Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper Essays -

Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Research Paper "I am Me, My Eyes Toward God" Mark Evans Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer. Zora Neale Hurston was, the daughter of a Baptist minister and an educated scholar who still believed in the genius contained within the common southern black vernacular(Hook http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/Zora.html). She was a woman who found her place, though unstable, in a typical male profession. Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida, the first all-incorporated black town in America. She found a special thing in this town, where she said, "... [I] grew like a like a gourd and yelled bass like a gator," (Gale, 1). When Hurston was thirteen she was removed from school and sent to care for her brother's children. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and then found herself working as a maid for a white woman. This woman saw a spark that was waiting for fuel, so she arranged for Hurston to attend high school in Baltimore. She also attended Morgan Academy, now called Morgan State University, from which she graduated in June of 1918. She then enrolled in the Howard Prep School followed by later enrollment in Howard University. In 1928 Hurston attended Barnard College where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas. After she graduated, Zora returned to Eatonville to begin work on anthropology. Four years after Hurston received her B.A. from Barnard she enrolled in Columbia University to begin graduate work (Discovering Authors, 2-4). Hurston's life seemed to be going well but she was soon to see the other side of reality. Hurston never stayed at a job for too long, constantly refusing the advances of male employers, which showed part of her strong feminist disposition. But Hurston was still seeking true love throughout her travels and education. At Howard University, Hurston met Herburt Sheen whom she married on May 19, 1927 in St. Augstine, Florida (DA, 2). They divorced shortly after they got married because they could not continue the idealistic dreams they had shared in their youth. Zora Hurston's second marriage to Albert Price III was also short lived. They were married in 1939 and divorced in 1943 (DA, 2). By the mid-1940s Hurston's writing career had began to falter. While living in New York, Hurston was arrested and charged with committing an immoral act with a ten-year-old boy. The charges were later dropped when Hurston proved that she was in another country at the time the incident allegedly took place (Discovering Authors, 3). Hurston already was witnessing the rejection of all of her works submitted to her publisher, but the combined effects of the arrest and the ensuing journalistic attack on her image doomed the majority of her literary career. She wrote to a friend: "I care nothing for writing anything any more... My race has seen fit to destroy me without reason, and with the vilest tools conceived by man so far" (Discovering Authors, 4). In approximately 1950 Hurston returned to Florida, where she worked as a cleaning woman in Rivo Alto. She later moved to Belle Glade, Florida, in hopes of reviving her writing career. She failed and worked as many jobs including: newspaper journalist, librarian, and substitute teacher (Baker, http://www.prodigy.com/ pages.html/chronology.htm). Hurston suffered a stroke in 1959 which demanded her admittance in the Saint Lucie County Florida Welfare Home. She died a broken, penniless, invalid in January 1960 (DA, 5). All of Hurston's trials built the basis for her best work. Therefore, the work that has denoted her as one of the twentieth century's most influential authors did not come until after she had graduated from college. However, the literature she composed in college was by no means inferior. She was a defiant free-spirit even during her early college career. While working on an anthropological study for her mentor, Franz Boas, she was exposed to voo doo, which she quickly embraced. She was deeply interested in the subtle nuances

