In Every Cloud there is a Silver Lining

There I was weeping tirelessly for hours on end, almost creating a miniature pond on the ground. My months of preparations had gone to waste. All my plans and decisions I had hoped to undertake ruined. I had planned out my great voyage to the head chief for months. Each and every step I was to take was already decided. But according to my tradition I had to get permission from my mother before leaving. Then it all happened without even listening to all I had to say I heard ‘NO'. A word I feel no man can define and a word that should never exist in anyone's dictionary. There I was foolishly weeping when my motive was to show how much better our lives would be without these traditions yet following them my self. I was to do what I believe was my destiny. I was to do what I believed god created me to do. 1000's of 1000's of years of tradition had been followed in my community. Tradition that I believed was pointless, insensitive, meaningless and inappropriate to follow. Without anyone's consent again I set out to break and change these traditions for our betterment. I packed my bags and headed straight for Chief Souza, the man who is believed to be our god. The man with endless power at his fingertips, what he said happened and he was the only man who could fulfill my destiny. Getting to his home was the least of my worries. I simply had to walk for a short 2 1/2 hours down the sandy graveled road leading straight to his village and his home. I set off without any delays and a short while later I found my self and the grand gate and luxurious village of Chief Souza. My body pushing itself towards the door and with one final deep gulp of air and pushed open the doors. Then I realized I had already achieved a lot and am much closer to achieving my ‘destiny'. Without wasting any time in greetings and worthless talk on my health and family with the Chief I got straight down to the point. I shared a piece of my mind with the Chief not leaving any detail or feeling behind. I never feared his immense power and now in front of him certainly I would not. Step by step telling Chief Souza exactly what my motive is and the reason behind my decision to fight against my tradition. Finally completing my argument against our tradition I looked eye to eye with the Chief. He stared at me as if I had gone crazy and just then I realized what a mess I had got myself into. I realized what a dim-witted person I was to barge into the most superior man's house in the entire community and blast him about how shallow our tradition is. But then again I believed it was my destiny and this is the backbone in my life. This is why I lived. Then something struck me, something hard and heavy and within seconds I dropped to the ground like a stick. Upon awakening I found a rope around my neck and a sack over my head. Despite not being able to see anything I knew the Chief had found my words as an insult to his community and ordered for me to be hung. It hurt really badly as I never even had the chance to question my community on what they found wrong with my words. What was wrong if I had my own opinion about the community and our tradition? It was too late I felt the plank beneath my feet, currently keeping me up, being pulled till I had nothing to balance on. My life had come to an end but my soul would not rest until I accomplished my goal. My mother cried and cried endless for days, wondering ‘Where had I gone wrong in education my son? Why, why, why did he not listen to me? ‘ Everyday each member of the community considers ‘What did he say wrong? He shared his feelings something no one has the courage to do. ‘ Each member of the community started looking at life from a different perspective a perspective in which they can live their lives how they wanted to and not by what their tradition, our tradition, my tradition said. My community members finally realized what I was trying to project. Within a couple of days, I gained my biggest victory our tradition was altered and every member of our community was free to live life their way! Then it became clear to me, if I had not sacrificed my life for the betterment of my community the changes done to our tradition now would never have happened. So even in a dark cloud like the death of a community member came, there really is a silver lining in it. Now my soul will rest in peace!

