How Does Jesus Show People Are More Important Than Law

‘How does Jesus show people are more important than the law? Do you agree? Explain why or why not. ‘ Jesus suggests that people are more important than the law through many of his actions and the things he preached, that went against or undermined the strict Laws the J swish society he was born into held to. Many of these actions and the things he said could be interpreted to mean that Jesus did not think these laws were not applicable in some circus dances anymore and so needn't be obeyed, resulting in him proportioning people, and more imp ardently, love, over some of the laws.Jesus first specifies that people have priority over law in Mark 2:2328, where h e states in particular Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. % This s suggests that he was challenging the ‘relinquishing society that the Pharisees had created, where it was no longer about keeping the laws to honor God and for the benefit of man, but instead about abiding to the laws and being pun ished if you didn't. In stating this, Jesus is e emphasizing this and suggesting that the laws were not the most important thing and mercy o n the people was more important if the laws were not kept than punishment.This idea is again submitted in John 8:1 1 1, where instead of punishing the adulterous woman, Jesus grants m Eric on her and instead says ‘Now go and leave your life of sin. ‘ This again implies people are more important than upholding the law, although it is obvious that each scenario is different and must be handled accordingly. Instead of emphasizing law as the most important thing, Jesus instead introduce sec Love as the most important commandment over keeping the law. This is made apparent I n Mark 12:2831, when Jesus stated the most important commandment is ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, †¦ LU, †¦ Mind and †¦ Strength' and the second being ‘Love your neighbor our as yourself. ‘ Jesus goes on in Luke 10:2537 to specify that being someone's ‘neighbor' is h avian ‘mercy' on others, shown in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Within this parable, J sees also depicts the ‘neighbor' as being an â€Å"enemy† of the injured man who broke the Jewish law by touching someone unclean (even though he himself was a Gentile so this din ‘t apply to him but applied to the injured man, whom his own society would have rejected), b UT was identified as doing the right thing even by the Jews listening to the story.Jesus is therefore emphasizing the value of humans over upholding the law, stemming from cacti Eng out of love for them. Jesus also impressed upon the disciples this concept of the laws no longer en ding to be â€Å"forced† upon people and therefore everything being allowed, but the laws ha vying our best interests in mind so keeping them should be for our benefit , and not for the sake of keeping them. This is echoed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:12 when he st ates â€Å"everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. â€Å".This shows humans as now, through Jesus, being et free from the laws, but also states that the laws were originally put in place e for our benefit and protection, thereby suggesting the most logical thing to do would be to u uphold them, but 18/11/14 By Amelia Parkinson Ethics Prep Questions just no longer having to strictly abide by them for the sake of doing so, and m meaning the old laws can now be broken if it is the most loving action to do. Personally, agree with the approach Jesus has to the laws, and think that Poe peel should take priority over abiding by the laws.

Labor Disputes Essay

â€Å"Labor Disputes† includes any controversy or matter concerning terms or conditions of employment or the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and d conditions of employment, regardless or whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. (Art. 212) Remedies in Labor Disputes A.Grievance Procedure—in-house adjustment of complaint, problem, or dispute following the steps prescribed in CBA or company policy. B.Conciliation (literally means â€Å"to draw together†) – a process where a disinterested third party meets with management and labor, at their request or otherwise, during a labor dispute or in collective bargaining conferences, and, by cooling tempers, aids in reaching an agreement. C.Mediation (literally means â€Å"to be in the middle†) – a third party studies each side of the dispute then makes proposal for the disputants to consider. But a mediator, like a conciliator, cannot render an award or render a decision; they do not adjudicate. Conciliation and mediation, usually combined, are done primarily by â€Å"Conciliators-Mediators† of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. D.Enforcement or compliance order – an act of the Secretary of Labor (through Regional Director or the representative) in the exercise of his visitorial or administrative authority to enforce labor laws, policies, plans, or programs, or rules and regulations (Art. 128). E.Certification of bargaining representatives – determination of which contending unions shall represent employees in collective bargaining. This is handling by â€Å"Med-Arbiters† of DOLE Regional Offices after certification of consent elections. F.Arbitration – the submission of a dispute to an impartial person for determination on the basis of evidence and arguments of the parties. Arbitration, unlike conciliation or mediation, is adjudication and the arbitrator’s decision or award is enforceable upon the disputants. A dispute pending in arbitration cannot be a ground for strike or lockout; to do so will be a sabotage of the arbitration process. Section 3. Article 211 of the same Code, as amended by Executive Order No. 111, is hereby further amended to read as follows: â€Å"Article 211. Declaration of policy. – A. It is the policy of the State: â€Å"(a) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations, including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor or industrial disputes; â€Å"(b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development; â€Å"(c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement; â€Å"(d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as union members and as employees; â€Å"(e) To provide adequate administrative machinery for the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial disputes; â€Å"(f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace; and â€Å"(g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policy-making processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare. â€Å" B. To encourage a truly democratic method of regulating the relations between the employers and employees by means of agreements freely entered into through collective bargaining, no court or administrative agency or official shall have the power to set or fix wages, rates of pay, hours of work or other terms and conditions of employment, except as otherwise provided under this Code.† Sec. 4. Article 212 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, is further amended to read as follows: â€Å"Article 212. Definitions. – (a) â€Å"Commission† means the National Labor Relations Commission or any of its divisions, as the case may be, as provided under this Code. â€Å"(b) â€Å"Bureau† means the Bureau of Labor Relations and/or the Labor Relations Divisions in the regional offices established under Presidential Decree No. 1, in the Department Labor. â€Å"(c) â€Å"Board† means the National Conciliation and Mediation Board established under Exec utive Order No. 126. â€Å"(d) â€Å"Council† means the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration Advisory Council established under Executive Order No. 126, as amended. â€Å" (e) â€Å"Employer† includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The term shall not include any labor organization or any of its officers or agents except when acting as employer. â€Å"(f) â€Å"Employee† includes any person in the employ of an employer. The term shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless this Code so explicitly states. It shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a result of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice if he has not obtained any other substantially equivalent and regular employment. â€Å"(g) â€Å"Labor organization† means any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment. â€Å"(h) â€Å"Legitimate labor organization† means any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or local thereof. â€Å" (i) â€Å"Company union† means any labor organization whose information, function or administration has been assisted by any act defined as unfair labor practice by this Code. â€Å"(j) â€Å"Bargaining representative† means a legitimate labor organization or any officer or agent of such organization whether or not employed by the employer. â€Å"(k) â€Å"Unfair labor practice† means any unfair labor practice as expressly defined by this Code. â€Å"(l) â€Å"Labor dispute† includes any controversy or matter concerning terms or conditions of employment or the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and conditions of employment, regardless of whether, the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. â€Å" (m) â€Å"Managerial employee† is one who is vested with powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment. All employees not falling within any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book. â€Å" (n) â€Å"Voluntary Arbitrator† means any person accredited by the Board as such, or any person named or designated in the collective bargaining agreement by the parties to act as their voluntary arbitrator, or one chosen, with or without the assistance of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, pursuant to a selection procedure agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement, or any official that may be authorized by the Secretary of Labor and Employment to act as voluntary arbitrator upon the written request and agreement of the parties to a labor dispute. â€Å"(o) â€Å"Strike† means any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. â€Å" (p) â€Å"Lockout† means the temporary refusal of an employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. â€Å"(q) â€Å"Internal union dispute† includes all disputes or grievances arising from any violation of or disagreement over any provision of the constitution and by-laws of a union, including, any violation of the rights and conditions of union membership provided for in this Code. â€Å" (r) â€Å"Strike-breaker† means any person who obstructs, impedes, or interferes with by force, violence, coercion, threats or intimidation any peaceful picketing by employees during any labor controversy affecting wages, hours or conditions of work or in the exercise of the right of self-organization or collective bargaining. â€Å"(s) â€Å"Strike area† means the establishment, warehouses, depots, plants or offices, including the sites or premises used as runaway shops, of the employer struck against, as well as the immediate vicinity actually used by picketing strikers in moving to and fro before all points of entrance to and exit from said establishment.†