Dangers of Communication Technology Essays

Dangers of Communication Technology Essays Dangers of Communication Technology Essay Dangers of Communication Technology Essay Dangers of Communication Technology What can a parent do when they have a teenage son or daughter who texts while driving at 87mph? Or they were talking to an online predator? What could a parent do to prevent something from happening? Many people have cell phones and internet and there are positives but there are also dangers and because of that there are prevention strategies to protect people. There are many positives to having communication technology but at times the disadvantages are too severe to cope with. Before being capable of coming to a decision people must first learn the background of were something is coming from. According to Steinhauer and Holson text messaging first took off in Japan because it was much cheaper than making a phone call and since then the usage of cell phones to text message has increased. Text messaging may have first taken off in Japan for money reasons but in the United States it’s just more convenient. In 1999, about one in three people had cell phone subscriptions compared to 91% of people in 2008 (Wilson and Stimpsonn). In a span of about nine years the use of cell phones has increased to about 9 in 10 people having cell phones which can only mean that their needed for whatever reason or its popular to have one . In â€Å"Internet World Stats†, the population of the United States was 310,232,863 in 2010 and 77. 3% of the people had internet meaning 239,893,600 people. Although the world may not revolve around internet it is still a part of a lot of peoples’ lives. Although this paper is about the dangers of communication technology people cannot deny that there are positives. In â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet† the top two advantages of the internet is communication and information. The ability to being abled to communicate with anyone who has internet has made the earth a â€Å"global village† and it is also a â€Å"treasure trove of information† (Pakhare). More advantages to the internet are entertainment, services such as online banking, and E-commerce to handle business deals (Pakhare). People having internet can watch movies, play video games, or watch videos as well as being abled to take care of important matters such as business, pay bills, and go shopping where you can do it in the comfort of your own home which just makes peoples’ lives easier. According to â€Å"Cell Phones and their Positive Effects on Youth† by Lisa C. Baker the positives to cell phones is communication, safety, engagement and education. Cell phones give people the ability to communicate with people over a distance like if a student needs help with homework he/she can ask a friend or say there’s an emergency, the person can just call whoever they need which just leads to helping people communicate better, education, and being safe under whatever circumstance. Now that positives are done the next thing up is the dangers of communication technology or more specifically in this paragraph, the dangers of texting. According to â€Å"As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks† by Jennifer Steinhauer and Laura M. Holson in June of 2008 in the U. S. 75 billion texts were sent compared to 7. 2 billion texts in 2005. This just goes to show that people texting has increased drastically over a two year period and can lead to numerous problems like people multitasking to text while driving or while walking across the street. The problem with texting while driving is that it is a visual distraction, a manual distraction, and a cognitive distraction according to Sandy Spavone the executive director of the National Organization for Youth Safety (Elmasry). The thing is that when driving while texting the person glances down even if they’re not going to respond, takes their hands off the wheel to text, and their taking their mind off what they are doing which could easily lead to an accident. Texting while driving has led to deaths increasing from 10. 9% to15. 8% from 1999 to 2008 but injuries have decreased from 26% to 22% and people texting while driving are twenty-three times more likely to crash( Wilson and Stimpson). An injury decrease involving accidents caused by cell phones can only mean that the accidents have become more fatal which resulted in the increase of deaths. Texting has led to numerous deaths and why? Because it’s dangerous to text. Aside from the dangers of texting there are also dangers involving the internet, primarily child predators. Kids don’t think of the internet as something everyone sees and they write things they would never tell their parents and that’s aside from being completely trusting too (Cohen). Since online predators hunt in places like Facebook and MySpace the most vulnerable kids are easily found with their problems out there for everyone to see and they’re just too trusting in believing people are who they say they are. First predators compliment you, they get your trust, but it’s not sexual at first but over time they push a little bit, and then fall back, then they push until it’s completely sexual and after that comes the final push: a suggestion to meet (Cohen). Predators are clever in choosing the most vulnerable kids and using what they posted to become their friend and what more could an insecure kid want, although they should know better from parents drumming it into kids’ heads about never talking to strangers, than a person who’s nice and wants to be their friend online? To hide their identity the most common thing is lying about their age, claiming to be younger than they actually are and to hide their locations they use other peoples’ Wi-Fi connections or use proxy servers (Hoover). To hinder predators from hiding their locations people need to make sure that they have a password for their Wi-Fi connection and there’s just no way to verify someone’s the age they claim to be short of meeting the person so people need to be wary of who they meet online. Child predators are dangerous people and their choice of weapon is the internet. Child predators are not the only people who use the internet as a weapon and they are called cyber bullies. On the internet victims of cyber bullying has no idea who the bully is and because of that they look at everyone as if they’re the enemy (Hahn). Bullies use the internet to stay anonymous and to play mind games with their victim which will ultimately lead the victims to become sick. The physical effects of cyber bullying is developing eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, having a tendency to harm themselves, attempted suicide, and a mental state of hating who they are (Tanith). Most people have insecurities and the bullies pick, pick, picked at their victims’ knowing full well that they were hurting their feelings. The mental effects of cyber bullying is a low self esteem, give up seeking higher appraisal, think of themselves lowly, treat others the way the bullies treat them, depression, and their anti-social (Tanith). Not only have the bullies made the victims hurt themselves physically but they also hurt the victims’ mental state which will take longer to heal than any physical wound would. Since the internet and cell phones aren’t that safe people have come up with prevention strategies. According to Fernando Wilson and Jim Stimpson the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has called for a ban on handheld cell phones while driving. Obviously the problem of texting while driving has attracted the notice of company owners and they’re trying to help by discouraging people from texting while driving and building cars with Bluetooth wireless technology. To prevent a distraction while driving people need to start using hands-free devices, always focus on driving, and expect the unexpected (â€Å"Driver†). All people have to do is pay attention to what you are doing like it’s your favorite subject in the world and to just not get distracted because the consequence is an accident. According to â€Å"How to Stop Internet Predators† to protect children from child predators people need to know how internet predators work, install parental control software in all computers, teach children how to avoid them, and to create awareness. If these things go undone children are unsafe in their own homes while being on the internet because their parents don’t know a thing about how to protect them. Samantha Hahn states in her Congressional testimony that bullying experiences used to be swept under the rug but now there’s state laws on bullying that require all the schools to have an anti-bullying policy and consequences for bullies. Now that schools have consequences for bullies hopefully that will discourage other people from becoming bullies and mentally scarring their victims. What a parent can do when they have a teenage son or daughter who texts while driving is talk to them, tell them what could happen, and buy him/her a Bluetooth device. If their kid is talking to an online predator alert the police and hopefully they’ll be abled to catch him/her. What a parent can do to prevent something from happening is learn about what you’re dealing with and create awareness while their kids but it’s not always going to be enough. Communication technology has its ups and downs but it would seem that the disadvantages have too many consequences that hit a little too close to home. The best possible way to help is to create awareness and report things that may be suspicious and who knows maybe soon after child predators will give up because no one falls for their tricks, bullies have no victims because people ignore them, and everyone has a Bluetooth device to avoid accidents.

Health Care Reform and Future Trend Personal Statement

Health Care Reform and Future Trend - Personal Statement Example I further propose that if health care was provided to these people, then financial suffering could have been prevented. These monetary problems prevent people from receiving essential treatment for illnesses. There is clearly a problem with the current Medicare program when people suffer from diseases simply because of their financial status. Other Medicare programs have to face many hardships while trying to apply a universal take over of every present health care system, which have generally led to extremely high prices, and a low quality of service. Therefore I believe that the whole nationalization of every presently used heath care service would not be necessary, nevertheless only a duel umbrella system which can incorporate uninsured Americans into the present health care system under new federal rules and regulations would be ideal for the Medicare program. I suggest the umbrella system as this umbrella system would let people who at present have an insurance plan to carry on their insurance plan. And those who are uninsured would be placed into a new nationalized health package which could be a HMO type system, which will reduce the costs. The lack of health insurance of a lot of people have a severe harmful consequences and economic costs not just for those who are uninsured but also for their family, the neighborhood they reside in, and the entire state. In my opinion, the primary problem is that health care considered to be a commodity which is marketed instead of a social service. A lot of people get tax-free health benefits from the company they work for, the companies pay insurers a portion of the premiums (Tooke 2003). However not every company provides these benefits. To my knowledge, it is strictly voluntary for employers. In the periodical "Employee Benefits," the problem for many workers is that not all employer-provided health insurance is equal, and many employers offer no coverage at all. Although 53 percent of private sector firms offer health coverage to their employees, and virtually all firms with 100 or more employees sponsor a health plan, small businesses are far less likely to do so (Cooper 2000), After reviewing the above mentioned problem it can be concluded firms which have a small number of employees most of them are uninsured thus I propose a single-payer system may be more affordable as it would minimize extra costs of administrative, profits and needless repetition. Moreover, it would allow the company of an overall budget and a reasonable and equal distribution of resources. Secondly, I propose that innovative technologies would be scarce under a single-payer system. Lastly, I believe that a single-payer system is the same as socialized medicine, even though a national program may be

