Effective communication skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effective communication skills - Essay Example In verbal communication, people make use of tongue for the exchange of information whereas in nonverbal communication, people make use of eye contact, body language, gestures, and appearance to send nonverbal messages to other people. Nonverbal communication plays a vital role in making the entire process of communication successful and productive. Language plays an important role in making communication effective. It covers the rich complexities that a person faces during the process of communication. If a person wants to communicate in a language other than his/her own language, he/she first needs to know the meanings of different words used in that language. It not only adds meanings to the words but also enhances the ability of a person to use those meanings for constructing sentences. Along with language dependency, communication between any two persons also depends upon the nature of relationships that exist between them. For example, the nature of communication that takes place between a person and his family members is different from the communication that takes place between that person and his boss. Therefore, we can say that communication is influenced by the nature of relationships that exists between individuals. If we discuss the importance of effective communication within the context of accounting and finance, we can say that communication plays a considerable role in improving the concepts of an individual. I personally feel that my accounting concepts have improved due to the communication which used to take place between my professor, classmates, and me. All of us used to share our concerns with each other which helped us get a deep understanding of all issues related to accounting and finance. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is the ability of a person to assess emotions and feelings not only of himself/herself but also of other people. â€Å"Emotional intelligence refers to the effectiveness of an

Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay Synopsis of Human Resource Management Project on HR Policies of Deepak Nitrite 1.1 About the Organization: Deepak Nitrite began with a vision to support the country’s drive towards self sufficiency and import substitution in 1970. With a strong focus on customer satisfaction, the company has set up Custom Manufacturing services to meet specific needs of end users. Our capabilities extend to the manufacture of high-value, specialty products either based on our own end products or developed especially for our users. 1.2 Human Resource Policies: Human Resource Policies refers to principles and rules of conduct which â€Å"formulate, redefine, break into details and decide a number of actions† that govern the relationship with employees in the attainment of the organization objectives. 1.2.1 Formulating Policies: There are five principal sources for determining the content and meaning of policies. 1.2.2 Benefits of HR Policies: Established policies ensure consistent treatment of all personnel throughout the organization. Favoritism and discrimination are, thereby, minimized. 1.2.3 Principle of HR Policies: †¢Principle of individual development †¢Principle of scientific selection †¢Principle of free flow of communication †¢Principle of participation †¢Principle of fair remuneration 1.3 HR Policies at Deepak Nitrite Limited 1.3.1 Objectives of HR Policies: The company aims to fulfill the following objectives through its HR Policies: †¢Ensure a high degree of selectivity in recruitment so as to secure super achievers and nurture them to excel in their performance. †¢Impart such induction, orientation and training as to match the individual to the task and inculcate a high sense of organizational loyalty. 1.3.2 HR Policies for Various HR Procedures: †¢Recruitment Policy: In Deepak Group, recruitment and selection of personnel is explicitly based on the criteria of their knowledge, skills and attitudes, so as to secure super achievers and nurture them to excel in their performance. †¢Induction and Placement Policy: At Deepak Group, new recruits imparted such induction, orientation, training and placement so as to individuals to the task and inculcate a high sense of organizational loyalty. †¢Job Rotation Policy: At Deepak Group, facilities are provided for all-round growth of individuals through lateral mobility. This shall enhance their employability as well as equip them to shoulder higher responsibilities. †¢Performance Appraisal Policy: Performance Appraisal grooms every individual to realize his potential in all facets by helping to identify and achieve his personal goals within the framework of organizational objectives. †¢Counseling: Counseling sessions, which are conducted by HR Department OR Professional Counselor OR Performance Appraiser, are available to all the employees †¢Career Planning Policy: Career Planning system in Deepak Group is aimed at developing people of the right caliber to meet present and future needs of the organization. It shall be an essential ingredient for Succession Planning. †¢Succession Planning Policy: HODs and above identify successors, primary and secondary, to his position at the time of annual appraisal. This is reviewed every year along with the annual appraisal. †¢Training and Development Policy: At Deepak Group, training and development activities strive to ensure continuous growth of organization by nurturing the strengths of the employees and providing the environment and opportunity for every individual to realize his/her potential. †¢Human Resource Information Management System: An integrated employee database is maintained and continuously updated with information from personnel at regular intervals regarding biographical data, work experience, qualifications, appraisal, training and career paths. †¢Retirement Planning: At Deepak Group, retirement of all individuals is aided through planned programs by HR Department so as to lessen the associated misgivings and anxiety. †¢Job Enrichment: Deepak Group follows a people centered approach to job enrichment with a view to enhance the performance of the employee, leading to higher job satisfaction. †¢Exit Interview Policy: Feedback is obtained from the employee on occasions of separation from the organization.

Strategies for Public Speaking

Strategies for Public Speaking Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction Body-I Body-II Body-III Conclusion Bibliography Introduction The theme of Public speaking is the process intended for speaking, or communicating a lecture to a group of people in deliberate, structured manner in order to influence or entertain an audience. Public speaking is commonly taken as having a face to face verbal communication between the individuals or an audience. It is closely allied to presenting, although the latter is more often associated with commercial activity. Most of the time, public speaking is to persuade the audience. Public speaking is closely associated with presenting however presenting is more sort of a commercial activity. Public speaking mostly involves persuading the audience. Public speaking has three main purposes which involves mainly to persuade, secondly to inform, and thirdly, to entertain. These purposes can be achieved either individually, as a combination of 2 or collectively. (Zakahi, 1988) To convince an audience involves leading someone to believe something be it whether it is a diet choice, voting interest or one side of a hot-button topic such as immigration or abortion. In public speaking, having the audience centered at the topic of speech is the initial goal as it implies the speechs information was gathered and delivered effectively, and it also makes way for the third goal which is persuading the audience. The second purpose includes to provide the potential audience with a certain information be it for mutual understanding, sharing knowledge, answering queries such as who, what, when, where, how and by what means. The success of the speakers attempt to inform can be measured by how well the audience understands, retains and applies the ideas of the topic to their own lives. The purpose of persuasive public speeches is to persuade the audience to either adopt a specific thought or take a particular course of action that is provided by the public speaker. A speech delivered to a group of likely prospects may comprise the purpose to persuade them to set an appointment with the local Navy recruiter by motivating them that they really do have what it takes to be a Navy officer and they can be successful. (Lewis, 2010) Body-I A specific format is followed to deliver a speech which includes introduction, main part, conclusion, uttering the words perfectly. Not to forget that speech should span over a specific period of time so that not to create boredom in the atmosphere. Points considered to deliver a good speech include: Beforehand: rehearsal. Connect with your audience [body language: eye contact, good postures, etc.] Be yourself [not talk or read fast, Do not panic, Do not be dull and boring, Do not forget to breath, have normal pitch voice i.e. not too high neither not too low but just a sound and hearable volume.]. These acts perform as a frame of reference for the public speaking. One important step is that you ideally address important people who will be there and acknowledge guests. E.g. Good Evening, Principle Smith, teachers, parents and guests, welcome you to (event) etc (Make sure you tell them who you are). Also be open for questions and develop good listening skills. This initial start gives a projection of a good speech. Body-II Delivering a speech can take several different forms and does not necessarily has to be a face to face conversation however it does helps to communicate the message more efficiently and effectively and is an important element of non verbal communication. It counts in the body posture, gestures and most importantly the eye contact which helps to put the message across as a supporting material as well as a paralanguage for a good conversational style. Hence it can be a political speech delivered though a telephone to a large audience or maybe a video conferencing through an internet connection e.g. including Skype conversations or it can also be through a visual aid such as through a television channel delivering to a large audience. Body-III Many people have a phobia of public speaking. Jerry Seinfeld put it this way: According to numerous studies, peoples most common fear is public speaking. Then comes death. This means to the average person i.e. if you go to a funeral, you are better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. One way to overcome these fears is with preparation and practice. Public speaking is a self-esteem booster. Overcoming the fears and public speaking anxiety that go along with public speaking is empowering. Moreover, connecting with the audiences can be a great opportunity to remind you that you have valuable insights and opinions to share with the world. One form of this speech is extemporaneous speech as it is considered most informative and you make the speech after you have gathered all the facts and have done your research on the topic. (Rennels, 2006) It can be very fulfilling to share something that matters to you with people not in your usual social circle. The process of writing a speech will not only exercise but also strengthen your critical thinking skills, ranging from the research to the actual speech-drafting. Preparing a speech will enable you to reevaluate the way you communicate and as well as re-examine your speaking habits. When you write a speech, you have to think carefully about the language to communicate your message to the audience, best organization framework, and persuasive strategy. This type of thinking will help you improve your communication skills in other areas of your life. Public speaking engagements are great places to meet other people who share your interests and this increases your social circuit. (Jaffe, 2007) Conclusion Public speaking is the process intended for speaking, or communicating a lecture to a group of people in deliberate, structured manner in order to influence or entertain an audience. It is commonly taken as a face to face conversation however it can take many different forms as well such as a telephonic speech or a virtual speech such as a speech delivered through a television. Public speaking has three main purposes which involves mainly persuasion, secondly to inform, and thirdly, to entertain. These purposes can be achieved either individually, as a combination of 2 or collectively. It has several benefits which include Overcoming fears, boosting self esteem, Sharing your views with others, improve critical thinking skills, analyze communication habits, improve communication skills, make social connections, impress your boss, gain publicity, expand your social network, personalizing your professional reputation and find the right words to impress change. A specific format is follo wed to deliver a speech which includes introduction, main part, conclusion, uttering the words perfectly. Bibliography Jaffe, C. (2007). Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society. Lewis, M. (2010). Podium Dreams. Forbes.com . Rennels, M. (2006, September 4). What Are the Three Main Goals of Public Speaking? Speaking and Speeches; Why is public speaking important . Zakahi, W. (1988). Communication Education. West Virginia: Speech Communication Press .

