Sickle Cell-Advocacy Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sickle Cell-Advocacy Paper - Assignment Example United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC (2014) shows that it costs $11,702 to treat those children with SCD under Medicaid cover and $14,772 for those children under the employer-sponsored insurance. Combined, both groups had no less than one hospital stay. Furthermore, a research by Kauf, Coates, Huazhi, Mody-Patel and Hartzema (2009) estimates the median lifetime costs for people with SCD at $186,406 when discounted and $392,940 when undiscounted. Thus, the economic cost of SCD is a critical public health concern which makes paediatric SCD inaccessible. As such, this memo appeals to the Department of Health and Human Services to subsidise on the costs and take regulatory action that would promote paediatric SCD care initiatives that seek to increase access of the much needed paediatric SCD healthcare services. The sickle cell disease would normally cause the red blood cells to harden and become sticky, adopting a C shape, thus its name from a similarly looking farm tool. With the sickle cells dying early, there would constantly be a shortage of red blood cells, causing severe pains, infections, organ damage or anaemia (MCHB, 2014). These complications make patients constantly seek for medical services. Even though the exact number of people living with the disease remains unknown, CDC (2014) estimates between 90,000 and 100,000 Americans to be affected. Of these, African-Americans are worst hit with 1 in every 500 newborns diagnosed with SCD. These are significant numbers going by the costs already associated with caring for patients with SCD. As noted by Kauf et al. (2009), the components of cost of care for SCD patients include the inpatient and emergency department, ED hospitalisation, having found out from their study that patients with SCD incur averagely one ED visit per patient yea r, 3.7 inpatient hospitalisations and about 24.1 hospital days. According to Raphael et al. (2013), placing children under high-acuity services such as

A Sense of Sin Essay Example for Free

A Sense of Sin Essay No one doubts the presence of evil in the world. We experience it in a variety of ways: national and international conflict; domestic and street violence; political and corporate corruption; and a host of manifestations of sexism, clericalism, racism, ageism, and other violations of justice. All such forms of brutality, disorder and discrimination, seem from a theological perspective, are rooted in sin. But do we ever recognize the sin and name it as such? 1 Retrieving a Sense of Sin For some reason, sin seems to have lost its hold on us as a way of accounting for and naming so much of the evil we know. Among the many other reasons, the eclipse of the religious world view through the rise of the secular spirit accounts significantly for the loss of the sense of sin. In fact, in his post-synodal exhortation, Reconciliatio et Penitentia (1984), Pope John Paul II credits â€Å"secularism† above all with contributing to a loss of a sense of sin.2 The secular spirit questions the relevance and meaning of all Christian symbols, and even of religion itself. One effect of this secular spirit on the meaning of sin, for example, has been to reduce sin to some form of psychological or social disorder. The therapeutic perspective which pervades the secular spirit looks on behavior as either healthily adaptive-problem-solving behavior, or as unhealthy, nonadaptive, and problem-creating behavior.3 It does not call the latter sin. For a survey at major attempts in the past twenty years to explore the mystery of sin, see James A. O’Donohue, Toward a Theology of Sin: A Look at the Last Twenty Years,† Church 2 (Spring 1986): 48-54. 2 The other factors of a non-ecclesial nature which John Paul II lists as errors made in evaluating certain findings of the human sciences, deriving systems of ethics from historical relativism, and identifying sin with neurotic guilt. Within the thought and life of the Church, certain trends have also contributed to the loss of the sense of sin. Among these he lists the movement from seeing sin everywhere to not recognizing it anywhere; from an emphasis on fear of external punishment to preaching a love of God that excludes punishment; from correcting erroneous consciences to respecting consciences but excluding the duty to tell the truth. Two other ecclesial factors are the plurality of opinions existing in the church on questions of morality and the deficiencies in the practice of penance. To restore a healthy sense of sin, the pope advocates â€Å"a sound catechetics, illuminated by the biblical theology of the covenant, by an attentive listening and trustful openness to the magisterium of the church, which never ceases to enlighten consciences, and by an ever more careful practice of the sacrament of penance.† See Origins 14 (December 20, 1984): 443-444, quotation at p. 444. 3 The research of the team headed by sociologist Robert Bellah which has produced Habits of the Heart (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), a study of the American beliefs and practices which give shape to our character and form our social order, shows that the therapist is the newest character forming American culture. See Chapter Two â€Å"Culture and Character: The Historical Conversation,† pp. 27-51, especially pp. 47-48. 2 Moreover, the secular, therapeutic perspective tends to look on persons more as victims of unconscious or socio-cultural influences than as agents of free actions. Psychiatrists Karl Menninger in Whatever Happened to Sin4 and M. Scott Peck in People of the Lie5 want to make full allowance for those conditions which cause people to do evil. Yet both insist on a strip of responsibility which cannot be negotiated away to these determining influences. While the behavioral sciences provide us with helpful explanations of human behavior, they do not give a full account. Sin is real, and we need a fresh way to get at it and call it what it is. What do we need to grasp in order to retrieve a sense of sin in an adult manner? Contemporary moral theology says a â€Å"sense of responsibility.† Christian theologians find in â€Å"responsibility† the essential theme of Christian faith and the central characteristic of the moral life. A leading Protestant theologian of this century, H. Richard Niebuhr, has done much to give impetus to the â€Å"responsibility† motif in Christian morality. 6 He summarizes the constituents of responsibility by describing the agent’s actions as a response to an action upon him in accordance with his interpretation of the latter action and with his expectation of response to his response; and all of this is in a continuing community of agents. (The Responsible Self, 65) Since God is present to us in and through all that makes up our lives so that we are never not in the presence of God, our responses to all our actions upon us include our response to God. As Niebuhr asserts, â€Å"Responsibility affirms: God is acting in all our actions upon you. So respond to all actions upon you as to respond to his action† (The Responsible Self, 126). If â€Å"being responsible† sums up the quality of character and action marking Christian moral living, sin will mark the failure to be fully responsible. â€Å"Responsibility† as a motif for the moral life has found its way into Catholic moral thinking with the strong support of the biblical renewal in the Catholic Church. Bernard Hà ¤ring, who has been instrumental in renewing Catholic moral thinking, has used this notion of â€Å"responsibility† with great success in reconstructing Catholic moral thought. Along with other Catholic theologians, Hà ¤ring has found in the biblical renewal a fresh theological framework and an orientation for understanding the moral life.7 We turn, then, to the biblical perspective on sin. Menninger, Whatever Happened to Sin? (New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1973). Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Shuster, 1983). 6 See especially Niebuhr, The Responsible Self (New York: Harper Row, 1963), pp. 61-65. 7 Bernard Hà ¤ring’s writings are vast and wide-ranging. His early three-volume work, The Law of Christ (Westminster: Newman Press, 1961, 1963, 1966), was one of the first major works by a Catholic moral theologian to rethink morality in light of the biblical renewal. His most recent three-volume work, Free and Faithful in Christ (New York: Seabury Press, 1978, 1979, 1981), is an expression of Hà ¤ring’s more mature thought. This work is not a revision of The Law of Christ, but a completely new work. Charles E. Curran, a student of Hà ¤ring, has followed his teacher’s lead in making efforts at renewing moral theology in light of the biblical renewal. Some of Curran’s pertinent articles are â€Å"The Relevancy of the Ethical Teaching of Jesus† and â€Å"Conversion: The Central Message of Jesus† in A New Look at Christian Morality (Notre Dame: Fides Publishers, Inc., 1968), pp. 1-23 and 25-71. Sin: The Biblical Perspective From the Bible we see that Christian morality is primarily a â€Å"vocation.† This means that our life is a response to the word of God spoken to us preeminently in Jesus, but also in and through the people and events of our lives. From the perspective of vocation, wherein God calls and we respond, responsibility replaces obligation as the primary characteristic of the moral life. Also, the relationship that we establish with God in and through our responses to all things becomes the focal point of the moral life. From this point of view, practicing the presence of God becomes essential for Christian responsibility, Christian moral growth, and our awareness of sin. A consistent theme of contemporary theology has been that we cannot have a proper understanding of sin unless we have a proper understanding of the nature and implications of the covenant God has established with us. â€Å"Covenant† and â€Å"heart† are the dominant metaphors of biblical faith for understanding the moral life. They provide the biblical horizon against which to recognize sin. Covenant The two frequently used terms for sin in the Old Testament point to violations of relationships. Hattah is the most common term. Its meaning, â€Å"to miss the mark† or â€Å"to offend,† points to a purposeful action oriented toward an existing relationship. The existence of the relationship makes the offence or failure possible. Pesa, meaning â€Å"rebellion,† is a legal term denoting a deliberate action violating a relationship in community. The New Testament term for sin is hamartia. It connotes a deliberate action rooted in the heart and missing the intended mark. 8 These terms acquire theological significance when used in the context of the covenant which expresses the most personal kind of relationship between God and us. The primary aim of the covenant is that God loves us without our having done anything to attract God’s attention or to win that love. God’s covenant is a bond of completely gratuitous love, pure grace. But God’s initiative of love (grace) does not destroy our freedom. Unlike the Godfather, God makes an offer we can refuse. God’s offer of love awaits our acceptance. Once we accept the offer of love we commit ourselves to living as the covenant requires. The covenant context lifts the notion of sin out of a legalistic framework to set it on a level of a personal relationship with God. In worshipping the golden calf (Ex 32), Israel missed the mark of covenant love, or sinned, not so much because Israel broke one of the laws of the covenant, but because Israel broke the personal bond of love of which the law was an external expression. The law was not to be the final object of Israel’s fidelity. God was. Sin in the Bible is not merely breaking a law. Sin is breaking or weakening the God-given bond of love. The law was an aid to Israel’s fidelity and pointed to the responsibilities of being in relationship to God.