Battle of Stalingrad

The battle of Stalingrad was one of the biggest, cruellest and most important battles of the World War II. The city was called in the name of Stalin, the leader of the Red Army and if the Germans captured it would be great propaganda for them and it would decrease the Russian morale, so Stalin made his army fight until death. Also if the Germans took control of Stalingrad, then the way to Moscow would be open and the Germans might win the war. The city also controlled a lot of crucial water and rail communications with the rest of Russia.After the fail of the Operation Barbarossa, Adolf Hitler began a new offensive in June 1942. General Frederich Paulus, the commander of the 6th German army got an order to invade Stalingrad. The city controlled a lot of rail and water communications. In the summer of 1942 Paulus sent an army of 250000 men, 500 tanks, 7000 artillery guns and 25000 horses. The progress was slow, because there was a lack of supplies until the 7th August 1942. By the end of the month the army killed or captured around 50000 USSR soldiers. At around 35 miles left till Stalingrad the fuel supplies stopped again. When the supplies came the progress continued but Paulus was conserving the fuel, so he only sent his 14th Panzer corps. The Red Army was now giving more resistance and the Germans were forced to stop just outside of Stalingrad. Paulus ordered to delay the attack until the 7th September because his north flank was under attack. While he was waiting the Luftwaffe bombed the city. The USSR suffered lots of civilian casualties and most of the city was reduced to rubble. Stalin brought most of the Russian army together, even from Siberia. Millions of soldiers were in Stalingrad now defending the most important part of Russia. More and more soldiers were needed as more and more German tanks and planes attacked. General Georgi Zhukov the Russian military that was yet not defeated in a single battle was put in charge of the Stalingrad defence. As the Germans progressed through the city the Red Army was fighting for every single building the further the advance was the more casualties each side suffered. The German tanks were not much use in street battles and most of the fighting was done with sniper rifles, machineguns and hand grenades. Germans had problems with very well and cleverly camouflaged Russian artillery and machinegun nests. The Red Army also used sniper squads, which were based in the ruins, particularly well. On the 26th September the 6th German army was able to put their flag up over the Red Square of Stalingrad, but the street fight continued. Adolf Hitler ordered Frederich Paulus to take Stalingrad at any cost, but General Kurt Zeitzler, the Chief of General Staff was critically against continuing the attack and asked Hitler to let the German army leave Stalingrad. Hitler denied it and said to the German people on the radio: â€Å"You can be sure, that no one will ever be able to push us out of Stalingrad†. When General Gustav von Wietersheim, the commander of the 14th Panzer division was complaining about great losses at the front, Paulus replaced him with General Hans Hube. Paulus, however, who lost 40000 men entering the city, was short on soldiers and on the 4th October 1942 begged Hitler for reinforcements. A few days later five engineer battalions and a tank division came to Stalingrad. On the 19th October snow replaced rain as Paulus still tried to progress despite the harsh conditions. In November he controlled about 90% of the city, but he was running out of men and supplies. Despite that Paulus planned another big offensive on the 10th November. His army received great casualties in the next two days and the Red Army knowing what happened launched a counterattack and Paulus was forced back south. When he reached the Gumrak airfield Adolf Hitler ordered Paulus to slowdown and resist the Russians. He also promised that the Luftwaffe would supply his army via air. The Paulus’ High Officers were sure that the Russian winter airspace would restrict the air supplying. All the battalion commanders were saying that a successful counterattack was the only option, but Paulus restricted his moves to Hitler’s orders. During the December the Luftwaffe dropped 70 tonnes of supplies a day, but the surrounded German army needed about 300 tonnes a day. All the soldiers only had a third of the normal food portion a day and they also started killing their horses for meat. By the 7th December the 6th army was living on one loaf of bread per five men. The army was about to surrender because of hunger when Hitler ordered the 4th army to launch a rescue operation. The 4th army only had 30 miles until the city, when the Russians stopped them. By 27th December 1942 the 4th army was also surrounded by the Red Army. In about a month over 28000 German soldiers died. Because of the food shortage Erich von Manstein ordered to stop feeding the 12000 useless injured men. Then he wanted to make a massive breakthrough and run away, but his men were too weak to do that and the idea was scrapped. 30th January 1943 Adolf Hitler made Paulus a field marshal, and sent him a message saying that none German field marshals were captured yet and suggested to commit suicide. Paulus stood strong and preferred to surrender to the Russians. The last of the Germans surrendered on the 2d February 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad was over. More than 91000 men were captured, and 150000 men died during the siege. All the German prisoners were sent to Siberia and 45000 of them died on the way there. Only 7000 German survived the war. Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in the Second World War and marked one of its few major turning points. It was certainly the most decisive battle in the â€Å"Great Patriotic War† or the Second World War on the Eastern front. The battle lasted from 13 September 1942 until the final German surrender on 2 February 1943. A few months earlier, the Russian Red Army seemed to be on the verge of complete defeat and Hitler's evil war machine seemed irresistible.Though the German retreat from Moscow nine months earlier brought a much needed respite to the Russians, it did not bring any real hope. At Stalingrad, however, the tide turned dramatically. In the titanic struggle that raged on the shores of the River Volga, the German Wehrmacht faced a crushing and humiliating defeat from which it never managed to recover. To the Germans, Stalingrad was the single most catastrophic defeat ever, surpassing the annihilation of Prussian Army in the hands of Napoleon at Jena-Aue rstadt in 1806.To the Russians, it was more than their greatest battle victory ever, it represented a great symbol of hope, the triumph of Russian spirit over the most gruesome adversity that had fallen on them since the German invasion in June 1941. The War on the Eastern Front was a particularly brutal and destructive war, even by Second World War standards, unprecedented in its ferocity and lack of any moral constraint. This barbarized warfare exacted an immense death toll of 27-28 million people on the Soviet side, a majority of them being civilians.According to one estimate, each minute of this war cost 9-10 lives, each hour 587, each day 14,000 for a total of 1,418 days. The unleashing of the â€Å"naked power of evil† that Hitler stood for resulted in untold pain and inconsolable grief for the people of Soviet Union, but it also provoked their indomitable fighting spirit that eventually led them to a great triumph. That fighting spirit fully asserted itself at Stalingr ad. However, more than Russian valor, the chief cause for the Russian victory at Stalin was Hitler’s ineptness.Stalin – the biggest enemy of the Red ArmyIn the summer of 1941, the Soviet Red Army was the largest in the world, but nowhere close to being the mightiest. It had significant weaknesses. Just a year or two earlier it had been humiliated by the Finnish army in the Russo-Finnish War. The chief reason for the debilitated condition of the Red Army was the ruthless purging undertaken by Stalin in late 1930s. A devastatingly large number of officers (estimated around 35,000), many of them belonging to the top echelons, were killed.Only a handful of capable commanders such as Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Chuikov, Malinovsky and Eremenko were spared to execute the Great Patriotic War. Thus weakened, the Soviet army initially presented no effective opposition to the German onslaught in mid-1941. The Germans considered the Red army ill-suited to modern, mechanized warfare, so much so that Hitler did not think twice about opening a major offensive in the Eastern Front while simultaneously engaged on the Western Front with England and the Allies.The Red Army was in fact very well equipped, but was reeling under the loss of most of its experienced and far-sighted leaders in the Great Purge (Zaloga & Volstad 3). Added to the continuing executions, there was paralyzing political interference. As a result of which, though it was well known that German army was headed towards Moscow, the Red Army was surprisingly unprepared. Its preparedness was indeed inexplicably but deliberately mitigated through political directives from Stalin. The invasion order of Hitler's Directive No.21, of 18 December 1940 decreed Operation Barbarossa, which was ‘to crush Soviet Russia in a rapid campaign'. Hitler intended for the Soviet Union to be destroyed and replaced by a group of colonies that would function under the Third Reich (Hoyt 35). By mid-May of 1941, Germany was all set to launch a vicious attack on the Soviet soil. The growing German deployments along the western borders of the Soviet Union were apparent, yet not until June 21, just one day before the actual German invasion commenced, were the border military districts alerted (Horner & Jukes 24).Launched on 22 June 1941, Operation Barbarossa was the largest single military operation of all time. The number of troops involved, the scale of the operations, and the cruelty of German soldiers were all of appalling proportions. At the outset of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet military were hopelessly unprepared for the chaos and turmoil of war. The ruthless speed of the German advance struck fear and panic in the Soviet people.The road to StalingradThe Nazi army swiftly conquered vast areas of territory, killing and capturing hundreds of thousands of troops, pillaging, plundering and massacring civilian populations.The Soviets retreated, and managed to move most of their heavy industry awa y from the front line, re-establishing it in more remote areas. Smolensk and Kiev fell in September. Leningrad was under siege. Over one million people died in Leningrad due to starvation and cold. The Germans were unstoppable; by October, they seemed to have broken their adversary on the Eastern Front. The German Army marched relentlessly on the road to Moscow, blazing a trail of destruction, murder and mayhem on its path. Hitler proudly declared, â€Å"The enemy has been routed and will never regain his strength† (Gilbert 242).But Russia would not give up so easily. As the extent and reality of the German atrocities became widely known throughout