The Cycle of Selfhood in Sillitoe Essay -- Literary Analysis

The Cycle of Selfhood in Sillitoe Preface After Alan Sillitoe’s death in 2008, journalist and author Catherine Mayer wrote Sillitoe’s obituary for Time magazine. She begins it with her own assessment of Sillitoe’s work. Mayer asserts that Sillitoe â€Å"possessed a rare ability to identify the lovable qualities in characters his readers might shun in real life† (Mayer). It is true; he did. That ability can, of course, be attributed to talent, hard work and strong writer’s intuition, but it can also be said that perhaps it was easy for Sillitoe to identify those qualities in those characters, because he identified with those characters. One critic goes so far as to say that Sillitoe is â€Å"too close to them for his own good, he abdicates to an outpouring autobiographical compulsion† (Roskies 172). The critic tempers that remark in the next sentence saying that, â€Å"Its virtue†¦is its splendid recreation of hand-to-mouth subsistence living in Nottingham†¦the industrial North as a whole† (Roskies 172) Sillitoe grew up in the same kind of environment as his characters do. Born in 1928 and raised in Radford, a working class suburb in western Nottingham (Daniels and Rycroft 461), Sillitoe was son to Christopher Sillitoe, a tannery laborer—illiterate, frequently out of work and sometimes abusive—and Sylvia Burton Sillitoe, a lace factory worker (Aspden). At 14, Alan Sillitoe left school to work a string of factory jobs, one as a lathe operator at a bicycle factory (Daniels and Rycroft 464), just like Arthur Seaton, the protagonist of Sillitoe’s, â€Å"Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.† Introduction Contemporary working class fiction from the British Isles is fraught with class struggle and it’s a topic that drove much of the work of the Angry ... ...Lessons of the long-distance runner.† The New Criterion (2008): 23-28. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. Daniels, Stephen, and Simon Rycroft. â€Å"Mapping the Modern City: Alan Sillitoe’s Nottingham Novels.† Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 18.4 (1993): 460-480. JSTOR. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. Mayer, Catherine. â€Å"Alan Sillitoe.† Time 10 May 2010: 35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. Penner, Allen R. â€Å"Human Dignity and Social Anarchy: Sillitoe’s ‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.’† Contemporary Literature 10.2 (1969): 253-265. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. Roskies, D. M. â€Å"Alan Sillitoe’s Anti-Pastoral.† The Journal of Narrative Technique 10.3 (1980): 170-185. Print. Sillitoe, Alan. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. New and Collected Stories. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. 1-35. Print.

Julius Ceasar

Brutus gives his thoughts of killing Caesar in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesaract 2 scene 1. In Brutus’s soliloquy he reveals how Caesar â€Å"might change his nature† (4). Brutus also states â€Å"he may do danger† (8). What Brutus is referring to is if Caesar gets crowned he might abuse his power. Brutus is an honorable man who is for the people of Rome. Although this might not be his reasoning for killing Caesar. It may be that Brutus himself wants power. Therefore Brutus is willing to do anything necessary to get what he wants. The metaphor Brutus uses in his soliloquy is how Caesar may climb â€Å"young ambitions ladder† (13). Brutus repeats that Caesar is climbing a ladder to get what he wants. To repeat Brutus declares â€Å"whereto the climber-upward turn’s his face but when he once attains the upmost round he then unto the ladder turns his back† (14-16). To be sure Brutus wants to join the conspirators to kill Caesar, Brutus articulates how Caesar will turn his back on the people that he once used to get to the high place he wants to be at, which is the crown. â€Å"So Caesar may† (18). Which means Caesar might do all these bad things. Therefore Brutus thinks of Caesar as a â€Å"serpent’s egg† (23). Thus Brutus thinks it’s necessary to â€Å"kill him in the shell† (25). At the end of Brutus’s soliloquy Brutus has made up his mind to join the conspiracy and kill Caesar. There could be many topics from this quote but the two most important topics are projection and ambition. In this soliloquy Brutus projects how he feels about Caesar. In doing so, Brutus manipulates what Caesar actions to get what he wants. Brutus wants what is best for the people and himself and Brutus thinks that Caesar will do harm to the people if he is crowned. Brutus also suggests that Caesar will change and be a different person. Everything that Brutus projects about Caesar, Brutus is construing to his own fashion. To be correct Brutus states that Caesar is ambitious. Brutus implies that Caesar is striving for the crown. Although Caesar doesn’t show his ambition literally he shows it other ways. Granted that Brutus may also be ambitious, due to the fact that he wants to kill Caesar and join the conspiracy. Brutus says that Caesar is ambitious for power but that might not be the case. It might be that Brutus is more ambitious than Caesar for power. Brutus does not show how ambitious he is for power until the end of his soliloquy. In this soliloquy it shows how ambition can be a negative connotation because desires something. Brutus esires Caesar to die and to make him self seem like honorable man to the people. Although in reality Brutus is just trying to get one of his desires. And Caesars desires were the crown. If Caesar desires the crown then Caesar is in the way of Brutus’s desire. So therefore Brutus needs to think that killing Caesar is the right thing to do for himself. To conclude Brutus must kill Caesar to get what he desires the most. Although Brutus was not only influenced by his desires but the desires of Cassius. By the end of this quote it shows how Cassius projected Brutus’s thoughts of Caesar. Therefore Brutus must kill Caesar.