Euripides Medea Essay example -- Medea Euripides Essays

Euripides' Medea Medea is the tragic tale of a woman scorned. It was written in 431 B.C. by the Greek playwright, Euripides. Eruipides was the first Greek poet to suffer the fate of so many of the great modern writers: rejected by most of his contemporaries (he rarely won first prize and was the favorite target for the scurrilous humor of the comic poets), he was universally admired and revered by the Greeks of the centuries that followed his death('Norton Anthology';). Euripides showed his interest in psychology in his many understanding portraits of women ('World Book';). Euripides choice of women support characters such as the nurse and the chorus is imperative to the magnification of Medea's emotions. The very fact that the nurse and chorus are female deepens Medea's sadness, impassions her anger, and makes the crime of killing her own children all the more heinous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Medea's state of mind in the beginning of the play is that of hopelessness and self pity. Medea is both woman and foreigner; that is to say, in terms of the audience's prejudice and practice she is a representative of the two free born groups in Athenian society that had almost no rights at all ('Norton Anthology'; 739). Euripides could not have chosen a more downtrodden role for Medea. Here is this woman who has stood by her man through thick and thin. She has turned her back on her family and killed her own brother while helping Jason capture the Golden Fleece. 'Oh my father! Oh, my country! In what dishonor I left you, killing my own brother for it.'; (Medea 164-165) Despite all of her devotion to her husband he has fallen in love with someone new, Glauke. The Nurse and the Chorus understand and sympathize with Medea as only other women could. Euripides develops the heart of Medea's character by the sympathetical approach of the Nurse. '...calling out on her father's name, And her land, and her home betrayed when she came away with A man who now is determined to dishonor her. Poor creature, she has discovered by her sufferings What it means to one not to have lost one's own country.'; (Medea 31-35) The Chorus are sympathetic to Medea's heartache also, and offer a more simple and acceptable approach to help Medea deal with her troubles.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   'Suppose your man gives honor To another woman's bed. It often happens. Don't be hurt.  Ã‚  ... ...And when I have ruined the whole of Jason's house, I shall leave the land and flee from the murder of my Dear children, and I shall have done a dreadful deed.'; (Medea 775-780) The killing of Glauke and Kreon loses significance with the Chorus who are dreadfully anticipating the harm of Medea's children. Euripides uses a female chorus to signify the atrocity of a mother killing her own children. The Chorus no longer sympathizes with Medea, yet still blames Jason for the events which have taken place. 'You too, O wretched bridegroom, making your match with kings, You do not see that you bring Destruction on your children...';(Medea 964-966)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Euripides role of female characters to sympathize with Medeas heartache in the beginning, and magnify the unscrupulous murder of her children in the end is brilliant. The reason for the female support is evident. If the Nurse or Chorus had been a male servant or a mixed crowd in society the plot of the play would have been lost. Medea is a woman suffering from a broken heart, and it seems only fair that she be given sympathy and judgment from peers who can relate. Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned!

Obligation Definition Essay

The question presented in this discussion is definitely one that has no easy answer. I will start by saying, a obligation is defined by what a person is bound to from either tradition or law. If I took a relative approach I would say that morals and ethical obligation are subjective. I personally believe that to a extent humans do have a obligation to animals. To go out of your way to depict cruelty to any creature illustrates a flaw in your own character. However, humans don’t have to have a diet that includes meat but most do. Even in these cases the way that the livestock is going to be treated does not have to be treated cruelly, or put in discomfort. I remember watching a show in which the farmer said, that his cows tasted so good because they lived a happy life. In many ways he treated the cows akin to a pet, by feeding them properly, making sure their living quarters are clean, and showing them affection. His belief was that by doing this his cow’s meat was more tender, then if he hadn’t done these practices. Do I believe this maybe, maybe not. However, this does illustrate that the livestock that we consume does not have to be treated in a cruel manner. Yet, in theory in our society animals do not perform any function but companionship and food, which means humans really don’t have a obligation to them. However, I feel it is boorish to depict cruelty to any creature or anyone.