Achievements of the gupta empire

The Gupta Empire, which covered most parts of Northern India and parts of Pakistan, was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 280 to 550 C.E. The capital was called Paliputra which is presently known as Patna in the Indian state of Bihar.   The level of peace and prosperity that was created within the leadership of Guptas enabled scientific and artistic endeavors.According to Beye, Charles Rowan (1975), Greek culture had deep influence on the Empire of Rome. Civilization of the ancient Greeks has been greatly influential on politics, education systems, languages, philosophy, arts and science.Civilization, according to Mark Whitaker (1997), refers to contradictory relation between a ruling class and a class of producers. Egyptian civilization was brought about by different aspects. River Nile was one major contributor of the Egyptian civilization. There are various similarities in terms of achievements of the Gupta Empire to those of the Classical Greek or Egyptian civil izations.Gupta Empire and the Egyptian Empire made great achievement in artistry. Sculpture is one of the greatest artistic achievements in the Gupta Empire. The sculptors worked with wood, stone bronze and clay called terra cotta.Gupta sculptors were mainly concerned with indicating the human form gracefully and simply. Egyptians too achieved a fit in artistry in that they used the skills to construct pyramids and monuments for the pharaoh. The pyramids portrayed their true identity and rich cultural heritage.Education is one other aspect of achievement that characterized the achievement of both the Gupta Empire and the ancient Egypt. Literature of Gupta Empire is usually considered to be among the greatest achievements. Gupta writers created plays, fables, and poetry, as well as important legal and religious texts. One India classic poems called Mahabharata, reached the final form during the Gupta era MathematicsThe mathematicians of Gupta era made useful discoveries that have gre atly influenced human civilization because mathematics has become a fundamental in our day to day lifeOn the other hand, the Egyptians were very much practical in their approach to mathematics their trade required that they deal in fractions. Trade also required division and multiplication to be possible so they improvised remarkable methods to cub the situation in the number systems to help them work efficiently.Childhood education was also important in Ancient Egypt   Children would more and frequently be required to work elders in handling less onerous tasks and slowly acquiring practical skills and knowledge from their parents and guardians. By example, parents would teach them various educational principles, morals and views about life.The ancient Greeks too have made quite a number of influential contributions to western civilization. These contributions, which can also be referred as achievements of ancient Greece, include areas of philosophy, art, Agriculture, Mathematics and science. These great achievements, compared to other regions such as the Gupta Empire and the Ancient Egypt, these great achievements were being made while fighting two wars, that is, Peloponnesian and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Persian wars.One other area where the Gupta Empire made an achievement is in the area of astronomy. Gupta astronomers came up with many discoveries about the moon, the sun, the earth and other planets. Although they relied more on Greek astronomers, Gupta astronomers too made many discoveries on their own and in many cases arrived at conclusions that were more accurate and reliable than those of the Greeks.ReferencesBeye, Charles Rowan (1975), â€Å"Ancient Greek Literature and Society†, Garden City, World History Achieve (1997), â€Å"A dialog from the Philosophy of History and theoretical history list†. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from< http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/10/029.html>Mark Whitaker (1997), â€Å"Definition of State in Civilizationâ € . Retrieved November 1, 2008 fromMr. Mitchell (1990), â€Å"Writing a Journal to Commemorate Gupta Achievements. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from< http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory>Michael G. (2007), Ancient Greek Achievements. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from

Strategy for marketing wine in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategy for marketing wine in Britain - Essay Example Promotion entails not just advertisement but also branding while pricing refers to balancing what the consumer is prepared to exchange in relation to production costs. Placement in a globalised environment creates the greatest challenge of retailing the product. Wine Production. Wine production in Europe has traditionally been labor intensive, based on fragmented production of grapes by small sized farmers spread over a wide area. These are dependent on a long chain of producers, distributors and marketing agents and are thus impervious to the needs of the consumer, a cardinal sin in product marketing. On the other hand new world wine growers, in the United States, Australia, Argentina, Chile and South Africa, have large land holdings averaging 158 hectares compared to 1 acre in Europe and with mechanization and use of modern techniques have full control of the production, supply and distribution chain thereby being responsive to product development based on consumer preference. Modernization of production has been rejected by French wine growers who do not want to lose the, "poetry of wine." Product and Price Differentiation through Packaging. ... Australian and American wine producers have displayed greater flexibility in product development focusing on the change in demand to premium and super premium brands, switch from red to white wine and vice versa based on health benefit perception of consumer, fashion trends and even preference based on variety of grapes. This has been achieved by cultivating the identified variety in larger acreages. Old world wine growers did not have this flexibility as land continued to be scarce as also its use for growing grapes was regulated. Pricing. Apart from the factors covered above, new world producers were able to achieve a price advantage due to economies of scale while French and German wine growers were restricted by small holdings and limited scale of operations. Ease in transportation costs and liberalization of tariff regulations due to execution of World Trade Organization norms also assisted the new world producers in pricing their products competitively. Promotion - Impact of Branding. While branding a product is an important tool for its promotion, in old World Europe, regulation and classification of wine led to a deleterious impact creating a hierarchy of regression with a government panel allotting quality certificates. Branding or classification in France was carried out based on an antiquated system of terroir or the unique qualities provided to wine due to factors as soil conditions, rainfall and so on. But when phylloxera struck affecting wine production in the last quarter of 19th Century, it was only through the process of grafting with phylloxera resistant roots from Californian vine yards which transposed wine industry beyond Europe. The regression in branding is exemplified by the fact that a resolution was passed by the European Union

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 137

Summary - Essay Example It is argued that probability can be used in the game by always betting on the same color.This, according to the author, increases winning chances. When one looses, the article argues that the next bet should be doubled until the next win (Thomson, 2009). The second idea is card counting in casino games where it is argued that keeping track of discarded cards to know what is left increases winning chances. The article goes ahead to discuss the use of probability in lottery and bookie games. In lottery it is claimed that chances of winning and increased by choosing unpopular numbers. Spreading bets between two bookies is also argued to increase chances of success (Thomson, 2009). I do not agree with the author’s idea of spreading bets between bookies in order to increase the chances of winning. According to the author this strategy works because the bets of the two bookies are normally not equal and they try to make the other not to win. I don not agree with this because of the fact that this defensive tactic is rarely used. In as much as players try to prevent the other from not winning, the majority focus on maximizing their success the same way the one who places his or her bet between the bookies does. This therefore means that if the third party plays safe, he has an equal chance of losing and winning and therefore the argument that he has higher winning chances seems invalid in my

Air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Air pollution - Essay Example This paper will discuss air pollution and its various aspects. According to Lbl.gov, there are various major  kinds  of pollution, which produce renowned  effects on the well-being and health  of individuals and the environment as a whole. These pollution types include the discharge of such toxic gases as chemical vapors, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Once these gases get into the environment, they can become involved in advanced chemical reactions leading to the formation of  acid rain and  smog. Other serious implications include the development of holes in the ozone layer as well as greenhouse effect. The other type of air pollution, which results from fuel combustion for energy, involves the discharge of  particles  (particulate matter) into the air. These particles are tiny pieces of matter, which measures roughly 0001 inches. An excellent case in point of this  kind of particulate matter is diesel smoke. This kind of pollution is also kn own as black carbon pollution. Smoke from burning fuels in industries, homes, and automobiles, is a main source of air pollution. It is also believed that burning charcoal and wood in barbeques and fireplaces can as well discharge into the air significant amounts of soot. Liu explains that the common sources of air pollution include industrial facilities, motor vehicles emissions, household combustion devices, forest fires, mold spores, and pollen among others. According to him, these sources fall into two main categories, namely natural and human sources (15). The natural sources of air pollution include volcanic activity that lead to the production of ash particulates, chlorine, sulfur, carbon monoxide and smoke from wildfires; and dust from natural sources that are usually large areas with no or little vegetation (Chapman and Rob 23). Human sources of air pollution result from human activities that contribute to air pollution. One of the main sources of air pollution that results from human activity is from manufacturing facilities, waste incinerators, and power plants and other forms of fuel-burning heating devices (Gurjar 33). Aircraft, motor vehicles, sound equipments, and marine vessels are the other sources of air pollution from human activities. Military activities such as toxic gases, nuclear weapons, and germ warfare can be the other source of air pollution. Controlled burn practices and chemicals used in forestry management and agriculture are the other sources of air pollution resulting from human activity (Colls 27). Pollutants are the substances that cause air pollution. Pollutants that are of major public health and environment concern include ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon dioxide (Liu 18). Pollutants are classified into two main categories: primary and secondary. Primary pollutants are those that are emitted directly from a process such as sulfur dioxide from manufacturing facilities, the carbon monoxi de from the motor vehicle, or ash from volcanic eruption (Gurjar 36). Example of primary pollutants include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, radioactive pollutants,

Samsung Group (FINAL) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Samsung Group (FINAL) - Assignment Example Data Collection Method 8 Data collection process for the project 8 G. References 10 A. Background & Rationale Profile of the Organization Samsung is one of the leading electronic organizations around the globe. The organization introduced huge range of products in global market. Therefore, it is easy and convenient to conduct a research study on Samsung. This study will highlight various aspects of Samsung Electronics’ global value chain. Samsung Group is a South Korea based multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Seoul. The organization was founded in the year 1938 by Lee Byung-Chul (Peng, 2012). Over the next few decades the organization diversified into textiles, food processing, retail, securities and insurance industries. Electronic goods, semi conductors and mobile phones are Samsung’s key sources of income for the company (Chang, 2011). In terms of revenue, Samsung was recognized as the largest information technology company in the year 2012. In addit ion, Samsung Heavy Industries was considered the second largest shipbuilder around the globe measured by 2010 revenue. Presently the organization has more than 1000 business entities around the globe. ... This report will focus on two divisions of Samsung Electronics, such as connected media development and mobile media. The study will outline the innovation opportunities for the global organizations by determining the entry points in the organizational structure of Samsung Electronics. Moreover, the study will reveal how the global organizations can engage themselves in several stages of the value chain of Samsung Electronics. B. Research Need and Importance Management Problems Samsung has faced several problems regarding excessive localization. Huge localization had resulted more decentralized structure. It was very disappointing for Samsung group. The global operation of Samsung was not profitable at one point of time. In the year 1998, the organization closed down its few of the electronics factories due to lack of adequate decision making process of regional headquarters (Chang, 2011). Moreover, the organization implemented integration strategy for its employees, but the employee s of Samsung Group rejected this integration strategy. Moreover, the organization faced several labor problems in China. Negative publicity in the blogging community created huge challenge for Samsung in the year 2012. Samsung group is one of the leading mobile phone manufacturers in the world. An ongoing copyright dispute with Apple Inc. over some smart phone technologies affected the brand image of Samsung Group. The organization faced several legal and ethical issues due to the inadequate working condition in the Chinese manufacturing plants. Marketing Research Problems Marketing research activity is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, it is important for the organization to do effective real time research. However, Samsung group has identified