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Case Study Example The total numbers of the reserves that it can recover are estimated to be at three hundred and seven million tons of oil and the natural gas was estimates are approximately four hundred and eight five billions cubic meters (Exxon Neftegas Limited). The execution and development of this project have been motivated with the application and use of advance construction methods and technologies. Moreover, the application of such technologies and construction methods have led to reduced cost of operation for the general project development and as well led to minimized negative environmental impacts. Additionally, the project has managed to overcome most of its technical and environmental challenges; thus, meeting its set goals and objectives through application of the newly introduced technologies. Furthermore, the committed management team has successful transformed the project’s goals and objective into the success of the project through their committed submission to the project. However, the project has been faced with numerous challenges including complex regulatory rules, limited infrastructure, difficult logistics, and unskilled labor. Nonetheless, the management proper application of its efficient plans especially alon g the new technologies has led to successful completion of the project’s first phase (Exxon Neftegas Limited). The Sakhalin project is one of the largest foreign direct investments that are found in Russia. It had the objective of fulfilling the ever-growing energy demands in Russia and other parts of the world. The project managed to fulfill this objective or its aim since it produces and supply energy for both domestic consumption in Russia and exporting some of its energy to northeast Asia. Moreover, it helped Russia to consolidate its strategic position regarding the supply of energy in other parts of the world. In other words, the project made Russia to be a world energy supplier and be

Communication Systems & EMC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Communication Systems & EMC - Essay Example However in the present day, new electronic communication devices are coming up every year. Also the proliferation of technology pertaining to telecommunication is presently witnessing a booming period. With the passage of time new innovations are coming up and the sector is getting better day by day. However along with development, the intensity of threats is also increasing. The risk factor is extremely high as compared to the early days. Hence it becomes an obligation to handle the threats which may come in different forms and from any of the aspects of communication. The report will mainly highlight the issues associated with electronic communication. In the course of the study, the current ICT infrastructure will be clearly portrayed. Furthermore the threats associated with the electronic communication that may take place due to climate change will be also portrayed. The report will also shed light on how the ICT sector will meet the increasing demand of the users to improve and increase the mobile coverage areas, improved machine to machine service and enhanced service of mobile internet. The dependency between the various types of communication approaches will be also emphasized. The types of communication to be covered in this context are wired communication, wireless communication and also communication with the help of fibre system. Lastly the report will illuminate the regulatory changes necessary to deal with such demands. In the present days electronic communication has became a necessity for the business houses. With rapid globalization and cross border transaction there is a growing need and usage of electronic communication throughout the world. Also electronic communication has become necessary for the purpose of managing overseas projects and provides training to the employees. The advancement of technology has facilitated organizations to communicate with their national as well as international division.