Iron Crowned Chapter 24

â€Å"What?† exclaimed Jasmine. I didn't share her concern. â€Å"Damn it. I should have banished you the first time I saw you. I don't have time for this, not with everything else. You should be in the Underworld by now. Kiyo isn't going to kill me.† â€Å"I'm serious!† said Deanna, as frantic as a ghost could get. â€Å"You're in danger!† I shook my head. â€Å"Look, I'm sorry about your husband †¦ really, I am. But not every guy is homicidal. Don't transfer this to me.† â€Å"I'm not! This is real. I was going to move on after †¦ after †¦ well, after my husband was arrested†¦.† There was a mournful pause. Her story had come to a close, but it hadn't had a happy ending. â€Å"I wanted to say good-bye formally and went looking for you †¦ but found Kiyo instead †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I put my hands on my hips, wishing I'd brought my wand. I did not need a delusional ghost, not with everything else right now. â€Å"And then he said he was going to kill me?† â€Å"No. He told that other queen he would.† That cut off my snark, leaving me speechless for a moment. â€Å"What other queen?† demanded Jasmine. â€Å"The blond one. The Willow Queen.† Jasmine and I exchanged looks. Suddenly, Deanna's crazy statements had become slightly less crazy. â€Å"What exactly did you overhear?† I asked quietly. â€Å"He told her you were pregnant and that you'd have an abortion if it was a boy †¦ but that he was concerned. He was worried because you hadn't just done it already.† Deanna looked back and forth between our faces, desperate for either of us to believe her. â€Å"He said it was probably just shock and that you'd ‘do the right thing,' but that if you didn't †¦ well, Maiwenn said they'd have to make you lose the baby. Or †¦ if that didn't work †¦ that Kiyo would kill you.† â€Å"That's insane,† I said. â€Å"Kiyo wouldn't kill me.† â€Å"Kiyo doesn't want the prophecy to come true,† said Jasmine. â€Å"It's not that insane.† I turned on her. â€Å"He loves me. This whole idea †¦ it's ridiculous.† â€Å"Why would I lie?† said Deanna. â€Å"You helped me. I'm helping you by warning you before I move on to the next world. I'm telling you, I heard them. Kiyo swore he'd make sure the prophecy couldn't be fulfilled.† â€Å"Kiyo. Loves. Me.† â€Å"Dorian loves you too,† pointed out Jasmine. â€Å"And look what he did. When you think about it, Kiyo's the type who'd think one tragic loss of life was worth saving many. Or something stupid like that.† â€Å"He would.† Admitting it surprised me, and yet †¦ as the meaning of Deanna's words sank deeper and deeper, I remembered my first meeting with Kiyo. He'd found me on Maiwenn's orders. They hadn't known what kind of person I was, if I'd wanted to fulfill the prophecy or not. He'd never said so explicitly, but my impression had been that both were willing to go to extreme means to stop Storm King's heir from being born. Our relationship had obviously changed since then, but maybe †¦ maybe some things hadn't†¦. â€Å"But he wouldn't go that far,† I finished. â€Å"Do you want to take that chance?† asked Jasmine softly. â€Å"Maybe he wouldn't really kill you, but you heard what he said about Maiwenn's ‘magic' abortion.† What had Deanna claimed? That Kiyo and Maiwenn had planned to make me terminate the pregnancy if I wouldn't willingly? â€Å"We just need to talk,† I said, hoping I sounded convincing. My next words gave me away. â€Å"Somewhere I know I'm safe.† â€Å"Kiyo's in the waiting room,† said Jasmine, seeing that I was finally taking this seriously. â€Å"Is this a safe place?† â€Å"Probably not.† I had finished getting dressed. â€Å"There must be a back door. There's always a back door. We'll go †¦ we'll go home. I'll get my weapons, and then we'll go to the Otherworld. He and I can talk about this reasonably in the Thorn Land. I'll be safe there.† â€Å"You'll never make it there,† said Deanna. I'd practically forgotten about her. â€Å"He can follow you. As soon as you leave here, he'll know and come after you.† â€Å"How could he – â€Å" I lightly touched my upper arm, the spot where Kiyo's nails had barely dug in the other night. I took a deep, shaking breath. â€Å"He marked me,† I said. He'd scratched me the first night we'd met too, leaving a long-healing wound that allowed him to track me wherever I went. This one was smaller but would work just as well. Jasmine was already moving toward the door, so full of tension and purpose that she seemed much older. â€Å"We'll just go straight to the Otherworld then. You'll be safe there. Where's the nearest gateway?† I racked my brain, thinking of our location. â€Å"By Morriswood Park. Farther than I'd like.† â€Å"Well, we have to go soon. If we stay here any longer, the doctor'll come ask what's wrong,† said Jasmine. â€Å"And we can't let Kiyo find us in the parking lot.† â€Å"You'll never make it to the park in time,† wailed Deanna. I scowled, but she was right. Jasmine looked at me questioningly. For a moment, I considered calling Volusian, but he might happily kill Kiyo and claim it was in my defense. I wasn't ready for that. â€Å"I know where we can go,† I said. â€Å"Come on.† We left the exam room, stepping out into the hallway. I turned with purpose, opposite the direction of the waiting room we'd entered from. This took us deeper into the clinic, past more examining rooms and their lab. A couple staff members passed us, but we walked confidently enough that no one stopped us. They probably assumed we'd been directed somewhere. Meanwhile, my eyes were searching for an exit sign. There had to be a back door. Surely hypocritical health professionals had to go somewhere to smoke. â€Å"There.† I nodded toward an exit sign, praying it didn't lead to a fire door, which would be of no use to us. Nope. It was just an ordinary door, one probably used for maintenance or shipments. Someone did notice us then and start to ask what we were doing, but by then, we were outside and behind the building. â€Å"Eugenie, where are we going?† asked Jasmine anxiously. Deanna had faded away, perhaps now finally leaving this world after fulfilling what she believed to be her last duty. As we walked briskly toward my car, some part of me kept wanting to think she'd lied. But why? As she'd said, she had no reason. She'd held true to me before. And with every passing second, I grew more and more conflicted, wondering what I should believe. Kiyo loved me. He'd gone out of his way to win me back †¦ but he was firmly set on protecting the human world. At any cost? We'd see. Deanna was mistaken; she had to be. My worst fate was probably going to be Kiyo's talking me to death. We got in the car, and I did briefly consider trying to make a break for Morriswood Park and its Otherworldly gate. After all, what was Kiyo going to do? Get in a high speed chase with us? The thing was, with that mark, he would be able to track me. He could probably feel me moving away now. If we headed anywhere near the park he'd figure it out. He'd either try to beat us there or just catch up with us on the other side. No, I had to go somewhere else. Somewhere with protection. Somewhere I could be sure I was safe until all of this madness was settled. Jasmine's face grew increasingly troubled as we drove away from the doctor's office. She kept glancing back, as though expecting to see Kiyo right on our bumper. When we turned into a suburban neighborhood, her worry shifted to confusion. â€Å"What is this?† â€Å"Home,† I replied, pulling into the driveway of a well-kept house surrounded by trees and flowers. A fence enclosed the backyard but couldn't hide the efforts someone had made to turn a Tucson backyard into something lush and green. The gate in the fence was unlocked as I'd known it would be. The yard was unoccupied, save for birds and insects. The house's patio door had its glass open, covered only by a screen that let in the afternoon air. It too would be unlocked. â€Å"Kiyo won't really do it,† I muttered, as I jerked the door open. â€Å"Maybe he's upset †¦ but we can talk this out. Deanna overreacted. We're overreacting.† We stepped into a small breakfast nook, and in the adjacent kitchen, a man spun around. My heart leapt when I saw him. The familiar, kind face. The graying hair. The tattoos of whorls and fishes. It felt like a lifetime since our last meeting. Roland. I'd gone to my parents' house. Roland's reactions were those of a man who'd spent years fighting and training, but even that didn't prepare him for the sight of us. Astonishment filled his features, quickly giving way to outrage. â€Å"Eugenie! What are you – â€Å" â€Å"Get your weapons,† I ordered, casting an uneasy glance behind me. Jasmine followed as I strode toward him. â€Å"Whatever you've got in the house.† He didn't move. â€Å"You know you're not – â€Å" â€Å"Get them!† I exclaimed. â€Å"We don't have time for this!† I don't know what look I wore on my face, but it was enough to pierce the walls of hurt and anger he'd built between us since learning of my involvement in the Otherworld. I'd taken a risk coming here, a gamble that no matter what happened, Roland would protect me. And I was right. He transformed before my eyes, suddenly the concerned and caring stepfather I'd grown up with. â€Å"What's – â€Å" Before he could finish, the screen door flew open. Kiyo stood there, face dark and stormy. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† he demanded. â€Å"Why did you take off?† â€Å"You first,† I said, taking a step back toward Roland. â€Å"What are you doing?† Jasmine moved to my other side. My eyes were on Kiyo, but I could sense Roland bracing for battle. Maybe he didn't know what was going on, but anyone could have seen how dangerous Kiyo was. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you, and you disappeared!† Kiyo moved forward a little but stopped, recognizing the united front that Roland and I – and yes, even Jasmine – presented. â€Å"Talk? Is that all you wanted to do?† â€Å"Yes. Of course.† Kiyo glanced between all of us. â€Å"You promised, Eugenie. You promised if it was a boy, you'd get rid of it.† â€Å"There's a girl too!† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can't get rid of one without the other.† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† he said. â€Å"The consequences are too big.† â€Å"I can't kill an innocent. She hasn't done anything.† â€Å"Not directly. Letting her live means he lives. And there's nothing innocent there. He can't live. Eugenie, you know that. I'm not trying to be cruel. Please. Do what's right.† Jasmine and Roland remained silent as this drama played out. Meanwhile, I realized how sickened the language of this whole matter continued to make me. Get rid of it. He can't live. â€Å"You're so quick to kill your own children,† I said in disbelief, echoing what Jasmine had said a few days before. â€Å"Don't you feel any remorse? You know better than me what it's like to be a parent!† â€Å"Yes,† he said, clenching his fists. â€Å"I do know. And it's amazing. I wish you could know what it's like†¦.† â€Å"But I can't? I can't have the same chance you and Maiwenn had?† Kiyo shook his head. â€Å"You aren't the same as Maiwenn. You can't ever be.† It was like a gut-punch. I was stunned into silence, and a bit of his fierceness eased. I think he read my reaction as acceptance. â€Å"Look, I don't get this,† he said. â€Å"I don't get why you're resisting all of this after what you've always said! You never wanted a baby – any baby. If you've changed your mind, then †¦ well, try again. You just can't have these.† â€Å"And what then? I just keep having abortions until a girl comes along? What kind of a sick bastard are you?† I moved forward without realizing it, my anger exploding. Roland put a hand on my arm, keeping me back. It wasn't affection. It was a warning. It was defensive strategy, keeping us together. â€Å"I'm trying to protect the human world,† Kiyo said. He hadn't come any closer, but he was as ready as we were, his reflexes even faster. â€Å"And you should be too.† â€Å"And what happens if I don't do what you want?† I asked quietly. Here it was, the moment of truth. He sighed. â€Å"I don't want it to come to that.† â€Å"To what?† My voice rose sharply, the anguish in me ready to explode. â€Å"What will you do?† â€Å"I'll take you to Maiwenn – by force. And then †¦ and then she'll take care of it.† â€Å"The hell you will,† I said. Goddamnit, I wished I had a weapon. I almost always traveled with them – but not to the doctor's office. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roland's hand rest on the counter and wrap around something. A wand. He'd had his wand in the kitchen. But of course he would. Unlike me, he hadn't become careless. â€Å"I'll never let that happen. You guys aren't going to experiment on me!† Kiyo's face displayed a mix of emotions. There was sorrow and disappointment. He did care. He didn't want this fight between us – but he also believed in his greater good. He believed he had to do anything to stop the prophecy, and I knew then that Deanna had spoken the truth. Ideally, he just wanted the pregnancy to end. If that wasn't possible, then I was what needed to be eliminated. â€Å"How can you do this?† he asked, his voice both a threat and a plea. â€Å"How can you risk all this – just to save one life?† It was only in that moment, as the words left my lips, that I learned the truth about myself, what I'd been holding deep inside. The girl and boy thing didn't matter. Only the heartbeats did – those tiny, rapid heartbeats pounding in my ears †¦ â€Å"I'm not,† I told him. â€Å"I'm saving two lives.† I sealed my fate with that. Kiyo moved so fast that I wasn't prepared for the attack. He sprang toward me, shape-shifting as he did into his giant fox form, fangs out, snarling. A blast of wind slowed – but didn't stop – his leap, providing enough time for Roland to jerk me out of the way. The wind magic hadn't come from me. It had been Jasmine, which was why the power hadn't packed much of a punch. The unaccustomed magic left her gasping, but it had been enough to buy us a brief escape. Roland pulled me out of the kitchen, out to where we had more space to maneuver in the living room. Kiyo followed without hesitation, all brute strength and speed. â€Å"He can be banished,† I gasped out to Roland. â€Å"The same as a gentry.† Roland gave a brisk nod of acknowledgment. He already knew this, but in the sudden flurry, he didn't have the necessary pause to do a full banishing. Kiyo reached us, throwing himself on me and pushing me away from Roland. I fell hard to the ground, Kiyo's weight pinning me there. As quickly as he'd turned fox, he transformed back into a man. Still displaying amazing speed, he pulled me up by the arm. I didn't know if his intentions were simply to cart me out of the house or to attempt a world-jump then and there, but I didn't give him the chance. I'd recovered my senses and took hold of my magic. The air grew thick, and a hurricane-worthy gust blasted him away – along with a substantial part of my parents' furniture. Kiyo grimaced as he regained his footing and agonizingly took one step at a time toward me. â€Å"Damn it!† he yelled over the roar of the wind. â€Å"Stop this!† â€Å"You stop this!† I shouted back. The magic burned in my blood, and no matter how annoyingly weak the pregnancy had made me, my power hadn't diminished too much. â€Å"We don't even know that this prophecy's real! I've already met one fake seeress. It could all be for nothing.† Roland and my mother had once told me that prophecies were a dime a dozen in the Otherworld, and I'd seen that to a certain extent. Until now, I'd never wanted to take the chance that mine wouldn't come true. â€Å"But we don't know!† Kiyo countered. I could see the irritation on his face. I was keeping a storm raging around me, one that held him at bay while hopefully Roland began a banishing. â€Å"We can't risk it. Please. Please come back with me to Maiwenn. We'll fix this.† I didn't answer and instead kept the storm going. My gaze stayed on Kiyo, but I felt the tingle of shamanic magic – human magic – beginning to glimmer. Roland was indeed performing a banishing spell. Kiyo transformed into a fox again, and with that extra strength, he managed to push through the storm-shield around me and knock me to the ground again. He stayed as a fox this time, holding onto that strength. His teeth bit into my shirt, through to my shoulder, and I yelled out in pain. My magic wavered, and to my astonishment, he began dragging me – slowly – across the living room. His progress was halted when a small end table slammed into his back. I tell you, those things are lethal. Instinctively, he reared up against his attacker: Jasmine. He shoved her away, and she stumbled back. Snarling, Kiyo returned to me, and I had the uneasy feeling my odds were getting worse as to whether he'd cart me away or just kill me. He could hold on to human thoughts in fox form, but they became increasingly influenced by animal reactions the longer he stayed transformed. He suddenly looked away from me, gold eyes on Roland, who stood planted firmly across the room with his wand extended. I'd sensed the banishing earlier because of my training. Now, with the spell in full force, Kiyo could feel it too. Abandoning me for the new threat, Kiyo raced toward Roland. I screamed as all that animal power slammed into my stepfather, pinning him against the wall. The wand flew from Roland's hand. The banishing spell disintegrated. Kiyo shifted to human form again, still trapping Roland. Roland was strong but couldn't match Kiyo's strength. Struggling was useless. â€Å"Stop it,† cried Kiyo. â€Å"Both of you.† His arm pressed against Roland's neck. Roland managed a gasp as the grip cut off his air. Immediately, I let the storm magic around me drop. As I did, I felt that Jasmine had been lending her strength to me without me even realizing it. She too ceased her wielding and struggled up from where she'd been knocked down, coming to stand with me once again. The room fell eerily still. â€Å"Let him go,† I growled, moving slightly forward. I knew I couldn't win against Kiyo in a physical fight, but I also couldn't let him harm Roland. â€Å"This isn't about him. Don't hurt him.† â€Å"Believe me,† said Kiyo, â€Å"I don't want to.† His eyes were dark and human again, but there was still some feral glint in there. â€Å"Come with me, and I'll release him.† â€Å"Come with you,† I said flatly. â€Å"To Maiwenn's?† â€Å"You'll thank me later,† said Kiyo. My mind raced frantically. Roland was struggling for breath. How much longer did he have? Would Kiyo really kill him? I wondered if I could get off another blast of magic. Another attack of wind? Lightning? I could create a controlled bolt indoors, but it'd probably kill both men. And if I went with Kiyo †¦ let him take me to Maiwenn †¦ well. There'd be no getting out of that, no escape. Roland looked ready to pass out. His blue eyes were fixed on me, and then, quickly, he glanced toward my feet. I thought it was him about to lose consciousness, but then I saw the purpose in his eyes. His wand was near my feet, within easy reach. I didn't let on to Kiyo that I'd noticed. Roland's eyes returned to me, some message there. â€Å"Please,† I begged, wondering frantically what Roland wanted me to do. â€Å"Let him go.† I couldn't pull off a banishing spell. There wasn't enough time. Kiyo would release Roland, true, but then I'd be the one attacked again. I honestly didn't know how long Kiyo would play it safe. He was attempting â€Å"reasonable† solutions: force me to go to Maiwenn, blackmail with Roland, et cetera. Sooner or later, if he truly believed the prophecy's threat, he would simply eliminate me. Roland was still staring at me, still wanting me to do something he thought would save us. He'd trained me. Surely I could figure it out. I had to. What could a wand do? It cast spells. It banished creatures, sending them out of this world†¦. I felt my eyes widen. I knew what he was telling me to do. Doing it would save him, I was certain, because Kiyo would release him and come after me †¦ into the Otherworld. Roland wanted me to open a gateway for myself. I could do it. It was a fast spell, one I had the power for. Forcing another being through was what took so much time and effort. But opening the gate and stepping through? That could be done quickly. If it could be done. Getting in was easy. Passing through the worlds unassisted was hard, and I'd even had trouble going through fixed, physical gates lately in my weakened state. Making a blind, unaided transition might not even be possible for me. I'd done it once before, and it had required a lot of power. And dear God, had it hurt. If I could do it, though †¦ I'd get away from Kiyo, and Kiyo would let Roland go in order to chase me down. This could buy me the time to flee to safety. The only thing that might make it possible was that I had anchors in the Otherworld to help pull me in. If I jumped with no solid destination, I could end up trapped between the worlds, my essence disintegrated. Hell, that might still happen, but an anchor would reduce the likelihood. I didn't know where I was in relation to the Otherworld's layout, but the closest anchor would pull me in if this worked. Time to find out. With speed that rivaled Kiyo's, I reached for the wand and then grabbed hold of Jasmine's hand. Bringing her only made my task more difficult, but I wouldn't leave her to Kiyo. With the wand, I summoned the necessary magic and ripped open a gate to the Otherworld. Kiyo realized what was happening and released Roland, trying to reach me – but it was too late. I threw myself into the opening, clinging to Jasmine, and knew it would shut immediately behind us, simply because I couldn't hold open a personal gate for long. It felt just as painful as last time, like I was crashing through the floors in a building. Down, down, down. Smash, smash, smash. Each layer was more agonizing than the last, and with each blow, I felt like I was being torn apart. It was likely I was, and I would destroy Jasmine with me, ripping our souls from our bodies. Then, I sensed a tug. My soul turned toward it, and I felt my fractured self coalesce and become whole, even as that falling, excruciating sensation continued. Then – there was only one impact left: a real one. Jasmine and I slammed into a hard stone floor. My body cried out at the pain. True, physical pain. I had already been hurting from the fight with Kiyo, and now, crashing through the worlds had taken that pain to new levels. Nausea welled up in me, and I fought hard not to throw up. I could hear Jasmine whimpering, but the sights around us were a blur as my disoriented mind tried to get a hold of itself. Finally, the world came into focus, the colors and lines growing sharp once more. A faint hum of magic in the air, one that was always present, told me I'd made it intact to the Otherworld. And Dorian was looking down at me.

