Information on databases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Information on databases - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that databases are found anywhere structured data needs to be stored and referenced for future use. This includes places like schools, hospitals, businesses, libraries, banks and even at the home. Tables are the basic entities that store structured data in the form of rows and columns. Forms are designed to make the entry of data into tables easier. Queries are used to make searches on tables based on specific criteria and the output can be given in the form of a report that clearly shows the results of the query. The researcher states that he uses a timetable to store data about my classroom activities and he uses a paper based table to store records of things he needs to do during the week. This includes such items as shopping for groceries, studying and places to visit. It has two columns of time and activity and several rows. Paper and database forms differ in the following ways. Database forms are electronic and thus can handle more da ta than paper can by several orders of magnitude. Paper forms are limited in their functionality, unlike database forms which allow functionality search as carrying out quick searches, sorting, delete and undelete and etc. Database forms can allow an audit trail to indicate who accessed what and when. Paper forms cannot allow this to happen. Database forms are more persistent and more difficult to destroy, unlike paper forms because of easing of copying and storage.

Nursing Research Class Notes Essay Example for Free

Nursing Research Class Notes Essay Nursing research is the process that underpins all the other things we have talked about. How was it determined that one particular way of carrying out nursing care was better than another way? How was it decided that a particular framework of understanding will explain certain behaviors better than another? When we discussed frameworks of understanding or conceptual models earlier in the course you learnt that there are various ways of viewing mental illness were discussed and the treatments were based upon eradicating or fixing the cause. This can be described as ways of knowing and ways of intervening. These beliefs came about as the result of research. That is asking, and trying to answer such questions as Why does this occur?, Does this treatment work better than that treatment?, How do we know?, Do more people improve if we do this rather than that?. Research is a way of gaining knowledge about concerns that psychiatric nurses have. What is the best way to help this client with this particular distress? Is there any evidence that suggests that this way of caring is better than that? Nursing research is relatively new in some ways but in other ways gathering-nursing knowledge has been going on since the early days of nursing. Women learned through watching and observing what treatments worked best. This is one particular kind of knowledge. Potter and Perry discuss this in Chapter 5 â€Å"Nurses Ways of Knowing†. Ethical, personal, esthetic knowledge was identified and scientific became one more way of knowing. In terms of nursing research we can return to Florence Nightingale who of course made the observation that there we re more deaths closer to the open sewer than there were for men whose beds were further away. This is an excellent example of drawing a conclusion by making observations thereby developing new knowledge. Research itself is a way of developing knowledge but there are other ways of developing knowledge. They are differentially respected and acknowledged but each is a way of `knowing. When you take your research course in fourth year you will learn more about the various kinds of research. For now I just want to highlight the major ways of gathering knowledge. This is Chapter 5 in Potter and Perry and there is also reference to research in Stuart and Laraia under Evidenced Based Practice p 76-83. The opening section of the chapter in Potter and Perry gives a little background on the emergence of nursing practice and theory. Nursing science came into its own: no longer a discipline applying the knowledge of other disciplines but a unique body of knowledge. A good activity for you to consider doing is to go onto the Library website and click on journal holdings, once there search psychiatric nursing. Journals that publish the results of nursing research and in particular psychiatric nursing are a very important part of your reading and learning how to read a research article is an important skill to develop. We will discuss this further momentarily, for now I want now to review ways of gaining knowledge. 1. Tradition certain beliefs are accepted sometimes without too much enquiry. Its weve always done it that way. This may be good but sometimes it is appropriate to question these traditions. 2. Expert Authority: Asking an expert or authority is a very common way of gathering information. All of us ask for information from time to time but we also have to be somewhat cautious about confusing information and knowledge. But certainly we do seek out knowledge and assistance from others. There are, of course, some limitations since not all authorities are always right and like tradition, we do not always challenge this knowledge. 3. Experience A lot of what we know we have learned ourselves. Children certainly do this all the time. Sometimes through unfortunate experience like putting their little hand on a hot stove: Learning is also part of knowledge acquisition. But we also solve problems from experience. Like, if I turn off the alarm and dont get out of bed in the morning, I am late for work. So we learn not to do that. The ability to generalize and recognize patterns and make predictions is one of the hallmarks of the human mind and has been a large part of how our ancestors developed knowledge. It is always rains every time there are black clouds, then the next time you see black clouds, rain is predicted.. But there are limitations, first each persons experience may be too limited to generalize all the time. Maybe black clouds predicting rain only occurs in your part of the world for some environmental reason. Secondly your personal experiences may be colored by biases. 4. Investigating Ideas: Where would we be if no one pursued their ideas for instance, testing molds for their antibiotic value That the earth is not flat but round 5. Reasoning or Problem Solving Thinking through problems and finding solutions. There are two intellectual methods used in reasoning. Inductive reasoning is the process of drawing conclusions and generalizations from specific observation. For example a nurse may observe anxious behavior in children who are removed from their parents and conclude that separation is a stressful event.. Deductive reasoning. This is the process of developing specific predictions from general principles. For example, if you assume that separation anxiety occurs in children removed from their parents then you may predict that children, in your hospital will show signs of anxiety. So we have gone from a general assumption to a specific situation. So, induction is to make or develop a theory from actual observation or grounded in observation. Deduction is to have a hypothesis or a theory and then test it. These terms will become important when you are considering qualitative and quantitative research. Both of these reasoning systems are important for you to think about. They are both useful. But errors can also occur or faulty reasoning. However it may lead to the development of questions 6. The scientific method, which is considered the most objective and accurate way of developing knowledge. However, it, too, can certainly be questioned as you may discover but it is also considered one of the primary ways of developing knowledge. Beginning on p. 85 of Potter and Perry they describe the characteristics of research with a number of definitions you need to study. The sooner you grasp these concepts the better off you will be in future courses. To understand the research process and for your future endeavors I like to begin with the components of a research article in a journal. I have briefly described these below: Title: A succinct description of key elements of the study Running head: Usually a two to three word description of the key elements of the study, which runs at the top of each page. Abstract: A succinct paragraph describing key features of the study, the population studied, the variables manipulated; the findings and discussion point. Usually of 150 words or so. Literature Review: A summary of key research findings from other studies, which lead into your study. If you are studying in a new emerging field this may be short; if in a well established area it may be lengthy or, it might focus on one key area for instance of child development (i.e. there are numerous areas of child development-your study may be focused on cognitive development so it is not required to review all areas of child development within the literature review). The review should provide the reader with an understanding of the area, without missing key studies and without losing the audience with obscurely related information. The literature review should cover research related to your key variables of interest and should draw the reader into your hypotheses. Hypothesis: what you think the relationship between variables is. Depending on the level of research one might have an exploratory hypothesis or you may have predictive hypotheses suggesting the results are going to be in the direction of (one way or the other). This might be a good time to review any of the terms used thus far in Potter and Perry and especially look at table 6-2 which describes levels of research. It is difficult to keep a complex topic simple. Method: The method contains subsections. It usually begins with a description of the sample (who did you interview, who comprised your sample (children, parents, university students etc). One would also find how the sample was selected (was it randomized, was it a captured audience, was it every blonde haired blue eyed left handed boy) Detail is expected. The method section will also describe the research design and procedures. Both are essential for someone else who might say I don’t believe these results. I want to try and replicate the study. Which has been done with interesting results in many areas. Research designs are very complex and influence the type of statistical analysis that can be done. I refer you back to table 6-2 for a beginning understanding of this. Test in struments and their reliability and validity are also expected in the methodology section. Identification of independent and dependent variables would also be described here. The independent variable is that variable you are manipulating i.e. temperature of the room; the dependent variable are the observations you are making i.e. number of complaints of room temperature in a given interval of time. Results: This section will go through sample characteristics, main findings described pictorially sometimes in graphs or may be tables. Results are described matter of factly with little interpretation. Limitations of the study: these become important to the conclusions one can draw. For example if I were studying teen pregnancy and the needs of young mothers and my group ended up being older teens would this be representative of younger teens. Conclusions: This is where results can be interpreted and tied back to the literature review. Were findings supportive to the hypothesis or not and if not what might explain the findings. Implications for nursing practice: it would be found in nursing research studies, not often in other research. The application of nurs ing research is an important area for future discussion. As psychiatric nurses we must however be able to critique research. Sometimes it is conducted under ideal conditions where there is control over a number of variables and there may be difficulty applying it in the real world. That is perhaps why observations of a patients behavior may be better to understand their experience in the real world. Research is the use of a series of steps to gather objective knowledge and nursing research of course is the study of phenomenon of interest to nurses, which is often the patients response to illness and nursing interventions. The second point there is control but we have to understand what scientific research is attempting to state. It is the relationships between 2 variables. That is, if I do one thing will it influence another? So just to take a simple nursing example, we might theorize or predict that a patient who lies on their back for long periods will develop pressure sores. So if the patient is turned frequently and does not develop pressure sores we might conclude that turning is related to unbroken skin. Say, however, at the same time as turning the patients skin is gently massaged; now we cant tell if it is the turning or the massage that resulted in the unbroken and healthy skin. So this is what is meant by control of external factors. Sometimes you may hear this referred to as level of control over the variables of interest. If you are using the scientific method then you probably have a hypothesis you want to test and you would set up your experiment to either prove or disprove. This would be quantitative research. But if you are observing a phenomenon and want to study it in its natural state then you are more likely doing qualitative research. Qualitative research is particularly well suited to psychiatric nursing because it. involves gathering information about people’s experiences which we could use an instrument to assess which would give us a quantitative measure i.e., how traumatized were you 0-10. Asking a person to tell their story gives us significantly more information. Methods can be combined. The ethnographic qualitative research method tends to look at humans in their natural environment. This research always takes place in the field often over a long time. Collection and analysis of data takes place concurrently, as insights are gained new questions may emerge. Often the opinions of the people under study are sought which is very different from quantitative research where opinions and feelings are not considered valid. You will become m ore proficient at reading, understanding and critiquing research but there is no reason why you should not be locating and reading nursing research journals now. Research Principles and terms The practice of Psychiatric Nursing is guided by nursing knowledge. As a profession nursing has developed a unique body of knowledge, which guides the practice of nursing. There is a number of ways in which knowledge is developed and disseminated. They are listed in Potter Perry. Question: State 6 ways of acquiring knowledge. Polit and Hungler (1997) use these terms to describe the scientific research method: Disciplined Research. Research conducted within a disciplined format is the most sophisticated method of acquiring knowledge that humans have developed. Nursing research combines aspects of logical reasoning with other features to create systems of problem solving that, although fallible, tend to be more reliable than tradition, authority, personal experience, intuition, or inductive or deductive reasoning alone. (P.11) The scientific method does have its drawbacks however, it is conducted under ideal conditions and sometimes there may be difficulties in applying it to the real world. There are however two main categories of research Quantitative and Qualitative. Quantitative research follows the scientific model and has a series of clearly defined steps. Quantitative research Process Identify an issue Gather information? State the hypothesis? Review the literature? Design the study? Gather the data? Evaluate the findings Qualitative Research Qualitative research differs from quantitative in that it is a less linear process. It more often involves gathering information about individuals by observing them in their natural environment or through interviews. This type of research takes place in the field rather than the laboratory. The information is rich and varied and subject to the interpretation of the researcher. This is one of its limitations. Nurse researchers can be involved in either quantitative or qualitative research, but most importantly, nursing research should be able to be applied to psychiatric nursing practice. Here is a list of some research projects of psychiatric nurses: Examples of research studies conducted by nurses in Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health topics: Client expectation and perception of the nurse’s role in relationship to client satisfaction. A comparative study of widows’ and widowers’ perceived social support during the first year of bereavement. The effects of cognitive-behavioral nursing intervention for depressed patients and their families. Factors affecting staff nurses’ use of limit setting with disruptive patients. Nurses’ attitudes toward the suicidal patient. Nursing interventions with long-term patients in regard to their physical appearance: An evaluation study. The nurse’s therapeutic use of touch as related to withdrawn patients. Observable signs of anxiety or distress during psychiatric interviews conducted by nurses. Patient and situational factors that affect nursing students’ like or dislike of caring for patients A study of alcoholic patients’ perception of the role of the nurse. A study of the confidence level of nurses in caring for patients with depression. A study of psychiatric patients’ knowledge about their prescribed medications. Question: What do you think would be a good research topic for psychiatric nurses? Some terms to Learn in Relation to Research

The Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism

The Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892 is a collection of journal entries written by a woman who suffers from the mental disorder, namely temporary nervous depression. All of the entries constitute an account of the woman who is taken by her physician husband to the country in order to regain mental stability. More importantly, it portrays the protagonists preoccupation with the ugly wallpaper in her sickroom. The work is filled up with plenty of symbols, but the most important and prevailing one is the mentioned above wallpaper. The protagonist is engrossed in it and feels an uncanny connection to it. This seemingly irrelevant and ordinary element of decoration represents many arguable issues in the story, making the interpretation of the text more complex and meaningful at the same time. The yellow wallpaper stands for state of mind, restrictions placed on women as well as for the racial problems in the late 19th century particularly in the United States o f America. Firstly, let me have a look on the wallpaper as a symbol of the protagonists state of mind. The very colour of it is yellow. The most universal connotations with it are bodily fluids, sickness or uncleanness. In the case of The Yellow Wallpaper it would mirror a mental illness and the process of the downfall of the human mind. Moreover, the pattern of the wallpaper is illogical and chaotic just as the narrators shaken sanity. As her disease confuses her mind and contradicts logic, the paper parallels her psychological state at this point. She is confused and unstable just as the decoration. At first, the wallpaper is a source of an immense irritation to Jane as she cannot find any, even the smallest sign of consistency in it. I never saw a worse paper in my life (Gilman 4). However, she becomes gradually obsessed with deciphering its meaning. As her mental disorder progresses, she starts suffering from hallucinations and finally concludes that actually there is a logic in the papers pattern. I have finally found out. () The front pattern does move and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! (Gilman 16). The wallpaper portrays a woman who is ambushed in this illogical system. It is only her who can see the woman, and therefore, the womans only chance to set her free. Jane slowly looses the contact with reality, retreats into her obsessive fantasy. As the time passes by, she becomes the woman within the paper who simultaneously loses her identity. She disconnects herself from Jane and assumes new personality as well as perception of herself. The subsequent deterioration of the protagonists mental state reaches the climax when she locks herself in the room to finally tear all of the wallpaper in order to set the woman free from imprisonment. When John finds her, with all the decoration torn to pieces, the woman vigorously shouts out: Ive got out at last () in spite of you and Jane. And Ive pulled off most of the paper, so you cant put me back! (Gilman 21). The nar rator is finally free and there is no power which would imprison her again. She got rid of all chains, societal norms and constraints by total descent into insanity which surprisingly, turned out to be her only salvation. Secondly, the wallpaper may be a metaphorical equivalent for all restrictions imposed on women in the 1800s. In those times, women were condemned from intellectual work, forced to conform to the dependence of males and all rules of decent woman behaviour. It goes without saying that as a result women were helpless and oppressed. The title wallpaper is a confusing and complicated pattern in which the fictional woman appears. This may represents womens feeling of being lost in the oppressive and strongly hierarchical society and living in the world which does not appeal to them. The historically shaped division of the roles within family and marriage leaves its unbearable mark on womens lives. As the time passes by, our protagonist starts to identify herself with the imaginary woman. At this point, all the narrators fears and inner emotions are projected on the wallpaper. Societal constraints and norms overwhelm her and deprive of any chance to live her life to the full. The only way t o know peace is a complete fall into insanity. The last and probably the most outrageous interpretation of the wallpaper is the one proposed by Susan Lanser. She set the story in the political and ideological context of racial anxiety and nativism. Her immensely provocative thesis that the yellow wallpaper is a reflection on Yellow Peril questioned the common perception of it and triggered out a wave of surprise and consternation. The main symbol of the story with its colour which stands for dirt, urine, inferiority and uncleanness, seems to signify the racial otherness. The racism is in a way encoded in the wallpaper. In the late 19th century Western countries, especially the United States of America, faced with a massive immigration of East Asians. This process evoked the conviction that new comers would be a threat for the Whites job market and may change standards of living (Frost). Due to that Americans were so obsessive and hostile towards the representatives of the yellow race. On the basis of this information, we may inte rpret the protagonists tearing of the wallpaper from the wall as an act of getting rid of all unwelcome immigrants as well as an expression of hostility and racism. Moreover, to prove this thesis more reliable and feasible there is evidence that the author was personally an active supporter of racial uniformity. She belonged for a time to eugenics and nationalist organizations; opposed open immigration; and inscribed racism, nationalism, and classism into her proposal for social change (Lanser 429). Therefore, according to Horvitz, we may state that the narrators descent into nervous depression is in metaphorical terms a kind of escape to an utopian word in which there is no yellow, stained and smelly wallpaper, and in consequence no presence of other race. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a perfect example of the symbolism in the literature. It plays a soul part of The Yellow Wallpaper. The main ideas, points are presented across it making the text more complex, intricate and interesting. The story is overfilled with various symbols such as the window, nursery and obviously the most influential one the wallpaper. It may be a clear reflection of the protagonists state of mind, indication of societal suppression and its principles or as Susan Lanser pointed out, the metaphor of racial discrimination. In my paper I presented only three of the possible interpretations of this particular symbol, but it goes without saying that one may come up with as many ideas and conclusions as possible.