Examining The Ethics Of Undercover Reporting Media Essay

Examining The Ethics Of Undercover Reporting Media Essay In a day in which we are spending thousands of man hours uncovering deception, we simply cannot deceive. How can newspapers fight for honesty and integrity when they themselves are less than honest in getting a story? Benjamin Bradlee, former executive editor of the Washington Post. Last month, two high profile public figures in Britain were the subject of tabloid sting operations which have caused widespread controversy and debate. This essay will analyse the actions of the journalist or newspaper editor in each case, from both a deontological and consequentialist standpoint, which will serve to illustrate the ethical complexities surrounding the whole concept of undercover reporting. Duchess of York plots to sell access to Prince Andrew, Mazher Mahmood, News of the World, 23 May 2010 On 23rd May 2010, the News of the World reported that the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, had been duped into accepting a $40,000 ( £27,000) cash down-payment from an undercover reporter posing as a Sheikh. The papers Investigations Editor Mazher Mahmood had offered the Duchess a total of  £500,000 to be introduced to Fergusons ex-husband Prince Andrew, who is a British trade envoy. The meeting where the deposit was handed over to Ferguson and details of the bribe were discussed was captured on tape, and this video was posted on the News of the World website alongside the article. The News of the World may claim they have done Britain a good service in exposing Fergusons illicit business deals, but in reality, they have not presented any proof that she had been engaging in bribery and corruption before the News of the World entered the fray and staged this elaborate sting operation. They claim that they have proof that she had already cashed in by introducing two international tycoons to Prince Andrew, which resulted in lucrative business deals for which she gained a commission. Would it not have been enough to report on this evidence which had been provided by their close royal associate who blew the whistle on her? They say they have procured all the details of her transactions with these tycoons, and information about the new company Ferguson set up last month to handle her illicit business, but have not presented any of these details in the article, or in any of the myriad of articles published about the Ferguson affair since the videos were posted on the website. Yes, the News of the World did indeed expose that Sarah Ferguson was disposed to a corrupt deal with an international business man. But who is to say that she would not have been involved in any illicit dealings had the News of the World not set her up in this way? In April, another of Mahmoods undercover sting operations brought a premature end to the career of snooker champion John Higgins when Mahmood filmed him in a hotel room in the Ukraine agreeing to fix a lose in an upcoming snooker match in exchange for à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬300,000. He had been set up by a group of undercover reporters posing as businessmen. Higgins has since claimed that he had been intimidated into the deal against his will, but has been suspended from snooker pending an investigation, perhaps indefinitely. Mahmood claims that the decision to set Higgins up was based on a tip-off from a sports insider that Higgins was engaging in match-fixing. However, no details or evidence was presented in the article to back up the claims. This is just another recent example of the kind of undercover reporting that Mahmood is engaging in for the News of the World, where a sensationalist scoop, usually involving a celebrity or public figure, is caught on camera, causes a brief media fren zy, but is quickly forgotten when the next sting operation hits the headlines. Mahmood, who has been posing as the fake Sheikh for undercover scoops since 1984, claims to have exposed criminal activities in his sting operations which have led to at least 250 criminal convictions. His disguise has duped paedophiles, con men and drug pushers the exposition of whom could be deemed as being in the public interest as well as philandering government ministers and celebrities with recreational drug habits, whose stories may be of salacious interest to the public, but are almost certainly not in the public interest. The motivations behind the News of the Worlds obsession with undercover scoops are simple: deceit can often be the quickest and easiest way to get a story; the journalist has control over the scenario that will eventually end up in the paper, so essentially they can create the headline before the incident has even taken place; and secret footage (audio recordings, video, and grainy or pixilated photographs) sensationalise the story even further and make f or great multimedia content for the web. The man supposed to bring sound judgment to the FA, Ian Gallagher, Mail on Sunday, 16 May 2010 In another undercover exposà © last month, the chairman of the Football Association in England, Lord Triesman, was secretly taped claiming that Spain and Russia were plotting to bribe referees in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. The recording was made by Triesmans former aide Melissa Jacobs during a lunch meeting. Jacobs proceeded, with the help of celebrity publicist Mark Clifford, to sell the tapes to the Mail on Sunday for a reported  £75,000, who ran the story on the front page on 16th May. While it must be noted that the person who made the recording was not a journalist, but an associate of Triesmans, similar principles around the ethics of clandestine recording and undercover investigation techniques are at issue here (leaving aside the ethics of chequebook journalism). However, there is one crucial difference between this article and the undercover sting operation articles written by Mahmood mentioned above, in that the scenario was not staged in advance by the newspaper. It appears to me, from the details presented in the article, that Jacobs attended the lunch meeting with the intention of getting taped evidence of their affair to sell to the newspaper, and the conversation about the World Cup bribes arose unknown in advance to her. While she prompted him during the exchange for more information, she did not incite the topic of conversation, nor did she steer the conversation in any particular direction. This is demonstrated in the following transcript from the tape, which is quoted in the article: Lord Triesman: Spain are looking for help from the Russians to help bribe the referees in the World Cup, their votes may then switch to Russia. At this point, Miss Jacobs asks: Would Russia help them with that? Lord Triesman: Oh, I think Russia will cut deals. Miss Jacobs: Why will Russia help? Are Russia in the World Cup? Lord Triesman: No theyre not. Miss Jacobs: Oh no theyre not, theyve got nothing to lose? Lord Triesman: Absolutely nothing at all to lose. Exactly. Since the article was published, Lord Triesman has resigned as chairman of the FA, but stated that he had been a victim of entrapment and his comments about the conspiracy were never intended to be taken seriously. Fifas ethics team is investigating the allegations, and if it is proven that they were based in truth, the Mail on Sundays decision to print the story will be vindicated (though this is looking increasingly unlikely). The article was met with widespread derision in Britain, most likely because the scandal seriously jeopardised Englands chances of securing their bid to host the 2018 World Cup. But the reasons given by most critics were that the methods used by the Mail on Sunday to obtain information for the article were dirty and unethical. Consequentialist analysis According to the consequentialists, the ends must justify the means in order for an action to be considered morally acceptable. The morally correct action is that which brings about the highest possible total sum of utility(Wolff, p.49). It could be argued that in attempting to expose Sarah Fergusons corrupt activities, the News of the World were acting in the public interest, ridding the world of a corrupt act and thus bringing the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people. If readers really believed that the journalist was acting to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness to the party whose interest is considered, which according to Bentham, (The principle of Utility, quoted in Singer, p.307) should be the main premise for any course of action, it could be argued that he was right to masquerade as a Sheikh in order to expose Fergusons illicit business deals. Similarly, if the main motivation of the Mail on Sunday was to prevent corruption an d match fixing during the World Cup, then the newspaper acted in the right way according to consequentialists. However, as I have explained, it is highly dubious that these were the main motivations of the News of the World or the Mail on Sunday, as I would argue that they were more interested in printing sensational stories that would grab public attention and sell more papers than the ultimate end. While the strongest argument against untruths has been forward by Kant and the deontologists (see below), utilitarians were also strongly against falsehood and deceit, because of the harm done by misleading particular individuals, and the tendency of false statements to diminish the mutual confidence that men ought to have in each others assertions (Sidgwick, Issues for Utilitarians, in Singer, p.316). There is another ethical issue raised by the Sarah Ferguson exposà © article that would be of interest to a consequentialist, and that is the use of anonymous sources. Tabloids like the News of the World are well known for paying large sums of money to well-connected sources, and the information fed to them by their close royal associate may well be legitimate. It is widely recognised amongst journalists and editors alike that it is worth retaining