Chronic Illness Strikes Again Essay

Throughout the ‘hard times’ of a person’s life, they may face their difficulties with an attitude of generosity and fortitude. When it comes to living in sickness, however, true human nature seems to reveal itself. When confined to the house, room, or bed with a chronic illness, one becomes weak. This weakness allows themselves to show the nature of humans, which is not the aforementioned strength, but selfishness as well as impatience. Chronic illnesses have an extreme effect on the mindset of an individual. Affected children and adolescents are subjected to developmental issues, worries of being socially unaccepted, and being uncertain of their future. Children have been observed to experience more stress and far more changes in personality and behavior. Their risk for psychological disorders significantly increases in the presence of a severe illness. The limits put on chronically ill children, usually by parents or doctors, destruct their concept of manners an d ‘behaving’. This causes the child to be quick-tempered and prone to tantrums. Human selfishness is the underlying root of negative behavior changes due to sickness. Individuals with a chronic illness are viewed as a burden on society by the vast majority of our population. It is the healthy person’s own selfishness that causes the sick to be aware of everyone else’s ‘not my problem’ attitude. Sickness has a monumental impact on the person living in it and alters every aspect of their life. When a family member is suffering from a severe illness, the dynamic of their family will drastically change. Parents are primarily the caregivers to their children while they are sick. Their role is a challenging one, as they face a great tension between members of the family, high financial expenses, and difficulty communicating with their child. When the family views these stigmas as unmanageable, relationships weaken, and stress accumulates. The parent’s perception of their child’s uncontrollable selfish behavior causes them to believe there are disciplinary issues occurring. The common tendency for mothers who experience more elevated levels of stress due to their child’s illness is to view their behavior as deviant. A severely ill person will naturally have more difficulty suppressing their selfish desires, but this drives a wedge between them and their apathetic family members. Siblings of the sick become ‘forgotten’ by their parents and they too may lash out in attempts of receiving some attention. Elderly people are often diagnosed with chronic illnesses, making them even more aware of their numbered days. When most people hear the words ‘sick old people’ it can be quite obvious that they are the last thing anyone wants to be around. They are believed to be grouchy, rude, and miserable. And it is true, they are! Like many others that are chronically ill, older patients can try to put on the humble and serene faà §ade, but it won’t last very long. Nobody wants to be sick, and nobody wants to be in the presence of a sick person either. Why would anyone want that? People want to be able to make their own decisions without any restrictions. So, when chronic illness stands in the way of that ability, selfishness and impatience become very prominent. Okay I know this is where I am supposed to put my conclusion but it is very late and I really don’t feel like it so whoever is peer editing this if you wouldn’t mind putting down some things you feel as though I should include in this that would be GREAT thank you very much and I know my essay is a bit disorganized and my stance isn’t as clear as it could be but I will make it better it is just very late and my eyes are tired thanks so much. Ps also that’s not going to be my title lol I’m sorry I needed something to put there first thing that popped into my head alright bye

Impact of Caste System in India Essay

1. Introduction 1.1 Brief introduction of the background: Feminist translation rose in the process of â€Å"cultural turn† proposed by Bassnett Susan and Lefevere at the end of the 1970s and in the early 1980s, it was the product of the latest advances in translation theory and the vigorous development of the feminist movement that first launched in Canada by some outstanding Canadian translators, like Susanne de Lotbinià ¨re-Harwood, Barbara Godard and Kathy Mezei.(Susan 1990) A strong movement of French-language feminist experimental writing in Quebec stimulated their desire to promote and to theorize activities of literary mediation. Since then, some feminist theorists came up and made a lot of critics about the feminist translation theory, the most typical and influential ones are: Sherry Simon’s Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission; Luise Von Flotow’s Translation and Gender : Translating in the Era of Feminism; and Barbara Godard’s Views on feminist translation studies. The purpose of feminist translation theory is firmly opposed to placing women in the lower social class and making translation subsidiary to literature. They are against that, as John Forio summarized:â€Å"translators are handmaiden to authors, women inferior to men.† This is the core of feminist translation theory, which seeks to ‘identify and critique the tangle of concepts which relegates both women and translation to the bottom of the social and literary ladder’. We can see that it stressed the subjectivity of translation, hold the idea that original is equivalent to the translation and the gender discrimination can be eliminated by rewriting the translation. (ç ®â‚¬Ã¤ ¸ ½Ã¤ ¸ ½2012:1-27) From this point of view, the theory is accepted by most, especially translation theorists, since it has provided a new learning perspective for them in translation theory research and translation practice. 1.2 The application of the feminist theory in literature. As one of the most important foundational texts of our Western culture. However, there are many masculine language, image and metaphor in the early Bible so that it is hard to avoid not to consider God as male. With the rising of feminism, women Christian became awakening to the situation of women’s oppression, so they reacted strongly against the overwhelmingly masculinist bias of the Bible, and the way it had for so long been used to constrain women. While the method they adopted is to reinterpretate the Bible from a feminist point of view, to translate the Bible by means of â€Å"neutral† or â€Å"gender-inclusive language† and propose several amendments of the translation of the Bible, which resolves the concept of feminist translation. However, some people think that the rewriting of the Bible may lead a misunderstanding of it, for the fact is that the social status of female in that era is extremely low. We can judge from the following: The Bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned before the judgment seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period of suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection she was to play the role of a dependent on man’s bounty for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire on the vital questions of the hour, she was commanded to ask her husband at home. Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up. (Stanton l972:7) Different translation versions of the Bible are allowed nowadays, on condition that the religious rules and the historical truth of the original text not be violated. Otherwise it won’t become an authorized and popular one. With the rapid development of the feminist translation theory, there sprang up numerous recomments on the reinterpretation of feminist literature in China and abroad. Some main research texts are: Pride and Prejudice; Zhang AIling’s translations; Jane Eyre; Diary of a Mad Black Woman; A Frolic in the Snow; The Color Purple;《王å ®â€°Ã¥ ¿â€ Ã¯ ¼Å¡Ã§â€ ·Ã¤ º ºÃ¥â€™Å'Ã¥ ¥ ³Ã¤ º ºÃ¯ ¼Å'Ã¥ ¥ ³Ã¤ º ºÃ¥â€™Å'城å ¸â€šÃ£â‚¬â€¹and so on. Through the recomment on the feminist literature, and the comparison of different versions from gender point of view, more and more people were awakened by the feminist consciousness, it earned widespread attention to some extent, it even changed the position of men and women in an unnoticed , fast way. For example, there are two different translated versions of Li Limei and Sun Zhili to Pride and prejudice. As far as Austen’s ideas on marriage are concerned. Li Limei’s preface for her translation of Pride and Prejudice:She criticized most of the marriage at that time†¦(she thought) the base of an ideal marriage should be mutual love and understanding†¦but she never put money and love ai the opposite position; instead, she showed that money played a key role in an ideal marriage. In Sun Zhili’s preface for his translation of Pride and Prejudice : she accepted Collin’s proposal just for the purpose to have a good home, a â€Å"safe box† whi ch ensured that she can be protected from cold and hunger. She didn’t mind the fact that she couldn’t enjoy the happiness of love after she got marriage. And to some extent, it reflects the miserable fate of women. It shows us that how the subjectivity influences the translation, in the example above, the female translator, influenced by gender consciousness, can better grasp and reproduce the details related to feminine in the original text. However, the male translator, lacking the gender consciousness, often neglects these details, and even weaken or distorts the feminist purpose in the original text. 2. Theory foundation and their strength and weakness 2.1 Sherry Simon and her Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission Sherry Simon and her Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission, which is one of her most significant monographs of translation studies and is also the first comprehensive discussion of the western translation studies from feminist perspective. The book mainly explored the influence on translation theory and practice on the part of feminism based on political and literary movement. In Simon’s words, the book is the product of feminism and translation studies from the perspective of culture. It abandoned the traditional translation theory and held that translation was not a simple mechanical language conversion ,but also the constant extension the renewal of an unlimited number of text discourses. Therefore, translation, considered as an act of writing through highlighting the subjectivity of the translator, is also a rewriting behaviour in specific social, historical and cultural context. Sherry Simon concentrated on the discussion of replacing those hackneyed language by means of the positive discourses that enable to convey the function of identity in translation practice. Sherry Simon’s feminist theory has broken the shackles of translational translation theory, promoting the play of individual initiative, advocating individual interest and needs and recognizing the individual world view.(Simon 1996:105-108) Simon focus on underlining the importance of the cultural turn in translation. Cultural studies brings translation an understanding of the complexities of gender and culture. It allows us to situate linguistic transfer within the multiple ‘post’ realities of today: poststructuralism, post colonialism and postmodernism. (Simon 1996:136) Thus Simon links gender and cultural studies to the development in the post colonialism. The exact scope of post colonialism is open to some debate; however, it is generally used to cover studies of the history of the former colonies, studies of powerful European empires , resistance to the colonialist powers and, more broadly, studies of the effect of the imbalance of power relations between colonized and colonizer. The consequent crossover between different contemporary disciplines can be seen by the fact that essays by her and Lefevere appear in collections of postcolonial writings on translation, and Simon herself makes extensive reference to the postcolonialist Spivak.(Jeremy 2010:133) 2.2 Luise Von Flotow’ Translation and Gender : Translating in the Era of Feminism Followed by Sherry Simon, Luise Von Flotow wrote her Translation and Gender : Translating in the Era of Feminism . After the publication of this book, there came into being a lot of thesis about the feminist translation theory almost at the same time. The importance of it is quite evident. However, does it rightly or properly criticize and comment on the feminist translation perspective? We know that (a) the book systematically expounded the origin, development of the feminism, as well as its relationship with translation. (b) And it perfectly combined theory and example by citing abundant cases. The most heating topic was her three feminist translation strategies: â€Å"supplementing†, â€Å"prefacing† and â€Å"footnoting† as well as â€Å"hijacking†. She explained to us those methods the translators use in their work elaborately. (c) More importantly, as a women, Luise did not hold a bigoted idea, but a justice one to feminism. All of those are strengths, but (a) the language she studied focused on Hebrew, French, and German which all of them have typical gender, number and case. It is not convincing for the Chinese, Japanese and Korean readers for their language can not be obviously distinguished. (b) her criticizes from Outside Feminism and Within Feminism leave us an impression that the feminism overemphasize their manipulative and political act by tampering and the authors’ writing style, without regard to the readers’ feeling. Presenting to us their colonialism in translation. (Flotow 2004) 2.3 Barbara Godard’s Views on feminist translation studies. Barbara Godard was born in Toronto in 1941, she was one of the most famous feminist translators who were the first to engage in feminist translation. She published six translation works including dozens of translations of poetries, proses and fiction excerpts. Godard emphasized on the profiling of women and the translator in the translation. She wrote prefaces all her translators, showing her rejection of invisible women, translators and translations. An important discovery she found was that the language differences between women and men, she found that women must put female language translated in to patriarchal language when they got involved in to the public domain, so women were â€Å"bilingual†, with at least two kind of visions of looking at reality. However, men has a single perspective because of their power positions of masters. When it came to the translation of women’s work, this narrow perspective of men were fully exposed. What she sought was not the â€Å"one to one correspondence† between the translation work and the original texts, but the recreation of the translation to the feminism in the original text. Godard was absolutely a pioneer in western feminist translation and her feminist translation practice and theory were extremely important for us to study the western feminist translation. However,(a) her works were so radical that it was almost impossible for the translators to find the so-called equivalence of the original work and the translation work. (b) Godard’s translation were indeed limited to the highly educated elite readers for she thought it was one of the strategies of feminism that required the text of elitism to make the text more readable. 3. Conclusion It is regarded as a good way to improve the women’s social status with language and translation, we are also delighted to see the improvement of the subjectivity and the translators, but it will become debateable if the translators attempt to change the style of the original work, or rewrite it to serve their political act. If the translation is not fidelity ,we won’t care whether it is beautiful or not. What we should do is not to rewrite all the works forcefully, but fully analyzing and translating the feminist works with female consciousness, so that our voice can be heard,and our female consciousness can be released from the male-centered one.(ä ¹ Ã© »â€ºÃ¤ ºâ€˜ 2002) The translation theory and translation practice now mainly focus on some typical literary translation and texts, but not spread to the people at bottom. It is suggested that the mass reading and some other aspects should also be involved. As for China, we still did not have any formal feminist movement, plus we lack of the deep research about translation. Hence we haven’t achieved a remarkable achievement concerning the feminist translation. We should avail ourselves of this opportunity to call on Chinese translators apply this feminist consciousness into their translation. Because it benefits not only the development of feminism, the gender study, but also the translation studies. The revolution of the translation may be a revolution of literature, and a revolution of human culture.

