Angels in America – Essay 2

Angels in America is a play written by Tony Kushner that chronicles the disintegrating relationships of two couples. The story is set in America in the 1980s against a background of gluttony, conservatism, politics, and controversial sexuality. It is this backdrop that provides  Angels in America  with its enormity and sets it apart from other love stories. In this play, the plot is largely driven by its themes, which are viewed from different characters' perspectives as the story unfolds. Throughout the play, Kushner introduces to readers, many weighty issues. Some of these issues include: homosexuality, religion, stereotypes, race/ethnicity, denial, betrayal, and identity; each character in the play questions and grapples with at least one of these subjects. As a reader, it was particularly interesting to watch the characters struggle with the issue of stereotypes. Living in New York City during the 21st century, the gay community has had and continues to be a prominent part of society. The gay people that I have crossed paths with do not seem to be shy or ashamed of their sexual orientation. They do not hide who they are attracted to and they do not view their orientation as a sign of weakness. Due to my exposure to this, it was baffling to witness Roy’s reaction upon hearing from his doctor that he has contracted AIDS. Roy states, â€Å"Now to someone who does not understand this, homosexual is what I am because I have sex with men. But really this is wrong. Homosexuals are not men who sleep with other men. Homosexuals are men who in fifteen years of trying cannot get a pissant antidiscrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who know nobody and who nobody know. Who have zero clout. Does this sound like me, Henry? † (Kushner, 51). Although Roy may desire another man, to him desire is irrelevant. Roy only identifies with other powerful people and in his eyes, gays are powerless. Roy believes his money and status protect him from the oppression gay men face. Roy is even convinced that he can use his money to buy immunity from AIDS. Another issue that is raised by Kushner is sanity. In the play there is a character named Harper who is addicted to Valium. Throughout the play, Harper struggles and questions what sanity is. Her vivid imagination causes her to travel between reality and fantasy quite often. At one point, towards the end of Part One, Harper â€Å"travels† to Antarctica in a dream. She believes that she has found her utopia and now she can finally live in peace. Harper’s imaginary friend, Mr. Lies joins her n her journey and explains, â€Å"This is a retreat, a vacuum, its virtue is that it lacks everything; deep-freeze for feelings. You can be numb and safe here, that’s what you came for. Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions† (Kushner, 108). Harper wants to remain in her created delusion forever; her manifested utopia is a result of her inability to face reality. Because Harper is too scared to leave the confines of her home, she has created a world inside her ow n mind so that she can live there and remain in paradise forever.

Fast Food and Childhood Obesity Essay

In the past decade there has been a rise of obesity in children. I believe along with many credible sources that a lot of the reoccurring obesity problems we face with children have to do with fast food. You could almost say that fast food is kind of like a drug for kids. It is always fun to go out to eat as well as take in food that is high in calories and saturated fat. Although fast food may be a large factor in childhood obesity, it is also safe to say that it’s not the only factor. Are we placing too much blame on the fast food industry for making our kids obese, or is it our fault as parents and caregivers? Fast Food Then and Now Compared to how fast food chains functioned when they first opened and how they operate now you will see a huge difference; not only in their food selection but also in the portion sizes. For example, when McDonald’s first opened in 1955 their cheeseburger was only 1. 6 ounces and now you can get a cheeseburger for almost 8 ounces (Monte, 2008). The sizes are almost a 400 calorie increase—400 calories could be more than one whole meal for a child. Every year portion sizes are essentially getting larger and larger. A small now would have been a medium just five years ago (White, n. d. ). Not only have the portion sizes gotten larger but so has the menu. Fast food chains now have been offering smoothies, sundaes, pie slices, and even cinnamon rolls. They offer more menu options that offer more calories and saturated fats. Along with these they have also gotten better with offering some healthy options too like apples and low fat milk, but who goes to a fast food restaurant to get apples and milk? There are 3,039 possible kids’ meal combinations and out of that only 12 combinations meet the nutrition criteria for preschooler’s and 15 for all other children (Oren & Dodson, 2010). The only kind of company who would essentially poison children like that is ones who are trying to make a fast buck and that is the goal for all of these fast food companies. They don’t realize or they do and just don’t care that they are poisoning our youth and even adults. Advertisements For the past ten years or so fast food chains have been advertising to children. Kids spend more time watching TV than any other activity they do besides sleeping (Nestle, 2006). Fast food chains have taken advantage of this by placing most of their ads on programs like Nickelodeon, Disney, and even PBS. They know that if they spend millions on advertising on children networks that they will get their return on investing in them. Children see more than 32% more fast food ads on TV now than in 2003 (Oren & Dodson, 2010). In 2009, McDonald’s spent the most out of all the fast food companies on advertising to children. They spent almost 900 million dollars targeting ages 6-11. Subways was in a very far out second spending a little over 400 million dollars targeting 12-17 year olds (Harris, Schwartz & Brownell, 2010). Studies have also shown that Hispanics and African American children see more than 50% more fast food ads than white children (Oren & Dodson, 2010). With this there are more fast food chains in African American and Hispanic dominated neighborhoods. Family Statistics You can probably assume that every family in the U. S. goes to fast food restaurants on occasion but some go more than others. Studies have shown that families with lesser income are more exposed to fast food than other families who have a higher income (Block & Scribner, 2004). With the economy the way it is, much more people are making much less and this is causing more and more families to visit fast food places rather than eating at home. You can go to a fast food joint and spend ten dollars for the whole family to eat rather than spending hundreds of dollars at a grocery store. In an article I just read, less than one third of Americans are eating their meals from scratch; meaning actually cooking and serving them to their families (Voigts, 2005). This was published seven years ago—just think of where we are now! I conducted an interview with my sister, Morgan Dutton, who is an extreme fitness guru, health nut, and she also has children. I asked her what she thought about this obesity epidemic in our youth and she said, â€Å"I cannot believe all of the staggering statistics regarding kids and fast food. I am not sure why parents wouldn’t want their kids eating the healthiest food option rather than the fastest. Kids are starting to get diabetes earlier and it reduces their life span by years. Fast food is essentially killing our kids, it may be slowly but it is happening (personal communication, October 15th, 2012). † Drawing the Line So whose fault is it that our children’s generation is getting more and more obese? Should we blame it on fast food—when can we blame ourselves? As a parent I want my child to live the longest healthiest life they can live and when I take them to places like McDonald’s and Burger King I am basically poisoning their body. It may be fast food that is making them obese but isn’t it our fault for taking them there in the first place? Exposing them to that kind of food especially early on in their life is only going to make it harder for them when they get older and can make their own decisions. Conclusion Rather than placing blame for the obesity problem with our children maybe we should be taking action. You could blame fast food chains for making your kid obese or you could even blame yourself because you took them there. Parent’s need to start making better decisions on what they are putting in their kids bodies because they may outlive their own child. There are so many chemicals and toxins in fast food that people are not aware of. Fast food may be cheap and it may be fast but in the long scheme of things, it is killing our kids.

What role should the media play in a democratic society What might Essay

What role should the media play in a democratic society What might prevent the media performing this role in Britain today - Essay Example The role of the media in any democracy is a concept that dates way back to the 17th century. The media was referred to then as the fourth estate, and today is being seen more as the fourth arm of government after the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The media is being increasingly viewed as an integral part of democracy which the latter cannot function properly without (Lichtenberg, 1991, 21). The media of course refers to all the means of mass communication including the press, radio, television and lately the internet (Oxford English Dictionary). It is the means by which mass communication has been attained, sometimes instantaneously, for a long period of time. The media continues to shape dispersal of information, opinion and attitude formation today as it has done for over three centuries (Lichtenberg, 1991, 23). This paper sets out to describe the role that the media should play in a democratic society and factors that may prevent the media from playing that role in modern day Britain. The media plays the primary role of a watchdog and guardian of the public interest in the conduct of public affairs. It is also an important conduit of information between the governors and the governed (Coronel, 2010, 1). This means that there would literally be a breakdown of communication between the governors and the governed without the media. The governors have a tendency to communicate to the public only that which they believe is fit for public consumption and holding back the truth whenever it suits them. The media comes in handy in such situations to expose the information that the governor would wish to sweep under the carpet in order to avoid public disapproval or embarrassment. In this way the media performs two important basic functions (Center for Democracy, 1999, 3). The first role is to ensure that citizens make informed choices by getting access to relevant, truthful and relevant information on issues that directly or indirectly affect their li ves. This cannot be possible if they are only subjected to information the government feels it can relay to them. IF they only rely on official sources to gain access, they are likely to act on the basis of ignorance or misinformation, which inevitably leads to the wrong choices (Center for Democracy, 1999, 3). Secondly, proper conveyance of information serves as a check on leaders to watch their excesses in the form of corruption, exploitation or even crime. Officials tend to act in their self interest even if such interests go against the law and their oaths of office, if nothing is done to check their conduct. This watchdog function of the media is therefore important in ensuring that the leaders only make those decisions that are in the public interest rather than serving only their parochial whims (Center for Democracy, 1999, 3). In order to play its role effectively the media particularly focuses on important facets of governance, the economy, public education, infrastructural and social development, internal and international relations, human interest issues, public discussions, peace and consensus building and control of their own internal operations. Without balancing these important tenets, the media itself may become a victim of its own parochialism or pettiness that puts its operations within reproach (Lewis, 2005, 70). On governance the media has been known to play a great role in putting governors in constant check. This is mainly done through investigative reporting. Journalists usually do their best, sometimes at great risk to life and limb, to expose issues that are otherwise covered up by the leadership. Such issues include involvement in shady and corrupt deals (Lewis, 2005, 72). In the UK such investigations by the Telegraph in 2009 revealed the involvement of members of parliament in false cash claims of expenses and allowances to the exchequer which resulted in loses of substantial amounts of tax payers’ money (The Daily Telegraph) . This resulted in the resignation of several legislators, sackings, de-selections and

The Truth about the U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War Research Paper

The Truth about the U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War - Research Paper Example The ideologies of Marxism-Leninism provided Mao Zedong, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Stalin, Ho a shared goal in pursuing revolutionary changes all over the world. Hence, the Cold War was â€Å"a world war†¦ in which the future governance of the international system was at stake, and in which the great powers opposing the United States and its allies were the moral equivalent of Nazi Germany† (Moore & Turner 2002, 440). The war in Vietnam actually started because the USSR did not attempt to provoke the United States. Yet, in the less developed countries (LDCs), Moscow could hide its operations and still carry out its plans. The fame of Ho as a fervent supporter of independence, alongside Mao’s eagerness to support him, established Vietnam as an especially advantageous chance (Moore & Turner 2002). Therefore, this was a conflict that the Americans could barely have prevented, that is, to have stayed detached would have created a major pro-USSR repositioning in global polit ics. It is the argument of this paper that the Vietnam War is justified, yet it was dealt with in wrongly. Lyndon Johnson relied greatly on military commanders whose tactic of finding out and annihilating adversaries, rather than guaranteeing the safety of civilians, generated more fatalities than outcomes. As an obvious result, support from the Congress and the general public has weakened. Broadening the disagreement would simply have made everything more unpleasant, as, current Chinese documents reveal, Mao planned to get involved (Capps 1991). The sole possible option was for the Americans to give up the war, as stated by Jennings (2010), so as to sustain the American national political agreement in support of the Cold War. Triumph was not the issue. What was required was an attempt to prove that the Americans would protect and support its allies in the developing world, to guarantee prospective targets of the expansionist mission of Moscow that the U.S. would not leave them. However by persisting with the conflict until a total disintegration of national determination and a mortifying departure, the governments of Nixon and Ford promoted Soviet antagonism throughout the latter part of the 1970s (Neu 2005), a development repealed when Reagan reinstated the nation to a policy of rendering its dedications trustworthy once more. It is a well-known fact today that Ho, Mao, and Stalin rendezvous in 1950 in Moscow to formulate the line of attack for an ultimate occupation of Indochina (Jennings 2010). It is known that North Vietnam has better or larger support from China and USSR than assumed beforehand: the anti-aircraft squads of Russia in fact attacked American soldiers in Vietnam, and it was documented that there were roughly 170,000 combatants of China on its area (Moore & Turner 2002). It is known that the North Vietnamese were not at all actually solemn about an agreed resolution, and that their allegedly independent Viet Cong friends were actually their dummie s. It has been recounted that South Vietnamese and Americans had no control over the exercise of bloodshed (Jennings 2010): The North Vietnamese were simply as awful, and the Khmer Rouge were obviously much more dreadful. Nevertheless, some historians failed to explain why the integrity of the United States