Gender and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender and Politics - Essay Example In 2000, the United Nations approved the millennium declaration, which insisted on gender equality as essential in eradicating poverty and realizing sustainable development. In the millennium development goals (MDGs), gender equality is one goal, and gender perspectives have to be included in the implementation of the other MDG’s. Some of the observation regarding gender and development is that men are largely missing from gender practices and policies (Cornwell 1997, p. 9). In order to achieve gender equality, there must be positive changes in the lives of women as well as men. Development programs must be scrutinized to avoid negative gender outcomes. This paper will discuss the concept of gender and how it has affected development programs in many countries. For the past three decades, people have accepted the gender-based approach to the development programs. Gender analysis and gender training act as key tools in any development process. The concept of gender, which becom es increasingly integrated in development programs, may be highly misunderstood. Most gender oriented programs focus on women since the term gender may be seen as a synonym for â€Å"female† or â€Å"women†. The term gender has also been confused with sex, which means biological characteristics, which makes one either a man or a woman. Female roles may include working on the farms, both on the family foodstuff and the cash crops. On the other hand, men may only be tasked with marketing the cash crop in the market; they control the income obtained from the farms. Women lose control of resources like land, hence become excluded from access to desirable agricultural methods (Momsen 2009, p. 2). Case study In a certain rich coffee-growing nation, the government decided to boost the coffee productio

Deforestation In Amazon And Local Climate Changes Essay

Deforestation In Amazon And Local Climate Changes - Essay Example The strong threat of climate change is coupled with another eerie possibility that of absolute regional drought that can be caused by climatic change. Most of the remaining tropical forests of the world are in the Amazon region, and some areas of the forest contain huge deposits of the range of organisms present in a particular ecological community or system. Therefore the continuous deforestation in the Amazon threatens climate stability and is an added factor to the global atmospheric change disaster. Scientific research has overwhelmingly proved that cutting and removing trees from their natural environment contributes 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide out into the atmosphere every year. Clearing forests to acquire more land and more human activities in the tropics will release an additional 1300 billion tons of carbon per year, which is greater than the amount of carbon emissions released by 13 years burning of fossil fuel all over the world. The new research conclusively proves that preserving huge forests such as the Amazon as carbon absorbents will contribute a great deal to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. Another important factor is the need to reduce levels of emission as these could slow down the capacity of forests to absorb carbon. Method of Research: An official inquiry was carried out for the way in which deforestation effects climate changes with the help of twin numerical experiments of an â€Å"atmosphere general circulation model (AGCM) with prearranged and approved global sea temperature and the AGCM over the global tropics. The results showed that the twenty first century environmental change may be the most unfortunate bequest that will be passed on to future generations. The strong threat of climate change is coupled with another eerie possibility that of unmitigated regional drought brought about by climatic change. More than half of the remaining tropical forests of the world are in the Amazon region, and some areas of the forest contain huge deposits of the range of organisms present in a particular ecological community or system. It is generally measured by the numbers and types of different species, or the genetic variations within and between species. In fact the Amazon contains about 25% of the biodiversity on the face of the Earth (Science Daily 2007). It acts as a major agent of global climate making vapor to produce clouds, which has a deep circulating affect across the entire globe. It also stores mass of living organisms within a particular environment, measured in terms of weight per unit of area and soil carbon. Therefore the continuous deforestation in the Amazon threatens climate stability and is an added factor to the global atmospheric change catastrophe. On the other hand the stabilization of the deforestation of the Amazon forests would provide the chance for adaptation to climate change including contributing towards the improvement of climate change. To control deforestation in the Amazo n would envisage major replacements in policies, governance, sustainability and economic science. Quantity of Rainfall: Rainfall decreases over deforested tracts, because heavy clouds holding copious amounts of water are only attracted to tracts of heavy forests, which was proved conclusively during the Rondonian Boundary Layer Experiment the physical methods and means that constitute the link between rain bearing clouds and heavy forestation. It has been amply demonstrated that the atmospheric limits over areas of heavy forests is more unbalanced and contains larger

Counselors as companions and Ethnics in human Services report Essay Example for Free

Counselors as companions and Ethnics in human Services report Essay From Tragedy to Triumph: Counselor as Companion on the Hero’s Journey By: Richard W. Halstead The ethical standards for the human service professionals from the national organization of human service professionals. Some things that I believe that the counselor has learned from Steve are never say what a person with a disability can’t do. Also I think he learned that may impaired people tend to look at being normal like everyone else instead of pushing toward a goal in life and becoming successful with it. Another thing that I think the counselor learned from Steve was that never judge anyone by the disability of a person, because they can accomplish anything in life that they put their minds to. Some of the counselor’s behaviors that may have changed since working with Steve is that he learned that many people that have come in contact with a problem can overcome obstacles in many different way and that never thing a person with a disability can’t achieve something that he wants in life. Also after the talk with the psychiatrist, the counselor started using his thinking skills more. As it said in paragraph seven on the second page of this article,† The Psychiatrist had, unwittingly, provided me (The counselor) with what I thought might serve to propel Steve to the next milestone on his journey†. (Halstead Richard W. Pg2). It made the counselor want to encourage Steve even more to achieve his goal and prove the doctors wrong. I really do think that the people I come in contact with change me in some way by making me really see what is going on with them and make me determine to help them overcome that obstacle in life. Also it makes me want to be there for them more to help them, because nobody should have to go through a problem alone. When you help someone in life like it says on page one of this article, the counselor had met Steve who was struggling to regain a life taken a way, the counselor was confronted with trying to understand his role in the process, and over time they both found their way through the problem. (Halstead, Richard W. Pg1). We as people in the human service field will have several different problems that we run in to with our clients and we have to use our critical thinking skill and our references that we have to help that person through their problems as well as learn from our work. Steve was changed as a result of this relationship by determining that being normal wasn’t as important as achieving his goal of getting a college degree in his field that he had chosen. Everyone isn’t normal and we should try to work towards being normal, we should try and work towards our goals just like Steve can to realize. Steve has benefited from this relationship tremendously with the help of the counselor and the principle of the college he was able to finish school 5 years later, but he had his degree under his belt, as well as being offered a job writing and helping other people through their problems as well. One ethnical issue that may lead me as a human service professional to review the ethical standards would be that a client is recently diagnosed with the HIV virus. He is very upset and crying his eyes out wanting to commit suicide and threatens to kill the guy that he thinks gave it to him before he does. How I can resolve any ethical concerns is by looking in the ethical standards and look over what its say to do in a case like this, but on the other hand try to calm the client down and give him as much support and help needed by weighing out the outcomes of the situation. Also I would look up something using my reference skills that could maybe ease him a little about the situation and make him think different. On the other hand me as a psychologist I have to refer to the ethical standards for human services professions and take the stand. In the ethical standards for human service professionals it states under statements three and four that me as a human service professionals have to keep the clients information confidential with others that, but have to breech the confidentiality of the client and consider seeking supervision because the client is trying to harm himself as well as others. The national organization of human services ethical standards are very important to follow as I begin to work with individuals, families, groups, and communities, because it will tell me what I need to do if I feel there is something that could take place and how to go about doing it as well. References 1. Halstead, R. W. (2000). From Tragedy to Triumph: Counselor as Companion on the Heros Journey. Counseling Values, 44(2), 100. 2. National Organization of Human Service Professionals.Ethical Standards for the Human Service Professionals.Retrieved from: http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals.