the identity of a source in order to get a story that is in the public interest, and I believe that this is also agreeable from a consequentialist standpoint. However, who is to say that this information, supposedly provided by a source close to Ferguson, was not entirely fabricated? As I have argued in a previous ethical enquiry, journalists should strive to attribute their information as much as possible in order to increase trust between reporter and reader. The reliance upon unnamed sources in articles like this leaves many questions in a readers mind, and if anonymous attribution was to be universalised, readers trust in journalism would be greatly diminished Deontological analysis The concept of truth is central to Kants Categorical Imperative. Truth telling is more than just a good thing, as telling the truth creates trust, and trust is a social necessity. Communication between human beings in any society depends very much on the assumption that what we tell each other is true. Deception itself is an impossibility without this assumption, as a person cannot be deceived unless they are prone to believing what they are told. Kant steadfastly believed that any untruth, even if seemingly harmless in intent (or even uttered in protection of oneself or another) is harmful to society, as untruths diminish mans capacity to trust. A lie always harms another; if not some other particular man, still it harms mankind generally, for it vitiates the source of law itself (Kant, On a supposed right to lie from altruistic motives, in Singer, p.281). Mahmood engaged in active deception in order to get his Sarah Ferguson story. Everything about the set up was a blatant lie his name, his profession, his intention, his promise to pay her  £500,000 he even lied to her outright by denying there were secret cameras filming her when she asked in jest if it was a set up. Lies deliberately intend to deceive, where the aim is invariably to take advantage of another persons trust. According to Kant, what the honest but reticent man says is true, but not the whole truth. What the dishonest man says is something he knows to be false. Such an assertion is called in the theory of virtue, a lie it is a serious violation of a duty to oneself; it subverts the dignity of humanity in our own person, and attacks the roots of our thinking. (Kant, Letter to Maria von Herbert, Spring 1792, in Singer, p.283). Jacobs engaged in a form of passive deception in order to gather the taped material. She did not actively lie to Lord Triesman, but deceived him by hiding her intentions, and the fact that she was taping their conversation without his knowledge. Similarly, when journalists pose as members of the public in order to get a story, they are also being passively deceptive, as they are misrepresenting their true intention. However, this form of undercover reporting is widely accepted by editors the world over, even those that would vehemently oppose actively lying or setting someone up in order to get a story. According to deontologists, the outcome of the action should not be a factor in deciding what is right or wrong in any given situation. Behaviour has a moral weight all of its own, which the moral law within can determine (Kant, The noble descent of duty, in Singer, p.41). Central to the deontological school is the concept of duty. From a deontological perspective, journalists have a duty to their readers, an obligation to present the truth to the public, regardless of the consequences that the revelation of this truth may produce. In the case of the Sarah Ferguson article, the News of the World published the article with no heed to the consequences to the reputation of the Royal family, and similarly, the Mail on Sunday published the article about Triesmans knowledge of match fixing with little regard to the reputation of Triesman himself or the chances of England securing their bid to host the World Cup in 2018. According to Kant, truthfulness is a duty which must be regarded as th e ground of all duties based on contract, and the laws of these duties would be rendered uncertain and useless if even the least exception to them were admitted. (Kant, On a supposed right to lie from altruistic motives, in Singer, p.281). If the News of the World and the Mail on Sunday truly believed that they were bringing the truth to the public in exposing Sarah Fergusons corrupt business deals, and Lord Triesmans knowledge of game-fixing, then their intentions were correct according to deontologists. However, in reality, selling papers overrides most tabloids altruistic motives, and it could be strongly argued that both are more concerned with entrapping public figures in order to sell papers, and thus they are not acting in accordance with the categorical imperative. Objective reporting, one of the most central tenets of good journalism practice, rests on the premise that the journalist remains a passive observer of the material about which they write, and that they record reality the way it is rather than attempting to shape that reality themselves in order to create a story. Most, if not all, ethical guidelines for journalists state that an undercover journalist should be a witness to the action, not an instigator or an active participator, nor should they do anything to prompt an action that would not have occurred should they not have been there. Above all, the journalist should never incite people to commit a crime. However, News of the World exposà ©s, many conducted by Mahmood in disguise, have raised ethical questions over the entrapment of celebrities by journalists working at the paper. Critics have claimed that such undercover operations are an invasion of privacy, and that public figures are being lured under false pretences into doi ng and saying things that they would not have, had they not been prompted or encouraged by the undercover journalist. His elaborate scenarios are staged to entrap the subject, who is manipulated, often into committing a criminal act (Mahmood often stages drug purchases last November he set up a cocaine deal with Ted Terry, father of English footballer John Terry, also for a News of the World exclusive). One of the main considerations a news organisation must take into account when deciding if deceptive undercover reporting is warranted is if this is a legitimate and worthy news story, i.e. is the story in the public interest, or is the news organisation merely pandering to its audiences desire for a salacious story? Many editors, and television producers especially, act under the premise that deception may be warranted when the story is of such importance that it absolutely must be told, and deception or undercover reporting is the only way to prove what is going on. The article about Lord Triesman combined his claims about match-fixing with an exposà © of his illicit romance with Jacobs in 2008. Details of text messages sent between the two, and accounts of their secret dates were recounted. This aspect of the article is a blatant invasion of Triesmans privacy, and is most certainly not in the public interest. It would also be against Kants Practical Imperative, which states that we should act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only. (Kant, The Categorical Imperative, in Singer, p.279). Individuals are ends in themselves, and they may not be sacrificed or used for achieving of other ends without their consent. (Robert Nozick, The Rationality of Side Constraints, in Singer, p.261). By publishing the juicy details of their affair alongside the quotes from Triesman about the match-fixing, the Mail on Sunday were using Lord Triesman as a means to an end, and also doing themselves a disservice by highlighting the sleazy element of undercover reporting. Another fundamental question that journalists and editors must ask themselves is whether deception is the best way to uncover the story? In the case of Sarah Ferguson, I believe that based on other knowledge and evidence that they claim to have in their possession, the News of the World could have built the case against her without staging a fake bribe. However, in the case of the Lord Triesman article, there would have been no other way to find out his thoughts on match-fixing. Unless he was attempting to impress her in some way with empty rhetoric, there must be some foundation behind Triesmans claims that Spain and Russia were engaging in bribery, which is in turn worthy of serious investigation and a matter of public interest, which has been reinforced by Fifas decision to carry out a full investigation of the matter. Conclusion It can thus be concluded that neither the News of the World article nor the Mail on Sunday article were handled in a manner that would have been acceptable from a consequentialist or a deontological viewpoint. Though I believe the subject matter of each (Sarah Fergusons propensity towards using her royal connections for corrupt means, and Lord Triesmans claims of match-fixing) were indeed in the public interest, the deceptive means by which the end was achieved in each case were morally deplorable, and neither end justified the means. According to Kants Categorical Imperative, we should act only according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. (Kant, The Categorical Imperative, in Singer, p.274). The principle of universalisability is at the core of deontological theory. If active deception was to be universalised, trust, a central tenet upon which society rests, would crumble. Honesty is the moral virtue at the centre of any societ y, and it should be promoted by all as all stand to gain from it, as trust rests on truth, and trust is a social necessity. Impersonation and subterfuge irrevocably undermines the implicit trust that is so essential between journalists and their sources and interviewees. Undercover reporting disseminates a widespread distrust of journalists amongst the public, which is detrimental to the whole practice of journalism, which relies so heavily upon information received in confidence from that public.