Persecution in the early church Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Persecution in the early church - Research Paper Example The Reason for Persecution Although there was no recognizable or serious offence with the early Christians professing their faith in Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire and the pagan fraternity did not bother but instead fabricated a number of allegations1. At no point did the Christian religion in the early days interfere with or distract their normal operations or peace of mind therefore one can only read mischief and ulterior motives in their quest to wipe away the early church out of existence2. Unanimously, both the pagans and the Roman Empire leveled allegations of incest, perversions, and cannibalism against their Christian counterparts3. With Emperor Nero in their lead, the persecutors insisted that their Christian brothers and sisters constantly partook of illegal and inhuman ritual and activities contrary to the acceptable norms within the Roman Empire4. Fully appreciating the government’s support, the pagans pressured the Nero, the Roman Emperor who rained from 54 AD to 64 AD, to succumb to their demands. In real sense, the good followers of Jesus Christ only practiced what they read from their respective Bibles like Baptism5. With John the Baptist as the pioneer of Baptism in water, Jesus Christ only sanctified the same through the incorporation of ‘fire’ baptism where He emphasized on the essence of involvement of the Holy Spirit6. It is by this doctrine that the early Christians based and practiced their strong beliefs, irrespective of what their ‘enemies’ thoughts and opinions. When the pagans and some officials of the Roman Emperor saw the relentless worship by the early church, they accused them of ill practices, allegation which cost most staunch Christians their lives while maiming others in the process7. Perhaps one of the most controversial reasons as to why the early church faced senseless persecution was subversion and ungodly behavior, at least according to those who strongly supported the idea of persecution. Ordinarily, the atheists and those who believed in the Roman gods united on some fronts especially those pertaining to the official religious practices as manifested by the Roman Emperor8. Occasionally, all the inhabitants of the Roman Emperor offered sacrifices to the Roman gods as a sign of gratification and honor, a practice the early church came strongly against for their own reasons. During the first century, most Romans and atheists believed that by worshipping and offering sacrifices to their gods, they would receive blessings, protections, and improve in their general wellbeing9. The early Christians on the other hand, believed in and followed strictly the teachings inscribed within the Christian Bible that fiercely condemned the worship, honor, or offering of sacrifices to the so called ‘idols’. Duly guided by this clause, these believers in Jesus Christ objected to the pleas by the vast majority of the officials of the Roman Emperor10. As if that was not enou gh, the cult extended to the honor and offering sacrifices to the Roman Emperors, fully acknowledging the fact that they were sanctified monarchs, who deserved equal and undivided attention as other gods11. The successive Roman Emperors highly encouraged this trend as it they felt that it boosted their ego besides elevating them above normal human beings. Beginning with Emperor Nero to

International HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International HRM - Essay Example In this paper, the potential issues that are encountered by the HR managers during overseas operations will be discussed. In order the evaluate the potential problems that are posed to arise in the way of managing an internal level ethnically and culturally diverse workforce, situational analysis appears to be a basic necessity. This situational analysis is aimed at evaluating the global business conditions that are responsible for creation of ethnically and culturally diverse workforces. So the first sub-topic in this discussion is that what are the importance and role of a multi national company (MNC) in the age of globalization? Traditionally, most of the functional MNCs had headquarters located either in USA or UK. Particularly after World War II, the US and UK companies embarked on a policy of consistent world wide expansion, especially in Europe following the implementation of politico-economic measures such as the Marshall Plan (Ferner et al, 2004). But after the break up of Soviet Union, situation changed dramatically. Developing countries and erstwhile communist states began shifting from a conservative socialist economic model towards a liberalist capitalist market framework. Therefore, just after little more than a decade of the fall of communism and decline of international Soviet financial aid, powerful corporations emerged in the developing economies too. In this way, the â€Å"new geography of FDI flows† came into being (UNCTAD, 2004). These FDI flows were not exclusively outflows or inflows. In fact, combinations of FDI outflow and inflow began to germinate between Western countries and Asia Pacific region as early as the 1980s when Japan, China, and Taiwan initiated industrial reforms (Glover and Wilkinson, 2007). In this way, it should be understood that today’s MNCs represent the zeal of the early phases of globalization which advocated for adoption of global standards

The Global Justice Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Global Justice Concept - Essay Example   The government is grounded on the concepts of fairness, equality, justice, and protection of the people's mutual interests. The government must do its share to ensure the citizens achieve their unique societal goals and objectives. The social contracts, including the United States constitution, reduce or prevent constant wars among individuals and communities. The social contracts ensure everyone will strive to comply with the contracts' provisions of justice for all stakeholders (Souryal 75).  Christian Unity Model  During John Winthrop’s sailing towards the brave new world, the Puritan religion’s Winthrop espoused his fellow ship passengers to become the beacons or guides for all humans everywhere (Gardner 106).   The New World is the current United States of America. Winthrop is a rich land owner and government officer in England. The ship was going to propagate the Christian brand of justice in the New World environment, in the other part of the world. The speech was done during his 1630 trip to New England. Winthrop's speech persuaded his fellow ship travelers to firmly establish the New England society's ecclesiastical (religious) government format.   Under the format, Winthrop convinced his fellow Christian followers to ensure the citizens of the New World will implement all religious policies or concepts. Winthrop insisted his fellow Puritan followers must establish the civil government, not the military government, within the New England community (Gardner 106).

Reality Television shows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reality Television shows - Essay Example Reality television began back in the 1950s. The show that is dubbed as â€Å"the granddaddy of reality TV† was a show known as Candid Camera. This show aired in 1948, and it was basically centered on taping how people would react to pranks, much like Punk’d. This show was responsible for placing hidden cameras or microphones in backyards or households, they were already there in the eyes and ears of concerned and vigilant citizens encouraged by government propaganda to report any signs of â€Å"un-American† activity (Holmes and Jermyn, 35). The very first Miss America pageant was aired in 1954, making the winner an instant celebrity. Since then, there have been many reality shows that have taken the nation by storm. Shows such as The Dating Game, An American Family, Big Brother, The Real World, American Idol, and so much more. People keep coming back to the show because they can associate to it, they fact that it’s unscripted makes the characters on the sh ow more relatable, and it offers you an inside view to almost anywhere. The hidden camera could document the world of institutions, from the judiciary system to the mental hospital (Oullette and Murray, 25) There are many genres on the reality TV front; one that is picking a lot of fans is the Reality competition genre. These shows follow the format of non-tournament elimination contests. The common scenario is the participants are filmed competing to win a prize, often living together in a confined environment. Usually, it goes on until only one person or one team is left, and they’re declared the winner/s. The elimination can be done either by voting, or by judges selecting who passes through. Examples of such shows are Big Brother, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Star Search, etc. These shows don’t just come to mind. Social scientists continue to serve as consultants in reality TV to this day, screening contestants for shows and helping to design situati ons and guidelines for interaction (Oullette and Murray, 26). One show that has captivated is Survivor. This show was created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. It premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS. It was hosted by Jeff Probst and produced by Mark Burnett. As a result of the show, the latter has a second career as a management consultant, serving as motivational speaker and helping executives develop skills to compete effectively in the corporate â€Å"jungle† (Oullette and Murray, 27). The show centers on a group of castaways in different tribes left out in the middle of nowhere, and they must search and provide their own food, shelter, water, fire and they must look out for themselves. There are weekly challenges where rewards such as fine food, or much-needed rest is offered. The last three or two that are left standing are usually left at the mercy of the other eliminated contestants. They vote for who should win, and the winner gets one million dollars. This show has experience d a lot of success. It is commonly considered the â€Å"mother of American reality TV† because it experienced high ratings and was very profitable. It’s currently had twenty-two seasons and three-hundred and two episodes. Over the years, Survivor has been set in many different places such as Thailand, Polynesia, Australia, Malaysia, Vanuatu, Panama, to name a few. The most recent season is based in the beach of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

Digital library Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Digital library - Speech or Presentation Example The traditional library is one that contains books and information sources in print form or as physical units. This is not the case with digital libraries where the information is stored electronically. There are several advantages and disadvantages of the traditional library. Using information sources in print or physical format limits the use of a particular resource to only a few individuals at a time. Furthermore, the cost of purchasing printed sources is high and they occupy a lot of space. Yet again, it is quite easy for printed sources to get damaged or destroyed due to careless use or in case of fires. The sources can also be stolen from the library or from those who borrow them. However, using sources in this form does not necessitate the purchase of equipment such as computers or the use of Internet. Traditional Versus Digital Libraries Most, if not al the disadvantages of the traditional library have been overcome by the digital library. Storing books in digital format mak es them easy to access. Access in this respect is not limited to a few people but is possible for use almost by an unlimited number of people across the world at the same time. In this respect, digitization overcomes as well the restrictions imposed by distance and physical boundaries to library users. In this sense it makes it possible for academicians to undertake distance studies without the need to physically travel to specific locations. Another major importance of having documents or files stored in digital format is in respect to availability in time. When books and periodicals are stored electronically, their access is not limited to certain times of the day r night. Furthermore, searching sources is made quite easy, less space is used for storage and preservation and conservation of the sources can be done for an unlimited amount of time. Digitization of the sources may also help in improving their value in so far as display and sound quality is concerned. This is so becaus e flaws may be removed from the sources electronically before they are finally stored for public or private use. Content of information sources The information stored in e-books is usually quite much the same as that in hardcover sources. E-books have the added advantage in that flaws that are inherent in them can be corrected easily without additional costs to users. The credibility of sources do not much depend on the format in which they are stored or accessed but on factors such as authors, publishers and level of currency. In this respect, a hardcover book is as much credible and of similar quality as its electronic counterpart. In some cases, there are different versions of editions of one source. In such a situation, it is better to choose the most recent version based on the year of publication. Terms of accessing digitized sources and their Price In order to access digitized sources, clients normally have to pay some form of subscription or buy the book altogether. In most cases, subscriptions run for a predefined period of time which may be extended upon addition of subscription fees. The prices of e-books compared to hardcover books currently are almost equal. However, it is predicted that the prices of e-boo

Strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay We all know that profit an enterprise earns is not only made by itself, but also by a result of the interaction between consumers, politics and the society environment of the enterprise being at. If an enterprise wants to operate in the long run, it needs to be concerned about the problem of its surrounding environment. Also, only a corporation which can shoulder responsibilities of society and obey the rule of ethic deserves to obtain support from the society. In this essay, I am going to discuss about whether if the strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility is relevant. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), like ethics, is easy to understand: it means distinguish right from wrong, and doing right. It means being a good corporate citizen. The formal definition of social responsibility is management’s obligation to make choices and take actions that will contribute to the welfare and interests of society as well as the organization (Szwajkowski, 1986: Davis et al., 1979). CSR is a kind of philosophic conception, it does not have tangible executive criteria and rules. A lack of the spirit of CSR, we cannot find the meaning and reputation of why this enterprise exists. Companies and people need profounder meaning of exist. Nowadays, CSR strategy is overall acceptable by the managers of every enterprise. However, there are numerous of people have been arguing about their different beliefs, many of the experts debate about CSR. Milton Friedman and others have argued that a corporations purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, and that since (in their view), only people can have social responsibilities, corporations are only responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole. Milton Friedman have pointed out this in his book, Capitalism and Freedom: There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud (Friedman, 1962). Most of the managers and laws supported this concept in the early days. â€Å"Only people can h ave responsibilities. A corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial responsibilities, but ‘business’ as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities, even in this vague sense†. (Friedman, 1970) In addition, in the 1996 speech of Roger Kerr, the argument that â€Å"the activities of private business are socially beneficial so long as they are  conducted under the rule of law and within a framework of open competition. When subjected to those disciplines, business by and large promotes its interests in a way that promotes the interests of the whole community, and, moreover, promotes the community interest more efficiently and reliably than any other economic arrangement.†(Kerr, 1996) If the corporate business take too much responsibility of society, then Basically, the function of an enterprise organisation is to create profit, and government should solve the problem of society by the taxes it imposes. I wonder if the more responsibility the enterprises take, then there are no much differences between an enterprise and government, moreover the enterprise will end up being a monopolizing organisation. On the other hand, R J Hubbard presents a different point of view from Milton Friedman and Roger Kerr. â€Å"shareholders aren’t the only group of people that have a stake in the success of a company and that other stakeholders are employees, customers, suppliers.†(Hubbard,1996) And â€Å"business owners and business managers should try and reconcile the interests of the various stakeholders.† (Hubbard,1996) â€Å"as shareholders in a company one gets certain privileges from society as delivered through government.† â€Å"limited liability, the ability to earn a dollar over and above that of the average wage or salary earner and a host of other benefits.† Thus, â€Å"one should not only receive these privileges but also give back to the society that has made them available.†(Hubbard, 1996) The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. (Carroll, 1979) To sum up, I consider Corporate Social Responsibility to be a sensible strategy. But we should not solely put emphasis on CSR without considering business’s goal of maximizing profit. CSR will be desirable if corporate increase its profit though such conduct and society as a whole is the beneficiary. Nevertheless, how much responsibility should a corporate burden with? This is a constantly difficult problem to grasp. To a corporate, it should evaluate capacity itself and balance the benefits inner and outer before taking certain responsibilities. Word count : 769 Reference List Friedman, M. (2002) Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hubbard, R J. (1996)The business of business is not just business Samson, D., Daft, R L. (2003)Management South Melbourne, Victoria

Use Of Computers In Education Education Essay

Use Of Computers In Education Education Essay Exploring the digital divide amongst schools requires not only requires examining the access the students have to technology but also the equality in the educational experiences the students have with the technology. The usage of technology in a school plays an important role. It is said to be one of the factors that cause a digital divide amongst schools. Reasons are as followed; putting computers in the classroom does not automatically decrease the divide. The outcome of investing in computers should be for the benefit of the students. Students must be able to manipulate their skills on the technology thus improving the learning process. Doing so would mean analyzing how the students are making use of the computer technology provided to them. From survey B done on the local and international schools students, we find that 47% of the sampled local students do not use the computers at school. This is a common case as we find from prior results that students are more acquainted with their computers at home. Although this then leads to a socioeconomic problem. As students from different socioeconomic groups have varying access to computers and the Internet. Therefore this has an effect on the equity of computer access. However survey B shows that 57% of local students didnt have access to computers at home. Those who did have access, 77% of them did not use it. This leads to a major problem as most students are unlikely to be using a computer at all. It is almost impossible to enjoy the benefits of ICTs without the use of ICT in education and indeed ICT education itself to improve skills. Computers have brought about a revolution across all industries. They have changed the face of society. What was once known as a technology that required specially trained people has now become a daily utility. Computers have gained immense importance in day-to-day life. Their increasing utility has made computer education the need of the day. (Oak) The ICT skills of students in the local school were poor. From the survey we see that on average 45% of students did not have the required skills to use simple tool-based applications (such as word processors) Where as students from international school all of them had some sort of idea about each of the simple tool-based applications. Various technologies deliver different kinds of content and serve different purposes in the classroom. For example, word processing and e-mail promote communication skills; database and spreadsheet programs promote organizational skills; and modelling software promotes the understanding of science and math concepts. Therefore it is important to consider how these electronic technologies differ and what characteristics make them important as vehicles for education (Becker, 1994). Computers being implemented in education has made it not only easier for the teachers to render knowledge but also for students to grasp it much quicker. Computer technology allows a fun-element to education and it goes without saying that the Internet has endowed education with interactivity. The computer offers several advantages to a students life, ranging from interactive audio-visual media to PowerPoint presentations to animation software. Each can be used to render information to students in an interactive and much more appealing manner. The visual effects provided by the animation and presentation software result in greater awareness of the students dues to greater interest rates. Furthermore, these applications serve as visual aids to the teachers. Overhead projectors and screens facilitate a simultaneous viewing of information by a large number of students. These audio-visual teaching aids have brought about marked improvements in student attendance and attentiveness. Intera ctive media have proven to be useful in enhancing the concentration levels of students. Therefore we can conclude that this underlines the importance of computer teaching against textbooks. (Oak) Computers skills are more important than ever, required for nearly half of all jobs now compared to less than a third in 1997. A technology savvy youth is playing an increasing influential role in employment and with a countries development. Education is crucial for students to be prepared to meet global needs so that well paying jobs are not outsourced. Lack of Education and employment slows down progress within a country (Koss, 2001). The most severe consequences of the digital divide are the long term effects that it can have on students that do not have access to education. Lacking access and computer skills would mean that a whole generation will miss out on realizing their full potential in an information and communication technology world (Koss, 2001). Therefore it is virtually impossible to ignore the need for technology in an education curriculum (Di Bello, 2005). Studies have also shown that school students who are competent computer users tend to perform better in their other key school subjects than those with limited experience and confidence to perform basic computer necessities. According to OECD studies it has been found thata tech-savy youth could perform strikingly better due to the relationship that they hold with computers. In short students with limited access to computers or only recent access to computers are at a higher risk of performing poorly at curriculum level. Internet use The internet has more or less become a fundamental medium of communication and information processing, permeating every domain of economy and society. The more it becomes the key medium for business, education, for social services, for personal development, and for social interaction, the more the capacity to use it becomes dependant on peoples educational level. In other words the real inequality starts when we are all dependent on the internet. The more we move into an internet society, the more education becomes the foundation for equal opportunity. Therefore in addition to the computer use, the level of internet use was examined as well. The results also show that 64% of students did not have internet access as compared to all the students who had access from the international school. Information and Communication Technology is playing an increasingly influential role in reshaping employment in large parts of the world. Information and Communication Technologies presents unprecedented opportunities to combat poverty by increasing income, opening markets and providing employment opportunities. Knowledge based economies have an advantage in todays global market. Countries with extensive knowledge assets are able to open employment opportunities which create rapid technological progress that benefits in economic growth and rising living standards. A trend has formed with employees wanting workers with certified skills and educational levels to fill positions. Students in higher education are dealing with more than a digital divide, it has now become a degree divide. Students that are prevented from getting bachelor degrees are at a disadvantage in gaining employment (Garmon, 2003).

Females :: essays papers

Females An increasing number of women are being arrested for domestic assaults, and the response to this news shows just how pervasive sexist attitudes still are in our culture. But this time the sexism is coming from feminists and their allies, who insist that most women arrested must have acted in self-defense. This sentimental insistence on female innocence does no service to women, who should be treated as human beings with a capacity for aggression and held equally accountable for their actions. In many states, women now account for a quarter to a third of all domestic violence arrests, up from less than 10 percent a decade ago. The new statistics reflect a reality documented in research: women are perpetrators as well as victims of family violence. A review of 70 studies of domestic violence in which both men and women were interviewed was published in 1998 by Martin Fiebert, a psychologist at California State University at Long Beach. Usually the violence was reciprocal, the research found, with women not only fighting back but initiating attacks; when only one partner was abusive, it was at least as often the woman as the man. And while differences in strength put women at higher risk of serious injury or death, men are hardly invulnerable. According to an article to be published next year in Psychological Bulletin, analyzing data from dozens of studies, men incur a third of injuries in domestic combat. Shouldn't the growth in female arrests, then, be seen as representing a fairer, more realistic attitude toward gender and aggression? Not according to feminist and other advocacy groups whose ideology equates battering with male oppression of women. They cry "backlash" and claim that women are being penalized for defending themselves. Assertions that female abusers are really victims can be based on rather tortured logic. A 1991 paper by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin classified a woman as "abused" if she said that her partner had been the first to use violence in their relationship, even if she was usually the aggressor later on. Women's advocates also point out that most female offenders are arrested for minor, non-injurious acts like pushing, grabbing or hair-pulling.

Essay --

â€Å"Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation† Out of all the documents signed throughout history in attempt to benefit our country, Abraham Lincoln felt that his document, Emancipation Proclamation, was most important. On January 1, 1763, approaching the third year of the very bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln released the Proclamation which declared â€Å"that all persons held as slaves† within the rebellious states, â€Å" are, and henceforward shall be free†(U.S National Archives & Records Administration). However, this only applied to the states that had been labeled as being rebellion, not to the slaveholding border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and the areas that the Confederacy had already come under the Union Control. Abraham Lincoln released the document at the right time to ensure that it would make a positive impact and change completely, the aim of the war. To this day, the Emancipation Proclamation shows an example of equality and cognizance (Weider History Group, n.p). In August of 1861, during the Civil War, Congress had passed their first Confiscation Act of many. Confiscation is known as the seizing of someone's property without authority. The act was used against any property, which included slaves as well, used in the rebellion against the U.S government (Weider History Group, n.p). Union major general, John C. Fermont, Commander of the Department of the West, had issued an order which declared martial law in Missouri, as well as freeing all slave states that were held by Missouri secessionists (Weider History Group, n.p). Lincoln had ordered Fermont to change the order to conform the First Confiscation Act, in fear that it might link abolition with the war that could cause the slave... ...rmies, at that point didn’t have to be returned due to the words of the proclamation. They were considered, â€Å"forever free† (Weiders History Guide, n.p). The main reason President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation mainly as a war measure. The biggest impact that was made off of this document was how for the first time, it placed U.S government against â€Å"peculiar institution†, which placed a barrier between the South, and the recognition by the European nations which outlawed slavery (Weider History Group, n.p). The south relied on aid from France and England. In many articles within the Confederate States’ Constitution, slavery had only been protected in the Confederacy, but in other articles of the U.S Constitution, it also stated that it protected slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation made a vivid distinction of the two (Weider History Group, n.p).

