Give a full summary of the movie Crash Assignment

Give a full summary of the movie Crash - Assignment Example Detective Waters, a black man, speaks of how people in Los Angeles almost assist upon getting into car accidents. Waters, who had been in the car involved in the accident, gets out of the car to inspect a crime scene in the immediate vicinity. Waters is told by a fellow police officer that a body had been discovered; however, what Waters sees at the crime scene is not immediately known to the audience, for the scene jumps to a lengthy montage of scenes that took place almost two days prior to the accident: Inside a gun shop, a Persian father, Farhad, and his daughter, Dorri, are purchasing a gun, but are hampered and hurried from the shop by the shop owner, who is against the two not speaking English; the defense attorney and his wife, Rick and Jean, are carjacked by two black men, Anthony and Peter; Jean is having the locks changed on her house, and the locksmith, Daniel, overhears himself being regarded as a gang member; in a diner where two Asians are conversing amongst themselves , a police officer, Ryan, is on the phone with a medical assistant, Shaniqua, who promptly hangs up when he makes a racist comment. After Ryan and his partner, Hansen, leave and begin their duties, they pull over a black vehicle on suspicions of sexual activity while driving. The black couple, Cameron and Christine, exit the vehicle when Ryan directs them to; Cameron is polite and cooperative, though Christine is drunk, which shows through her actions and speech. Ryan frisks Christine, though what he is essentially doing is sexually molesting her. After he finishes, he allows the couple to continue on their way. Another series of montages begins again, going off of the original scenes, continuing from the previous montages. Christine is beside herself with anger that Cameron did nothing to stop with Ryan had done to her, though Cameron firmly believes that he acted in the way that he was supposed to; Daniel is putting his daughter to bed

Achieving the American Dream Essay Example for Free

Achieving the American Dream Essay One would think that purchasing your first home would be a very fascinating experience; after all it is one of the most major purchases of your entire life. In America, home ownership ties in with the American Dream and the spirit of working hard to one day earn through hard work a home with a white picket fence. My husband and I felt that it was time for us to reward ourselves for all the hard work we have been putting in over the years by purchasing our first home, which was well overdue. I quickly learned the process of purchasing your first home can be very frustrating and stressful. However, if you survive the home buying process the reward is priceless once you move into your â€Å"American Dream.† Before we started shopping for our home we both agreed it was important for us to have a mortgage loan preapproval. Although I assumed that obtaining a preapproval would be the most challenging part of purchasing a home, it happened to be the easiest part of the entire process. I was able to be preapproved by my bank over the phone in a matter of minutes pending certain guidelines. Acquiring the preapproval was so easy I was sure the remainder of the process would be effortless. I was startled to learn that I would be faced with many obstacles to overcome in order to complete the process of buying our first home. Next, it was time for us to shop for a new home. I was excited and anxious to shop for our first home. Unfortunately, I was unaware that the housing market in Houston, TX was flourishing and it was very competitive. On my quest for the perfect house, I looked at several beautiful homes. I found one in particular that I liked, and it was a foreclosure. I decided to place an offer on the home. However, only a few days later I was informed that I was outbid by another buyer. Since this was the first home I placed an offer on I did not foresee the outbidding being a major issue. We decided that we would continue our search for our â€Å"American Dream.† The next home I fell in love with was a model home; however, I soon learned that it was a short sale. A short sale can take up to six months to be approved, and I did not have time for that ,because, my existing lease had already expired on my rental home. I begin to work with a realtor who was also an investor. She had a lovely home for sale in a beautiful neighborhood. I extended an offer to her on the home, and she said that she would need to talk it over with her husband. She later contacted me to advise me that she had agreed to accept a cash offer on the home. I continued to look for the perfect home and was not having much success. I soon discovered that the realtor had a new house on the market in the same beautiful neighborhood. I contacted her right away and made an offer on the house. Once she accepted my offer we signed and faxed the contract to the bank right away. The realtor and I both agreed on a closing date which was 45 days from the date we signed the contract. At this point, it was time to make sure that we met all of underwriting guidelines. It was not only important for us to meet all of the bank stipulations but the actual house had to meet bank standards in order for the bank to approve the loan. Shortly, after faxing the contract over to the bank I was contacted by my loan processor, her name was Emily. She told me everything that I needed and I emailed Emily the requirements within 24 hours. The only thing that was pending to my knowledge was the appraisal on the house which I had completed within one week. After, I faxed over the appraisal I did not hear from Emily until three days before my 1st closing date. Emily was contacting me to make me aware that the underwriting department was requesting that a 2nd appraisal on the home be completed before we could close on the home. I was very disappointed that three weeks had passed and I heard nothing from her and now three days before closing she was contacting me to relay this information to me. However, I was not about to give up. I got the appraisal and sent it to the bank, only to have Emily contact me a few days later to tell me that the underwriter was now requiring a termite inspection. We were already well past our 1st closing date and quickly approaching our 2nd closing date, I contacted a termite inspector and had the termite inspection performed right away. Emily then informed me that she was sending all of our information over to the title company so they can arrange a closing date. She gave me the title company’s contact information and told me to contact the title company for my closing date. I contacted the title company and was very surprised to discover I could not close on the house until the seller returned from the Bahamas because she needed to sign a release form. The seller returned from the Bahamas two weeks later and I finally got a real closing date which was October 18, 2012. Finally, I said to my husband we have an actual closing date. I was beyond excited. My husband and I went to the title company on October 18, 2012 to finalize our purchase on our home. I can’t explain the feeling we felt as we signed the mortgage papers on our new home. After signing what felt like a million papers we got the keys to our new home. When we got in our car we had to take a moment to give thanks to God, for not only allowing us to purchase our first home but for letting our first home be our dream home. Why was the process so difficult and complicated to purchase my first home? I can imagine it was due to the housing crisis in America. I believe that banks require so much now because they are trying to prevent homebuyers from losing their homes to foreclosure. They are making every effort to make sure that homebuyers are not overpaying for homes and making every attempt to ensure that homebuyers can afford the homes. Although, I was very frustrated I want prospective homebuyers to know that it was worth all of the trouble. I think homeownership is the American dream and encourage everyone to work towards achieving the American dream by not giving up or becoming frustrated. I think it is very important for prospective homebuyers to focus on the final prize-homeownership. Reflections Paragraph The step I found to be the easiest was major revisions. It was easy because I was able to tie in my conclusion with my introductory paragraph. I am hoping that will grab the readers’ attention and keep them more interested in my essay. The step I found the hardest was proofreading. While I was proofreading I noticed that many sentences did not sound correct. I did my best to try and correct the sentences that did not sound correct. I learned that writing by revising your essay allows you the opportunity to make your essay even better. I still have many errors for improvement; however, I am confident that with practice I will become a great writer.