Russia, the will to resist stiffened and the â€Å"patriotic war† became in reality a ‘people's war', but the cost to soldier and civilian alike was horrendous. ((Erickson & Erickson 72). As winter set in, tenacious defense prevented the Germans from capturing Moscow. However, the Russians found a surprising ally. The Germany army was ill-equipped to withstand the freezing severity of the Russian winter and was considerably weakened.The Soviets launched their first counter-attack on December 11, 1941. However, almost a year had to pass before the tide began to turn during the second phase of the Great Patriotic War. With the 1942-43 winter struggle at Stalingrad (along with the crushed German summer offensive at Kursk in 1943), the Soviet Union would consolidate its position and stand as a formidable adversary. The Battle of Stalingrad would mark the end of the German advance, and Soviet reinforcements in great numbers would gradually push the German armies back. 3. Stalingrad in 1941: a prime objectiveStalingrad, originally knownn as Tsaritsyn, had been a prosperous trading town on the Volga during the 19th century. During the Russian Civil War of 1918-21, the Reds had triumphed decisively at Tsaritsyn. Though Stalin's contribution to the Reds' success was not very significant, Stalin named the city after himself when he achieved supreme power in 1925. Subsequently, Stalin's role in the victory of 1920 was enhanced through propaganda, and soon it was Stalin was officially recognized for his crucial role in both the October Revolution of 1917 and triumph of 1927.Thus, Stalingrad came to be strongly associated with Stalin and Russian Revolution, a fact that added an important psychological dimension in showdown between Hitler's and Stalin's forces in the battle of Stalingrad. By 1941, Stalingrad was a city of 600,000 people. It had played an important role in Stalin's industrial drive of the 1930s and is location on the Volga ensured that it was a significant player in the Soviet war economy. Hitler had set his sight on Stalingrad because it was a valuable political, economic, communications and psychological objective.From the Soviet perspective, Stalingrad was important not only as a major industrial center but also as the major connecting point to any operations in the Ca ucasus.Hitler – the Red Army’s biggest allyThe disaster for Germans at Stalingrad did not bring about immediate defeat of Germany, but, after February, 1943, few German officers genuinely believed in victory. The confidence of Hitler himself could not be shaken so easily, of course, one would think. The defeat at Stalingrad drastically widened the rupture of trust between Hitler and the army high command, which began at the battle of Moscow in December 1941.The German defeat at Stalingrad in February 1943 was a heavy psychological blow to the Wehrmacht and to the Germany people who were accustomed to victory. It raised the first widespread doubts about Hitler's leadership and the ability of Germany to win the war. After Stalingrad, Hitler himself was rarely seen in public and his outward behavior became relatively muted. In the mid-1942 the Germany army had already seemed to be in a more subdued condition as compared to its irrepressible aggressiveness an year ago.The new Fall Blau (Case Blue) offensive was intended to be a resumption of the stalled invasion of Russia. Despite Hitler's optimism, the 1941 Campaign — which opened along a 2,000 kilometer front and involved 148 combat divisions — failed to shatter Russia â€Å"to its roots with one blow. â€Å"†¦ The summer campaign of 1942, although still immense, was necessarily less ambitious. (Hayward 7) Overriding his generals, Hitler gave the offensive two separate objectives on 90-degree divergent axes — the Caucasus oilfields and the Volga crossing at Stalingrad.Fall Blau was deeply flawed by ambiguity of strategic aim. Further, Hitler's amateurish attempts to control the deployment of his forces and his opportunistic changes of mind played an important part in compromising the campaign. For Hitler, Stalingrad had become the main objective of German effort; it was an obsession. Hitler was an amateurish strategist with an unshakeable faith in his own genius, which n o facts from the real world could really affect. His campaigns were foredoomed by grand-strategic misjudgment, a prime example of which is his ‘no retreat' policy in Russian from Stalingrad to Berlin.In Hitler's view the summer offensive of 1942 should bring about a final decision in the Russian campaign with the capture of Stalingrad on the Volga and Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, and by occupying the oilfields in the Caucasus. The outskirts of Stalingrad were reached in August 1942, with the Germany forces already weakened, but the battle stuck in street and house-to-house fighting. Hitler's front commanders did realize how much of a gamble the offensives towards Stalingrad and the Caucasus were.They harbored fears about the strengths of the Russian reserves, and the weakness of the diverging German thrusts, dependent as they were for flank protection on the ill-equipped armies of Hungary, Italy and Romania. Most of them felt that Hitler's tendency to underestimate the Russia ns was becoming dangerous. His leadership displayed a total lack of any understanding of the command machinery and its function. Colonel-General von Kleist warned Hitler against using the Hungarians, Italians and Romanians as flank protectors for the 6th Army during its struggle for Stalingrad, but the Fuhrer would not listen.The Stalingrad catastrophe – a German perspectiveThe battle at Stalingrad was a vicious, close-quarter, street fighting. The 6th Army, commanded by Paulus, slogged on street by street, its flank protection entrusted by Hitler to Romanian troops. Paulus's units were decimated at the rate of 20,000 casualties a week. By the end of October, however, only one tenth of Stalingrad still held out, in the north of the city. But the balance of strength was changing. The earlier German superiority had gone. Stalingrad was the first priority for Russian reserves.Sufficient Russian troops were sent into the city to keep the fight going on there. As more Soviet troop s were sent into the city, the fighting began to be a block-by-block slogging match, moving back and forth in bloody fighting. Heavy losses for both sides characterized the street fighting. In early November, the winter came. The temperatures would soon reach thirty below zero. In the middle of that month, Hitler sent Paulus a message urging one last effort to complete the capture of Stalingrad. By mid-November the Russians were strong enough to undertake a major offensive.They had eleven armies, several mechanized, cavalry and tank corps, 900 tanks, 1,115 aircraft for the offensive. The were all set to destroy the German forces at Stalingrad (Hoyt 160). Generals Zhukov and Chuikov directed the defense of Stalingrad. Eremenko was also sent to command the Stalingrad front. Hitler staked more and more on Stalingrad’s capture, but Chuikov's 62 Army refused to yield. On 19 November 1942, the Russian counter-strike forces under Zhukov smashed through the Romanians and on 22 Novemb er completed their encirclement of Paulus's 6th Army.On November 23 Moscow announced triumphantly that Russian forces had a great victory in the bend of the Don, and that the Germans were now entrapped in Stalingrad. That news convulsed the world†¦ By November 28 the iron ring around Stalingrad had closed. (Hoyt 205) This was when a new deteriorating phase opened in Hitler's relations with his generals — that of his utter refusal to face the realities of defeat, of inferior sources, and of the limits to even the German Soldier’s powers of endurance and fighting skill.Hitler saw himself as an infallible military genius and blamed the incompetence and lack of willpower of his generals, or their disloyalty to their fuehrer, for all the failures of the German army on its bitter path back to Berlin in the aftermath of Stalingrad. The Russian attacks fell on weakly held sectors north and south of the city, manned mainly by Romanian forces in the north and by a mixture o f further Romanians and units of the 4th Panzer Army in the south. The Russian plan was simply to encircle all of the German forces in the Stalingrad area.The Russians soon broke through the thin defenses, particularly in the north. The 6th Army at Stalingrad was in serious danger. Decisive action at that time could have saved the situation for the Germans, however. If some units were sent north and south to hold the Russians while the bulk of the 6th army withdrew from the ruins of Stalingrad, it would have been saved. The catastrophe that finally overtook German army at Stalingrad in February 1943 stemmed largely from Hitler's refusal to sanction an early break-out before the Russian ring could be consolidated.Hitler ordered Paulus and his men to remain in Stalingrad as a forward ‘fortress' until the following spring. When the Russians closed the ring on 23 November, Paulus was cut off. General von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, the most senior of the corps commanders at Stalingrad, urg ed Paulus to withdraw without delay before escape became impossible. But Paulus, obedient to his Fuehrer, refused to listen to him. From then on the Germans descended into catastrophe slowly. On January 8 1943 the Russians sent Paulus an ultimatum, offering the alternative of honorable surrender or complete annihilation.Consulting Hitler, Paulus refused to surrender again. The Russians continued their attack. They advanced from west to east, pressing the Germans back into the city. They captured half of the pocked in the first week and then again paused to demand surrender. Again, Paulus consulted Hitler and refused. As long as there was still some hope for at least part of 6th Army breaking out, von Manstein, who commanded the relief efforts, supported Hitler in insisting that Paulus must continue to resist.By 22 January, when the Russians had captured 6th Army’s only remaining airfield, Manstein supported Paulus's request for permission to surrender, which Hitler refused. B y the end of the month, it was nearly all over for Germans. Only a few units held out until February 1. On the 2 February 1943, the momentous battle of Stalingrad came to an end.ReferencesErickson, John & Erickson, Ljubica. â€Å"Hitler Versus Stalin: The Second World War on the Eastern Front in Photographs. † London : Carlton Books, 2004.Gilbert, Martin. â€Å"The Second World War: A Complete History.† New York : Henry Holt and Company, 1989.Hayward, Joel S. A. â€Å"Stopped at Stalingrad: The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942-1943. † Lawrence, KS : University of Kansas Press, 2001.Horner, D. M. & Jukes, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Second World War (5) The Eastern Front 1941-1945. † Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 2002.Hoyt, Edwin P. â€Å"199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad. † New York : Forge Books, 1993.Zaloga, Steven & Volstad, Ronald. â€Å"The Red Army of the Great Patriotic War 1941-45† (Men-at-Arms). Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 19 84.

