Global Warming Issues Facing the U.S. Today Essay

Throughout history, the fastest increase rate in the average global temperature has been recorded during the past 50 years, and experts further believe that the trend is alarmingly accelerating. Global warming is a complex phenomenon, and its full-blown consequences are difficult to foresee ahead of time. Nevertheless, every year scientists gain more knowledge of how global warming is upsetting the planet, and many have the same opinion that definite outcomes are expected to take place if present trends persist. Unless Americans reduce global warming emissions, distressing and almost irreversible impact on the country, planet and its life will be greatly expected in the near future. United States Issues Air pollutants, particularly carbon dioxide that is accumulating in the atmosphere is condensing extensively, trapping the heat of the sun and causing the earth to warm up. Despite the fact that Americans make up merely 4 percent of the world’s inhabitants, yet through fossil-fuel burning, they generate roughly 25 percent of the worldwide carbon dioxide pollution, which is considerably the largest share of any nation (â€Å"Global Warming Basics†). In the United States, the largest sources of carbon dioxide are the coal-burning power plants, producing 2. 5 billion tons annually; while automobiles running throughout the country’s streets are the second largest source, producing almost 1. 5 billion tons each year (â€Å"Global Warming Basics†). In the United States, global warming is already causing damage in its numerous regions. In June 2006, a panel organized by the United States National Research Council, the leading science policy body of the country, expressed confidence that the planet is the hottest it has been in at least four centuries, and probably even the last 20 centuries (â€Å"Global Warming†). Snow buildup in the United States has declined by almost 60 percent and winter seasons have abridged in a number of regions of the Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon since the early 1950s (â€Å"Global Warming Basics†). Oregon, Arizona and Colorado suffered their most terrible wildlife seasons, and drought produced relentless dust storms in Kansas, Colorado and Montana, and floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in destruction in North Dakota, Kansas, Colorado and Montana. All the same, by the last part of the century, global warming is expected to further elevate the typical temperatures of the United States to three to nine degrees, which is expected to affect more of the country’s species and wildlife that cannot endure warmer environments. Americans wellbeing is as well in jeopardy, as abnormal climate changes may bring about the spread of certain illnesses, a greater possibility of heat stroke, poor air quality, and the flooding of the country’s foremost cities. Conclusion America must take a leadership function in solving the global warming crisis. Technologies exist today that make power plants produce electricity from nonpolluting sources, cars burn less gas and run cleaner, and electricity consumption lower and more efficient. Americans can take the initial move in seriously campaigning for energy conservation and manufacturing of more efficient appliances, as well as increase their reliance on renewable energy sources such as geothermal, sun and wind. Currently, the challenge for the country is to be certain that these solutions are implemented. Unfortunately, while the technologies are present, the country’s political and corporate will to put them into extensive exploitation are waning. Without doubt, every Americans must demand for it if development and environmental sustainability are desired to be achieved. Works Cited â€Å"Global Warming. † 2008. Standford SOLAR Center. 16 March 2009 . â€Å"Global Warming Basics. † 18 October 2005. Natural Resources Defense Council. 16 March 2009 .

Ap European History Reading Questions-Chapter 15

1. The upmost important reason for economic and social problems that troubled Europe from 1560 to 1650 was an incredible inflation among other things. The Spanish empire brought tons of gold back to Europe and caused the value of gold to plummet. Since this was a situation that Europe had never experienced, they didn't understand it. More gold was supposed to be good, right? Suddenly prices started to rise for no reason. Also in Spain, unlike gold, there was very little silver being produced at the time and therefore pirate attacks began to take place.Other problems facing Europe during this time include, population decline, plague, economic warfare, and famine. As a result of all these problems, social tension was greatly increased, all involved with a â€Å"crisis† at hand. 2. Although initially caused by religious issues, by the mid 1630s the Thirty Years War had become a dynastic conflict between two Catholic powers; France and the Hapsburgs. As the Battle of the Boyne and the Jacobite risings the '15 and the '45 in Scotland were directly linked to religious ideas that the TYW was the last religious war in Europe are therefore mistaken.Really, a more accurate name for the Thirty Years’ War would be, ‘The first modern war' would be more accurate. New tactics, deployments, equipment and methods were introduced in European armies which were widely adopted within a decade by almost all armies and all further developed over the next few decades. 3. The Military Revolution refers to a radical change in military strategy and tactics with resulting major changes in government. The concept was introduced by Michael Roberts in the 1950s as he focused on Sweden 1560–1660 searching for major changes in the European way of war caused by introduction of portable firearms.Roberts linked military technology with larger historical consequences, arguing that innovations in tactics, drill and doctrine by the Dutch and Swedes 1560–1660, which maximized the utility of firearms, led to a need for more trained troops and thus for permanent forces. These changes in turn had major political consequences in the level of administrative support and the supply of money, men and provisions, producing new financial demands and the creation of new governmental institutions. Thus, argued Roberts, the modern art of war made possible — and necessary — the creation of the modern state. † 4. Women were viewed as being spiritually weaker than men, and more susceptible to demonic influence, and this meant that women tended to be suspected of being witches much more often than men. However, this was not a consistent pattern found throughout Europe. In some regions, there were more men convicted of witchcraft than women, in the Lorraine region of France for example, and in Iceland, where the overwhelming majority of convictions were of men.Overall though, about 75% of those executed for witchcraft were women. So ultimatel y what this suggests about women in the 16th and 17th centuries is that women were not nearly as important as men in society during this time. 5. Absolutism pertains to an absolutist state, where all power, or sovereignty is made in the ruler. These rulers claimed to have divine right, meaning they ruled by the grace of God and were responsible only to God. However, these absolute monarchs respected the basic laws of the land.They controlled interest groups within their territories and created bureaucracies as well, in which the offices held public/state positions, directing the economy to the benefit of the king. Absolute monarchs also kept permanent standing armies and created new methods of compulsion. Louis XIV of France was an aggressive expansionist. He followed in the footsteps of Cardinal Richelieu in that aspect. His foreign policies were mainly against the Habsburg dynasty's power and the ownership of French-speaking territories by nations other than France.Hence, his fore ign policies included many wars. He took over the Spanish Netherlands and some of the United Provinces of Holland, and Franche-Comte. However, his aggressive advances caused alliances to be formed against him which included the Habsburg domains of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, England, and Holland in all of their incarnations. Eventually, Louis XIV could not defeat the alliances, and some acquired territories were lost again in treaties, even French colonies. 6.The reign of Peter the Great marked the emergence of a decisive Russian influence in European affairs, an influence that would last into the twenty-first century. It was Peter who inaugurated modern Russia's vigorous and aggressive foreign policy against its three neighboring states, Sweden, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire. Through the Great Northern War (1700-1721), he decisively broke Sweden's supremacy in the Baltic, while his wars against the Ottoman Turks and his interference in the internal affairs of Poland set prece dents that later Russian rulers would follow in subsequent decades.These great strides made by Russia in Eastern Europe were to a considerable extent the result of Peter's extensive program of reforms, which touched all facets of Russian life. 7. Although it may sound strange, it was Napoleon who was majorly responsible for the transformation of Brandenburg-Prussia. Napoleon invaded half of Europe and also the most German states. Only East Prussia remained free and became the leader in the â€Å"Befreiungskrieg† (Freedom war) against France. It was this war against Napoleon 1812-1815 that created a common German national feeling.This transformation is still evident in modern society of Germany today. 8. In the later fifteenth century- the period of the ‘refoundation of the Crown’, in Sir John’s Fortescue’s phrase- there was a marked change in the structure of politics and hence in the nature and role of faction also; a politics of many centres becam e a politics of one. To begin with, in the feebly strange grasp of Henry IV the monarchy had descended into being one noble faction among many- and not necessarily the strongest.The fact became manifest from 1456 when the King abandoned the government of the kingdom: the court withdrew from London to Coventry in the heart of the Lancastrian lands, and the national revenues were diverted from the Exchequer and used directly- like the income of any other lord- to pay for the royal household and the royal retainers. Henry was now only effectively Duke of Lancaster and he was soon to loose that. 9. The main issue was a disagreement between the king and Parliament about who had ultimate political power.King Charles believed in Divine Right, the idea that he was king because God wanted him to be. Further, as the king's power was God given, no earthly power or person could justly remove it from him. Parliament saw themselves as the elected representatives of the People and therefore believ ed they should have ultimate political authority, even over the king. Thus, when Charles needed money, Parliament would refuse to cooperate unless Charles addressed alleged abuses of his power first. This always led to political deadlock, and eventually to civil war.Puritans took control of Parliament's war effort during the First English Civil War, and by 1646 and the end of the war extreme Puritans known as Independents had taken control of the military, The NMA. Using the NMA as his power base, Oliver Cromwell was able to intimidate Parliament into the execution of Charles I, The abolition of the Monarchy, and the establishment of the Commonwealth. The main change was that, on the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Parliament ensured that the King had a guaranteed annual income that was enough both to live off his own, and pay for the ordinary expenses of state and expenses. 10.The Dutch Republic, officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces Federated Dutch Provinces and Dutch Federation. 11. Art reflected the political and social life of the second half of the seventeenth century primarily through mannerism, which reflected environment attempt to break down renaissance principles.Baroque however, reflected search for power and just the will to control all people during that time. Then, literature reflected political and social life during this time through writing research on a new type of stage, known as the â€Å"golden stage of literature. † Literature was a major component of this time period also in that in was an era of many great dramas and playwrights such as the still-praised today, William Shakespeare. 12. Form s of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal autonomy the monarch holds in governance, the method of selection of the monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their tenure.When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a form of autocracy. Cases in which the monarch's discretion is formally limited (most common today) are called constitutional monarchies. In hereditary monarchies, the office is passed through inheritance within a family group, whereas elective monarchies are selected by some system of voting. Historically these systems are most commonly combined, either formally or informally, in some manner. For instance, in some elected monarchies only those of certain pedigrees are considered eligible, whereas many hereditary monarchies have legal requirements regarding the religion, age, gender, mental capacity, and other factors that act both as de facto elections and to create si tuations of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. ) Finally, there are situations in which the expiration of a monarch’s reign is set based either on the calendar or on the achievement of certain goals (repulse of invasion, for instance. )