The Shy Girl Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

The Shy Girl Ever since I can remember, I was naturally quiet and shy. I constantly repeated myself because people could not hear me the first time. Even then, I seldom made eye contact with others. When I entered high school, nothing changed. Soon afterward, I disliked the way my classmates thought of me. If someone had to make an announcement in class, I was not chosen; my classmates believed I was not vocal enough. If someone threw a party, I was not invited because they thought "Shy girls" would not want to come. Most of my classmates attracted a great deal of attention. No one willingly associated with me. Not only did my classmates see me as quiet and shy, but they made me start believing it, too. Ashamed, I wanted some way out. I wanted my words to stick with people. I wanted them to think, "Louisa said†¦." I tried participating in class more and sharing my opinions, but that did not help. Whenever I made a comment, one of two things happened: I did not get the credit for my comment, or no one took me seriously. I felt helpless. The ninth grade production of The Tempest changed my life. My teacher, Mrs. Massand, gave me a part in the play and I no longer appeared quiet and shy. Although Mrs. Massand assigned the whole class a part in the play, she appointed me as, Stephano, the drunk, a major role. Her choice surprised me and my classmates. Stephano's character seemed so unlike mine; he was loud and silly. My first thought was, "How is a quiet girl like me going to play the part of a boisterous drunk?" Until now my classmates convinced me that I was simply quiet and shy. Now the play required me to show another side of myself. We began the play by reading the text out loud and becoming comfortable with t... ...t scene, I was marching around in a circle shouting, "Ban, ban, Ca-Caliban!" At the end of the performance, the audience was bursting with cheer. Then Mrs. Massand had us individually take a bow. When it was my turn to bow, the audience gave me the standing ovation. I was never more excited. As I exited the stage, almost every classmate stopped me to say, "Wow Louisa, you were the best!" At that moment I realized I could be loud, silly, and talented. My ninth grade performance in The Tempest made my last years in high school a success; acting and reciting the words of Stephano made my growth in confidence possible. What I once thought was an everlasting label of shyness proved removable after all. My classmates saw another side to me, and I was glad that I was not labeled as a quiet and shy girl anymore. That year I came in like a lamb and went out like a lion.

Macbeth Diary Entries Essay

I am weary and suspective of Macbeth as he questions much of my movement with Fleance that afternoon. I really feel something amiss. Maybe it is just Macbeth’s insecurity for all i know. It is late and Fleance is waiting for me in the woods. I must go now. Macbeth and I just had just came back from a battle. A great one indeed. We had came ashore and were proceeding back to Forres when we came upon this desserted and gloomy heath where we were most shcoked to be greeted by three witches that had long beards strecthing from their ragged cloaks. I was uncertain what gender they were, but i knew something was wrong. At first sight, the three creatures greeted Macbeth Thane of Glamis. They then started chanting prophesis that concerned Macbeth and me. The first witch chanted,†All hail,Macbeth! Hail to thee,Thane of Glamis† followed by the next â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee,Thane of Cawdor† and the last of which chanted â€Å"All hail, Macbeth ,that shalt be king hereafter! † â€Å"Hail† they chanted three times together and continued prophesising. â€Å"Lesser then Macbeth, and greater. â€Å"the first witch chanted. Continued the second â€Å"Not so happy, yet much happier. â€Å"Thou shalt get kings ,though thou be none So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo. † Chanted the last of witch. I was overwhelmed by suspision when i heard those prophesies whilst Macbeth was, I should say rather engrosed and interested in their prophesies. Macbeth wanted them to stay but in a blink of an ey e, they suddenly disappeared into thin air. Macbeth was furious. â€Å"Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more†Macbeth Was truely interested in these creatures prophesy, but i just got a bad feeling about this. Dear Diary, The news my cousin brought filled me with an unimaginable grief. My family, brought to the graves by such feeble means, so defenceless and alone while I was off in England arguing with Malcolm about my loyalty, which how dare he question it! Only a monster would kill innocent children and women, there was no reason for it! How can they live with themselves? As I write I am miles away from Fife for how could I stay when that atrocity happened in the place where I would have rested? I can never forgive myself for what happened that day, that fateful day which has brought me nothing but pain. I lay in my bed last night feeling alone and confused. My thoughts were in flux; I had ranged between crushing, overwhelming depression, during which I had shed countless tears onto my blankets, and anger so volatile I got up to put on my armour and immediately head to Fife (thrice), in hopes of catching the perpetrator only to remember my family, take off my armour, and lay back down. My wife would not have liked me to be dwelling on avenging their deaths but it is the only thing my mind has been set on. I have thought of killing myself, taking away the pain but I cannot do that! What would people think? I have no heir to my title or wealth, they would think I killed my family myself! Then I think of that assassin and him off gallivanting killing more innocent people and breaking other peoples hearts and I know he’s got to be finished. If I ever find out who has killed my loved ones, I will be the death of them or they be the death of me. Macduff I am writing this entry, sitting at a desk in Scone. I have recently witnessed my dear friend Macbeth crowned King of Scotland. I am still in shock after the strange happenings of the past few days, so I am not yet overcome with neither joy nor grief. I should be happy for Macbeth, yet I feel that something inside me will not allow me to be so. These events, I fear, have not happened by chance, but that something evil, something supernatural is at work. Macbeth and I felt immense pride, on that fateful day as we rode, victorious, over the moor. We had just defeated the ghastly Norwegians, though by uncivilized means. Macbeth rightly said â€Å"So foul; and fair a day I have not seen†. Not far into our journey, we came upon three weird sisters. They all hailed Macbeth Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter. True, he was Thane of Glamis, but we were puzzled, to say the least, about the other two statements. As I was intrigued, I questioned them about my future. In reply, they told me that my sons would me kings, and that I would be â€Å"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater†. This confuses me greatly, for had they not just said that Macbeth would be king? Of course, I chose not to believe these ‘instruments of darkness’. Amazingly, minutes after the sisters had vanished, Macbeth was announced Thane of Cawdor. We were both quite taken aback, for the beings had foretold that very thing. I think our minds both raced towards the third prediction, â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! I believe that Macbeth began to think about how to make the third prophecy a reality. We spoke no more about it. Surprisingly, Malcolm was named Duncan’s successor, though Macbeth was firm favourite in my mind, at least.