Building Trust through E-Commerce

Suppose I am selling merchandises online – for instance, gift items for everyone – I know exactly how to convince my prospective buyers to trust my web site. Through the concept of â€Å"Free Information for All,† I would educate my web visitors, in the simplest way possible (without giving essential information to competitors), about the process of storing their credit card information and securing it from hackers and viruses.The rationale behind â€Å"Free Information for All,† is aiming at the minds of the potential customers, to make them think, feel and believe that they know all they need to know about where their credit card information is going. Images, such as secured vaults and huge powerful computers, will be used to instill in the minds of the viewers that my web site could not be any safer. In fact it is 100% safe and error-free. As for the action steps that I would take, I will begin by advertising banners and links that features a reverse ps ychology-inspired message, â€Å"Do not trust every online shop you see.Click to find the tricks of scammers. † Then, when they’re in my web site already, they will read another message, â€Å"Trust only those who can tell you everything you need to know about your shop and your account. Experience worry-free online shopping. † The second step is for me to make good on my word. Eventually, I will post â€Å"Testimonials† from the marketing department and from real people with pages in My Space. This will create a crisp, friendly feel in the website, and it will convince more people that my business and services are no hoax.The final step is just to ensure that my customers will enjoy a 24/7 customer support online and via toll-free number. Customers love to be pampered. I will pamper my customers, make them trust me, and make them go back to my store, with their friends in tow. Survey source: Safety in Numbers. June 25, 2002. The Resource for Security Exe cutives. November 10, 2006. .

An Analysis and Evaluation of Rep.Tammy Baldwin's Respect for Marriage Research Paper

An Analysis and Evaluation of Rep.Tammy Baldwin's Respect for Marriage Act - Research Paper Example If arguing from a utilitarian standpoint, I will be able to prove that the Baldwin’s decision to push for the Respect for Marriage Act is in fact a morally good decision. I will be able to do this despite rebuttals from the critics of utilitarianism and the proponents of Kantian ethics. The issue of same-sex marriage has always been a moral issue in the United States, as well as in the rest of the world. In the United States, despite the American Psychiatric Association declaring in 1973 that homosexuality is not a disease (â€Å"Facts about Homosexuality,† UCDavis), religious and conservative groups in the country have maintained their stance on homosexuality despite the fact that European countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as neighboring Canada, have instituted same-sex marriages (Robinson). Despite the fact that the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia have already begun issuing m arriage licenses to same-sex couples, 37 states are still under the Defense of Marriage Act (â€Å"Same-Sex Marriage,† NCSL). This means that the majority of the states, as well as the federal government, still do not recognize the sanctity and legality of same-sex marriages even in those states that allow such kind of marital union. This is where Wisconsin Representative Tammy Baldwin comes in and her Respect for Marriage Act. This bill, which is sponsored by 108 members of the Congress (â€Å"Openly-Gay,† NPR.org), is, according to Baldwin, the answer to the â€Å"unconstitutional† and â€Å"un-American† Defense of Marriage Act (â€Å"Openly-Gay,† NPR.org). The Respect for Marriage Act, if enacted, will repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and will restore the rights of same-sex marriage couples to receive the benefits of marriage as prescribed by federal law. Another purpose of the bill is for same-sex marriages in the states that institute them t o be recognized by the federal government as well as the other states that do not institute such a type of marriage (â€Å"Respect for Marriage Act,† HRC.org; â€Å"Political Positions†). In fact, the bill was re-introduced in Congress on March 16, 2011 (â€Å"Respect for Marriage Act,† HRC.org). Representative Baldwin, who is one of the staunch defenders of the bill and one of the six representatives who reintroduced it in Congress (â€Å"Respect for Marriage Act,† Okeq.org), pushes for the approval of the bill with determination and conviction perhaps due to the fact that she herself is openly gay (â€Å"Openly-Gay,† NPR.org). The fact that Baldwin is homosexual herself may somehow account for her purely altruistic motives in pushing for the bill, whereas the heterosexual congressmen who cosponsor the bill may somehow do it only for hidden political agendas. Baldwin, however, may actually be motivated to do it purely for the sake of all her gay f ellows. With around 9 million gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, adults in the United States who are ready to benefit from the institution of the act (â€Å"New Research,† The Williams Institute), the question now is whether this decision of Representative Baldwin is morally good or not. Based, however, on a recent Pew poll survey, 45% support same-sex marriage and 46% oppose it (â€Å"Respecting,† LA Times). This data is hopefully representative of the currently 310.5 million Americans (Schlesinger, USNews).

Motel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motel - Essay Example In the report, there is a summary of the issues that cropped up in the scoping process, some of which need to be addressed in the full AEE. Some of the relevant issues for consideration include environmental impacts such as pollution, legal considerations and accessibility. In case of any queries, kindly contact the person undersigned. Sincerely, _____________ Department Manager, Engineering Section. Development of the waterfront hotel in Dunedin: Scoping Report Introduction Purpose and need The scoping process is necessary for identification of various issues such as land, conflicts the environment, ecological issues, cultural issues, health issues and social issues. In order to have a viable scoping report, it was essential that various public meetings were held. The scoping process is more so important in that it identifies all the relevant issues. Such issues stem from the introduction of information or some changes in circumstances. Addressing of the environmental impacts is als o essential due to various concerns that may arise. It can also be relevant to address that might need realignment due to new information. Planning area The proposed project is the building of a 27 storey, five star hotels on an unused section of industrial land. This land is located near Dunedin at 41 Wharf St. This report will be a documentation of the scoping process for the development of the hotel. The scoping report will include the process and an overview of issues realized in the scoping process. Scoping process and limitations Being the first stage in any planning process, scoping largely involves public input in the identification of issues, provision of the requisite resources and any other information, and development of criteria for the planning process. This process is required for the development of an EIS for determination of the scope of issues related to the proposed feat lime the building of the hotel. With such, issues relevant for the management of the area are identified, including those that call for more considerations. This process requires a lot of public input. There were some limitations, however, that came up in the scoping process for the building of the waterfont hotel. Public involvement was limited by the time scheduled for scoping. In order to have a fully representative report, it was essential that the process was accorded more time, for more involvement of the public. Discussion of issues Environmental impacts Among the key considerations the constructors must make include the effects of the facility on the environment. The environment is a primary factor that every construction project must make. Pollution may result either from the construction process or from the completed structure. The constructor must thus consider such with the view of minimizing the effects of pollution. The site for the construction of the twenty seven-story hotel is an unused park. This implies that the park that overlooks a water body is idle thu s open for development. However, people live in the area around the park in both private and public formal settlement structures. The height of the perceived structure demands a deeper foundation. The presence of a water body just within the land may imply that it is a wetland a feature that may affect depth of the foundation thus the height of the hotel by extrapolation. The architecture must consider