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 21

Chapter 21 AVENGING ANGEL Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, Theo thought. He twisted his ankle when he hit the ground; pain shot up his leg like liquid fire. He fell and rolled onto his back in the mud. He'd pushed the remote button that unlocked the Range Rover too soon the vehicle had chirped and the lights had blinked, alerting the undead. He'd made the jump blind, and missed. They were coming for him. He pushed himself up and started hopping toward the Range Rover the car key ready in his right hand, his flashlight lost behind him in the mud. Grab him, you rotting fucks,† screamed Dale Pearson. Theo fell forward as his good foot slipped out from under him, but he rolled back to his feet, a bolt of pain shooting white-hot across his shin. He caught himself on the back window of the black Range Rover, snatching at the rear wiper for balance. He risked a glance back toward his pursuers and heard a loud thump by his head followed by a deafening screech. He turned just in time to see a skeletal woman sliding across the roof of the Range Rover, leading with her teeth. He ducked, but not before he felt fingernails raking his neck, teeth thumping into his scalp. She rode him to the ground and he could feel a grating pain in his head as the zombie tried to bite through his skull. His face was pushed into the mud. His nostrils and mouth filled with water, and amid a flashing whiteness of terror he thought, I'm so sorry, Molly. â€Å"Yuck! That's hideous!† said Bess Leander, spitting a couple of teeth on the back of Theo's head. Marty in the Morning grabbed Theo by the head and licked the teeth marks that Bess had left. â€Å"That's horrible. He's stoned. I'm not eating stoned brains.† The undead moaned in disappointment. â€Å"Get him up,† said Dale. Theo inhaled a great spray of mud along with his first breath and he went into a coughing fit as the undead lifted him up and held him against the back window of the Range Rover. Someone wiped the mud out of his eyes, and a stench that made him gag filled his nostrils. He could see the dead but animated face of Dale Pearson only inches from his own. The corpse's foul breath overwhelmed him. Theo tried to twist away from the evil Santa, but decaying hands held his head fast. â€Å"Hey, hippie,† said Dale. He held Theo's flashlight down by his Santa beard to illuminate his face from below. There were two stripes of bloody drool running down either side of the beard. â€Å"You're not thinking that your pot-smoking ways are going to save you, are you? Don't.† He pulled a snub-nose revolver out of the pocket of his red coat and shoved it under Theo's chin. â€Å"We'll have plenty to eat. We can afford to waste you.† Dale ripped open the Velcro fasteners of Theo's jacket and started feeling around his waist. â€Å"No gun? You suck as a lawman, hippie.† He went to the pockets of Theo's cop shirt. â€Å"But this! The one thing you can be depended on for.† Dale held up Theo's lighter, then reached in, tore the whole pocket off the cop shirt, and wrapped the dry fabric around the lighter. â€Å"Marty, try this. Keep it dry.† Dale gave the lighter to a rotting guy with a wet Ziggy Stardust red mullet, who slogged back to the pile of debris at the side of the chapel. Theo watched as Marty in the Morning bent over the pile of plywood, pine branches, two-by-fours, cardboard, and the torn-up body of Ben Miller. The wind was still whipping, the rain less intense now, but even so the drops stung Theo's face when they hit. Don't light, don't light, don't light, Theo chanted in his head, but then his hope drained away when he saw the orange flame catch on the debris, and Marty in the Morning pull away with his sleeve on fire. Dale Pearson stepped aside so Theo could see the fire whipping up the side of the building, then put the .38 against Theo's temple. â€Å"Take a good look at our little barbecue fire, hippie. It's the last thing you're going to see. We're gonna eat your crazy wife's brains char-broiled.† Theo smiled, happy that Molly wasn't inside, wouldn't be part of the massacre. â€Å"I didn't hear ‘Shave and a Haircut, † said Ignacio Nunez. â€Å"Did you hear ‘Shave and a Haircut'?† Tuck panned his flashlight across a dozen frightened faces, then one whole side of the chapel went orange with the light from the fire outside the windows. One woman screamed, others stared in horror as smoke started to snake in around the window frames. â€Å"Change of plan,† Tuck said. â€Å"We go now. Guys in front of your groups. Give the car keys to the next person back.† â€Å"They'll be waiting for us,† said Val Riordan. â€Å"Fine, you burn up,† Tuck said. â€Å"Guys, knock over whatever gets in your way, everyone behind just keep going for the cars.† All the barricades and braces had been removed from the chapel doors. Tuck put his shoulder against one door, Gabe Fenton was on the other. â€Å"Ready. One, two, three!† They threw their shoulders against the doors and bounced back into the others. The doors had only opened a couple of inches. Someone shone a flashlight through the gap to reveal a huge pine-tree trunk braced against one of the doors. â€Å"New plan,† shouted Tuck. Theo tried to look at the fire, but he couldn't see beyond the undead eyes of Dale Pearson. Thought had fled. There was just fear and anger and the pressure of the gun barrel against his temple. He heard a whooshing sound and a thump by his ear and the gun barrel was gone. Dale Pearson was stepping away from him, holding a dark stump where his gun hand had just been. Dale opened his mouth to shout something, but in that second a thin line appeared across his face at nostril level and half of his head slid to the ground. He slumped in a pile at Theo's feet. The hands that were holding Theo let go. â€Å"Brains!† screamed one of the undead. â€Å"Crazy-woman brains!† Theo fell on top of Dale's rekilled body, then spun around to see what was happening. â€Å"Hi, honey,† Molly said. She stood on the roof of the Range Rover, grinning, wearing a leather jacket, sweatpants, and her red Converse All Stars, holding the ancient Japanese sword in Hasso No Kamae before her, the blade gleaming orange in the light from the burning church. There was a dark swath across the blade where it had hewn the head of the zombie Santa. Theo had never been a religious man, but he thought in that instant that this must be what it was like to look on the face of an avenging angel. The zombies who had been holding Theo reached for Molly's legs, and in a single motion she stepped back and brought the sword around in a low arc that sent a rain of severed hands flying into the mud. The undead wailed around her, and tried to claw their way onto the SUV with their stumps. Bess Leander tried to replicate the move she had used on Theo, stepping up the hood behind Molly and diving across the roof of the Range Rover. Molly spun and sidestepped, making a low swing with her sword that would have not looked out of place on a golf course. Bess's head rolled off the top of the Land Rover into Theo's lap. He pushed it aside and got to his feet. â€Å"Honey, you might want to go let everyone out of the chapel before they burn up,† said Molly. â€Å"I'm not sure you want to watch this.† † ‘Kay,† said Theo. The undead had left their stations at the front and back doors of the chapel, where they had been waiting to ambush the escaping partyers, and charged Molly. Three fell headless while Molly stood on the Land Rover, but as they surrounded her, she ran and leaped over the heads of the mob, landing behind them. Theo ran for the front doors of the chapel, his vision blurred from the rain and the blood running into his eyes from the bite wound on his head. He looked back for a second and saw Molly sailing over the top of her attackers. He nearly ran into two great pine logs that had been braced against the chapel doors. He looked back a second and caught a glimpse of Molly mowing down two more zombies, one split down the middle from the crown of his head to his sternum, then he turned and tried to get his back under one of the logs. â€Å"Theo, is that you?† Gabe Fenton had his face pressed in an inch-wide gap between the doors. â€Å"Yeah. There are logs against the doors,† Theo said. â€Å"I'm going to try to move them.† Theo took three deep breaths and lifted for all he was worth, feeling as if veins would explode in his temples. The wound on his head throbbed with every heartbeat. But the tree trunk moved a couple of inches. He could do this. â€Å"Is it working?† yelled Gabe. â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† said Theo. â€Å"Give me a second.† â€Å"It's filling up with smoke in here, Theo.† â€Å"Right.† Theo strained again and the log moved another two inches to the right. Another foot and they'd be able to get the door open. â€Å"Hurry, Theo,† said Jenny Masterson. â€Å"It's – † She went into a coughing fit and couldn't finish what she was saying. Theo could hear everyone coughing inside. Wails of rage and pain were coming from the side of the chapel where Molly was fighting. She must be okay, they were still yelling about eating her brain. Another lift, another two inches. Gray smoke was streaming out the crack between the doors. Theo fell to his knees with the effort and almost passed out. He shook himself back into consciousness, and as he prepared to put his back into another effort, hoping it wouldn't be his last, he noticed that the screaming had stopped at the side of the chapel. Rain, wind, the coughing of the trapped, and the crackle of the fire. That was all he heard. â€Å"Oh my God. Molly!† he screamed. A hand on his cheek, a voice at his ear. â€Å"Hey, sailor, need a little hand getting your church door open, if you know what I mean?† Sirens sounded in the distance. Someone had seen the burning chapel through the storm and had somehow gotten through to the volunteer fire department. The Lonesome Christmas survivors were gathered in the middle of the parking lot, illuminated by headlights. The heat from the fire had driven them nearly seventy-five yards to the street. Even this far away, Theo could feel the heat on his cheek from the fire as Lena Marquez bandaged his head. Others sat in the open hatchbacks of SUVs, trying to catch their breath after being exposed to the smoke, drinking bottled water or just lying there dazed. Around the burning chapel the wet pine forest steamed, a great white cloud rising into the sky. Down the left side of the chapel: carnage – a rekilling ground of the undead, where Molly had hacked them into submission, even chasing down the last few in the woods and decapitating them after she and Theo had let the partyers out of the chapel. Molly sat beside Theo, under the open hatchback of someone's Expedition. â€Å"How did you know?† he asked. â€Å"How could you possibly have known?† â€Å"The bat told me,† Molly said. â€Å"You mean he showed up and you said, ‘What's wrong, boy, is Timmy trapped down a well? and he barked to tell you that's what was wrong? Like that?† â€Å"No,† Molly said. â€Å"It was like, ‘Your husband and a bunch of other people have barricaded themselves in the chapel against a horde of brain-eating zombies and you need to go save them. Like that. He has some kind of accent. Sounds Spanish.† â€Å"I for one am glad that you went off your meds,† said Tucker Case, who was standing next to Lena as she bandaged Theo's head. â€Å"A few hallucinations are a small price to pay, if you ask me.† Molly held up her hand for him to be quiet. She stood and brushed the pilot aside, looking back toward the burning church. A tall dark figure in a long coat was coming toward them through the killing field. â€Å"Oh no,† said Theo. â€Å"Everyone get in the cars and lock them.† â€Å"No,† Molly said, dismissing Theo's instructions with a distracted backward wave. â€Å"We're okay.† She met the angel in the middle of the parking lot. â€Å"Merry Christmas,† said the angel. â€Å"Yeah, you, too,† said Molly. â€Å"Have you seen the child? Joshua?† asked Raziel. â€Å"There's a kid over there with the others,† said Molly. â€Å"That's probably him.† â€Å"Take me to him.† â€Å"That's him,† Theo said. â€Å"That's the robot guy.† â€Å"Shhhhhh,† Molly shushed. Raziel walked to where Emily Barker was holding her son, Joshua, sitting on the back of Molly's Honda. â€Å"Mom,† wailed Joshua. He hid his face in his mother's chest. But Emily was still stunned by witnessing her mate's death, and she didn't react at all except to hold the boy tighter. Raziel put his hand on the boy's head. â€Å"Fear not,† he said. â€Å"For I bring you tidings of great joy. Behold, your Christmas wish has been granted.† The angel waved toward the fire and the carnage and the exhausted and terrified survivors as if he were a game-show hostess presenting a washer/dryer set. â€Å"Not what I would have wished for,† the angel said, â€Å"but I am but a lowly messenger.† Josh rolled in his mother's arms and faced the angel. â€Å"I didn't ask for this. This isn't what I wished for.† â€Å"Sure it is,† said Raziel. â€Å"You wished that the Santa you saw killed be brought back to life.† â€Å"No, I didn't.† â€Å"That's what you said. You said you wanted him brought back to life.† â€Å"That's not what I meant,† said Joshua. â€Å"I'm a kid. I don't always get stuff right.† â€Å"I'll vouch for that,† said Tucker Case, stepping up behind the angel. â€Å"He is a kid, and he is wrong most of the time.† â€Å"We still should cut your head off,† said Josh. â€Å"See,† said Tuck. â€Å"Always wrong.† â€Å"Well, if you didn't mean you wanted him brought back to life, what did you mean?† asked Raziel. â€Å"I didn't mean I wanted Santa to be a zombie and kill big, dumb Brian and everything. I wanted everything to be okay. Like it never happened. So it would be a good Christmas.† â€Å"That's not what you said,† said Raziel. â€Å"That's what I wanted,† said Joshua. â€Å"Oh,† said the angel. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"So he's an angel?† Theo said to Molly. â€Å"Like a real angel?† Molly nodded, smiling. â€Å"Not a killer robot?† Molly shook her head. â€Å"He's here to grant a Christmas wish, to one child.† â€Å"Like it never happened?† the angel asked Joshua. â€Å"Yeah!† said Josh. â€Å"Oops,† said the angel. Molly stepped over and put her hand on the angel's shoulder. â€Å"Raziel, you fucked up. Fix it?† The angel looked at her and grinned. Perfect teeth, if a little sharp. â€Å"So be it,† he said. â€Å"Glory to God in the highest, peace on Earth, goodwill toward men.†