booking agreement :: essays research papers

BOOKING AGREEMENT This agreement ("Agreement") is mutually agreed upon by _________________ also known as_________________ ("Talent") and _________________, representative of _________________ ("Promoter") on the _________________ (date of Agreement). 1. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY TALENT a) Provide at least a 60 minute DJing appearance at a dance party ("Event") located in the _________________ (city and state/country) geographic area on _________________ ("Date") between the hours of _________________ (start time) and _________________ (end time) ("Time"). 2. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE PROMOTER a) Promoter agrees to provide all entertainment at the Event other than Talent. b) Promoter agrees to provide a venue for the Event, all necessary permits and licenses to lawfully conduct the Event, including obtaining and paying all work visas for Talent as necessary, and all equipment for the operation of the Event and the performance by Talent. c) Promoter agrees to contact the following travel agent to make any and all necessary arrangements for prompt payment of airline costs incurred in Talent's transportation to and from Event: _____________________ (travel agent) ______________(phone number) for travel reservations from _________________ to _________________ and back, to arrive on _________________ (arrival date), no later than three (3) hours prior to Event, and to depart on _________________ (departure date) on_________________ (airline). d) Promoter agrees to provide Talent hotel accommodations with a checkout time no earlier than three (3) hours before the airline departure time, consisting of ___ room(s) with 24 hour room service for a period of ____ night(s). e) Promoter agrees to provide transportation, car service, or shuttle for Talent to and from airports and Event location. If Talent handles any transportation costs, Promoter agrees to promptly reimburse Talent for the reasonable costs of such transportation. f) Promoter agrees to provide a sober, (i.e. not intoxicated or inebriated by alcohol, narcotics and/or otherwise), responsible, trusted person ("Driver"), in their employ to escort Talent to and from hotel, airport, venue, etc. as well as to assist her in the event of problems checking in hotel, getting in venue, boarding flight, etc. g) Driver is required to remain "on call" by way of cellular communication and/or pager throughout the duration of Talent's stay, be in possession of a valid driver's license, hold current auto insurance on vehicle driven in amounts customary and reasonable and be in possession of detailed directions both to, from and including hotel, airport and Event location. 3. COMPENSATION OF TALENT a) Promoter shall pay Talent the sum of $____.__ in US dollars ("Fee") for the rendering of service(s) hereunder.

Future Farmers of America Association Essay

Can you believe that the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America) has over 400,000 members and growing in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and The Virgin Islands? The FFA is a National Organization devoted to teaching and introducing students to agricultural education. It has introduced a large impact on students, changed their views on agriculture, and given them the chances to carry them out. The history of FFA is quite a long one, starting back in 1925, when four agricultural education teachers organized the Future Farmers of Virginia, which would serve as a model for FFA, as well as the New Farmers of America. Then, in 1930, at the third National Convention, national competitions were restricted to only male competitors. The official creed, written by E. M. Tiffany, and official colors, national blue and corn gold, were adopted this year as well. In 1933, Ohio FFA members wore blue corduroy jackets with the FFA emblem printed on the back, and those were later immersed into the official uniform. Soon after, the NFA and the FFV merged together with the FFA. Later on, in 1988, the organizations name was changed from Future Farmers of America to FFA Organization and membership was extended to middle school students. Lastly, in 2006, the National Convention was at its maximum attendance, with a jaw-dropping amount of about fifty thousand attendants! The history if FFA will continue to become more memorable as long as new members join. The FFA training sequence consists of several areas, pertaining specifically to the SAE program, career opportunities, and chapter meetings. The Supervised Agricultural Experience, or SAE, Program is used to carry out a knowledgeable agriculture project. The project workers are often helped by their chapter advisor, depending on what area of study the project is from, choosing from ag production, food science, forestry, ag sales/ service, and horticulture. In some chapters, members are permitted to visit the chapter’s greenhouses/farms to expand and further pursue Ag education. They can choose to extend their knowledge in fields like farm economics, marketing, computer science, and biotechnology. Through chapter meetings, members will learn and develop public speaking skills and working for others. There are several activities to compete in and degrees to earn and receive in FFA. Members compete at local, state, and national levels in the fields of public speaking, Ag mechanics, dairy-cattle, livestock, poultry, dairy food, meat, and rabbit evaluations, floriculture, ornamental horticulture, parliamentary procedures, and nursery/ landscaping skills. The FFA also gives out four degrees to its members. The Discovery Degree is given to seventh and eight grade students. The Greenhand Degree is given to high school freshmen with knowledge, goals, and skills of FFA. After completing two semesters of Ag course work, you receive the Chapter Degree, with which you are entitled to wear a silver pin. The last degree, the State Degree, is obtained for outstanding achievements and for development of leadership skills. The receiver, however, must have also worked at least a minimum of 300 unpaid hours, and they receive with this honor a golden emblem pin. The FFA is definetly one of the younger organizations in the U. S. But, throughout the last ten years, it has delivered a tremendous impact to students, teachers, and the nation along with it’s future.

George and Lennie Essay

The title of the book comes from a poem by the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns. â€Å"Of Mice and Men† is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California in 1930s during the time of the depression. During this time of depression, people lived in poverty, finding it difficult to gain employment and often had to search ranch to ranch for employment. At this time people were inspired and motivated by the â€Å"American dream† a dream of a land in which life should be better and richer. This, however was nothing but a lost dream. They went on to search for a job, which would fullfill, their dreams. In Of Mice and Men we know that there are characters that have a dream. A dream that they are really working hard for and there are characters whose dreams are already taken away from them. I think John Steinbeck wrote this so he can provide the reader with a historical and social viewpoint and background of life in the 1930s. An outsider is someone who does not fit in to the mainstream of Society. In this essay I will write about Candy, the oldest person on the farm. Crooks, the crippled Negro and Cuerly’s wife, the only women in the book, who did not even get a name. I have chosen them because they don’t fit in with the other characters. In the 1930s Curleys Wife represents people who were ignored and suffered from loneliness. First of all John Steinbeck does not reveal the name of Curley’s Wife as he thinks she is not important which makes me think that she has no other part to play other than being Curleys Wife. Curly’s Wife is stuck on a farm when she thinks she should be in Hollywood.   

The eNotes Blog Ashes to ashes, Bones to iPhones Qingming Festival in Modern Culture and ClassicalText

Ashes to ashes, Bones to iPhones Qingming Festival in Modern Culture and ClassicalText China celebrates one of its many public holidays today, though this one sounds of the more macabre sort. Qingming Festival, as it’s known in China and other parts of Southeast Asia, where it’s celebrated, also goes by the names â€Å"Tomb Sweeping Day† and â€Å"Bone Polishing Day.† Don’t worry; it doesn’t entail dusting off femurs or sipping green tea out of skulls. Instead, it’s marked by fireworks- let off to ward away evil spirits- and paper effigies. The burnt effigies symbolize the material goods that can be used in the afterlife. Paper cars, money, and food are all examples of offerings made to one’s ancestors. But there’s a new trend to keep up with at the bustling graveyard†¦ This year, thousands of Southeast Asians will honor their ancestors with gifts of paper iPhones and iPads. Whats even more uncanny is that stocks of these $2 versions, much like their real life counterparts, are selling out of stores, leaving some unlucky customers to peruse over the less desirable paper Blackberrys and Androids. Will the ancient Chinese ancestors appreciate the new iPads enhanced retina display, let alone be able to use it? Who knows. Maybe we should get cracking on that ancient Chinese translation of you know, for when the spirits arent too busy playing Fruit Ninja or Scramble with Friends in the afterlife. On a more literary note, the Qingming Festival is frequently mentioned in Southeast Asian literature. Below is a beautiful excerpt from the Vietnamese epic poem The Tale of Kieu, written at the beginning of the 19th century. It describes the setting of a pivotal moment in the tale, when the protagonist encounters the ghost of an old lady on the day of the festival. Swift swallows and spring days were shuttling by; Of ninety radiant ones three score had fled. Young grass spread all its green to heavens rim; Some blossoms marked pear branches with white dots. Now came the Feast of Light in the third month With graveyard rites and junkets on the green. As merry pilgrims flocked from near and far, The sisters and their brother went for a stroll. (Nguyá »â€¦n Du, 1820)