Biography of Carl von Clausewitz

Biography of Carl von Clausewitz Free Online Research Papers Carl von Clausewitz: War and the Role of Military Philosophy Introduction: Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is considered to be the father of war. His works can be considered as the corner stone for contemporary military theory. In this paper a biography is presented at first for a better understanding of his background and afterwards his basic ideas presented in his major work â€Å"On War† are presented. The significance and influence of these ideas nowadays is also examined under the scope of their presence in the military realm. Biography: Carl Phillip Gottfried von Clausewitz (1780-1831) was a Prussian soldier and intellectual. He came from a modest social background, and served as a practical field soldier where he gained extensive combat experience against the armies of the French Revolution and Napoleon. Von Clausewitz also served as a staff officer with political and military responsibilities at the very center of the Prussian state, and worked as a prominent military educator. Clausewitz first entered combat as a cadet at the age of 13, rose to the rank of Major-General at 38, married into the high nobility, and socialized in the intellectual circles of Berlin. He is most widely recognized as the author of On War, now an influential work of military philosophy in the Western world. On War (Vom Kriege) has been translated into virtually every major language and continues to have an influence on modern strategists in many fields. This essay will describe Clausewitz’ biographical profile, and then relate the significance of military philosophy to understanding the relationship between politics and the military.(Clausewitz official website) Biographical Background Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz was born on 1 June 1780, near Magdeburg. Although the name had Polish origins, the family was German and patriotically Prussian. Despite their pretensions to nobility, however, the Clausewitzs were in fact of middle ­class origins. The elder Clausewitz had obtained a commission in the army of Frederick the Great, but was forcibly retired during Fredericks purge of non ­noble officers after the Seven Years War (1756 ­63). On the basis of his sons achievements, the familys nobility was finally confirmed by King Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1827 (Booker Stone 1985, pages 30-31) Clausewitz entered the Prussian army as a cadet at the age of twelve; he first saw combat at thirteen. After Prussia withdrew from the wars of the French Revolution in 1795, he spent five years in the more mundane routines of garrison duties. During this time he turned towards providing himself his own education. Expanding beyond strictly military subjects, Clausewitz developed a wide-ranging set of interests in art, science, and education. All of these interests were to have an impact on his later philosophical work. So successful were his self-educating efforts that in 1801 he was able to gain admission to the Institute for Young Officers in Berlin. There he came to the attention of the new director, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, a key figure in the Prussian state during the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars and Chief of the General Staff in 1806. Impressed by Clausewitzs ability, Scharnhorst became a sponsor, mentor, and close friend. Clausewitz graduated first in his class in 1803 and was rewarded with the position of military adjutant to the young Prince August, bringing him into close contact with the royal family. Scharnhorst and other Prussian military reformers had deeply influenced most of Clausewitzs basic historical, political, and military views. In general, their argument was that if the Prussian state wanted to survive it had to do the same that French Revolution had achieved whose astounding successes took place because it had tapped the energies of the French people. This would require radical social and political reforms in the Prussian state and army, both of which were blatant under the successors of Frederick the Great. Clausewitzs works therefore reflect a strong impulse towards social and military reform. After the devastating French victories over Austria and Russia in 1805, Prussia initiated the processes for a war in 1806. However the timing and the preparations of the Prussian mobilization were not sufficient, however and the nation’s moral was very low and with no motivation for such an aim. The Prussian forces were cracked down in humiliating defeats in the battles at Jena and Auerstadt. Clausewitz and Prince August were captured. In the peace settlement, Prussia lost half of its population and territory and became a French satellite. When he returned from imprisonment in 1808, he joined with Scharnhorst and other members of the reform movement united all together for a restructure in the Prussian society and army in order to be prepared for an inevitable new war with the French. The King, however, was quite reluctant and more concerned with maintaining his position in the much ­reduced Prussian state than heading for a nationalistic crusade. Clausewitzs disillusionment reached a peak when Prussia, allied with France, agreed to provide an army corps to Napoleon to assist in the 1812 invasion of Russia. Along with many other officers, he resigned from the Prussian service and accepted a commission in the Russian army. He served during the Russian retreat from the French forces, however, Prussias change of sides led, after some delay, to his reinstatement as a colonel in the Prussian army. Clausewitz participated in many key events of the War of Liberation (1813-1814), and served as an aide to General August von G neisenau, Field Marshal G.L. von Blà ¼chers chief of staff 1813-1815 and one of the principal leaders of Prussias military rebirth. In 1818, Clausewitz was promoted to general and became administrative head of the General War College in Berlin but had nothing to do with actual instruction at the school. During this time, he wrote the notes that would eventually form his collected works. Clausewitz returned to active duty with the army in 1830, when he was appointed commander of a group of artillery brigades stationed in eastern Prussia. When revolutions in Paris and Poland seemed to suggest a new general European war, he was appointed chief of staff to Field Marshal Gneisenau and the Army of Observation sent to the Polish border. Clausevitz died on 16 November 1831 at the age of fifty-one. The cause of his death was cholera which was transmitted to him while he was organizing a sanitary camp in the east , where he remained for that purpose after the aversion of war. On War His writings (On War represents only three of the ten volumes of his collected works) provide important first-person, historical, and analytical commentaries on key events of the dramatic Napoleonic era. Unlike many other great books, however, the ideas Clausewitz proposed have never been fully absorbed into the mainstream of historical texts. This is due partly to the depth and difficulty of the original work and to the unusual â€Å"dialectical character† of Clausewitzs approach (Cimbala 1992, pages 1-12). Nevertheless, it remains required reading in Americas intermediate-level and senior military schools, as well as in many civilian strategic studies programs and, increasingly, in business schools. Clausewitz’s aim was not to provide the reader with any solid and ever lasting answers nor prescribe solutions. He understood the concept that his future readers would face a strategic world unpredictably different in many aspects from his own. His objective is to help the reader develop his or her own strategic judgment in order to deal with the continuously changing strategic environment. It is this pedagogical quality of his writing that renders the works remarkable. The principal importance of Clausewitzs approach to strategic theory is its realism. This is not realism in the sense of cynicism about politics and brute power. Instead, there is realism in the way it describes the complicated and uncertain manner in which real-world events unfold, â€Å"taking into account both the frailties of human nature and the complexity of the physical and psychological world† (Booker Stone 1985, page 31). Influence The ideas posed by the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) have come to deeply influence American military writing theoretical, and historical Since the close of the Vietnam War. On War, first published in 1832, was adopted as a key text at the Naval War College in 1976, the Air War College in 1978, the Army War College in 1981. It has always been central at the U.S. Armys School for Advanced Military Studies at Leavenworth (founded in 1983). The U.S. Marine Corpss brilliant little philosophical field manual FMFM 1: Warfighting (1989) is essentially a distillation of On War, and the Marine Corps Doctrinal Publications (1993) are equally reflect?ve of Clausewitzs basic concepts (Bassford 1994, 154-157). The sudden acceptability of Clausewitz in the wake of Vietnam is not difficult to account for, because Clausewitz seriously struggled with the sort of dilemma that American military leaders faced in the result of their defeat (Bassford 1994, pages 157-158). In what had come to be called in political war, the political and military components of the American war effort merged significantly. While it was difficult for the American military to criticize elected civilian leaders, it was just as difficult to take the blame for Vietnam upon themselves. Clausewitzs analysis proved highly relevant: The more powerful and inspiring the motives for war, the more closely will the military aims and the political objects of war coincide, and the more military and less political will war appear to be. On the other hand, the less intense the motives, the less will the military elements natural tendency to violence coincide with political directives. As a result, war will be driven further from its natural course, the political object will be more and more at variance with the aim of ideal war, and the conflict will seem increasingly political in character. (Bassford 1994, page 54) American soldiers denied to accompany with the idea that they have lost in the battlefield arena but they tended to admit that that the policy was badly formed and communicated with the result of them being in the place of not understanding their role in actually making it. By clarifying the interplay among the armed forces, government, and people, and by clearly describing the two sides of the civil-military relationship, Clausewitz offered a way out of this dilemma and into the future (Bassford 1994, pages 159-160). As such, Clausewitzs ideas underlie some of the most influential statements of the military lessons learned from the Vietnam debacle, including Colonel Harry Summerss â€Å"On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War† and the Weinberger doctrine, first expressed by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in 1984 (Bassford 1994, 160-162). On War was not intended to provide a practical guide to commanders in the field. There are considerable misunderstandings about Clausewitz’ theory because of this misconception. To Clausewitz, war (as opposed to strategy or tactics) was neither an art nor a science. He argued that the object of science is knowledge and certainty, while the object of art is creative ability. Clausewitz saw tactics as more scientific in character, and strategy as something of an art. War, neither exclusive science or art, thus, is a form of â€Å"social intercourse† (Booker Stone 1985, page 55 ). Clausewitz occasionally compared it to commerce or litigation, but more usually to politics. War is permeated by intelligent forces. War is also an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will, but it is never unilateral. He compares it to a wrestling match -a contest between independent wills, where skill and creativity are no more important than personality, chance, emotion, and the various dynamics that characterize any human interaction. â€Å"When Clausewitz wrote that war may have a grammar of its own, but not its own logic, he meant that the logic of war, like politics, is the logic of social intercourse, not that of art or science. â€Å" (Bassford 1994, page 58) War and Policy According to Clausewitz, if war is to be an extension or tool of policy, then military leaders must be subordinate to political leaders and strategy must be subordinate to policy. The military instrument must be subordinated to the political leadership, but political leaders must understand its nature and limitations. Politicians must not attempt to use the instrument of war to achieve purposes for which it is unsuited. â€Å"It is the responsibility of military leaders to ensure that the political leadership understands the character and limitations of the military instrument.† One of the most important requirements of strategy in Clausewitzs view is that the leadership correctly establish the kind of war on which they are embarking. (Booker and Stone 1985, page 62) This is often understood to mean that leaders should rationally decide the kind of war that will be undertaken. In fact, the nature of any given war is beyond rational control: it is inherent in the situation an d in the spirit of the age. This is most evident in the French Revolution, and as well in Vietnam. Conclusions Clausewitzs ambition was to bridge the gap between theory and practice. However it can be conceived as very practical by the intellectual, too complex and vague by a politician and very theoretical in the battlefield by a soldier. The gap between theory and practice thus represents a dichotomy between the values and perceptions of scholars and soldiers. The f?rst where never g?ven the chance to be in the battlefield and the latter probably never went through complex research analysis on paper. By the same token, Vietnam veterans tend to see it as a textbook on what went wrong in their war. This points to the significance of this work, wherein Clausewitz insisted that personal experience was essential to any understanding of the phenomena of war. Personal experience is very important.. On War gave shape to the most important formulations of the final lessons learned from the Vietnam experience, as expressed in the Weinberger Doctrine (Bassford 1994, pages 172-175). Clausewitz’s theory cannot be interpreted from only one point of view but it should be appointed to each occasion separately according to the goals to be achieved. A great flexibility in interpretation and application of the theory is a fact which leaves a great gap in the concepts and which leaves the reader or the policy maker or the soldier responsible for the conclusions reached. Finally, as Clausewitz observes, â€Å"We see, therefore, that war is not merely a political act, but also a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other means† (Clausewitz). To win at war we must have unity between our government, our people, and our military and we must also exercise every other caution to insure that our efforts are sufficient to accomplish the goal. These efforts include not only such primary military strategies as insuring adequate numbers of troops but also insuring that we truly understand our enemy and its capabilities. Sources Bassford Christofer, 1994, â€Å"Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America†,New York: Oxford University Press. Booker Christine and Stone Norman, 1985 , â€Å"Clausewitz: Philosopher of War†, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice ­Hall. Carl Von Clausewitz, Official Website, â€Å"Frequently asked Questions†, clausewitz.com/FAQs.htm#Who (accessed on 10 April 2010) Carl von Clausewitz, â€Å"On War†, clausewitz.com/readings/OnWar1873/BK1ch01.html (accesed on 20 May 2010) Cimbala J. Stephen, 1992, â€Å"Clausewitz and Escalation: Classical Perspective on Nuclear Strategy† London Frank Cass. 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The burden of Hitlers legacy