Partners in Hiring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Partners in Hiring - Essay Example The recruiter must then evaluate how relevant the requirements really are. It must also be understood what the expectations from the new employee are and what skills he or she must possess. These must be well communicated to the manager so that he or she can create the perfect candidate profile. The hiring manager must then be explained how to carry out the interview, how to analyze resumes, and how to ask questions about ambiguous phrases such as â€Å"involved in† to get a deeper insight into the candidate. Also the hiring manager must be able to assess responses to questions effectively. Hiring managers must be told not to simply believe what the resume says. For instance, â€Å"good communication skills† need not necessarily mean that the candidate’s communication skills are good enough for the position. Companies should make it a point to test candidates on communication skills through written and oral tests, and must be made to give a short presentation to test their presentation skills as well. Also, personality should be judged following a requirement checklist and should not, merely, be based on personal preferences. Giving managers long forms and brochures to read up on is not the best idea. Chances are, all the reading materials would end up going on top of the shelf and never be opened again. The fact is, managers do not have time to read the forms, brochures, and other materials. Staffing decisions should never be made in a hurry. Staffing requires a lot of costs in terms of training, scheduling, paperwork, background checks, and many more. To make all these costs worthwhile, it must be ensured that due time and importance is given to the hiring process and more focus is given to long term hiring instead of just filling in the

The straightforward claim 'I broke the law but there would have been Essay

The straightforward claim 'I broke the law but there would have been worse consequences had I obeyed the law will not in itself lead to an acquittal(Quayle [2 - Essay Example ce (1) the Court of Appeal held that, a persons consent is irrelevant and cannot prevent criminal liability for an offence if actual bodily harm was intended and/or caused, subject to some exceptions. This strict rule was based on the view that it is not in the public interest that people should try to cause, or should cause, each other actual bodily harm for no good reason. The Court of Appeals views were applied the House of Lords in R v Brown and Others (2). There are some exceptions to this defense like reasonable surgical interference, a properly conducted game or sport, and tattooing and ear-piercing. A person can validly consent to the risk of being unintentionally harmed. In R v Aitkin and Others (3) the victims participation in practical jokes played on RAF companions was accepted as evidence suggesting that he too could become a victim and consented to this. The definition of the Duress well mentioned in the case Attorney-General v Whelan (4) that the threats of immediate death or serious personal violence so great as to overbear the ordinary powers of human resistance should be accepted as a justification for acts which would otherwise be criminal. The defense must be based on threats to kill or do serious bodily harm. If the threats are less terrible they should be matters of mitigation only . In DPP for N. Ireland v Lynch (5), it was held that the law would not regard threats to a persons property as a sufficient basis for the defense. Here the immediate threat should be in such a nature that it is to be operated upon the accused at the time that the crime was committed. In R v Hudson and Taylor (6), it was held that it was always open to the crown to shown that the defendants had not availed themselves of some opportunity to neutralize the threats, and that this might negate the immediacy of the threat, regard had to be had to the age and circumstances of the accused. But it is to be remembered that a defendant who joins a criminal

Criminology Report- The August 2011 Public Disorder-an analysis of the Essay

Criminology Report- The August 2011 Public Disorder-an analysis of the data on those bright before the courts - Essay Example The data presented in the filing fails to command authenticity and as the bulletin reports, the use of it should be under the understanding of its potential flows and is only viewed as approximations. The most observable features of the data as presented is the rounded off figures which therefore confirms the approximate nature of the data. The data presented covers factual records on court hearing data, data on ethnicity as well as age and gender and data on case classifications on area among others. Moreover, the distribution of the court proceedings between the court systems across the country is in record within the data presented. Nevertheless, it would be pointed out that the data presented fails to authoritatively quantify the number of offenders involved in each act of offence as was committed during the time. It is however acknowledged that the data presented was collected/retrieved from the administrative records as official statistics. This implies that though with the pos sible shortcomings pointed out in the discussion, the data can be used for research purposes as secondary data by the virtue of being official statistics. The report shows that the public violence involved many people who had disparities in age, gender and motives (Dodd, 2011). The report notes that on the basis of age, the public disorder involved 27% juveniles (aged between 10 and 17 years), 26% were aged 18-18 years while only an approximate of 5% of the offenders were above 40 years by age. In comparison with the age distribution of offenders previously convicted in similar offences in 2010, great disparities were observed from the 2011 statistics, majorly being on the numbers of offenders. Amongst 3103 defendants who faced initial trials in London magistrate courts, 27% were juveniles while the remaining 73% were adults. It is however to be noted that this was only 72% of the total accused persons because others

Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Inequality - Essay Example It should be realized that every individual possesses different levels of skills ad capabilities. In order to become better leaders, it is important for the individual to grow and develop their emotional intelligence in order to manage people better. The need to cultivate emotional intelligence arises out of several needs (Goleman, 65). The case provides an analysis in which an individual is able to be self-aware and recognize the emotions as they occur around him. As John improves in EQ, he is able to understand himself better and the people he manages in the organization greatly depend upon him. More importantly, his social life improves drastically due to the self-awareness. This is certainly an important skill for all leaders as it enables them to discover and understand their skills, strengths and weaknesses. Such leaders are able to understand the emotions of their workers and therefore treat them in the most appropriate way. The result of such awareness is an improvement in the overall performance in the organization. From the case, it is seen that John eventually manages to stay aware of his feelings and those of his senior regarding his performance in the organization. He realizes that despite the fact that he is a good performer in his field, he still needs to horn his management skills. It is basically a question of managing emotions and clearly understanding the wider picture in the whole organization (Goleman, 23). At the end, it is seen that John cannot simply rush into decisions but will clearly manage his emotions and make the most appropriate decision. For leaders, emotional management is a vital aspect and should be greatly valued. A leader should know how to balance situations and counsel his subjects without showing any inappropriate emotions in the process. In such a case, the leader will earn and maintain their respect from the subjects. In the case of John, many workers are free to consult him on various issues as a result of

English Legal System - Court Observation Visit Essay

English Legal System - Court Observation Visit - Essay Example Courts play a vital role in ensuring that justice prevails at all levels of the nation. There are various types of courts that a state installs, each of which is charged with specific duties and responsibilities in line with its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Justice in England is a specific law enforcing unit in the country. Dispute resolution in relation to high end cases is the sole role of the court. Cases dealt with by the court are referred to it as the court of last resort. Among all appeal courts in the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court of Justice is the highest. Middlesex Guildhall, Westminster is the location where the Supreme Court in England is situated. The building that houses the court is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament. The location was agreed upon after intensive deliberations that finally concluded that the court’s current location was informed by United Kingdom’s constitutional change. Court Visited and Observed The court observat ion visit took place in England, with the court visited being the Supreme Court of Justice in England. The visit took place on the 18th of June, 2012. Specifically the observation took place in court 1, from 10:30 am. Proceedings in the Court At the time of the visit, the case that was being handled was KM (Zimbabwe) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) (Elliot, 2009, p.36). The case had been previously determined but KM went ahead to appeal following his dissatisfaction with the previously passed judgement. KM was seeking asylum in the United Kingdom1. He is a Zimbabwean citizen, aged 54 years. His primary reason to seek for asylum followed the belief that he would be persecuted upon going back to his home country since he had failed to be loyal to Mugabe’s regime. His claim had been previously refused, thereby being required to return to his country. Although he appealed to the decision that required him to leave the United Kingdom, the tribunal that was hearing the case dismissed the appeal. This was in the year 2009; six years after KM entered the United Kingdom. The court proceedings on the 18th of June, 2012 accounted for the above, with the Supreme Court of Justice hearing KM’s appeal following the asylum denial. The Secretary of State representing the United Kingdom’s Home Department was accounting for KM’s stay in the United Kingdom. He had been previously required to leave the United Kingdom for up to six months, with an allowance to re-enter as a visitor (Zander, 2007, p.89). KM’s claims were regarded vague and without critical evidence. The appellate court, however, did not rule out the possibility of underlying risks to KM given the fact that his son had successfully been granted asylum in the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court made considerations to have the case remitted to the tribunal for critical evaluation and assessment of KM’s case with regard how credible his a rgument was in the filed appeal. Parties Involved A number of parties were involved in the case. The first party was the appellant. The appellant in this case is KM. On the other hand there is the respondent. The Secretary of State for the Home Department of the United Kingdom (Bailey, Ching and Taylor, 2007, p.47) was the respondent, and the second party. The third party was the jury and the legal system in the United Kingdom. The case was based on some operational immigration laws that are enforced by the United

Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thomas Hobbes Leviathan - Essay Example This essay stresses that coping with the state of nature for both the artificial and natural human requires adaptability in coping with interactional challenges, in addition to moral challenges. Nature is considered sovereign as it is the art of God’s creation and governing of the world. Interaction with nature, therefore, requires some adaptability and coping skills for both the natural and artificial man. The artificial and the natural humans must adhere to certain conditions provided by the natural law for easier interaction and/or coping. Hobbes describes the artificial human or commonwealth as sovereign over the natural man, contrary to the fact that the natural man is considered sovereign over other artificial things. This paper makes a conclusion that the statement is misguiding due to the clear relationship between the divine, civil and natural laws. The natural law is all-inclusive to the human species, with God as the sovereign power or authority. The moral law of nature provides the human with character transformation and adaptability, happiness, virtues, and the imperatives and moral obligation of good and evil, for the good of the human. Hence, there is a clear difference and distinction between natural justice and the legal conventions of both the natural and artificial man. The critics to Hobbes’ work, such as Gauthier, are a clear indication of the discrepancies and contradictions in his work, and lack reliable evidence to support his conclusions and perceptions on the natural law.