George Walker Bush

George Walker Bush George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946 as a first-born child of President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. The American politician became the 43rd president of America.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on George Walker Bush specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More His family had a heritage of success in the public service and business arena. For instance, his great grandfather Samuel P. Bush was a successful businessperson in the steel and railroad industries upon which he built the family empire. Moreover, he served as a significant advisor to President Herbert Hoover and thus his family had connections with political figures in high positions. His grandfather Prescott Bush was a successful businessperson too. He served in the Army during World War 1 and together with his wife, raised their children and expected them to excel in everything they did hence they grew up to become compe titive and achieved success in their lives as shown by their son George H.W. Bush the 41st American president (Boyd, 2007). George W. Bush did not disappoint the family legacy of greatness, as he became the American from 2001 to 2009. He attended a public school called San Jacinto Junior High in Midland, Texas and was elected as class president. During his time in San Jacinto, he played in the football team. After a year, he transferred to a private school called Kincaid in Houston, Texas after his family moved there because of his father’s business in 1959. The following year he moved to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts an elite preparatory school because his parents believed in giving their children the best education. He was an average student and worked very hard because he feared to fail (Rumsch, 2009). He did not become a star in academic or in sports like his father, but he was very social and made many friends who nicknamed him ‘Lip’ as he alway s had an opinion on anything (Cohen, 2000). He joined the basketball and baseball teams and become the head cheerleader for the football team during his senior year. He joined Yale University and studied history. During his stay at Yale, he joined the rugby and baseball teams. He was a social person, and he joined the Delta Kappa fraternity and Skull and Bones a secret Yale society and graduated in 1968 (Keira Pritchard, 2009). George W. Bush went on to join the Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree (George W. Bush, 2011). He became the first president of America with a Harvard MBA (George Bush’s Legacy, 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More He was a businessperson in the oil industry prior to entering politics. He opposed government regulation. For a long time, he lived under the shadow of his father and wanted to build his own identity. Therefore, he thrust himself into the world of politics in 1978. He ran for a house seat in Texas, but his bid was unsuccessful. He returned into business and started small companies in the oil industry. He formed the Arbusto Energy that later became Bush Exploration and merged with Spectrum 7. He became the chair, but his company did not escape the decline in the oil prices and it folded up becoming Harken Energy. He became a board member at Harken. He is rumored to have had a problem with alcohol but he quite the habit in 1986 and defected to his wife’s church the Methodist (Keira Pritchard, 2009). His evangelical faith is said to have influenced some of his decisions later in his presidency. He moved to Washington DC to help his father in his presidential campaign in 1988. He brought in the support and vote for the Christian Conservatives, and his father was elected as the 41st president of America (Keira Pritchard, 2009). Later George W. Bush bought s hares in Texas Rangers baseball franchise and was actively involved in its team projects. Time passed by and in 1992, his father called him to help in running his reelection campaign. He served as a campaign advisor. On the other hand, George W. Bush did not lose hope in running for an elected seat again and in 1994, he threw himself back at politics and ran for Governor of Texas. His campaign promises were the improvement of education, crime reduction and improvement of the welfare program. He ran against Ann Richards, an incumbent Democrat on a Republican ticket. Moreover, he pledged that Texans would carry concealed weapons once they chose him. He went on to win the election and became the governor (Cohen, 2000). During his tenure, he pushed for tax cuts and give government funding to organizations so that they could educate the public on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Although Texas ranked poorly in environmental evaluations, the electorate looked a t his efforts in improving education and ensuring better pay for teachers. His political career continued to rise because he was reelected as governor for another consecutive term becoming the first Texan governor to do so in a four-year term (Burgan, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on George Walker Bush specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Faith was important in his life. He encouraged faith-based organizations to take the step of helping the needy, and his support for the organizations saw his approval rating soar. He also opposed abortion due to his faith. During his first term as governor people started to speculate that he could run for the presidency in the future, his reelection made the speculation stronger, and eventually he made a decision to vie for Republican presidential nomination (Cohen, 2000). Eventually, he announced his interest in the candidacy for the presidency in June 1999. He ran for his party ’s nomination and managed to beat the other presidential hopefuls to clinch the running ticket. After winning the Texas governor seat, George W. Bush began to get ready to run for the presidency in 2000. Many political experts and reporters dismissed him as a serious presidential candidate because he often made blunders in his speeches. However, such opinion did not deter him. When the presidential elections came, he threw himself into the race. He was the son of a former president it was advantageous to him because he could count on the support of wealthy Republicans during his campaign. He managed to raise $93 million a very high figure at that time. Using the money he raised, he put together a talented group of people in his campaign team and numerous advertisements on television (Burgan, 2003). George W. Bush is conservative, and he ran his campaign by saying that he was a compassionate person. He promised to cut taxes, as it was the right thing to do to help save and bui ld America. He argued that people could use the tax cuts to open businesses. He also urged churches and other private organizations to get involved in helping the community instead of waiting around for the government to be directly involved. Moreover, he called for the increase of money spent in the military to develop a missile-defense system. The defense system would enable the U.S. destroy large missiles that would target the country. He believed in a safe country that could defend itself against attacks. He promised to improve education as well as aid the minorities (Burgan, 2003). Furthermore, George W. Bush painted himself as a uniting factor and many people listened to him as he promised to unite the nation in a bid to overcome their problems and make America a prosperous country that could make them proud. He also came across as a person who could connect with the population as he relied on his Texan roots to portray an image that many would approve thus elect him president (Carney Dickerson, 2000).Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Republican nomination was a close battle, but George W. Bush edged out John McCain, his closest rival, and he chose Dick Cheney as his running mate. Cheney had experience, as he was a veteran politician. George W. Bush hoped Cheney’s experience would make people feel comfortable thus overlook his own inexperience (Keira Pritchard, 2009). He ran a fierce campaign against the Democratic candidate Al Gore. During the campaign, he faced many criticisms from his lack of experience. He was also criticized for the way he handled complex issues by ignoring them off or treating them casually. The Democratic Party highlighted his strong opposition against abortion and the opposition to the hate-crime legislation. Others such as the liberals criticized him for supporting the death penalty, and they talked about the high numbers of death penalties that were given in Texas during his tenure as governor (Keira Pritchard, 2009). The 2000 presidential campaign was hotly contested and e nded up to be one of the closely contested races in the American history. Different media houses called the election in favor of both candidates, and eventually a court battle followed as Al Gore sought for a recount of the Florida votes. The state’s votes were important, as the winner would be the president. The Florida state would determine the winner of the Electoral College votes and after a month-long court battle, the Supreme Court ruled to end the vote recounts in Florida, and George W. Bush was declared the winner according to the initial Florida results that showed he had won. H e became president despite losing the popular vote that left a deep division between the Democrats and the Republicans. President George W. Bush promised to heal the rift that had emerged during the elections between the Republicans and the Democrats as many people still harbored doubts about his legitimacy as he was inaugurated into office on January 20, 2001. The shadow of doubt did not go away, and it followed George W. Bush until the terrorist attack on American soil in 2001. Meanwhile, George W. Bush worked toward getting tax cut proposal passage as he had promised during the campaigns. Moreover, he supported the exploration of oil in Alaska, and many criticized him for allowing the exploration to take place in the protected natural reserves (Graham, 2010). His greatest test in office was yet to come until on that fateful day dubbed 9/11. Terrorists hijacked two planes and rammed them into the world trade center in New York, bringing it down. Another plane hit the Pentagon building, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense killing nearly three thousand people and injuring more than six thousand. The country was shaken by the attack thrown into grief. The division seen before quickly took a back seat as people rallied behind the President, when he declared war on terror. They were more concerned about their safety than politics many people were sa tisfied with the action taken by the president, and his approval ratings went high. He declared war on global terror, and he aimed to destroy the terrorists of the group A Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden. The group consisted of Islamic fundamentalists. The U.S. military attacked Afghanistan using air strikes, as it was believed to be the grounds in which the terrorist trained for their terrorist acts (Lind Tamas, 2007). The United States military toppled the central governing regime of the Taliban and although the operation did not capture the exiled Al Qaeda leader, many countries supported the United States action. Consequently, the federal office of Homeland Security was established. The war continued and the country entered an economic recession, and the Bush administration received critic from the people who were opposed to the war from the onset. The administration was accused of violating human rights of the detainees and the civil rights of the Americans (Lind Tamas, 2007). F or instance, the civil liberties of Americans were violated as some citizens were detained in secret locations and denied access to an attorney. Hence, people began becoming uncomfortable with the ongoing war, which was very costly for a country going through an economic downturn, and when the Bush administration extended the war to Iraq based on intelligence of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (Draper, 2007). Thus, it became necessary to wage a second war in Iraq. The invasion went well, and the Sadam regime was brought down but the aftermath of the war left the country in a bad situation due to a power vacuum that was left behind (Keira Pritchard, 2009). Moreover, many people were killed in Iraq in the violence that followed from various militia groups. The war was very costly, and the president’s ratings began to decline sharply. It turned many nations against the United States as n weapons of mass destruction was found in Iraq (Lind Tamas, 2007). The P resident failed in some of his domestic policies such as in the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that involved ethanol mandate. George W. Bush included the bill in his agenda even though it was not among his campaign promises, and it proved to be a wrong choice. Critics say the Bush administration should have acted to veto the legislation, but it did not and the legislation achieved its short-term goal that restored investor confidence in the American securities. On the contrary, its long-term effects are being felt now, as companies are discouraged from going public. Foreign investors have started to look elsewhere to invest because the legislation has increased the cost of doing business in America. The legislation has also imposed rigidities and added extra coast in running public companies (Graham, 2010). Conversely, President Bush achieved some success during his reign such as revamping the economy due to his open policy on free trade that ensured that America enjoyed a good relation ship with countries in South and Central America. One of the ways through which President George W. Bush tried to improve the economy was by signing the Andean Trade Preference Act that helped to improve the relationship between entrants into the global market (Lind Tamas, 2007). The President used a cross partisan technique to reach out to moderate Democrats and have them support his policies. Using the cross partisan approach he brought about legislative packages that saw bills on tax cuts sail through the Congress successful. Other legislative bills that passed were the Medicare and nuclear energy (Graham, 2010). In addition, the two bailouts that were passed during the Bush administration prevented the collapse of the largest financial institutions in America as their collapse would have destroyed the United States economy and resulted in unspeakable repercussions to other countries in the world. Even Bush was criticized for deregulating of the financial industry that eventually led to the problem the action taken saved American and the world (Keira Pritchard, 2009). His first term in the White House was relatively successful in implementing important domestic policies such as on education and tax cuts, and he proved that he was a capable leader. He also managed to overcome the polarization that had occurred during the controversial 2000 election and managed to pass key campaign policies. His second term in office was different from the first as he achieved less success in his agenda. He became more assertive and tried to pass legislation that the political climate did not favor. The President’s power was limited, and he seemed to take Republicans in Congress for granted by failing to deliberate on what would have been his priority agenda during his second term. However, he still managed to win some bills such as the energy bill and housing sectors bill. The failure that George W. Bush experienced during his second term was his inability to select b ills that could earn support of some Democrats instead they did not appeal to the Democrats, and it was very easy for them to oppose the bill thus hurting his presidency by weakening it as he failed to unify them. The Immigration reform appealed to the Democrats, but it did not go well with some Conservative Republicans, who opposed it and he responded by attacking his base. Therefore, the Democrats gained an upper hand against the divided Republicans (Graham, 2010). The natural disaster the Katrina Hurricane saw the Bush administration come under fire as many cried against the White House response to the disaster. The race issue arose and image of the President together with the Republican Party was hurt as many criticized the slow response and lack of preparedness in the disaster (Maranto Lansford, 2009). Finally, President George W. Bush will go down in history as one of the most interesting American presidents. He managed to elicit hate and anger in an equal measure both at hom e and abroad. He left the office with the lowest ratings than any former president as shown in appendix 1. However, the decisions he made in 9/11 attack, Iraq war and the 2008 global downturn will remain as the most significant marks of his presidential legacy. Some reporters may have dismissed George W. Bush as not smart enough to run for president, but he proved them wrong as he showed he was a capable leader in his own right, and he could make major decisions in spite of the unfavorable political mood. His failure in some foreign policies eclipsed the success he achieved in domestic policy. Nonetheless, the decision made by the President influenced not only America, but also the whole world. Appendix 1 Reference List Boyd, V.J. (2007). George W. Bush. New York: InfoBase Publishing. Burgan, M. (2003). George W. Bush. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Book. Carney, J. Dickerson, J.F. (2000). The selling of George Bush. Time, 156(4), p30. Cohen, D. (2000). George W. Bush: the family business. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press Inc. Draper, R. (2007). Dead certain: the presidency of George W. Bush. New York: Simon Schuster. George Bush’s legacy (2009). Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/briefing/2009/01/15/the-frat-boy-ships-out George W. Bush. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/george-w-bush/ Graham, J.D. (2010). Bush on the home front: domestic policy triumphs and failures. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Keira, S. Pritchard, J. (2009). George W. Bush. Retrieved from EBSCHOST Database. Lind, N. Tamas, B. (2007). Controversies of George W. Bush presidency: pro and con documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Maranto, R. Lansford, T. (2009). Judging Bush. California: Stanford University Press. Rumsch, B. (2009). George W. Bush. New York: ABDO Publishing Company.