Estimation of Northern Bobwhite Densities in South Texas

Estimation of Northern Bobwhite Densities in South Texas Principal Investigators Bart M. Ballard, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas AM University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas 78363. Fidel Hernà ¡ndez, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas AM University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas 78363 Leonard A. Brennan, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas AM University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas 78363 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are a wide-ranging species and are commonly hunted throughout Texas. Their population has been declining since about 1880 and are decreasing in abundance in over 75% of their range in the United States (Leopold 1931, Errington and Hammerstrom 1936, Lehmann 1937, Guthery 2002). Texas has been seen as one of the remaining strong holds in North America (Rollins 2002) but recent evidence shows that populations are also declining within Texas (DeMaso et al. 2002). These declines have spurred an increase in research and management of the species and an improved understanding of the species (Guthery 2002). Declining numbers however can be difficult to understand because of their natural boom-bust population cycles and influence of weather on the population (Lehmann 1953, Keil 1976, Guthery et al. 1988, Bridges et al. 2001, Lusk et al. 2002). In order to properly manage quail within south Texas where there is large annual variation in precipitation an d temperatures local population trends are needed. Current hunting regulations are set at the state level where a liberal hunting framework (15 birds/day over 120 season; Brennan 2014) is assumed to have is little to no impact on the population (Guthery et al. 2004b). However, these state-wide regulations are not appropriate when managing at the fine scale where such a liberal harvest quota could negatively affect local populations (Roseberry and Klimstra 1984, Peterson 1999, Brennan et al. 2014). Bobwhites variable population cycles make it necessary for local land managers to set harvest limits based on local population trends (Brennan 2014). By setting sustainable harvest limits based on local population densities the likelihood of population crashes goes down and there is quicker recovery following drought conditions and natural population declines (Brennan 2014). Recent recommendations for harvest values were made by Brennan in 2014 for south Texas where there is extreme variability in precipitation and temperatures compared to other regions of their range. These recommendations are based on the assumption of good environmental conditions, a 20% harvest rate, and are density depended. It is also recommended to conduct fall surveys in late November-mid December when detection is highest and basing the harvest on pre-hunt population numbers to minimize the probability of local extinction (Guthery et al. 2000, Sands 2010). Estimating yearly and seasonal population densities can be difficult for many reasons including observer variability, local habitat variability and change between years, environmental factors such as weather, and species characteristics (Rusk et al 2007). Common methods include estimating abundance using indices or using distance sampling (Rusk et al. 2007). However, the accuracy of indices is sensitive to changes in detection (Anderson 2001, 2003, Rosenstock et al. 2002; Thompson 2002). During bobwhite population lows it becomes even more difficult to estimate population density due extremely low encounter rates (1 covey/7km; Kuvlesky et al. 1989). Distance sampling allows for varying detection probabilities while estimating densities and is a popular method that has been used successfully for bobwhites in many studies in south Texas (Brennan and Block 1986, Shupe et al 1987, Guthery 1988, Guthery and Shupe 1989, DeMaso et. al. 1992, Rusk et al 2007). Unlike census techniques that are based on the assumption that all individuals within the survey area are counted, distance sampling works under the assumption that more animals are missed the farther you get from a transect (Brennan and Block 1986). To calculate density within a survey area, the perpendicular distance from a transect to an animal is recorded and then used to calculate a probability density function (Burnham et al. 1980, Buckland 2004) from which the density throughout the study area can be estimated using Program Distance (Thomas et al. 2010). Assumptions of distance sampling which must be met include: 1) all animals on the transect are detected, 2) animals are detected at their original locations prior to any movement in response to the observer, and 3) distances are measured accurately (Buckland 1992). These assumptions can be difficult to meet in field condition but most issues with these assumptions can be addressed using proper survey design, post processing of the data, and statistical analysis. Assumption one can be relaxed if needed by incorporating a double observer design in which two counts are occurring simultaneously (Laake and Borchers 2004) or by applying an adjustment term. Assumption two can be violated if animals have the chance to respond to the surveyors by running, coming closer, or learning to hide (Buckland et al. 2001). Careful analysis of data can help determine if and how this assumption is violated and certain techniques can be implemented to account for animal responses such as truncation of data close to the line in cases were animals run (Fewster et al. 2008). Assumption three can be violated by untrained observers, lack of proper technology, or inaccurate estimates of cluster sizes if animals are clustered (Buckland et al 2001). Another assumption which can be violated includes independence between animal observations which can be an issue if surveys are done on roads or too close together (Thomas et al 2009). Careful survey design is crucial to accurately estimating population densities and local knowledge of habitat, densities, and environmental gradients help when designing surveys. Once densities are estimated for a region careful consideration and local knowledge is needed to make the proper recommendations for hunting regulations and habitat management. Given accurate densities, harvest can be optimized at the ranch or pasture levels while also decreasing the likelihood of local population extinction. OBJECTIVES The purpose of our study is to design a repeatable helicopter line transect survey for the King ranch study location which will be implemented over a three-year period from Sept 2018-December 2021. From this data fall bobwhite quail densities will be estimated using Program Distance from which management recommendations can be made. Specifically, our goals are; Develop a repeatable helicopter line-transect survey protocol for bobwhite quail Implement survey over three fall survey seasons Use Distance software to develop detection probability functions and estimate fall densities which can be used to aid in management and conservation decisions. METHODS Study Area The study area includes a 25,000 acre section of the King Ranch (King Ranch, Kingsville TX) located south west of Kingsville (Figure1). The study area is located in the South Texas Plains ecoregion and may include parts of the Gulf Prairie and Marshes ecoregion (Gould 1975) Within this region there is high variability in rainfall (Correl and Johnsonston 1979; Omernik 1987) causing local populations to exhibit strong boom-bust population cycles. Major plant communities present on the King Ranch include blue stem prairie (Schizachyrium scoparium), mesquite-granjeno thornbrush (Prosopis glandulosa- Celtis pallida), mesquite-bluestem savannah, oak-bluestem (Quercus virginiana, Quercus stellata) (McLendon 1991, Fulbright and Bryant 2002). Major land uses on the King Ranch include commercial hunting and cattle production (Schnupp et al 2013). Annual rainfall is on average 65.4 cm with monthly values ranging from 1.4-13cm (Williamson 1983). Figure 1. Divisions of the King Ranch (green), located in south Texas. Habitat includes but are not limited to shrub land, grasslands, mesquite-woodlands, oaklands, freshwater wetlands, and saltmarsh. Habitat is managed for cattle, white tail deer, and quail. Experimental Approach:       Transect design To estimate fall densities within the survey area we will first develop a three-year helicopter based, line-transect count survey. We will develop the transects in such a way that if desired, the surveys can continue past three years. Spatial layers will be made for the study area boundary and line transects in ArcGIS 10.3 (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA). Sample transects were placed parallel to each other leading north to south (Figure 2) and further stratification will be done using post processing techniques if desired. Transects were places at a distance of 400 meters from each other with a random starting location and giving a survey coverage of 50 percent. Given this design we have 30 transects of 8 km in length and a total survey length of 240 km (Figure 2). Figure 2. Sample study area with transects (n=30) with survey zones of 100m to each side of the transect. Landcover includes woodland/shrublands (dark green), grasslands (light green), agriculture (light brown), wetlands (blue) and urban (red). Given previous encounter rates of 1 covey/0.95km observed during a comparable study on another section of the King Ranch (Rusk et al. 2007), this design would yield an estimated 250 observations. However, encounter rates have been reported to be much lower during population lows; Rusk 2007 documented as low as 1 covey/7.38 km while walking transects in a low year verses 1 covey/ 1.96 km in an abundant year. Given flying transects gives roughly twice the number of detections per km, we will assume a helicopter flight on a low population year would give an encounter rate of  ¼ km and 60 observations. To make sure that this transect design will provide a 25% or less Coefficient of Variation for population density estimates we can plug use the equation (Buckland 1993): L= Where L= total line length needed, = the coefficient of variation for population density estimate, and L0/n0 = encounter rate, or the number of quail detected per km of transect. The value b is typically between 1.5-3 (Burnham 1980) and it is most frequently assumed that b=3 (Buckland 1993). Given this equation, under an assumed encounter rate of 1 covey/.95 km and a 25% CV the minimum total transect length is: L= However, when the encounter rate is dropped to 1 covey/4 km during a population low, the needed length becomes: L= By conducting more surveys than is needed to achieve a 25% CV there is less of a chance that during a dry year we will not be able to estimate density because of lack of encounters. After year one we will re-evaluate transect design by incorporating the first years encounter rate to help determine transect lengths for years two and three (Buckland 1993). Field Surveys Surveys will take place in the first week of October to give enough time to provide updated recommendation for harvest quotas before the onset of quail regular season on October 29th (TPWD, Outdoor Annual). October 1st of each year a mock survey will be done in which tools are calibrated and extra surveyor training done if need following protocols similar to Schnupp et al. (2013). This test flight will occur along a 3 km transect with 16 targets (Otto and Pollock 1990, Shnupp et al. 2013). Each side of the transect will have 8 targets (dove decoys suspended at 1.2m) distributed randomly between 10-70m at 10m intervals from the line and spaced 300m apart along the transect (Schnupp et al.). This will help reduce potential errors counts due to equipment malfunction and surveyor error. The full survey will begin the day after the mock survey and all transects will be surveyed once per year. If detections for an entire survey are below 80 then a second survey will be done. Surveys will take place in the first 3 and last three hours of day light when possible and the start location will vary each survey. From the start location, every other transect will be sampled to reduce the probability of over counting and then returning to skipped transmitters as soon as possible. We will use a four person helicopter such as the Robinson R-44 (Robinson Helicopter Company, Torrance, California) or similar models equipped with a parallel swathing lightbar for navigation (2005; Raven RGL 600, Raven Industries, Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Surveys will be conducted at approximately 48 km/hour and at a height of 18 m (Shupe et al. 1987, Rusk 2007) One observer will be facing forward counting coveys directly on the line and two rear-facing observers counting quail which flush on the s ides or behind the helicopter. When a covey is spotted, the helicopter will hover briefly to allow observer to use the range finder and count the number of quail in the covey. The forward facing technician in addition to counting coveys will help navigate to the transects, and