Classroom Scenarios Essay Example for Free

Classroom Scenarios Essay Mrs. Ross has her fourth grade students move their desks together into groups of 2 to do a group activity. She instructs them to pair with anyone they choose. Teresa raises her hand, â€Å"I don’t want to pair with Megan again because she doesn’t do any of the work. Can I have someone else? † Megan who is soft-spoken just looks down at the floor as the class waits for the teacher’s response. Mrs. Ross asks Teresa and Megan to come with her outside and instructs the class to carry on with the activity. 1. What level of mutual respect exists between students and the teacher in this scenario? How did mutual respect affect the classroom dynamics? How would you improve mutual respect in this classroom? A high level a mutual respect exists between students and the teacher in this scenario. Mrs. Ross had to trust the students at least a little bit in order for her to believe they could handle moving their desks around to do group work. Teresa showed respect for Mrs. Ross by raising her hand to properly voice her concern about her partner. Not only did she raise her hand, but she respected and trusted the teacher enough to feel safe expressing her feelings. Although soft-spoken, Megan could have found some way to negatively reply to what Teresa said. However, I believe she respected Mrs. Ross enough to know she could trust her to act in a fair and kind manner, so Megan waited quietly for her response. Mrs. Ross showed respect for the two girls when she asked them to come with her outside. She didn’t just ignore the issue or thoughtlessly assign another partner for Teresa. Mrs. Ross took the time to acknowledge their thoughts and feelings in private where she could assess the situation better without putting either of the girls on the spot. Finally, Mrs. Ross showed respect for the class when she trusted them to carry on with the activity while she stepped out of the class with Megan and Teresa. The class showed respect for Mrs. Ross by continuing to work while she steps outside the classroom for a moment. Mutual respect affected the whole classroom dynamic in a positive way. There was a feeling of cooperative learning. I am pleased with the high level of mutual respect shown in the classroom and find no need for improvement. 2. How well did the teacher handle herself in the scenario? What student-teacher interactions worked well and what did not work? How would you handle the situation? The teacher handled herself very well in this scenario. She could have chosen to react immediately to Teresa’s comment with disappointment and frustration, but instead she calmly asked the two girls to come with her outside. She even thought of the rest of the class and took the time to instruct them so they weren’t left hanging while she went out with Teresa and Megan. Teresa raised her hand, but did not wait to be called on before calling out to the teacher. It was good that she felt safe enough to express her concerns, but not good that she made Megan feel badly in front of the class. I hope, if I was a teacher given the same situation, that I would be able to handle myself in a similar manner. I would want Teresa to know in front of the class that she is to wait until she’s called on to speak, but discussing the rest of the details in front of the class would only put Megan even more in the spotlight and add to her discomfort. 3. What, if any, communication roadblocks are evident in this classroom? How could you remove the communication roadblocks? How would you communicate with the students to resolve this situation? I could not see any communication roadblocks in this classroom. It appears to me that the teacher communicated well with the students, and the students felt comfortable communicating with the teacher. To resolve this situation, I would remind Teresa specifically, as well as the class in general, to raise their hands and then wait to be called on before speaking. I would also ask my class to pay attention to all the instructions. The instructions Mrs. Ross gave told students they could choose their own partner. There was never a need for Teresa to comment on not wanting to be Megan’s partner as Mrs. Ross had already told students to pick their own partner. 4. What conflicts did you observe in this classroom? What conflict resolution methods could you use to resolve the conflicts in this classroom? Are there any peer mediation methods that you could use in this scenario? The conflict in the classroom was between Teresa and Megan. To resolve the conflict I would bring the two students together and have them work cooperatively on the issue with my guidance. I would want both students to feel free to speak their mind, feel listened to, and feel that they are an important part of the solution. I would want them to understand that they both need to be respectful, listen to each other, and try to understand the others’ point of view. As part of the process I would also expect them to work together to come to an agreement they both feel good about. I would not use peer mediation methods in a fourth grade class. 5. What changes would you make to help this classroom become more of a community? Why would developing this classroom into a community be important? I don’t see any changes I would make, but something I would talk to the class about to make the classroom become more of a community would be respect. I would plan a mini lesson on respect and how we treat others for another day. It would be important to help the class develop into a community because community members care about each other, look out for each other, and help each other when needed. I would want my class to work together cooperatively and build a positive learning environment where everyone would feel valued. Tenth Grade Classroom Scenario The bell has rung and Mr. Dunn’s tenth grade math class has settled into their seats. â€Å"Good morning! Let’s begin by having everyone pass their homework to the front of the class. † Tom walks into class 5 minutes late. Mr. Dunn asks, â€Å"Tom, do you have your homework? † Tom looks down at the floor when he answers, â€Å"No, I didn’t finish it. † Mr. Dunn asks, â€Å"Why not? You knew it was due today, right? † Tom just shrugs. Mr. Dunn asks the rest of the class, â€Å"Who else did not turn in their homework today? † Pamela did not do her homework, but is afraid to raise her hand. Mr. Dunn says, â€Å"Good job, class! I appreciate everyone who worked hard to get their work turned in on time. † Daniel chimes in, â€Å"Which is everyone except Tom! † The class laughs. Tom angrily gets out of his chair and storms out of the room as he says, â€Å"I’m sick of this stupid class. † 1.What level of mutual respect exists between students and the teacher in this scenario? How did mutual respect affect the classroom dynamics? How would you improve mutual respect in this classroom? There exists no mutual respect between the students and the teacher. Mr. Dunn’s only attempt at positive enforcement was telling the class â€Å"good job to those who did turn in their homework†. While this seems like praise to those who complied, those who didn’t are left feeling like failures. By Mr. Dunn singling Tom out and embarrassing him, he created a classroom of disrespect and the other students felt free to tease and laugh at Tom. Tom will now view Mr. Dunn as being indifferent if not an enemy and other students may fear if they do anything wrong they will be chastised and humiliated as well. We can see this playing out in the case of Pamela feeling afraid to admit she didn’t do her homework either. Students will not thrive in an environment where they do not feel comfortable and safe and where they risk public ridicule by their peers for not doing their work. To encourage mutual respect teachers should never single out a student in front of the class, but rather talk with him privately at a later time such as after class or when students are busy working. Before making any decisions about consequences for late work seek to understand the reason the student failed to follow through. Show concern and understanding when they are facing difficulties at home or otherwise. Use encouragement rather than negative words and discuss ways you can help them, such as creating a study plan. Make mutual respect a classroom rule that is enforced by consequences for violation. Never allow students to laugh at or embarrass another classmate or group of classmates. 2. How well did the teacher handle himself or herself in the scenario? What student–teacher interactions worked well and what did not work? How would you handle the situation? The teacher did not handle himself well in this situation. The student-teacher interactions were negative and the students were not willing to admit difficulties or problems to the teacher. None of the interactions described worked well. Tom left class because it was so negative. The teacher should handle this situation by having in place a policy for tardiness. The teacher should not waste time bringing attention to tardy students. Students should know what to do when they enter a classroom even if they are tardy. One way to handle tardiness – especially for older students like these ones is to have a required slip students must fill out when they are tardy explaining the reason. They should then have a place they put slips for the teacher to look at later. There should also be a policy for not having homework completed. If the teacher setup these policies at the beginning of the year he would not need to say anything when a student walks in late, the student would know what to do. The teacher put Tom on the spot by singling him out in front of his classmates, and then showed further disrespect by asking him why he didn’t do his homework. It is unnecessary to ask â€Å"you knew it was due today, right? † This statement doesn’t help the situation and is only demeaning to Tom. Most likely he knew the assignment was due and if he had forgotten he would have remembered as soon as Mr. Dunn asked for them. He should not dwell on something Tom cannot go back and remedy. The appropriate thing would be to talk to Tom privately and ask if he is having trouble remembering his assignments. He should show care and concern by offering to help Tom get organized and devise a way to remind himself to do the work. This teacher did not even take the time to find out why Tom had forgotten his homework. He may have had a very good reason in which case Mr. Dunn should consider allowing Tom to make it up. If Mr. Dunn had handled himself appropriately, Tom would not have been so upset as to get up and leave the classroom. Students should not be left feeling worthless and disrespected. 3. What, if any, communication roadblocks are evident in this classroom? How could you remove the communication roadblocks? How would you communicate with the students to resolve this situation? There were several communications roadblocks in place in this classroom. The biggest problem is that the teacher and students had no respect for each other. As stated before, if a teacher models respect for his students and sets in place policies for behavior and academics, his students have clear expectations and are more likely to respect one another. This saves teachers time having to deal with problems as they arise. After the rest of the class has received necessary instruction and direction, the teacher should talk privately with Tom about tardiness and missing homework. The teacher should take time to listen and allow Tom to maintain his dignity. 4. What conflicts did you observe in this classroom? What conflict resolution methods could you use to resolve the conflicts in this classroom? Are there any peer mediation methods that you could use in this scenario? The main conflicts in this classroom are created by the teacher. The teacher publicly humiliated a student in front of the class because he was late and did not turn in his homework. The teacher also created an environment where it is ok to belittle your classmates. To resolve the conflict the teacher should talk to Tom individually and apologize for the way he handled the situation. Mr. Dunn should let Tom see that teachers make mistakes too and that they should not be exempt from apologizing. He should address Tom’s homework including why Tom didn’t finish it and what plan they can come up with that would help Tom remember in the future. He should then talk with the entire class and admit his mistake, emphasizing the rules of mutual respect. He should remind the class it is inappropriate to make fun of or embarrass a fellow student. There is not any real need for peer mediation with the students if the teacher is more respectful the students will be also. 5. What changes would you make to help this classroom become more of a community? Why would developing this classroom into a community be important? The most effective way to create a community in the classroom is to set the tone the first day of class. Allow the students to get to know each other, have group activities and team work projects. Allow and teach students to respect individual differences and celebrate the multitude of talents and cultural practices among classmates. When students feel like they are part of a group they perform better in school, are supported by their peers to do well and do not miss as much school; learning in this environment can be enjoyable and fulfilling. Students should learn to help and encourage one another. Set specific rules that the whole class can decide on together. Ask students what they think a caring, respectful classroom looks like. Brainstorm class rules with them and have them vote on which ones they feel are the most important. Have the students sign their names to a pledge that they will abide by the rules and work together to make the class a nice place to be. Enforce consequences of violation of these rules with consistency. Never put students down or make them feel incompetent – especially in front of others. Listen to students’ needs and treat them with respect if that is what you expect from them. Emphasize promoting positive behaviors rather than fixing negative ones. Help students learn moral values and develop a good work ethic rather than doing things simply because they are told. Rather than punishing for poor behavior, look for ways to correct problems by discussing consequences and choices.