Determinants of Local and State spending

Determinants of Local and State spending Introduction Governments are expanding each day because of the increasing number of functions that they have to carry out. Population growth rate of every country remains relatively high while mortality rates have reduced. As a result, services that people expect from governments are becoming more expensive each day. The numbers of people who depend on several social amenities offered by governments has been increasing over the years.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Determinants of Local and State spending specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this regard, governments have had to change their budgets now and again due to several factors. It is important to note that determinants of public expenditure are vital for any country for they influence the day-to-day activities of the government. Demographic Determinants As states industrialize, demand for different commodities change. People become picky making produ ction of various commodities to be shifted in response to change in demand. It is important to note that this not only affects companies but also governments. Demand for public governments changes as states become industrialized. Therefore, states have to adjust their expenditure accordingly (Raich 28). Federal government expenditure is also influenced by industrialization which shapes the aggregate demand. Similarly, state and local governments cannot produce what its citizens are unable to afford. As the financial ability of people in a country improves, so does their demand (Burkerhead and Jerry 145). However, financial ability of people can only increase if there is economic growth. In this regard, economic growth is very vital in determining governmental expenditure. On the other hand, as a country experiences economic growth, investments increase. This may be public or private investments. It is important to note that investments are diverse in various states and each state wi ll have different needs. Another demographic issue that influences state and local government spending is the age proportion. People in different age groups have different demands. States which have population composed majorly of old people will have different budgets compared to those which have many youths. Notably, as the age composition of a state or local government changes, steps have to be taken to change the budget.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the same note, population growth is very essential in determining government expenditure (Gamkar 79). A large population means that there are many people who need services despite that fact that income of the government increases. Educational institutions have to be expanded when population increases and so should other institutions including hospitals. In a nutshell, increase in population increases d emand for goods and services thus increasing government expenditure. Political Determinants The politics of the day highly influence the kind of expenses that a government can incur. Each government whether democrat or republican makes various pledges to the electorate during their campaigns. The manifestos have in them various new things that the parties promise to fulfill if elected to office (Faulk, Michael and Michael J. 110). Consequently, once in office each government strives to influence the type of expenditure at state and local levels. Moreover, investment projects that are initiated by different governments are relatively different. This means that capital purchases made are highly dependent on political leaders in place. As a result, government demand and expenditure is influenced. Furthermore, there are instances when governments have to incur some expenses because they want to please the electorate. Taking for instance periods approaching elections, the government in p ower will always do everything to ensure that they are elected back to power. As a result, the expenditure of government during this period will be different in different states given that people will explore various ways of pleasing people. Another facet of how politics influences state and local spending is by determining which activity should be done first. It is the role of political leaders to determine which project is to be given priority and which one can wait (Luce and Anita 50). If the project that has been given priority requires massive capital investment then the expenses of the state will be huge. On the contrary, state expenditure will be lower if projects being executed are relatively cheap.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Determinants of Local and State spending specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Economic Determinants Usually, all governments wherever they are in the world will execute projec ts that they can afford. The budget of the government is planned taking into consideration the expected income during the financial year in question. As a result, economic conditions are very crucial in determining state and government expenditure. During recessions and financial crises, government will cut down their expenditure because of the financial difficult. Some projects will have to be stalled to increase government savings. On the same note, money has to be diverted from other projects to cater for more important issues at that time (Rosen 136). The financial crisis of 2009 when money had to be spent to bail out banks is an example. On the other hand, during boom seasons governments can afford to incur various expenses and their expenditure increases. Moreover, tax collection during seasons of economic stability is high. Consequently, state and local governments can easily increase their spending. It is important to note here that people’s demand for government comm odities is high during seasons of economic stability and these compels governments to increase their expenditure. Institutional Determinants Institutions are very crucial in any society. They are responsible for various functions in the community which cannot be assumed (Sexton 635). Moreover, institutions organize people and help the government in delivering some services to the community. In this regard, institutions have a substantial influence on what each government will spend on. Institutions that provide supportive services to the community are usually not involved in income generating activities. Therefore, governments offer grants to these institutions to argument their expenses. In states where grants are more, governmental expenses are high. Furthermore, institutions can be a source of income to the state or local government. Various institutions are involved in income generating activities. These institutions pay taxes to the government be it state or local government. T he taxes are vital in enabling the government to offer services to people.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the higher the numbers of institutions present in a state the higher the expenditure of the state (Macdonald and Daniel 426). On the other hand institutions also deserve some services from the government are their presence in an area increases both state and local expenditure. Institutions are also crucial in not only checking government expenditure but also limiting the budget at various levels. Tax limits that have been instituted in various states limit the extent to which government can go to collect money from people and companies. It should be noted that indirectly, the tax limit curtails the expenditure of the states (Asher and Donald 12). On the same note, there is the limit on state and local expenditures. The line item veto of the governor put a ceiling on state expenditure. As a result, a state where the line item veto is implemented has regulated expenditure. Emerging Issues The world is first changing and so are the demands of people. Technological improvem ent has brought into the picture different factors that were not present there before. For this reason, technological requirements of each state are different and these highly influence the expenditure of each state. On the same note, due to globalization that has lead to immigration, cultural variance has become substantial (Pryor 323). While cultural influence may not be very pronounced as regards state expenditure, they shape people’s demand. In this regard, culture is slowly becoming influential in governmental issues. Conclusion State and local expenditure are very crucial in running of day-to-day activities of the government. Notably, public expenditure is very important in spear heading economic growth and development. However, factors that influence expenditure in one state are not necessarily influential in other states. Political dynamics in various states influence what to be purchased or offered to be people in various states. Economical ups and downs are also par t of the crucial determinants of state and local expenditure. Nevertheless, economical issues are different in different regions. Sources of income vary from state to state and amount of income per state is different. Therefore, the wealth of a state or local government is very influential on the expenditure of the government. Moreover, any issue that is capable of affecting state or local government taxation program directly influences government expenditure. In this regard, factors that influence state and local government expenditure are diverse but relatively related. Asher, Herbert B. and Donald S. Van Meter. Determinants of Public Welfare Policies: A Casual Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishers, 1973. Print. Burkhead, Jesse and Jerry Miner. Public Expenditure. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2008. Print. Faulk, Dagney, Michael Hicks and Michael J. Hicks. Local Government Consolidation in the United States. Amherst: Cambria Press, 2011. Print. Gamkhar, Shama. Federal In tergovernmental Grants and The States: Managing Devolution. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002. Print. Luce, Thomas F. and Anita A. Summers. Local Fiscal Issues in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987. Print. McDonald, John F. and Daniel P. McMillen. Urban Economics and Real estate: Theory and Policy. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, 2010. Print. Pryor, Frederic L. The Future of U.S. Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Raich, Uri. Fiscal Determinants of Empowerment. New York: World Bank Publications, 2005. Print. Rosen, Harvey S. Studies in State and Local Public Finance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print. Sexton, Robert L. Exploring Economics. Stanford: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