About the University Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Academic mehods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Academic mehods - Essay Example The ownership expects best expertise and allocation of resources from the managers. â€Å"Adequate allocation of resources and their inclusion in strategy wins distinguished position for corporate firms.† (Johnson & Scholes, 1993: 91) To arrange a completely entertaining atmosphere, where the visitors could watch TV, read periodicals and newspapers, listen to the music and entertain themselves with the company of family and friends by taking delicious foods of various kinds â€Å"A general or formal meeting of an organization†, Fenech (2005: 31) submits, â€Å"attended by representatives of its membership for the purpose of deciding legislative direction, policy matters, the election of internal committees, and approval of balance sheets, budgets, and so on is very beneficial for the future profit earning of the companies.† Hotel industry offers a lot of recreational opportunities and thrill to the individuals. It gives equal chances of growth in an excited environment to the professionals affiliated with and attached to this field. Hotel management in UK is quite different from that of the USA. Though both these countries observe multi-racial communities, yet patterns and mode of dining out are quite

Critical analysis of research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical analysis of - Research Paper Example Especially, play has proved to be a very effective way to understand and treat the children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma. The therapy that uses play as a means to treat people suffering from behavioral and personality problem is called as ‘play therapy’. Play therapy can be defined as â€Å"a helping interaction between a trained adult therapist and a child for the purpose of relieving the child’s emotional distress by using the symbolic communication of play† (Webb, 2007). However, it is important to know that ‘pleasure’ is not the only aspect of play that makes it so effective a method to treat people with behavioral problems. The question is what aspects of ‘play therapy’ make it an effective therapy to treat children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma? Knowing and understanding the aspects of play therapy that makes it effective in treating children suffering from trauma not only will make the treatment effe ctive but also can save a lot of time of treatment. Play therapy (PT) has been used as an effective method to treat children suffering from trauma caused by childhood abuse of sexual and physical nature. According to Mann and McDermott (1983), even though play therapy has been used successfully to treat the emotional and behavioral problems visible in children, a systematic guideline regarding the use of PT to assess and treat the children has not yet been introduced (White & Allers, 1994). Even in the absence of systematic guidelines or large number of studies, the researchers have been successful in understanding those aspects that make PT an effective therapy to treat children suffering from trauma and to build a solid foundation for a healthy and positive growth of their personality in the future. Howard has found that children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma display a specific behavior pattern during the play which reveals a lot about their maladjustments

Monique and the Mango Rains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Monique and the Mango Rains - Essay Example A major cause is that women in Mali are deprived of child custody rights. Kris discusses Monique in her book stating that she is more educated and skilled than her husband, they both speak different languages and they both belonged to different cities. As Kris gets to know more and more about Monique, it is revealed that she is unhappy with her married life and that she was having an affair with a man she wanted to marry. Because of the cultural practice of arranged marriages, she was forced to live with a man she never wanted to marry. (Holloway, 35) Forced marriages are a common society trait in Mali, though they have been influenced by western culture too, but they try to stick to their centuries old traditions of arranged marriages. No woman is allowed to marry the person of her own choice. It is important for the girls to maintain their virginity till marriage or else it is stated as to bring a bad name to their parents and their tribe. Gifts are paid from the groom to the girl’s family on marriage which is considered no more than the price of the girl. Such kind of marriages are not only uncivilized but also a cause of mental torture for the poor women. Arranged marriages are considered to bring honor to the family. In education, women are also at a disadvantage. Parents think of boys’ education as a better investment than a girl’s education which results in gender difference in education. Statistics show that at the level of primary education the girls ratio is 33% whereas that of boys it is 48% , in secondary schools this ratio is as much as double than that of girls Early forced marriages resulting in pregnancy keeps women away from continuing their education. Many girls are only dropped out of school only because boys of their families are preferred since they are the ones who live with their parents all their