Higher Education In Promoting Cyber Entrepreneurship Commerce Essay

Higher Education In Promoting Cyber Entrepreneurship Commerce Essay 1.The Higher Education (HE) sector has become a popular feature of many areas of business and management research. Specifically, the interest of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurships associated with business development and considers what role higher education has play within these environments. 2. Education is a long continuous process in life. Students basically need to spend at least 6 years in primary school and another 4 to 6 years in secondary school before they can go for employment or continue their study in higher education. 3. In pursuing their education, most of them will be awarded with scholarships or education loan from government body or from any other financial institutions. 4. Student with clear objective will usually get through the education process. At the same time we should also realize the fact that some students will end up half way due to financial constrain, academic failure, lack of motivation, no clear objective, etc 5. Another problem faced by students, normally is job opportunity, long wait and queue to be employed. Parents seems facing dilemma whether to send their children to college without any job promising prospect, or to let them to work in order to reduce or minimize financial constrain. Hansads Reports from Malaysian Parliament shows there were great concerned among the members of the parliament regarding entrepreneurship program in Malaysian Heis is as follows: 6. Global unemployment rate is showing an increasing trend. Many factors contributed to the phenomena. This issues can be viewed from two perspective, which is global view and micro view. 7. From the global view, unemployment rate is contributed by many aspect such as collapse of the global economic system, recession, reduce in demand etc. The micro view claimed that unemployment rate contributed by external factors such as: attitudes, un ability to compete in the job market etc. 8. Reports from Bank Negara reveal that total population in Malaysia in the year 2007 were approximately 27.17 Million. Out of it, the total population for Malaysian age between 15-64 years were reported at about 17.62 M or 65% of the total population. http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=111 9.In year 2007 there were 3.516 M student age between 17 23 years. Out of that as many as 351,585 students pursue their study in higher education and apparently 210,950 graduates enter the job market. http://www.mohe.my/web_statistic_pdf_2008_05/indicator-6-13.pdf 10.There is no specific data on numbers of unemployment. Some claim that the unemployment numbers is between 50000 to 80 000. The closes reliable data released shows that out of 17.24 M the unemployment rate were 3.5 % 60,340 http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=111 11.Entrepreneurship is being seen as a vital source of competitiveness and the engine for economic growth and development. According to (Nabi, G., Holden. R, 2008). Entrepreneurship activities among the graduatse in Higher Education are one of the key to unlock the unemployment problem among the graduate. (European Commission, 1998) suggested that comprehensive action to encourage entrepreneurship among the graduates is increasingly being recognized by political and economy bodies as one of the keys to unlock greater comparative in employment opportunity. 12.DR.22.03.2007 Ministry of Entrepreneur organizing program scheme for unemployment graduate. Among others program outline are: Graduate Entrepreneur program Graduate Franchise Program Techno-proneur program Incubator graduate program 13. DR.01.07.2008 Some members of parliament argued, without proper program, Heis will produce low quality graduate which will cost more problem to the nation and government should encourage entrepreneurship spirit and find ways to commercialize the creativity and innovative ideas among the graduate 14. E-commerce on the other hand offers an opportunity for students at college level to become entrepreneur and start business with minimum capital without ignoring the education. This method or channel of business would offer unlimited potential. 15. With the government backup such as incentives and assistance, those who venture or start this model of e-commerce can grow fast and big, with unlimited potential customers. There is a hope and belief that if students were exposed to e-commerce they can be guided to be more organized, more focus and self finance, thus achieve financial freedom and since the e-commerce setup is virtual , when they complete their study, they can take their business on their own without associating with the prior e-commerce model 16.Many researchers suggest that Higher Institutions should place to boost up the entrepreneurial spirit. (Kirby, 2002; David, 2006) identify the universities is the place where knowledge is developed, transformed and practice. Higher Education in Malaysia 17.There has been an increasing number of Malaysia in search of tertiary education in recent years. Therefore a comprehensive higher education plan should first be prepared so that the expansion and development of higher education will be in line with the aims of the Ninth Malaysian Plan (MP9). Specifically, private universities in Malaysia need a structure their tertiary master plans by analyzing the needs and objectives of prospective academics. 18.One aspect of an ideal educational objective is that it continues to produce university graduates with a high capability of becoming valuable parts of the countrys human resources in all areas. Thus, this objectives need to be sympathetic to the current development of Malaysia, they should also be able to continue contributing to the building of Malaysia into a quality nation. 19.The Malaysian government also needs to match this ideal objective with its existing resources, and if the resources are not sufficient, efficient and intact, the objective will need to be revised; for example, by allocating appropriate personnel to appropriate responsibilities, training the individuals efficiently, taking a fresh look at the structure of higher education bodies, and revising the higher education process to continuously improve it. In the context of the advanced developing nations, Malaysia has set a good example by coping with any problems and challenges that have arisen as it expands its higher education (Hussin, 2004). At the time of independent in 1957, Malaysia had only one university. Now it has increased to 20 public universities and 18 private universities (until 2007) that also offer excellent academic services. This has reflects that for developing nations education is the main component for nation growth. 20.In general, higher education institutions can be categories into two major components the Public and Private Universities. These universities run undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and also offer diplomas and matriculations for undergraduate programmes. The public universities are universities that are fully controlled and funded directly by the federal government and public sector (Selvaratnam, 1992). There are currently twenty public universities in Malaysia, established between 1962 and 2007. All this universities offering various disciplines namely UM, USM, UKM, UTM, UPM, UUM, UNIMAS, UMS, UPSI, UiTM, USIM, UDM, UMT, UTeM, UTHM, UniMAP, UMP, UMK, UPNM, and IIUM. 21.On the other hand, private universities in Malaysia vary from the universities that are supported by government business agencies (e.g. Multimedia University of Malaysia, National Power University of Malaysia, Petroleum National University of Malaysia), to those supported by political parties in the present government alliances (e.g. University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), an education arm of the Malaysian Chinese Association, a political party). In addition, there are also some branch campuses of foreign universities here (e.g. the campuses of Monash University and the University of Nottingham). There are also numbers of local private universities own by individual owners. In brief, there are sixteen private universities at this moment, catering to a high demand for the tertiary education in Malaysia. Higher education also consists of nearly five hundred private colleges to support this demand from a rapidly developing country. Details of the private universities and years of estab lishments (see table 1.1). 22. Table 1.1: Private Universities in Malaysia Bil University Year established 1 Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) 2000 2 University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) 1999 3 Universiti multimedia (MMU) 1999 4 Universiti Industri Selangor 2001 5 Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia (MUST) 2000 6 Universiti Terbuka Malaysia (UNITEM) 2001 7 Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) 2002 8 International Medical University (IMU) 2001 9 Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 2002 10 Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) 2000 11 University Terbuka Wawasan (WOU) 2005 12 University Antarabangsa Al Bukhari (AIU) 2006 13 Monash University Malaysia (MUM) 2000 14 University of Nottingham in Malaysia (UNiM) 2000 15 Curtin University of Technology Sarawak (CUTS) 2000 16 Swinburne University of Technology (SUT) 2004 17 Asia e-University (AeU) 2007 18 Al Madinah International University (MEDIU) 2007 Source: Ministry of Higher Education, 2008 (www.mohe.gov.com). 23.There were twelve private universities, two virtual universities and branch campuses of four foreign universities, as until 2007. The private universities have been vested with the right to award their own degrees at all levels, and the foreign universities award identical degree programs as at the host university. This will obviously mean that academic staff numbers must have increased. Table 1.2 shows the total number of academics staff according their qualification from the year 2001 until 2007. The data show that huge demands for academics. 24. Table 1.2: Number and Qualification of Academics in Private Universities (2001 2007) Degree/Years 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 PhD 235 767 868 1,030 1,338 1,463 1,070 Masters 2,016 3,919 4,744 5,958 5,344 6,077 6,846 Bachelor 5,108 7,231 7,030 6,753 5,887 6,601 7,754 Diploma 1,050 2,475 1,539 1,070 867 877 1,811 Total 8,409 14,392 14,181 14,811 13,436 15,018 18,081 Source: Ministry of Higher Education, 2007 (www.mohe.gov.com) 25. The programmes offered based on the field of study in private institutions of higher learning (IHls) includes social sciences programmes, science and technology programmes and technical and vocational programmes. Since establishment of the private universities ministry shows, that private IHLs offered more social science programmes rather than science and technical programmes. There are reasons for this. First, private universities have found by individuals or organizations. Therefore, they faced financial instability to offer more technical and science based programmes. Second, social science programmes required less capital, equipment, land and manpower to operate and maintenance. Finally, the demand for social science programmes is very huge due to educational policy which focuses on art stream in 1970s and 1980s. Consequent of this, more social sciences programmes becomes choices for young generation. Table 1.3 shows the details of the programmes offered by private IHLs. Table 1.3: Programmes offered based on field of study by private universities Programmes offered / Years 2004 2005 2006 2007 Social sciences programmes 716 817 850 620 Science and technology programmes 382 439 449 357 Technical and vocational programmes 166 194 189 140 Total 1,264 1,450 1,489 1,117 Source: Ministry of Higher Education, 2007 (www.mohe.gov.com) 26. The development of the higher education sector in Malaysia, consisting of public and private institutions, looks encouraging when considering the increasing number of institutions in recent years, but this does not mean that the demand for tertiary education in Malaysia is fulfilled. From the Nine Malaysian Plan (2006-2010) has focused to achieve the target of 40 per cent enrolment rate of the age group 17-23 years in 2010. 27. According to (King, 2003), there were not many research that focuses on graduate careers in a non-traditional context specifically graduate entrepreneurial careers in terms of entrepreneurial intentions and developmental experiences. More research needed in this area with the increasing numbers of students considering or pursuing entrepreneurial careers (Robertson and Wilkinson, 2006; Harding, 2007; Holden et al., 2007) and the diverse range of contexts in which graduates pursue an entrepreneurial career. 28. Secondly, there is a large body of research on entrepreneurship in general (Bridge et al., 2008; Henry et al., 2003), but much less so on graduate entrepreneurship (which as noted below has been distinguished from non-graduate entrepreneurship). 29.This is consistent with the ISBA Consortium (2004, p. 8) report conclusion that the literature is generally broad, fragmented and growing and, critically, that despite a wealth of literature from business and management and other disciplines, only a minority focus on graduate entrepreneurship (p. 10). 30.There is a continuing interest in graduate entrepreneurship intentions and attitudes thus it is important to understanding there is potentially increasing the number and sustainability of graduate start-ups. In relation to graduate start-up support, there are relatively few studies that focus on student/graduate enterprise and entrepreneurship education in varied and multiple contexts. 31.Graduate entrepreneurship (and entrepreneurship education) in a narrower perspective, also known as students/graduates who are in the process of starting up or trying to start up their own businesses and are learning skills for starting up a business 32.This is important because lessons may be learned and shared about curriculum development and the relative impact of different approaches used towards enterprise/entrepreneurship education and training Whilst accepting that there is debate around the meaning of graduate entrepreneurship (see, Nabi et al., 2006a for example), in broad terms, it can be defined as the interaction between the graduate as the product of university education and business start-up in terms of an individuals career-orientation and mindset towards self-employment 33.(European Commission, 2003; ISBA Consortium, 2004; Nabi et al., 2006a). different emphasis, definitions tend to evolve around the notion that starting up or trying to start up a business as representing an aspect of entrepreneurship (see Nabi et al., 2006a for more detailed discussion) Kirby (2004), do throw a question regarding HEs program, weather there are they trying to develop enterprising graduates or entrepreneurial graduates 34.Moreover, it is important to realize that the concept of the graduate entrepreneur is changing and evolving, and who and what constitutes a graduate entrepreneur is shifting from a skills-based agenda (looking at the tools and capabilities for start-up) to an entrepreneurial identity agenda (looking at the maturity of students/graduates, what it might be like to be a graduate entrepreneur, an understanding of themselves and the entrepreneurial lifestyle). Indeed, some of our research (Nabi et al., 2006b) and one of the papers in this special issue, by Hegarty and Jones, further addresses the notion of the graduate entrepreneur. In particular, the latter authors recommend that enterprise programmes should also focus on the aim to develop student Understanding of what entrepreneurs do, why they are important to the economy and more importantly to society. 2.3 Entrepreneurial Graduates Graduate students playing a crucial role in patterning the future of our nation. Quality student will positively contribute in ensuring the continuous sustainable growth in all aspect nation development. Not only on the economy, but also in minimizing the social problems. Current scenario shows, many social problems occurred, indirectly reflected by the quality of our graduate students. High rise of unemployed graduate, increased numbers on mental illness cases caused by social problem such as drugs trafficking, crime, etc. Student should be guided continuously and motivated. Only by motivation student will perform better in what ever there are involved. Students will do better and improved in their performance if there are crystal clear on what there are doing and what end result there are expecting. Moreover, it is important to realize that the concept of the graduate entrepreneur is changing and evolving, and who and what constitutes a graduate entrepreneur is shifting from a skills-based agenda (looking at the tools and capabilities for start-up) to an entrepreneurial identity agenda (looking at the maturity of students/graduates, what it might be like to be a graduate entrepreneur, an understanding of themselves and the entrepreneurial lifestyle). (Thomas W. Z,1994) define entrepreneur as person who creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for the purpose of achieving profit and growth by identifying opportunity and assembling the necessary resources to capitalization. There is also endless discussion around types of entrepreneurship. Reynolds et al., (2004) distinguish between opportunity entrepreneurship and necessity entrepreneurship. In this article, I would like to table for discussion on another type of entrepreneur, which is cyber entrepreneurship. According to Carrier et al., (2004) Information technology is changing the world in more prominent than any other technology in the history of mankind. European Commission, (1997) had identifies there are two types of firm using IT technology in business. First is the firm with physical presence traditional company using Internet as a new distribution channel or also said as logical extension of their traditional business. Second the dotcoms, internet startups business. With the evolvement of Internet technology and cyber world, it is very crucial for Government policy makers and HEs management to seriously considering this medium to transforming graduate into self employment. 2.5 Cyber entrepreneur There are very little research done which promoting the term cyber entrepreneurs. There were some studies which referring the technology base entrepreneur with various term such as: IT Techno-entrepreneur were derived from the word technology entrepreneur, will be interchangeably used with the word entrepreneur in order to relate that techno-entrepreneurship are the subset of entrepreneurship. (Christian S., 2009) defined cyber-entrepreneur as an individual who creates a firm that is essentially founded upon e-commerce, and whose main activities are based on the exploiting networks, using internet, intranets and extranets. Cyber entrepreneurship is still in it emergent phase and there is more to know about the phenomena and the element in venture creation process (Carrier et al., 2004; Jiwa, Lavelle. Rose, 2004; martin Wright, 2005) We can conclude the terms cyber-entrepreneurship or cyber-entrepreneur can be referred to any start-up business or any attempt to exploit the information technology for business purposes and intended to gain profit in return. Those persons who set out to be IT entrepreneurs are often seen as special, brave, strong, or else well connected to sources of start-up income beyond those that could reasonably expect to obtain. Technology entrepreneurship, the act and process of creating new, technology-intensive start-ups, is a subject of increasing importance in many parts of the world. Entrepreneurship in parts of South East Asia especially Malaysia has recently undergone rapid revitalization. (Reina et al., 2008) stressed virtual or cyber based business in general have not yet reach the required level of maturity that would leave a lasting impact on the way company conduct electronic base business. Meanwhile the term Information Technology Techno-entrepreneur arose from within Malaysian culture to describe an individual whose entrepreneurial endeavors focus on to Information Technology oriented enterprise. Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MEDC) reported in 2007 annual report, reported to adjust and strengthened it direction from increasing number of entrepreneur of entrepreneurs, to focusing on developing quality techno entrepreneurs who are at par with the international entrepreneur. 2.6 Opportunity for HEs graduate to venture into entrepreneurship Turn ball et al, (2001) find out after sitting on the entrepreneur course, students attitudes towards entrepreneurship moved from negative to neutral. And lane, 2002 suggested mentoring activity is effective in changing perception towards entrepreneur. Comprehensive study done by (National Higher Education Research Institute [IPPTN], Feb 2003) on the unemployed graduate outlined the list of suggestion to improve the unemployment graduate. The final reports which were produced in Bahasa Malaysia outlined: Expose student in HEs in self employment potential. Provide entrepreneurship infrastructure in HEs Appoint entrepreneur Counselor Provide entrepreneur fund Develop an entrepreneur curriculum Skills training for graduating students Support and involvement by HEs 2.7 How HEs can initiate a cyber entrepreneurship activities Government and policy makers as well as HEs administrators should look for possibilities on imposing cyber entrepreneurship activities to those are interested. Followed are some possible approaches can be adapt by HEs in initiating and inspiring the cyber entrepreneurship activities in Malaysian education institution. In order to create interest and increase awareness, classroom education method is not the only approaches can be used. HEs can also used the alternative methodology to promote entrepreneurship. (Alperstedt and Henrique, (2006) introduced a Business Plan Competition as a alternative teaching methodology to promote entrepreneurship. The competition was coherent with its proposal of developing the entrepreneur interest into the participant. The study carried out, does not explore the implementation possibilities the business plan or creating their own enterprise after word. This writing would like to proposed some amended entrepreneur start up model which originally proposed by (Martyn. R. and Amanda. C, 2003), together with the methodology proposed by (Alperstedt and Henrique,(2006). During the plan period, enrolment in tertiary education institutions of all levels is expected to increase to 1, 326, and 340 in 2010 with 32.3 per cent at first degree and 35.8 per cent at diploma. To cater for the projected demand for tertiary education, the public universities not capable to fulfils. Therefore the present of the private universities play an important role in fulfilling the demand and nation growth.