will start and stop the survey recordings (Schnupp 2013). The two rear observers will collect data as well as enter data for all surveyors. Covey counts and covey size will be recorded for 100 meters to each side of the helicopter using laser electronic range finders, differential global positioning systems, personal tablet computers, and keypads (Schnupp et al. 2013). Tablets will be installed with ArcPad (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA), and connected to the laser range finders with sub meter accuracy. The differential global positioning system will collect 5 points/second to track the flight path. Electronic range finders will be synced to tablets using blue tooth and will measure distance to covey, compass bearing, angle of inclination and horizontal offset of covey from the helicopter for each covey. Key pads were also used to record sizes of coveys. Raw survey information is then imported into ArcMap 10.3 for data processing and then imported to Program Distance. Distance Analysis Using distance survey data collected over three years we will calculate densities and variance estimates in Program Distance 7.0 similar to Rusk et al 2007. Program Distance calculates estimated densities and variances as s) Where is density, n is the number of coveys detected, is the effective half-band width, cv is the coefficient of variation, L is the length of transects, and E(s) is average covey size. Effective half widths with be calculated in distance by fitting detection functions to histograms of distances and covey counts. To improve model fit, 5% of the right hand data will be truncated (Buckland et al. 2001; Shnupp 2013) and data will be evaluated visually for any signs of violation of the basic assumptions. We will consider a variety of detection functions (uniform, half-normal, and hazard-rate with several series adjustments) and choose the best fitting model using Akaikes Information Criterion values (AICc) and chi-square analysis (Buckland 2001; Shnupp 2013). We will then develop a global detection function for each year to estimate fall densities and use confidence intervals and coefficient of variation reported from distance. If stratification by pasture is desired and there are enough observations to do so, then detection functions will be built at the pasture level otherwise a global detection function will be applied to each pasture. A coefficient of variation of less than 20% is recommended for bobwhite density estimates (Guthery 1988) but we will consider a coefficient of variation of 25% acceptable. EXPECTED RESULTS AND BENEFITS From these three fall bobwhite quail surveys, we will be able to report yearly bobwhite density estimates and begin to understand local population trends. Once funding is approved, exact methods will be refined using actual ranch and pasture boundaries and habitat gradients. Survey design will be reviewed by quail researchers at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute to ensure proper design. Yearly encounter rates, detection functions, estimated population density, and recommendations for harvest rates will be provided in annual reports. A final report will be submitted in the form of a dissertation chapter within one year after the completion of the last fall survey. This chapter will summarize yearly results as well as trends observed throughout the study region and will include recommendations for sustainable harvest limits. Research results may be presented at professional meetings and will include one or more King ranch employees as authors and King Ranch will be acknowledged as the primary funding contributor. Project deliverables include: P.h.D dissertation chapter and corresponding scientific publication Scientific presentations Spreadsheets of density estimates and recommended harvest rates ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSIDERATIONS Not applicable to the proposed project. ETHICAL USE OF ANIMALS Animal and Care Use form is not required PERSONNEL This study will be a cooperative project between the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) and the King Ranch. Drs. Bart M. Ballard, Fidel Hernandez, and Leonard A. Brennan will be primary investigators. This project will include one P.h.D. student who will act as project coordinator and field supervisor. The graduate student hired will also be responsible for hiring part-time student technicians to aid in surveys. The student hired will conduct fall densities surveys on the King Ranch as a partial fulfillment of P.h.D contract and will also be conducting other quail research in assistance of other projects. SCHEDULE 2018-2019 Activity Jan-April: Await funding April-May: Search for P.h.D candidate June-Sept:Hire student, coordinate field surveys and hire part-time surveyors for Survey week October: Fly surveys and estimate fall densities November: Further data analysis and reporting 2019-2020 Activity Aug-Sept: Refine transects/protocol if needed, hire technicians for Survey week October:Fly surveys and estimate fall densities November: Further data analysis and reporting 2020-2021 Activity Aug-Nov:Same schedule as above December: Provide final analysis and Report BUDGET Equipment Estimates: 2 Electronic distance estimators ($18,000 each) =36,000 2 Tablets w/accessories: = $1,600 2 Keypads: $100 1Raven Cruiser: $2,000 Rounded Estimate: $40,000 Annual Expenses: -P.h.D student stipend: $1500 with fringe benefits at .7% of salary and medical (up to 250$/month) = $22,260/year -2 Short term technicians: 100$/day during fall surveys. Total=2 technicians*$100*7 days a year= 1400/year -Helicopter time: 500$/hr *estimated 10 hrs per year= $5,000/year -Driving costs: $0.50/mi+ gas. Exact distance to site in unknown, preliminary estimate= $10,000/year Summary of Annual Cost: 2018-2019: $78,660 2019-2020: $38,660 2020-2021: $38,660 LITERATURE CITED Anderson, D. R. 2001. The need to get the basics right in wildlife à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ eld studies. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:1294-1297. Anderson, D. R. 2003. Response to Engeman: index values rarely constitute reliable information. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31:288-291. Brennan, L. A., and W. M. Block. 1986. Line transect estimates of mountain quail density. Journal of Wildlife Management 50:373 Brennan, L.A., F. Hernandez, E.D. Grahmann, F. C. Bryant, M.J. Schnupp, D.S. Delaney, and R. Howard. 2014. Quail Harvest Guidelines for South Texas: Concepts, Philosophy, and Applications; Wildife Technical Publication No. 3 of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Texas AM University-Kingsville. Bridges, A. S., M. J. Peterson, N. J. Silvy, F. E. Smeins, and X. B. Wu. 2001. Differential influence of weather on regional quail abundance in Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 65:10-18. Buckland, S. T. 1992. Fitting density functions using polynomials. Applied Statistics. 41:63. Buckland, S. T., D. R. Anderson, K. P. Burnham, J. L. Laake, D. L. Borchers, and L. Thomas. 2001. Introduction to distance sampling estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press, New York, USA. Buckland, S. T., D. R. Anderson, K. P. Burnham, J. L. Laake, D. L. Borchers, and L. Thomas. 2004. Advanced distance sampling: estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Burnham, K. P., D. R. Anderson, and J. L. Laake. 1980. Estimation of density from line transect sampling of biological populations. Wildlife Monographs 72. Correll, D. S., and M. C. Johnston. 1979. Manual of vascular plants of Texas. The University of Texas Printing Division, Austin, Texas, USA. DeMaso, S. J., F. S. Guthery, G. S. Spears, and S. M. Rice. 1992. Morning covey calls as an index of northern bobwhite density. Wildlife Society Bulletin 20:94-101. DeMaso, S. J., M. J. Peterson, J. R. Purvis, N. J. Silvy, and J. L. Cooke. 2002. A comparison of two quail abundance indices and their relationship to quail harvest in Texas. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 5:206-212. Errington, P. L., and F. N. Hammerstrom, Jr. 1936. The northern bob-whites winter territory. Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts Research Bulletin 201:305-443. Fewster, R.M., Southwell, C., Borchers, D.L., Buckland, S.T. Pople, A.R. 2008. The influence of animal mobility on the assumption of uniform distance in aerial line transect surveys. Wildlife Research 35:275-288. Fulbright, T. E., and F. C. Bryant. 2002. The last great habitat. Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Special Publication No. 1, Kingsville, Texas, USA Guthery, F. S. 1988. Line transect sampling of bobwhite density of rangeland: evaluation and recommendations. Wildlife Society Bulletin 16:193-203. Guthery, F. S., N. E. Koerth, and D. S. Smith. 1988. Reproduction of northern bobwhites in semiarid environments. Journal of Wildlife Management 52:144-149. Guthery, F. S., and T. E. Shupe. 1989. Line transect vs. capture-removal estimates of bobwhite density. Proceedings of the Annual Conference Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Guthery, F. S., M. J. Peterson, and R. R. George. 2000. Viability of northern bobwhite populations. Journal of Wildlife Management 64:646à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢662. Sands 2010 Guthery, F. S. 2002. The technology of bobwhite management: the theory behind the practice. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA Guthery, F. S. 2002. The technology of bobwhite management: the theory behind the practice. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA. Guthery et al. 2004b Guthery, F. S., M. J. Peterson, J. J. Lusk, M. J. Rabe, S. J. DeMaso, M. Sams, R. D. Applegate, and T. V. Dailey. 2004. Multi-state analysis of fixed, liberal regulations in quail harvest management. Journal of Wildlife Management 68:1104-1113 Hernà ¡ndez, F., F. S. Guthery, and W. P. Kuvlesky. 2002a. The legacy of bobwhite research in south Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:1-18. Kiel, W. H. 1976. Bobwhite quail population characteristics and management implications in south Texas. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 41:407-20. Kuvlesky, W.P., B.H. Koerth,andN.J.Silvy.1989.Problemsofestimating northern bobwhite populations at low density. Proceedings of the Annual Conference Southeast Association of FishandWildlifeAgencies43:260-267. Laake, J.L. and Borchers, D.L. 2004. Methods for incomplete detection at distance zero. Advanced Distance Sampling (eds S.T. Buckland, D.R. Anderson, K.P. Burnham, J.L. Laake, D.L. Borchers and L.Thomas). pp. 108-189. Oxford University Press Oxford. Lehmann, V. W. 1937. Increase quail by improving their habitat. Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission, Austin, Texas, USA. Lehmann, V. W. 1953. Bobwhite population fluctuations with vitamin a. Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference. 18:199-246 Leopold, A. 1931. Report on a game survey of the north central states. Democrat Printing Company, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Lusk, J. J., F. S. Guthery, R. R. George, M. J. Peterson, and S. J. DeMaso. 2002. Relative abundance of bobwhites in relation to weather and landuse. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:1040-1051. McLendon, T. 1991. Preliminary description of the vegetation of south Texas exclusive of coastal saline zones. Texas Journal of Science 43: 13-32. Otto, M. C., and K. H. Pollock. 1990. Size bias in line transect sampling: a à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ eld test. Biometrics 46:239-245. Peterson, M. J. 1999. Quail harvest management in Texas: a rational approach. Pages 124-133 in K. A. Cearly, editor. Preserving Texas Quail Hunting Heritage into the 21st Century. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas AM University, College Station, USA. Rollins, D. 2002. Sustaining the quail wave in the southern great plains. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 5:48-56. Roseberry, J. L., and W. D. Klimstra. 1984. Population Ecology of the Bobwhite. Southern Illinois University Press. Rosenstock, S. S., D. R. Anderson, K. M. Giesen, T. Leukering, and M. F. Carter. 2002. Landbird counting techniques: current practices and an alternative. Auk 119:46-53. Rusk, J.P., F. Hernandez, J.A. Arredondo, F. Hernandez, F.C. Bryant, D.G.Hewitt, E.J. Redeker, L.A Brennan, R.L. Bingham. 2007. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71:4(1336-1343). Shupe, T. E., F. S. Guthery, and S. L. Beasom. 1987. Use of helicopters to survey northern bobwhite populations on rangeland. Wildlife Society Bulletin 15:458-462. Thomas, L., S. T. Buckland, E. A. Rexstad, J. L. Laake, S. Strindberg, S. L. Hedley, J. R. B. Bishop, T. A. Marques, and K. P. Burnham. 2010. Distance software: design and analysis of distance sampling surveys for estimating population size. Journal of Applied Ecology 47:5-14. Thompson, W. L. 2002. Towards reliable bird surveys: accounting for individuals present but not detected. The Auk 119:18-25. Williamson, D. L. 1983. Soil survey of Brooks County, Texas. United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D.C., USA.   Ã‚  