The Leader as Communicator Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Leader as Communicator - Assignment Example Additionally, diversified styles of communication are needed to meet the demands of effective communication processes at different levels (Lee, 2012). Expression of ideas should not be controversial neither conservative, but it should encourage listeners to equally participate in the communication process. Otherwise, communication will be considered one-sided and balanced communication will be interrupted (Lee, 2012). Moreover, it should be understood that individual communication is considered more effective than mass communication in context of leadership competencies (Lee, 2012). It is because a leader understands cognitive and psychological patterns of his/her team members and individual communication can contribute more effectively to convey message and convince team members for a particular mission within the organization (Samovar, Porter, & McDaniel, 2011). For a leader to be a good communicator it is important to understand the significances of the good communication skills. For good communication skills a leader is needed to develop confidence and an inspiring style during communication process (Decker, 2006). He/she should designed messages strategically that could influence thoughts of the listeners at first attempt. Also, instant response without taking long time to reply also increases the effectiveness of the communication (Decker, 2006). Mostly important a leader should have an ability to develop a sense of believability in his/her listener because without believability of the listeners content of the message cannot add efficiency in the communication process. Lee, T. (2012, June 9). Core Competencies in Communication for Leadership. Retrieved from Rainbows.typepad:

Agile versus Waterfall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Agile versus Waterfall - Essay Example System development is a team based activity which is completed by following a particular project management approach. In this scenario, a project management approach is a map which guides the software development team all the way through the project life cycle. This paper presents an analysis of two different project management approaches in the context of an e-commerce web site. This paper basically compares and contrasts agile and traditional project management approaches. In this scenario, we are going to manage the development of an e-commerce web site. I have been assigned the responsibility of a project manager to manage our company’s e-commerce Website where customers can browse the company’s products, place orders, and interact with the company’s customer service representatives. We have been given a deadline of three months to complete this project and we have approximately twelve people in the team. There are three offshore developers in Ireland and two QA testers in Dallas, TX. In addition, the remaining project team and the product owner are in San Diego, CA. 1. Comparative Analysis of Agile and Traditional Project Management Without a doubt, agile project management approach has been developed to deal with a variety of issues and pitfalls those were not addressed by the traditional project management approach effectively. In this scenario, some of the important issues can include delivering high quality software promptly under quickly and continuously changing business environment and requirements. It is believed that agile project management approaches have an excellent reputation in the IT and software sector. The research has shown than more than 69% of IT firms are adapting one or more of agile methodologies for use in common project management as well as organizational development (Lucia & Qusef, 2010). In spite of all the attractions that have been brought by the agile project management approaches, a large portion of sta te-of-the-art organizations (in all the categories e.g. packaged software, web-based software, or software/hardware systems) still adopt the traditional approaches to project management that have already been used for so many years. One of the most attractive features of this traditional project management approach is its support for the requirements documentation. In this scenario, this documentation includes requirements documents and specification documents. However, it depends on the firms who they use these terms. In fact, in many cases these two terms may indicate the same thing and are identical, or in some cases they can indicate the completely different parts of the process. In this scenario, the title of the document is not important, however its intended idea and information is delivered in some way with the purpose that the technical team could get an idea of the intended solution to a market problem that is being resolved with what goals. Normally, smaller project and u pdates can have a limited set of documents, while a larger, riskier project can require more documentation (Product Arts1, 2012; Kotonya & Sommerville, 1998; Product Arts, 2009). The research has shown that the requirements engineering process heavily depends on documentation for knowledge sharing while agile project management approaches are based on face-to-face collaboration and communication between developers and customers in order to reach similar goals. In this scenario, agile project management approaches do not take into consideration the documentation aspect effectively. On the other hand, in traditional proje

Individual Constitution and Systems of the State Essay Example for Free

Individual Constitution and Systems of the State Essay During the time when the state’s first declared their independence from Great Britain there was an enormous demand for a balance in power. However, the establishment of such posed to be no easy task for our founding fathers. Originally the new state’s constitutions foundation was based off the thirteen colonial charters (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p56). Which was modified a short while later, as the colonies were expanded, to include the â€Å"rights of Englishmen† (Bowman Kearney 2011, p. 56). According to Bowman Kearney (2011), â€Å"All state constitutions both distribute and constrain political power among groups and regions† (p. 55). In that such provide the basic and key components for government to allow for an even distribution of power for the three branches, while offering protection for individual rights. â€Å"Constitutions represent the fundamental law of a state, superior to statutory law. Only the federal Constitution and federal statutes take priority over state constitutions† (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p. 55). Over the course of many years the state’s constitutions have been slowly amended to meet the needs of a growing governmental body. The current Texas constitution was created in 1876 and is composed of a preamble followed by 17 articles, â€Å"to include Bill of Rights, Legislative Department, Executive Department, and Judicial Department† (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). Article I of the Texas constitution is the Bill of Rights. It is in this article that individual rights are outlined for citizens in which the government cannot overlook under any given circumstance. Upon reading the Texas Constitution, the impression is given that religious freedom and for no man to be unjustly persecuted by the hand of the government pose to be the most important feature detailed in the Bill of Rights. Just like the United States Constitution there are limitations to the freedoms being granted in this portion of the Texas document (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). In replica of the United Stated Constitution, state level constitutions are sculpted after the federal government in which it delegates power throughout three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p.27). Article III of the Texas Constitution writes the legislative department; section 1 states that, â€Å"The legislative power of this State  shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled The Legislature of the State of Texas (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). Sections 2 through 7 details the composition of the legislative department to include the House of Representatives and the Senate and also stat es the qualifications for such positions. The Senate entails thirty-one members and is prohibited to exceed such limit. The House of Representatives is comprised â€Å"of 93 members until the first apportionment† (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013) then it may increase by ratio not to exceed 1 representative per 15,000 inhabitants. However the numbers are to never surpass 150 members. The remainder sections write the limitations of the legislature power, details processes, and conditions the expectations in regards to the conduct of each official (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). In the State of Texas, the Legislative Branch is granted the most powers in writing. One can find supporting evidence to the fact after a complete examination is done of this document. A conclusion can be drawn that as a result of all powers given, this branch is able to have a limited amount of regulation over the other two branches of government. Also, it is here that bills of law are p assed to ensure the necessary provisions stated in other articles are upheld. The power of the executive branch is amalgamated from the office of the governor (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p. 68). Historically, the executive branch held increasingly more power and stature resulting from constitutional amendments allowing for governors to be elected by popular vote. (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p. 59). Such unbalance in power eventually led to the people giving governors higher authority to veto legislative bills and granted longer terms. This trend continued through the early 1800s, 1830s and 1840s however, somewhat ended during the Jacksonian Era due to â€Å"the Jacksonian principle of popular elections to fill most government offices resulted in a fragmented state executive branch.† (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p. 59). Within the Texas Constitution the executive branch powers can be found in Article IV, â€Å"The Executive Department† (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). The Executive Department must contain â€Å"a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of  State, comptroller of public accounts, trea surer, commissioner of the land of office and attorney general† (Ericson Wallace, 2010). Throughout the remainder of the article, elaboration of the rights and responsibilities of each member is outlined (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). The Judicial Branch power is bestowed in a supreme court, courts of appeal, district courts, and various other courts as authorized by the state’s constitution. Usually the state’s judicial branch is headed by the state Supreme Court who tries cases from courts of lower levels (Bowman Kearney, 2011, p.68). Article V from the Texas Constitution includes the powers of the Judicial Department to be vested in â€Å"one Supreme Court, in a Court of Appeals, in District Courts, in County Courts, in Commissioners Courts, in Courts of Justices of the Peace, and in such other courts and may be established by law† (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). The head of the Supreme Court is governed by a chief justice and two associate justices. With further reading, the rules and regulations for the court justices and order of operations can be found written in the sections of this article (The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research, 2013). In conclusion, many amendments have been made to reflect the needs of a growing population all through history. Conferring with Bowman Kearney (2011), â€Å"constitutional revision must be an ongoing process if the states are to cope with the changing contours of American society and stay in the vanguard of innovation and change† (p.70). In addition, meeting the need of such a vastly growing entity can be a difficult mission. Original limitations set forth by previous documents have been altered to reflect an even distribution of power and added protections for individuals. Due to the Texas constitution’s length of 63,000 plus words it is seen as one of the most verbose document of other states. According to Joe E. Ericson and Ernest Wallace, â€Å"Its wealth of detail causes it to resemble a code of laws rather than a constitution. Its many requirements and limitations on both state and local governments make it one of the most restrictive among state constitutions† (Ericson Wallace, 2010). References Bowman, A. O., Kearney, R. (2001). Sate and Local Government (8th edition). Boston, MA: Cengage Ericson, J. E., Wallace, E. (2010, June 12). Constitution of 1876. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from Handbook of Texas Online: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mhc07 The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research. (2013). Texas Constitutions 1824-1876. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/texas1876/a1 The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research. (2013). Texas Constitutions 1824-1876. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/texas1876/a5 The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research. (2013). Texas Constitutions 1824-1876. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/texas1876/a4 The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library: Jamail Center for Legal Research. (2013). Texas Constitutions 1824-1876. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/texas1876/a3