History of Canadas Death Penalty

History of Canada's Death Penalty Capital punishment was removed from the Canadian Criminal Code in 1976. It was replaced with a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders. In 1998 capital punishment was also removed from the Canadian National Defence Act, bringing Canadian military law in line with the civil law in Canada. Here is a timeline of the evolution of capital punishment and the abolition of the death penalty in Canada. 1865 Crimes of murder, treason, and rape carried the death penalty in Upper and Lower Canada. 1961 The murder was classified into capital and non-capital offenses. Capital murder offenses in Canada were premeditated murder and murder of a police officer, guard or warden in the course of duty. A capital offense had a mandatory sentence of hanging. 1962 The last executions took place in Canada. Arthur Lucas, convicted of the premeditated murder of an informer and witness in racket discipline, and Robert Turpin, convicted of the unpremeditated murder of a policeman to avoid arrest, were hanged at the Don Jail in Toronto, Ontario. 1966 Capital punishment in Canada was limited to the killing of on-duty police officers and prison guards. 1976 Capital punishment was removed from the Canadian Criminal Code. It was replaced with a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders. The bill was passed by a free vote in the  House of Commons. Capital punishment still remained in the Canadian National Defence Act for the most serious military offenses, including treason and mutiny. 1987 A motion to reintroduce capital punishment was debated in the Canadian House of Commons and defeated on a free vote. 1998 The Canadian National Defence Act was changed to remove the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. This brought Canadian military law in line with the civil law in Canada. 2001 The  Supreme Court of Canada ruled, in United States v. Burns, that in extradition cases it is constitutionally required that in all but exceptional cases the Canadian government seek assurances that the death penalty will not be imposed, or if imposed not carried out.

Definition and Examples of Accessibility in Geography

Definition and Examples of Accessibility in Geography Accessibility is defined as the ability to reach a place with respect to another place. In this context, accessibility refers to the ease of reaching destinations. People who are in locations that are more accessible will be able to reach activities and destinations faster than those in inaccessible locations. The latter will be unable to reach the same amount of locations in a certain period of time. Accessibility determines equal access and opportunity. The public transport accessibility level (PTAL) in the United Kingdom, for example, is a method of transport planning that determines the access level of geographical locations in regards to public transportation. Mobility and Accessibility Mobility is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. Mobility can be thought of in terms of being able to move throughout various levels in society or employment, for example. While mobility focuses on moving people and goods to and from various locations, accessibility is an approach or entrance that is either obtainable or attained. Both forms of transportation modes rely on each other in some way, depending on the scenario, but remain separate entities. A great example of improving accessibility, rather than mobility, is in the case of a rural transport scenario where water supply is needed at houses far away from the source. Rather than forcing women to travel long distances to gather water (mobility), bringing services to or closer to them is a more efficient effort (accessibility).  Distinguishing between the two is critical in creating a sustainable transportation policy, for instance. This type of policy may include a sustainable transportation system which is also referred to as Green Transport and considers, social, environmental, and climate impacts. Transportation Accessibility and Geography Accessibility in regards to geography is an important element in mobility for people, freight, or information. Mobility is determined by people and affects infrastructure, transport policies, and regional development.  Transportation systems that offer better opportunities of accessibility are considered well-developed and efficient and have a cause and effect relationship to various social and economic options. Capacity and arrangement of various transportation options largely determine accessibility, and locations range in terms of equality due to their level of accessibility. The two main components of accessibility in transportation and geography are location and distance. Spatial Analysis: Measuring Location and Distance Spatial analysis is a geographical examination that looks to understand patterns in human behavior and its spatial articulation in mathematical  and geometry (known as locational analysis.) Resources in spatial analysis typically surround the development of networks and urban systems, landscapes, and geo-computation,  a new field of research to understand spatial data analysis. In measuring transportation, the ultimate goal is typically around access, so that people can freely reach their desired goods, services, and activities. Decisions around transportations typically include tradeoffs with different types of access, and how it is measured affects larger impacts.  To measure transportation system data, there are three approaches some policymakers use, including traffic-based measurements, mobility-based ones, and accessibility-based data.  These methods range  from tracking vehicle trips and traffic speed to traffic time and general travel costs. Sources: 1. Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, The Geography of Transport Systems, Fourth Edition (2017), New York: Routledge, 440 pages.2. Geographic Information Systems/Science: Spatial Analysis Modelling, Dartmouth College Library Research Guides.3.  Todd Litman. Measuring Transportation: Traffic, Mobility, and Accessibility. Victoria Transport Policy Institute.4.  Paul Barter. The SUSTRAN mailing list.

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations Research Paper

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations - Research Paper Example As for example, social service organizations are required to be more specific with their financial reporting practices so as to comply with the existing rules and regulations. Next, religious nonprofit organizations have vital issues related to the complex requirements of its memberships. Management of finances in nonprofit organizations is quite a challenging task. The sources of revenues of nonprofit organizations are very much vulnerable to changes in political environment or economic issues. Nonprofit organizations being accountable to public require more accurate and reliable presentation of information by the financial management team. The fiscal health of nonprofit organizations can be inferred from its financial statements prepared by the financial mangers. This essay gives a descriptive view about the application of financial management in nonprofit organizations by taking into account various aspects like their fund sources, utilization of its debts, performance evaluation techniques used by them and the governance mechanisms used. It ends with a conclusion and a few recommendations that can be suggested. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 5 Sources of Funds 5 Use of Debt 7 Performance Evaluation 8 Efficient use of contributions 9 Fulfilling organizational objectives 10 Government Mechanisms 11 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction A nonprofit organization can be defined as a group which operates for purpose like public services and are not driven by profit motive aspect. The incomes that are generated from nonprofit organizations are usually not shared with the members of the organization. Nonprofit organizations can be in the fields of education, health, human services, environment, etc. Individual grants and donations are the primary sources of funds for nonprofit organizations. Both equity and debt can form the capital structure of the nonprofit organizations but equity is preferred more. This is because loans are not easily ava ilable for them due to the unavailability of sufficient collateral and cash flow requirements sought by the banks. Several plans can be employed by the nonprofit organizations for their sustainability and achieving their objectives. Many performance evaluation techniques are also available to help boosting their performance and maintain it for a long term. Government funding can also form a key component and most nonprofit organizations are engaged in several contractual agreements with the government. Hence, managing finance is a vital issue for the continued growth and sustainability of the nonprofit organizations. Sources of Funds Any organization’s plan is the basis of formulation of a successful fund raising strategy. Understanding of the proper funding requirements of an organization and its sources constitutes a good organizational plan. The formulated plan should be balanced too. For any nonprofit organization, the primary sources of funds are as follows: a. Grants: F unding through grants is available from either the charitable trusts or from the public sector. These funds are not meant to be repaid and are usually tax exempted. In most of the cases grants are associated with some conditions like, attainment of particular results, achievement of certain milestones that have been agreed upon, excess unutilized money are to be returned back, providing regular progress report of the utilization of the money, etc. Hence, before

Works of art by two differant artists i saw at the Getty Museum Assignment

Works of art by two differant artists i saw at the Getty Museum - Assignment Example The first art work is the â€Å"Vincent Van Gogh’s Irises.† This is a painting that was done by one Vincent who did it at a time when he lived at the asylum in Saint Poul – de- Mausole , which is in France. The lack of tension and the relaxed brushstrokes in Vincent’s paintings during the time exemplified the paintings of Van Gogh, which resulted to his mental attack within the asylum. Van Gogh called the painting â€Å"the lightning conductor of my illness† due to the fact that he did consider it a therapy of his depression and insernity feelings (Manesh). The Irises work was done in the painter firs week in assylun. It was hihly probably that the work was influenced by the Japanese wood block prints which got to be produced within the 17th century. The Japanese works influenced most artists as at that period. It helped in reinforcing printing expressive power The next art work in comparison with this is the Irii Matamoe or rather the royal end,which is an unearthing painting that is of a decapitated human head displayed lavishly on some canvas cushion by one Poul Gauguin, a post impressionist painter. The painter had witnessed an execution in public by Guillotine in Polynesia years earlier. His experiences during his own travels resulted to his strong opposition to European colonization as well as the imperialistic viewpoint. The theme of death is what he seemed to be obsessed with and did feature in most of his paintings. The Irii Matomoe unlike the Irises was done in the 1890s. Events that had taken place influenced the dark subject matter of the art work. The painter did hard the Tahitian language words â€Å"Arii† and â€Å"Matomoe† on the upper left of the canvas. The Arii means noble while Matomoe means sleeping eyes. This phrase does imply death. Symbolist artist like Gauguin did have a predilection of images of decapitated heads as well as