UK Interest Rates During the Financial Crash

UK Interest Rates During the Financial Crash Central banks always have responsibility to keep a stable economy which includes stable prices, low inflation rate and confidence in the local economy. The main tool used by central banks for these propose is monetary policy which will influence the interest rate, and the way of conduct it varies from country to country. This essay will look into the Bank of England and explain the transmission of monetary policy and how the policy affected by the credit crunch. The Bank of England gained its independent right to set up interest rate according to the target inflation rate since May 1997. The preferred target inflation rate in the United Kingdom is 2% and the Bank of England sets appropriate interest rate to ensure the real inflation rate is moving towards the target inflation rate in an acceptable time period. However, the fixed target inflation rate does not necessary mean a constant interest rate. An Overview of the change of interest rate in UK banks from 1973 to 2009, from which a fluctuate trend could be observed among the whole period and there was a sharply decrease from nearly 15% to 5% during 1989 to 1993 when the United Kingdom was experiencing an economy recession. After 1993, the interest rate was relatively stable until 2008. However, between 2008 and 2009 the interest rate deeply drops from 5.25% to 0.5% for the recent credit crunch. From the data from the Bank of Englands report, the interest rate decreased at a rate of 1% per month constantly from October 2008 to January 2009 after the Lehman Brothers bankrupt. It is well known that a low interest rate represents a loose monetary policy which is aim to increase the inflation rate and the economy. It may illustrate how the interest rate set by the Bank of England conduct the monetary policy. The official rate set by the Bank of England direct influence the market rates includes the repo rate, bond rate, inner bank borrowing rate and so on. Then the market rate sets the asset prices in the financial market which will in turn affects peoples expectations of the economy. Also, the official rates would give people the signal about how will the market moves. For instance, a decrease in official rate will shows a loose monetary policy to the public and people would expect a rise in the price level and then may increase their domestic consuming demand. In addition, the official rate change will affect the exchange rate directly for it alters the domestic investment rate.(Mishkin, 2006). At the second stage, the official rate indirectly affects the domestic demand and net external demand, which forms the total demand, via the market rates, asset prices, expectations and exchange rate. Then the total demand influences the domestic inflation rate. Finally, the domestic inflation and import prices decide the inflation. For example, as mentioned above, a decrease interest rate will increase the publics domestic demand and also would decrease the exchange rate against foreign currencies which may consequently increase the export demand for the goods will be cheaper for foreign consumers. As a result, the total demand will increase and may eventually raise the price level and lead to an increase in inflation rate. Timing effect is another factor that the Bank of England concerns for the monetary policy. That is to say, the effects of changing interest rate are not instantly but take time to fully function. Some channels may be more sensitive to the change while others may not. The Bank of England estimates that a monetary policy may takes up to 2 years to be fully influence the inflation rate. The past statistic data supports this view that the inflation rate was nearly 2.3% in 2007 and increased to 2.9% in March 2009 during which period a sharp decrease in interest rate could be observed. The reason for this sharp decline of interest rate from 2008 to 2009 is mainly accounts for the credit crunch recently. The credit crunch shows a strong shortage in capital supply and declining quality of borrowers financial health (Mizen, 2008). Also, the credit crunch gives very bad expectation to the public about the economy and the price of real estate was declining relatively. Consequently, investors are lack of motivation to invest for the low earnings due to the declining prices and a high risk for the credit crunch. On the other hand, for the householders may feel less wealth for the decreasing prices and lack of sense of the financial safety, they may reduce the consuming and prefer to deposit in the bank. Both phenomena are not preferable for a growing economy in that the Bank of England cut the rate sharply to increase the supply of capital and wish to encourage the amount of invest and consume to cease the recession. In fact, the GDP growth rate from 2008 to 2009 was only 0.7% and the growth rate from 2007 to 2008 was 3% (Fedec, 2009). The growth in the first quarter in 2009 was even worse, which was 4.1%, that may be the reason for the Bank of England cuts the rate to 0.5%, which was only one tenth compared to the same time last year. As the data shows the inflation rate rose in response to the loose monetary police, the GDP growth rate may not be very optimistic for the pessimistic among the public. References: Bank of England, 2008 â€Å"How Monetary Policy Works†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/how.htm Bank of England, 2009 â€Å"Base Rate†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/rates/baserate.pdf Bank of England, 2008 â€Å"Monetary Policy Framework†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/framework.htm Fedec A,2009, â€Å"No End Yet to British Resession†, TradingEconomics, http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP Growth.aspx?Symbol=GBP Mizen P, 2008, â€Å"The Credit Crunch of 2007 2008: A Discussion of the Back ground, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses†, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 90(5). pp.531 67 Mishkin, F.S., Eakins, S.G. 2006, Financial Markets and Institutions, Fifth Edition, Pearson International Edition, pp. 219 244. RateInflation, â€Å"UK Historic Inflation Rate†, RateInflation http://www.rateinflation.com/inflation rate/uk historical inflation rate.php?form=ukir Part B Securitization started from 1970s firstly in the US market and then also trivial in the Europe after the new rules was adopted. It is welcomed by most banks because it brings additional way for banks making profits and it is an off balance sheet activity. However, due to variety risks associated with securitization and the endless re securitization, it may lead to sever financial crises. In fact, this would be the main reason for the Northern Crisis and the recent credit crunch (Mizen, 2008). This essay will first introduce the process of securitization then explain the risks in the process with a special focus on mortgage backed securitization and discuss its effects in the credit crunch. The definition of securitization is quite straightforward: it is â€Å"the process of pooling and repackaging loans into securities that are then sold to investors† (Ergungor, 2003). There are many assets would be securitized such as: mortgages, home equity loans, manufactured housing loans, credit card receivables and so on. By securitization, banks are able to sell those illiquidity assets to different investors. Besides, banks would create derivates by pooling assets together. There are variety types of securitization depending on the backed asset or payment method. For instance, the most popular type of securitization is Mortgage Backed Securitization (MBS), and there are Asset Backed Securitization (ABS), and Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO). Basically, the progress of mortgage backed securitization creates a mortgage pool and the agency sells shares of the pool to different investors according to their preferences. Then the cash flows from the mortgage passed along to investors (Van, 1998). Agencies usually pooled together mortgage and divide those payments into several parts and develop different cash flows to create different type of securities which may have different maturity or yields, and sell them to investors with different risk attitude. The total sum of cash parts will be equal to the whole. The progress of securitization brings considerable benefits to banks. First of all, as banks are regulated to meet the minimal capital requirement which may reduce profits banks would earn. As a result banks may prefer to engage in securitization which is off balance sheet so that do not require banks to meet the capital requirement and gives a more attractive opportunity for banks earning. On the other side, investors prefer less risky and higher return which could be fulfilled by buying the debts through securitization. It is less risky for it is backed by mortgage and has a higher rate than deposit. Besides, as the Great Depression and bank fails not very long before, investors no longer consider deposit in the bank as a safe heaven (Ergungor, 2003). In this procedure, agencies do not really have cost except transaction costs which will be induced from investors. In addition, if another investor buys a share, he may also securitize it and sell it to others. In that way, one mortgage would be re securitized many times. Consequently, if one mortgage fails to repay, many securities may face the risk of default which to some extend enlarge the risk to the whole financial system. In contrast to default risk, agencies also face repayment risk in the process. To be more specific, for example, if the borrower expects the interest rate would fall then he may repay the debt early to refinance in a lower cost, meanwhile, agency are suppose to produce constant repayment periodically to investors who buy the MBS. As a result, the agency have to reinvest the amount of money repaid early by borrowers and which forces them engage in a reinvestment risk in case the interest rate may fall. Mizen(2008) points out that the credit crunch started from 2007 is very complicated for now there are many financial innovations giving ways to packaging and reselling assets. Then he argues that the main reason for these financial crises is mispricing risk of the products which are mortgage backed securities. Historical events show that the beginning of this credit crunch was a serial of mortgage defaults. Then these defaults bring downgraded subprime related mortgage products which then lead to countrywide mortgage bank losses in the U.S. However, this trend did not stop; it soon spread to European banks which have tight relationship to the U.S. financial markets. It is acknowledged that the Credit crunch of 2007 2008 develops after this the full scale (Mizen, 2008). The amount in billions of dollars of household credit market debt outstanding from 1950 to 2009. It could be seen that the trend of growing was much shaper after 2000 and peaked in 2009 when the approximately $11 trillion is mortgage debt (Bubbles, 2008). It is not hard to imagine that 1% of the total amount of mortgage debt was securitized and only 1% of the securitized debt was re securitized when some of them default, how great the amount of dollars would be involved in. That was what happened in the Credit Crunch, for a trivial subprime mortgage market, financial institutions are tied in a line and the re securitization strength this tie and increase the risk and the price of default. Once one default, the whole will suffer, the globalization also enlarges the scale that will suffer. References: Bubble H,2008, â€Å"A Decade of Slow Growth: Why the United States will Face a Decade of Economic Stagnation and Face a L Shaped Recession. 10 Charts and Pictures as to Why This will Occur.†, http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/a decade of slow growth why the united states will face a decade of economic stagnation and face a l shaped recession 10 charts and pictures as to why this will occur/ Ergungor E,2003, â€Å"Securitization†, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, August 15, 2008 Mizen P, 2008, â€Å"The Credit Crunch of 2007 2008: A Discussion of the Back ground, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses†, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 90(5). pp.531 67 Van H, James C (1998), Financial Market Rates and Flows, Chapter 13, PP 119. Prentice Hall