The burden of Hitlers legacy Alfons Heck was born around 1927 in Rhineland near the Morsel River Region. He was brought up by his grandmother and a number of uncles and aunts. His parents and twin brother occasionally paid him visits in the farm where he lived. Hitler ascended to power when Alfons Heck was just six years old; that was in the year 1933. His teacher at that time was a full blown follower of the Nazi (Heck 2).Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on The burden of Hitler’s legacy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Even at his young age, Alfons somewhat had a sense of admiration for his teacher and the ideals he stood for. Hitler’s regime had successfully turned him into a fanatic who was willing to lay down his life for a cause he believed was both just and achievable. For the following five or so years, Alfons attended school normally like other children and served as an altar boy in his local church. Germany had remained in turmoil in the years following World War 1 and this offered an ideal setting for the emergence of firebrand political leadership who would establish and enforce extremist ideologies (Heck 6). At this time in Germany’s history, citizens were under immense pressure to make payments to the victors of war and the country was grappling with a serious economic crisis. This was when Adolf Hitler came to be known since he offered easy explanations to the problems that the people were facing and he went ahead to offer quick fix solutions. In his opinion, the Jews were to be blamed for Germany’s downfall in World War 1 and the subsequent peace treaty that was a source of embarrassment to the nation. The Nazis cunningly capitalized on the political and economic distrust of the middle class and made up lies about the Jews (Heck 11).The party enjoyed a significant rise in popularity and this saw Hitler ascend to the post of Chancellor in the year 1933. Some people thought he co uld have been instrumental in dealing with communists proponents. Hitler began forming structures of the Nazi State that were based on authoritarian principles and racism. Individuals’ rights and freedoms were revoked while rights entrenched in the Weimar Constitution were renounced. Jews suffered persecution and discrimination, and in the year 1933, they were expelled from the civil service. This year also saw the abolishing of all trade unions. All elements of government were ‘harmonized’ to completely fit into Nazi control while all other political parties were outlawed. Germans were made to believe that their destiny was to grow and enlarge a superior population that would rule the Soviet Union. A policy was put in place to encourage the bearing of racially pure Aryan children (Heck 12). Other groups of people like Gypsies and the Jews were classified as racially inferior and were set to be eliminated.Advertising Looking for book review on history? Le t's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In that year, Nazi groups started the indiscriminate killing, molesting and maiming of Jews. Their businesses were forcefully shut while others were destroyed. Those that remained open were boycotted by the larger German population. More racist decrees and laws were formulated and enforced. The Jews were accused by the Nazis of being responsible for socialism, communism and revolutions and their positions both economically and politically placed them strategically for involvement in conspiracy theories. Thousands of Jews were confined in concentration camps while their property and synagogues were torched (Heck 13). In schools, the Nazi regime ensured that messages against Jews were relayed to children as little as four years old. This was a deliberate step by the Nazi to ensure that from a tender age, the children would be programmed to believe that Jews and other minority groups were a threat to them and that they were criminal and inferior to them(Heck 15). The teachers were instructed to ensure that their pupils forever remained to be enemies of minority groups. This indoctrination went a long way in molding the thinking and actions of Alfons Heck plus a huge number of boys who were later recruited into Nazi groups. A majority of the teachers were also ardent believers in the cause of the Nazi regime and worked to ensure they influenced their students to identify with the Nazi ideology. The author was just a young boy at the time the war commenced, but by the time it came to an end, he was an officer who was highly ranked in the group known as the Hitler Youth. The recruitment of Alfons and very many people into this group was done through carefully executed brainwashing of citizens by the flash and power of Adolf Hitler and his numerous promises for a new world order in Germany(Heck 28). He was an eager participant in a number of youth rallies that took place all over Germany and was chosen to be the leader of a large group of young boys who had been recruited to join in fighting the war. As the forces in the war began facing depletion, Hitler started depending more and more on this group (the Hitler youth). At the tender age of fifteen, Alfons had risen to become a high ranking glider pilot. When he was sixteen years old, he had already become a Bannfuhrer which is an equivalent to the present day’s rank of a Major General in the United States Army and was put in charge of more than sixty thousand troops.Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on The burden of Hitler’s legacy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He stayed in Luftawaffe for some time when a loss of the war started becoming imminent. After his short stint in Luftawaffe, he was transferred back to the war front; specifically to a wall that was along the western border post of Germany (Heck 32).It was there h e got to personally meet and talk to Adolf Hitler. Hitler conveyed a sense of interest in Alfons and honored him with the Iron Cross for his exemplary service. When the war ended, the Allied Troops arrived to his town and since he could not communicate in fluent English and the soldiers were not conversant with German, they used him to capture all the Nazis who had now gone into hiding. When his identity was discovered, he was thrown in jail together with others. By the time the war drew to a close, the author had lost almost all his friends and the town where he was born had been reduced to mere rubble (Heck 48). While in jail, there were times when he thought that he would be executed. This was because during the war, the death of one German was avenged by killing thirty French soldiers. He was among those who sought the French soldiers that were used for the revenge missions. After spending some time in confinement, quite a number of inmates still defended the cause of the Nazis and saw nothing wrong with what they had done. Until Alfons saw the ruins that had become of Germany, he had not begun to question their fanaticism of the Nazi. During his trial, it was revealed that by December 1939, it had become compulsory for every German child above the age of ten years to join one of the two factions of the Hitler Youth group. He used this as one of his lines of defense. However, this did not aid in clearing his name at the tribunal since it was argued that with the passing of time, he had become an adult and was fully accountable for his words and actions. Amnesty did not also help acquit him because at the time he stood before the tribunal, he was already an adult. Up to this time, some of his fellow inmates still did not understand why they were being imprisoned while all they had done is serve their country and obey the orders they had received from their superiors. In prison, life was harsh due to the hard labor the inmates were subjected to and starvatio n (Heck 70). They were once given a task to dig up mass graves of French prisoners who had succumbed to injuries they got in a fighter bomber assault. After seven months in jail, he was permitted to return to school and go home during the nights. It was after going back to school and seeing his wrecked home that Alfons truly began to brood about his life under Hitler’s reign. The promises that had been made had turned to a nightmare. This period in time was marked by a serious economic crisis with large numbers of German women turning to prostitution as a means to earn money while most men were in captivity. People had given up their dignity in search for food and basic items; this was a great contradiction to what had been expected to be the ‘new Germany’.Advertising Looking for book review on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When the author saw the destruction and suffering of the Germans, it dawned on him that he had done his utmost best fighting for the wrong cause (Heck 82). It is worth noting that even though a majority of teachers and civil servants had been quick to embrace the new ideology, there was still a number that resisted the pressure, clung on to their principles and refused to be members of the Nazi. The Allied troops sometimes acted unjustly as in the case where Alfons’ twin brother came to visit him and his grandmother and was seized by the troops, locked up, sodomized, then released. Within the confines of the school, a new crop of Germans was emerging; one that was fed up with threats from the French. They threw out books that were written in French without fear of the consequences had they been caught. An intervention by the principal helped quiet the boys and got them to cooperate with the teachers including those who had originated from France. Seven months after Alfons had faced the tribunal, he sought permission from the liaison officer for matters concerning education from the French Military Government to visit Nuremburg. The trial was coming to an end and he wanted to catch a glimpse of the proceedings. He was granted a two week pass and allowed to travel (Heck 102). Nuremberg was a significant place because it had witnessed many domestic triumphs by Hitler and the Nazi. It was a place that synonymous with the Nazi regime however, to many German Jews and minority groups it was a place of terror and fear. It was from there that the Nazi regime made public the Racial Laws in the year 1935 that automatically revoked the citizenship of Jews. Due to brainwashing, most Germans had applauded that move and thought it would work towards enhancing the country. The mainstream churches did not do much to oppose this violation of civil rights probably due to fear of reproach from a regime that had dealt ruthlessly with opposition. At the beginning of the twen ty one trials, most Germans viewed the proceedings with complete indifference. They interpreted the trials as their victor’s way of exerting revenge upon them. There was no sign that the nation was prepared to come to terms with the real events or dealing with their feelings of guilt. Alfons was able to listen to the trials via some loud speakers that had been placed outside the trial chambers and heard the entire evidence of the charges that were leveled against the Nazi leadership. There were confessions by a number of the leaders including the man who was in charge of training the young boys who were members of Hitler Youth. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to a jail term of not less than twenty years. This was a major turning point for Alfons Heck who now fully realized that the men he had adored and served under had betrayed him and other Germans (Heck 108). That was the moment he discovered the scale of murder, child abuse and the countless a trocities that had been unleashed on innocent people. That was when he started to dissociate himself with the Nazi ideology he had once revered. He began his long journey of ‘rehabilitation’ that took many years. Like Alfons, so many young Germans had been duped into believing that they were doing their country great service by joining these groups. The way in which the Nuremberg trials were carried out elicited criticism since some argued that it imposed ex post- facto kind of justice which means; that the rules were created after the crimes were committed. Some said that it served as a catharsis for those who ‘won’ the war and needed to put people on trial to quench their hatred. Despite the limitations of the process, the trials achieved some significant objectives which included; preventing a blood bath which would have been witnessed had the Nazis been tried in courts that would have afforded them very able defenses (Heck 262). The accused parties were given more justice than they would have given if the tables were to be turned. The concept of individual accountability and personal responsibility was introduced and it helped dispel the notion that orders from superiors were to be followed at all costs (Heck 270). After the trials, waging aggressive war was criminalized and a declaration of human rights was drafted and adopted. Despite a number of confusing sentences and acquittals, it could be concluded that justice was served. The messages that had been relayed through the media about certain groups of people being inferior to others had been rubbished. In comparison to the heavier sentences of those tried by the tribunal in Nuremberg, Alfons’ sentence looked like a slap on the wrist even though a chunk of his youth had been used negatively. Heck, Alfons. The burden of Hitlers legacy.New York: American Travellers Press, 1988.print.