Learn About Where Polar Bears Live

Learn About Where Polar Bears Live Polar bears are the largest bear species. They can grow to from 8 feet to 11 feet tall and about 8 feet long, and they can weigh in anywhere from 500 pounds to 1,700 pounds. They are easy to recognize due to their white coat and dark eyes and nose. You may have seen polar bears in zoos, but do you know where these iconic marine mammals live in the wild? Knowing can help us help this threatened species survive. There are 19 different populations of polar bears, and all live in the Arctic region. This is the area that is north of the Arctic Circle, which lies at 66 degrees, 32 minutes North latitude. Where to Go If Youre Hoping to See a Polar Bear in the Wild United States (Alaska)Canada, including the provinces and territories of Manitoba, Newfoundland, Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon Territory)Greenland/DenmarkNorwayRussian Federation Polar bears are native to the countries above and occasionally are found in Iceland. A polar bear range map from the IUCN can be seen to view populations. You can see live footage of polar bears in Manitoba. If you want to see a polar bear in a completely non-native region, you can check out the polar bear camera from the San Diego Zoo. Why Polar Bears Live in Such Cold Areas Polar bears are suited to cold areas because they have thick fur and a layer of fat that is 2 inches to 4 inches thick that keeps them warm despite the frigid temperatures. But the main reason they live in these cold areas is that that is where their  prey  resides. Polar bears feed on ice-loving species, such as seals (ringed and bearded seals are their favorites), and sometimes walruses and whales. They stalk their prey by waiting patiently near holes in the ice. This is where the seals surface, and therefore where the polar bears can hunt. Sometimes they swim below the ice to hunt, directly in the freezing water. They can spend time on land and not just on ice banks, so long as there is access to food. They can also sniff out where seal dens are for another means to find food. They need the fat from the seals to survive and prefer these types of high-fat creatures. The range of polar bears is limited by the southern extent of sea ice. This is why we commonly hear about their habitats being threatened; less ice, fewer places to thrive. Ice is essential for the survival of polar bears. They are a species that is threatened by global warming. You can help polar bears in small ways by reducing your carbon footprint with activities such as walking, riding a bike or using public transportation instead of driving; combining errands so that you use your car less; conserving energy and water, and buying items locally to cut down on the environmental impacts of transportation.

University of the People - A Tuition-Free Online University

University of the People - A Tuition-Free Online University What Is UoPeople? The University of the People  (UoPeople) is the worlds first tuition-free online university. To learn more about how this online school works, I interviewed UoPeople founder Shai Reshef. Heres what he had to say: Q: Can you start by telling us a little bit about the University of the People? A:  University of the People  is the world’s first tuition-free, online academic institution. I established UoPeople to democratize higher education and make college-level studies available to student everywhere, even in the poorest parts of the world. Utilizing open-source technology and materials with a peer-to-peer pedagogical system, we can create a global chalkboard that does not discriminate based on geographical or financial constraints.   Q: What degrees will the University of the People offer to students? A:  When UoPeople opens its virtual gates this fall, we will offer two undergraduate degrees: a BA in Business Administration and a BSc in Computer Science. The University plans to offer other education options in the future. Q: How long does it take to complete each degree? A:  Full-time students will be able to complete the undergraduate degree in approximately four years, and all students will be eligible for an associate degree after two years. Q: Are classes conducted entirely online? A:  Yes, the curriculum is internet-based. UoPeople students will learn in online study communities where they will share resources, exchange ideas, discuss weekly topics, submit assignments and take exams, all under the guidance of respected scholars. Q: What are your current admissions requirements? A:  The enrollment requirements include proof of graduation from a secondary school as evidence of 12 years of schooling, proficiency in English and access to a computer with an Internet connection. Prospective students will be able to enroll online at UoPeople.edu.  With minimal admission criteria, UoPeople aims to provide higher education to anyone who welcomes the opportunity. Alas, in the beginning stages, we will have to cap enrollment in order to best serve our students. Q: Is the University of the People open to everyone regardless of location or citizenship status? A:  UoPeople will accept students regardless of location or citizenship status. It is a universal institution that anticipates students from every corner of the globe. Q: How many students will the University of the People accept each year? A:  UoPeople anticipates tens of thousands of students to enroll within the first five years of operation, although enrollment will be capped at 300 students in the first semester. The power of online networking and word-of-mouth marketing will facilitate the growth of the University, while the open-source and peer-to-peer pedagogical model will make it possible to handle such rapid expansion. Q: How can students increase their chances of getting accepted? A:  My personal goal is to make higher education a right for all, not a privilege for the few. Enrollment criteria are minimal, and we hope to accommodate any student who wants to be a part of this university. Q: Is the University of the People an accredited institution? A:  Like all universities, UoPeople must comply with the rules set forth by accreditation agencies. UoPeople intends to apply for accreditation as soon as the two year waiting period for eligibility is met. UPDATE:  University of the People was accredited by the  Distance Education Accrediting Commission  Ã‚  (DEAC) in February 2014. Q: How will the University of the People help students succeed in the program and after graduation? A:  My time at Cramster.com has taught me the value of peer-to-peer learning and its strength as a pedagogical model in maintaining high retention rates. Additionally, UoPeople plans to offer guidance and support for students upon graduation, however specific programs are still in the development phase. Q: Why should students consider attending the University of the People? A:  Higher education has been a pipedream for too many people, for too long. UoPeople opens the doors so that a teenager from a rural village in Africa has the same opportunity to go to college as one who attended the most prestigious high school in New York. And UoPeople doesn’t just provide four years of education for students worldwide, but also the building blocks for them to go on to create a better life, community and world.

Biographical Synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biographical Synthesis - Essay Example Death was inevitably his favorite topic in both his poems and short stories. During his life, Poe experienced severe social isolation. These feeling of isolation started when his father demised or disappeared about the time of his sister’s birth. His sister’s name was Rosalie (Patrick 20-22). The family then relocated and Poe was isolated from his older brother, who was left with relations in Baltimore. During those younger years, he found his mother in the final phase of tuberculosis. On her demise, he was then isolated from his younger sister, Rosalie. Another major low point in Poe’s life was the demise of his surrogate mother, Mrs. Frances Allan, and his surrogate father rejecting him, all happening at one time. The most important setback to him was the sudden demise of his cousin, whom she had married-Virginia Clemm. This solitary loneness was the cause of almost all of his feelings of separation in his adulthood. He was attacked by a fit of apprehension that made him believe that almost everyone he become close to would eventually die. The topics of isolation become inherent topics in his work (Silverman 12-19). William Wilson is a short story which tells of a man and his doppelganger, which runs after the man around the universe trying to keep him away from trouble. Poe created his character to represent his own accounts of boyhood, which was he spent â€Å"a large, rambling Elizabethan schoolhouse, in a misty-looking village of England† (30-33). The setting of William Wilson is undoubtedly semi-autobiographical and passes as relation to Allan Edgar Poe’s home in England as a boy. â€Å"The misty-looking village of England† (30-33). The poem A Dream within a Dream explores the difficult process o saying goodbye to a loved one. Poe wrote this poem after the experience he went through after losing the women he had affairs with. In Poe’s mind, he perceived

