. PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION The main purpose of this study is to develop a software to improve the old and manual enrollment and accounting system of St. Andrew Academy. Hence, it helps allow the school to gain the optimum benefits that the user would get  once the new enrollment scheme is implemented. Moreover, it also aims to design an effective and efficient system in terms of speed, reliability and accuracy, and to ease the enrollment system for computer-based system effectively to benefit both the faculty and student community. This study is also meant to help the school manage various operations including data storage, administration, and operations. Students may inquire on matters related to admission and enrollment requirements. The faculty will also be allowed to inquire on matters related to their payrolls. This system assists the students and faculty in their educational and personal need. The enrollment and accounting system will support the student enrollment, admission, and registration process. The database includes the record of students’ personal data, academic information, and related fees. In connection to this, the information of the faculty of the school is required in this system. It focuses on storing and processing (insertion and updating) by using graphical user interface. It generates student information in formatted tables, fees invoice, subjects enrolled, student’s academic detail report, student’s personal detail report, and student’s fee deposition status report. New enrollees will be the only ones to fill up their personal information since they do not have existing records on the system yet. Returning students will only present their report card for the update of their academic record which is already stored in the system. Enrollment and Accounting System is a system in which the computer plays a major role. This is the best way of storing and retrieving data on a server or hard disk rather than using papers and file cabinets. This will help the institution to store the data they need efficiently. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The researchers aim to design and develop an Enrollment and Accounting System for the students and the teachers of St. Andrew Academy to improve their old and manual system. In accordance with this study, the researchers aimed to provide answers to the following questions: 1. To determine the problems encountered with the existing system of St. Andrew Academy. 2. To identify functional and non-functional requirements. 3. To identify hardware and software requirements. 4. To test the level of the acceptability of the proposed system. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The scope of this study is to determine the management practices of the said school. It will look into features of the office and its daily tasks operation. The respondents will be limited to the registrar, cashier, administrator, faculty and employees and the student to ascertain and identify the actual problems existing within the school. It will be used to avoid duplication in encoding and tracing the student information as well as the teachers/faculty information with payrolls when it comes to enrollment processing and payments. With regard to the accounting aspect, it is concerned in getting the time record and attendance of teachers. In the same time the computation of hours work and monitoring of over time, under time, late and outdoor work are included. In addition to this, the proposed Enrollment and Accounting System of St. Andrew Academy supports the network topology implementation within the campus. DEFINITION OF TERMS Operational Terms The definitions of terms are based on observable characteristics and how it is used in the study. Users They are the individuals who use the system for its problem solving assistance. Administrator It refers to a person in charge to manage a system. Record It is a document that contains an account particularly in terms of collection. Conceptual Terms The definitions of terms are based on concepts or hypothetic ones, which are usually taken from the dictionary. Computer System It is the configuration that includes all functional components of computer and its associated hardware or software. Database It is an integrated collection of data which provides a more efficient way of storage and retrieval of data and is capable of processing large portions of data immediately. Information is the data that has been changed into a  useful form of output. Process It refers to a series of actions, changes, of functions that bring about an end result. Software It is a computer terminology used to describe the unseen programming codes and running application inside the computer system. System It is a set of related a component that produces specific results.

Introduction to WiMAX Technology Research Paper

Introduction to WiMAX Technology - Research Paper Example Arguably one of the most epic accomplishments of the 21st century was the invention of the computer and the subsequent creation of computer networks. These two entities have virtually transformed the world as far as information processing and communication is concerned. The interconnection capability of computer systems can arguably be described as the feature that makes them more versatile and invaluable to their users. This being the case, the network functionality of computing systems has been exploited by organizations and individuals alike as efficient local and global communications became the defining attribute of success. As such, the creation of networks is key to any interconnected computing system. A network may be created that uses cables (fixed connection) or that use radio waves (wireless network). While fixed Internet networks continue to form the backbone of the communication system, wireless data transmission has become more favored for various reasons. Different forms of wireless technologies have come up to fulfill this role. Nuaymi asserts that WiMAX technology is at the present one of the most promising global telecommunication systems WiMAX emerged as a Broadband Wireless Access System that has many applications ranging from the mobile cellular network to backhauling. Considering the prominence of WiMAX in networking, this paper will set out to give a detailed discussion on some of the particular aspects of WiMAX. WiMAX specifications have gained significant success in the provision of Internet access.