Photography Essays Bernd and Hilla Becher

Photography Essays Bernd and Hilla Becher Identify what you consider to be the legacy of the artist Bernd and Hilla Becher for the importance of the photographic image. ‘The modern photographer is the architect’s greatest publicist’; that is, if one considers architectural photography a dumb copying device, and a pure record that informs the onlooker only of the building and its functionality.   However banal a series of photographs depicting only water towers may seem, Bernd and Hilla Becher dedicated much attention to photographing such icons of post-war Germany and so created a historical document.   In this way, the Bechers’ living legacy is ‘a narrative of socio-historic reality based on photography’s potential to retain some indexical trace of its subject’, but as mentioned by Mack, the Bechers are amongst those photographers who are also ‘involved in some level of construction or fabrication, distinct from the realist and objective position which is usually attributed to [photography]’.   Their photography and teachings represent a time when photography was winning serious cons ideration by the European art scene and so are undeniably important and influential, but perhaps the most pointed question to ask of their work is the exact nature of its influence on other artists, on the nature of the photographic image, and on the landscape of Germany of which the mine shafts and silos they photographed were a vital part. Just as an historic text is the subject of the author’s interpretation of the reality of the times, a photograph is the product of the photographer’s choice and manipulation of an image.   It is plain that the Bechers were not attempting to flatter architects or approve of the design and function of the buildings they photographed, as is often the case in the classic understanding of architectural photography.   Although it cannot be denied that their many images, like those of August Sander, create a social document for posterity’s sake, the photographs are in no way a sentimental harking back to the past or a reassurance of German identity.   The technology depicted in the Bechers’ typological sequences, often in a state of deterioration or abandonment, could be said to represent a time of spiritual poverty and the ‘erosion of inherited cultural and moral values’.   In light of this suggestion, Bernd and Hilla Becher seemed to be see king to document their subjects in a clinical, objective manner; remaining fascinated with but shedding the past in the hope that ‘the unburied industrial sources of Modernist imagery be sanitized and distanced from us, lest [they]†¦ invade the minds of another generation’.   Therefore, unlike August Sander, the Bechers are more interested in showing us death (rather than Sanders life study of the classes of Germany); the photographs can be said to be looking ahead to a better future only if the viewer interprets it so. Shouldnt these photos then, fascinated by death to the point of necrophilia, be filed away and forgotten?   Rather, it should be said that the photos enlarge our understanding of the photographic image, precisely because they serve as a stark reminder of a past away from which the world has moved.   As much as it was tactful for German artists to deny history in the immediate post-war period, Bernd and Hilla Becher chose to show it, with characteristically functionalist honesty and truth.   Viewing the photographs, we know that the spiritually repressive time to which the buildings belong has passed and so view our position favourably.   Photography is the art form that is most closely comparable to our reality; whether they meant to or not, the Bechers have created art through which we view history with a clarity that cannot be gained through memory or other art forms. Photography has always been associated with some notion of cutting out and keeping the past in order that it is not forgotten, although not necessarily in order to commend or legitimate the events therein.   An extensive collection of nakedly truthful architectural portraits such as the Bechers’, could be said to be a way of preserving the buildings and what they represent, rather than a way of banishing them to ‘the registers of the dead’ in order that society moves forward (or at least away from the faux progression of industrialisation).   Preservation, yes, and as important to the renewal of German identity as is the conservation of Auschwitz.   Indeed, the Bechers were heavily involved in the German industrial preservation movement that started in the 1950s and resulted in numerous icons of the country’s economic and cultural history being listed and their demolition prevented.   The power of the Bechers art, and therefore part of their renderi ng of photography as an important form, is tangible in that the photographs were so compelling that they became a part of a movement which changed (or maintained) Germany’s landscape. It can also be said that, in preserving the winding gear, the framework workers’ houses and silos in their art, the Bechers’ ‘industrial archaeology’ was an investigation into specific communities.   Despite claims that their subjects are completely isolated from their environment, the photographs are often dated and their locations documented, and therefore offer a pertinent reminder of a specific space and time for each similar but significantly different image.   From there, a viewer can take time to study the stilled physicality of the buildings, their silent watch, whilst remaining aware of their specialised existence within individual societies. Whilst this is a large part of the Bechers’ typological studies’ legacy, their way of showing buildings is most certainly not anthropocentric.   Never do they purposefully use the human form to legitimise or enrich their industrial subjects.   Indeed, it is the very absence of the human form that makes these photographs so interesting because actually ‘the handiwork of men is everywhere visible’ and the collection stands partly as a testimony to humankind’s inexhaustible ingenuity and inventiveness.   The Bechers’ fascination with metal and all that goes with its production could not be a more powerful statement about that which is alien to human fleshly existence, but in the same way it is a comment on the extents to which industrial people are forced to go because of their reliance on the laws of nature. Not directly interested in the human form, but nevertheless a product of the human mind and skill, the Bechers’ art shows humankind’s flagging attempt to master nature, to reign it in and use it or, indeed, to ‘make nature in the image of their own desires’.   Such a battle can only end in failure as, with water towers for instance, the very function of the buildings remind us that we are utterly reliant on the earth’s resources; only when we combine our understanding of forces such as gravity with our desire to remain alive are we able to create technologies that serve us whilst abiding by nature’s laws.   In so saying, it is interesting to note that the static image of the photograph reminds one of the denial of evolution.   The Bechers help the viewer see, through their almost exhaustive collection of similar images, the differences between the humans self and the buildings in the photographs.   The most pointed distinction being ho w each succumbs to the processes of evolution.   Whilst we move on from war, from old ideas about art, from economic peak to economic trough, these buildings stay very much the same.   This becomes part of the distancing process that seems to make the Bechers’ work so important; the photographic image is unchangeable, undeniable truth that will always remain in the past whilst we move on ourselves.   The photographs come to deny the ‘progress’ they originally stood for, and so reaffirm our place in the present and, more importantly, suggest our continuation into a future that will be different. The Bechers’ work has received much attention; even winning a prestigious prize for sculpture.   The framing of the photographed buildings, the uniform lighting used and the subjects’ apparent freedom from their visible environment allows a neutralisation, which brings the buildings closer to sculptural treatment than the two-dimensional reportage that is often the lot of the photographic image.   As Klaus Bussmann states in his introduction to the Bechers’ Industrial Faà §ades; ‘in these photographs the function of the architecture does not emerge from its form’.   Unlike the art of the Neue Sachlichkeit, the Bechers’ photography does not celebrate the ‘dynamic and dramatic functionality of the industrial machine’; indeed it does not invest them with any meaning at all.   We invest them with meaning and memories – but the Bechers were seemingly fascinated by their deadness, their static place in history and their comparison with the vibrancy of human existence. The Bechers’ work made a remarkable impact on the art world, and the affect of their legacy is partly due to the manner in which they chose to display their photographs when their work was exhibited.   If there is an argument that depicts the photographic image as a bland record of what we can all see as it exists or existed in nature, then the Bechers’ typological constructs deny this.   Seen in groups; one building in comparison to a dozen others of almost (but pointedly not) identical appearance, the subjects of the photographs are recreated anew, and suddenly become something other than their pure physicality.   The viewer is irresistibly invited to take note of those differences, to see the similarities and variations all at once – are they impersonal or not, beautiful or ugly?   Seen together, the images become a greater challenge to the viewer’s notion of banality, of universality and the fundamental core of human needs. Alongside their fellow post-war photographers, the Bechers recreated photography as an art form, which is as legitimate as any other.   Their subject matter is not directly passionate, does not reveal the interior workings of the photographers’ identity and does not even deal with emotional issues, as is the common arena of the art world.   Instead, their calm, measured series of photographs introduces a part of western industrial society in the most honest way.   Because of its closeness to our experience of reality, we react very deeply to photography; the experience of looking at a framed portrait is intensely emotional whether the subject is treated in an emotional manner or not.   The legacy of the Bechers runs deep, especially in light of their teachings at Dà ¼sseldorf and the photographers who have come after them.   Bernd and Hilla truly understood the power of photography and have had a hand in investing the medium with the ‘power to influence our pe rception of the world around us’.   Their legacy is complex and the personal reaction to their work can be confusing as one finds a fascination with the deadness of their subjects at the same time as being instilled with some semblance of hope for the future.   Their ‘industrial archaeology’ will remain with us to aid the excavation of man-made landscapes and, indirectly, lead to a better understanding of the human condition. References Becher, B.  Ã‚   Tipologie, Typologien, Typologies – Bernd and Hilla Becher.   Munster: Klaus Bussmann, Bonn: 1990 Becher, B.   Industrial Faà §ades – Bernd and Hilla Becher.   Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press: 1995 Becher, B.   Water Towers – Bernd and Hilla Becher.   Cambridge, Massachusetts:   MIT Press: 1988 De Mare, E.   Architectural Photography.   London: B T Batsford: 1975 Gillen, E (ed.) German Art from Beckman to Richter: images of a divided country.   London: DuMont: 1997 Homburg, C (ed.) German Art Now.   London: Merrell: 2003 Honnef, K Sachsse, R Thomas, K (eds.)   German Photography 1870 – 1970: power of a medium. Cologne: DuMont: 1997 Mack, M.   Reconstructing Space: architecture in recent German photography.   London:   AA Publications: 1999 Robinson, C Herschmann, J.   Architecture Transformed: a history of the photography of buildings from 1839 to the present Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press: 1987 Rosselli, P. (ed.) Architecture in Photography Milan: Skira: 2001 Sander, A.   August Sander: citizens of the twentieth century: portrait photographs 1892 – 1952.   Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press: 1986   http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/visarts/globe/issue6/dptxt.html   31.03.05