Social Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Social Learning - Essay Example The ways in which individual learning and social learning allow organisms to adapt to different environments are, however, quite different. Behavioral variants acquired by individual learning are not transmitted from one generation to the next. This means that each individual's behavior develops independently based on the interaction of genetically inherited learning mechanisms and the local environment. Generic variation underlying learning mechanisms may evolve, but the behavioral variants acquired by learning do not. Individual learning is adaptive if it bestows some advantage on the individual. In contrast, behaviors acquired by the imitative and observational forms of social learning are transmitted from one individual to another and thus from one generation to the next. From an evolutionary biologist's perspective social learning is interesting because it mixes aspects of a system of inheritance with aspects of ordinary phenotypic flexibility, creating a system for the inherita nce of acquired variation. To understand the conditions under which social learning is adaptive we must understand how individual learning and social learning interact to determine the evolutionary dynamics of the behavioral variants themselves as well as the genes that underlie learning processes. The evolutionary properties of the inheritance of acquired variation have received relatively little theoretical attention. This inattention may be due to the fact that evolutionary biologists have supposed that the inheritance of acquired variation is rare in nature, essentially restricted to human culture and a few unusual animal systems, such as the songs of some birds. Those biologists who have imagined that social learning is common in animals besides humans have not always taken proper account of the difficulty of demonstrating true imitation in the face of several processes that can mimic its effects. With a few exceptions recent theoretical work on cultural transmission has concentrated on explaining human culture rather than on the more general properties of social learning (Blonski, 1999). Under what circumstances should natural selection favor a growth of reliance on social learning at the expense of individual learning The answer to this question is important because it seems likely that social learning originally evolved in species with extensive individual learning abilities. Our focus on the adaptive value of social learning does not imply that selection is the only important evolutionary process, or that all behavior is adaptive. We do believe, however, that understanding the conditions under which social learning is adaptive is an important first step in understanding its evolution and the conditions under which one would expect to find social learning in nature. At first glance, it may seem that social learning will always be the superior form of phenotypic plasticity. Acquiring adaptive behavior by conditioning and other forms of individual learning is often an inefficient process. Learning trials divert time and energy from other fitness-enhancing activities, they may entail serious risks, and there may be substantial chance of not

Process control and inspection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Process control and inspection - Assignment Example Commercial Viability: 1. We need to ensure that the cost of the parts should lie within the overall target price for the component. 2. Total cost of production need to be worked out taking care of transport, fitment and maintenance at the customer site once delivered, if relevant. Technical viability: 1. The component should fit into the performance specifications that are sought for the product. 2. The component should be well within the physical specifications specified for the part's size and shape. d) Describe four ways in which the supplier's quality performance would be subsequently monitored. 1. A quality plan should be worked out to enable and monitor quality of all delivered components. 2. Quality plan shall consist of random part checking to see whether it fits into both physical and performance checks that has been specified. 3. Production Process establishment and monitoring has to be done at the vendor factory to ensure that all components go through the same production process and there is repeatability of the process. 4. Every stage of the process should be clearly defined so that at the end of every production stage, the component is checked for required quality levels. 2. You are the owner of a small subcontracting engineering company employing 25-30 staff. Your company has a record of supplying quality components. Your products utilize standard items which you purchase from a variety of suppliers. a) Describe: i) how you control the quality of the 'bought-in' standard parts ii) what action you would take if you received sub-standard items. The quality of the bought in items will be checked at the Material receipt if the components involved are... 3. In either of the cases a minimum and maximum level has to be maintained in addition to the reorder level. When the item goes less than the reorder level, orders get released under the Kanban system and under Just-In-time systems. b) In the selection of suppliers vendor rating is used to determine the 'best' supplier. The details given in the following table show the performance of a number of suppliers over a period of time. Use this data to determine the 'best' supplier. The unit has a value of 19. 2. You are the owner of a small subcontracting engineering company employing 25-30 staff. Your company has a record of supplying quality components. Your products utilize standard items which you purchase from a variety of suppliers. The quality of the bought in items will be checked at the Material receipt if the components involved are small, value is small and quantity is large. For larger and high value items, vendor site inspection can be undertaken to check whether the product meets the required specifications. If the sub standard items are received at the Material In gate, then 3. The vendor is marked with the reject quantity and any repeat of the same is tried and at best avoided.

Arguments for and Against Using Television Ratings to Measure Essay

Arguments for and Against Using Television Ratings to Measure Audiences - Essay Example Uses and gratifications approach stipulates that audience members tend to select the media that will satisfy their individual needs. In this case, people will use the media that meet their motives and eventual satisfaction of needs. Therefore, if a medium is more effective in terms of gratification, then people will use that medium more often. Media researchers were, therefore, concerned with understanding what people do with media with gratifications being understood as the effects that a certain medium had on the audience. A finding showed that there is a possibility that people will draw a similar response from the content of a thriller movie. Uses and gratification approach centers on the use of media based on the socio-psychological needs of an individual, as cited in Blumer and Katz (1974). They argue that the social and psychological aspects of an individual determine the kinds of expectations that these individuals have in the media. As such, individuals will seek the media that they find favorable in terms of their sociopsychological origins. Therefore, these sociopsychological characteristics will influence the individual’s media use as well as the expectations of gratifications that these individuals achieve from using the media. Richard Kilborn (2005) carried out a research on why people watch soap operas. The audience he assessed gave the feedback that they watched these soaps because soaps are an entertaining reward for the daily routine that comes with work. The audience also affirmed that soap operas act as the ultimate escapist fantasy that most people yearn for. Most people are said to watch a medium because in the content they can compare themselves with the experts. They also said that social interaction in the family and society were at large. People find certain media entertaining and educating at the same time. Gratification can be achieved only from the content being conveyed by a medium.

Predestination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Predestination - Essay Example As such, he places the human beings where he wants them to be for fulfillment of his purpose because God made every human being with his own intentions and therefore, no one has the right to abuse it. On the other hand, determinism is based on the notion that everything that happens has a reason and is influenced by something else. The decisions made by people on how they want their lives to turn out, or the results they expect from their behaviors are based on something which happened earlier and influenced their lives. As such, determinism is not influenced by religious affiliations and beliefs, but rather by choices and consequences. This means that life is free and has no preset conditions which influence the fate of humans. The choices made determine the kind of life’s outcome to expect. Eliot’s Silas Marner is a book that starts with predestination and ends with determinism. The book is set in two different places - Lantern Yard and Raveloe. Lantern Yard is highly religious and salvation is highly predestined there. Cleanliness in faith is not a guarantee that you are predestined to serve God. This is because there are already those who are predestined to serve God there even when they are very unclean. For instance, William, who demonstrates the opposite of the faith he claims to exercise is predestined to serve God while Silas is predestined not to exercise salvation despite being very innocent and pure. In Raveloe, people’s lives are controlled by determinism as morals as opposed religion are upheld. As such, people suffer the consequences of their own actions. Predestination is witnessed through the analysis of the character of Silas Marner. He seems to be born with a predestined personality and no matter what he does, he has no control to change the course his life is taking. Religion in Lantern Yard is very strict and salvation seems to the based on predestination. Silas is a very staunch believer of faith but he loses