Ernie Pyle Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Ernie Pyle ;When a machine-gun bullet ended the life of Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans spoke of him in the same breath as they had Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of him was as great as the loss of the wartime president. Since WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle was so famous, his death on the battlefront came as a shock to people around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Taylor Pyle was born August 3, 1900 to Will and Marie Pyle. He was born an only child on the Same Elder farm just southwest of Dana, Indiana. His father, Will Pyle, was a tenant farmer because he couldn’t make a steady living from being a carpenter, which is what he really liked to do. Pyle described his father, â€Å"He never said a great deal to me all his life, and yet I feel we have been very good friends, he never gave me much advice or told me to do this or that, or not to.† Marie Pyle filled the role of family leader. She enjoyed tasks at hand: raising chickens and produce, caring for her family and serving the neighbors. Pyle describes her, â€Å"She thrived on action, she would rather milk than sew; rather plow than bake† (Tobin 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through school Pyle loved to write. During high school he was reporter, then editor, then editor in chief for his high school newspaper. When he graduated high school, he too was caught up in the â€Å"patriotic fever† of the nation upon America’s entry into WWI (Whitman 2). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve but before he could finish his training an armistice was declared in Europe. After that he attended the University of Indiana to study journalism, but left before he graduated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernie Pyle persued his love for writing, and became a cub reporter for â€Å"LaPorte Herald.† For months later he was offered a $2.50-per-week raise to work for the â€Å"Washington Daily News.† He wrote the countries first daily aviation column for four years before becoming the papers managing editor. Pyle was a reporter, copy editor, and aviation editor until 1932, when he accepted a job for the â€Å"Scripps-Howard† newspaper chain. Pyle loved to travel and persuaded Scripps-Howard executives to allow him to be a roving reporter. Ernie Pyle was very excited to be a roving reporter:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s better than a million dollars. It’s a new ... ...ncarta Encyclopedia 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CD-ROM. 2000 ed. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ernie Pyle State Historic Site.† Indiana State Museum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and Historic Sites. 2 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Tobin, James. Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness To   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II. New York: The Free Press, 1997. 4. Whitman, Mark. â€Å"Ernie Pyle.† Access Indiana Teaching and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Learning Center. 1997. 5 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilson, Ellen. Ernie Pyle: Boy From Back Home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indianapolis Ernie Pyle Essay example -- essays research papers fc Ernie Pyle ;When a machine-gun bullet ended the life of Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans spoke of him in the same breath as they had Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of him was as great as the loss of the wartime president. Since WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle was so famous, his death on the battlefront came as a shock to people around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Taylor Pyle was born August 3, 1900 to Will and Marie Pyle. He was born an only child on the Same Elder farm just southwest of Dana, Indiana. His father, Will Pyle, was a tenant farmer because he couldn’t make a steady living from being a carpenter, which is what he really liked to do. Pyle described his father, â€Å"He never said a great deal to me all his life, and yet I feel we have been very good friends, he never gave me much advice or told me to do this or that, or not to.† Marie Pyle filled the role of family leader. She enjoyed tasks at hand: raising chickens and produce, caring for her family and serving the neighbors. Pyle describes her, â€Å"She thrived on action, she would rather milk than sew; rather plow than bake† (Tobin 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through school Pyle loved to write. During high school he was reporter, then editor, then editor in chief for his high school newspaper. When he graduated high school, he too was caught up in the â€Å"patriotic fever† of the nation upon America’s entry into WWI (Whitman 2). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve but before he could finish his training an armistice was declared in Europe. After that he attended the University of Indiana to study journalism, but left before he graduated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernie Pyle persued his love for writing, and became a cub reporter for â€Å"LaPorte Herald.† For months later he was offered a $2.50-per-week raise to work for the â€Å"Washington Daily News.† He wrote the countries first daily aviation column for four years before becoming the papers managing editor. Pyle was a reporter, copy editor, and aviation editor until 1932, when he accepted a job for the â€Å"Scripps-Howard† newspaper chain. Pyle loved to travel and persuaded Scripps-Howard executives to allow him to be a roving reporter. Ernie Pyle was very excited to be a roving reporter:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s better than a million dollars. It’s a new ... ...ncarta Encyclopedia 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CD-ROM. 2000 ed. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ernie Pyle State Historic Site.† Indiana State Museum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and Historic Sites. 2 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Tobin, James. Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness To   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II. New York: The Free Press, 1997. 4. Whitman, Mark. â€Å"Ernie Pyle.† Access Indiana Teaching and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Learning Center. 1997. 5 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilson, Ellen. Ernie Pyle: Boy From Back Home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indianapolis

Inhibitor Improves Learning Essay

The article is entitled, Peripheral Delivery of a ROCK Inhibitor Improves Learning and Working Memory. Title of the journal the article was published in and date published: This article was published in the journal entitled Behavioral Neuroscience in February 2009. The journal is published by the American Psychological Association. Describe the topic and the experiment conducted. What did they do? The article noted that in related studies, the RhoA/ROCK/Rac pathway is involved in the cognitive processes. Thus, they postulated that if this pathway could be inhibited, learning and memory can be enhanced. The article explained that fasudil has been used in experiments for the treatment of vasospasm and angina but not for learning and memory. Hydroxyfasudil is an active metabolite of fasudil. The study subjects were 27 rats who were 17 months old and 18 months old at the time of actual behavioral testing. Specifically, the study used Fischer-344 male rats who were bred at the aging colony of the National Institute on Aging at Harlan Laboratories (Indianapolis, IN). All the rats were acclimatized before the actual experiment according to IACUC standards and all the procedure done were with the approval of the local IACUC committee. NIH standards were followed. The study was done in Arizona State University. The study grouped the rats into three experimental groups. The first group of rats received saline and was labeled as the â€Å"aged vehicle† group. The second group received 0. 1875 mg hydroxyfasudil and was labeled as the â€Å"aged low dose† group. The third group received 0. 3750 mg hydroxyfasudil and was labeled as the â€Å"aged high dose† group. Of the 27 rats, nine belonged to the â€Å"aged vehicle† group, another nine rats in the â€Å"aged low dose† group, and another nine rats in the â€Å"aged high dose† group. Since hydroxyfasudil has a half-life of around 5-7 hours in humans, the drugs were all administered in the morning before behavior testing was done. All injections were given by subcutaneous injection at the scruff of the neck of the rat. All experimenters who performed the behavioral testing and succeeding dissections of the rats’ brains were blind to the respective treatment groups of the rats. The behavioral testing used the Water Radial Arm Maze to test working and reference memory, and the Spatial Reference Memory Morris Maze to test for spatial learning and memory. The performance of the rats in these two mazes were compared and used as basis as to whether cognitive functions were enhanced or not with the administration of hydroxyfasudil. Summarize the most important results. What did they find and what does that mean? 4 pts The results of the behavioral testing done using the water radial-arm maze, the â€Å"aged high dose† group was superior in all measures evaluated: learning index scores for total errors, working memory correct errors, and working memory incorrect errors. Better learning was indicated by having a higher learning index. Aged high dose† group showed better learning on all three measures. The group’s learning index when compared to the â€Å"aged vehicle† group was significantly higher. As for the â€Å"aged low dose† group, it still had a higher learning index when compared to the â€Å"aged vehicle group† but only marginally for the working memory incorrect errors. For the other two m easures, the group still had a higher learning index but no longer marginally, but intermediate between the â€Å"aged high dose† and â€Å"aged vehicle† groups suggesting that the relationship may be dose-dependent. Another important result noted was that hydroxyfasudil did not significantly alter spatial reference memory performance in either maze. 5) What implications do these results have for future research? What should they look at next? The implications of study would mean that if hydroxyfasudil can inhibit events that influence cognition, the next step would be to confirm this in result in a larger number of mice or even in rabbits. They should also look into the side effects of hydroxyfasudil and a good start would be to look for the same side effects found in its parent compound which is also being currently studied. ) Does this study reveal anything that could be useful to society (the general population, not science), and if so, what is it? This study showed that if hydroxyfasudil does improve cognitive function by improving spatial learning and memory, then science has found another possible answer to age-related or neurodegenerative-related memory dysfunction. To put it simply, hydroxyfasudil, if safe and effective in improving spatial learning and memory, will help patients who suffer from age-related or neurodegenerative-related memory dysfunction. ) What are some possible confounds or errors that this study should have controlled for, but did not? Essentially, what would make this a better study? In my opinion, this study was a good one with very negligible confounders. One thing that might have made the study better though was the possible side effects of hydroxyfasudil on the short term and also long term. 8) What did you learn that you did not know before? What did you find most interesting? I found that fact that such a drug as hydroxyfasudil being a possible treatment for those suffering from age-related memory dysfunction, fascinating. I did not know this until I read this article. If it is indeed a possible cure, many people all over the world would live a better life in their advanced age since their memory will serve them better and they will depend less on their children and thus, have a less likely chance of being placed in homes just because families have difficulty caring for them.

 Cybercrim in Society Essay

Cybercrime With everything in society advancing rapidly, it should be of no surprise that technology is now used to commit crimes against other people. Those crimes include identity theft, stealing money, illegal gambling, and cyberstalking. This paper will review cybercrime and the differences there are from traditional crime and it will review the purpose of hackers. There will also be three cases reviewed to help bring light to what kind of cybercrimes are being committed around the world. Differences between Cybercrime and Traditional Crime For an individual to fully understand the difference between cybercrime and traditional crime, the individual needs to understand what cybercrime is. The definition of cybercrime is according to â€Å"Oxford Dictionaries† (2014), â€Å"crime conducted via the internet or some other computer network† (cybercrime). Cybercrime is committed by hackers with the goal of financial gain in min by stealing personal information(bank information, credit card information, etc) from individuals. Traditional Crime is a considered crimes against the public. There are many different categories for cybercrime but the main four include identity theft, illegal gambling, cyber terrorism, and cyber stalking. Both cybercrime and traditional crime are charged on a state law level; however, there are plenty of federal laws that can be violated through committing cybercrime. The main difference that needs to be known is that when cybercrimes are committed, the crimes are done so from the luxury of a hacker’s house or place of business while traditionally crimes are not. Another difference worth noting is that cybercrime criminals have the ability to commit these crimes from different states, even internationally at some levels. When cybercrimes are committed liken that, it makes it hard to prosecute as the laws may vary from place to place. That is usually when federal laws are reviewed for a prosecution to happen. Purposes of Hacking Hacking dates back to the 1950’s. This is long before the birth of the internet. Hacking began as a method or searching for shortcuts when encountering a computer issue. According to â€Å"Marriam Webster† (2014), A hacker is â€Å"a person who secretly gets access to a computer system in order to get information, cause damage† (para. Hacker). Today hacking of often  referred to a person wanting to cause havoc in a computer or many computer systems for a reason. Hacking has evolved over the years. In the beginning, hacking was often used to prank, cause mischief and curiosity. Hacking today has grown very large and has been categorized into the types of hacking. Although hackers use different methods of accessing unauthorized information, the most common reason for doing such things is for financial gain. Kevin Mitnick vs the USA Kevin Mitnick began hacking at an early age of 12. As this age he began making punch cards for the Los Angeles transit authority. Mitnick also joined a phone phreak gang which conducted many pranks. The group discovered a way to take over the telephone directory assistance and prank incoming callers. The group also changed the status of home phones to payphone status. A home telephone user would attempt to use the telephone but a recording would request the user to deposit twenty cents. The group accessed a San Francisco based company and destroyed files. More than a year later, this crime was unsolved. It was not until a member’s girlfriend went to the police. This led to the arrest of Kevin Mitnick, age 17, and other members of the group. Mitnicks streak of hacks has landed him in jail multiple times throughout his hacking spree. At the age of 16, Mitnick accessed a computer manufacturing company and sold their software. He went on the run for several years by accessing companies via computers to produce identity documents. He was not convicted of these crimes. He was eventually arrested for hacking into Nokia and Motorola and convicted. This arrest landed him in jail for four and-a-half years before being brought to trial. Upon his release in 2000, he was restricted from using any communications technology which was more advanced than a wired home phone. Mitnick contested this ban and won. He now owns Mitnick Security Consulting LLC. The RBS World Pay servers WorldPay is a Payment Card Industry that helps businesses in payments processing. WorldPay headquarters is based in Atlanta, Georgia and have expanded globally in London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Sweden, Singapore, Montreal and a few other countries. WorldPay payment processing service enabled businesses to accept payments from customers from different  payment types such as, Visa, MasterCard, discover, American Express, debit and gift cards, checks, Electronic benefits Transfer, and direct debit. The WorldPay hacking was considered the most sophisticated attack so far in history. In November 2008, According to Baker, Associated Press (2012) hackers infiltrated the RBS WorldPay servers and accessed prepaid payroll card numbers, cracked their encrypted pin codes, raised the balances on the cards and distributed dozens of them to a team of people around the world. Within a matter of hours, the same group of hackers hit 2,100 ATM terminals in 280 cities around the world from the U.S. to Russia.to Italy to Japan. FBI tracked down the hackers by narrowing down their suspects to one man who worked for the company and his name is Oleg Covelin. After he found a vulnerability in the computer network that RBS WorldPay uses, he passed the information to Sergei Tsurikov of Tallinn, Estoria who then distributed 44 counterfeit cards to a team of cashers around the world. The hackers tried to cover their tracks but the FBI traced the hackers by using Cyber forensics and also with the help of foreign authorities and international banks. Sergei Tsurikov, Viktor Pleshchuk of St. Petersburg, Russia, and Oleg, Covelin of Chisinau, Moldova and three others from Estonia were indicted in the case in 2009. Three of the main suspects were convicted in Estonia and the other suspects are awaiting sentence. In conclusion, although traditional crime is still around, cybercrime is slowly making its way into society and the advancement of technology is helping that happen. The only difference between the two types of crimes is the way they are committed. Hackers will not let anything stop them from achieving the ultimate goal of successfully hacking a system. With the cases listed and reviewed it is clearly stated that hacking and cybercrimes can be committed by anyone for any certain reason. No one can be sure that their information is completely safe but it is better to take precaution by not putting so much personal information on the web than it would be to not worry and end up the victim of cybercrime. Hackers continue to expand their knowledge on the systems to hack so that should push society to expand the security for the web. References Baker, M. (2010). Policeone. Retrieved from http://www.policeone.com/federal-law-enforcement/articles/2187579-FBI-gets-suspect-in-massive-cyber-crime-case/ Busch, A. (n.d.). Why Do People Hack. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_4673738_why-do-people-hack.html â€Å"Hacker.† Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker Meriwether, D. (1995). Takedown. Retrieved from http://www.takedown.com/bio/mitnick.html Orphanides, K. (2011). Top 10 Most Spectacular Hacks. Retrieved from http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/general/1285633/top-10-most-spectacular-hacks/2 Oxford Dictionaries. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/cybercrime