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2. What were weaknesses of the Weimar Republic? How did different political groups seek to remedy these weaknesses? The Treaty of Versailles, which put an end to World War I, caused a number of positive and negative outcomes in Germany. Germany was in need of a democratic government in order to meet the harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Established by members from the Social Democrat Party in 1919, the Weimar Republic became the central power in Germany for the following years. The republic was found in the city of Weimar and was a replacement, so to say, for the imperial government that had previously stood as the central authority. Even though the Weimar Republic managed to lead Germany for 15 years, it experienced devastating drawbacks such as hyperinflation, lack of support from the public, and the constant efforts from different groups to overthrow the government; because of these factors, different political groups sought a resolution, such as overthrowing the government and pushing for a strong leader. Severe economic problems arose in Germany essentially due to the punitive provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. â€Å"The German government began to print money to pay its bills.† (McKay, 872). In order to make up for the massive debt and reparations connected to the Treaty of Versailles, the government started to print loads of money. The influx of money across Germany due to newly printed bills caused prices to rise. Money became rather worthless with an abundance of it, which hurt many people’s incomes. Hyperinflation soon occurred, which put the economy in a weak position and further contributed to the downfall of the Weimar Republic. Many resented the government because of its agreement to the ... ..., Lativia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. 4.) How were the principles of national self-determination applied to the redrawing of Europe after the war and why didn't this theory work in practice? The map of Europe was redrawn after World War I such that the countries that desired independence had their own self-governing nation. This caused the German Empire, for instance, to grow smaller and not encompass the small countries that had previously been a part of the empire. Although these territorial changes were seemingly beneficial to some, they ultimately did not work in practice for various reasons. The countries that achieved independence were not successful for reasons such as their failure to establish diplomatic relations with other countries and weak infrastructure; these reasons combined resulted in a weak country.

Leonardo Da Vinci Essay -- Biography Artist Da Vinci Bio Essays

Leonardo Da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in Vinci, Tuscany, during a time called the Renaissance. His creations of art and advancements in science not only surpassed those of his time, but have contributed to the fundamentals of modern day technology and are arguably the greatest in history. Many of da Vinci’s paintings remain today as proof of his pioneered techniques, brilliance, and talent. The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language defines â€Å"renaissance man† as â€Å"[a] man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.† This is a term still used today, and its derivation is obvious. Many people in the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries were skillful artists and scientists, but Leonardo da Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Renaissance was a time of economic stability. Originating in Italy and eventually expanding to other parts of Europe such as Germany, France, and England, the Renaissance was an era of renewed interest in literature and art and emphasized autonomous thought and creations. The philosophy of humanism, an idea stressing the importance and distinction of individuals, is thought to have originated during this time (â€Å"Renaissance† Encarta). Italian writers struggled to discover and preserve earlier works by Romans and Greeks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There was one main cause for the Renaissance and the economical boom; a population increase. The Crusades caused a spark in trade due to interactions with other cultures. Trade routes were established and eventually became crowded. Therefore, existing towns grew into cities, and new ones were conceived. As towns grew and became crowded, there arose a need for expansion. People traveled more and interacted with other cities and cultures, which was forbidden under the feudal system. This interaction and constant traveling, along with military encounters, increased trade even more. The feudal system began to break down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The exports brought money, and Italian rulers and nobles, as well as the governments of cities, became wealthier because of the merchants: â€Å"These merchants exerted both political and economic leadership and their attitudes and interest helped to shape the Italian Renaissance† (â€Å"Renaissance† World History 345). They also donated generously in support of the arts. Soon, cities became comm... ...e course of art in Western civilization, and his scientific studies in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics were the basis for many of the developments of modern science. The variety of his interests and the depth of his brilliance made him the quintessential Renaissance man. Works Cited â€Å"Early Renaissance† Microsoft Bookshelf ’95. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp. 1995. Hale, John R. Renaissance. New York: Time Inc., 1965. â€Å"Leonardo da Vinci.† Da Vinci Museum on the Web. Online. Internet. February 28, 2000. Available: http://www.davinci-museum.com/davinengl1.htm â€Å"Leonardo da Vinci.† Microsoft Encarta ’99. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp. 1998. â€Å"Piero della Francesca† Microsoft Bookshelf ’95. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp. 1995. â€Å"The Renaissance.† Who and When? The Renaissance: Artists and Writers. 1998. â€Å"The Renaissance in Italy.† World History: Connections to Today. 1999. Richter, Irma A. The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952. Snyder, James. Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350 to 1575. Phoenix: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Turner, A. Richard. Inventing Leonardo. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.

Male Homosexual Roles Among the Isthmus Zapotec of Southern Mexico Essa

Male Homosexual Roles Amog the Isthmus Zapotec of Southern Mexico Carlos and Javier are two men living in the city of Juchit∠«n, Mexico. They work at a small hotel just off the z-calo, the main town square. Sometimes they converge with other men outside the hotel to watch people as they walk past in the z-calo. As nearly anywhere in Mexico, the men comment and nudge each other when an attractive woman passes, but Carlos and Javier remain silent throughout the exchange. It is not until an attractive young man walks by that they speak up. ÃÆ' £ÃƒÆ'Uy, que guapo!ÃÆ' ¤ Carlos exclaims: ÃÆ' £Ah, how handsome!ÃÆ' ¤ÃƒÆ'Ã…   Carlos and Javier are muxeÃÆ' ¢, the effeminate male homosexuals of Isthmus Zapotec culture. Male homosexuality and transvestism is present in many if not most Native American societies to at least some degree, notably the DinZh, Lakota, Tohono OÃÆ' ¢odham, and so on. In pre-Hispanic Mexico, homosexuals were common and respected in most area cultures. With the advent of the Spaniards, however, homosexuals and transvestites were pushed further and further to the margins of society, branded as deviants and persecuted under the influence of a rampant machismo. Only in a few places did homosexuality survive as a common and respected practice. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca state at the very south of Mexico, home to the Zapotec people, is one of these places. I was privileged to spend July and August of 2000 living among the Zapotec in the city of Juchit∠«n. I was intrigued by the position of homosexuals in this culture, and following are some of my efforts to understand them. MuxeÃÆ' ¢ is the Zapotec word for effeminate male homosexuals, though the origins of the word remain in debate. Probably the word derives from the Span... ...to peoples like the Zapotec as we try to determine how to respond. North Americans have much to learn from a society that extends to homosexuals an acknowledged and respected role. [1]Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 280 [2]The word mayate is a Mexican Spanish term for a Coleoptera beetles. [3]Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 304 [4] CAAN, p. 40 [5]Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 293-294 References: Bennholdt-Thomsen, et al.Juchit∠«n, la ciudad de las mujeres. Oaxaca, Mexico: Instituto OaxaqueÃÆ' ºo de las Culturas.ÃÆ'Ã…   1997. Canadian Aboriginal Aids Network, Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS, and Health Canada. Hands Across the World: An Indigenous Peoples Forum. Final Report, July 17, 1999 AIDS Impact Conference. Ottawa: Blue Moon Consulting.ÃÆ'Ã…   1999. ChiÃÆ' ºas, Beverly L. The Isthmus Zapotecs: WomenÃÆ' ¢s Roles in Cultural Context. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1973.