Bad vs. Badly

Bad vs. Badly Bad vs. Badly Bad vs. Badly By Mark Nichol I don’t want to make you feel bad, but because so many writers handle this issue badly, I’m going to discuss the use of bad and badly. Let’s start with badly, which is an adverb. Roughly speaking, an adverb describes how something is done: â€Å"She handled the news badly.† Bad, on the other hand, is most familiar to us as an adjective, but what stymies us sometimes is that it can also be an adverb. In adjectival form, bad provides detail about the noun it accompanies: â€Å"I have a bad feeling about this.† As an adverb, bad modifies the preceding verb: â€Å"Now I don’t feel so bad about it.† If you’re in doubt about which adverbial form to use, test it by replacing badly (or is it bad?) with a synonym, such as poorly. (â€Å"She handled the news poorly.†) That looks and sounds right. But would poor work? (â€Å"She handled the news poor.†) Definitely not; the form badly is correct. Now test the sentence that uses the adverbial form of bad: â€Å"Now I don’t feel too poorly about it,† or â€Å"Now I don’t feel too poor about it†? Hmm I’m not sure. So I’ll try another synonym: â€Å"Now I don’t feel too wretchedly about it,† or â€Å"Now I don’t feel too wretched about it†? The short form is the clear winner here. But why? What’s different about the two adverbial forms? The issue is complicated by the fact that two types of verbs exist: action verbs and linking verbs. Handled, in the first example above, is an action verb because she handled she did something. Linking verbs, on the other hand, describe a state of being: I think, therefore I am. One set of verbs that can perform both functions action and linking are the sense verbs, including feel. (The others are look, smell, and taste; I’ll discuss the omission of hear later.) The sentence â€Å"I feel the breeze† refers to an action; your body is responding to the breeze. If you are unable to feel the breeze because your skin is not sensitive, you could say, â€Å"I feel the breeze badly,† in the sense that your body is ineffective at feeling the breeze. (This usage is awkward and therefore rare, but it is correct.) However, if you’re using feel in the linking, or state-of-being, sense, feel refers to your emotions, not your tactile ability. If you have asked someone to join you on a walk, and the person is bothered by a strong breeze that suddenly whips up, causing some distress oops, there goes the hat! you could say, â€Å"I feel bad about the breeze.† Wouldn’t badly work just as well? Apply the synonym test: â€Å"I feel wretchedly about the breeze.† Clunk. â€Å"I feel wretched about the breeze.† Click. That explains why you want something bad, not badly. (To want something badly is to do a poor job of wanting it almost the opposite meaning.) That’s why you’re not doing too bad, rather than badly, right now. Bad is a condition (a linking verb), not a performance (an action verb). So, why isn’t hear an action verb, like its sensory siblings? You can write, â€Å"That feels disgusting† and substitute feels with looks, smells, and tastes, but â€Å"That hears disgusting† doesn’t make sense; we replace hears with sounds in such constructions.† Why is this so? I can only give you my stock answer for such curiosities: It’s English. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating ConjunctionsRunning Amok or Running Amuck?Drama vs. Melodrama

Cars And Technology Example

Cars And Technology Example Cars And Technology – Article Example Cars and Technology Cars and Technology At some point, the basic car innovations were considered new and advanced. However, advancement in technology allows for the production of cars that are futuristic and technologically savvy. The automotive industry, recently, has been a reflection of all that is high-tech. There has been a rapid shift from the basic commuter products, to ease, luxurious, and comfort-filled products. All these come with the advancement in the technological era (Volti, 2006). This paper will examine some of the innovations that ensure automotive advancements make the car industry a powerful force. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been part of the automobile industry for quite some time. However, advancement in technology leads to the creation of new GPS. This ranges from the anti-theft GPS, to the tracking system that monitors vehicle movement. New GPS has an automated voice to instruct one of the directions one should take. Another innovation that emanate s from the automotive industry is the sync technology. Partnerships among the major corporations in the technology era and the automobile industry are ensuring individuals enjoy their automobiles (Volti, 2006). An example includes partnership between Ford and Microsoft. This sync technology enables a driver to communicate with someone, text, or listen to music through voice command. This is what is defined as hands-free technology, which encourages a driver to enjoy their vehicles features. This is without running the risk of endangering other road users. Safety cameras are becoming a worldwide phenomenon in this industry. These cameras offer drivers information on oncoming traffic, and pedestrians. In some instances, there is also night vision. Motion detection is also something worth noting about these advancements (Volti, 2006). In conclusion, the advancement in technology allows for many fields to grow and develop. It is vital to note this development in the automotive industry . It has assisted the industry to grow, hence; fostering many partnerships among them. This advancement is only an assurance of what more is to come, and the future in automobiles is now (Volti, 2006). ReferenceVolti, R. (2006). Cars and culture: The life story of a technology. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Case Study for International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study for International Finance - Essay Example Though it aims to promote fair trade in industries, it has remained controversial despite of its long existence in the field of business. The sustainability of an economic justice model is definitely hard. It requires the cooperation of all the people who are involved in its application. If those people will unite to follow all the requisites of that specific economic justice model it may lead to its long term efficacy and success. However, if an organization fails to fulfill its promise of prosperity, it will eventually lose its magnetism among the industry members who believe or are about to believe in it. Organizations tend to be too exaggerated when it comes to setting their rules and limitations to the extent that they no longer mind its effect on the workers and the product. They set their own standards not considering how it will impact those who are at the starting phase of business, most importantly the workers. The structure of modern economic justice at this point in time seems to be too unjust, most especially to the less privileged members of the society. Some critics blame the ineffectiveness of these models to globalization. In spite of the opportunities brought by globalization to the worldwide economy, it has caused income inequality in some nations (Kapstein, 2004).

Employer & Employee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employer & Employee - Essay Example What we need to do, It can be proposes, is to understand the "communicative process" involved with the use of the Internet. If "communicative process" suggests the functions undertaken by both senders and receivers of information, as well as the information, itself, then understanding a Web site, that is, a component of the Internet, would require an examination of its creators and their environments, in addition to its users and content. Interpreted in this way, Jones' idea suggests a need to study Website of Employer-Employee.com from the perspective of the organizational conditions within which they function. These conditions would have effects upon the Website of Employer-Employee.com' structure, elements, appearance and functionality. The interface recommends examining the Web from the broad perspective by characterizing the functions of Website of Employer-Employee.com as being for entertainment, browsing, education, work, and academic use. Understanding this informs design choices, It can be argues, as does recognizing that a Web site is simultaneously a mass medium and a means of interpersonal co mmunication. The Webpage for August Tips also suggests that studying communication as a "practice" would be to look at the cultural processes that

Human Resource Practices, employee voice and quit rate in outsourcing Essay

Human Resource Practices, employee voice and quit rate in outsourcing industry in India - Essay Example This paper is written as a research proposal to investigate various issues like Human Resource Practices, Employee Voice and Quit Rate in Outsourcing Industry in India. Since India is a country which is diversified in many ways, thus a unique HRM strategy can not be formulated. The research is conducted to find out the parameters which are required to be considered while formulating HRM strategies for outsourcing businesses in India. The objective of this research is to find out why many employees quit from the outsourcing industry in India. The research will try to make a study as to whether employee quit because of insufficient compensation or any other reasons. The increasing quit rates are actually an important concern of cost for organizations. This is because quit rates increase labor costs (Oi 1962) and at the same time they decrease organizational functioning (Norsworthy and Zabala 1986). According to Freeman and Medoff (1984) industrial relations show that in firms which have a union the quit rate is lesser than when compared to those firms which has no unions. Unions actually in firms are a tool through which the employees can voice their problems and seek better compensation instead of quitting. Arthur (1994) feels that current research on better commitment and high level of performance is in reality a coherent set of human resource (HR) practices. This coherent set can also bring in better performance on the part of the employees according to Ichniowski etal, (1996). High rate of quitting by the employees will sabotage functioning (Alexander, Bloom, and Nuchols 1994; Huselid 1995). Appelbaum et al., (2000) state that better performance patterns comprise those that commit in the accomplishments of the work force and furnish the chance and inducements for employees to utilize those skills efficiently. â€Å"Employee retention is critical to the long term health and success of company

Pop Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pop Culture - Essay Example It is rightly said that a person learns and tries to adopt what he is exposed to. Taking an example of Movies which are mostly filled with violence and/or vulgarity, they have the most detrimental effects on an innocent mind. Many movies present disturbing behaviors and abnormal happening which distort the usual thinking pattern of a human mind, especially youth which are much more receptive to new things around them. Movies and TV programs, these days, present unusual and unique ways of committing crime, heroes doing impossible things, and movie characters surpassing the limits of normal behaviors and still standing successful. These things compel minds to believe that weird things stand out and are socially acceptable. Proponents of such programs say that these programs and movies are present with rating but who can stop youth from watching such programs when their parents sleep or at some friends place gathering for a combined study. The way of dressing is the reflection of oneâ⠂¬â„¢s culture. A major change in life style in this regard has been noticed recently. Youth idealize their heroes who are a pop star, a movie character, or a sports entertainment personality and try to follow him in everything walk of their lives. And these things then come up with strange sights of youth dressing up themselves in most unusual and absurd ways. And this is not only limited to their it also affects their styling like the way they do their hairs, their walks and the kind of language they use in their daily lives.

Common law and Equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common law and Equity - Essay Example Equity is no part of the law, but a moral virtue which qualifies, moderates and reforms the rigour, hardness and edge of the law and is a universal truth. It also assists the law where it is defective and weak in the constitution. It refers to a particular set of remedies and related procedures. The role of the office of equity is to support and protect the common law from shifts and crafty devices against the justice of the law. Equity neither destroys nor creates the law but assist it. Equity is a means of preventing any unfairness which might otherwise result from rigid application of formal legal rules (Hudson, 2005, p.14,). Equity supplemented and remedied the deficiencies in the common law. The main remedy at common law is damages. Equity offers remedies other than damages such as the injunction and specific performance (Gubby, 2004, p.37). Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy, and thus equity establishes its core jurisdiction to ensure that a claimant will be entitled to acquire some redress for a wrong done to him or her or to protect some right in property (Hudson, 2004, p.9). The fundamental similarity between common law and equity is that... s a moral character to the common law and may be used synonymously with common law for the simple reason that what is legal is necessarily moral (Hamilton, Jaren, Pound, 1999, p.91). Except for different mode of administering justice in each court, it is law and reason which governs both equity and common court. Both equity and common law are 'damages'. 'Damages' at common law means a monetary response to a breach of duty. That breach of duty might be a breach of contract or it might be tort. This approach nullifies a prevalent view that 'damages' are synonymous to compensation. In common law, non compensatory monetary awards for wrongs that are acknowledged to be forms of damages namely exemplary damages, restitutionary damages and disgorgement damages. All these forms of damages have counterparts in equity. Awards of equitable compensation or 'accounts of profits', which responds to wrongs in equity, are actually different forms of damages. With the recognition that the former are simply equity's 'compensatory damages' and the later are equity's 'disgorgement damages', an understanding of rules of causation and remoteness in equity can be developed in comparison to common law counterparts. Although different sets of rules apply for different wrongs and different conducts, the nature of law is always relevant for both common law and equity. For example, the wrong of fraudulent representation in equity is identical to the tort of deceit and for that matter the same test of remoteness should apply and comparison is helpful (Robertson, 2004, p.32). Differences In case of common law, remedy is granted to a claimant who could establish a case at law, usually in proof of certain formalities and pleading a specified form of action. A common law is fairly inflexible in