Art Conclusive Essay

â€Å"All the best stories are but one story in reality – the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape. † – AC Benson The concept of escape is central to the development of the theme in my work, We escape the mundane reality and boring routine of our daily lives through our dreams and ambitions. We dream to be different. We dream to be truly alive, in such a way that we can look back at our lives on day and think that we have truly reached our full potential and made the most out of each opportunity.However, often it is people’s and sometimes even our own perceptions of ourselves that keep us in â€Å"the box† and that â€Å"clip our wings† and thus prevent us from reaching our goals. We often live up to the stereotypes placed upon us because of our race, gender, financial standing, culture, nationality etc. To achieve our full potential, we must try to fly above these false perceptions and escape from that which prevents us from chasing our dreams – the banality of reality.ESCAPING THE BANALITY OF REALITY THROUGH NON-TRADITIONAL ART MEDIUMS Brian Dettmer, an American artist1, is an expert at transforming what is perceived and giving it new, true meaning. He is best known for his detailed and innovative sculptures with books and in recent years has established himself as one of the leading contemporary artists working with books today. His work deals with the concept of how information, material and history of our age is being lost, eroded and slipping away from us because it is no longer ‘real’ – it is virtual, digital information.He said, â€Å" In the tangible world we are left with a frozen material but in the intangible world we may be left with nothing. †2 Books, according to society have lost their relevance in their physical form and yet it’s richness and depth is universally respected but the book’s intended func tion has decreased. Dettmer thus alters the physical form and physical function as well as shifting the preconceived functions to allow new and unexpected roles to emerge. Much like my theme, he is taking away the frame that contains the ideas of the book and changing it to allow it’s true form to be revealed.He meticulously excavates or concisely alters the book so as to dissect communicative objects or systems and allows for its content to be recontextualised and new meanings and interpretations to emerge. The book, in essence thus breaks free and escapes from it’s bindings – its reality. From Dettmer, I investigated the idea of using paper as a medium. However, like Dettmer I wanted to portray the concept of â€Å"escape† through my medium. Naturally, â€Å"escape† makes me think of birds flying from a cage – but how to represent the birds and how represent the cage according to my theme?According to my theme it is perceptions that are tr apping us and our dreams and ambitions that are freeing us, and perceptions are all in the mind. I thus decided to make a white head from Plaster of Paris with my own face on, to make my work more personal. The white represents the dry, yeastless factuality that is reality and from the cranium I attached a wire spiral. In the dream world, nothing is realistic and as it seems – much like the way Dettmer represents the content of his books, and thus the birds shouldn’t be realistic. Wanting to make the unrealistic birds from paper, I opted to make origami cranes from bright optimistic colours.The colours represented the hope, joy and how vivid are dreams are, but mostly how full of life. To add further to the idea that the birds are escaping with our memories, i decided to use photographs from my Lomography film photographs to make the cranes at the the top of the spiral and have them unfolding out into one photograph with a drawing of a bird flying into the distance. th e work contributes to the theme of reality being â€Å"ripped apart† and the dreams coming together to reach new heights for the individual – perceptions being shed along the way.THE SYMBOLIC BALANCE BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE â€Å"PRE-FABRICATED† EXPRESSED THROUGH METAPHORICAL VECTORS Sandrine Pelletier3, an artist I was drawn to because she borrows her creative and production processes from folk arts, from arts and crafts, ranging from their most worthy to their most trivial forms, as well as from DIY in order to conceive a body of free-standing works, all of which are underpinned by the notion of subversion and experimentation with the limits of materials. I loved how she made simple arts and crafts into exquisite works of art.I had always wanted to thread a form of tapestry – in the traditional way my grandmother did it, but wanted to incorporate my themes of perceptions, dreams and reality. I thus decided on the image of a ballerina – always perceived to be graceful, gentle, quiet women who were not outspoken or loud, but just polite. I could resonate with this concept on a personal level as when I was little people called me â€Å"Nina pretty ballerina† (from the ABBA song) and I despised it and to break away from the name I did karate. The ballerina is a wonderful symbol of being stereotyped and placed â€Å"in the box†.Pelletier did a piece titled â€Å"Flash Dance†4, I was greatly inspired by that represented two ballerina pumps worn on the tips with a trail of blood on material protruding from the back. This specific artwork made me think of the realities and difficulties of being a ballet dancer and all the physical and emotional strain they must take. This coincided with my theme in the way that it is not always easy to break away from the perceptions placed upon you and sometimes it takes blood, sweat and tears to achieve your goals and to make your dreams come true.As I wanted to create a l ink between what was â€Å"real† and â€Å"living† and the materialistic nature that is the perceptions of people (my threaded material ballerina tapestry), I decided to place the ballerina within an old bird cage. Inspired by Pelletier’s work, â€Å"The Goodbye Horses†5, I decided to hang threads from the bottom of my work. From the cage, I suspended many old keys at the bottom of the cage to represent the concept of escape. I also sketched realistic birds on material which I hung inside and around the cage to represent the freedom of one’s true inner self.My piece is more an introspective one that calls upon the viewer to reflect on him/herself and about who they really are as opposed to the person people see on the outside – the person they are perceived to be. In this way my work is like Pelletier’s in that her works free itself of all its tautology and escapes all systematic interpretation. It deconstructs conscious contexts and endows Pelletier to redefine her own work and to the answer the question of the function of art through logical means and to question the function if perceptions and stereotypes.It also implements an intuitive and automatic writing, in an attempt to capsulate her own perception of the world and it’s relation to the real world, to memory, to emotion, to identity, to the invisible.? PROCESS AND HOW IT STITCHES IDEAS TOGETHER Briann Dettmer starts with an existing book and seal its edges, creating an enclosed vessel full of unearthed potential. He cuts into the surface of the book and dissect through it from the front. He works with knives, tweezers and surgical tools to carve one page at a time, exposing each layer while cutting around ideas and images of interest. Nothing inside the books is relocated or implanted, only removed. Images and ideas are revealed to expose alternate histories and memories. His work is a collaboration with the existing material and its past creators and the completed pieces expose new relationships of the book’s internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception.In this way, his process is much like mine regarding the folding of the origami cranes – I started by folding from existing paper the origami cranes. Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding and is a form of sculpting paper without the use of cutting or gluing7 – like Dettmer, I added nothing but only worked with the unearthed potential. The folds must be extremely precise. I then made the Plaster of Paris head using my own face as a mould. The piece was extremely time consuming, but all the planning was complete, so I had a rough guideline to work from.With my thematic piece, I had to develop my concepts a lot more as initially I wanted to suspend my threaded ballerina within a canvas. I however, developed my theme of escape more and thus came up with the old bird cage idea within which I suspended the ballerina alo ng with the material birds as well as hanging the antique keys. This piece was even more time consuming as I didn’t realise how much work had to be put into my tapestry. Both my work required skills I had to learn – the threading of the tapestry and the folding of the origami cranes.It took a lot of patience and practice to correct the techniques and make sure each individual aspect was as near perfect as could be. In the end I have created two art pieces that encouraged more personal growth than anything else, I hope however that the viewer will be able to my themes and be able to resonate with the message of my works. More than that, I hope the viewer will walk away feeling inspired to chase their dreams regardless of perceptions placed upon them and to break away from the weight of reality.I hope they will take flight in heart and soul and feel lighter and happier after seeing my works and to take reach for and take hold of their dreams. â€Å"Anyone can escape int o sleep, we are all geniuses when we dream, the butcher's the poet's equal there. † – Emile M Cioran Bibliography http://www. maskara. ch/index. php? /projects/flash-dance/ http://www. maskara. ch/index. php? /projects/goodbye-horses/ http://briandettmer. com/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Origami

Employee State Insurance Act Essay

The Act in fact tries to attain the goal of socio-economic justice enshrined in the Directive principles of state policy under part 4 of our constitution, in particular, articles 41, 42 and 43 which enjoin the state to make effective provision for securing, the right to work, to education and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement. The act strives to materialize these avowed objects through only to a limited extent. This act becomes a wider spectrum than factory act, in the sense that the factory act is concerned with the health, safety, welfare, leave etc of the workers employed in the factory premises only. But the benefits of this act extend to employees whether working inside the factory or establishment or elsewhere or they are directly employed by the principal employee or through an intermediate agency, if the employment is incidental or in connection with the factory or establishment. Origin: The Employee State Insurance act was promulgated by the Parliament of India in the year 1948. To begin with the ESIC scheme was initially launched on 2nd February 1952 at just two industrial centers in the country namely Kanpur and Delhi with a total coverage of about 1. 20 lakh workers. There after the scheme was implemented in a phased manner across the country with the active involvement of the state governments. Objectives: The ESI Act is a social welfare legislation enacted with the object of providing certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity and employment injury. The insured employees and their dependants are entitled to the following benefits: * Medical benefit

Whole Foods & Wild Oats Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Whole Foods & Wild Oats - Research Paper Example Thus, it is clear that his comments had the motivation from his self-interest (Debra, 2010). Instrumental and terminal values are vital in the explanation of Mackey’s blog posting behavior, relative to the Wild Oats acquisition. There is a distinction between the two values as elaborated by Rokeach. Instrumental values reflect the means to achieving goals, meaning they represent the most acceptable behaviors to be used in achieving an end state. Terminal values, on the other hand, represent the goals to be achieved or the end states. First, it is remarkably clear that he lacks Honesty Ambition Responsibility where he is not truthful in his hard work to do his duties as CEO, whereby he posts the blogs using his wife’s name to conceal his identity. He has the value of forgiveness, open-mindedness, and courage whereby he has the courage to face the public eye. He does this with a clear perspective that they will forgive him for his mistakes. As see him, he does not deny putting up those posts. He has the value of Helpfulness Cleanliness Competence as his other go al. This is whereby he accepts he has been posting the negative blogs to criticize the Wild Oats Company. He is ready to be helped to free from being guilty of these critics. On the other hand, he has none of these instrumental values: Self-control Affection / Love Cheerfulness, Independence Politeness Intelligence, and Obedience Rationality Imagination. We see John lacking control of his hate of the Wild Oats Company establishing itself as his competitor. He also lacks knowledge of how to show courtesy to other people who may be in competition or poses some danger to his co-existence. He is not submissive to reasoning, according to the perception of most people in the public figure. In his comment that no one would buy products of Oats Company, he does not put himself in the shoes of those benefiting from this new company. In relation to the terminal