Politica Science - society and state in contemporary russia Essay

Politica Science - society and state in contemporary russia - Essay Example A democracy can broadly be defined as a government that has been set up by the people which essentially means that all people living under that government should be entitled to have their opinion considered in everything that affects their lives. Furthermore, democracy can also be exercised directly or indirectly through which people elect their representatives. In light of this, it is absurd that two decades down the line despite the dissolution of USSR president Yeltsin failed to horn our promise to better democracy and improve the lives of Russian citizens. This just proves that Russia is still categorized as one of the authoritarian states in Europe. As much as most of the leaders have improved the country’s economic status both domestic and international policies it is believed that from the essays â€Å"not free† a lot of factors have hindered Russia’s democracy development (Motyl 2005). For the first time power within Kremlin changed through the 2000, elec tion this process not only took place but was conducted according to the constitution more than two thirds of the eligible voters participated. They appeared to be well informed of choices to make. However, up to now Russian political conditions do not meet the criteria of democracy; a political framework must be adopted to understand democracy adequately (Chomsky, et al 2003). Some political analysts such as Joseph Schumpeter describes democracy as an institutional arrangement for arriving at a political decision that help politicians in the acquisition of the power necessary for them to decide by way of their struggling to obtain votes from the citizens (Josephi 2010). Basically his definition may suggest that countries only differ in the degree to which institutional conditions are satisfied. Perhaps that is the reason why president Yeltsin ascended to power and failed to live up to his promises. Most Russians still point out that with the rioting on October 2nd the liberal regim e suppressed the angry communists. After a time period of approximately ten years since 23 Russian citizens lost their lives, the Russian government is still expounding on the myth that the crackdown was just to topple Mr. Yeltsin political opponents (Lucas 2009). This left many with the view that Mr. Yeltsin is a democratic hypocrite who never had the people’s interests at heart. All he had was his own vested interests. From that moment, descending from power without going to prison for him was inevitable; perhaps that is why he saw in an inherited presidency system as a scapegoat; perhaps that is why he ensured Mr. Vladimir Putin came to power (Marot 2012). When United Russia party chanced to win a working majority in the 2003 Russian Parliamentary elections, the Russian president Putin was seen to set out and attempt to critically undercut most of the opposition parties that were active in the country. He instigated changes in various electoral policies that allowed the go vernment to effectively manage to shut out a variety of the smaller political parties focusing mainly on those that had been perceived as being key advocates of liberal democracy. Other changes that were made caused it to become extremely difficult for parties to manage to field presidential candidates in a presidential ballot (Ethridge and Handelman 2012). Following the unexpected resignation of President Boris Yeltsin in 2000 Vladimir was assigned to

Identity Theft Computer Forensics to the Rescue Research Paper - 2

Identity Theft Computer Forensics to the Rescue - Research Paper Example Then, social, ethical and moral issues regarding identity theft have been discussed. The report is summarized in a concluding paragraph. APA referencing has been used properly. Identity theft is the crime that involves stealing of a person’s private information â€Å"in order to impersonate that person in a legal sense†, according to Vacca (137). When a person’s identity is stolen, he is at great risk of facing a terrifying number of monetary and individual dealings done in his name by the thief. Technology, along with its pros, has introduced exceedingly technical and chic means of acquiring someone’s basic identifying information. Whatever means the thief uses, identity theft brings great damage to the victim’s name and reputation as the victim is solely left responsible for whatever financial or personal loss he faces. One often has to reveal bits of his personal information while doing online transactions, such as his name, address, telephone number, bank information, credit card information, and etcetera. The thief, after stealing this information, can misuse it by, for instance, applying for loans in the victimâ€⠄¢s name, changing his billing address, obtaining driving license, applying for jobs, applying for insurance or new banking accounts, getting authorization for electronic transfers by using the victim’s electronic signature, or any other fraud. On the internet, identity theft is being accomplished using techniques like sending Trojan horses, which are destructive programs, into the computer system, and important passwords and useful information like social security number is transferred to the thief. Another way to steal an identity is email phishing. The victim is sent emails telling the victim that they are from so-and-so enterprise and scamming him by directing him to a fake website which asks for his personal information.

Understanding of Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Understanding of Augustine - Essay Example The natural evil has no distinction with the human evil in the God’s treatment of evil. Human blames God partly for the prevailing evil due to the degree of freedom bestowed upon men by God. Rubenstein points out that its God’s failure to allow for the rise of evil especially during the holocaust in Europe. The philosophical argument about the design of the world and the maker of the world and due to the prevailing evils, it points out that there is flaw in both the design of the world and its designer, who is god. It expounds on the controversy of the existence of a holy, caring and righteous God in which evil also exist. It’s difficult to comprehend the existence of a benevolent, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God together with the evils on the cosmos (Abel, 72). Evil therefore presents many problems to the world. It’s both difficult to argue and understand further the co-existence of God’s majesty with evil on the same cosmos. Also, the evil has presented serious mystery in its relationship to the designer and design of

Human Resource Management of Utiliscan Limited Essay

Human Resource Management of Utiliscan Limited - Essay Example In relation to the study the company which has been selected is Utiliscan Limited, a number one division in the United Kingdom that provides site investigations, safe digging solutions, and specialized drilling services. Notably, the majority of the company’s employees are programmers and engineers who are responsible for designing and installing proprietary software that regulate and track electricity and gas pipelines. Additionally, Utiliscan limited only employs devilish best, highly experienced surveyors to work in their fields and to utilize their current and state of the art equipment. The company is wholly owned by subsidiary adp Group Limited. However, it is management separately and provides services of drilling and vacuum excavation. The umbrella company under which Utiliscan was founded, adp Group Ltd, has lasted for twenty-seven years; historically in partnership and not as a limited company. The adp Group Ltd had been operating in numerous ventures including agric ulture and civil engineering before it ventured or diversified it service provision to site investment, surveying trade, and Vacuum Excavation that led to the birth of Utiliscan. The Utiliscan has its base in the south west of England, and its regional office is found in Southern France. The adp is committed in providing and fulfilling the society’s various needs in Topographical, Utility and Land Surveying, Diamond Coring, Environment and Borehole Drilling, Hydro and Pneumatic Vacuum Excavation requirements. However, with the current expansion of the company, the company has indulged into some new and demanding ventures; thus, it has been experiencing new demands of the services delivery. This has led to a rising needs of hiring new experts into the firm. For instance, the company has currently ventured in the sales of equipment, particularly within the entre western east of Europe and United Kingdom. Some of the equipment being sold by Utiliscan includes its sales of Vector Vacuums in the Western Europe and Air Spade in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it has specialized in sales, hire, and safe service delivery in all digging equipment. The company has achieved it objectives and goals because of its qualified workforce in its different fields. The company has qualified surveyors, drillers, operators, mechanics, engineers, managers, and directors from varied backgrounds. These experts have boosted the company to its vast knowledge, especially within its service sector. Therefore, the company is actually capable of providing standardized work and services in an effective, smoother, cleaner, quicker, effectively, and in a safer manner. Therefore, it can effectively help other constructors in achieving the same goals in the same zero strike record it has ever enjoyed. Notably, according to the research that was carried by the company’s former Director of Hr., Paul, it is apparent that the company had many problems that needed immediate attention. The analysis of the research indicated that not all of the employees were satisfied by the services offered by the organization. However, the size of the company may make it a little bit difficult for the management to find an amicable solution for the identified problems. Nonetheless, it would be particularly vital for the Utiliscan management to correct the already identified problems soonest to improve the rational, morale, and the performance of the employees. The initial step that was to be taken by the management has already by Paul. That is, he has already identified the existing problem in the company that may affect the performance of the company. The serious problems that are affecting the employees include fear of safety, dead end job, lack of incentives, lack of continued education, and profits that the employees deemed below average. Since the problems that are affecting the employees have been identified, it is; therefore, vital for the managemen

Understanding of Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Understanding of Augustine - Essay Example The natural evil has no distinction with the human evil in the God’s treatment of evil. Human blames God partly for the prevailing evil due to the degree of freedom bestowed upon men by God. Rubenstein points out that its God’s failure to allow for the rise of evil especially during the holocaust in Europe. The philosophical argument about the design of the world and the maker of the world and due to the prevailing evils, it points out that there is flaw in both the design of the world and its designer, who is god. It expounds on the controversy of the existence of a holy, caring and righteous God in which evil also exist. It’s difficult to comprehend the existence of a benevolent, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God together with the evils on the cosmos (Abel, 72). Evil therefore presents many problems to the world. It’s both difficult to argue and understand further the co-existence of God’s majesty with evil on the same cosmos. Also, the evil has presented serious mystery in its relationship to the designer and design of