Cannibalism: A Human Atrocity Essay -- Cannibals Culture Cultural Reli

Cannibalism: A Human Atrocity "Cannibalism is morally wrong according to modern religion. In Christianity, it was used by God as an ultimate punishment for the disobedience of the Israelites during the siege of Jerusalem. Around the sixth century Before Christ, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites of such a holy damnation: â€Å"I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives† (Barker, Jeremiah 19:9). Despite the warnings, the Israelites continuously disobeyed God and were rightfully punished. Jeremiah saw God as ultimate and threatened the ultimate crime as castigation for their sins. In Islam, cannibalism is considered haram, or one of the â€Å"carnal sins which constitute the most grave danger to man and environment† (Light of Islam). Cannibalism is one of man’s greatest betrayals to God. Cannibalism was a topic of ancient horror stories. In Greek mythology, â€Å"after Thyestes unwittingly ate the flesh of his own children, the Sun was so appalled that he turned back on his course and plunged the world into darkness† (Hodgkinson, 2001). Such an idea was haunting. In the Odyssey, Odysseus met the Cyclops, â€Å"a race of one-eyed human-eating giants† (Acadia). Cannibalism was nightmarish and represented ultimate power. In modern day, cannibalism has emerged in the most horrifying crimes. In 1991, Wisconsinite Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of fifteen gruesome murders dating back to 1987. Dahmer raped young, ethnic men he met in bars across Milwaukee. He used the teenagers as experiments of his sexual fantasy by â€Å"drilling holes in the selected victim’s skull, then drib... ...ysterious disappearance of a Soylent Company executive (Fleischer). The idea of a depressing, anthropophagic apocalypse stuns moviegoers. Filmmakers evoke fear in their audiences by presenting cannibalism as doomful and inescapable. Cannibalism is immoral and remains the most horrifying phenomenon of mankind. The practice has been part of ancient and modern history, and is a sin according to modern religion. Ancient mythology depicts the practice as outlandish and sinister. Cannibalism has sparked much controversy in the Western world and has been widely feared by societies. Cannibalism is a mind-boggling phenomenon that is so primitive and taboo; it is ignored by society. Cannibalism is the most horrifying reality of the human culture, and mankind forever fears the prospect of unavoidably resorting to Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow, or Soylent Green." Cannibalism: A Human Atrocity Essay -- Cannibals Culture Cultural Reli Cannibalism: A Human Atrocity "Cannibalism is morally wrong according to modern religion. In Christianity, it was used by God as an ultimate punishment for the disobedience of the Israelites during the siege of Jerusalem. Around the sixth century Before Christ, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites of such a holy damnation: â€Å"I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives† (Barker, Jeremiah 19:9). Despite the warnings, the Israelites continuously disobeyed God and were rightfully punished. Jeremiah saw God as ultimate and threatened the ultimate crime as castigation for their sins. In Islam, cannibalism is considered haram, or one of the â€Å"carnal sins which constitute the most grave danger to man and environment† (Light of Islam). Cannibalism is one of man’s greatest betrayals to God. Cannibalism was a topic of ancient horror stories. In Greek mythology, â€Å"after Thyestes unwittingly ate the flesh of his own children, the Sun was so appalled that he turned back on his course and plunged the world into darkness† (Hodgkinson, 2001). Such an idea was haunting. In the Odyssey, Odysseus met the Cyclops, â€Å"a race of one-eyed human-eating giants† (Acadia). Cannibalism was nightmarish and represented ultimate power. In modern day, cannibalism has emerged in the most horrifying crimes. In 1991, Wisconsinite Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of fifteen gruesome murders dating back to 1987. Dahmer raped young, ethnic men he met in bars across Milwaukee. He used the teenagers as experiments of his sexual fantasy by â€Å"drilling holes in the selected victim’s skull, then drib... ...ysterious disappearance of a Soylent Company executive (Fleischer). The idea of a depressing, anthropophagic apocalypse stuns moviegoers. Filmmakers evoke fear in their audiences by presenting cannibalism as doomful and inescapable. Cannibalism is immoral and remains the most horrifying phenomenon of mankind. The practice has been part of ancient and modern history, and is a sin according to modern religion. Ancient mythology depicts the practice as outlandish and sinister. Cannibalism has sparked much controversy in the Western world and has been widely feared by societies. Cannibalism is a mind-boggling phenomenon that is so primitive and taboo; it is ignored by society. Cannibalism is the most horrifying reality of the human culture, and mankind forever fears the prospect of unavoidably resorting to Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow, or Soylent Green."