Formation of Israel. Experiences of minority populations of the region Essay

Formation of Israel. Experiences of minority populations of the region before, during and after the formation of Israel. Effects of the formation of Israel o - Essay Example They also managed to conquer other substantial territories which had been allocated to the Palestinians. The minority groups were highly affected by the wars which were going on and some of them lost their lives as well as their cultural identities. The Jewish armies became victorious and they conquered most of the areas in that region. However Israel was invaded by five Arab armies soon after its declaration but it was very prepared and thus it succeeded in crushing the pockets of the resistance. (Israel Ministry of foreign affairs 2006) Israel is a country which is located in the south western part of Asia and in the northern part it is bounded by the country of Lebanon and also Syria and Jordan borders the country in the east. Israel is also bordered by the Gulf of Aqaba and Egypt as well as the Mediterranean Sea borders it on the western part. Many of the Jewish populants in Palestine started several revolts against the roman occupation of the area on the Gaza strip and also the west bank. However most of then were killed and the rest of them were dispersed to various parts of the Diaspora. The Palestinians were also Hellenized such that many churches were built around the sites which were holy to the Christians after Christianity was adapted as the official Roman Empire religion in the 14th century. After the collapse of the Roman Empire in th... A conquest of the entire area buy the Muslim Arabs followed. This was then followed by several European crusades in an attempt to recover the holy land as referred to by the Christians from the Muslims. (Israel Ministry of foreign affairs 2006) The initial crusade was however very successful as it captured the city of Jerusalem and also in the establishment of a Christian kingdom which lasted a whole century before it fell to the Egyptian sultans. Later on, Palestine was captured by the Turks from ottoman and it then became a part of the Ottoman Empire for a period of four centuries. (Aloni 2001) There was an emergence of the Zionist movement and it was advocating for the re-establishment of the homeland for the Jews in Palestine which also served as a refuge for the Jews who were prosecuted in Europe. The first Zionist congress was then organized in Basel and it publicized the Jewish claims to Palestine where a large number of the Jews had begun settling. During the First World War turkey was at war with France and Britain thus plans were made on the division of the Ottoman Empire where Palestine was to be on the British territory. So at to encourage the Jewish support on the war a leading Zionist from Britain established a Balfour declaration which stated that the government of Britain was in favor of the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. Palestine was placed under the British administration on a mandate from the League of Nations. (Israel Ministry of foreign affairs 2006) However the Jews continued to migrate and conflict sprout with the resident Arabs and this further led to communal violence that was very severe in the environs of Jerusalem. The Jews

Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Review - Essay Example Mr. Cowell admitted to Prosecutor Sean Berkowitz that he illegally manipulated the reported income of the company. Lay and Skilling stated that there is no fraudulent activities in the company after they were being contend by the prosecutor, regarding their knowledge of illegal accounting scheme to support the unstable condition of the company, months before it landed to bankruptcy. Further, Mr. Cowell testified for the half million dollars he paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to resolve civil accusation pertaining to the illegal accounting of the company's income. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Cowell was also involved in other plans such as increasing the book value of one oil and gas company to appear that target quarterly earning was being achieved, and the hiding of million of dollars losses through the company's trading activities. Similarly, beyond expected trading profits were set aside, to be reported in the coming quarters and give the company an image of success. In view of the above article, the following questions may be raised, how much confidence do investors need to place in their trusted business How can they ensure that company reports like balance sheet reflects the true financial condition of the business, and not one of those balance cheat Financial scandals, breach of integrity and system deregulations are not new in the business world, however they

LL1014 CRIMINAL LAW I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

LL1014 CRIMINAL LAW I - Essay Example Both law and morals regulate human conduct in allied but essentially distinct ways. Law tells us what is right, while ethics is not so categorical and definite in its approach. The opinion was also supported by Maitland in connection to the British law(Pollock and Maitland, History of English law, vol.2). Miller defines crime â€Å" to be the commission or the omission of an act which the law forbids or commands under pain of a punishment to be imposed by the state by a proceeding in its own name†( Miller, Criminal Law, p.15 ). The basis of criminal law is that there are certain standards of behaviour of moral principles which society requires to be observed (Devlin P. 1965, The Enforcement of morals, p.6-7). Law prescribes consequences for its breach. The function of criminal law as spotlighted by the Wolfenden Committee Report (1958), is to preserve public order and decency (Berg C. 1959, Fear,Punishment,Anxiety and The Wolfenden Report). We call such consequences liabilitie s. Liability is the bond of necessity that exist between the wrong doer and the remedy of the wrong. Having gone through the definition of crime and criminal liability, it would be profitable to have a precise idea of the essential conditions which give rise to criminal liability. The general conditions of criminal liability are indicated with sufficient accuracy in the maxim â€Å"actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea†, that is the act alone does not amount to guilt, it must be accompanied by a guilty mind. From this maxim follows another proposition: â€Å"actus me invito factus non est mens actus† which means â€Å"an act done by a person against his will is not his act at all†. â€Å" Actus reus† is such result of human conduct as the law seeks to prevent. The act done or omitted must be an act forbidden or commanded by some law. Russel calls â€Å"actus reus† as the physical result of human conduct ( Russel, Crime,vol.1,p.20).

ACL Injury Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ACL Injury - Research Paper Example There are other knee ligaments injuries but the most common injury associated with instability at the knee is ACL injury (Chaudhari, 2008). Perhaps this is because of the fact that ACL injury presents quite a number of ways through which it can suffer tears. Research has shown that the most common ACL injury occurs when the knee is bent exceedingly to the or to the sides more than it is used. Such scenarios are highly likely to occur amongst sports persons during trainings when they engage in activities aimed at making them flexible. In other instances, ACL injury may also occur when there is a direct pressure exerted on the thigh at a time when a person is standing on one leg (Tiidus, 2008). Studies have also revealed that ACL injury may also occur when a victim makes abrupt stop from a significantly highly speed, or attempts to make a sudden turn to the side while on a significantly high-speed motion. In all the above instances, one may observe that they all tend to exert pressure to the sides or on the ligaments at the back of the leg as had been noted. It is not a straightaway guarantee that any of such movements will result in ACL injury, but that they put a person at a highly risk of suffering from ACL injury. Therefore, there is a need to advise persons that take part in physical activities quite often on how what precautions to take during active periods of activities (Chaudhari et al., 2008). However, many physiotherapists and health professions have researched and proposed various ways for recovery and rehabilitation for detected cases of ACL injury. The thesis statement of this research shall be: Appropriate response to ACL injury should be case specific rather than universal approach for recovery and rehabilitation. This research shall assess various cases and analyze each depending on its magnitude. This is because prevalence of ACL injury has revealed that each case

God sees everything Discuss the importance of vision and blindness in Essay

God sees everything Discuss the importance of vision and blindness in 'The Great Gatsby' - Essay Example This paper will particularly discuss the importance of the concepts of vision and blindness in the novel. The Great Gatsby presents a complex vision of the interrelation between impulses, and its final meaning resides in an understanding of the nature of that relationship. This brings us to the fact that in the novel, women are portrayed as the object of such impulses and therefore, a key to understanding such thesis. According to Judith Fetterly (1978), the American literature in regard to the romantic nostalgia set store on the sense of wonder, which is intimately and expectedly paired with a sense of loss and that women are usually used as counters to these emotions. (p. 75) Fitzgerald’s vision of lost America is widely regarded as the same with Gatsby’s vision of Daisy. In the male mind, which is collectively those of Gatsby, Carraway and Fitzgerald’s, the impulse to wonder is instinctively associated with the image of woman, and the ensuing gambits of the romantic imagination are played out in female metaphors. What this means for us is that in the novel, Gatsby is the incarnation of the American visionary and his story is the chronicle of the quintessential â€Å"American dream† with Daisy herself as America, like the old island that flowered once for the Dutch sailor eyes - the freshest green breast of the new world. (Fitzgerald p. 140) She was the conscious and subconscious focus of Gatsby’s visions and actions. The â€Å"green light† in the novel further provided insight in this regard. At the end of Chapter I, Nick Carraway, lingered on the lawn for sometime, under the stars, and became aware that Gatsby was there, too: I decided to call on him†¦ But I didn’t†¦ for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone – he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, as far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a

Research a design work or designer in the world Paper

A design work or designer in the world - Research Paper Example Ive introduced colour and light to the computing world, something that had not been seen before. Before the arrival of Ive’s iMac, most computers then were black and white. It was this ambiance in design that enabled Apple to sell two 2 million units in its first year. Sir Jonathan Ive joined Apple when the company was on the decline after ousting of its co-founder, Steve Jobs. This is because the company had seemed to lose its identity and purpose. But upon the return of Steve Jobs as CEO, this time marked the greatest contribution of Ive to Apples’ future. Some of his design work then as the vice president of industrial design included the iMac in 1998, the iBook, the cinema display, iSub and PowerMac G4. The Apple G4 Cube was released in the year 2000 under his watch and later the iPod in 2001. He is also behind the design of products like MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPod Touch, iPad and iOS7. In 2002, he introduced a newer version of the iMac specifically designed for the education sector. Other notable design works of Jonathan Ive at apple included the Apple PowerBook released 2003, the iPod mini and ultra-slim iMac and later the iPhone and the iPad. Sir Jonathan Ive has had a tremendous impact not only on the company’s productivity but also on the design team. Apple focuses on designing of range of products that include components such as speakers, mouse, headphones and computers. The company focuses on technology based products. Ive’s impact at Apple has been tremendous with his design tricks that are based on understanding the user’s behavior and need. He is responsible for ensuring design is part and parcel of personal computers and other handheld devices as their processing power and speed. For instance, in his quest for design of the iPod, his philosophy was to have a gadget that completely overturns the user’s previous experience and letting them understand the aspect of storing