Depression in Americas Teens :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Depression in America's Teens Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication. Clinical depression goes beyond sadness or having a bad day. It is a form of mental illness that affects the way one feels, thinks, and acts. Depression in children can lead to failure in school, alcohol or other drug abuse and even suicide. The warning signs of depression fall into four different categories: emotional signs, cognitive signs (those involving thinking), physical complaints, and behavioral changes. Depending upon the degree of depression, a child may experience a few symptoms or many. Also, the severity of each symptom may vary. According to the CQ Researcher, "School

uncertainty in our life Essays -- essays research papers

After learning the concept of post-modernism in class and doing some research on the internet, I have a rough idea of what the postmodernism is. In this essay I will discuss the postmodern elements in the movie  ¡Ã‚ °Run Lola Run ¡Ã‚ ±. By watching this movie, I think that  ¡Ã‚ °Run Lola Run ¡Ã‚ ± is a movie which is fast paced, exciting and attractive. Moreover, it offers three sections, each comprising the same story, but told in contrasting ways; which in my opinion makes this movie quite different from other common movies and the uncertainty of the postmodernism view of life obvious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, the movie has an unusual opening. When the movie begins, there are just many people on the screen; and I cannot find any clue to the plot or the setting. However, I think this opening shows Bonnycastle ¡Ã‚ ¯s idea of postmodernism which is  ¡Ã‚ °it is hard to know what you might encounter next or what kind of transaction might be expected of you ¡Ã‚ ± (Bonnycastle 232); in other words, I think the opening wants to show us there are various people on the earth, and their fate and destiny are different. After this unusual opening, the main characters Manni and Lola appear on the screen; however, after they finish their phone call, I understand what has happened. In addition, Lola has a mere 20 minutes to get a large amount of money to her boyfriend so that he will not be killed by his boss. In fact, it seems impossible to do such a thing in 20 minutes; however, I think this is what the audiences will find the most attractive. In addition, I guess the director wants each member of the audiences to imagine the next 20 minutes in their own mind before they see the result of the movie. However, I am sure that each person ¡Ã‚ ¯s ending will be different as this is a reflection of the uncertainty of the postmodernist view of life. Consequently, the first part of the movie only interests me in what will be going on in the next 20 minutes. After Lola hangs up the phone, the movie shows Lola running. The movie uses rapid camera movements and accompanies by a pulse-pounding soundtrack to make me follow Lola with every turn she runs. With the movie goes on, I feel that the main characters Lola and Manni do not fit stereotypical gender roles in this movie. As Bonnycastle says  ¡Ã‚ °[you] may be uncertain about the sex of some of the people who surround you, and about how much p... ...; however, sometimes we never care about the tiny changes but it does reflect the uncertainty of postmodernism view of life. In this movie, not only the main characters ¡Ã‚ ¯ lives but also all the characters ¡Ã‚ ¯ lives show the uncertainty of postmodernism view of life. In each section Lola passes by the same bystanders. For example, the old woman, nuns and man on bike, their lives are changed in different ways. Moreover, in the last section of the movie, I feel the result is interesting and give audiences a surprise. In the first two section of the movie, one of Lola and Manni will die at the end, but last section ends with a comedy. Manni finds his lost money from the beggar; however, Lola wins 100,000 marks in the Casino. This ending seems perfect, and it shows that the life is changeful. From the changes in different section of the movie, it gives me a feeling about that our life is full of uncertainties. Each of the same characters in the movie has several different results and this obviously reflects the ideas of the postmodernism view of life. After I watched this movie, I am thinking of one problem, what will the result be in my life when there are various uncertainties ahead?