Income Elasticity of Demand

Price elasticity of demand measures the degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded of a good X to a given change to a price of itself, ceteris paribus. Price elasticity of demand is calculated by dividing the proportionate change in quantity demanded by the proportionate change in price. When PED is greater than one (PED > 1) demand is said to be elastic When PED is between zero to one (0 > PED > 1) demand in said to be inelastic When PED is equal to one (PED > 1) demand is said to be unit-elastic (unitary elasticity) A perfectly inelastic demand curve, perpendicular to the X-axis, has zero elasticity. A perfectly elastic demand curve, horizontal to X axis, is infinitely elastic. The price elasticity of demand for a particular demand curve is influenced by the following factors: Availability of substitutes: the greater the number of substitute products, the greater the elasticity. Degree of necessity or luxury: luxury products tend to have greater elasticity than necessities. Some products that initially have a low degree of necessity are habit forming and can become â€Å"necessities† to some consumers. Proportion of income required by the item: products requiring a larger portion of the consumer's income tend to have greater elasticity. †¢ Time period considered: elasticity tends to be greater over the long run because consumers have more time to adjust their behavoir to price changes. Income elasticity of demand measure the degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded of good X to a given change in level of income, ceteris paribus. Income elasticity of demand is calculated by dividing the proportionate change in quantity demanded by the proportionate change in level of income. When YED is less than one (YED ; 1) demand is income inelastic. When YED is greater than one (YED ; 1) demand is income elastic. If YED is negative (YED ; 0) the good is sometimes referred to as an inferior good as opposed to normal goods ( 0 ; YED ; 1) and superior ( luxury ) goods (YED;1). The income elasticity of demand for a particular demand curve is influenced by the following factors: †¢ Need of good ( Basic necessity or luxury good ) †¢ Level of income †¢ Time factor One reason for this is that as a society becomes richer, there are changes in consumer perceptions about different goods and services together with changes in consumer tastes and preferences. What might have been considered a luxury good several years ago might now be regarded as a necessity Income Elasticity of Demand Income Elasticity of Demand is a measure of responsiveness of demand to the changes in income and it involves demand curve shifts. It provides information on the direction of change of demand, given a change in income and the size of the change. Formula for YED: Percentage change in quantity demanded = %?Q Percentage change in income %?Y Normal goods have a positive value of YED, while Inferior goods have a negative value of YED as shown in the graph below: Normal goods: when income increases, demand for normal goods increases as well. An increase in income leads to an increase in consumption, demand shifts to the right Inferior goods: when income increases, demand for this good falls. The demand curve shifts left as income rises. As income rises, the proportion spent on food tends to fall while the proportion spent on services tends to rise. Necessity and Luxury goods Necessity YED 1 If a good has a YED that is greater than one, is has income elastic demand: a percentage increase in income produces a larger percentage increase in quantity demanded. Luxuries are income elastic goods. Like the I Phone or chewing gum. Applications of Income and elasticity of demand YED implication for producers and for the economy Overt time the economy grows and the society’s income increases. Increasing income means a rising demand for goods and services. If the average economic growth is 3% per year, goods and services have income elastic demand (YED >1) thus, the demand of these goods and services grows at a higher rate than 3%. Examples include Restaurants, Movies and Health care, (these goods and services are produced by industries that develop and expand more rapidly than the total income in the economy). Also the demands of other goods such as food, clothing and furniture which are inelastic have a rate of less than 3%, (these goods and services are produced by industries growing more slowly than total income). Higher YED greater future expansion Lower YED Smaller future expansion This means that before you may produce a good think about the YED. The three parts of an Economy Primary sector agriculture, forestry, fishing and extractive industries. Positive YED thus is income inelastic. * Manufacturing sector textile and appliances. Income elastic Negative YED. * Service sector entertainment, insurance and education. Higher YED, greater percentage increase in the demand. Hence as the total output of agricultural shares in the economy drops, the share manufactured output grows. Through continuous growth, t he service sector expands at the expense of both agriculture and manufacturing as shown in the diagram below: Less economically developed countries have a larger primary sector while developed countries are dominated by services. **Remember that if the total output increases over time, a falling share of a certain sector (like the primary sector) does not automatically mean that the output is reducing, probably the sectors output is growing but slower than the total output. An increasing share for a sector means that its output is growing more rapidly than the total output.

Summary of APTA Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of APTA Leadership - Assignment Example Particularly in 2011, the organization has had some major breakthroughs and has been able to render its services more effectively. At the 2011 House of Delegates (House) interests and opinions of its members were represented and future policies were outlined and adopted that would modify the future structure of APTA. Among policies adopted were defining the physical therapist’s role in palliative care and in the treatment of patients with concussion, elucidating the supervision requirements for student physical therapist assistants and amending its position on the transparency of contractual agreements between clients and the organization. The House introduced Principles of Governance which delineated principles for the future governing body of APTA. Its purpose is to provide guidelines to the Governance Review Task Force for reviewing governance proposals and input from sources both within and outside of the organization’s membership and volunteer groups. These proposals are scheduled to be reviewed in the 2012 House of Delegates and to be implemented in the 2013 House of Delegates. Another milestone was the consideration of the highly debated parent resolution â€Å"Health Care Professionals and Personnel Involved in the delivery of Physical Therapy†, which proposed changes to the present delivery system of physical therapy limited to â€Å"physical therapist, physical therapist assistant and physical therapy aide† (APTA). The new adopted policy is as follows: â€Å"The American Physical Therapy Association recognizes physical therapists’ abilities to utilize appropriate support personnel, including but not limited to the physical therapist assistant, when directing and supervising selected aspects of physical therapy intervention† (APTA). For this purpose, the Board of Directors formed a task force for the preparation of a report regarding the aforementioned reform for review in the next Board of Directors meeting in April 2012. In the