Liberalism Notes Essay Example for Free

Liberalism Notes Essay * Mainstream western philosophy. Other philosophies define themselves in relation to liberalism. * Evolution over time, though constant stress on individual freedom. Intellectual antecedents are 16th century religious reformations, 17th century scientific revolution and 18th century Enlightenment. !8th/19th century industrialisation created new class interests with commitment to reform programme so term liberalism dates from early 19th century. * Liberalism a reaction to 19th century absolutist regimes hence inextricably bound up with national self-determination. Movements for national freedom/unity associated with demands for civil/political rights and for constitutional checks on government. Contrast with Britain, where parliamentary sovereignty established in 17th century hence liberal domestic programme focused on other objectives such as parliamentary reform, religious toleration and free trade. * 19th century continental liberalism primarily a political creed and even in Britain the centrality of free markets to liberalism has been exaggerated. Victorian liberalism stood for political reform at home and support for constitutional/national movements abroad. Inspired more by religion (radical nonconformism) than by economics. Indeed from 19th century British liberalism repudiated laisser-faire and accepted need for state intervention (New Liberalism) especially in social welfare. * Decline of Liberal Party in 20th century, but ascendancy of liberal ideas. Dominant orthodoxy until late 1970s was derived from New Liberalism Keynes and Beveridge marked culmination of New Liberal thinking. Challenge to consensus came principally from an older free market version of liberalism i.e. neo-liberalism. Battle of ideas post 1945 less between left and right than between old and new liberalism. * Today liberal has different meanings in different places UK Liberals/Liberal Democrats long seen as centre/left of centre; in EU liberalism normally associated with the right; in USA a term of abuse for radical-progressive (crypto-socialist) ideas; label also associated with free market advocates (Hayek, Friedman, New Right). And almost all mainstream ideologies can be regarded as variants of liberalism. * Liberal values/ideas of vital historical importance central to development of British political tradition UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUES OF LIBERALISM * Hall (1986) describes liberals as open-minded, tolerant, rational, freedom-loving people, sceptical of the claims of tradition and established authority, but strongly committed to the values of liberty, competition and individual freedom. 19th century liberalism stood for individualism in politics, civil and political rights, parliamentary government, moderate reform, limited state intervention, and a private enterprise economy. Widespread agreement over key liberal ideas/values though not over their later development and interpretation. * Key assumption is individualism. Individuals (rather than nations/races/classes) are the starting point. Society an aggregate of individuals; social behaviour explained in terms of some basic assumptions about human psychology. Some liberal thinkers saw society as an artificial creation prior state of nature where neither society nor government existed. Implication that society and government were purposefully created by individuals in pursuit of their own self-interest. So no social interests beyond the interests of individuals who make up society. * Individuals pursue their own self-interest rationally. No-one else (especially rulers) can determine the individuals own interest. Optimistic assumption that the general pursuit of rational self-interest will produce not only individual satisfaction but also social progress and the happiness of the greatest number. * Freedom the key value individuals must be free to pursue their own self-interest (Mill). Originally this had a negative interpretation i.e. importance of freedom from external constraint. In early history of liberalism this entailed firm limits on power of government to interfere with individual liberty. An important application was principle of toleration applied especially to religious belief championed by Locke (1689) Mill (1859) went on to demand full freedom of thought and expression. Later some liberals stressed freedom to enjoy certain benefits (positive liberty) thus entailing extensive state intervention to enlarge freedom (Green (1881) and Hobhouse (1911) and Berlin (1975)). Conflict between positive and negative views of freedom (and divergent implications) a major theme in the development of liberalism in 20th century. * Influence of egalitarian assumptions. So stress on equality before the law, and equal civil and political rights (though little agreement on what these should be in practice). Some liberals thus justify state provision of education et al to create greater equality of opportunity. But this commitment generally accompanied by acceptance of considerable inequality of income and wealth so in practice equality sacrificed to liberty? * Freedom entails the freedom to be unequal? But liberals deny that individual liberty is inconsistent with social justice. Self-seeking individualism, yes but equation of might and right, no. Squaring of circle attempt to make justice consistent with pursuit of rational self-interest (Rawls, 1971). Implies optimistic view of human nature and thus scope for reconciling individual and collective goals. Hence liberalism differs here from traditional conservatism (more pessimistic about human nature) and socialism (deny reconciliation can be readily achieved) SUMMARY OF THE HISTORICAL WHIG-LIBERAL TRADITION * 17th century Puritanism and Parliamentarism * Late 17th/18th century The Whig Tradition: Glorious Revolution (Locke), constitutional monarchy, government by consent, division of powers, religious toleration (Charles James Fox), oligarchy, mercantilism. * Late 18th/early 19th century Radicalism: revolution (Paine), rationalism, rights of man. * Classical liberalism (Smith) Individualism (Malthus), free markets (Ricardo), utilitarianism (Bentham), representative democracy ( James Mill). * Mid 19th/later 19th century Victorian Liberalism: Manchester liberalism (Cobden), nonconformism (Bright), free trade (Gladstone), nationalism (Mill), municipal gospel (Joseph Chamberlain). * Late 19th century/early 20th century New Liberalism (T.H.Green): social reform (Hobhouse), state intervention (Hobson), liberal imperialism (Edward Grey), national efficiency (Asquith), constitutional reform (Lloyd George). * 1920s to 1970s Decline of Liberal Party but progressive liberal consensus (Keynes, Beveridge). * Late 20th century/early 21st century Liberal revival? (Steel): European Union (Ashdown), devolution (Kennedy). THE WHIG TRADITION * Whig party in 17th century opposed royal absolutism and championed religious dissent; support for rights of parliament and for limits on royal power. Influence of Locke (1632-1704) belief in natural rights to life, liberty and property; government should rest on consent of governed, whose rebellion was justified if their rights were infringed. Need for constitutional limits on government, and division between legislative and executive powers ideas enshrined (imperfectly) in British Constitution post 1688 Glorious Revolution, and later helped to inspire French and American Revolutions. * Contradictions in Whiggism. Defence of material interests aristocrats and merchant/banking allies sought to preserve own power, property, privileges from threat of crown. No concern for massive 18th century wealth/income inequalities. And no wish to spread power beyond the propertied, so constitution they developed/defended was oligarchic/conservative. Fortunes made out of war, slave trade, India. Enclosure of land at expense of rural poor; ruthless enforcement of game laws. * Radical interpretation of Whiggism also no taxation without representation (slogan of parl. opposition to the Stuarts) also became cry of American colonies. 1776 Declaration of Independence based on Whig principles; French revolution welcomed by most Whigs Whig leader Charles James Fox defended its principles/championed civil liberties in England (until death in 1806). * Out of office, 1783-1830, so able to proclaim continued attachment to peace, retrenchment and reform unsuccessful parl. Reform bills, 1797 and 1810. Some credit claimed for abolition of slave trade, while traditional Whig demand for religious toleration reaffirmed in support for Catholic emancipation. * Defection of Old Whigs and accommodation within Foxite remnant of party of new radical generation, committed to reform, helped to preserve/reestablish a politically progressive Whig tradition that ultimately merged into liberalism. 1832 Reform Act the culmination of the Whig tradition yet underlines its essentially conservative nature very modest franchise extension (some of the propertied middle classes). Yet new urban centres gained at the expense of the shires; manufacturing/commerce at the expense of land. Whig aristocrats ultimately lost influence to urban-based business and professional middle classes (the muscle behind Victorian liberalism), though Whigs remained an important, if diminishing, element within the Liberal coalition until the late 19th century. (An antidote to those who view liberalism almost exclusively in terms of free markets neglects the Whig foundations). * The Whig-Liberal tradition is essentially a political tradition, concerned with constitutional issues/civil liberties/parl. sovereignty/ government by consent/freedom of conscience and religious observance/no taxation without representation. Whiggism served economic interests but never really an economic doctrine not about free trade/markets. Foreign trade policy in 17th/18th centuries mercantilist aimed to secure (through colonisation, Navigation Acts and war) the largest possible British share of world trade. RADICALS * Radical reformers at different times, interwoven with or opposed to Whig tradition influence on both liberalism and socialism. Radicalism a broad term, with different connotations for different periods, yet huge influence on British liberalism and 19th century Liberal party. * Paine (1737-1809) never absorbed into the Whig (later Liberal) establishment argued that once sovereignty had been transferred from the monarch to the people, there was no logical case for restricting the franchise his ideas the logical outcome of Whig slogans. Paine a liberal? (uncompromising individualism, sympathies with manfacturers, hostility to government). Or a socialist? (Blueprint for the Welfare State, support for graduated income tax, inspiration for Chartists). More impact in USA/France than in Britain seen as dangerous due to uncompromising republicanism, total opposition to hereditary principle, rejection of Christianity. * Philosopher radicals (or utilitarians) such as Bentham were in touch with progressive Whigs; Whitbread and Brougham constituted the progressive wing of the parl. party. Cobbetts radical populism harked back to pre-industrial age; Bright (Quaker manufacturer) belonged to new generation of post 1832 MPs himself displaced by new breed of radicals who took over the Liberal party in latter part of 19th century. * Radical pressure reinforced Whig commitment to parliamentary reform in 1832, and later. Association with religious dissent in 2nd half of 19th century imbued it with strong moral character fuelled demands for non-denominational state education and C of E disestablishment. Also strongly associated with the municipal gospel in local government. Fusion of Whigs and radicals with former Peelites created Liberal Party, 1859. Whigs continued to dominate Liberal Cabinets, but radicals dominated increasingly important grass roots level, especially after 1859 formation of the National Liberal Federation. * Yet it was a relatively restrained, religiously inspired, and peculiarly British strand of radicalism which eventually prevailed rather than the fiercely rationalist, republican radicalism of Paine. CLASSICAL ECONOMICS AND UTILITARIANISM * Intellectual (rather than moral) influence on Victorian liberalism of classical economists and utilitarians. Smith (1732-90), Malthus (1766-1834) and Ricardo (1772-1823) established importance of markets in the allocation/distribution of resources. And Benthams (1748-1832) utility principle was applied to a wide range of institutions/practices fiercely rationalist analysis (What use is it?). The greatest happiness of the greatest number was the only right and proper end of government. * Both stemmed from the 18th century Enlightenment; both shared the individualist/rationalist assumptions underpinning liberalism; each tended to share the implications of the others approach. Mill had a foot in both camps. * But modern neo-liberals argue it is only Smith and Hume (18th century Scottish Enlightenment) who represent the true spirit of liberalism. Bentham et al are blamed for ideas which provided a warrant for much later illiberal interventionist policy (Gray, 1986). The greatest happiness principle is seen as a breach of free market economics, since the principle of representative democracy (advocated by Mill who converted Bentham) might involve electoral pressures for interference with free market forces; moreover, neo-liberals are opposed to Benthams advocacy of bureaucracy, and thus the appointment of qualified, salaried public officials. The contradictory implications of Benthamite thinking are seen in the utilitarian-influenced Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) the able-bodied poor must enter a workhouse where their condition would be less eligible than that of the lowest independent labourer (free market incentives); at the same time theAct required a comprehensive network of administrative areas and officials, and a large degree of central control and inspection (bureaucracy). * Hence modern neo-liberals are critical of Benthams constructivist rationalism (Hayek, 1975); Gray (1986) claims that it had an inherent tendency to spawn policies of interventionist social engineering. Their refusal to recognise Bentham as a liberal involves an artificial conception of liberalism which has little in common with the Whig/Liberal tradition. * The major classical economists contributed significantly to Victorian liberalism, but their ideas were extensively vulgarised. Even Smith allowed for significant exceptions to his invisible hand. Popularisers such as Harriet Martineau, Edward Baines and Samuel Smiles reduced the principles of classical economics to laissez-faire (for governments) and self-help (for individuals). Public policy, moreover, was never consistently governed by laissez-faire look at the various Factory Acts, Public Health Acts and Acts to regulate the railways and banks passed in the early Victorian period. VICTORIAN LIBERALISM * Although the term liberal was applied from the early 19th century, the Liberal Party emerged only in the 1850s from a party realignment of Whigs, radicals and Peelite Conservatives. Gladstone (1809-98), originally a Con. follower of Peel, the embodiment of Victorian liberalism. Domination of Liberal party, and shaped in his own image; he became more radical and populist with age. Also inspired by Christian moral fervour struck chord among nonconformists. So Gladstonian liberalism a moral crusade (Vincent, 1966). * Several strands. Parliamentary reform derived from Whig tradition; advocacy of Bright, then Gladstone turned it into a populist cause. Proposals for modest franchise extension developed into