Irony in Antigone: King Creon Essay

In the tragedy Antigone, Sophocles pens a tale about a stalwart and distrustful king, Creon, and his misuse of the power he possesses. In the play he disregards the law of the gods to fit his whims, something that the heroine of the play, Antigone, wholeheartedly disagrees with; she disobeys his order to leave her dead brother, Polynices, unburied and sentences herself to death in the process. Antigone is engaged to Creon’s son, Haemon, who does not agree with his father’s actions in regard to the burial of Antigone’s traitorous brother. The disagreement between father and son leads to Haemon’s suicide; ironically, Creon thinks it is his life that will be taken and not his son’s. Creon and Haemon argue about Antigone’s impending fate; their disagreement on the subject prompts a threat from Haemon: â€Å"No. Don’t ever hope for that. She’ll not die with me just standing there. And as for you— your eyes will never see my face again. So let your rage charge on among your friends Who want to stand by you in this (870-875)  Haemon declares that Antigone will not die without reaction from himself; Creon will never see Haemon again because if Antigone is killed Haemon plans to join her in death: by his own hand. Haemon then says that Creon’s rage will force Haemon’s own hand to do something that Creon will regret. Creon does not understand that Haemon is threatening his own life; instead, he believes that his own life is being threatened, and his reactions to Haemon ’s words are lined with fear, ignorance, and irony. The irony of the situation is that Creon is so blinded by his own ego that he thinks his own life is in danger, when it is actually his son’s that is. Creon only realizes the error of his assumptions and actions after Haemon commits suicide. More irony arises with the death of Haemon; he has joined Antigone in death to have what Creon denied them while living: each other. At the close of the play Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice, Creon’s wife, have all committed suicide because of Creon’s actions. Creon is suspicious through the entire play; in the beginning he accuses Antigone and Ismene of plotting to steal his throne, saying: â€Å"You there—you snake lurking in my house, sucking out my life’s blood so secretly. I’d no idea I was nurturing two pests, who aimed to rise against my throne. Come here. (607-610)† These words are directed towards Ismene more so than Antigone because Creon already suspects her of wrongdoing. He is surprised to see Ismene lurking in the shadows as she eavesdrops on the judgment of Antigone; upon seeing Ismene, Creon is convinced that she has conspired with Antigone to steal his life and throne. In short, he is aware of one pest, Antigone, but does not consider Ismene as a pest until she is discovered eavesdropping. After Ismene is discovered Creon calls her over to be judged alongside Antigone. This is the first sign of Creon’s extreme suspicion that the reader sees; not only does he accuse Antigone and Ismene of conspiring to steal his kingship, but he accuses them of trying to take his life as well. Creon’s suspicion of his impending death is ironic because at the end of the play both Antigone and Haemon take their own lives instead of Creon’s. Creon does not realize the damage he has caused until it is too late to fix; the time for rectification of the situation has passed and he feels deep anguish at the loss of his son. He never imagines that Haemon spoke of killing himself when they had their exchange of words earlier in the play; when next to Haemon’s corpse Creon says: Aaiii—mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death. You see us here, all in one family— the killer and the killed. Oh the profanity of what I planned. Alas, my son, you died so young—a death before your time. Aaiii . . . aaiii . . . ou’re dead . . . gone—not your own foolishness but mine. (1406-1414) Creon explains with grief that he now realizes his actions caused the death of Haemon; his mistakes are cruel and Haemon is gone not of his own foolishness, but of Creon’s. Further irony shows after Creon discovers that his wife, Eurydice, is also dead; he asks for death by double-edged sword, when earlier he was extremely fearful about his own death and vehement about not dying. He says, â€Å" Aaaii . . . My fear now makes me tremble. Why won’t someone now strike out at me, pierce my heart with a double bladed sword?  How miserable I am . . . aaiii . . . how full of misery and pain . . . (1453-1457). † Creon begs for the death that he is unreasonably obsessed with earlier in the play; it takes the fulfillment of Haemon’s threats to make Creon seek death, and is most definitely ironic in comparison to his attitude towards death earlier in the play. Ironically, Creon now feels the misery of Antigone and Haemon, which he caused; he pierces each of their hearts respectively when he denies Antigone proper burial of her brother, Polynices, and when he denies Haemon his bride, Antigone. Creon’s final words are: Then take this foolish man away from here. I killed you, my son, without intending to, and you, as well, my wife. How useless I am, I don’t know where to look or find support. Everything I touch goes wrong, and on my head fate climbs up with its overwhelming load. (1485-1490) Once filled with immense confidence and arrogance, Creon now feels helpless and useless; ironically, he feels hopeless and distraught not because of anyone trying to steal his power or take his life, but because of his own distrustful actions and ignorant thoughts that cause his world to unravel before his very eyes.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Biography: Aurelius Augustinus (referred to as â€Å"St. Augustine of Hippo) was born in Tagaste (now Souk- Ahras), North Africa on November 13, 354. His family was not rich growing up but Augustine still received a Christian education. Wild as a child he had a long-term relationship with a freedwoman who bore him a son. When he was 19 he was introduced to philosophy at Carthage where he became a brilliant student who mastered Latin and knew Greek. He worked as a professor at Carthage for a while but sometimes the students didn’t pay the professors after attending all the classes, so he got annoyed and traveled to Rome to seek a fortune.When he was in his thirties he converted to Christianity and entered a monastery. He spent the rest of his life working on his philosophical writings. In 395 he was ordained Bishop of Hippo. He died of a fever on August 28, 430 during the third month of the siege of Hippo by the barbarians. Philosophy on Law: St. Augustine believed and wrote e xtensively about natural law. He defines natural law as â€Å"an instilled law written on the human heart or conscience†. Augustine believed natural law was one of the ways God governs humans. His notions of natural law lead him to a discussion about just and unjust laws.He believed just laws were derived from natural law. Additionally he believed, those laws not following natural law, were unjust and â€Å"is no law at all† Strengths and Weaknesses: There are a few weaknesses when it comes to Augustine’s belief on natural law. Natural law is grounded in religion and in todays world people want a different legal system between the church and state. This makes them tend to avoid the reference to â€Å"natural law†. Another weakness is Augustine’s believed that some laws were written on peoples hearts. This leads to the question, why is there bad people?Not to say all of natural law is a weakness because it does have some strengths. One strength, to natural law is despite all the different religions and geography’s most societies have a common set of principals that lands credibility to the theory of natural law. Another strength is the argument of natural law allows for separation between church and state in laws of punishments. St. Augustine would definitely support civil disobedience. He believed if a law was unjust than it was no law at all. He thought that there were laws written on your heart and if a law wasn’t written on your heart than it was an unjust law.Therefore he didn’t consider it a law. Below is a short video of Martin Luther King saying his famous speech â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham jail†. St. Augustine is known for his creation of natural law. Augustine discovered that God creates at least some moral aspects. St. Augustine, along with St. Paul, and St. Thomas Aquinas founded the notion of an instilled law written on the human heart or conscience. It was created through the synthe sis of notions such as natural justice and the biblical belief in a greater being and lawgiver that we think of as being natural law.Augustine’s most famous quote is also has the greatest impact on natural law. His quote was â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all†. He means that justice is the sole purpose of law and if the law isn’t fair, than it is not serving justice. Augustine on Free Choice of the Will: â€Å"Now every punishment is a punishment for sin, if it is just, and is called a penalty; but if the punishment is unjust, since none doubts it is a punishment, it is imposed on man by an unjust ruler. This piece of writing by Augustine talks about just and unjust laws and the reason for punishments.It reinforces his position that an unjust law is no law at all. The Problem of Free Choice: Book One. Will not any intelligent man regard that law as unchangeable and eternal, which is termed the law of reason? We must always obey it; it is the law through which wicked men deserve an unhappy, and good men a happy life, and through which the law we have said should be called temporal is rightly decreed and rightly changed. Can it even be unjust that the wicked should be unhappy and the good happy, or that a well-disciplined people should be self-governing, while an ill-disciplined people should be deprived of this privilege.I see that this law is eternal and unchangeable. I think you also see that men derive all that is just and lawful in temporal law from eternal law. For if a nation is justly not self-governing at one time, and justify not self-governing at another time, the justice of this temporal change is derived from that eternal principle by which it is always right for a disciplined people to be self-governing, but not a people that is undisciplined. This part of Augustine’s writing backs up his theory of natural law. He is attempting to reconcile the relationship between natural law and mans free will.He believes that natur al law is a part of every human being and freewill is the ability of man to choose between what is the right thing and what is wrong. All of Augustine’s writing and books were originally written in Latin and have been translated into several different languages over the years. Most of his writing was religious in nature and his views on laws were derived from his desire to understand god’s relationship with society. Two Questions: 1) How is the concept of natural law relevant in today’s society and courts? ) What do you think some of the natural laws are? Examples of natural law: human rights, etc. Natural law is the theory or belief that certain rights exist independently of any government's granting of those rights. Generally, whenever a group rebels against their government and asserts rights that the government hasn't granted them, they are making a claim of natural law. Many children, for example, appeal to a sense of fairness in disputes, and most people a round the world agree that murder is a severe  infraction  of natural law.For example, the declaration of independence was an assertion of natural law – the right to be free, the right not to be taxed without representation, etc. , if you believe you are entitled to these rights just by virtue of the fact that you are alive/human, you believe in natural law. It can also work the other way; certain actions are criminal just by virtue of the acts themselves, such as murder (malum per se). Positive law, on the other hand, is the theory or belief that all law comes from the government/lawmakers (Malum prohibitum).Basically, you have no rights that are not granted to you from the government, and no action is inherently right or wrong under the law unless there is legislature or court-created law that says so. Basically, murder isn't illegal because it's â€Å"evil† or bad, it's illegal because there's a written law in the books that says so. Natural law and natural righ ts follow from the nature of man and the world. We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we are.True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state. Natural law has objective, external existence. It follows from the ESS (evolutionary stable strategy) for the use of force that is natural for humans and similar animals. The ability to make moral judgments, the capacity to know good and evil, has immediate evolutionary benefits: just as the capacity to perceive three dimensionally tells me when I am standing on the edge of a cliff, so the capacity to know good and evil tells me if my companions are liable to cut my throat.It evolved in the same way, for the same straightforward and uncomplicated reasons, as our ability to throw rocks accurately. Read more:  http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_are_examples_of_a_natural_law#ixzz27LOHpIBl http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/augustine/ http://americanengli shdoctor. com/wordpress/literacy/basic-literacy/general-knowledge-2/basic-literature/letter-from-birmingham-jail/1758

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis Essay

There are around 5000 languages in use today, and each is quite different from many of the others. Many thinkers have urged that large differences in language lead to large differences in experience and thought. They hold that each language embodies a worldview, which speakers of different languages think about the world in quite different ways. At first I didn’t really understood what was being said, and I was really against it, but after asking myself, really? Knowing a different amount of words to describe things would allow us to better understand and communicate, interesting than as we started the color activity it became clear to me. Then immediately I started making connections to friends of mines form other foreign countries. Sometimes we have difficulties explain things to each other, things that are often the same, but because of where he’s from and the way their communication methods (Grammar, metaphors, Pragmatics, Semantics, Lexicon) are structured makes it difficult, to understand him being I’m form a different part of the world, meaning a different form of communication method, with a different set of rules. Form what I have read and understand the most important discussions of the linguistic relativity hypothesis have focused on grammar and lexicon which seem to be the most valid in my opinion. Why? I’m guessing it have something to do with the way we talk, and the influence it have on a lot of how much we understand, based on our vocabulary choices and makeup. For example a typical word order may vary in English; the common order is subject, verb, and object. In Japanese it is subject, object, and verb, and in Latin several different spin (word order). Languages can differ in whether they make a distinction between intransitive verbs and adjectives; there are many subtler sorts of grammatical difference as well. Grammar here does not mean the grammar we learned in grammar school, but the syntactic structure of a language; in the sense that grammar contains a set of rules that can generate all and only the sentences of a given language.

Huck Finn Censorship Synthesis

In this modern day and age, everything offends someone. Eating at Chick-fil-A hurts the LGBT community, going to see the latest Adam Sandler movie gets the Jewish mad at you- so why is it surprising that Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is being changed to please people? Whether they be teachers, students, black or white, there need be no change in Huck Finn. And if any change were to be made- that would be censorship. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrays a message that cannot be missed about the racist ideals of society at that time.Using demeaning words like â€Å"nigger† and â€Å"injun† serve purpose in Twain’s work. His repetition of ugly phrases like those show just how ugly community values were back then. In Source B, Gribben admits to changing those words to more family friendly terms, specifically â€Å"slave† and â€Å"Indian†. Those are not always correct, though. Often times, â€Å"nigger† is used fro m one African American to the other, to show an acceptance of brotherhood and a communal understanding of struggle. The replacement of â€Å"slave† is not correct in this case, or in others.â€Å"Slave† is defined as a person who is property of another. This is not accurate either, considering Jim, the main African American character in the book, ran away from his owner and no longer held that specific job. Even if he were still a slave, the correction would not be correct at all. African Americans were never kindly titled â€Å"slave†. They were spit at, and the harsh use of the word â€Å"nigger† slapped them across the face like it does to students across the country who read it now (Source D).Taking away Twain’s most purposefully placed word completely takes away from his message. Without the original vocabulary, society cannot learn the important message that Twain is trying to teach. Twain’s use of â€Å"nigger† is like a whole new form of imagery. Many students shift uncomfortably in their desks when they hear it out loud, some will even go as far as claiming to hate the book because of the tense and demeaning language (Source A). This is what Twain wanted.The use of â€Å"nigger† has not changed at all over the years, and ignoring it would be equivalent to ignoring an entire chapter of our history books, one that very much defined our country. The poster-word for the discrimination of African Americans is â€Å"nigger†, therefore Huck Finn would be ripped of its historical accuracy if the word were removed. Twain wants reders to empathize with the book’s victims, because only then would his readers be able to understand the harsh pain of the word. Twain’s message is simple: â€Å"nigger† is not okay.But there is no other way to prove this than to force it upon the reader. Twain was and continues to be a literary genius. His willingness to take a chance and make a reader empathize and feel something is what makes his book such a learning experience. Stripping the book of its most infamous word, â€Å"nigger†, cowards away from its most obvious message. If everything mildly offensive was censored, there would be nothing left to read. So instead of complaining about history, enjoy the beauty of Twain’s book, buy some Chick-fil-A, and the rent the newest Adam Sandler movie- before it’s too late.