Police in Society Essay

The police department and the police force in general, have the power and duty at all times of the day and night to ensure that the lives of people is protected as well as property (Bayley D, 1979, 109-143). This is done through preventing crime, detect and arrest offenders, preserve the public peace as well as enforce all laws, ordinances and provisions of the administrative code over which the police department has jurisdiction. The crime-control theory suggests that police department develops in reaction to rise in criminal activity (Bayley D, 1979, 109-143). Thus, the structure in metropolis police department should have few levels with a wide span of control. Decision-making should be the task of lower-level personnel (Greene et al, 1992. 183-207). The structure should involve a police Chief, assisted by two deputies, two patrol Lieutenants, two administrative and Investigative Lieutenant, four four-person patrol platoons with a Sergeant and Corporal in each platoon, a Sergeant of Detectives and four detectives for all investigations, and as well as two to two-man bike patrols. While police leadership has many challenges, the police chief should offer transformational leadership essential to produce cultural changes in the attitudes and beliefs of the line officers. He has to be principled in order to get extraordinary things done in this organization. He should be willing and ready to challenge any process (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 17-94). Thus, he should take risks, challenge the system, and challenge the way things are done. He should also inspire a shared vision to his subordinates by breathing life into what are the hopes and dreams of others and enable them to see the exciting possibilities that the future holds (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 17-94). In doing so, the police chief should enlist the support of all those who are necessary to get results, as well as those who will be affected by the results in this case the public at large. Through encouraging collaboration and teamwork makes it possible for the subordinates to do good work (Kouzes & Posner, 1987. 7-94). Envisaging that Metropolis is a diverse and dynamic as any community in the world, it requires continuity and stability in certain basic areas of life, in particular the areas of safety and security. It crucial to note that the key to offering continuous safety and security is to have police department guided by a clear and unwavering philosophy by which to guide the determination of priorities and decisions in policing. The entire Police Department, encompassing every sworn officer as well as civilian member, and all associated City officials, suppliers, vendors, and other stakeholders in its mission, should focus their full on-duty attention to meeting and satisfying the safety and security needs of Metropolis urban city. To achieve this, the community requires both swift police response to crime and disorder, in addition to crime prevention and problem solving utilizing the latest technologies. In so doing both approaches should be utilized with intelligence to achieve a comprehensive networking approach that serves the community in a balanced manner. Thus, the major mission of metropolis Police Department should be to safeguard the lives and property of the people they serve, to decrease the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety at the same time as working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life. This should be done with honor and integrity, while at all times conducting themselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence (Greene et al, 1992. 183-207). Hiring standards Most Police departments in cities face what some call a personnel crisis, with the number of recruits at record lows, an increasing number of experienced officers turn down promotions to sergeant or lieutenant, while many gifted senior officers decline offers to become police chiefs as well as police executive. Recruits pre-employment background should be ascertained before being taken in, in the department. The purpose of a pre-employment background investigation shall be to rapidly, competently as well as fairly to make out those applicants who are unfit for public service or whose prior conduct is contradictory to, or incompatible with, the law enforcement mission. No selection standard of the department shall be in conflict with, or contrary to, the spirit or letter of fair employment laws of the State. However, any applicant who has ever been convicted of any offense declared by law to be a felony in this or any other state shall not be eligible for employment with the department. Same standard shall apply to misdemeanor offenses, save that the applicant should not have been convicted within the past three years of any criminal offense declared by law to be a misdemeanor in this or any other state. The urban center being hard hit with the problem of drugs, a person who is a current user of illegal drugs shall not be eligible for employment with the department. Drugs in this case should be taken to imply the controlled substances in accordance with the state’s provisions. The first step in the selection procedure is recruitment. Having a number of applicants, we must select those that are best fitting for the department. The department must have a number of minimum standards to employ in measuring the applicants. Issues of age, height and weight, physical agility and strength, and education should be taken into account. These applicants should be subjected to background investigations, which comprises of previous drug use. They should take polygraph examination, psychological screening as well as meet medical requirements (Goldsmith 1990, 91-114). In addition to the above, the candidates will be required to take a written examination as well as an oral interview. The last step will be to train them once they have been chosen. The training should take account of programs that include the department’s mission statement in addition to ethical considerations. The training should also be based upon what the officer does in the course of a day. The actual content of the training should include subject areas such as the laws of arrest, patrol techniques, investigations, cultural diversity, and ethics. Upon completing the training, the new recruit police officer will begin his or her field training. This will comprise assignment to a field-training officer who acts as a mentor for him/her. The new officer remains in probation for a certain period before beginning his or her career path. This path may embrace advanced training to stay put with the changes in the law. The officers will be entitled to specialized training to prepare them for specific jobs in the department. Policing philosophy The philosophy of metropolis police department shall be based on the belief that the public deserves an input into policing, and indeed, has a right to it. It will also rest on the vision that in order to find solutions to community problem of growing drug in the neighborhood, the police as well as the public must move beyond a narrow focus on individual crimes or incidents, and instead consider innovative ways of addressing drug issue concerns in general. Bonds of trust between all officers and the community in all aspects need to be established through continued and creative police outreach (Freeman, 1990. 19-109). The net effect will be to build a professional, representative, responsive, and answerable institution that works in affiliation with the public (Goldsmith 1990, 91-114). In an attempt to solve the public’s problem, the department will identify the specific concerns that the Metropolis inhabitants feel are most threatening to their safety and well-being, in this particular case ‘drugs’. This area of concern then shall become priority for joint police-community interventions. The officers and a variety of building members then will outline problem-solving partnerships to develop responses that they can both use to eliminate or minimize the problem (Freeman, 1990. 19-109). Technologies The department should have police cars, upgraded to the specifications required by the force, built to police specifications in the factory. These cars should be modified to encompass adjustments for higher durability, speed, and high mileage driving in addition to long periods of idling at higher temperatures. This is accomplished by heavy-duty suspension, brakes, calibrated speedometer, tires, alternator, transmission and cooling systems. Where possible, slight modifications to the car’s stock engine should be done if not installation of a more powerful engine. These cars are to be employed in patrolling the area round the clock. The department can employ Global-positioning system to track those convicted with drug related offences so as to help deter future recidivism. In addition the police force can make broad use of radio communications equipment, carried both on the person and installed in vehicles, to co-ordinate their work, share information as well as get help quickly (Walker, 2005. 5). Presently, vehicle-installed computers have increased the ability of police communications, enabling easier dispatching of calls in addition to criminal background checks on persons of interest. Metropolis Police Department should have similar technologies in their patrol vehicles.

The Mockingbird essays

The Mockingbird essays Throughout the biological world there are many interesting birds. The Mockingbird, for example, is famed for its many interpretations or mimicking sounds. The Mockingbird or Mimus polyglottos is known for mimicking almost any bird sound...and singing in the middle of the night (Chaffee Zoological Gardens). Besides its own rapturous song, the mockingbirds repertoire has been known to include over 40 different sounds including the barking dog (Learning About the Mockingbird). By far the mockingbird is one of the famous birds in North America because of its mimicking sounds. The Mockingbird, being a good mimicker, also needs a reasonable habitat in order to live. Mainly spread throughout North America, the birds seek open territory and non-industrial land. In addition, they are largely found in southern states of United States and northern Mexico where land is open and more abundant for natural resources. Mockingbirds require open grassy areas for their feeding, thick, thorny shrubs for hiding the nest, and high perches where the male can sing and defend his territory (Learning About the Mocking Bird). The Mockingbird is also famous for settling down in household gardens where they can feed more on natural substances such as berries. The locomotion that the Mockingbirds use to travel from habitat to habitat is flying. The flight of the Mockingbird is performed by short jerks of the body and wings, at every one of which a strong twitching motion of tail is perceived. This motion is still more apparent while the bird is walking, when it opens its tail like a fan and instantly closes it again (Audubon). Therefore, they can fly at an instant spring to the air. When a particular Mockingbird flies it flies by day and mainly in short distances, like tree to tree, rather than field to tree, and near the tree line so it can avoid predators like hawks, owls, and snakes. Throughout the feeding preferences the Mockingbir ...