Soft Computing Practical File

practaSAGAR INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY SOFT COMPUTING PRACTICAL FILE (CS-801) Subject Guide: Submitted by: INDEX S. No. | List of Experiments| Signature| 1. | Implement Perceptron network with binary input and output. | | 2. | Using Madaline net, generate XOR function with bipolar inputs and targets. | | 3. | Calculation of new weights for a back propagation network, given the values of input pattern, output pattern, target output, learning rate and activation function. | | 4. | Use of ART algorithm to cluster vectors. | 5. | Implement traveling salesman problem using genetic algorithm. | | 6. | Implement various laws associated with fuzzy sets. | | 7. | Implement fuzzy sets. | | 8. | Implement word matching using GA. | | Experiment 1: Implement Perceptron network with binary input and output. Program: /*PERCEPTRON*/ #include #include main() { signed int x[4][2],tar[4]; float w[2],wc[2],out=0; int i,j,k=0,h=0; float s=0,b=0,bc=0,alpha=0; float theta; clrscr(); printf(†Å"Enter the value of theta & alpha†); scanf(â€Å"%f%f†,&theta,&alpha); for(i=0;i

Capital Budgeting Mini Case Essay

There are many different methods business owners use to efficiently analyze business investment. One of these effective methods is the calculation of the net present value or NPV. The second most effective method would be the calculations of the internal rate of return or IRR. There are also other useful methods as well, for example, the payback rule and the profitability index. Many business owners use the above procedures to help them in their decision making of acquiring other businesses. â€Å"NVP is important to a project because if the cost of the investment is going to be, or is more than the revenue from that project, then it may be more cost effective to shut down the project all together rather than lose more money. If multiple projects are available, then it is wise to first calculate the NPV for each project, choose those that have a positive NPV, and reject the ones that have zero or negative NPVs. Moreover, the IRR method can be used, and generally, they should provide the same ranking of the projects because the projects with high NPV also tend to have high IRR (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. â€Å"There are many reasons the IRR is imperative to a company. If the rate of return is insufficient, it means additional cash is out flowing from the company than is inflowing into the company. This could lead to negative working capital. The IRR is imperative for a company to understand, so if necessary, they can afford to finance more activity or if necessary, they then can invest additional money (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. The formula used to calculate the PV is future value times (1/((1+i^n)) = present value. This calculation is useful in investment analysis to assess if an investment with a promised set amount of return in the future will give a net gain in the present value or will only appear to be increasing but containing the same or even less amount when time value of money is considered. For example, FV=$100, with an interest of 7.7% compounded annually and a period of 38 years. Using the formula and substituting the values into it, the equation is obtained: PV = 100 * [1/ (1+0.077)38] = 5.97 dollars The formula indicates the present value of $100 in 38 years from now given that the interest rate is 7.7% compounded annually is 5.97 dollars. Thus, it also means if an investment promises a return of 100 dollars after 38 years,  the interest rate is assumed to be fixed at 7.7%. Considering the effects of time and the value of money, the investor will have a net gain if the required initial investment is lower than 5.97 dollars, a breakeven point when the investment is 5.97 dollars and a loss if the required investment is higher than 5.97 dollars. In our capital budgeting case scenario, we will recommend acquiring Corporation B because it has higher NPV of $40,251.47 as compared to the Corporation A’s NPV of $20,979.20. In addition, Corporation B has higher IRR of 17% as compared to the Corporation A of 13%. There are many factors business owners should consider when acquiring other businesses. We believe financial forecasting should be used before the final acquisition decision is made. Financial forecasting is a very useful and an objective decision-making tool regarding the funding requirements of the organization in the future. By using forecasting, this helps the managers or owners plan properly and prioritize between multiple objectives of the firm such as growth, international expansion, cost cutting, research and development, and so on. It also helps to decrease potential failure by knowing and understanding the financial risks. Financial forecasting is therefore used for predicting realistically how the firm will perform financially in the future. A company uses three basic steps to forecast and project their financial needs correctly. Projecting a specific planning period’s revenue of sale and a company’s expenses are the first steps. During the first step it is important to use a method such as percent of sales, because this method will forecast financial variable of the company. Then we need to evaluate the stages of investment in both current assets and fixed assets to support the estimated sales. Throughout this stage, it is important to calculate the approximate sustainable growth rate. This rate will be the maximum rate in which sales may grow if the present financial ratio maintained without issuing new equity. The financial manager also needs to establish how the funds will be used in buying inventory, equipment, building, etc. that is capital expenditures. The step after investing in the current and fixed assets is to discover the financing  needs of a company during a specific period. Cash budget will play a significant role in this step because it provides and lays out a detailed plan of cash disbursements, cash receipts, and net changes. Moreover, it will identify new needs for any financing. In this capital budgeting case scenario, one must look at Corporation A’s data, Corporation with a discounted payback period of 4.6 months. This would recover its entire cash outflow by the end of the 5th year. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -31,688 which is in negative. At the end of the 5th year it is at +20,979 thus, 31688/52668 = .6. Hence, discounted payback period will be 4.6 months. Corporation B has a discounted payback period of 4.24 months. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -12964, which is in the negative. At the end if the 5th year it is +40251 thus, 12964/53215 = 24 hence, discounted payback period will be 4.24 months. With that being said, the best choice would be acquiring Corporation B because the payback period is shorter than of Corporation A. Not to mention Corporation B has a higher IRR of 17% compared to Corporation A which has an IRR of 13%. In addition, Corporation B has a higher profitability index of 1.16 compared to that of Corporation A, at 1.08. References Hestwood, D., Lial, M., Hornsby, J., & McGinnis, T. (2010). Quantitative reasoning for business. (custom e-text) Boston, MA: Pearson/Addison-Wesley. Sevilla, A., & Somers, K. (2007). Quantitative reasoning: Tools for today’s informed citizen (1st ed). Emeryville, CA: Key College Publishing.

Modelling a Database for a Garment Manufacturing Company Essay

This project will contain information on the processing involved in modelling a database for a Garment Manufacturing company. It will also document how to create letter and fax templates that make the work more efficient. The database will hold details about the suppliers, customers and stock etc. The garment style, size, how many ordered and deadline dates for the garments to be finished will also be data which is stored in the table. The end-user Mr Jordan will be able to recall information on any of his suppliers or customers. He will be able to link what the customer orders to what he has to order from his suppliers or if the customers provides their own supplies he will see the amount needed. Mr Jordan will be able to send letters automatically to his customers and suppliers about work and orders. The database will be developed using Microsoft Access, the supplier and customer letters will be created in Microsoft Word and merged with data from Microsoft Access. Background to Org anisation The Garment Manufacturing Company is called Air Ltd, it is located in Stratford and is owned by Mr Jordan. There are nine workers, which Mr Jordan is in charge of. He takes care of every aspect of the business himself apart from parts of the accounts. All of the other nine workers are arrange in a production line around the work place. Mr Jordan deals with the customer enquiries, orders and suppliers etc. At the moment letters are created from scratch in Microsoft Word. Information Technology is not used much as it could be at the present time. Current procedures Customers get into contact with the company and talk about their order and the type of work required to meet their needs. This would include the design styles, materials and number of garments etc. Either the customer provide their own materials or they set out their order to Mr Jordan so he can go to his supplier. The company then makes a sample garment which is shown to the customer if they are pleased with it then production starts, if not then amendments are made. At the moment if letters need to be sent out to customers or suppliers they are created individually instead of making a template and using mail-merge. From customer orders Mr Jordan notes down how many garments to be made, style of garment and size on paper, all of this documentation is kept in a folder. Image of Mr Jordan’s customers order detail sheet. [image002.jpg] The customer detail sheet is in tabular form where records are filled in about each of the individual garments. For example data such as size, colour and style etc. would be held on the sheet. Mr Jordan takes care of all of these sheets in a folder. When they are out dated and are no, longer of any use they are disposed of. Strengths of the current system The strengths of the following system are: All of the workers are used to the current system this means that nobody has to be trained to use any new equipment. For example none of the workers have to be trained on how to use computers. Most work is carried out by hand, this is a strength because if machines were used and any one of them broke down the production of the garments would have to be stopped. Weaknesses of the current system The weaknesses of the current system are: All documentation is carried out on paper. All letter to customers are created individually. The business does not use e-mail to communicate with its customers or suppliers. The business does not have a web site advertising its service and goods. If vital business documents are lost, there is no backup. There is no form of a factory outlet. Objectives for the new system Store details about the customers permanently. Store details about the suppliers permanently. Easily be able to input data concerning the ordering of materials. For example, style, material, size, colour etc. Be able to print out order details for the worker to use. Check his status with the suppliers. For example, material ordered etc. Send out letters to customers using mail merge for better efficiency. Print out an update of all deadlines to be met. End-user and functional requirements Store details about the customers permanently The database will need to store details of the name of the company, its address and the telephone number. The user will sometimes want to display details of all the customers. It will be useful if the customer company names are in alphabetical order. The user might want to send the customers letters which means that the postcode will have to be stored in a separate field. Store details about the suppliers permanently The database will store details about the suppliers. For example the user will sometimes want to list the names in alphabetical order this means that the first name will have to be stored in a separate field to the middle and last name. If the user wants to send the customers letters to inform them about orders etc he will need to store the post code part of the address in a different field. Store details about the suppliers permanently The database will store details about the suppliers name and address. The suppliers table will be similar to the customer table. But the user will send letters to the suppliers concerning the orderinf of raw materials etc. Easily be able to input data concerning the ordering of materials. For example, style, material, size, colour etc. The user will easily be able to in put the data u sing Microsoft access instead of inputting the data on paper using a hand made table where he could be creating a more efficient table using access. Be able to print out order details for the worker to use. The user will be able to print out details of the customers orders. For example, the number of garments, style, material etc. Check his status with the suppliers. For example, material ordered etc. The user should be able to access details about what he has ordered and what there is to pay at the touch of button Send out letters to customers using mail merge for better efficiency. The user will be able to send out letters to the customers and suppliers quickly and efficiently using mail merge with Microsoft Access and Microsoft Word Print out an update of all deadlines to be met. The user will be able to print out a list of all deadlines to be met of all of the customers so the workers can work efficiently. Working Constraints End-user skill level The end-user(s) have used modern computers before based upon Windows 95. The user has used a modern computer to create letters and do calculations on Microsoft Excel. The user can only do simple calculations and nothing too complicated. The user can create letters for suppliers and customers by using a word processor. Mr Jordan is new to Microsoft Word but is getting the hang of it. He does not know much about the advanced features of the software. Mr Jordan will need some form of support in using the advanced features. Mr Jordan can use any simple software, but will have to apply himself slightly to be able to get the hang of the advanced features. His experience with IT is very limited. The new system must be easy to understand so that the vital functions can be successfully carried out. No errors should occur, everything should be clear. Availability of hardware and software The previous software that Mr Jordan was using is called Lotus Word Pro96 but has recently purchased a new PC with Microsoft Office 2000 on it. This new computer is manufactured by Compaq and has the following specification: 900Mhz processor 64Mb RAM 13Gigabytes HDD 17 inch VDU Cannon Bubble Jet printer BJC4200 Microsoft Office 2000 Mr Jordan has an ideal specification if not too good for the functional requirements. The software in the school will easily correspond with Mr Jordan’s PC since in school Microsoft Office 97 is available. Time constraints The deadline for the project is to be completed for the 30^th March. This gives approximately nine weeks for development, testing and documentation. Documentation will take up a great deal of the time this means that time will be a major co nstraint upon the completed system. Initial time plan Consideration of solutions Data such as company names and address’s will need to be stored along with ordering details etc. this means that a database must be used. A word processor will also be needed because letters have to be created for the customers. Mail merge could be used. There are two choices for the type of database: relational or Flat-file. Flat-file A Flat-file database will not be suitable because it would mean that all of the field would have to be stored in one table. For example, supplier, customer and order fields will all be in the same table. This would then lead to there being data in the table that is not needed. For example, each time a customer made an order their name and address will have to be recorder in that record. If this type were to be used then it would take up a lot of space and hold useless data. It would also make it hard to search in the basic ways that you do. It will be hard to develop it so that the end-user will be ab le search for a certain supplier or customer without all of the other irrelevant details coming up. It would also make it increasingly difficult to use the mail merge facility. Concluding this we now know that a spreadsheet is not suitable for our purpose because it is just like a Flat-file if not nearly enough the same thing. Relational database This form of storage is much more flexible than Flat-file because it allows the data to be split up into separate tables. This is more efficient because each table contains information about a single entity. Now that information is in its individual tables, data redundancy is avoided. By linking all of the tables the whole structure will be able to be searched in a variety of ways. There are a great amount of relational database options in the market but the two main ones are Microsoft Access and Lotus Approach. These are both very suitable choices. Out of the two I will use Microsoft Access because it is more common compared with Lotus Approach and also because I am more familiar with the Microsoft environment. Overall I feel that Microsoft Access is easier to understand the instructions are clearer which makes it easier to follow. The terminology used in Access is better than that used in Lotus Approach. The form will be used to enter record of orders, suppliers and customers etc. This will make the business more organised and thus more efficient. The queries will be used to see who is ordering what and how much is owed to suppliers or owed by customers. To produce the templates for the letter I have chosen Microsoft word because it can easily be linked to Microsoft Access. It will also enable the letter to look professional as you can set any of your own preferences. For example, margin width, header and footer etc. Functions in Microsoft word such as MacroButtons, Date fields can make the end-user develop the letter template for his suitability. Other functions like AutoCorrect and AutoText will give the user an option for creating many types of customised letters for different kinds clients. My other options for word processors were Lotus WordPro, WordPad, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Paint and Word Perfe ct. These were not as suitable as Microsoft Word because some of them do not allow me carry out the advanced features that I wish to and also because most of them will not be able to link with Microsoft Access.