radical demands for full manhood suffrage. Nonconformist strand while the 1860s parliamentary party was still overwhelmingly Anglican, the Liberals were becoming the party of the nonconformist conscience (Vincent, 1966).Nonconformist pressures spawned the National Education League (to campaign for a national, free and secular system of education), which provided the model for the National Liberal Federation (1877) which established a national organisation for he Liberal party, and tipped it decisively towards radical nonconformism. By the 1880s the PLP (and the party in the country) was predominantly nonconformist. * Support for liberal and nationalist movements in Europe, especially Italian unification, helped create Palmerstons 1859 government and kept it intact; Gladstone campaigned against the Bulgarian atrocities, bringing him out of premature retirement and into close collaboration with the nonconformists. The religious fervour behind his mission to pacify Ireland both split the party and strengthened the moral element in liberalism. * Manchester liberalism also quite influential in the party after 1859. Free trade was established as a liberal principle. Gladstone, as Chancellor, built on earlier work of Cobden and Bright (Anti Corn Law League, 1846 repeal of Corn Laws reflected transfer of power from landed to manufacturing interests) by abolishing a range of duties; Cobden negotiated Anglo-French trade treaty of 1860. But free trade did not entail laissez-faire in domestic policy Cobdens opposition to Factory Acts increasingly out of tune with the times. * Increased state intervention entailed by liberal practice major reforms in education, the army, the law and civil service, 1868-74. Third Reform Act, 1884 triumph of radical demands over Whig caution. Chamberlains Unauthorised Programme (1885) and the Newcastle Programme (1891) marked decisive shift towards radicalism. * Pace of change too fast for some Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) combined laissez-faire economics with evolutionary survival of the fittest; opposition to most forms of state intervention being introduced by Liberals at national and local level; but out of step. By contrast, Mill (1806-73) key transitional figure in evolution of liberalism. The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of any of their number is self-protection (1859) effectively a plea for minimal state intervention (Mill denounced censorship and argued for full liberty of thought and expression). Yet his commitment to individuality (and advocacy of democracy) caused him to fear the tyranny of the majority and the despotism of custom, seen as a greater threat to individuality than deliberate actions by governments. So a watershed thinker in the development of liberalism from individualism to collectivism (Gray, 1986). LIBERALISM, CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY * Liberalism closely associated with rise of industrial capitalism preeminently the creed of the owners of industrial/financial capital. Its political objectives focused on the enfranchisement of the new middle classes and the transfer of political power to the major manufacturing urban centres. No coincidence that Liberal party finally emerged in the 1850s when Britains industrial and commercial dominance was unchallenged, and the working classes were ununionised and unenfranchised. Even further back, protestant dissent (and especially puritanism) embodied ideas favourable to the spirit of capitalist accumulation. * But British liberalism cannot be simply derived from capitalism. The leading Whig MPs, who were still prominent in 19th century Liberal governments, were large landowners; many rank and file Liberals were not manufacturers but small shopkeepers and tradesmen; many of the working class were attached to the Liberal cause (even before the vote). In practice liberalism a coalition of class interests. Many of its causes temperance, religious disestablishment, home rule were scarcely connected with the interests of capitalism. Leading liberal thinkers Mill, Hobhouse, Keynes, Beveridge gave capitalism only qualified support. * Establishment of capitalist economy accompanied by the gradual establishment of a liberal democratic system no coincidence. Indeed, Marxist view is that rep. democracy offers best shell for capitalism so hardly surprising that party of the bourgeoisie was at forefront of parliamentary reform movement, though stopping short of support for full rep. democracy. Gray (1986, and a neo-liberal) accounts for this by arguing that unlimited democracy cannot be liberal government since it respects no domain of independence or liberty as being immune to invasion by governmental authority. * But representative democracy in early 19th century was largely untried, so not surprising liberals were apprehensive about what was a radical minority cause. Yet Paine advocated full manhood suffrage, and Mill argued for extension to women of full political rights. Once the logic of reform was accepted and liberals became committed to the theory and practice of rep. democracy their conversion was wholehearted, and seen by many (such as Chamberlain) as a justification for abandoning earlier limitations to government intervention. Herbert Samuel (1902) argued a reformed state could be entrusted with social reform Now democracy has been substituted for aristocracy as the root principle of the constitution .the State today is held worthy to be the instrument of the community in many affairs for which the State of yesterday was clearly incompetent.. Acceptance of democracy a critical step towards New Liberalism. Inexorable logic by which liberals progressed from parliamentary reform to representative democracy, to state intervention and the apparent abandonment of some of the principles associated with earlier liberalism. THE NEW LIBERALISM * Flourished in late 19th/early 20th centuries involved state economic/social reform which repudiated laissez-faire liberalism. Controversial development natural extension and refinement of the old principles OR culmination of anti-liberal elements present in the liberal tradition from the 1840s in the work of Mill. (Socialist critics dismiss NL as a forlorn attempt to revive an outmoded ideology Arblaster, 1984). * Origins of NL? Influence of Hegelian idealism? Party project to win working class support and head off rising Labour challenge? Need to modernise British economy/society and thus to compete more effectively? Or simply a rationalisation of the substantial growth in government intervention that had already occurred? * Key NL thinkers were Green, Hobson and Hobhouse. Green (1836-82) an Oxford philosopher and Hegelian; Hobson an economist who believed under-consumption to be the cause of unemployment; Hobhouse (1864-1929) a philosopher/sociologist. Common aim to redefine old liberal values in line with new political practice. So freedom, according to Green, meant a positive power or capacity and must be enjoyed by all. Hobson referred to the provision of equal opportunities for self-development so state intervention might be needed to remove obstacles. (But each enlargement of the authority and functions of the State must justify itself as an enlargement of personal liberty, interfering with individuals only in order to set free new and larger opportunities). Hobhouse justified interference with the market to secure the right to work and the right to a living wage, given the powerlessness of individual workers to secure such rights. * Liberal politicians were more cautious than the NL ideologues, though were increasingly interventionist, both at national and at local level. Locally, enthusiasm for civic improvements amounted to a municipal gospel city government seen as a test-bed for policies which could be applied nationally. Chamberlain (1836-1914) a radical Liberal mayor of Birmingham before moving to national politics (later split with Gladstone and allied with the Conservatives) campaign for the Unauthorised Programme (1895) based on LG experience hospitals, schools, museums, libraries, galleries, baths, parks, etc. Explicit rejection of laissez-faire, which was equivalent to acceptance of selfish wealth alongside poverty; accepted charge that proposed reforms were in practice socialism. Radical, reforming approach of 1895 UA echoed in 1891 Newcastle programme. At national level, little opportunity to implement the NL programme before the Liberal landslide victory of 1906. * 1906-14 Liberal Government key figures were Asquith and Lloyd George. Welfare reforms included provision of school meals and OAPs, and LGs introduction of national health and unemployment insurance (1911). LGs 1909 budget involved some modest income/wealth redistribution through the land tax and progressive income tax. And Churchills labour exchanges showed willingness to intervene in the labour market. * Key stimulus was rising challenge of labour; historians disagree over electoral appeal of state welfare advocated by leaders of organised working class, but not necessarily popular with working class voters, and frightened many middle class voters. Rosebery (briefly PM post Gladstone) thought Newcastle programme cost the party votes, though his Liberal Imperialism appealed to a chauvinistic working class, while his more modest economic/social reform programme promoted National Efficiency and appealed to progressive businessmen set on competing successfully with the rising economies of Germany, USA and Japan. DECLINE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERALISM? * NL failed to prevent decline of Liberal party. WW1 undermined Liberal internationalism. Pressures towards collectivism/coercion associated with modern warfare created huge strains for Liberal individualism especially on symbolic issue of conscription. And after WW1 many Liberal causes (religious nonconformism, temperance, free trade) seemed less relevant. * Yet the disintegration of the Liberal party signifies the triumph of liberalism .. if liberalism is now partly invisible, this is because so many of its assumptions and ideals have infiltrated political practice and current awareness. (Eccleshall, 1986). Culmination of liberal thought seen in Beveridges social welfare proposals and in Keynesian economic theory provided basis of the post WW2 ideological consensus. 1942 Beveridge Report based on insurance principle, and was in keeping with spirit of LGs 1911 insurance scheme though much more comprehensive. Keynes economic theory provided for macro government intervention but allowed markets to operate freely at the micro level. Both B and K favoured private ownership of the means of production. It was precisely this kind of state intervention to promote employment and welfare provision which was favoured by earlier NLs like Green and Hobhouse. * Other liberal ideas long absorbed into British culture. 1960s changes in the law on divorce, homosexuality and abortion; some relaxation of censorship all compatible with Mills 1859 proclamation of principles of individual liberty. Later laws on equal pay, equal opportunities, and race and sex discrimination in 1970s fully consistent with liberal ideology. Thus a progressive liberal orthodoxy was established, with support from all parties. * Apparent triumph of economic/social ideas of NL complicated by revival (from 1970s onwards) of the older free market liberalism associated with classical economics. Hence modern use of term liberal requires a qualifying prefix. Hence progressive (or social) liberals advocate penal reform, civil liberties, protection of rights of minorities, freedom of expression, and open government unashamed economic interventionists. Neo-liberals (Hayek, Friedman) favour free market ideas on the right of the political spectrum, with key influence on the New Right and on Thatcherite conservatism. THE IDEAS OF MODERN LIBERALS AND LIBERAL DEMOCRATS * Modest revival in Liberal party fortunes began in 1960s; accelerated in mid 1970s; given impetus by alliance with SDP in 1983 and 1987; merger to form LDs. Now involved in coalition in Scotland and Wales, have large role in English LG, and 52 MPs after 2001 General Election. Accompanied by revival in associated political ideas. * Policies of Liberals/LDs involve continuation of NL tradition welfare capitalism, with strong stress upon individual rights. Distinctive Liberal policies included early advocacy of UK membership of EU, devolution, incomes policies, partnership in industry, electoral and other constitutional reform, and a focus on the community (linked with Liberal successes in LG). * Postwar Liberal party did little to extend/develop liberalism no startling new ideas or major thinkers. Neither electoral successes nor failures owed much to liberal ideology. Key decisions for leadership have been tactical, not ideological whether to accept Heaths coalition offer in 1974, whether to support the Labour government after 1977, how to handle the SDP breakaway from Labour in 1981, and how soon to promote a merger with the SDP. In fact, more intellectual ferment among the SDP, and their post -merger remnants. Dividing line between NL and Fabian socialism has always been thin? Hobhouse talked of liberal socialism in 1911; Hobson joined Labour after WW1. Thinner still following revisionist tendencies on the Labour Right in the 1950s, and the SDP breakaway in 1981. Hence the Liberal/SDP Alliance (and later merger) can be seen as the practical expression of an ideological convergence that was already well under way (Behrens, 1989). But ultimately it was the Liberals that swallowed the SDP, and not the other way round so the modern LDs are the clear lineal descendants of the old Liberal party. * Paradoxically, as fortunes of the Liberals/LDs have risen, LD ideas have become less distinctive. For most of post WW2 period Liberals adopted an intermediate position between Con and Lab. Briefly, in early 1980s, Liberals (and allies) seemed to offer a distinctive middle way between Thatcherism and left wing socialism. Since then Lab has reoccupied the centre ground previously vacated, leaving the LDs with little ideological space and few distinctive ideas or policies on the management of the economy, constitutional reform, Europe, defence and foreign policy the differences between the LDs and Lab are ARGUABLY more of degree than kind. * Under Ashdowns leadership, coalition with Labour seemed logical, even likely, given Blairs keenness to heal the divisions on the centre-left which had left the Cons dominant for most of the 20th century. Coalitions in LG and in the devolved bodies provide continuing impetus but sheer scale of Labs victories in 1997 and 2001 (and resistance within both parties) have weakened the project. LDs have pursued a more independent and critical line under Kennedy, without yet returning to earlier policy of equidistance between Lab and Con. * Attempts made to articulate a distinctive LD philosophy in these unpromising political circumstances by Wallace (1997), Russell (1999) and Ballard (2000). Yet terminology employed cooperation, working with others, partnership politics, community shared by New Labour and progressive Conservatives. Higher profile of LDs has drawn attention to considerable diversity of views in the party free market liberals, social liberals, conservatives with a social conscience and dissatisfied ex-Labour voters, greens, anarchists . (Ballard, 2000). Shows tolerance and inclusiveness? But not ideological coherence. The real problem is that there is now little distinctive ideological ground for the LDs to occupy, but this underlines the widespread acceptance of liberal ideas across mainstream British political parties.