Animal testing debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal testing debate - Essay Example In addition, an example, according to a former head of U.S. national cancer institute was a cure for cancer that worked for mice but did not work for animals (Cohen & Regan 2001: 108). Laboratory animals are bred for predisposition to certain types of diseases, kept in conditions that would be considered unnatural and exposed to disproportionately large amounts of chemicals and other substances used for testing. This therefore means that animal research adds little to our understanding of diagnosis and treating patients. The third argument raised is the benefits to human beings from animal testing are very minimal and that alternative methods could be employed because they are efficient (Yarri 2005: 151). Alternative methods include computer modeling and testing human tissues. Statistics from the National Institute for Medical Research, London reveled that approximately ninety-two percent of drugs that were successful during animal testing failed during clinical trials on human being s (Lovell-Badge 2013). Thus, this wastes time that could be used on alternative drug testing; as the DNA of humans and animals is very different. Personally, I agree with prohibition of animal experimentation for medical products as it is unethical. Scientists should endeavor to find logical and ethically acceptable ways of animal experimentation. If it is also possible to employ anesthesia and derive the same results, the same should be done. Buffalo, NY says that all animal experiments are untenable on a statistical.

Pop Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pop Culture - Essay Example It is rightly said that a person learns and tries to adopt what he is exposed to. Taking an example of Movies which are mostly filled with violence and/or vulgarity, they have the most detrimental effects on an innocent mind. Many movies present disturbing behaviors and abnormal happening which distort the usual thinking pattern of a human mind, especially youth which are much more receptive to new things around them. Movies and TV programs, these days, present unusual and unique ways of committing crime, heroes doing impossible things, and movie characters surpassing the limits of normal behaviors and still standing successful. These things compel minds to believe that weird things stand out and are socially acceptable. Proponents of such programs say that these programs and movies are present with rating but who can stop youth from watching such programs when their parents sleep or at some friends place gathering for a combined study. The way of dressing is the reflection of oneâ⠂¬â„¢s culture. A major change in life style in this regard has been noticed recently. Youth idealize their heroes who are a pop star, a movie character, or a sports entertainment personality and try to follow him in everything walk of their lives. And these things then come up with strange sights of youth dressing up themselves in most unusual and absurd ways. And this is not only limited to their it also affects their styling like the way they do their hairs, their walks and the kind of language they use in their daily lives.

Animal testing debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal testing debate - Essay Example In addition, an example, according to a former head of U.S. national cancer institute was a cure for cancer that worked for mice but did not work for animals (Cohen & Regan 2001: 108). Laboratory animals are bred for predisposition to certain types of diseases, kept in conditions that would be considered unnatural and exposed to disproportionately large amounts of chemicals and other substances used for testing. This therefore means that animal research adds little to our understanding of diagnosis and treating patients. The third argument raised is the benefits to human beings from animal testing are very minimal and that alternative methods could be employed because they are efficient (Yarri 2005: 151). Alternative methods include computer modeling and testing human tissues. Statistics from the National Institute for Medical Research, London reveled that approximately ninety-two percent of drugs that were successful during animal testing failed during clinical trials on human being s (Lovell-Badge 2013). Thus, this wastes time that could be used on alternative drug testing; as the DNA of humans and animals is very different. Personally, I agree with prohibition of animal experimentation for medical products as it is unethical. Scientists should endeavor to find logical and ethically acceptable ways of animal experimentation. If it is also possible to employ anesthesia and derive the same results, the same should be done. Buffalo, NY says that all animal experiments are untenable on a statistical.

Business Ethics and dilemma Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics and dilemma Essay 1. Review the assigned readings from the text and article by Carroll (1991). 2. Prepare a 3- to 5-page paper titled, Corporate Social Responsibility. 3. Reflect upon your text readings from Chapters 1 and 9 with a focus on the following core concepts: Organizational Social Responsibility (Chapters 1 and 9) The Ethical Decision-making Process (Chapter 1) Corporate Reputation (Chapter 9) The Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid (Chapter 9) The Importance of Trust (Chapter 9) The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (article by Carroll and Chapter 9) 4. Read The Merck and River Blindness Case at the end of Chapter 9 of your text. 5. Compose your paper in Microsoft Word. Include your name, the assignment name and number, the course and section number, and the date on your title page. Follow APA guidelines for formatting and citations.. NOTE: Your paper must meet the minimum requirements as outlined in the section of Weekly Written Assignments of the Assignment Guidelines and the grading criteria of this assignment. You are to provide a minimum of 2-3 references in your work. For this assignment, use of general google.com or Internet search references is not acceptable. Use the university librarys scholarly databases. 6. Respond to each of the following questions and statements: Stakeholders: Produce a list of all key stakeholders that you perceive to have a bona fide interest in the Merck companys dilemma. Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid: Frame the Merck companys ethical dilemma within the Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid. E.g. State briefly the key economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. As a focal point, compare and contrast the economic implications against the ethical and philanthropic considerations. Organizational Values: State briefly and specifically whether the decision to a) proceed with the drug project or b) not to proceed with the drug development best fits with the companys declared organizational values and its principles of profitability. Stakeholder Impact and Trust: If the drug development failed and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, would that harm to the company and its stakeholders be justifiable? If Merck decided not to pursue development of the new drug, what implications do you see this having for stakeholder relations such as the scientists who desire the development. E.g. Is this a trust and leadership consideration? Final Decision: If you were the CEO of Merck and the final decision on this risky new drug development was yours, what would you do and why? Justify your decision. Using Carrolls theory, are you comfortable stating your opinion to the board of trustees, employees, and media? NOTE: Since this is an actual, real-life case, your focus should be on producing creative and new thinking that applies the ethical concepts to the material. Also, include an introduction and conclusion in your paper. You are encouraged to use the headings above in Action Item 7 in your paper for organizational purposes. 7. Submit your paper to Turnitin.com. NOTE: Turnitin.com is used by Franklin University to assist students in detecting plagiarism. Turnitin generates a report within minutes of submitting your paper. Your results will not be e-mailed to you; you must login to review your results. Submitting a paper ahead of an assignment deadline provides you with the opportunity to take action if you need to rewrite any part of the paper. Your professor will provide you with a class ID and password as an e-mail or a Class Communication object. Submission Instructions By Sunday, upload your paper using the Submit tool. Grading Criteria Content and focus: Response addressed the question(s) posed in a logical, cohesive manner: 0 35 points Analysis and critical thinking: Writing illustrates higher order critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, and/or evaluation: 0 35 points Writing style, grammar, sentence structure: Sentences are consistently clear, concise, well written; grammar and punctuation are correct: 0 15 points APA and research: Correct use of APA style in body of paper and appropriately references the text and/or other research sources: 0 15 points

Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay

Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay We also had on a local well known blog attacks and insults of a ferocity which would never have been gratuitously made in a face to face situation. We tend to feel more unconstrained on the net and often seem to revel in the support which fellow bloggers of the same thoughts tend to give us in an immediate thread response. Examine this situation in the context of the assignment specification especially from the defamation and virtual privacy invasion point of view. Introduction Unethical behavior over the internet is becoming more common. Ranging from private discrete stalking termed cyber-stalking to public defamation, it is becoming increasingly imperative to analyze the ethical issues at stake in these situations. For a personal gain, the stalker makes use of the internet to harass and defame his victim by publicly posting private sensitive information about his victim or spreading false rumors. Facts about Online Stalking Due to the spreading of the Internet across all institutions worldwide, it has become much easier for stalking to take place. Every person probably has personal data available on the Internet, either being on a personal web page or profile; or else being available to search for in government, institutes and organizations databases. Online stalking is much easier than traditional physical stalking due to various reasons: The person being stalked would probably not be aware of such a fact until the stalker initiates contact with the victim Cyber stalking can be done from the comfort of the stalkers home, or from anonymous locations such as a public internet cafà © or an office environment (1). The most crucial fact is that it is done remotely and not by confronting the actual victim. The ferocity and malicious intent would probably be greater as the aggressor feels more unconstrained on the net than in a face to face confrontation. Several online technologies can be used to stalk online (cyber-stalking). For a stalker to research about the victim, traditional search engine as well as profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be used. To make direct contact with the victim, the stalker may make use of Instant Messaging (IM) services, online forums, and chat rooms. Alternatively the stalker may try to elicit a response from the victim by using techniques such as publishing defamatory statements about the victim in public places such as a web site, message boards, or a fake blog run in the victims name (2). Cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying is much more aggressive than if done face to face. The term cyber-bullying is more commonly associated when teenagers are involved in stalking and bullying online, while cyber-stalking is used for stalking involving adults. Dr. Bamford in (3) explains that the anonymity of the stalker greatly reduces traditional social and contextual attitudes such as tone of voice used and relevant body language. Anonymity can be achieved either by submitting comments in public places such as forums without an ID to trace back to the poster, or else using an alias with the aim of masking the aggressors identity. Without these attitudes, social norms and constraints are neglected, and further like-minded people might participate with the stalker in harassing the victim. Anonymity can also be easily achieved by using an anonymous remailer service (4). This would be specialized software aiming to achieve anonymity in the sending of emails. It strips the originating address from an email message and forwards it to its intended destination. All header information that might be used to track the sender is removed. According to U.S. statistics in 2007 (5), the majority of stalking victims are female at 78%. On the other hand, the majority of stalkers are male at 87%. Victims of stalking can range from a single person to whole organizations. A previous failed relationship can be a motivator for harassing a single person for emotional gain, while possible financial gain is a motivator for harassing groups or an organization. It is to the stalkers advantage however if the victim is singled out, making stalking on a single person more common than harassing a group of people. The main motives of stalking, as identified in (1), are: Stalking an ex-partner of a sexual relationship even after the relationship comes to an end. This can be due to a certain party not willing to accept that the relationship is over. Stalking however also takes place during a relationship. In a research by Tjaden and Thoennes in (6), it was concluded that nearly 60% of females are stalked by their male partner, while 30% of males are stalked by their female partner. Stalking with the aim of vengeance on the victim. This type is the most dangerous as the stalker is probably premeditating a violent attack on the victim due to a previous grudge. It is to be noted that the majority of this type of stalker are male. Stalking due to mental illnesses, ranging from delusional stalkers suffering from depressions to harasser stalkers suffering from a certain attention-seeking personality disorder. After obtaining the necessary vital information, in most cases the stalker exposes it publicly to defame his victim. Such public places include chat rooms and more commonly community areas such as online profiles and forums. The stalker may assume the identity of the victim by posting inflammatory and probably fictitious information in the name of the victim to elicit a response from the community (5). This type of action, termed Masquerading, is discussed later on. There are several defamatory actions that are viewed as illegal and prosecuted, some of which, as mentioned in (4), include the sending of malicious and threatening private messages over the Internet to the intended victim, libel at the intended victim, as well as the publication of messages in public places such as on a web site that show malicious intent to commit acts of hate-motivated violence. Cyber bullying is common in adolescent teens. In a survey carried out in (7), it was reported that 43% of U.S. teens have experienced some form of cyber-bullying in the previous year. This may be due to a lack of knowledge about the reason and the ways to protect private information. The internet and virtual communication environments in general, provide a perfect medium for a cyber bully to defame the victim constantly, even after school hours. In June 2003, a twelve-year old Japanese girl ended up killing her classmate after the latter defamed her on the Internet by the posting of certain messages (3). An example of group bullying is what happened to Canadian boy David Knight (3), who was a victim of a hate campaign when school mates built an online web site entitled Hate David Knight. The website contained defamatory pictures and abuse towards the victim. The group also encouraged the global online community to join their hate campaign. Another form of cyber attacks that is common amongst teens is Masquerading (3). This term refers to either when the stalker/attacker poses as somebody else who is close to the victim, or as the victim itself. In the first case, one can make use of the victims closest friend mobile phone to send harassing messages in the name of the friend, for example. In this way, the harasser remains anonymous while at the same time confusing the victim. In the second form of Masquerading, the stalker may obtain the victims login details for personal places such as personal blog, webpage or Facebook profile. This exchange of passwords amongst teens is very common, as it is considered a sign of true friendship and trust (3). The stalker would then proceed to defame the victim by posing as the victim himself/herself, producing a creditable and real scenario for fellow online friends to witness. Suicides due to Cyber-Stalking and Cyber-Bullying The effects of cyber-stalking on the victim can be quite damaging. We analyze two such cases where victims ended up committing suicide after being stalked or harassed over the Internet. The first case is the suicide of Megan Meier, a thirteen-year-old teenager that committed suicide on 17th October 2006 after being cyber-bullied on MySpace, a popular social networking website (8). A fake profile was set up on MySpace in the name of a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans who wanted to befriend Megan. On the day of the suicide, Megan and Josh had an argument online. Some other participants also joined in and in no time, there were messages and bulletins being sent to friends and schoolmates containing false accusations about Megan about her physique and sexual tendencies. This led to Megans suicide. From this case we can see how dangerous such a situation can be over the Internet, where like-minded people join with the stalker and behave unethically and inappropriately to the detriment of the victim. The second suicide case took place in Abu Dhabi when Emma Jones, a British teacher killed herself (9) after being defamed on the social networking site Facebook. The responsible harasser was her ex-boyfriend, who posted naked photos of Emma on Facebook. Allegedly he had obtained the photos illegally from Emmas computer. This public defamation coupled with the fact that she was working in an Islamic country that is very restrictive on such issues contributed to Emmas suicide. Stakeholders Involved and Related Ethical Issues At first glance, the stakeholders in cyber-stalking are mainly the stalker and the victim. However, it may not always be that clear to identify all stakeholders. The victims near family can become a stakeholder due to the victims possible actions, such as suicide, after being the victim of a privacy invasion or of public defamation. The controlling authorities of mediums that aided the stalker in retrieving sensitive information about the victim are also stakeholders. This however cannot be stated conclusively as legislations vary across various jurisdictions. In a certain jurisdiction, an action may be considered legal while in others it may not. In a case study of internet stalking (10), a twenty-year old girl named Amy Boyer from New Hampshire was murdered in October 1999. The murderer, Liam Youens, used to stalk her on the internet by searching for her personal information. Using search engine tools that are readily available to everyone, he was able to go through online databases and learn where his victim lived, worked and other personal details. He then set up two web sites, one of which publicly exposed all of Amys private details he managed to get hold of. On the other site he explicitly described his plan of murdering Amy. In this case, Amys immediate family members are stakeholders as they have to suffer her loss. The involvement of organizational entities as potential stakeholders is subject to ethical dilemmas. For example, the ISPs hosting the web sites might have a responsibility of monitoring the contents it hosts to avoid such cases. Also, the users reading the web sites might have an ethical obligation of informing the relevant authorities and assist the victims. We can therefore conclude that it is not always a clear-cut answer when identifying the involved stakeholders. They vary according to the case as well as what we judge as ethically right or wrong. In the case where the stalker is still an adolescent, the parents and teachers are also stakeholders as they are responsible for the development and education of the person in question. When they however see the deficiencies of laws and technology to deal with such issues, they realize they are quite powerless to avoid such a situation. As regards laws related to cyber-bullying, they are ambiguous and poorly put into practice (3). One reason for this is the lack of technical expertise and resources on the parts of the authorities such as the police, which would make it difficult to actually enforce the laws. The authorities would not have a clear understanding of a certain situation if necessary education and training has not been provided beforehand to deal with such situations. If we are to ethically analyze the shareholders in various situations concerning the internet, we first have to know who supposedly is in control of a situation and who has to take responsibility (11). Internet infrastructure companies such as Cisco and Oracle are considered as shareholders by some as they provide the internet network. However although these companies may provide the backbone structure, they would have limited interest in the content on their infrastructure. One can direct the blame on the ISPs, however these host limited content. Most newsgroups and chat rooms are nowadays hosted independently not by ISPs, and are not always easy to trace. It can be argued that a paradigm shift of Internet content has occurred from locally to globally (11). Whereas previously we had specialist ISPs hosting and providing all the content, we moved on to an era where the content is provided by the general end users. Examples of this are personal blogs and Twitter feeds. ISPs cannot be relieved of all the blame though. Even though one cannot expect them to pre-check content posted by their users, they should be willingly able to help should they receive a complaint or notification about particular content they are hosting or malicious users making use of their ISP services. Roger Darlington in (11) suggests that we first should understand what the word ethics means and represents in the context of the Internet before we can conclude who is a stakeholder or not. To have a better understanding of who is responsible for what on the Internet, he suggests that: We should accept that the Internet is not a value-free zone. We should act in a civilized manner as in the end it is us (the end users) who shape the Internet when providing content and services. Our actions on the Internet should be consistent with what we do in the real life. We should comply with laws when making use of the Internet in the same way as we do practically. The author suggests that we do not invent a new set of laws and values for the Internet; instead we apply the laws we are used to in the physical world for issues including discrimination, pornography and copyrights to name a few. We should be aware that the Internet is used by people from different cultures, religions and ethnicity. Where possible we should thus try to accommodate as much of the Internet society as possible. We should be responsive and accept feedback from the Internet user community. Ethical Issues One should make a discrepancy between what is legal and what is ethical. An action might be considered legal yet unethical. There is no law stopping a divorced man from setting up an online profile pretending to be a middle-aged woman who wants to befriend his ex-wife. Most people however would consider this behavior unethical. Although ethics are only moral guidelines and are not imposed on us like law is, they are more worldwide in judging if an action is right or wrong. As we already mentioned, various jurisdictions have inconsistent laws about similar issues concerning private information. In some countries, it may be legal to accumulate personal data on its citizens and store them in a public repository, while this practice might be illegal in other countries wishing to protect the citizens privacy. Ethical dilemmas arise in such a case. A stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. The service is not illegal as it operates from a different country, however such action borders on whether it is ethical or not. It is difficult to deal with such ethical issues due to a lack of technological understanding from certain authority parties. Political parties demanding that there should be more control on hosted content such as newsgroups and chat rooms would most of the time have limited knowledge about how these are hosted. Also they ignore the fact that it is a near impossible scenario to monitor and control all the information exchange that takes place. Even when laws are not in place, a responsible party such as a web hosting company should have a moral responsibility to control the content it hosts. For example, if a company hosts a web site about how to make or detonate a bomb, it should not walk away claiming to not be responsible if such information is made use of by members of the public for malicious purposes. Roger Darlington in (11) proposes some useful solutions to prevent ethical problems on the internet such as cyber stalking and cyber bullying. Laws should be modernized to reflect changing times and to make them in context with the use of the Internet. They should take into account new crimes that are not possible in the physical world such as grooming of under-age girls in chat rooms as well as cyber stalking to name a few. Such actions should be punished by crime fighters who are specifically technically trained for such high tech situations. These fighters should possess all necessary resources to tackle such cyber criminals. As already mentioned, most of cyber stalking and bullying takes place in open online communities, where the harasser can defame and expose his victim in front of a large audience. Due to this fact, these spectators witnessing such unethical behavior should be morally obliged to take action and help the victim. In the United Kingdom, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) runs a hotline where Internet users can confidentially report such criminal behavior or contents. These foundations would be equipped with knowledge and techniques how to deal with such situations by judging the legality of the cases and identifying the culprits. If the content is deemed illegal and is hosted within the foundations jurisdiction area, they can issue a notice to the relevant ISP hosting the material to take action by removing the content (11). Maltese Law In 2002, the Data Protection Act (12) was amended in Malta to protect private data from getting into the hands of cyber-stalkers, cyber-bullies, harassers, and all those with a malicious intent to defame or invade the privacy of a victim. The document contains a number of clause articles that help protect private data. The seventh Article ensures that when data is processed, it is processed fairly and lawfully. The data collected should be specific and used for explicitly stated legitimate purposes. This clause protects the subject from revealing more data than is necessary or required. Article nine of the document clearly states that the subject must give consent before such data provided can be processed. The subject also has the right to revoke his/her consent to sensitive data processing providing legitimate grounds for the revocation. This is specified in Article 11. Cyber-stalkers wishing to learn personal information about a subject can illegitimately pose as a third-party company that makes use of this sensitive data for marketing purposes. Article 10 of the Data Protection Act specifically protects the subject from such third-parties by having the choice not to disclose his information with such parties. Article twelve focuses specifically on Sensitive Personal Data, and states that the processing of sensitive data can only take place if the subject gives consent or else has made this sensitive data public. This latter case is one which stalkers profit from, as they make use of already publicized data to defame an individual without any needed consent from the subject in question. They would not have obtained the information illegally as it would be publicly available, for example on the victims Facebook profile. One can easily view pictures of the victim and read personal information such as locality and workplace if the victim has not adjusted his/her privacy settings accordingly. Only in extreme cases, such as if a subject is being investigated or is an issue for national security, public security or the defense should secrecy restrictions be temporarily lifted. This is stated in Article 23. The Data Protection Act also prevents third parties with possible malicious intentions from processing and accessing personal data. In fact, Article 25 specifies which persons are authorized to process data. In the previous section, we discussed whether it is ethical if a stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. Article 27 deals specifically with such a case, whereby the transfer of sensitive data to a third country is subject to it having adequate levels of protection for this data. So if this third country does not protect the data as resiliently as the citizens country, then the third country would have no right in requesting for such information. Ethical Analysis: Consequentialist Theory A consequentialist ethical theory is a theory that focuses on the overall general consequences arising from an action. This type of ethical theory judges the rightness or wrongness of an action by analyzing the consequences of such an action. In fact it can be defined as a general normative theory that bases the moral evaluation of acts, rules, institutions, etc. solely on the goodness of their consequences, where the standard of goodness employed is a standard of non-moral goodness. (13) Utilitarianism is an example of a consequentialist ethical theory. In Utilitarianism, an action is considered ethically right if it results in the best consequences. Jeremy Bentham, an ancient philosopher and advocate of utilitarianism, defines a right action as that action is best that produces the greatest good for the greatest number (14).   However it is not always clear how a quantitative measurement of right or wrong due to an action can be defined. Also it is difficult to compare utilities as they are subject to individual interpretations. One can argue that harm done to a man and a tree should be treated equally as bad, while others argue that harm done to a human is more wrong than harming a tree. The utilitarian theory does not state that no wrong consequences can result from an action. It is only concerned with the greater good, so if a small minority of people suffers great harm while the vast majority enjoys a small benefit, the overall action is considered as ethically right. Apart from being concerned with the consequences from an action, Utilitarianism can also be applied to laws and rules. This type, called Rule Utilitarianism is concerned with the consequences from a rule. A rule is considered good if it satisfies the majority of the people. Applying this ethical theory to the concept of cyber-stalking and harassment over the Internet, we must decide if an action is morally right or wrong by analyzing the consequences it has on the respective shareholders. The amendment and enforcement of legislation against cyber-stalking is ethically right in a consequentialist view. It harms the minority that go against it, however the majority of the Internet society benefit from having a safer environment. The same argument can be applied to the already-mentioned ethical issue about whether ISPs should monitor the contents they host and act if a complaint is received. By controlling the content they host, ISPs would be punishing those who post malicious messages or information by banning them from posting for example. The greater good is ensured though, as the Internet society as well as the potential victims of such harassers would have a safer future experience on the Internet. Ethical Analysis: Duty Theory A duty ethical theory, or Deontology, is rather different from Consequentialism. In Deontology, an action is right if it satisfies a principle or moral rule, without any concern for the overall consequences. It is the acts that determine if something is ethically right or wrong, not the consequences as in Consequentialism. Morality is determined according to rationally recognizing ones duties towards others (15). Same as in Consequentialism, Deontology can also be branched into two types: a set of ethical theories concerning actions and another set concerning the rules (15). Both sets of ethical theories however state that the good comes from our own ability to carry out our moral obligations. Kantianism, or Kantian Ethics, is an example of a deontological ethical theory which falls under the deontological set of theories concerning rules. Kant states that for one to act morally right, he needs to act according to his duty, which must be good in itself. The motives of the action ultimately determine if an action is ethically right or wrong. In cyber-stalking, the stakeholders must act according to what their duty is. Taking the ISP ethical issue, the ISP must always seek to satisfy and protect his clients, providing that what they are posting on the Internet is morally correct. We discussed many cases where the stalker or harasser hides behind anonymity to attack the victim. It is the duty of the stalker to respect the victim over the Internet and act in a consistent way as he would when face-to-face with the victim. Failing to do so will result in unethical behavior according to Kantianism. All stakeholders must perform their duty to behave ethically correct. We shall take into example the already discussed case where a citizen makes use of a detective service operating in a third country to discover information about another person living in his country. Law makers and law enforcers in both countries should act ethically and perform their duty in protecting their citizens, by amending specific laws which protect a persons privacy even online. In this scenario, it would become illegal to obtain such information using this service, thus it will be the citizen requesting information who is behaving unethically. In the Amy Boyer case, the general public who read the websites set up by Liam Youens had the duty to inform the relevant authorities such as the ISP hosting the websites. According to the Kantianism view, the complaint by these users to the relevant authorities is the correct ethical action to perform. Conclusion Cyber-stalking and online harassment is a major issue that is ever increasing as more people make use of online facilities to disclose private information. Whether disclosing the data involuntary, by filling forms with sensitive data that ends up being shared with third-parties, or voluntary by posting it on personal profiles such as Facebook and MySpace, it is becoming increasingly likely and easier to stalk a person by obtaining all necessary personal information. Such stalking often has devastating effects on the victim. We discussed several cases where acts of stalking or defamation over the Internet ended up with the victim committing suicide. In most cases, this would be because of the public humiliation suffered by the victim when the harasser and similarly-minded people behave unethically over the Internet. We showed that such people feel more unconstrained when attacking from a safe and anonymous environment than when facing the victim in the physical world. Legislations need to be devised to minimize such cases as much as possible. Locally, the Data Protection Act is one such legal document that protects sensitive data of the citizens. The problem however lies with inconsistencies between various jurisdictions in accepting and implementing such legislations. Only when a set of unambiguous and consistent rules is devised can all the relevant stakeholders in such cyber-stalking issues know what the right course of action to behave ethically is. To help us in our moral and ethical judgment and how we should act in cyber-stalking issues, we discussed and contrasted the two major theories of ethics of conduct: Consequentialism and Deontology. While Consequentialism states that the right action is the one that produces the most intrinsic good for the majority of the stakeholders, Deontology states that the right action is to perform ones duty in the circumstances. For both ethical theories, we focused on Utilitarianism and Kantianism respectively as a practical example. For each, we evaluated how the stakeholders should act when faced with the ethical issues and cases that were discussed.