Bilingualism - Definition and Examples

Bilingualism s Bilingualism is the ability of an individual or the members of a community to use two languages effectively. Adjective: bilingual. Monolingualism refers to the ability to use a single language. The ability to use multiple languages is known as multilingualism. More than half of the  worlds population is bilingual or  multilingual: 56% of Europeans are bilingual, while 38% of the population in Great Britain, 35% in Canada, and 17% in the United States are bilingual (Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, 2013). Etymology From the Latin, two tongue Examples and Observations Bilingualism as the NormBilingualismmore generally, multilingualismis a major fact of life in the world today. To begin with, the worlds estimated 5,000 languages are spoken in the worlds 200 sovereign states (or 25 languages per state), so that communication among the citizens of many of the worlds countries clearly requires extensive bi- (if not multi-)lingualism. In fact, David Crystal (1997) estimates that two-thirds of the worlds children grow up in a bilingual environment. Considering only bilingualism involving English, the statistics that Crystal has gathered indicate that, of the approximately 570 million people world-wide who speak English, over 41 percent or 235 million are bilingual in English and some other language. . . . One must conclude that, far from being exceptional, as many lay people believe, bilingualism/multilingualismwhich, of course, goes hand in hand with multiculturalism in many casesis currently the rule throughout the world and will become increasingly s o in the future.(Tej K. Bhatia and William C. Ritchie, Introduction. The Handbook of Bilingualism. Blackwell, 2006) Global MultilingualismThe political history of the 19th and 20th centuries and the ideology of one stateone nationone language have given rise to the idea that monolingualism has always been the default or normal case in Europe and more or less a precondition for political loyalty. Facing this situation, it has been overlooked that the vast majority of the worlds populationin whatever form or conditionsis multilingual. This is quite obvious when we look at the linguistic maps of Africa, Asia or Southern America at any given time.(Kurt Braunmà ¼ller and Gisella Ferraresi, Introduction. Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History. John Benjamins, 2003)Individual and Societal BilingualismBilingualism exists as a possession of an individual. It is also possible to talk about bilingualism as a characteristic of a group or community of people [societal bilingualism]. Bilinguals and multilinguals are most often located in groups, communities or in a particular region (e.g. Cata lans in Spain). . . . [C]o-existing languages may be in a process of rapid change, living in harmony or one rapidly advancing at the cost of the other, or sometimes in conflict. Where many language minorities exist, there is often language shift . . ..(Colin Baker and Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters, 1998) Foreign Language Instruction in the U.S.For decades, U.S. policymakers, business leaders, educators, and research organizations have decried our students’ lack of foreign language skills and called for better language instruction. Yet, despite these calls for action, we have fallen further behind the rest of the world in preparing our students to communicate effectively in languages other than English.I believe the main reason for this disparity is that foreign languages are treated by our public education system as less important than math, science and English. In contrast, E.U. governments expect their citizens to become fluent in at least two languages plus their native tongue. . . .[F]oreign language instruction in the U.S. is frequently considered a luxury, a subject taught to college-bound students, more frequently in affluent than poor school districts, and readily cut when math or reading test scores drop or budget cuts loom.(Ingrid Pufahl, How Europe Does It. The New York Times, February. 7, 2010)

Communication Principles, Techniques and Strategies used in Health and Term Paper

Communication Principles, Techniques and Strategies used in Health and Social Care Settings - Term Paper Example In the worst case scenario, miscommunication could result in the death of the patient. In the case of Anne, who suffered from a stroke, delayed communication in the period between the moment when she first felt unusual symptoms and when she reached the hospital caused her to suffer a stroke. If her husband Paul had been successful in reaching an ambulance or other medical firm and enabled her to reach the hospital in time, this could have been averted. However, Paul, Anne’s husband, was unsuccessful in reaching the ambulance. In addition, when she finally reached a hospital, Anne was left unattended for approximately four hours. During this interlude, her face sagged on one side and she lost control of her bodily functions. It does seem that the attitude of the medical professionals concerned was shockingly callous. However, it is more likely that they simply were unequipped with the right coping skills for dealing with the extreme stress that is often encountered in the medical field. The medical emergency number dialed by Paul may have been disconnected. However, it is more likely that the line was busy and there were many people trying to use it at the same time. On his arrival at the first hospital, Paul and Anne may have walked in at a time when all medical professionals were busy attending to serious cases; thus the lack of attention for the first four hours. In addition, the doctors were probably strained after a hard day’s work. This is not a suggestion that their attitude was excusable; however, it is important to point out that medical practitioners deal with extreme stress on a regular basis.  

W6 Asign BA541 Customer-Based Metrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W6 Asign BA541 Customer-Based Metrics - Essay Example For example, at the peak of their popularity with people willing to buy coffee with a more expensive price tag, Starbucks spent a lot of money opening several stores, expanding rapidly locally and internationally. In 2008, however, it was forced to assess which stores were making profit and proceeded to close 600 stores in the Unites States. (The Associated Press, 2008) Not all customers have the same value to a company. A company should be able to know who among their customers they should create relationships with to earn revenue. Some customers may buy big ticket items occasionally, but are less significant when compared to customers you regularly buy less expensive items. The customer equity test must be applied to know the degree of marketing efforts to be exhausted in acquiring and retaining customers. (Peppers, D. & Rogers, M., 2011) Seeing that Starbucks is able to maintain a loyal following, this metric appears to have been satisfied. The company offers a variety of products, dependent on the location of the store. For instance, some of their products in the United States are not available in their branches overseas. With this scenario, it can be said that the company was able to understand what their loyal customers like about them and thus made sure those items were available. An issue with this is in order to be competitive and have an edge in the industry, the company needs to come up with other ideas. One of these is providing alcohol at a certain time of the day to reach a possible market and this is problematic because as a survey has shown, some of those who have quit drinking gather at Starbucks for their support group meetings and drink coffee. (Williams, G., 2014) Knowing what the customers want is a very important strategy in a business. Customers need to feel important and needed. Thus, a company that wants to build lasting