Trends that older workers need to watch for in 2018

Trends that older workers need to watch for in 2018 Attention Baby Boomers- not all trends are created equal. Each year, we see a variety of new workplace trends take hold, which often vary by industry, geography, and even individual demographics. One of these factors is age- simply put, there are trends in the job world that affect older individuals differently, based on their level of experience, personal needs, comfort level in a rapidly changing work environment, and longevity in the job market. Older workers- specifically Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964), face some unique issues and challenges in the work world. This aging population possesses a wealth of work experience, knowledge, and expertise, but is growing older in a workplace that increasingly prizes youth and vitality, and many are approaching the age where retirement is a consideration. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, approximately 29% of the workforce in the United States- which represents approximately 45 million workers- is part o f the Baby Boomer generation. Although this number continues to shrink each year, it’s still a significant amount of people. Therefore, it’s worth taking a closer look at the trends these older folks can expect to encounter in the workplace in 2018.More flexible work arrangementsAlthough this may not seem like much of a departure from the norm for younger workers, older workers who are typically more used to the traditional Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 office arrangement may need some time to get used to the changing notion of what it means to be â€Å"at work.† Advances in technology have made it easier than ever before to work remotely and telecommute- and older workers will get the opportunity to take more advantage of the flexibility this allows.Baby Boomers who work in fields in which telecommuting is a viable option and possess the technical knowhow can expect to encounter more flexible work arrangements in 2018. This is often a good thing, allowing for a fast er, easier, and less expensive commute to the office- which might now just mean walking into one of the rooms in your house.Rise in contract employmentAnother trend in the workplace that may hit Baby Boomers harder than their younger counterparts is the change in how employers are hiring individuals to meet their needs. Many companies are embracing leaner approaches to work by using technology to get more work done with less people on their payrolls. Companies are also increasingly relying on unorthodox work arrangements, which means a shift from full-time employees and towards a greater reliance on contract, freelance, and part-time workers to get things done.Why is this especially concerning for Baby Boomers? These new workplace arrangements typically don’t include benefits like medical and dental insurance, which usually become more essential as workers get older, so workers are going to have to get creative and seek out alternative means for coverage. Another thing missin g from most forms of contract employment are retirement benefits, which will impact how workers prepare and save for retirement in the future.Delaying retirementSpeaking of retirement†¦a growing trend that many older workers are facing is the notion of having to delay exiting the workforce for as long as possible. According to a recent article by U.S. News World Report, this can be attributable to a wide range of factors, including older workers not having enough money saved, needing health insurance, desiring to stay active and productive, and simply enjoying working and passing on their knowledge and skills to a new generation of employees. Whether by choice or not, older workers who are looking to delay retirement are going to have to learn how to effectively navigate the changing landscape of the work world and plan for the future.These are the biggest trends older workers can expect to encounter in 2018. Those employees who will prove most successful in coping with a rapi dly evolving workplace will stay one step ahead of these trends and strategize accordingly.

Building and Hosting Your Own Website Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Building and Hosting Your Own Website - Essay Example I have always relied on your team to make updates on the website, and unfortunately, this has lead to a delay in the upload of articles as well as the posting of new products and services. As such, I have decided to do the update myself. I wish to have my entire website migrated to a content management system (CMS) such as Joomla so I can add/remove/revise content without the worry of ruining my website design. I am pretty sure that you can do this quite easily as my current website host offers a one-click installation of Joomla on the server. Through this move, I hope I can make updates weekly, if not daily, as well as add new writers and editors to the website without giving full access to the backend of the web server. I have recently been looking up new website designs and have settled on a clean, crisp look. I want to use colors for actionable items on the website, as well as photos and quotes to highlight important parts of the content. 1. Contrast: I want the background of the website to be white or grayish white so that items (fonts, photos, quotes) will stand out. I want titles or headers of articles to be in all cap and in bold. I want it colored in turquoise (see design document for details). Font of the content must be gray, a bit on the dark side, but definitely not black. 2. Repetition: Photos for all articles (on the blog) must be in black and white. This way, it replicates the design elements of the fonts and serves to highlight the actionable links as well as the quotes taken out from the article. Moreover, repetition can be used in the Navigation of the store where categories of the products/services I offer are located in the left side, as well as in the tag sphere below it. 3. Alignment: I want lots of white space for the site, but I also want to have crisp lines which can be generated by aligning content to the left (for the blog). In the store, I want products/services to display in a 4x4 grid. 4. Proximity:

Cyclical Fluctuations in Aggregate Economic Activity in the United Essay

Cyclical Fluctuations in Aggregate Economic Activity in the United States - Essay Example ailed as father of modern economics and as the most influential economist of the 20th century explains that a normal circular flow of money will be achieved if people have cash on their hands. He further states that people’s? refusal to spend and resorts to money hoarding creates a liquidity trap which leads to recession and depression. As such, the government has to spend money or to â€Å"pump prime† to regulate once more the circular flow of money. Karl Marx, explained that the cycle of boom and bust is inherent to capitalist system. He provided a comprehensive critique of the capitalist system. He explained the cycle of boom and bust as a logical consequence of laws governing capitalism (Law of Surplus Value, Law of Tendency of Rate of profit to Fall, Law of Correspondence of the production in Relation to the productive Forces, Law of Accumulation and Law of Competition) (Dickhut). However, in contrast to the above economist, Marx major contribution lies in concludi ng that capitalism is deemed towards doomsdays. He theorized socialism as an alternative economic system not just to remedy the impact on the lives of the working class and the nation in general on the devastating effect of the boom and bust cycle but to radically eradicate it and its consequences of unemployment, inflation, recession and depression. III.Critical Analysis Great Depression The Great Depression of 1930’?s ? is widely considered by economist as a bust period. The US stock market declined by 89% (Ferguson).From August of 1929 to March 1933,the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of US declined by 33%.Unemployment rose from 5 million in 1930 to 13 million in 1932.People are lining for food and are moving from one place to another as they could not afford rents. Children ages 10-18 are already... This essay provides a critical analysis of the reasons behind Great Depression of 1929-1933 and recent Great Recession, that followed the Financial crisis of 2008. Major roots of the Financial crisis are identified in the essay, monetary and fiscal policies of the US governing bodies are also assessed. Cyclical fluctuations in aggregate economic activity are now accepted as quite part of economic life with politicians describing such crisis as a necessary pain every so often. The reality of economic growth, recession and recovery is a classic manifestation of the capitalist cycle of boom and bust. The Great Depression of 1930’s is widely considered by economist as a bust period. The US stock market declined by 89% . Unemployment rose from 5 million in 1930 to 13 million in 1932. The US economy was able to bounce back from depression with then President Roosevelt policy of bank holiday and gave authority to Federal Reserve to provide loans to its non members. In 2008-2009, US experienced 4 quarters of economic contraction, the worst recession after the Great Depression. Unemployment is up by 14.9 million and 300,000 homeowners are losing their property every month on foreclosure after the NBER declares that recession is over in June The US has employed Keynesian theory- boosting its aggregate demand to save its economy from further collapse. The giant corporations have been bailed out by taxpayer’ money, while the value of home real estate has yet to rise up. This kind of solution is artificially boosting the economy.

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare - Term Paper Example This paper makes a conclusion that the use of animals for warfare is normally a contentious issue. Proponents of the debate argue that the use of animals for warfare helps to save human lives. They state that human lives are more important than animal lives. Hanson in his defense for the use of animals used the clichà © ‘save people, not pets’ to show the significance of animals in warfare. Due to their well-developed sensory and respiratory systems, animals perform various functions. Some of the common roles or duties performed by animals include the detection of bombs or landmines, and sniffing out the enemy. On the contrary, opponents of the debate cite the concept of animal cruelty as the main reason why they oppose the move. Since there are no laws that protect animals used for war, they are often mistreated. For instance, the American army starves dolphins by tying their mouths. This prevents them from eating food or other fishes. Also, dogs are left behind by tro ops or killed after a war ends because they pose a danger to civilians. In conclusion, animals should be used for warfare because they help save the lives of soldiers and people. When compared to animal lives, human lives are more precious. Furthermore, animals such as dogs have been used for rescue missions to locate lost soldiers or pilots. The use of animals for war fare is contained in the national security exclusions. This gives the military the power to use the animals in any way they like.

Engineering accomplishments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Engineering accomplishments - Essay Example In the year 2004, the EEG Simecsol, under Eiffage Construction, the main contractor, completed the Millau Viaduct project, the most beautiful bridge in the world today. The project kicked off in the year 2012 when the Foster and Partners Company completed their design work and handed their plan to the construction company. The bridge is located in South West France, constructed across the River Tarn Valley. Apart from being one of the largest bridges, its features are unique and completely designed expertly. The most unique features of the bridge are the seven reinforced concrete pylons, whose height range between 78 and 245 metres, supporting 32m wide steel super structure. The hollow box girders and the steel pylons carrying the stay cables make it a heavy and stable structure. This bridge has become a source of public attraction in France as many people come to see the world most beautiful bridge. The engineering perspective of this bridge shows the development of the metal-streng thening technology and new ways of meshing the support structure in the construction industry (Matthew Para. 1). Therefore, the bridge is rated as one of the greatest construction and civil engineering achievements in the 21st century. Another engineering achievement is the QingZang Tibet Railway built in China. This railway traverses across permafrost land on a very high altitude. From the start, the engineers knew that the project was a big challenge especially given to the terrain and the unfavorable weather conditions of the land. For many years, the Chinese engineers had sought solution to how this project would succeed as it was an urgent project that aimed at connecting the Chinese business market. However, the project delayed due to the challenges that way laid the construction of such a railway. The railway spans between Golmud and Lhasa, traversing a tough landscape.