Grief and Bereavement Essay -- essays research papers

The time that immediately follows the death of a loved one can be very distressing. Bereavement is something that we all experience at some stage of our lives, but not often, therefore we do not get much opportunity to learn how to deal with it. Everybody reacts differently to the loss of someone close. Grieving is a natural process which ever way it is manifested. The time that immediately follows the death can be filled with a stunned belief even if the death was not totally unexpected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes it is not until later that the emotional feelings reveal themselves. Some people need to actually see the body of the deceased in order for the death to register in their minds. Other people would rather not see the body if this is the case then it is recommended that they do not.1 Sometimes it is best to remember your loved ones the way they were.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The funeral itself often brings a feeling of closure. The person is now at rest forever and life goes on. Some people will experience grief for many years after the death, particularly if the death was unexpected. Some people never fully recover but learn to cope with their loss instead. After a death it is natural to feel angry, perhaps toward the medical staff or the doctors who were trying to prevent the death. You may feel anger toward other members of the family. It is even possible that you would feel anger toward the person who has died.2 Anger can be expressed in many ways, but usually it is expressed openly and verbally. When the anger is verbalized, one may listen supportively, even if these emotions appear irrational. Anger after bereavement is understandable, and individuals who vent anger usually are not in the position to examine irrationality. Simply saying ‘’I understand’’ may be an effective way of helping the bereaved d evelop an understanding of his anger.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another common emotion is guilt. The bereaved are always likely to go over and over in their minds the days leading up to the death, wondering what they could have done to prevent it. This emotion is especially true when the death is due to an accident. Bereaving people who are experiencing this emotion should be reminded that death is beyond their control and nothing they could have done would have prevented it.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Closer the relationship, the more chance for guilt to be a part of the response.5 With members of ... ...’pull yourself together’’. It is also important to understand why bereaving people keep going over the same ground, saying the same things over and over and becoming repeatedly distressed. This is an important part of the grieving process an should be encouraged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we love someone and they die, it can feel devastating. This seems to be a universal part of our human experience. We make friends whom we go to school with and work with. It is part of our makeup to form strong bonds of caring and affection with other people. The forces that draw us to others are deeply entwined in our nature. But we are not solitary, and the price we pay for our attachment is vulnerability; the risk of loss. Because we depend on other people, because they do matter, they occupy a special place in our hearts. When someone we love is gone from our lives, it is as if a piece of us is torn away. Grief is that process by which our minds heal this hurt. Through the process of mourning, we gradually accept the loss. We allow the dead to be gone from our lives. At the end of mourning, there is still sadness, but it is a wistful sadness that is tempered by the happy memories that we still possess.