Four Challenges of Sustainability

â€Å"Four Challenges of Sustainability† by David W. Orr confronts the problems of sustainability and proposes a path to get there. The concept of sustainability is the primary topic and goal in regards to the future of humans. The entire idea that humans and civilization as we know it may cease to exist, is a relatively new idea. This very real idea has spawned acknowledgement and pursuit of avoiding it through sustainability. Militarization, the increasing number of incredibly poor, and the increasing amount of frivolous consumption are some of the many current practices that simply cannot be sustained. Major industrial industries like agriculture, energy production, and health care have begun to exhibit diminishing returns. The move to sustainability requires major changes and improvements in government, specifically democratic governments and the relationship between them and their citizens. Fair distribution of wealth, cradle to cradle material policy, and building ecologically sound cities are only possible through ethical governments that have their citizen’s best interests at heart. Orr more succinctly puts this as, â€Å"Sustainability, in short, constitutes a series of public choices that require effective institutions of governance and a well-informed democratically engaged citizenry. † Education and curriculums must be improved to include ideas that are essential to sustainability. These ideas should promote more windmills, more farmers’ markets, and more small businesses. Orr feels that the public must be educated about sustainability and then taught how to implement it. It is then their responsibility to pass this knowledge on to future generations. The transition to sustainability requires more than education and critical problem solving skills. In the quest for sustainability, Orr says we need â€Å"a higher level of spiritual awareness† and references Schumacher in saying that we require, â€Å"wisdom, love, compassion, understanding, and empathy. † These spiritual tools will enable us to stop the self destructive behaviors that we continually perpetuate. If not for any other reason than preserving humanity we must stop killing the planet.

Swot analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Swot analysis - Essay Example 3. Although AFVs save costs and enhance economy, â€Å"hybrid† is a relatively new technology which is not "tried and true" and only little is known about its potential development. This may also lead to disapproval from potential consumers. (Wasko, 2006) 4. Petrol and diesel vehicles have been around for decades and have been proven reliable time and time again. Solar and electric powered vehicles are new to the market and consumers might be reluctant to swap to the new technology. 5. A design that is â€Å"petrol-free† means that the â€Å"Synergy† loses some acceleration as a trade-off for economy and being environmentally friendly. People might still prefer petrol/diesel vehicles for performance. (Wasko, 2006) 1. Petrol prices are rising day by day due to the huge increase in crude oil prices. This provides a perfect opportunity to the Toyota Corp. to make cars that do not require petrol to enter the market. (Wasko, 2006) 2. The Toyota CS&S concept car puts Toyotas popular hybrid technology inside a sportier and futuristic design, with speeds up to 127 miles/hr. The CS&S incorporates the Toyotas Hybrid Synergy Drive system, the same gas-electric technology (Fuller, 2009). Toyota can work on this model to develop a hybrid car that saves fuel and is made for performance. This can be targeted towards the urban youth market. 3. Toyota has planned to build about 400 demonstration plug-in hybrids by the year 2010. The batteries in these cars can be charged from wall sockets which further cuts gasoline usage. (Woodyard, 2008) 1. In 2010, Toyota declared the callback of about 436,000  hybrid vehicles  worldwide, including its latest make, the Prius, to fix the  brake problems. The total includes more than 200,000 Prius cars sold in Japan. (Prius Call Back Worldwide By Toyota 2008) Lack of quality control can severely damage

Outline the polices that enable older people to remain at home as much Essay

Outline the polices that enable older people to remain at home as much is posible - Essay Example The objective of dignity to elders can be achieved only if the policies emphasise the concept of enabling older people to remain in a homely environment as much as possible, to usher in the safety and general welfare of senior citizens. The UK has been a pioneer in drafting many such policies that seek better avenues to channelize appropriate alternatives and resources for the elderly people, as discussed below. Though the concept of taking care of the elderly has existed even in the earlier civilizations, in the form of shelter for the old and community care centres, the idea of specific policies and laws to govern them began to manifest their presence from the beginning of the 19th century. The succeeding years after Second World War (WWII) saw the advent of demographic changes with a sharp rise in life expectancy and fall of fertility rates, with an unprecedented increase in the population of older people. The modern welfare state carried forward the policies and laws for the old and aged and institutionalized them. The prevailing â€Å"Poor Law† (Public Assistance following Local Government Act, 1929) (Thane 2009) where power was designated to public assistance committees of local council has given way in the 70s, 80s and subsequent years to the present policies, the focus shifting to enabling elderly peope to remain and be cared for at their homes. The spotlight being on the need for older people to stay at home for as long as possible (Department of Health, 1989), the White Paper on Community Care (1989) discussed about the society deliberating to see the roles of State, community, families and individuals in the rehabilitation and development of â€Å"independence, self fulfilment and participation (of elder) with assurance of care and dignity of who are most frail and vulnerable† (Leeson 2003). The resultant NHS and Community Care act-1990 has encouraged the development of community care provisions and implementation where present policies for older and disabled people should promote healthy independence, more carers, modernize and integrate service, provision of individual needs centred services, a feeling of belonging in the community, and a sense of money value. â€Å"Such policies rely high on availability of unpaid, informal typical family care from inside the community† (Harper and Leeson, 2002) and â€Å"current service models of distribution of specific factors in existing family care† (Leeson, 2004). Since the 90s, these policies and laws have undergone a sea change, with revisions and modifications of existing policies and besides implementing to new measures seeking to help community care, like â€Å"Disability Living Allowance from 1992’; the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act, 1995; the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act, 1995; the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995; the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act, 1996† (House of Commons Health Committee: Social Care 2008-09) etc which have enabled the local authorities to make payments to disabled people to assist them in buying community services according to their needs. The