Protecting Personal Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Protecting Personal Information - Essay Example But there are many concerns which consumers must consider if they want to enter into protected and secure transactions with the seller companies without any security risks involved. They must watch what PII they are going to share with the companies online. Companies might ask them to give their PII like name, address, phone number, e-mail address, spouse’s name, name of parents and children, social insurance number, bank account number or credit card number. Consumers should make sure that the seller companies have a privacy policy mentioned on their websites and that the security of their credit cards or any other mode of payment is also guaranteed. If the credit card number has been given, then the statement must be checked regularly so as to make sure that there are no unknown charges that are not in the consumer’s knowledge. It is also a sensible idea to keep a copy of all agreements, transactions, and communications that have been carried out with the online vendo rs so that a proof is always there in case of complaints- minor or severe.Two of the many laws regarding identity theft are discussed below:Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)CFAA was designed in 1984 and deals with penalties for the intruders who gain access to sensitive information stored in a computer without authorized access. Computers have to be protected when the consumers carry out commercial activities, engage in cross-border e-commerce, and make online business transactions and email communications with online traders.... It is also a sensible idea to keep a copy of all agreements, transactions and communications that have been carried out with the online vendors so that a proof is always there in case of complaints- minor or severe. Laws and Legislation Two of the many laws2 regarding identity theft are discussed below: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) CFAA was designed in 1984 and deals with penalties for the intruders who gain access to sensitive information stored in a computer without authorized access. Computers have to be protected when the consumers carry out commercial activities, engage in cross-border e-commerce, and make online business transactions and email communications with online traders. The Act applies penalties upon the identity thieves starting from 10 years to 20 years of imprisonment. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) This law was passed in order to eliminate the menace of identity theft. The need for secure online networks initially arose when issu es like computer viruses and internet fraud posed a threat to the security and privacy of data stored on online servers and health records. HIPAA was passed by U.S. Congress on August 21, 1996. It deals with the privacy issue of the consumer’s data and presents Privacy Rule which ensures fines and punishments for fraud and violation of the rule. Ethical, Moral and Social Issues It is important to educate the users of internet and computer systems about â€Å"intellectual property rights issues, privacy/ surveillance issues, access to data issues and issues of human-computer interaction† (Stahl, Carroll-Mayer and Norris, 2006, p.298). They should know that

On Golden Pond Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On Golden Pond Film - Essay Example The chief protagonist’s roles are played by ace actor and actress – Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn. ‘On Golden Pond’ is based on an affectionate and loving couple who spend their twilight years with each other and the different experiences that come in the wake of their life. The film portrays the difficulties faced by this couple in old age and how despite these difficulties they maintain their dignity and respect right through the end of the film. The thing that makes the film all the more interesting is that the audience can easily relate to it and identify themselves in similar situations. The inherent sentiment in the film is greatly enhanced and reinforced through the visual metaphor of a beautiful sunset over the Golden Pond. The breathtaking beautiful natural scenery of New England highlights the concept of emotional sentiment between the elderly couple and how they interact towards each other in specific situations. ‘On the Golden Pondâ₠¬â„¢ is all about real – life relationships and personalities which is what makes it much easier for the audience to connect and relate to. The filmmaker draws from the extensively publicized problems that were faced by Henry Fonda with his son and daughter. However, the central theme of the film is all about how a college professor and his wife take the much deserved privilege of a holiday in this idyllic spot to explore â€Å"life’s inner meaning†. The main plot of the film involves contrasting male senility against female strength. Though the characters are vulnerable to their situation, yet they do not appear to be so, due to Rydell’s technique of using high angle and bird’s eye shots that helps to maintain the illusion of his characters. This technique helps the characters to integrate and adapt themselves well with their environment. Rydell’s female protagonist, Katherine is a very devoted wife who is quite a free- spirited and carefre e character who even goes singing in the woods and picking up firewood, strawberries and flowers for the home. As a female pillar of strength, she forces the audience to understand the reversal of gender roles and their consequences. On the other hand, the male protagonist Fonda is always seen bemoaning his uncertainty of life because he is faced with the fact of gradually losing his memory and the deterioration of his physical health. The conflict between the Fondas emerges quite early in the film as Henry’s mental health seems to be getting even worse. For example, he accuses the operator of having called them a classic ‘Exhibit A’ memory loss. He also looks at an old photograph of him and his wife with their child Chelsea and enquires who that child was. In Fonda, we could understand the serious consequences of retirement that manifests itself through unpleasant confrontation with his daughter and constant nagging which he uses as a recourse to be in control o f his status and situation which becomes more complex as he increases in age. He is unable to accept the reality of his situation and a feeling of uselessness creeps over him. These behaviors are exhibited by the character Norman due to aging according to his chronological age and also due to the fact he is unable to accept the fact of aging, retirement and other physical and mental disabilities that accompany it. On close observation of this character we come to understand that he is unable to come to terms with himself by accepting his infirmities and

MIH514 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives - Mod 2 SLP Essay

MIH514 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives - Mod 2 SLP - Essay Example There may still be some extended family in the home but not as often since arriving in the US. If there are extended family living with a family unit, it is most often temporary as a family obligation until the others can get on their feet. (Shapiro, 2009). Many of the Indian people come to the US highly educated and become professionals while there are some who are not. They are unusual in the sense that they do not concentrate in singular neighborhoods so they seem less visible and most of them speak English. Their goals and priorities are much related to family. Assuring safe and well cared for families and homes , good health, an happiness is at the top of their list. Like previously mentioned, they are often well educated and are embarrassed if not able to hold a job. Disability is not spoken about and may actually be hidden away in the family system. Their children are of top priority and much of the developmental tasks that occur for them are childhood oriented. All children have some problems with enculturalization but the Asian Indian people are most concerned about it. They make a huge effort to retain cultural identity and still parent within a dissimilar culture (Inman, Howard & Beaumont, 2007). As previously noted, the elders in the family are treated with a great deal of respect. For example, they are never called by their first name. They serve as a resource to the parents of the family and to the children. There has been some change here as the nuclear family forms in the US and the extended family is more likely to disappear. In fact many of the elders are still in their home country though they are likely supported in some way by the family here in the US. (Merrill & Palmer, 2007) Though many of the Indian people who have immigrated to this country have left the cast system behind them, there remains much influence from it, including what kind of profession you will have and where you will be on the social latter. The

Film Citizen Kane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Film Citizen Kane - Essay Example To specify, the compositions in Citizen Kane have the frames that are split into fractions of light and darkness/shadow.   Apart from this, Welles successfully employs weird, exaggerated angles that make characters appear in a distorted way. This technique is illustrative of a typical noir movie syntax. In addition, low angle shots focus the attention on the protagonist’s physical stature, yet they contain frames that suggest restriction and confinement.   For example, Kane’s placing against low ceilings seems to diminish the character and contradict his prevailing personality (Citizen Kane). All in all, this technique helps to create a sense of claustrophobia through evident visual entrapment. This is known to be characteristic of noir thrillers as well. Last but not least, the sustained shots’ duration is also a feature of film noir genre successfully employed by Welles.In summary, Citizen Kane (1941) possesses a number of stylistic and technical elements o f noir films. Its fragmented structure, narrative labyrinths, sequences of flashbacks, the quest for some truth, the presence of mystery, and cynical view of power can be considered its noir stylistic aspects.   Technical noir elements include unusual angles, contrasts of light and shadow, shots of sustained duration,   and other techniques that help to create the sense of claustrophobia and entrapment characteristic of this genre.

Short placement ministry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Short placement ministry - Essay Example They come in to assist individuals using material support in case of a tragedy or a time of loss. They as well offer training to their staff members to ensure they remained professionally relevant and updated with the trending issues in the profession thus giving full support to their staff members. (Camphell, 2014, p. 130) Parents and family members who lose their beloved ones when receiving medical attention from the medical services provided by the chapel find both material and moral support. Such families and parents are offered financial support besides counseling and comfort. So as to achieve its missions and objectives of providing high quality healthcare services and access to spiritual, cultural and religious care, the chapel collaborates with the denominations and the local faith communities which communicate the members of the communities the services on offer (Kelly, 1896, p. 430). With that everybody in the society and community as a whole gains quick and reliable access to the services of the chapel anytime they need such services. Luton and Dunstable chapel also works hand in hand with various volunteers who come in to offer support through financial donations for the development of the various services. The volunteer teams also contain an individual who provide comfort and support to the visitors, patients and staff regardless of their religious backgrounds. The volunteer groups include bedside ministers who frequently provide their services especially ministry on Sundays besides other days, ward visitors who pay homage to and support the patients in the chapels hospital and chapel volunteers who make their visits to the wards mainly on Sundays and Saturdays to cross check on which patients would like to attend the spiritual services of the chapel. (Camphell, 2014, p. 149) The chapel volunteers also assist in the organization of the Sunday morning hospital’s services. They bring the hospital patients to attend services at

A Married Man's story by Katherine Mansfield- innovative literary Essay

A Married Man's story by Katherine Mansfield- innovative literary devices - Essay Example The questioning spirit of modernism can be seen as part of a basic search for ways to make a new sense of a society torn apart by the World Wars. The Modernist style of writing used satire and psycho-analysis, meta-narratives (story within a story), discontinuous narratives etc. The general thematic concerns of Modernist literature were a sense of alienation, despair and frustration of the individual with life and the social obligations of society. Throughout her career as an author Katherine Mansfield wrote many short stories that deal with friendship, matrimony and family life. In â€Å"A Married Man’s Story† Mansfield employs the modernist literary devices of psychoanalysis and meta-narrative to describe the emotional turmoil of an unnamed married man. Mansfield’s story takes place almost entirely inside the head of the narrator. It is composed totally of thoughts, jotted down like a confessional on paper. In this manner the reader is always distanced even from the scene of the tale i.e. the typical Modernist meta-narrative style. This man is unhappy in his relation with his wife and relates his past and present life in writing his memoirs. These are disjointed and follow no timeline giving the story a sense of timelessness; also this process leads to the writer (the married man) realizing some truths about himself and his familial relationships (self-realization is an important aspect of Modernist lite rature). The thematic style of the story also follows the modernist trend of dealing with an individual’s inner struggle to relate to a society and relationships where he feels himself exiled and out of sync. â€Å"Outside it is raining,† he writes, and he pictures himself outside in the cold darkness; â€Å"while I am here, I am there, lifting my face to the dim sky, and it seems to me it must be raining all over the world,† he concludes (Mansfield, 1923:609). These lines from the story clearly