Cloning :: essays research papers fc

Bioethics, which is the study of value judgments pertaining to human conduct in the area of biology and includes those related to the practice of medicine, has been an important aspect of all areas in the scientific field (Bernstein, Maurice, M.D.). It is one of the factors that says whether or not certain scientific research can go on, and if it can, under which rules and regulations it must abide by. One of the most recent and controversial issues facing our society today is the idea of cloning. On February 23, 1997, Ian Wilmut, a Scottish scientist, along with his colleagues at the Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics, announced to the world that they had cloned a lamb, which they named Dolly, after Dolly Parton, from an adult sheep (Mario, Christopher).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two share the same nucleic DNA, but differ in terms of their mitochondrial DNA, which is vitally important for the regulation of the cell. The media and the press ignored this fact, and thus claimed that Dolly and her â€Å"mother† were genetically identical, which sparked a fury of outcry all around the world. The technique of transferring a nucleus from a somatic cell into an egg cell of which the nucleus had been removed, called nuclear transplantation, is an extension of research that had been ongoing for over 40 years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Up until now, scientists thought that adult cells could not be â€Å"reprogrammed† to behave like a fertilized egg and create an embryo, but the evidence obtained by Dolly’s success prove otherwise. The issues of cloning have been around for a long time, starting with the publication of Joshua Lederberg’s 1966 article on cloning in the American Naturalist, and the publics interest has been perked by many sci-fi books, films, and movies including Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel â€Å"Brave New World,† 1973’s â€Å"Sleeper,† the 1978 film â€Å"The Boys from Brazil,† and most recently, the movie â€Å"Multiplicity† (Mario, Christopher). The ethical, legal, and moral issues aroused by cloning have been raised by previous projects, and are now simply emerging again, with its focus on three major points: the shift from sexual reproduction with that of asexual replication of existing genes; the ability to predetermine the genes of a child; and the ability to create many genetically identical children (Report/Recommendations of the NBAC).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The public responded to Dolly with a mixture of fear and excitement, questioning the benefits and the disasters that could happen in the future if research was to continue. From a poll taken by Maurice Bernstein, M.D., the results showed that 72% of the votes said that cloning Cloning :: essays research papers fc Bioethics, which is the study of value judgments pertaining to human conduct in the area of biology and includes those related to the practice of medicine, has been an important aspect of all areas in the scientific field (Bernstein, Maurice, M.D.). It is one of the factors that says whether or not certain scientific research can go on, and if it can, under which rules and regulations it must abide by. One of the most recent and controversial issues facing our society today is the idea of cloning. On February 23, 1997, Ian Wilmut, a Scottish scientist, along with his colleagues at the Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics, announced to the world that they had cloned a lamb, which they named Dolly, after Dolly Parton, from an adult sheep (Mario, Christopher).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two share the same nucleic DNA, but differ in terms of their mitochondrial DNA, which is vitally important for the regulation of the cell. The media and the press ignored this fact, and thus claimed that Dolly and her â€Å"mother† were genetically identical, which sparked a fury of outcry all around the world. The technique of transferring a nucleus from a somatic cell into an egg cell of which the nucleus had been removed, called nuclear transplantation, is an extension of research that had been ongoing for over 40 years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Up until now, scientists thought that adult cells could not be â€Å"reprogrammed† to behave like a fertilized egg and create an embryo, but the evidence obtained by Dolly’s success prove otherwise. The issues of cloning have been around for a long time, starting with the publication of Joshua Lederberg’s 1966 article on cloning in the American Naturalist, and the publics interest has been perked by many sci-fi books, films, and movies including Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel â€Å"Brave New World,† 1973’s â€Å"Sleeper,† the 1978 film â€Å"The Boys from Brazil,† and most recently, the movie â€Å"Multiplicity† (Mario, Christopher). The ethical, legal, and moral issues aroused by cloning have been raised by previous projects, and are now simply emerging again, with its focus on three major points: the shift from sexual reproduction with that of asexual replication of existing genes; the ability to predetermine the genes of a child; and the ability to create many genetically identical children (Report/Recommendations of the NBAC).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The public responded to Dolly with a mixture of fear and excitement, questioning the benefits and the disasters that could happen in the future if research was to continue. From a poll taken by Maurice Bernstein, M.D., the results showed that 72% of the votes said that cloning

Positive Impacts of E-books Essay -- electronic books

There are a lot of sources of information which provide readings in many mass mediums such as books, encyclopedias, newspapers, brochures and many more. In line with the advanced progress of technology, readings also could be done digitally on computer screen. Up to date, electronic books or much simpler to be known as Ebooks are preferable in search of wide range of information. Referring to Viloria, (2008) â€Å"Ebooks are form of texts, pictures, video and even audio comprised into an electronic file. For instance, a document typed in Microsoft Word is one of the examples of an ebook† (p.1) They are extant in different formats for example PDF, PDA and EXE-compiled HTML format. This type of on-screen documents increasingly used because of their vast vantages compared to conventional printed textbooks. This essay which entitled â€Å"The Positive Impacts of Ebooks† explicates several impacts, which means strong effects of electronic books towards various issues. First and foremost, electronic books bring a promising impacts towards environment since they reduce the needs of trees for the purpose of printing. According to the site â€Å"Environmental Science & Technology,† (2008) â€Å" Reducing paper use does more than save trees. Pulp and paper mills are also a major source of pollution. The reason that pulp and paper mills are contributing to pollution is because they release harmful gases to atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide and particulates, which cause global warming, acid rain, smog and what worst to human, is respiratory problems.†(p.4242-4245) Scientifically, paper bleached with chlorine release dioxin, a carcinogenic substance. It is always a good idea to save the environment by recycl... ...ant, J. M. A. (2004). Are electronic books effective in teaching young children reading and comprehension? International Journal of Instructional Media, 31(3), 303. Grimshaw, S. (2007). Electronic books: Children's reading and comprehension. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 583-599. Harroff, W. (2010). E-Books Advantages Over P-Books. Charlotte Johnson. Retrieved November 15 2010 from http://faculty.mckendree.edu/william_harroff/ebe/ebook_advantages_over_pbooks.htm Nelson, M. R. (2008 March/April). E-books in higher Education: Nearing the End of the Era of Hype? Retrieve Nov 18, 2010 from ECAR Research Bulletin. www.educause.edu Stanford University Makes E-book Investment. (2007, July 6). In Book Business Magazine. Retrieved Nov 17 2010 from http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=68596&var=story.

Basketball Needs To Be Fixed Essay -- essays research papers

Basketball Needs to Be Fixed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional and college basketball have become very popular in the hearts and minds of many Americans. Millions of dollars a year are spent on apparel, tickets, and television all generated by people's love for basketball. But in the last couple of years, both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball have lost a substantial amount of their competition and have caught much criticizim for it. At the heart of this problem is a single cause, greed. The game of basketball has become all about money instead of the game and its fans. This problem needs to be addressed, and the best place to start is with the college players, or more specifically, the NBA draft. The rules and guidelines that pertain to the draft are greatly at fault for the down slide of both college and NBA basketball and they need to be changed before the game down slides into nothing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The changes that need to be made are simple, underclassmen should not be eligible for the NBA draft; or in other words, if you have years of eligibility left, you should not be eligible to be drafted by an NBA team. What problems would this solve? The answer is most problems in basketball today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, college basketball has paid greatly by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for an upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top notch players. So all of the top recruits find other schools to go to. Then, let us say that the great core of players leaves for the NBA, leaving the team with mediocre players and a horrible season to look forward to. By the next recruiting period comes around, the school's reputation has been hurt, and so has their chances of landing the top recruits. This continues until the school's once proud basketball tradition is a thing of the past. This situation is not only hypothetical, schools like UNLV, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Hous... ...ard spiral. That is how players' salaries have rose to absurd limits. No one noticed the problem while it was happening, but now that it is a problem there is no real way to fix it. In 1996, a rookie salary cap was put into effect by the NBA to put a limit on beginning salaries, so some measures are being taken. This is a start, but it is not the answer to the problem. If underclassmen were not allowed to come out early, high rookie salaries would not have to be as high, and the players would probably be more accepting of less money than most rookies are getting now, and this would help solve the all- around money problem in the NBA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the NBA and college basketball seem to be in a rut. And as stated before, they reason is the underclassmen leaving school early to make money in the NBA. So what's the solution? Easy, do not let the college players enter the NBA draft early. It would benefit everyone in the future. Of course there would be a transitional period, but the losses would be short and the effects of the change would be evident very quickly. Let the game be played the way it was meant to be played, for the competition and not for the money.

British “Raj” in India

British Raj is associated with British rule in the Indian subcontinent. The period embraces 1858-1947. The region which we call India nowadays was under the rule of the United Kingdom and was called the British Indian Empire. Great Britain started to expand its power in India in the beginning of the 1800s and in the middle India was under the full control of the British Empire. Nevertheless, India tried to rebel against expansion and the Indian Rebellion of 1857 appeared to be a turning point in the British history in Indian region.India tried to resist British rule as Britain provided their life standards which contradicted Indian way of life. For example, the British Empire provided cow fat and pork which were unacceptable for Hinduism being practiced in India. Nevertheless, the rebellion had failed and the British Empire provided a number of reforms which included recruitment of Indians into the civil service and tolerance of religion. The reforms aimed at preventing further refor ms through conciliation and to strengthen the British military.Many historians argue that the British Empire didn’t try to take full control over the Indian region, but when rebellion started to threaten British interest, it had to step in. McNamara writes that â€Å"resentment toward the British had been building for some time and new policies which allowed the British to annex some areas of India exacerbated tensions†. (McNamara, 1998) The office of the Viceroy became the first embodiment of the new British Raj in India. When Prime Minister Disraeli proclaimed Queen Victoria as â€Å"Empress of India† in 1876, the affection the British crown felt for its colony.Throughout the remainder of the 19th century the British Raj continued and was characterized by unpopular policies caused emergence of series of Indian nationalist movements. Only after 1947 India had managed to gain certain independence and sovereignty from the British Empire. In 1947 the British India n Empire was divided into the union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Bibliography McNamara, Robert. 1998. â€Å"The British Raj Defined India Throughout the 1800s†. Database on-line. Available from http://history1800s. about. com/od/thebritishempire/tp/indiatimeline01. htm