Arguments for and Against Using Television Ratings to Measure Essay

Arguments for and Against Using Television Ratings to Measure Audiences - Essay Example Uses and gratifications approach stipulates that audience members tend to select the media that will satisfy their individual needs. In this case, people will use the media that meet their motives and eventual satisfaction of needs. Therefore, if a medium is more effective in terms of gratification, then people will use that medium more often. Media researchers were, therefore, concerned with understanding what people do with media with gratifications being understood as the effects that a certain medium had on the audience. A finding showed that there is a possibility that people will draw a similar response from the content of a thriller movie. Uses and gratification approach centers on the use of media based on the socio-psychological needs of an individual, as cited in Blumer and Katz (1974). They argue that the social and psychological aspects of an individual determine the kinds of expectations that these individuals have in the media. As such, individuals will seek the media that they find favorable in terms of their sociopsychological origins. Therefore, these sociopsychological characteristics will influence the individual’s media use as well as the expectations of gratifications that these individuals achieve from using the media. Richard Kilborn (2005) carried out a research on why people watch soap operas. The audience he assessed gave the feedback that they watched these soaps because soaps are an entertaining reward for the daily routine that comes with work. The audience also affirmed that soap operas act as the ultimate escapist fantasy that most people yearn for. Most people are said to watch a medium because in the content they can compare themselves with the experts. They also said that social interaction in the family and society were at large. People find certain media entertaining and educating at the same time. Gratification can be achieved only from the content being conveyed by a medium.

Human racial inequality from early colonization to Civil War Essay

Human racial inequality from early colonization to Civil War - Essay Example The act of enslaving other people, highlights on the paradox of the great American history, founded based on the ideals of fostering freedom and equality. In essence, the ramification of such paradox lingers in the American society, even at the present (Dempsey 129). Race as a term, defines a social category classified in terms of social conventions and in this light, racial boundaries, are often drawn to mean different things. In the United States, one may be categorized as â€Å"Black† incase that person belong to a lineage of African ancestry. In essence, such categorization or classification denotes an extreme type of binary racial categorization and reflects on the trend on how individuals were classified in the United States, after the end of the Civil War. In America, the act of propagating inequality during the period of colonies to the end of the Civil War did not affect only one group, the African Americans, but also, other minority groups as well. Racism, has a prof ound impact in the American society and continues to impacts on the lives of all American citizens including, the Whites (Seligman 78). The Whites, during this period, were oppressed in two different ways that includes a repeated division of political and social movements that undermines individual’s capacity to oppose the existing types of inequality and power. In this sense, the elite and those in power continue to capitalize on the race issue as a tool to divide people while, amassing more power for purpose of protecting the interests of their class. Around 1880s, there existed a political movement consisting of subsistence farmers and workers in the Midwest and the south. This movement appeared as though making some inroads in their quest against the elites in the south and other large landowners. This populist group, posed a challenge to the political elites of the time however, racial conflict, ended up disintegrating the unity among the agrarian populists thus contribu ting to the fall of the movement (Seligman 80). On the other hand, the second manner in which the existence of inequality affect the lives of the disadvantaged Whites of that period, involved, undermining the universalistic aspects related to the welfare state. This programs, are supposed to benefit everyone in the society, however, such programs, are contrasted with the identified programs meant only to benefit a designated group. At the period the welfare program was implemented in the United States, opposition emerged from the Democrats in the South concerning universalistic policies since, such policies may benefit both the White, as well as the African Americans. These in essence, are ideals propagated because of advancing racist notions as evident from the conservative Southern Democrats (Young 20). On another note, when the European settlers migrated to America, there was already an indigenous population residing in that region of the world and had control over their economic resource, which, was land. In order to amass this resource, the British colony engaged in acts of displacement to confiscate the land from the Native community. The government of the United States later used this practice as the saying

The Value of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

The Value of Philosophy Essay Thesis Statement: According to Russell, the value of philosophy is that it frees our mind to think of other possibilities; unlike science which may provide us definite answers, but does not deal with other aspects of human soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Russell described â€Å"practical† men as individuals who only recognize material needs for the body, but not goods for the mind where the value of philosophy can be found. Russell is pertaining to the knowledge that can be achieved through the study of philosophy. This knowledge is different from what science can study or tell. Science can provide definite answers, but philosophy may not. Although, philosophy can deal with questions with no definite answers (Russell).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Philosophy has uncertainty in answering questions, but it allows for more consideration of the question, its importance, and extends the limitations of what are already answered by science; and because of this uncertainty, we find the value of philosophy (Russell). Given all the definite answers we have and needed, we tend not to raise questions, doubts, or think of other possibilities; but with philosophy or through philosophizing, we are able to think of other possible consequences or problems that may arise. Our thoughts are freed and liberated. It increases are knowledge through the reduction of dogmatism because dogmatism reduces ability to reason and expand in learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Life with philosophy is free unlike a life that is bounded by the world because we are limited and controlled. We just accept what is given and live a life that we think is acceptable, a life that is dictated. The value of philosophy is that it helps us in finding the true meaning of life and not just living life as it is. With science, we are bound by its limitations, limitations to answer all our questions thus proving that science has weakness too or that it may not provide complete answers. On the other hand, philosophy allows human mind for more speculation of how things are and on how things will be. REFERENCE: Russell, B. Chapter XV: The Value of Philosophy.  Ã‚   Retrieved 17 September, 2007, from http://skepdic.com/russell.html