United Nations and Big Powers Essay Example for Free

United Nations and Big Powers Essay Mellowed by experience, the founders of the United Nations realized that, if the new organization was to keep and secure international peace, it must be far stronger organization. So, with practical sense and pragmatic considerations, they sort to make an improvement upon the League-Covenant. The United Nations Charter clearly proves such an improvement. First, the League did not sufficiently recognize the value of self determination, human rights, and equal rights of men and women and of nations, large and small, the United Nations Charter has emphasized all these values. Secondly, the League intended to keep peace without outlawing war. But the United Nations has, under Art 2 (4), prohibited war. Thirdly, the League failed to distribute power properly between two chief organs – the General Assembly and the Security Council. But the United Nations has very carefully demarcated power between them. Thus, under Art 24 (1), the â€Å"primary responsibility† of maintenance of peace and order has been entrusted upon the Security Council. Fourthly, all the member-states are to take an oath, under Art 2 (3) that on the call of the Security Council, they must unitedly stand against any aggressor. Fifthly, chapter VI contains several Articles regarding pacific and compulsive settlement of disputes for maintaining peace. Thus, in act of aggression, the Security Council may advice the disputing states to settle the issue peacefully. But, if anyone of them defies it, the Security Council can adopt punitive measures by asking all the member-states to cut off political, diplomatic and economic relations with the ‘culprit’. If this measure too fails, the Security Council may adapt military measures by sea, air and land-forces and all the member states are bound to provide the UN-army necessary troops, material and passages in order to continue military operations. For conducting such operations, Art 47 (1) has provided for the appointment of a Military Staff Committee. Thus, since the beginning, it was claimed that the United Nations was an organization sufficiently empowered to take action against a recalcitrant state and, that international peace was sufficiently secured with the formation of such an organization. Authors like Norman Benthic have even claimed that, it has â€Å"teeth†. But, as a matter of fact, the United Nations and the Security Council have failed to serve the purpose as desired by the makers. It is true that, on few occasions, like the Korea-crisis, the UN was able to take action for securing peace. When, in 1950, North Korea, strengthened by the Chinese support, attacked South Korea by crossing the 38 degree parallel, the UN took joint action in order to establish peace and justice by saving South Korea. As Eichelberger opines, â€Å"Korea presents a clear example of United Nations’ application of collective security† (Eichelberger 20). But, on many other occasions, it has failed to serve its purpose and, hence, peace has been threatened on various situations. For example, the UN has failed to prevent America from taking action in Vietnam, or to protect India in 1962 from Chinese aggression, or to prevent Soviet Russia from interfering in the affair of Afghanistan. In short, on various occasions, his weakness has been discernible, because the Big Powers have often defied the United Nation by violating their pledge. Thus, the chief reason of the failure of the United Nations is the conflicting interests of the Big Powers. For this reason, Clement observes, â€Å"The very name United Nations is a misnomer and, hence, may be called disunited nations† (Clement 483). Particularly, after the end of Second World War, the USA and Soviet Russia, the erstwhile partners, drifted apart and became strong enemies. Though Britain and France joined the American camp, communist China sided with the Soviet Russia. Thus, the major powers have been divided into two contending camps. Moreover, even the members of the same camp have developed mutual rivalry and distance. These conflicting interests have been reflected inside the United Nations. For this reason, on each occasion, they pursued different policies both within and outside the United Nations. For example, though it is said that the United Nations’ army saved South Korea in 1950, only fifteen nations took part in the military operation – some states like Soviet Russia opposed it and some others remained neutral. Such differences have materially weakened the UN. Moreover, the Soviet Veto paralyzed the Security Council from taking actions in Korea and hence, the General Assembly, by adopting the â€Å"Uniting for Peace Resolution† adapted the decision of taking military action. As Nicolas observes, â€Å"The failure of the Security Council to function as planned threw the Assembly into an unintended prominence† (Nicolas 72). Moreover, as pointed out earlier, the Charter intended that the Security Council can take action against the villain of peace. As Godspeed opines, â€Å"The Council is free to utilize any technique or procedure or combination of methods or which might prove useful†. But often the maintenance of peace requires military action. But through the Charter speaks of a Military Staff Committee, it has not yet been set up due to Big power-differences. As Russell observes, â€Å"Collective Security, as a method of preventing war cannot succeed until there is an international armed force. † But the United Nation has no such a force due to conflicts of Big Powers. In this way the major powers have actually defied the pledge of the United Nation and have reduced it into an impotent organization.