Jane Eyre and Her Struggles Essay -- essays research papers

Jane Eyre and Her Struggles Jane Eyre is a classic English novel which follows the development of a young woman in the mid 1800's. Jane grows to be a smart, self supporting, independent woman. This becomes a struggle for her as she was brought up to live in the lower-class. Throughout this novel, Jane tries to show that class and gender should not affect personality. This novel explains Jane’s struggle against societal expectations of class and of gender. Jane’s initial struggle begins as she is brought up by her aunt. Jane is living in an upper-class household and is being treated as a person of the lower-class. Jane would be antagonized on a daily basis by the Reed children. As an outcast, Jane realizes at an early age how much class affects the behavior of people in society. Jane would be punished by Mrs. Reed regularly, which may have fueled her rebellious nature. A specific example would be when Jane was sent to the â€Å"red room† by Mrs. Reed as punishment for fighting with her son. This was the room where Mrs. Reed’s husband was found dead. This shows that Mrs. Reed had absolutely no respect for Jane as an individual as Mrs. Reed knew that Jane believed that the room was haunted. This event also shows that Mrs. Reed does not respect her deceased husband, as she abandoned the room after he was found. Soon after, Jane decides that she would like to go to school. Mr. Brocklehurst, founder of Lowood School admits Jane to the school. Mrs. Reed then explains to him that Jane is a problematic child. As soon as he leaves the household, Jane verbally attacks Mrs. Reed and has a feeling of accomplishment. Name 2 Jane’s initial confrontation with Mr. Brocklehurst inside the school leaves her in misery as she i... ...he was teaching the children. Eventually, when St. John attempts to ask Jane for her hand in marriage, she rejects him. He told her that it would only be in business, as he was to become a missionary and wanted her to help him. Jane does not believe in that kind of matrimony, so that was why she denied him. St. John’s two sisters, like Jane were very intellectual and loved to read. Jane loved having conversations with them, as they were as intellectual as she was. These characters raised Jane’s expectations of society. This classic English novel focuses on Jane’s struggle against societal expectations of class and of gender. Jane had many struggles with many characters throughout the novel, and this essay focused on some of the most important characters and the most important instances. Those struggles helped her become a smart, independent woman.

Environmental Sociology Essay

Since ancient times, human beings have been persistent in modifying their environment through changes in various natural resources. However, the commencement of Industrial Revolution paved way for much of human activity that has had a strong impact on the global landscape. It is without question that the activities of human affect the composition of the environmental balance. Nevertheless, the unprecedented move of humanity toward industrialization over the past several thousands of years has resulted in serious concerns on the energy balance of the entire planet. The dramatic changes in the environmental makeup are clearly within humans today, attested by various environmental pollutants and their impact throughout much of the globe (Mayewski). In New England, the environmental pollution influenced by man has brought about extreme conditions recorded in history. Thus, this paper seeks to understand and identify three of the environmental issues in the New England area that existed within the past 10 years and still exist today that negatively affected the environment and the society. Extreme Climatic Event Due to Human Induced Causes The weather and climate in New England is considered to be the most varied in the globe because they include extremes of temperatures as well as heavy rainfalls, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, blizzards, and the likes. The said weather and climate variations in the state are influenced by many factors such as its geographical setting. Hence, the region’s weather is identified as notorious, characterized by its capability to change in a matter of minutes. However, the said climate changes are not only a result of the region’s geographical location; human-induced causes were also accounted for the dramatic changes in the state’s weather and climate. The continuous emission of airborne pollutants coming from industrial landscapes, metropolitan areas, transportation corridors, and other polluting human activities affect weather patterns on a regional landscape (Zielinski). As the people of New England incessantly engage in pollution-inducing activities, the past decade in New England history witnessed episodic ozone events, one of which is the recent tornado that struck New Hampshire on July 24, 2008. The tornado traveled through 11 towns from 11:30am to 12:50pm, killing one person, damaging more than 200 homes and structures, and destructing thousands of trees. However, what is puzzling about the occurrence of the said calamity is the fact that tornadoes do not usually happen in New England, since 1950 only 9 tornadoes occurred in the said state. The cool temperature in the state stabilizes the atmosphere, suppressing the opportunity for the development of tornadoes (Forbes). However, with this recent activity and the increasing number of individuals contributing to the induction of pollution, it can be assumed that the reason behind such catastrophe is associated with the climate and weather altering capabilities of the human-induced pollutions. Although there are interventions in order to avoid human-induced pollutions that contribute to the series of climatic events in New England, the continuous support of individuals in the use of potentially hazardous environmental materials is still widespread. Air Pollution Air pollution is also another environmental issue in New England. The major metropolitan centers and transportation areas in the region are pointed as the primary contributors for the release of hazardous chemicals in the air. The issue of air quality in New England is notable during the season of summer in the said state. In a 2002 study, it was noted that every summer, the high temperature in New England raises ozone alerts and poor air quality. To quote Jim Meagher of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s): â€Å"A review of air pollution episodes in New England suggests that blobs of polluted air often lurk in the Gulf of Maine during the summer months, causing high pollution levels in coastal areas† (qtd. in McGehan and Seif). Such claim was backed up by the American Lung Association of New England (ALANE) saying that the public is at risk for ozone poisoning every summer in the New England region. Just last year, it was recorded that New England had 54 days of high levels of ground level-ozone caused by pollutants emitted by cars and the burning of fossil fuels from power plants, refineries, industrial boilers, and other sources that chemically react with sunlight. According to the EPA, if the ozone level lasted for 98 days, the air quality in the said area could have been qualified as unhealthy. It was also found that due to such high levels of ozone in the region, New England was reported the highest asthma rates among the states in the USA. Studies also show that if such pattern of high ozone levels will remain, not only will it be a danger to the individuals suffering from respiratory diseases, but it can also lead to premature death for children and destruction of nature’s balance through the depletion of ozone layer and the degradation of soil and water. While the people from New England blame the states from the west because of such pollution, ALANE stated that typical New England states like Connecticut creates 40% of air pollution through automobiles and other local sources (qtd in â€Å"ALANE says Stronger Air†). As a response to the ongoing issue of air pollution in New England, the region has adhered to the Clean Air Act, a federal law regulating air emission from both stationary and mobile sources. As a result, the sulfur oxide emissions in the region have reduced. Likewise, most of the companies in the region are permitting air emissions in order to reduce excess smoke and pollution and multi-organization efforts are done in order to continuously test the air quality in New England. Water Pollution In the recent New England study, it was found that the water quality in the said region has already improved right after the adoption of advanced treatment of municipal and industrial wastes. However, there are still areas in the state experiencing low quality ground and surface water (Foster). Just in 2008, a complaint was filed against Kaler Oil Company Inc. in North Bath, Maine and other oil storage and distribution company when they failed to prepare and fully implement the â€Å"Spill and, Control, and Countermeasure† (SPCC) which is required by the federal Clean Water Act. Without the instant response, the possibility of drinking contaminated water could have lead to poisoning. Kaler Company and the others that failed to comply faced a maximum penalty of $157, 500 (MTBE Staff). Another case was that of the lawsuit filed against the New Hampshire’s regional fuel suppliers who were responsible for contaminating surrounding areas ground water with the use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE is a substance added to the gasoline supplies of the nation in order to cut down pollution emissions. However, despite the advantages posited by such substance, MTBE chemically binds with ground water. Unlike other form of pollutants that can be filtered, MTBE is resistant and can develop into a much harmful chemical overtime. Hence, aside from its risk for the human health, it is feared by the officials that high concentrations of MTBE can go undetected for many years and can be the reason for the deterioration of the region’s bedrock aquifers. The filed lawsuit is said to be still away from the trial, but the citizens and local officials of New Hampshire are lobbying for the case to go on trial (Wacker). Based on the cases aforementioned, it is evident that water pollution is not only a human concern, but also a burden to the environment. Based on the above perspectives, what New England is experiencing and have experienced during the past years may not be in the same wavelength as that of the impact of Chernobyl incident in Ukraine, an incident that rooted from the desire of humans to amass nuclear power and further urbanization and industrialization, which ended in a tragic way and is continuously affecting the lives of many citizens. However, just like the Chernobyl incident, there is a possibility that the present environmental issues impacting present generation can be carried out in the near future. Just like what Maryann De Leo’s Chernobyl Heart Documentary presented, the long term impact of present day activities could affect innocent children. Though it can be assumed that the local government in New England is seeking solutions for the ongoing environmental issues being experienced by the state, the continuous support of the citizens to activities that induce environmental pollution should not be disregarded, as it may result in the total degradation of the environment and human health. The long-term effect of environmental balance destruction should also be safeguarded, as the broad range of nature’s destructive capabilities is still unpredictable to date. Works Cited â€Å"American Lung Association of New England (ALANE) says stronger air quality standards urgently needed. † Medical News Today. 26 May 2008. 5 March 2009 . Chernobyl Heart Documentary. 2003. Dir. De Leo, Maryann. Downtown TV Documentaries Production. Foster, Debra. â€Å"New England water is improving but problems remain, says new USGS report. † Bio-Medicine. 30 April 1999. 5 March 2009 . Forbes, Greg. â€Å"Record New England tornado. † The weather channel. 1 August 2008. 5 March 2009 . Mayewski, Paul A. â€Å"New England’s Changing Climate, Weather, and Air Quality: Chapter 1- Global Climate Change Sets the Stage for Viewing Climate Change in New England. † New England Climate Initiative (NECI). 1998. 5 March 2009 . McGehan, Barbara and Seif, Amy. â€Å"Air quality study focuses on New England. † U. S. Department of Energy. 9 July 2002. 5 March 2009 .