Sleep deprivation negatively affect driving performance and causes car Essay

Sleep deprivation negatively affect driving performance and causes car accidents - Essay Example The danger is even more compounded with the fact that people are often unaware of the fact that the failure to sleep increases the possibility and probability of accidents (Gregory, 2009) This paper seeks to address the importance of sleep, factors that cause sleep variations as well as the relation of this to work performance. Further, the paper illuminates on the relation of sleep build-up and sleep deprivation on accidents propensity, as well touching on the models and other conditions such as apnea in relation to work and injuries at the workplace. Sleep and Accidents Generally, accident that is caused as a result of sleep is regarded as accident caused by human error, and often times the impact of it is correlated to the task that was being carried out. Therefore, in an event where there is more speed in terms of performing the task, then the degree of injury is normally aggravated (Gregory, 2009). This therefore means that skiing are often more serious accidents than walking ac cidents. Accidents could even be more aggravated in areas where machines are many and work is machinated, in say Agricultural Industry, where there are a lot of different tasks and models and types of machines (Gregory, 2009). Broadly speaking, accidents causing injuries happen in the line of human interactions with the machines at the work place. Often times, these machines include cars, trucks, and others such as tractors among many others (Gregory, 2009). The manner in which a worker interacts with the machines is highly associated with his level of maturity, and accidents normally occur due to use of alcohol, use of other drugs such as caffeine or ‘build up of sleep debt which is the prime focus of this paper (Scott et al, 2006). One is then likely to ask the question: how can sleep deprivation cause accidents, and how is their impacts measured? The answer is that, while sleep and alcohol correlation is easy to measure, the former, accidents and sleep, has been largely dif ficult. The general agreement is however in the duration of sleep. Duration of sleep is sometimes as long as 6 weeks, and the risks is often analyzed within the confluence of the time of the day one sleeps and the amount therein. Further, it is also correlated to the amount of sleep one had the night before (Scott et al, 2006). Broad Factors that Impair Sleep and the effects Factors that impair sleep have been recognized as use of caffeine, talking radio, cold and other distracting activities. It is therefore often seen with students who stay awake at night having to dose during lectures. Another example worthy noting is the fact that Pilots stayed awake in the course of dogfights in World War II and fell asleep, thus crashed on their flight back to base (Gregory, 2009). Sleep Management and the Risks Involved Psychologists have identified two types of risks associated with sleep management. One is low performance or loss of it altogether when one falls asleep at the workplace. This often happens when the individual is â€Å"un-stimulated and bored even without sleep debt† (Gregory, 2009). The second one is observed in the decreased performance at the work place in

Netflix Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Netflix Analysis - Case Study Example On the basis of this an overview of analysis tools has been discussed such as the 3C’s, STP and the 4 P’s. The 3 C’s model is used to provide an overview of the company. Based on this overview the market conditions can be assessed which help the managers in forming strategies for the company. Based on this the company can rectify its weaknesses and progress towards success. Company: Netflix is a DVD rental and online streaming business. The services offered by the company are in a combined form and these have attracted the customers. The services of the company are slow but once the videos are acquired then the services and facilities which are offered are unmatchable and incomparable. Customers: For the success of the business, the needs and requirements of the customer are important and therefore they should be assessed. The company has faced losses when a new strategy of separating both the practices was introduced. This also increased the subscription charges of the company. Competitors: The business faces competition from products like Apple iTunes, Amazon video on demand (VOD), Google TV and YouTube and others. All these provide similar services and have benefited highly from the splitting decision of the company (Dau, and Wesley). Segmentation: In this process the company will identify the segment which will be interested most with availing the services of the company. The company has segments its consumers in order to market them in a better way. by segmenting consumers, the company can do well in the market. Targeting: Finding the most appropriate segment and finding the factors which will satisfy these individuals most must be assessed. On the basis of this all the price and the product related strategies are formed. By targeting different segments in a different way, the company can get better results. Positioning: In this segment the appropriate industry is

Engineering accomplishments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Engineering accomplishments - Essay Example In the year 2004, the EEG Simecsol, under Eiffage Construction, the main contractor, completed the Millau Viaduct project, the most beautiful bridge in the world today. The project kicked off in the year 2012 when the Foster and Partners Company completed their design work and handed their plan to the construction company. The bridge is located in South West France, constructed across the River Tarn Valley. Apart from being one of the largest bridges, its features are unique and completely designed expertly. The most unique features of the bridge are the seven reinforced concrete pylons, whose height range between 78 and 245 metres, supporting 32m wide steel super structure. The hollow box girders and the steel pylons carrying the stay cables make it a heavy and stable structure. This bridge has become a source of public attraction in France as many people come to see the world most beautiful bridge. The engineering perspective of this bridge shows the development of the metal-streng thening technology and new ways of meshing the support structure in the construction industry (Matthew Para. 1). Therefore, the bridge is rated as one of the greatest construction and civil engineering achievements in the 21st century. Another engineering achievement is the QingZang Tibet Railway built in China. This railway traverses across permafrost land on a very high altitude. From the start, the engineers knew that the project was a big challenge especially given to the terrain and the unfavorable weather conditions of the land. For many years, the Chinese engineers had sought solution to how this project would succeed as it was an urgent project that aimed at connecting the Chinese business market. However, the project delayed due to the challenges that way laid the construction of such a railway. The railway spans between Golmud and Lhasa, traversing a tough landscape.

Netflix Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Netflix Analysis - Case Study Example On the basis of this an overview of analysis tools has been discussed such as the 3C’s, STP and the 4 P’s. The 3 C’s model is used to provide an overview of the company. Based on this overview the market conditions can be assessed which help the managers in forming strategies for the company. Based on this the company can rectify its weaknesses and progress towards success. Company: Netflix is a DVD rental and online streaming business. The services offered by the company are in a combined form and these have attracted the customers. The services of the company are slow but once the videos are acquired then the services and facilities which are offered are unmatchable and incomparable. Customers: For the success of the business, the needs and requirements of the customer are important and therefore they should be assessed. The company has faced losses when a new strategy of separating both the practices was introduced. This also increased the subscription charges of the company. Competitors: The business faces competition from products like Apple iTunes, Amazon video on demand (VOD), Google TV and YouTube and others. All these provide similar services and have benefited highly from the splitting decision of the company (Dau, and Wesley). Segmentation: In this process the company will identify the segment which will be interested most with availing the services of the company. The company has segments its consumers in order to market them in a better way. by segmenting consumers, the company can do well in the market. Targeting: Finding the most appropriate segment and finding the factors which will satisfy these individuals most must be assessed. On the basis of this all the price and the product related strategies are formed. By targeting different segments in a different way, the company can get better results. Positioning: In this segment the appropriate industry is

Gender Role and Sexuality Essay Example for Free

Gender Role and Sexuality Essay I can fortunately and happily say that I personally have not experienced unequal treatment in regards to my chosen career, educational path or previously held jobs. What I do still see currently being stereotyped are gender roles and the way they are allowed or not allowed to sexually express themselves in the public eye. From my experience it is more acceptable for men to compose music about sex, be in main stream media selling sex, have successful careers in sex, and everyday unequal expectations in dating, sex and relationships. Men have more sexual freedom in the world today. Men are encouraged and in most cases applauded on the discussion of how many partners they have had in the past and the specifics of each experience, yet woman are still expected to hide their sex from the world in fear of ridicule and isolation. In our society today woman who are overly sexual or dress in form fitting clothes or lack thereof are automatically stereotyped as the promiscuous type. Why the double standard? I don’t agree at all with displaying private sexual acts to the general public to gain fame and wealth and in by doing such corrupting children and destroying the beauty of sex but I don’t believe that we should have to hide that women are as much sexual beings equally as men. I feel religion and culture play major roles in the history of sexual repression of woman. Even dating back to the Puritan who believed that anything resulting in pleasure was a sin, women’s freedom to express their sexuality has been suppressed in fear of domination because we are just as powerful as men. Growing up in a strict catholic home I was always taught to act like a lady in public. Exactly what was meant by that I wasn’t fully sure but I knew its underlying symbolism was repressing my sexuality. I wasn’t allowed to wear spaghetti straps, mid drift shirts, shorts above my knees, or make up till I was 18 years old. Sex was not spoken of in my household at all, and if it happened to be seen in a movie or on television I was instructed to cover my eyes because sex was forbidden. Being a sexy woman was seen as vulgar. If I had male friends I could not talk on the phone with them or play outside of school with them without a parent or chaperone. On that contrary my younger brother was encouraged to dress well, wear cologne and have many female friends. It was a symbol of popularity. In my father’s Hispanic culture the young men were pampered and treated as kings with double standards. The women were there to serve them. We are not allowed to be sexy or let alone discuss sex in anyway shape or form. As an adult now I can understand why I completely rebelled against the stereotypes created by my religion and culture. It’s not fair to make women feel less than human than men. We are sexual creatures who share the same desires and needs. I now embrace my sexuality. I’m not afraid to be who I am, and say how I feel. Being a single mother in society today puts me in another stereotype as well. Having a child out of wedlock is still looked down upon, and more so with the mother. We are labeled as â€Å"promiscuous†, â€Å"unholy†, and â€Å"irresponsible†, but to me I loved a man for 8 years and wanted to create a life with him. Unfortunately the abuse I endured was too great to allow after the child was born, so I chose to leave. On the other hand the single father is praised and labeled as â€Å"hard working†, and â€Å"honorable†. In news and media woman are portrayed as sex objects in order to entice society. It draws women in because they either want to be like them or look like them and it draws men in because they love the visual stimulation. Sexuality is used as a shock value for ratings. Are sexy woman who love their bodies and the way it makes them feel really that shocking? Instead of conditioning our young woman to hide their sexuality we should be teaching them healthy ways to explore and express their human desires of sexuality in a safe, healthy way.