Organisations culture Essay Example for Free

Organisations culture Essay 1.Executive summary In this paper I look at how organisations develop culture and how this culture can be created, manipulated and changed my management. I also look at what other factors can change and affect a companies culture. The paper will take the following format. A definition of culture and the problems associated with its definition. I then look at how organisationl culture develops, with an explanation of the levels of cultural analysis, a look at the various different types of culture, and the role of the leader/manager in creating the organisations culture. How culture can be changed and the skills and actions needed by management to successfully implement a cultural change. I then finish with a conclusion. 2.Defining organisational culture What is organisational culture? This it has been found, is not an easy question to answer. The concept of culture has its roots in anthropology, the study of human affairs. In this context, culture has been used to designate two different things. A tribe or a social group is studied as a culture that produces and may have cultural artefacts. The second use of the term refers to aspects within a given culture, such as customs, rituals, knowledge and so on. (Sackman, S, 1991). In the context of organisational culture it is largely the second approach that is studied. Although people may not be aware consciously of culture, it still has a persuasive influence over their behaviour and actions. (Mullins, L, 2002). This statement explains that although we may not have the knowledge that we belong to a certain cultural group it will still have an impact on our behaviour and in an organisational sense, our working lives. The culture concept began to affect organisational thinking in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although is it evident in ideas from a number of earlier writers, for example Bernard (1938) and Jacques (1952). If we look at a number of different of organisations it is clear to see that things are done differently. This idea applies to all organisations, even in similar companies that are operating in the same industry. Tesco provides  much the same service as Sainsburys, but on close inspection we would be able to see the differences in which the two companies operate. It is more difficult however to describe how things are done differently, or why the company feels different. A major problem with the concept of culture is the degree to which individuals, organisations or entire communities display characteristics which are consistent within it. (Martin, J, 2001). Do all British people display characteristics that are consistent with British culture? It is clear that although there are many similarities in the behaviour of people within a defined culture, that individual differences provide some variety. The same must also be assumed in the context of organisational culture. Another problem with finding a definition for organisational culture is the sheer number of definitions that already exist. Kroeber and Kluckhorn list more than 250 definitions of culture, that include components such as ideas, concepts, ideologies values, attitudes, goals, norms, learned behaviours, symbols, rites, rituals, customs, myths, habits or artefacts such as tools and other material representations. (Sackman, S, 1991). This inevitably leads to confusion amongst researchers as to a universal definition of organisational culture. The term the way we do things around here (Deal and Kennedy, 1988) is often accepted as an operational definition of organisational culture. However this offers little in terms of the content of culture. Kilman et al. (1985) suggests culture is the reflects the ideologies, shared philosophies, values beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, expectations, and norms of an organisation 3.Levels of culture Now we have looked at a definition of organisational culture we should look deeper into what develops and makes up an organisations culture. According to Schein (1985), organisational culture is made up of three levels. Visible organisational structures and processes (Hard to decipher) Strategies, goals, philosophies (Espoused justification) Unconscious, taken for granted beliefs, habits of perception, thought thought and feeling (Ultimate source of values and action) The Levels of Organizational Culture, Schein, E (1985) Artefacts These form the surface level of culture. They include all the things that a person sees, hears and has contact with. In an organisation it would be the architecture of the environment such as the management hierarchy, its technology, its creations and products and its style in terms of manners of address both up and down the hierarchy, dress codes and formal procedures. Schein identifies the most important point of this level being that artefacts are easy to identify but hard to decipher. Two organisations may well have the same system in operation but they can mean different things in terms of the culture of the organisation. Schein puts his point into an example by saying both the Egyptians and Mayas built large pyramids, but they were tombs in one culture and temples in the other. This point is contradicted by Gagliardi (1990) who says ones own response to physical artefacts such as buildings and other office layouts can lead to the identification of major images and root metaphors that reflect the deepest levels of culture. This is supported by my own experience. I have worked in a supermarket, an  organisation with a tall management hierarchy. Many of the artefacts of the organisation gave the impression of a very formal culture. A strict uniformed dress code was in place, with management wearing different colours from subordinates, and formal forms of address being used. The company was also largely bureaucratic with countless forms to be filled out a large numbers of standard procedures in place. One person however may look at a very informal organisation and class it as inefficient and unproductive, while another may class it as innovative and free from unnecessary bureaucracy, this depends on the individuals previous preconceptions about the artefacts that are present. Values Values are usually one persons beliefs about a given situation. If a manager believes that at a certain time of the year his/her company should run at a lower capacity due to demand etc. This is attributed to his personal values. Only once these values are acted on, successfully implemented and accepted by the organisation do they become transformed into underlying assumptions. From a marketing perspective, some of these values may remain conscious and may be explicitly stated in a companys mission statement as the dominant values of the organisation (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Only values that are concrete that can be physically and socially validated, they are confirmed by the groups experiences, go through his transformation process. Underlying assumptions If a solution to a problem works frequently then it is often accepted as a rule for solving the given problem. The power of culture comes forth because these assumptions are shared within the group and are therefore mutually reinforced. These assumptions can often cause problems when someone new, with a different set of underlying assumptions from a previous culture, joins the organisation. As humans we like stability. Any decision which challenges or questions an underlying assumption, such as changing a costing method, or a method of production, will likely lead to anxiety and defensiveness within the organisation. A skill required by managers wishing to change aspects of an organisations culture is to recognise this connection, to get to the deeper levels of culture, and to deal with the anxiety that results when these assumptions are changed. The three stages are linked constantly together. Basic assumptions are treated as the essence- what culture really is; and values and behaviours are treated as observed manifestations of the culture essence. (Mullins, 2002). We are able to see now how culture is developed in term of values being acted upon and accepted by the organisation, these values being transformed into underlying assumptions and the artefacts of the organisation being formed by the interpretation of these underlying assumptions. 4.Types of organisational culture Handy (1993) identifies four types of organisational culture. Power culture Power cultures revolve around a focal person or small group, this person or group has absolute power throughout the entire organisation. It is often found in small entrepreneurial companies, and relies largely on trust and communication. It is normally non-bureaucratic with few formal procedures. The success of the organisation depends largely on the skill of the focal person or group. Role culture Role cultures are often largely bureaucratic, it is often described as a small number of senior managers resting on the strong pillars of the various functions of the organisation. Each person has a specified role within a function of the organisation which in turn has a specified role within  organisation as a whole. These roles are expected to be adhered to and it is rare for an individual or function to deviate into different areas of the business. Predictability and stability are two main themes within this type of culture. This type of culture often develops in large companies with large numbers of staff and a tall management hierarchy. Companies with this type of culture tend to have steady objectives and operate in largely predictive markets. Again this relates back my own experience as this type of culture is largely prevalent in supermarket chains. Task culture Task cultures recognise the objectives and goals of the organisation as being paramount. Handy describes this as a net or matrix culture. Power is often shared by a team of experts who are highly manoeuvrable to suit the needs of the organisation. It largely found in team or project based organisations such as consultancy firms or engineers. Person Culture Person cultures are largely individual orientated. Any structure is solely suited to aid the individuals within the organisation. There is no specific power structure with individuals having complete power over their own operations. Examples of this would be barristers chambers, architects, business consultants, individuals that have come together to share resources such as office space and admin support. Some people are more suited to different types of cultures than others. Where one person will be happy working in an organisation with a task culture, he/she may feel constricted and undervalued in a role culture environment. Another person may be the opposite and may feel secure within a largely role orientated company. An important skill for managers is being able firstly to identify the type of culture his/her organisation is operating in and then to hire the correct people for that culture, this helps in reducing any anxiety caused by  changes to underlying assumptions previously discussed. There are many other models of the types of organisational culture available to the researcher. Writings by Deal and Kennedy on the generic cultures, Ouchis type Z companies, and several more. The focus of this paper however is on the development and change of culture and this will be explored in the following sections. 5. Factors affecting the development of culture The role of the founder Organisations do not form accidentally or spontaneously. They are created because one or more individuals perceive that the coordinated and concerted action of a number of people can accomplish something that an individual cannot (Frost,p et al. 1991) At the beginning of an organisations life the founder often has complete control over the organisation. He/she will make most of not all of the important decisions over all areas of the organisations operations. Because they had the original idea, founders will typically have their own notion, based on their own cultural history and personality of how to get the idea fulfilled. (Schein, 1985). Since the founder started the group it is natural to assume that he/she also impose their thoughts, values and assumptions on the group. As new members enter the group the founders assumption will be changed and modified to suit the new organisation, but will always have the biggest impact on what becomes the organisational culture. This has large implications for the future of the organisation. If the company was founded by an informal, easy going type of person then this is the type of organisational culture that is likely to develop. Similarly if the organisation is founded by a formal, autocratic person, the company will likely develop this kind of organisational culture. This will continue to form the organisations culture and have a large influence on the actions of the company even if new leaders are brought in to the organisation. The assumptions of the founder will already be deep routed and form the basis of  the culture. Size Size affects an organisation because of the formality that is often required in larger companies. A large company with many levels of management and a large number of functions or even businesses cannot realistically operate on an informal level. This has implications for the culture of the organisation. Technology If the company uses highly technological systems and procedures in its operations ie pharmaceuticals, the cultural emphasis will be on the technical skills of its employees. A company in the service sector may have a cultural slant towards customer service. Goals and objectives What the organisation wants to achieve will also affect culture. An organisation that wishes to become a market leader may inherit cultural values that reflect that attitude, i.e. company image focused, or have a heavy marketing orientation. Environment There are many environmental factors that can affect an organisations culture, stakeholders, competitors, government etc. etc. How a company chooses to interact with each of these environmental forces will determine how the organisations culture develops. People The preferred style of work amongst both senior management and employees has a large effect on the organisations culture. If senior management attempt to implement a culture that is unacceptable to employees a reaction will  follow, industrial action, low motivation, poor productivity etc. Likewise if employees attempt to force management into following their own culture then a negative reaction will also result. i.e. relocation or the replacement of workers. (Section taken from Martin, J, Organizational Behaviour, 2001) Senior management need to realise the factors that affect an organisations culture and attempt to you analyse the likely impact major business decisions may have. Failure to do may have negative consequences for the culture and hence the success of the company. 6.Cultural change, the role of management There is some considerable debate as to whether changing something as deep-seated as corporate culture is possible Writers with this view usually focus on the deeper levels of culture, the underlying assumptions. Turner (1986) supports this view by suggesting that it would not be possible to manipulate it accurately because it becomes such an integral part of the organisations fabric. Because these are taken for granted assumptions about organisational life, members cannot envision any other way of operating. Those advocating corporate culture usually focus on the surface elements of culture, the artefacts. These are more easily changed than the deeper routed assumptions. Some writers have argued that unless the deeper assumptions are changed that the company will revert back to old ways of operating. Despite these arguments there is wide consensus that cultural change should only be attempted as a last resort and after other avenues have been sought. (Cummings, Worley, 1993) A primary task of management is to control the activity of employees to best serve defined organizational interests. They can achieve this control using formalized rules (bureaucratic mechanisms), economic rewards and sanctions or values and norms about how the work is to be done (clan or cultural  mechanisms) (Wilkins and Ouchi, 1983; cited by Sinclair, A, 1993). This statement reflects the common view that organisational culture needs to be aligned with organisational strategy if the company is to be successful. Many companies have now realised the importance of developing strategies harmonious with the organisations culture. Sometimes however culture needs to be changed, if circumstances require an organisation to follow a particular strategic route or a significant change affects the organisation i.e. market forces, government action, rapid growth etc. then the culture will have to be adjusted to suit the strategy and external environment. Managers require many skills in order to successfully change an organisations culture. It is a lengthy process that is full of danger. Staff need to be reassured and convinced that the new culture will work, otherwise defence mechanisms and the problems discussed earlier may begin show. The following guidelines to changing culture have been cited in (Cummings, T, Worley, C, Organization development and change, 1993) 1.Clear strategic vision- the firm needs to have a clear view of its operational strategy if culture is to be changed. Managers need to know where the company is now and where it is planning on going. 2.Top-management commitment- cultural change must be managed from the top of the organisation. Senior managers need to be committed to the new culture. They must have the staying to see the changes through. 3.Symbolic leadership- executives must communicate the new culture through their own actions. Their behaviour needs to symbolise the behaviours and actions that are being sought in the entire organisation. In an example given in the text, the CEO of Dana Corporation Rene McPherson threw the companies multi-volume policy manuals into a waste paper basket during a meeting and replaced them with a one page set of principles. 4.Supporting organisational change- the culture change must also be supported by changes in the organisational structure and operations, the artefacts as have already been discussed. They can get people aware of the behaviours required in the new culture for the organisation to be successful. 5.Selection and socialization of newcomers and termination of deviants. One of the most important methods in changing an organisations culture is hiring the right people. This is particularly prominent in management positions where the manager has influence over the behaviour of subordinates. 6.Ethical and legal sensibility- sometimes when culture change happens some employees feel they are being hard done by, maybe due to a change in roles, due a promise made during the transition that has been fulfilled. This may lead to legal battles and or resignations from the company. These steps demonstrate some of the ways that managers can influence and successfully change an organisations culture. There is of course no universal solution to changing or influencing culture, all companies are different and individual approaches are more than likely necessary for cultural change to be successful. An example of cultural change is given in (Martin, J, Organizational Behaviour, 2001). In this case study of a motor car dealership in the UK, the newly appointed managing director wanted to change the company culture. The existing culture was largely autocratic with instructions coming down the hierarchy and staff carrying out these instructions. She wanted to change the culture so that the company has a more had team based approach with decision making at team level and initiative being used at all levels of the organisation. To do this she had to use drastic tactics such as showing staff a video of disappointed customers and even accepting a loss in revenue while the changes were being made. Along with this approach she introduced many changed such as more staff training, revision of pay schemes, continuous improvement groups, multi-functional teams etc. After three years the culture change was deemed complete and she could turn her hand to the future of the company. This case study highlights the often drastic measures and level of commitment that is required by managers to introduce a culture change to an organisation. 7.Conclusion It is relatively clear that organisational culture exists and that it plays a huge part in an organisations actions and the behaviour of its employees. Very few writers now argue with this point. I have discussed how culture develops in an organisation and the different levels and types of culture that emerge. Referring back to the second part of the original question, we have seen how managers can influence and attempt to change an organisations culture and the various problems that are encountered in this process. Although there are debates as to whether an organisations culture can or cannot be changed it would seem that there is a mid-point between the two arguments. There are examples of successful culture changes and I have given one in the text. It is clear that if properly organised and implemented a cultural change can be achieved. However we cannot assume that the culture has been changed all together. If the underlying assumptions are as strong as Schein and other writers claim then these will always affect the company culture in some shape or form. If the new culture is not carefully controlled could reappear. To conclude I would say, although cultural can be changed to suit the environment and organisational strategy, that managers should be cautious take into account the underlying principles that govern the organisational culture. 8.References Martin, J, (2001), Organizational Behaviour, 2nd edn, Thomson Learning Mullins, L, (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 2nd edn, Financial Times, Prentice Hall Schein, E, (1992), Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd edn, Jossey-Bass Inc. Cummings, T and Worley, C, (1993), Organization Development and Change, 5th edn , West Publishing Company Sackman, S, (1991), Cultural knowledge in Organizations Exploring the Collective Mind, Sage Publications Frost, P et al. (1991), Reframing Organizational Culture, Sage Publications Sinclair, A, (1993), Approaches to organisational culture and ethics, Journal of Business Ethics, Dordrecht: Jan 1993. Vol. 12, Iss. 1; pg. 63, 11 pgs Wilson, A (2001), Understanding organisational culture and the implications for corporatemarketing, European Journal of Marketing, Bradford, Vol. 35, Iss. 3/4; pg. 353