Economic System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic System - Essay Example Free market economic system induces competition among different companies for there is no external evaluation. Presence of numerous competing companies brings great benefits to the consumers. Each company would strive to give their best as they would be thrown out of the market if found inferior. Free market permits full competition between companies. This would force companies to offer their best goods and services so that they will not be neglected by the consumers. Companies would compete in making better cheaper products in free market economies. Higher quality services and excellent products would fill the market because of competing companies. Free market also offers better freedom to consumers as they would be free to buy what they choose. Free market is therefore considered more effective than other economic systems. Mixed economy does not offer freedom and choice for consumers as well as companies. Restrictions, interferences and extreme control over business activities woul d discourage businesses. Excessive control would also make businesses incur more costs. Restrictions would limit certain companies with providing competitive products and services. This would make consumers deprived of numerous choices that they enjoy in a free market system. Mixed economy system is thus considered less efficient than free market system. ... If free market system is imposed, business would flourish, producing varieties of products. More people would continue to buy products and services as numerous varieties of products and services arrive in the market. As businesses grow and flourish more people would be hired for work. This would lessen the problem of unemployment in the society. If businesses flourish and expand the society would be freed of unemployment. This would stimulate the economy and brings an overall growth. In a mixed economy there would be heavy taxation and external interferences. Excessive taxation would affect the incentives and benefits directly. This would discourage people so that they would not work efficiently. Lack of incentives dishearten employees and make them deliver less work. This would affect companies and the products they offer. This hampers development in all sectors of the society. Mixed economic system is thus considered less efficient than a free market economy. In a free market econo mic system agreements are made faster compared to a mixed economy system. Interference from government would slow down the agreements in a mixed economy system. Governments are notoriously slow in making decisions and implementing it. Policy making takes its own time and delays all the subsequent activities. Government would make decisions and assign the work to the concerned departments. This allocation, decision-making and implementation lag and often shift towards a pending status. Allocation of resources and its disbursement also get delayed in a system where government is in control. In a free market economic system such delays and laggings are absent as there is no intervention or restriction from the

The Fairytale of Illusions Essay Example for Free

The Fairytale of Illusions Essay Once upon a time in a far away land unseen to man, there was a powerful realm called Fairytale country. The largest kingdom within Fairytale country was the Magical Kingdom which was owned by the selfish King Americus and Queen Eura. Magical Kingdom was a place filled with beauty, peace, and harmony. It was considered as such because of the beautiful, peaceful, and harmonious people inside the Magical Castle. What most outsiders did not know was the fact that the ordinary residents of Magical Kingdom have a different outlook on their situation. There was no beauty in their place, no peace, and absolutely no harmony. The Magical Castle took no notice of these predicaments. They merely solved the residents’ problems by means of magic tricks and illusions that their problems have been solved. When the farmers would complain about the lack of compensation from the castle, the King and Queen would order their illusionists to make the farmers believe that they have increased their payment. This way, believing that they were being given more than enough of what they truly deserve, all the residents loved the King and Queen The beloved King and Queen of Magical Kingdom later bore an extraordinary princess by the name of Selene. The King and Queen were so proud of their only daughter that they invited the most famous and powerful fairies of Fairyland on Selene’s baptism to grant her eternal gifts. There were thirteen fairies present on the baptismal celebration. Only twelve were recognized and invited by the King and Queen. They blessed her with eternal gifts of beauty, wisdom, kindness, compassion, obedience, creativity, wealth, diligence, honesty, loyalty, innocence, and happiness. All these gifts were believed to stay with her for the rest of her life to restrict her in a life that was to be dictated by her parents. The King and the Queen were so delighted that their daughter would be expected to live a perfect and happy life just like the other princesses in the Fairytale country like Snow White, Belle, Aurora, and Rapunzel. They hurriedly instructed all their servants to prepare a glamorous feast for the newly-baptized baby. Amidst the festivity, no one ever noticed the thirteenth fairy who attended the baptism. The thirteenth fairy, a loner who mostly enjoyed the company of the ogres and dwarves in the forest, thought that the gifts for baby Selene were too common and boring. She knew of the King’s evil and misleading deeds so she initially planned to end the life of the child on her eighteenth birthday. Remaining hidden among the crowd, the fairy flew silently and slowly to the elegant cradle of the royal baby. â€Å"How indeed beautiful you are, young Selene,† the thirteenth fairy whispered softly. The innocent look on the baby’s face made her change her mind about the death wish she was about to cast to her. She realized that she cared too much for the town to ruin a potential rescuer. She decided to give her something that the other stupid and ignorant princesses of Fairytale country do not possess. â€Å"Today, I will grant you the most powerful gift—a gift that no other princess deserves to have. This gift will soon change the wicked and cruel ways of this kingdom. However, the gift will only manifest upon your 18th year on Fairytale country. † In a silent chant, she whispered the gift to the innocent Selene and disappeared into the crowd. Years passed by and Selene grew up into a fine young woman. She was extremely beautiful extrinsically and intrinsically. The people of Magical Kingdom adored her, and even the other princesses within the Fairytale country wished to be a friend of hers. At a very young age of fifteen, she had plenty of royal suitors who desired to marry her once she turned eighteen and become ready for the throne. Quite expectedly, her parents had already pre-arranged her future marriage to Prince Gorf of Marioland. He was the son of King Harry and Queen Hermione. Selene reluctantly agreed for the sake of her parents’ happiness. However, her secret friend, Lance, would always convince her not to give her consent. He was a secret friend because he was an ordinary boy from outside the castle who would regularly sent her charcoal sketches of the world outside by wrapping the paper around a rock and throwing it over towards her bedroom window. Lance would write her stories about the outside world which she found to be exactly the opposite of what she saw from her castle window. She would often write back asking more questions about the real world. Lance claimed it was hell outside, and what she merely saw from her window were illusions created by her parent’s magicians and illusionists. However, the King and Queen were quite strict in terms of her extreme friendliness with the ordinary residents of Magical Kingdom, so they kept the friendship secret. Later on, they stopped writing to each other when Lance accused the King and Queen of fooling their people. Selene never believed him because her parents would always remind her how good they were to the residents and how ungrateful these residents were to them. Despite these claims, Selene wondered why they prohibited her to roam outside the kingdom. â€Å"There are dangerous people outside our gardens, dear Selene. You are not to go beyond those fences for you might be held captive by rebels who wish to dethrone your father,† the King explained when Selene implied an interest in seeing the world outside the castle grounds. â€Å"We cannot please everybody even though how hard we try, my dear. † â€Å"Dethrone you? How can they possibly even think of replacing you? They owe you their life, father,† Selene protested with a puzzled look. She could not believe that there were even evil people who exist. This was the result of being given the gift of innocence. â€Å"Indeed, indeed,† the Queen interfered. â€Å"We have given them everything they need but still some of them abhor us. Yet, it is understandable, Selene. They are of the lesser beings. Please just promise us never to cross that fence. † Since she was gifted with obedience, she never dared to see the world outside the castle until the morning of her eighteenth year on Fairytale country. Early that morning, when most of the servants were still asleep and the guards’ eyes were half-closed, she woke up in haste with a strange feeling of curiosity. She suddenly got out of bed and silently roamed around the garden of the castle. She noticed the tall and heavily-cemented fence that separates the castle from the world outside. She thought she heard a sound coming from behind that fence. â€Å"Is someone there? † She called out softly afraid to awaken the guards on duty nearby. â€Å"Selene! † She heard someone replied at the other side. She recognized that familiar voice and that voice was the only person who never called her princess. â€Å"Selene, come out here. I’ve dug a hole for you where you can slip out of these fences. † Selene followed where she thought she heard the voice the loudest then looked down. There was a small hole beneath the stone fence where her small stature was capable of crawling out. â€Å"I can’t,† she hesitated. â€Å"What do you mean, you can’t? I’ve dug this hole for over a month to prove what you previously accused of me as lies,† Lance insisted. Finally, she gave in. She carefully bent down to ease her way through the small hole that Lance had hollowed out for her. She was transformed into a world much different to her previous one. She saw dead trees and starving animals. She caught sight of a seemingly deserted town very much opposite of the town she saw from her window view. She saw the rugged and tired image of Lance looking at her. One by one, the ordinary residents came walking towards her. All of them appeared to be starving and filthy. Nobody seemed to be the reflection of the nourished people her parents have described before. She could not believe it. â€Å"What is this place? † She asked in horror unable to believe she was just a few steps away from her castle. â€Å"This is your town, Selene,† Lance murmured in a sympathetic tone. â€Å"Help us, Princess†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she heard the approaching townspeople said. â€Å"Help us. † She was startled by the sudden bolt of thunder and lightning which pierced the sky. She noticed the sudden shift of the townspeople’s attention from her to the castle behind her. In shock, she had forgotten the existence of a place before her. She shifted her gaze to the castle. She stared in horror as she caught whole view of the castle’s repulsiveness. It was covered in dark moss, fully surrounded and enveloped by dark bulging clouds. The facade were ornamented with cracks and the towers were fully nested with ugly crows. It was not an image of beauty and absolutely not a place of peace and harmony. It was an image of darkness and evil only covered with elegant ornaments and illusions. Illusions—everything the princess have known before were merely illusions. Among the flock of trees, the thirteenth fairy smiled as she saw the look on the princess’ face. The fairy was torn between the feeling of pity towards the princess’ previous life of ignorance and delight that she had finally made her way outside that ignorance. Her eyes were finally opened to the real world outside her fairytale life. â€Å"At last, the gift of reality has already been consumed. †

Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima Essay -- Rudolfo Anaya Bless Me Ultim

Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, the author uses Tony’s dreams as a way of displaying various symbols. Three symbols that are used often are weather, water, and the Golden Carp. Weather is used to represent conflict. Water represents cleansing, and rejuvenation. The Golden Carp symbolizes religion and Tony’s beliefs. Because dreams are not an exact mirror of reality, they become the perfect tool for introducing symbolism. The author uses the dream as a way to access the recurring themes of the book. Weather affects the lives of everyone. When the weather turns foul, it makes life more difficult. Stormy weather in Tony’s dreams represents the conflict in his life, and the lives of those around him. One example of the weather in his dreams is the wind. In one of Tony’s dreams the wind is used to represent conflict that disrupts the peace that is a still lake. "There was a howling wind as the moon rose and it’s powers pulled at the still waters of the lake."(Anaya 120) The wind here is used to represent forces of disturbance caused by nuclear testing taking place south of the town, just as wind kicks up dust and blurs the view. Another element of storms is thunder and lightning. In Tony’s dream he sees, ".....a flash of lightning struck and out of the thunder a dark figure stepped forth. It was Ultima......I sought more answers, but she was gone, evaporated into a loud noise."(Anaya 71) Lightning can offer glimpses of illumination, but then darkness retu rns, and the noise of the thunder that follows deafens the ears. This represents the moments of good that can occur within the midst of conflict. Ultima’s appearance gives Tony a glimpse of where he needs to search for innocence, but he is still confused from this encounter. He continues to search for answers. Another significant weather occurrence is the appearance of mist. " The mist swirled around me. I was at the river, and I heard someone calling my name. I peered into the dark mist but I could see no one." (Anaya 61) Just as the mist leaves a person feeling isolated, the mist represents the war and how it left Tony separated from his brothers. Weather, in the form of wind, thunder and lightning, and mist, provides powerful symbolism for the conflicts in Tony’s life. Cleansing and rejuvenation are themes that are suggested by the author, and symbolized thro... ...eath he had seen he can’t really trust the gods because they continue to let people that are close to him die. Tony’s belief in the power of the carp is beginning to fade here because he can not understand why the carp, and God continue to let people die. Tony knows what the carp represents, so he blames the carp for these deaths. All of these quotes show how the Golden Carp represents the power, and the importance of Tony’s religion. The Golden Carp was the most important religious symbol in Bless Me Ultima. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, the other uses Tony’s dreams to show the reader symbols of conflict, rejuvenation, and religion. The weather in this story is used to represent conflict. Weather is shown in Tony’s dreams to represent conflicts in his life. Water is used to represent cleanliness in rejuvenation. We all use water to clean ourselves, but in this book water is shown to clean the mind, body, and soul. The Golden Carp is shown to be a symbol of Tony’s religion. The carp is a symbol that Tony turns to for answers in his life. In all of Tony’s dreams the reader is able to gain a better understanding of Tony’s life through the use of symbols in Tony’s dreams.

An Analysis of Adam’s Song Essay -- Adam’s Song

An Analysis of Adam’s Song  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bob McKenty suggests in the poem "Adam's Song" that life is not a stationary event, it is forever changing and that in order to handle those changes humor serves as a good buffer. The tone of "Adam's Song" changes distinctly at least three times. McKenty uses rhythm, rhyme, and meter to express the essence of change in the poem and in life. The first couplet of the poem is iambic tetrameter and expresses a sentimental, romantic and lyrical tone. The speaker in the poem at this point could be described as a possibly young and naive lover. The author uses the uniformed meter, assonance and ending rhyme with few surprises to declare the traditionally romantic and lyrical "love poem" style verse of the first two lines "Come live with me and be my love./Come romp with me in Eden's grove". McKenty uses an irregular change in meter and internal rhyme in lines 3 and 4 to begin the emphasis on the inevitable changes of life "In unabated joy, not shy/But unabashed by nudity..." In the second couplet the idealism of the first two lines also changes to...

Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Canada Essay

â€Å"You know the world is off tilt when the best rapper is a white guy (Eminem), the best golfer is a black guy (Tiger Woods), the tallest basketball player is Chinese (Yao Ming, 7’6†³) and Germany doesn’t want to go to war (in Iraq)†. Charles Barkley stated in a 2003 interview, pointing out various misconceptions with stereotypes. A stereotype is defined by dictionary. com as: â€Å"something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially: an often oversimplified or biased mental picture held to characterize the typical individual of a group†. I have commonly heard stereotypes such as the French are good cooks, Italians are great lovers, and the Irish are lazy or comments made like dumb jock, lazy Cape Bretoner, or that women are not strong!! The list could go on endlessly as there appears to be stereotypes regarding people of all races, religions, sexes and ethnic groups, etcetera. Stereotypes can be either positive or negative. Most stereotypes tend to make us feel superior in some way to the person or group being stereotyped. Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of individuals by painting all members of a group with the same brush. Throughout the course of this paper I plan to discuss some racial and ethnic issues in Canada. Where some of these issues originated from, what we can personally do to help eliminate discrimination in the workplace and what the government is doing to try to combat such discrimination. Let me first begin by defining discrimination, racism and ethnicity since these terms are all important terms to understand before going into further discussion. To discriminate is simply defined by yourdictionary. com as: â€Å"To make distinctions on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit; show preference or prejudice. † Therefore, discrimination occurs when a person is not treated equally because of their gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, or age. Yourdictionary. com defines racism as: â€Å"The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Discrimination or prejudice based on race. † In other words, when an individual or group is treated unfairly or abused because of their skin color or racial heritage they are victims of racism. Ethnic, as defined by yourdictionary. Com is: â€Å"Of or relating to a sizable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage. B. Being a member of a particular ethnic group, especially belonging to a national group by heritage or culture but residing outside its national boundaries. † With that being said, it is my belief that stereotypes and ignorance about others most often lead to discriminatory behavior both inside and outside the workplace. I have heard Canada described as a multicultural nation meaning that Canadians are not of any one cultural background, race or heritage. For all Canadians, including Aboriginal People, this multicultural diversity can be traced to an immigrant past. This does not mean that the majority of today’s Canadians are immigrants but rather that the majority of Canadians have in their past, perhaps many generations ago, a family member who migrated here from another country. That is why many of us have a mixed ancestry, for example; Irish, Scottish, Ukrainian, French and Aboriginal, and the list can go on. Canada’s Aboriginal People were the first to immigrate, and settle across the continent, tens of thousands of years before European settlers. After the European settlers came the French, followed by the English, Scots and Irish formulating Canada into the diverse country it is today. In the years before the American Civil War, thousands of black slaves escaped slavery in the United States by following the â€Å"Underground Railway† north to Canada. Then, at the turn of the century, American farmers moved northward into the Canadian prairies to develop farm lands. Although Canada originally consisted of a wide variety of immigrants, some people were not as welcome in the country as others and were therefore not treated equally. Those who were of different race, color, or religion then the majority of Canadians were labeled as â€Å"foreigners†. The use of the term â€Å"foreigner† held many connotations for example, different, strange or inferior and many at the time wanted to see the â€Å"foreigners† assimilate to fit into Canadian society. There are many events in Canada’s past that has contributed to the racism and discrimination in Canada today for example, the disregard and unfair treatment of Aboriginal Peoples by European’s who settled here. Even though a vast majority of African-Americans moved to Canada to avoid slavery, from early in the 1600’s until 1834 there was a recorded 4092 slaves throughout the country, mostly living in Quebec . The Asiatic Exclusion League, which originated in California in 1905 as an anti-Oriental movement, moved north into Vancouver in 1907. The league was the main instigator in anti-Asian riots in the city since their main goal was to have all Chinese and Japanese immigrants removed from North America out of fear that they were taking jobs away from Whites . It also appears that throughout history the acceptance of immigrants in Canada greatly depended upon the economic state of the country at that time. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s immigrants seeking jobs were unwelcome and overlooked for employment. Although the Government of Canada has made many advances in breaking the barriers that Aboriginal People, immigrants and minorities face in the country; immigrants today still face a number of problems when trying to enter the labor market, for example: ? Non-recognition of international credentials and work experience ? Lack of Canadian work experience ? Inability to communicate in English or French ?Insufficient labor market information prior to immigrating to Canada I have traveled to some of the major cities in Canada and was a little surprised by the degree of segregation that is apparent in these cities. By this, I mean that these larger cities, like Toronto and Vancouver, have communities which are almost completely independent from the rest of the country. These independent communities that I saw, of Chinese or Italian people, seemed to have everything they needed to survive within the community including their own schools. I could not help but wonder what effect this type of segregation has on the country. I respect the fact that all people are trying to protect their identity. At the same time, by choosing to live in Canada, shouldn’t they try to integrate into the country a little more while still preserving their identities? Shouldn’t they try to assimilate? How can Canada thrive as a country with so much segregation? We need to become a unified country. Not such a historical thought pattern, I guess!! It is people who have attitudes like mine that are causing problems in the country or do all people have these thoughts and choose not to admit it. I have similar negative feelings about scholarships being available only to certain people or government funding for certain people to attend university because they are a minority. I understand that differential treatment is required in order for equality to become a possibility. However, I still feel a degree of resentment about these programs being offered when I have to borrow money in an effort to obtain my university degree. Will this resentment evolve? When I hold a management position in the future, will I discriminate against a person because he or she doesn’t have a huge student loan to pay and another does? It is cases like mine that causes racism to continue in society and the workplace today? With the announcement of Nova Scotia’s plan to increase immigration into the province came an increase in the racist comments I have heard. Since I work in bars I hear, and partake in, a great deal of conversation. When people are drinking they tend to be even more likely to say things they normally wouldn’t. That is why I have heard, at times, some very racist remarks. People have said that the government should be trying to retain people in the province that are born here before they bring â€Å"foreigners† here. They need to take care of their own first!! It is because of these comments and feelings that I am doubtful that discrimination against people, because of their race or color, will ever be completely eliminated in the country. How do we achieve equality with so much differentiation? How do we check or personal opinions at the door when we go to work? Since it is impossible to eliminate racism and discrimination entirely in society, we need to do as much as possible to eliminate it in the workplace. We need to make changes similar to the changes companies have made in an effort to combat discrimination against people because of their religion. For example, adapting zero tolerance rules, providing more education for employees, human resource departments need to provide more opportunities for people of minorities, immigrants, and Aboriginal Peoples and barriers have to be removed for all these people who are trying to enter our labor market. March 21, 2005 is International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination a day to remember the struggles and challenges that Aboriginal peoples and people of color have endured. It is also a time to recognize and applaud the fact that members of these two communities have made anti-racism struggles a significant part of labor’s agenda. Lets’ respect this day and try to make some positive changes at home, school, or work toward eliminating racism.