Use of Moral Hazards in Workplaces

Use of Moral Hazards in Workplaces The use of the term moral hazard has a history of more than 200 years. As Dembe and Boden (2000) showed that, since the 1600s, the term moral hazard is used in the discussion about the possibility of incentives for people under insurance to be less careful to protect themselves or insured goods and the tendency of fraud for obtaining financial benefits from insurance. It first appeared in the economic literature in the 1960s in terms of decision-making under uncertainty. Arrow (1963) and Pauly (1968) are two frequently quoted papers. Arrow (1963) considered moral hazard as one of the problems in the insurance market and pointed out that the assumption that insured events are taken place out of the control of insured individual is not really true in the real life and, therefore, there is not complete insurance market if the uncertainty exits. Pauly (1968) also explained that the moral hazard problem can be analyzed by orthodox economic tools in different kinds of insurance. In the economic literature nowadays, moral hazard is studied in various fields. Dembe and Boden (2000) concluded that there are two major categories of researches on moral hazard. One is originated from the early literature about insurance market; the other is about economic decision-making, such as finance, banking, accounting and management. In the current financial crisis, moral hazard is more frequently discussed and blamed as one of the causes of the banking problem. Summers (2007) claimed that the problem of moral hazard is overrated and warned people be aware of moral hazard fundamentalism. Dowd (2009) disagreed and believed that the problem is underrated and should be taken seriously. Dowd discussed the policy failures in the US financial industry in regards of moral hazard. Dow (2010) analysed the concept of moral hazard in relation to the financial crisis and concluded that there is immoral behaviour in financial market but the problem should go further than conventional understanding. The rest of the essay is organised as follows. In the second section, the definitions and nature of moral hazard are discussed. In section three, examples will be provided and analysed. I will also describe the ways to overcome these problems in the fourth section. 2. What is Moral Hazard? Moral hazard is defined in various ways in different aspects. The earliest explanation is from the perspective of insurance sector. Marshall (1976) provided the definition as any misallocation of resources which results when risks are insured with normal insurance contracts and only with such contracts. Briefly, moral hazard as the risky behaviour an insured individual may act because of the insurance cover. There are two kinds of moral hazard in insurance field. One of them is ex ante moral hazard, which is the risky behaviour itself. In this situation, the insured will act risky, which results in more payment by the insurer for the negative consequence. The other one is ex post moral hazard. This is the type of behaviour that people change their reaction of risk when insurance is provided or enlarged to cover their cost. Moral hazard can be also explained in terms of agent-principle problem. Dowd (2009) defined moral hazard as the potential behaviour that one party who is in the behalf of another party puts his own interest first. This definition is often used in management area. It is considered as the consequence of asymmetric information. Michael Parkin (2010) explained this as follows: In some markets, either the buyers or the sellers- usually the sellers- are better informed about the value of the item being traded than the person on the other side of the market. Information about the value of the item being traded that is possessed by only buyers or sellers is called private information. And a market in which the buyers or sellers have private information has asymmetric information. Asymmetric information causes two problems: adverse selection and moral hazard. Moral hazard is the tendency for people with private information, after entering into an agreement, to use that information for their own benefit and at the cost of the less-informed party. 3. Examples of Moral Hazard There are many cases about the moral hazard problem in insurance market. An example provided by Stiglitz (1997) is about the auto insurance in New Jersey. In the 1980s, New Jersey was considered to have the worst problem on auto insurance. It had no upper limit on the medical costs that could be claimed from any accident and the state even provided auto insurance, Joint Underwriting Authority (JUA), to drivers who are too risky to get insurance from private companies at a similar rate for the less risky drivers. The state suffered a big loss by its insurance policy. The traffic accident rate and car theft rate were much higher than most of other states. Drivers took more risky behaviour when they are insured against medical treatments and car theft. The JUA had accumulated a $3 billion deficit at the end of the 1980s and extra taxed were needed to cover the loss which brought big problem to the government. In finance and banking industry, moral hazard also can be found in various cases. Too big to fail banks speculative investment banking activities are guaranteed by the government, because their failure will influent the whole economy. The belief that they will always be rescued from collapse causes these big banks to take greater risks in their lending policies in search of higher returns. Another example of moral hazard problem in banking industry is that bankers encourage borrowing which is not in the customers best interest. In many business, bankers act as both lenders and financial advisors for their customers because of their financial expertise. Cases such as bankers provide advises in their own best interest rather than customers can be found. In many banks incentive systems, bankers can get bonus by lending more to customers, but will get no or an insignificant amount of penalties when the lending is not beneficial to customers or the debt cannot be collected. This would pro bably result in customers or banks losses which has little impact on the bankers individual benefits. Similar examples can be found in management area. Managers who act on the behalf of shareholders to operate the companies would take risky and short-term oriented strategies which could maximise their own benefits at the cost of shareholders. Managers whose payment is related to the companys profit would possibly carry out operation policy which would increase the profit within his employment period but might not create shareholders wealthy in the long run; some managers who hold the companys stock option might try to boom the stock price by fraud. These are all considered as moral hazard problems which come from the agency problem and the asymmetric information. The most famous example is probably the fall of Enron in which not only the governance and incentive of management were involved, auditing, fund management and financial analysts also played a part which can be considered immoral in this case. 4. Some Further Discussion In this section, after taking examples of moral hazard problem from different aspects, what they have in common are discussed. The question why moral hazard is considered as a problem will be analysed and possible solutions to these examples are also be provided. (1) Common features and negative consequence of moral hazard First of all, at least two parties are involved. In the examples of insurance, the two parties are the insurer (insurance companies or the state) and the insured party. In the banking examples, the problem is between banks and the state or bankers and customers. And in terms of management, it comes to agent (managers) and principle (shareholders). Secondly, one partys interest is guaranteed, which encourages taking higher risk. The loss of the insured party can be partly covered by the insurance no matter how risky his behaviour is. Similar feature is showed in the cases of banking and management, although they do have some risk management system to limit the risk within certain extent. Additionally, the highly risky behaviour of one party is difficult to or cannot be controlled by the other party. An auto insurance provider is impossible to control every insured drivers driving speed. Not all customers of banks and shareholders of companies have a clear view of what their agent (bankers and managers) are doing because of lacking private information and professional knowledge. Whats more, these moral hazard problems result in the cost of others and could lead to misallocation of social resources. The case of New Jersey auto insurance in the 1980s, the fall of Enron in 2001 and the recent banking crisis all caused huge social costs and brought economy problems. (2) Can these problems be overcome? Dowd (2009) suggested that measures that limit and eliminate moral hazard should be welcomed to reduce excessive risk-taking practice; and those create moral hazard should be avoid. Generally, a risk management system should be built. For example, insurance companies insure ones property up to a certain percentage of its replacement cost rather than fully cover it. Therefore, even if a big part of the risk is taken over, the insured party will still be worse off if bad thing happened. And this will encourage them to reduce their risk-taking behaviour. In Pauly (1968), deductibles and coinsurance are suggested to reduce the moral hazard. Deductible is an insurance in which an amount should be paid by the insured before the insurer will cover any expenses. Coinsurance is a sharing of risk between insurer and insured. Both methods aim to splitting and spreading the risk among the two or more parties involved in moral hazard problem. In Dowd (2009), he argued that the state support should be removed from banking and banks should survive on their own strength in order to remove the moral hazard. However, this would not be possible in practice. More essentially, the size of too big to fail banks should be cut down or controlled at a limited level. Moreover, better performance measurement and incentive system should be introduced. Credit rating by bankers should be carried out more effectively and bankers should bear the risk of their behaviour and get penalties for bad debt at an amount that is high enough to warn them to avoid the excessive risk. In terms of management, long-term performance measurement should be taken from the shareholders perspective; regulations that require more transparent disclosure are also highly required. Conclusion In this essay, definition of moral hazard and examples from insurance, banking and management perspectives are discussed. The commons of these examples include the parties involved in the moral hazard, the uncontrollable risky behaviour of one party whose benefits are guaranteed and the social costs which the problem brings. Risk measurement and control system should be built to reduce moral hazard problem. Solutions such as risk-sharing insurance, significant penalties of bad debt and long-term performance measurement are suggested.