Analysis of the 8th Amendment

Analysis of the 8th Amendment 8th Amendment Introduction The 8th Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution can be legally defined as the section of the United Sates Bill of Rights that which forbids the federal government from imposing excessive fines, neither inflicting cruel and unusual punishments nor imposing excessive bail. The 8th amendment was approved to be part of the United States Constitution in the year 1791.This amendment was almost similar to a stipulation made in the English Bill of Rights of 1689 where the government made a declaration to the point that they had to operate as their ancestors had by not demanding for excessive bail neither imposing excessive fines nor inflicting cruel or unusual punishments. In the case of England the provision was mainly driven by the punishment involving Titus Oates. During the reign of King James II in the 1680s Titus Oates worked as a fixture in the London pillory circuit. Oates was involved many ordinary penalties that had been collectively imposed forced on him in a manner that was both excessive and unparalleled. Oates had lied under oath which led to many innocent people being placed under the death sentence. Parliament approved the declaration against â€Å"cruel and unusual punishments â€Å"for England in the year 1689. The declaration was explained by the parliament that it was supposed to prevent punishments such as the one inflicted on Titus Oates by the Kings Bench. In December 1689 the then parliament endorsed the provision to be passed into law. The first state to adopt a stand similar to that of England on the issues was the state of Virginia. In the year 1776 the Virginia declaration of rights incorporated the English bill of rights and then went on a step further to recommend in the year 1788 that the above provision be included in the united states constitution as at the Virginia convention that meant to approve the U.S constitution. It was some Virginia states men such as Patrick Henry and George Mason that first endorsed that congress be limited by use of the restriction as in the English bill of rights. This was based on the fears that if that did not happen the congress could inflict some punishments that were both unusual and severe on criminals. The two Virginians also stressed the need for the Congress to do away with the line in the English bill of rights that seemed to admit of tortures and barbarous punishment inflicted on its people in the past. And also recommended congress to start the enactment of civil law in favor of the more practiced common law. In the end Mason and Henry were successful in their quest and then the 8th amendment was adopted by the United States. In the year 1789 James Madison changed the words ought in the English bill of rights to† shall then proposed it to the congress for amendment. Cruel and unusual punishments The eighth amendment according to the Supreme Court prohibited entirely the infliction of some punishments and at the same time forbid some other punishments which when compared to the crime for which they were given for were seen to be excessive or those which were seen to be excessive when the competence of the perpetrator was put into light. This was seen as necessary because in the earlier years some of the judgments handed down to the people were in excess considering the fact that the perpetrators were either incompetent to commit such crimes or the crimes committed were minor. In the year 1962 the supreme courts ruled that the cruel and unusual punishments act applied to all the states of the United States through the fourteenth amendment. This followed the case involving Robinson vs. California, 370 U.S. 660 in the year 1960. Before the Robinson case the eighth amendment had only earlier been applied in cases against the federal government. In the case involving Furman vs. Ge orgia, 408 U.S. 238 of the year 1962 the four principles that would determine whether a punishment passed onto a perpetrator was â€Å"cruel and unusual† were written by Justice Brennan. These included statements that for the punishment handed down judging by how severe it is degrade human dignity under conditions as in the case of torture, it also that any unusual and cruel punishment was one which was totally and clearly rejected by the whole society, one which was seen to be inflicted in a manner that was seen to be wholly arbitrary or one that was patently unnecessary. Brennan went on to write that it was an expectation that no American state would pass a law that would seem to undermine any of the four principals, such that all decisions made in court involving the eighth amendment would consider all the these principles. The punishments for which according to the eighth amend were forbidden regardless of the crime committed would include any form of disemboweling, public dissecting, drawing and quartering or burning alive. This in relation to the four Brennan principles where punishments that were totally rejected throughout the society. In the cases of Atkins vs. Virginia 536 U.S. 304 of 2002 the supreme court declared executing mentally handicapped people fell in the forbidden punishments and also in the case of Roper vs. Simmons 543 U.S. 551 of 2005 where the court ruled that executing people under18 years was a violation of the eighth amendment regardless of the crime committed by the perpetrator. Punishments that were forbidden for certain crimes included cases in which the court had to overturn punishments such as the cadena temporal which mandated that â€Å"hard and painful labor† shackling are done away with while in the process of incarceration or when faced with civil disabilities that were permanent. The case mentioned above took place in 1910 and was often seen as a means of establishing some proportionality when applying the eighth amendment. In some other cases it was ruled that punishing a natural-born American citizen for any crime by taking away his citizenship was perceived to be unconstitutional and primitive as it involved completely damaging the persons status in the society. In a case involving Coker vs. Virginia 433 U.S. 584 of 1977 the court at the time clearly stated that the imposition of a death penalty or rape was totally unconstitutional and that applied to any other case where death did not occur. It went ahead to clarify that rape crimes by d efinition do not include either death or even any serious body harm to the other person. Excessive fines For many years the United States Supreme Court never had much to say when the subject of excessive fines was mentioned. In one early case the Supreme Court had no power to revise any judgments passed by a lower court as regards the subject of heavy fines being imposed on someone. In later years the need to need to review the amount of fines levied on a person because it always led to the imprisonment just because the person was unable to raise the amount imposed on him/her by the court. In a step meant to ensure equal citizen protection the court found a way to put to meaning the words â€Å"excessive fines† when compared to the person for whom the judgment is meant to affect. But the court also ruled out applying the above clause could not be applied to cases involving private cases where the government had not been involved in the prosecution nor was it to receive any share of any of the awarded damages. This decision was based on the intention for which the excessive fines clause was meant for. The court clearly stated that at the time when the eighth amendment was adopted into the united states constitution the word ‘fine was taken to refer to any payment that would have to be made to sovereign entity for an offence committed. THE court left open the decision as to whether the clause could be applied to qui tam actions or cases involving civil penalties but at the same time it concluded that the excessive fines clause was initially intended to affect the fines that were only imposed by one payable to the government. In cases involving any civil forfeiture the excessive fines clause could be applied. The meaning of the clause as it regards to the quantum punishment of any particular offences when it is independent of the ability of the offender to pay the fine imposed on him still awaits the result of legal proceedings. Excessive bail In England it was the duty of the sheriffs to decide whether or not a person deserved to be granted bail. Due to the continual abuse of power by the sheriffs the government back then released a statute that clearly categorized the bailable and the non-bailable offences. But these statutes could be subverted according to the decision of the Kings judges. According to the law then a person could be held without bail depending on the commands of the sovereign authority. It was often argued that the King did not have the authority to make such decisions and this led to the infringement of human rights when people were intentionally kept in prison despite having committed bailable offences. This and many more ambiguities were eventually put to an end by the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. After the Habeas Act was passed judges were faced with the decision to set the bail amounts but they often posed some amounts that were impracticable. It was until the year 1689 that the English bill of right s forbids the demand of excessive rights but a further amendment to distinguish between bailable and non bailable offences was needed. Bail is said to be excessive and in violation of the Eighth amendment if the value to which it is set is higher when compared to the reasonably calculated value that is aimed at ensuring the governments asserted interest. The aim of setting bail is said to be as a guarantee that the person who is accused is going to present himself for trial and accept the sentence that is handed down to him and no more. In order for a person to be able to challenge the amount of bail imposed on him he must move for a reduction. If the reduction is denied then the court of appeals followed by the Supreme Court can overrule the decision. The eight amendment could not be applied to post convicted release cases that await appeal but it is normal practice to grant leases in such cases. Bail is seen to uphold the presumption of innocence before a person is tried acquired only after centuries of struggle. The excessive bail clause adopted by the United States constitution from the English bill of rights had slight changes made on it. In the England act there was no provision that stated that one had the right to bail at all times but only provided that the bail amount imposed on a person was not to be excessive in the cases that bail could be granted. The governments argued that the amount of bail imposed was not to be excess when compared to the weight of the crime committed by the person. Conclusion The eighth amendment to the United States Constitution was a good step in defining various issues that surrounded judgments passed onto persons since time in memorial. It is aimed at eliminating the infringement of the basic human rights as it regulated the amount of punishment that one could be given based on the offence. In the years before the amendment could be done peoples rights were sometimes stepped on as some of the judgments passed amounted to torture on the person. This is in a way seems to bring fairness in the judicial System of the United States. This amendment protected people from situations where the amount of bails, fines imposed on the person could not match the perception of the crime committed. The American constitution is supposed to ensure a stable and responsible government. It is generally supposed to protect the rights of the American citizens even against infringement by the government itself. this is exactly what the eighth amendment went on to do, making every citizen equal before the law and making sure every citizen gets a fair judgment based on the crime committed, whether it regards the bail set or the amount of fine one is asked to produce. References Bamonte, T. J. (1981) Journal of Law and Criminology: Eighth Amendment- A significant limit on federal court activism in ameliorating state. USA: Northwestern University School of Law. Eighth Amendment. (2009, June). Eighth Amendment. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e082.htm Find Law. (2009, June). U.S Constitution Eighth Amendment. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment08/ Haney, C. (1997). Psychology and the limits to prison pain: Confronting the coming crisis in Eighth Amendment. New York: American Psychological Association. Harr, J. S. (2008). Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System. USA: American Press Association Introduction the Eighth Amendment (2009, July). AN OVERVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCILES RELEVANT TO CAPITAL CASES. Retrieved October5, 2009, http://www.capdefnet.org/hat/contents/intro_to_8th/3_intro_to_8th.htm Welzmuller, M. (2000). The death penalty – legal cruelty. USA:

New Sports Stadiums and Taxpayer Abuse :: Argumentative Persuasive Essay Examples

There seems to be a domino effect through out the U.S., new stadiums are being built, teams are demanding that their city build them a new stadium to play in but it is not necessary to build these stadiums. The most obvious change in new stadiums is coming from baseball. In the last 10-15 years many new baseball stadiums have been built, but who is paying for these stadiums? The teams and the owners that are demanding the stadiums, or the taxpayers? The answer is that taxpayers are picking up a huge amount of the cost to build a new stadium. Before the Depression stadiums were built by using private funds, some of these stadiums include: Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, and Fenway Park ("Sports Pork", 3). All of these parks are very memorable for lots of reasons, mostly the players that played and or play there. Why when these stadiums were built were they a fraction of the cost that it is to build a stadium today? In the 1980's America was spending about 1.5 billion on new stadiums; in the 1990's it spent 11 billion ("Walls Come", 2). Furthermore, in 1967 the cost to build the Kingdome was 67 million, in 1999 the cost to build Safeco Field was 517.6 million. On top of the cost difference, not only was the Kingdome multi purpose but also it held more people. The capacity of the Kingdome for baseball seating was 59,166; the seating at the new Safeco Field is 46,621. Although the Kingdome was starting to fall apart, it was decades away from its useful life ("Walls Come", 2). In fact, in 1994 tiles fell from th e ceiling and the cost to fix was 70 million, which was done. It is possible that one could argue that Seattle was in need of a new stadium. To build a stadium and have an estimated price is one thing, but having tons of extras added on that are going to have the cost overrun by 100 million dollars is a little ridiculous. Many other cities are also either building new stadiums or contemplating it, 46 major league stadiums and arenas have been built or renovated for teams and 49 more are under construction or in the planning stages ("Debating", 1). Of the 10 highest valued Major League Baseball teams, 6 moved into new stadiums in the 1990's.

Comparing HD-DVD and Blu-ray Technology Essay example -- Compare Contr

Comparing HD-DVD and Blu-ray Since 1997, DVD has been the #1 top selling format for home entertainment, crushing VHS within a five year time frame. But technology is forever changing and it’s only a matter of time before DVD’s go the way of VHS. With two new formats (High Definition-DVD and Blu-ray) on the horizon, which one will win the race? Both formats use blue laser technology, which has a shorter wavelength than red (DVD), allowing it to read the smaller digital data "spots" packed a lot more densely onto a standard-size disc. In other words, they hold a lot more memory than your standard DVD’s. â€Å"The comparison chart shows that HD-DVD and Blu-ray disks will be pretty similar. Both should be able to fit a high definition movie onto one side of one disk, and both HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will play old DVD movies.†(Boutin, Paul) it’s still too early to call the race with both technologies about a year away, but my money is on Blu-ray.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HD-DVD is more user friendly in terms of its name, with the title holding a name closer to DVD. (Carnoy, David) â€Å"Toshiba, NEC, and a couple of other upstarts will be pushing for HD-DVD.† HD-DVD is capable of holding 30GB or a full-length high-definition movie, plus extras, on a prerecorded double-layer disc (compare that to today's limit of 9GB for standard double-layer DVDs). Plus the cost of making a HD-DVD is on par with the cost of today’s DVD’s, making it a smoother transition for the big companies to deal with. Toshib...

The Evolution of Science Fiction Essay -- Literature

Despite decades between their writings, the similarities between H.G. Wells and P.K. Dick are numerous and include the fact that both authors were far ahead of their time, had aspirations regarding the universe and a future electronic era to come, had a theme revolving around a distant planet, and challenged humanity. Both science fiction authors were beyond their time. Wells had the capability of â€Å"lifting up our fathers’ hearts with hopes, exciting them with the feeling that a new world was at the point of being born and they were to inherit itâ€Å" (Dickson 17). Throughout all of his works, P.K. Dick â€Å"focused on conveying the truth of his many-faceted visions without regard for critical expectations and genre conventions† (Mackey 128). It is said that â€Å"knowledge of Dick’s biography is essential to an understanding of his work† (Umland 2). This too is similar to Wells. Both authors led fascinating lives and each found their own unique wa y to incorporate their events and interest into their works as demonstrated by their various novels and short stories. In order to fully understand each authors views, style, and most importantly to establish ethos, one must first understand the authors life. Dick and Wells were greatly influenced by the world around them. Whether it be obvious or not, Dick included his life experiences into his books. He also included many of his own personal interest into the book. Wells writings were mostly influenced by his own views, opinions, and interest. It is easy to assume that a book was written simply off a good idea however, there is often more to it. An underlying interest, an attempted degree, an unexpected adventure. In 1949, Dick began studying philosophy at the University of California Berkley (1... ...rld, there is power in numbers and we have the ability to lead future generations further, not only into the science fiction world, but science itself. Despite nearly three quarters of a century between their writings, the ideas these two magnificent authors had were similar in many ways. They both challenged science and society to their limits. Works Cited Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York: Random House, 1968. Print. Dickson, Lovat. H. G. Wells: His Turbulent Life and Times. New York: Lovat Dickson (?), 1969. Print. Mackey, Douglas A. Philip K. Dick. Massachusetts: Twayne, 1988. Print Wells, H. G. â€Å"A Story of the Days to Come.† 28 Science Fiction Stories. New York: Dover, 1952. 730-820. Priint. Wells, H. G. â€Å"The Time Machine.† The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1966. 9-91. Print.

Alternative Energy

The future of humanity Is at stake due to the high consumption of energy sources that are used to get us through our everyday lives! Our most common methods of generating energy are polluting our beloved planet Earth and tearing up the ozone layer. Also, many of these methods we are currently abusing to generate energy are non-renewable. That's means we could run out any day now. This is a formula for complete disaster, but don't be scared. Like most things we can fix this situation we have put ourselves into with alternative energy sources. Sorry Captain Planet it looks like you will be sitting this one out.There are many different forms of clean and renewable alternative energy. Fortunately it look likes we may be headed down the right path to saving humanity. Some of these forms of alternative energy that can definitely help solve the problem are: wind energy; hydrogen; solar power; wave energy. Currently wind power only provides about 0. 15 percent of the worlds electricity but I t has become one of the fastest growing forms of clean, alternative energy. Gigantic windmills, also known as wind turbines are sprouting up all across the land and seas of the world.These towers can be a massive one hundred meters tall. One f these towers alone has the ability to produce 1,650 kilowatts of power. That Is enough electricity to adequately power roughly 350 European homes. Since 1992, more commercial wind farms have been installed in more countries than ever before. There are now 40,000 turbines in 40 countries, and the world's wind energy capacity is growing at nearly 27 per cent annually. In 1998, it topped 10,000 megawatts (MM), about the total energy producing capacity of a country like Denmark.The 1999 figures are not all in, but we know that 1998 was a boom year for the wind power Industry. Equipment sales topped $2 billion and there ere 35,000 Jobs In the sector worldwide. Growth Is expected to continue at about 25 per cent a year. (Madsen, Pa. 6) In Europe the re are plans to have forty thousand megawatts of wind power Installed by the end of 2010. Wind is one of the best sources sources of alternative energy due to the fact it is completely environmentally friendly and we will never run out of wind. Denmark, the wind energy pioneer, covers 10 per cent of its electricity consumption from wind power, delivered from an installed capacity of some 1,700 MM(Madsen, Pa. 8). † Not far behind are also Germany and Spain due to the terrain and steady flow of mind. While everything is working out great for wind power over in Europe things aren't going quite as well here in the U. S. A, unfortunately. Currently wind power only provides about 0. 1 percent of the continents electricity needs. This is due in large part to a congressional argument every couple of years about a tax break to help boost the wind power Industry. Wind turbines produce electricity in California for between 4. 5 cents and 4. 8 cents per K-H, roughly the same as the cost o f power from a coal-fired plant. Emory Loves of the Rocky Mountain Institute In Colorado lives that a new generation of sugarless wind turbines will improve efficiency and the U. S. A. Is not the only area slacking in the wind power industry. Asia, South America and Africa are even farther behind, in regards to wind power, than the U. S. A. Experts believe that twenty percent of the entire worlds energy needs could be supplied by wind power.There is enough wind to provide twice the expected global electricity demand for 2020. Even if only 10 percent of energy needs were met by wind power, the world would be spared about 10 billion tons of carbon emissions (out of a total of 60-70 billion tons). To achieve this goal, 120 times more wind capacity would have to be installed than there is would be very high, but operation and marginal. (Madsen, Pa. 12) today. The initial investment required maintenance costs would be As with every industry, the technology of wind turbines has improved g reatly over the years.The manufacturers have been building bigger and better turbines and as a result of this the price of wind power has been dropping by about twenty percent since 1999. This makes wind power not only a great environmental choice but also a great economical choice. In the long run wind power is much cheaper than rotational ways of generating energy like coal power plants. Once the turbines are installed they require very little maintenance and fuel does not need to be purchased or gathered to allow them to create the energy we need. As far back as Jules Verne, visionaries have predicted that society will someday be utterly transformed by energy based on hydrogen. â€Å"(Strip, Len. 1) We have more hydrogen in the universe than any other element. Hydrogen is extremely clean and produces mostly Just water vapor when it is burned. Fuel cells power by hydrogen will be able to solve many energy problems that we currently face. The technology is already in place and rea dy right now to allow to hydrogen to take over as the main resource for generating energy.It may take a while to be able to convert most everything we depend tog e through our daily lives, but for a cleaner more efficient future it is definitely the right path to take. The first step down the hydrogen path would be to outfit fuel stations for hydrogen powered vehicles, which there are a few that were recently put out on the market. Manufacturers being able to mass produce the hydrogen fuel cells will also be a big boost as it would greatly decrease the cost for the mass market. Around the industrialized world, the seeds of oil displacement are already visible.Next year, for instance, three major energy companies in Scandinavia plan to build a pilot plant to make hydrogen from wind power. While it's only a start, the implications are huge: Denmark, the world wind-power leader, already gets nearly 15% of its electricity from the wind. Use that electricity to produce hydrogen, and the Danes would have the energy equivalent of the Euro: an energy currency that can be efficiently swapped for heat or locomotion, or turned back into electricity. And while electricity is hard to store n large quantities, hydrogen is easy.The Scandinavians plan to use it in fuel- cell that equipped buildings and vehicles–such as the hydrogen-powered buses Demolisher's expects to roll out in Europe next year. (Strip, Pa. 8) Another great thing about hydrogen power is that it can be used to drive other produce hydrogen. That benefits everyone in two ways. First, producing hydrogen while harnessing the power of the wind or the sun does not produce and harmful emissions that can damage the ozone layer. Secondly, electricity is hard to store but hydrogen is very easy.Today, 20 percent of all units sold to heat pools are solar. The potential value of the technology is shown in Israel, where solar hot water heaters displace 6 percent of the country's total electricity consumption. (Ham mer, Pa. 9) Not only is solar energy heir savings. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be over 1 50,000 Americans employed in the photovoltaic industry. (Hammer, Pa. 9) â€Å"Wave energy has been hailed as the most promising renewable source for maritime countries. It does no environmental damage and is inexhaustible?the waves go on for ever.It is invariably popular with the public, which has a sentimental love of the sea. â€Å"(Ross, Pa. 1) Getting energy from the wave of the ocean is probably one of the oldest and best ideas for alternative energy. The first patent for wave energy was filed by a father and son during the time of the French Revolution. Ross, Pa. 2) Unfortunately, there was was little progress in converting this great resource into usable energy until the last quarter century due to little knowledge of what a wave really is and how it worked(Ross, Pa. 3).Harnessing the massive of power of waves to generate energy has been a daunting task so far because of the harsh conditions the equipment must be able to endure. There has been success though. Yogis Massed, from Japan, invented the oscillating water column (OCW)? effectively a chimney which stands on the seabed and admits the waves through its base. As they rise and fall in the open sea outside, the n opening near to height of the column of water inside rises and falls too. As the water level rises, air is forced up and out through a turbine which spins and drives the generator.As it falls again, air is sucked back in from the atmosphere to fill the resulting vacuum and once again the turbo-generator is activated. Professor Alan Wells of Queen's University, Belfast, greatly improved the efficiency of the invention by devising a turbine which spins in the same direction regardless of whether the air is being pushed out or sucked back into the chimney. (Ross, Pa. 6-7) This is Just one of the many ways of of generating power room waves that is currently in use or under development by resea rchers around the world.One of the more interesting methods that is currently under going testing and development is the Salver's Duck, invented by Professor Stephen Salter of Edinburgh University. His invention consists of cones called ducks that are built around a spine that is connected to a central generator. As the ducks bob up and down while they are they on the waves they drive the generator(Ross, Pa. 9). The biggest hurdle that wave power faces now is not the lack of knowledge to put the technology into use but the lack of financial backing. Like most new developing cosmologies it is very expensive to get going at first because the fact that it is new.Wave power however is a great investment because it has the potential to produce incredible amounts of electricity without harming the environment. The well being of our planet should come first. It's pretty hard to argue against the fact that something needs to be done help the planet we live on get back to a healthy state. Th e way we produce energy to get through or daily lives, not Just in America but the whole world, needs a face lift to rival that of Joan Rivers. Yes, it is true that face lifts are are not cheap and may not fix al the problems we currently have with how we create energy.But, everyone knows that something needs to be done. There is a chance that many of these ideas for alternative energy may end being in the rough that could turn out to be the next Brett Fare of the alternative energy industry. We need to take a chance on some of these unproven technologies for the future of the human race and our planet Earth. Not only will these new sources of energy help the planet but the economy as well. Thousands of new and exciting Jobs will be created. In conclusion, alternative energy sources can be the true savior of the human race. Alternative Energy Continuously coughing while driving down the road, Maggie, a seventy-year-old woman presently living in Bend, Oregon makes her way towards the physician. Twice a month she has to drive just three blocks down the street to the doctor's office to pick up her medication. Maggie has to use the medication to ease her breathing problems caused by the devastating pollution in the big city. Only fifty years ago, Bend was a beautiful, small city with clear skies and thousands of lush, green trees. In the winter, hundreds of tourists would flock to the town for winter sports at Mount Bachelor. Now, Bend is a terribly polluted mass of buildings, streets, and people. Instead of tourists visiting in the winter for skiing and snowboarding, they come for the warm temperatures and a fresh tan. Over the years, the pollution build up from nuclear power plants and the carbon dioxide from automobiles caused the city to have hideous smog problems. The constant exhaust protruding from the tail pipes of millions of cars across the globe caused the year-round temperatures to shoot up unstoppably. If the human race does not change the current lifestyle, this sad tale could one day be a reality. To prevent this from happening alternative energy sources should be used more frequently throughout the world. Alternative energy sources are underutilized resources that need to be embraced and used before too much harm is done to the earth, and it is too late to reverse the effects. Although many people think that it is too costly to convert to an alternative energy source, such as solar power, the money that is spent to switch from one source to another is eventually regained due to lower electrical bills. A couple living in Pennsylvania has a solar photovoltaic system mounted on their roof, which generates the power needed to live. The generator then sends any extra power back to a main electrical grid causing the electric meter to spin backward, thus saving the couple hundreds of dollars. In one year, the couple generated almost five hundred more kilowatt-hours of electrical power than they needed. Having the extra electricity meant virtually no electrical bills for the entire year; the two only had to pay sixty-one dollars of customer-service fees in 2001, rather than 560 dollars of electrical bills in 1993 (Heavens). If one couple's electric bill were that high in 1993, imagine how much higher it would be now. With solar power as a main source of energy, hundreds of dollars a year can be saved on electricity, eventually saving vast amounts of money for users. Some people may agree that using an alternative energy source, such as solar power, will save money, but do not want to convert because forms of alternative energy are not very widely and readily available. While it is true that there are not large amounts of various forms of alternative energy available, it is also true that more are defiantly needed. Recent blackouts have shown that there are too many people and not enough energy. According to a national trade group for utilities, the Edison Electric Institute, â€Å"[t]housands of small neighborhood blackouts occur each year in the USA, lasting from a few seconds to a few hours† (Iwata 3b). Along with those small blackouts, there were also 324 large and midsize blackouts and more than a dozen super-blackouts from 1984 to 2000. All of these blackouts are still occurring, even though the North American grid is regarded as the most advanced in the world (Iwata 3b). If there could be more energy available, then there would not be as many blackouts across the nation and people would not have to deal with going without power. While many alternative energy sources can help reduce blackouts, they can also help people maintain a healthier lifestyle by cutting down on smog problems. While driving in a car, more fuel-efficient driving habits can help a great deal in reducing pollution and smog in the city. For every one-liter of fuel that is saved, almost two and a half kilograms of carbon dioxide are kept from entering the atmosphere. Keeping the carbon dioxide from entering the air prevents smog problems, and with less smog problems numerous health problems can be reduced in the population. Many people suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses because of so many automobiles across the globe, and, 5,000 people in Canada alone die a year from smog in the city (â€Å"Breathe† 16). If Canada has 5,000 deaths per year from smog, then thousands more people die across the world just from the pollution-causing exhaust fumes trailing out of vehicles around the planet. If more people use alternative fuel cars or hybrid electric cars, hundreds of people can be kept healthier because of less pollution. Along with being healthier for people, alternative energy sources help save the ozone layer, preventing more damage to the earth from occurring. According to estimates, the overall global temperature has increased five to nine degrees Fahrenheit since the last ice age (Stevens 60). This temperature fluctuation does not seem like a big deal, but with another one to six-degree raise in temperature expected by the year 2100 (Stevens 59), ocean levels could raise destroying wildlife habitats, ocean ecosystems, and seaside cities. Also, tropical storms could become more severe, destroying any lasting cities along the coastal regions of the earth (Stevens 60). When using alternative energy sources, people can help to save the ozone layer from too much damage, helping the entire planet. Not only do alternative energy sources help to save the ozone layer, but they also help to prevent nuclear wastes from harming the earth. Nuclear power plants use radioactive materials to create energy, and after they are done with the materials, they are buried in the ground. The radioactive material that is buried in the ground, depending on the type, can cause death to many organisms by slowing killing all the cells due to radiation. For the organisms that do not die, they can either get cancer, or some sort of mutation in their reproductive cells causing damage to future generations (Weber 22). Some of the wastes from nuclear power plants can be harmful for three to five hundred years and other can be up in the millions (Weber 26). If the waste is harmful for hundreds or even millions of years, than we not only have to worry about health risks for current generations, but also the future generations across the globe. For the future generations, if the waste is harmful for so many years, the less populated areas that are now used for disposing of these wastes may one day be extremely populous regions around the country. When using nuclear power there are large amounts of harmful wastes to worry about, but with an alternative energy source, there are no harmful wastes that put risks to people's health and environmental health. There are many different forms of alternative energy sources, all of which need to be more widely embraced and applied to current methods, otherwise too much irreversible damage could be done to the earth. The environment and the health of the human population both need protection from pollution, otherwise cities which are currently relatively small and still have clear skies and green trees, may one day end up with little amounts of trees, overgrown populations and terrible pollution problems. The global climate will rise and land destroyed by nuclear wastes could still be harmful if humans have too much contact with the area. If the human race does not discover better, less destructive ways of creating energy, then who knows what the world may one day look like?