Ageing and Disability Policies | Country Comparison

Ageing and Disability Policies | Country Comparison Gian Nestle Sorronda Aging and Disability Task 4 4.1 Disability United States of America – In United States of America, they made an act that would help lessen or eliminate discrimination in the country for those people who have disability. This act was created back on 1990 and was called the Americans with Disability Act or ADA which prohibits discrimination towards the disabled person in any sector of the community. This is from employment, transportation, public accommodation, communication and any other government activities. The services of the mentioned should be suitable, reasonable and realistic for the individuals with disabilities to be qualified. New Zealand In New Zealand, they have formed an act that would help and give benefits for the disabled person. The act was called The New Zealand Disability Strategy which was created last 2001. This act pointed out 15 objectives that would basically address the needs of those individual who are suffering from disability. This was made to make sure that New Zealand does have a long term plan for these individuals who are perceived by the society as different. This act also will pave way to changing New Zealand’s point of view from a disabling society to an inclusive society. United Kingdom – In 2010, the United Kingdom replaced the act that was established in 1995 and called the Disability Discrimination Act. It was changed to The Equality Act of 2010 and the goal was to address the discrimination against age, gender, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, civil partnership, marriage, and lastly the disability. This act was established to make sure that the mentioned group or part of the society receives adequate help. The help should be fair enough and proper to make sure that it will comply with the act. Similarities and Differences: The similarities of these two policies are that they wanted the people of their country and their respective community to treat the people with disability with fairness, equality and without discrimination. This means that they need to encourage and allow education for the disabled individual, ensure that their rights are met, proper employment, aware on how to access services, life style choice and allow them to live with a quality life. On the other hand, differences are also noticeable especially in the part of United Kingdom wherein they included the disability together with other part of the society. Unlike the United States of America and New Zealand, they have created a separate act and strategy for those disabled individual to make sure that their needs will be addressed immediately. Aging United States of America – They have established an act for the older people to make sure needs are met. It is called the Older American Act which was established back on 1965. This was created to provide each community to have services for the aging people. This was passed due to the concern that was arising during this time that older people are not receiving appropriate care in the community. The government mostly funds the services that will be provided to the person though there some nonprofit agencies as well that helps out for the services, the government is still the primary provider. United Kingdom – The Equality Act of 2010 by the UK Government also covers the needs and the rights of the aging population by receiving adequate help from them and treat them without discrimination by the public and from the society. This covers from their employment, education and training. One individual who in fact is aging doesn’t lose their rights to be able to work and support themselves. They can continue to be employed as much as they like or pursue any education that they would like. New Zealand – In New Zealand, there are two current act and strategy that is in place and active. One was established in 2001 and called the New Zealand Positive Aging Strategy and the other is the Health of Older People Strategy which was established in 2002. Both of these act has only one goal which is to provide a proper care and place for the aging people and live a quality life despite their age. Both of these also encourage the government or guide the government to have agencies to be able to provide the kind of services that these older people need. Starting from a place where a person can age and still is able to have a quality life until to the services that are needed from transport services, communication and etc. Similarities and Differences The similarities with these act and strategy are that they are aiming one goal for the older people. These acts are a representation from the government by each country that everyone has the right to receive proper care as they aged and that the government is still accountable for them. These countries are well aware as well that they need to fund the services that will be provided to aging people. Their respective government mostly provides the funding and they also linked with other nonprofit or local government unit to provide proper assistance, care, transportation needs, communication needs, mobility needs and that they will not be discriminated in any part of the society from employment to other services for the aged. The differences are mainly how these acts are established. Both US of A and New Zealand created or established a different and specific act and strategy to address the aging population while United Kingdom created a broader aspect as aging was included to their Eq uality Act of 2010 which covers from gender, religion and disability. 4.2 Disability United States of America – The Americans with Disability Act of 1990 or ADA provides services such care in a hospital, education and public transport to the disabled individual from the government. This means that services are being funded by the American government to give out proper care to those who are affected. This is by way of the creation of sub group of the government to particularly provide these cares and also from an individual or private sector but still fully funded by the government. United Kingdom – The Equality Act of 2010 by the government solely addresses the needed guide on how to provide cares to the disabled people. This may be by the government or any private service provider. This is to make sure that cares and services delivered from or by a public hospital, educational institution, nonprofit organization and local government unit are aligned to the act. This is also to ensure that there is no discriminatory act anywhere from banks, shops, colleges, transport services, taxi and public bodies. New Zealand – the New Zealand Disability Strategy of 2001 provides guide on how to be able to give out proper care and services to an individual who is suffering from disability. This is to make sure that services given to them are associated and calibrated by the act. This is also one way of making sure that DHB’s or District Health Board, General Practitioner’s or GP’s and other private and local agencies are providing care without discrimination and that they are providing their care according to the act. Similarities and Differences The similarities within the acts of these three countries are that all of them can be able to apply for those individual who are affected by mental disability and physical disability. These acts were established for them to be able to have an access whenever they needed help. Especially when an individual that has disabilities have been discriminated by and in the society. Lastly, the main goal of these acts is to provide fairness in giving out care and services for an individual who has disability. On the other hand, the difference between these acts is that for the United Kingdom, they merged together 116 legislation and made into an act which will provide better service for the disabled. Some services as well are publicly funded and there are services that are not and could be subsidized by the government and the family. Aging United States of America – The Older American Act of 1965 was established to provide community services for the aging people whose services are often funded by the government and some are provided by a private agency. This is to ensure that older people can still improve their lives in relation to their income, health, housing, employment, long term care, retirement, and community services. The purpose for the act is to provide and enhance the ability of an aging individual to maintain its independence and to be able to stay and interact still in their house and in their community. The funds are given from federal funds wherein it is allocated solely for the purpose of the act. United Kingdom – Since the act made by the UK government replaced previous laws and made into a one act which made it to be easier to grasp and understand. The act just clearly states that providing care for the aged people should be without discrimination. They should be receiving the same treatment as what others received as well. The law particularly states that an individual should be receiving fair treatment when they receive services from the government or any other local government unit and should not be discriminated due to their age. This also covers not only for the services but for education, transportation, accessing the services and communication. New Zealand – This is to ensure that Kiwi’s or New Zealanders will receive proper care and have a significant life while coming to age. The strategy made sure that they will be able to acquire services whenever they needed from DHB’s or District Health Board, in the community and whenever they use transportation. The strategy also made sure that aging individual can still receive services like health and wellness, financial security, independence, self fulfillment, a good and living environment. Similarities and Differences The similarities between these acts by different countries are they aim to make sure that service deliveries are well provisioned and there is fairness in the services given to the older and aging individual. Due to the rampant discrimination of other citizens in these said countries, their government created this acts and their primary goal is to have a positive aging for each individual such as employment of mature workers, changing the society’s attitude towards older people and last the protection of the rights and interest for the older people. On the other hand, there are noted services that are available for the older people that are competent enough to be able to provide idealistic care and services for them but there are also incompetent services such as supporting their life style, recreation and their cultural belief. References: Administration for Commnity Living. Older Americans Act. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/AoA_programs/OAA/ Age UK. The Equality Act- What It Means for You. Retrieved from http://www.ageuk.org.uk/work-and-learning/discrimination-and-rights/the-equality-act/ Equality and Human Rights. What is the Equality Act? Retrieved from http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/key-legislatures/equality-act-2010/what-is-the-equality-act Ministry of Social Development. The New Zealand Positive Aging Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.msd.govt.nz/what-we-can-do/seniorcitizens/positive-ageing/strategy/ Office of the Disability Issues. New Zealand Disability Strategy Objectives. Retrieved from http://www.odi.govt.nz/nzds/progress-reports/july01-sept01/new-zealand-disability-strategy-objectives.html Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Retrieved from http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm Division of Aging Services. History of Older Americans Act. Retrieved from https://aging.dhs.georgia.gov/history-older-americans-act Utilitarianism: The War On Iraq Utilitarianism: The War On Iraq Utilitarianism is the concept that the moral worth of an action is determined exclusively by its contribution to overall utility, that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all people. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral significance of an action is concluded by its outcome. Often described as the greatest good for the greatest number of people  [1]  , the topic can be classified as a quantitative and reductionist approach to ethics. With advocates such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, it is a subject that is perhaps one of the most famous within ethics, Mills book Utilitarianism exemplifies this, as most scholars educated in the subject will be familiar with the work. In relation to the current war in Iraq, the subject is as relevant as ever. However, as with most ethical theories there are differing branches. The main debate within utilitarianism is the act vs. rule question. Act utilitarianism states that, when faced with a choice, we must first think about the likely consequences of potential actions and, from that, choose to do what we believe will result in most gratification. Rule utilitarianism, on the other hand, begins by looking at potential rules of action. To decide whether a rule should be followed, you must look at what would happen if it were constantly followed. If adherence to the rule produces more happiness than otherwise, it is a rule that morally should be adhered to at all times. Some argue that rule utilitarianism collapses into act utilitarianism, because for any given rule, in the case where breaking the rule produces more utility, the rule can be sophisticated by the addition of a sub-rule that handles cases like the exception.  [2]   For the purpose of this essay, we will mainly consider act utilitarianism in relation to the Iraq war. Obviously there are massive questions surrounding the ethical reasoning behind the invasion in Iraq, particularly on the part of the United States, but also in the UK where it is one of the big issues in current news and has been since it all began in 2003. The actual reason for the invasion of Iraq is often queried and there has never been an answer given that can be 100% proven. For example, the main reason given by Bushs government in 2003 was the now infamous Weapons of Mass Destruction. Although advised that only some degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned chemical weapons from before 1991 were found, they were not the weapons which had been the pretext for the invasion  [3]  , yet it continued regardless. Some US officials also accused Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein of supporting al-Qaeda  [4]  , and other reasons were given such as spreading democracy in the count ry  [5]  , Iraqi government human rights abuse and Iraqs financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers  [6]  . The sceptics amongst us will also point towards the oil factor in the war and many believe the sole reason for invading was fuelled by fuel itself. Even Americas elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, said I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.  [7]   Before utilitarianism and Iraq is examined more closely, the first factor to be considered in any ethical dispute about battle should be the Just War Theory. This concerns itself directly with the ethical debate preceding any conflict, and the actions of combatants concerning ethical execution of warfare. These two distinctions are called Jus ad bellum, i.e. the morality of going to war, and Jus in bello, meaning the morality of action within a war. Both have specific criteria to be addressed and identified before war may be decided ethical. Going to war is just, according to this theory, when there exists a just and proportionate cause, meaning the cause is right, and the seriousness of the issue merits the grave decision to fight. Secondly, right intention, earning a fuller peace will be achieved after war than is possible in the absence of war, and right authority, asserting only those with authority can declare war, must both be fulfilled as well. Lastly, there must be a reasonab le chance of success, and war must be the absolute last option.  [8]  Looking at this list, you could argue that before the invasion even took place we were dealing with a wholly unethical concept. As people cant decide on one definite reason as to why the war in Iraq actually began, it is difficult to argue that there is a just and reasonable cause. Moreover the fact that many believe the war is simply for oil again poses problems for those who would say the right intentions are behind the war, and the fact that Iraq is such a volatile state anyway indicated that the chances of peace after the war are slim. In February 2003, the U.S. Armys top general, Eric Shinseki, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it would take several hundred thousand soldiers to secure Iraq  [9]  , perhaps indicating that there wasnt a reasonable chance of success either. Also in 2003 French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin stated we believe that military intervention would be the wor st solution  [10]  , in direct contrast to the idea that war should be the absolute last option. All of these would suggest that before utilitarianism has been considered, the war in Iraq is unethical anyway, as if there is such a concept, it is not a just war. Many people might question whether any war can be a just war but World War II is one of the few wars that nearly everyone believes was morally justified. Nazi Germany and Japan were dangerous regimes that committed atrocities against conquered peoples, and many nations felt that they needed to be stopped. For these reasons, some refer to World War II as the good war. In contrast, the social and political turmoil caused by the Vietnam War was based, in part, on debate over whether that war was justified.  [11]   Following on from this, there are also many legal questions surrounding the war in Iraq. With regard to utilitarianism, it is clear that something illegal should not be for the greatest good for the greatest number of people as the UN and even representatives of supporting countries such as the UK have spoken out against it. Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, said of the invasion, I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the Charter point of view, it was illegal.  [12]  Furthermore, Lord Bingham, the former British Law Lord said the war was in serious breach of international law. He went on to accuse Britain and the US of acting like a world vigilante, obviously not a tag youd associate with an ethical war. Bingham said: Particularly disturbing to proponents of the rule of law is the cynical lack of concern for international legality among some top officials in the Bush administration.  [13]  If utilitar ianism is the moral significance of an action being decided by its outcome, then an invasion that besides removing Hussein doesnt seem to have achieved much in over 6 years, and is arguably illegal anyway, then the war in Iraq seems completely unethical. There is lots of literature that covers the topic of utilitarianism and one essay written to offer evidence of its worth as a moral premise, and to retort to common misapprehensions about it is Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill, who will we look at in more detail later. Utilitarianism is defined by Mill as a theory originating from the belief that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. He classifies happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain and continues to argue that pleasure can fluctuate in quality and quantity. Furthermore Mill considers that pleasures that are embedded in your higher faculties should be superior to more base pleasures. Additionally, it is argued that accomplishment of goals such as virtuous living, and other achievement of ambitions and purposes should be considered when thinking about ones happiness.  [14]   Mills thesis embodies his effort to respond to the condemnations of utilitarianism, and thereby to provide a more intricate and distinct moral hypothesis. Reasons that the theory had been criticised include that it does not afford sufficient defence for individual rights an issue which as we will discuss later, Mill himself championed. Another criticism is that happiness is more difficult to understand than shown by the theory and gauging everything by the same standard is not satisfactory or realistic.  [15]   Mill reasons that the theory of utilitarianism overlaps with natural emotions that derive from the social personalities of humans. For this reason, people would innately incorporate these values as an ethical requisite, if the general public were to integrate utilitarianism itself as an ethic. He argues that happiness is the solitary foundation of morality, and that happiness is the only thing that society desires. This claim is backed up by explaining that all the other entities of individuals aspiration are either methods to happiness, or are taken into account when happiness is defined. In a verbose manner Mill describes that the concept of justice is actual fact sourced from utility, and that things like rights subsist simply for the reason that they are essential for individual content.  [16]   The argument for utilitarianism encompasses five chapters. His opening chapter provides an introduction to the essay, and in the following chapter, Mill presents some common delusions about the theory and considers the definition of utilitarianism. The third chapter is an analysis about the definitive incentives that the theory can offer. The penultimate chapter examines techniques of establishing the soundness of utilitarianism. In his fifth and last chapter, particularly relevant to this essay owing to issues like the Just War Theory, Mill writes about the relationship between justice and utility, and argues that happiness is the foundation of justice.  [17]   Looking at the fifth chapter of Mills Utilitarianism in more depth, we can deduce many ideas that also relate to the war on Iraq and whether it is a just or ethical war. The first section of the chapter is largely descriptive as Mill begins by saying that throughout history, one of the major obstacles to the reception of utility has been that it does not tolerate a supposition of justice. Whether or not the justice or injustice of an act is something inherent and separate from questions of utility is what Mill attempts to determine in the chapter. Mill commences by attempting to pinpoint the definition of justice, by coming up with a list of things that are often described as just or unjust. In trying to define justice, Mill considers many factors, including legal rights, deprivation of something someone has a moral right to possess, whether a person receives what they deserve or not, violating agreements, the injustice of preferentialism in improper situations, and finally the notion of equality as an element of justice. In the mainly descriptive first part of the chapter, Mill counters the assertion that utilitarianism is opposed to justice. He mainly writes about the classification of justice and its origins historically and it is also noteworthy that Mill does not offer his own conjecture about what is required for justice. From Mills point of view, justice is not a theoretical model so much as it is a feeling about morality that lots of people possess. As a result, in defining justice Mill studies what other people denote by the term. He concludes that justice exists for the reason that people believe it does, and it means what they consider it to mean. Beginning at the accepted understanding of justice, Mill envisages what associates a different set of ideas about the theory. Subsequently, he puts forward that they are amalgamated by the concept of rights, an idea he brings in through his claims about perfect obligation. For Mill, a right insinuates that an individual has a legitimate entitlement that the social order is to guard them against any desecration. Many advocates of utilitarianism write off the idea of rights, and many debates about the subject are based around whether rights do actually exist, but Mill held a different perspective. Having just defined justice, Mill now turns to the question of whether the sentiment of justice comes from a special, unique tendency of nature, or whether it can be linked to the concerns of utility. Mill argues for the latter. Mill contends that there are two components to justice. The first is the desire to punish a person who has done harm. This desire comes from the impulse of self-defense, and the feeling of sympathy. All animals have instincts of self- defense. However, unlike animals, humans are capable of sympathizing not only with their offspring, but with all human beings. Furthermore, humans are more intelligent, and thus have a wider range of sentiments and are able to feel that they are a part of a broader community of interests. Justice then, reflects the natural feeling of retaliation, expanded by sympathy and intellect to apply to things that harm society at large. In themselves, these feelings are not moral sentiments. Justices moral component can be seen rather in the quality of the outrage people feel at an injustice: people can be upset by an injustice not only if it affects them individually, but if it goes against the interests of society at large; this demonstrates a moral concern. The other component of justice is that there is an identifiable victim who suffers if justice is infringed upon. Mill argues that the idea of a right is not a concept separate from justice, but is rather a manifestation of the other aspects of justice, namely the desire for punishment and the fact that there is an assignable person who has been harmed. A right means that a person has a valid claim on society to protect him in the possession of that right. However, if one wants to know why society should defend this right, Mill argues that the only reason is one of general utility. The sentiment of justice derives its intensity from its link to the animalistic need for retaliation. It gets its moral force from the impressive kind of utility that is involved in rights violationsnamely the interest of security. People cannot do without security, and require before they can enjoy anything else. Security is so fundamental that its difference of degree as a form of utility becomes a differ ence in kind. It is so important that it takes on a feeling of absoluteness, of moral necessity. Mill then observes that if justice exists independent of utility, if it is a standard in its own right that can be understood through introspection, then it is difficult to understand why questions of justice are often so debatable. In fact, there is as fierce a discussion about what is just as there is about what is useful to society, and it is guided by many conflicting ideas. For example, there is a conflict over which acts should be punished, and over the proper apportionment of punishments. In a different arena, there is disagreement over whether people should be paid more for having natural talents, and whether taxes should be graduated, or issued at a flat rate. In fact, the only way to navigate among conflicting claims of justice is to look to the source of its authority, namely, social utility. This does not mean, however, that there is no difference between the just and the expedient, or that policy is more important than justice. Rather, justice grounded on utility is the chief part, and the most important part, of all morality; it concerns many of the most basic essentials for human well-being. Mill argues that the moral rules that forbid people to harm each other are more important than any rules of policy, rules about how societal affairs should be managed. Furthermore, the preservation of justice preserves peace among human beings. Thus, there is a very strong utility interest in preserving and enforcing justices dictates. Mill argues that most of the applications of justice we observe today are simply ways of maintaining the notion of moral rights just discussed. Impartiality is one rule that is partly based in these, but also comes from the very meaning of utility. The greatest happiness principle doesnt have meaning unless each persons happiness, supposed equal in degree, is valued exactly as much as somebody elses. People are seen to have an equal claim to happiness, and an equal claim to the means to happiness. Social inequalities that are not required by expediency are thus seen to be unjust. Mill closes by observing that justice is a name for some moral requirements, which are higher on the scale of utility, and thus more important, than any others. However, there can be cases in which some other social duty is so important that it overrules one of the general rules of justice. Thus, it could be acceptable to steal in order to save a life. Mill argues that the previous discussion has resolved what had been the only real problem with utilitarian theory. It has always been clear that cases of justice are also cases of expediency; the difference is that very different sentiments attach themselves to issues of justice and expeediency. Mill argues that he has accounted for what this feeling is; it is simply the natural feeling of resentment, moralized by being connected to social good. Justice is the name for certain social utilities that are more important than any other kind, and thus should be preserved by a feeling that is different in kind from others. It might be thought that utilitarianism supports the immediate withdrawal of American forces, but that isnt necessarily the case. Indeed, two aspects of utilitarian thought suggest that immediate withdrawal would be wrong. The first of these is the fact that utilitarianism is progressive. As opposed to concepts like Kantian thought, it takes no account of the past. In utilitarianism you deal with the situation you find yourself in. Even if the war in Iraq was wrong, by utilitarian standards, and even if its been badly managed by those same standards, its a separate question what ought to be done now, given the situation as we find it.  [18]  The second aspect is that utilitarianism sanctions negative responsibility. Bernard Williams defines this by saying, If I am ever responsible for anything, then I must be just as much responsible for things that I allow or fail to prevent, as I am for things that I myself, in the more everyday restricted sense, bring about.  [19]  This im plies that a person is responsible not only for what they do, but for what they allow also. With relation to the US occupation, if they withdraw their troops and the differing sects of Iraq, Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds etc, begin to kill each other en masse, as seems likely  [20]  , then from the viewpoint of a utilitarian, the US is responsible, as the deaths could have been prevented. The question utilitarians must answer is which action, available to the US, would maximise overall utility? According to utilitarianism, Americans count for no more than Iraqis.  [21]  Mill describes Bentham as saying Everybody to count for one, nobody for more than one.  [22]  It may be that every action available to the US results in death and suffering, and therefore pleasure doesnt seem an applicable notion; however the question is which action would result in the least deaths and the least suffering. Furthermore, act utilitarianism makes no distinction between the guilty and the innocent e.g. if breaking a promise does not weaken respect for the moral rule to keep promises (in which chaos would result and bad utility would be produced), then the act can be justified.  [23]  This is important because not many utilitarian supporters have spoken out about the Iraq war, and Burgess-Jackson speculates that it may be because it will make utilitarianism look bad  [24]   . He goes on to state that most Americans think American lives are worth more than Iraqi lives, i.e. patriotism. Most think that, all being equal, doing harm is worse than allowing harm. Also many think that what was done in the past is morally relevant to what we ought to do now. Finally, most Americans think that the interests of the innocent are more important than the interests of the guilty. From this spectrum you can see why utilitarianism would look unfavourable. ] Along with the Just War Theory, utilitarian ethics both claim moral correctness through the evaluation of consequences. Other ethicists though, originally Kant, contend that good intention is the true substance of moral certainty. This belief led Kant to propose an ethical system comprised of maxims called duty.  [25]  In this type of system a lie, even when committed under implications of good consequences, is always unethical. Applying Kantian ethics to war is more problematic than this, but in comparison to predicting outcomes it is far more one-dimensional. Kant, urges us to follow a maxim authorising violent action only when our own life is threatened, To preserve ones life is duty  [26]  . If then it was 100% proven that Weapons of Mass Destruction were present in Iraq, then the Kantian maxim for war is satisfied. At present though, it seems it is not. Ethical thinkers can therefore be roughly divided into two sections. First of all we think of those who deem whether an action is moral or immoral owing to the motive behind it. The second camp relates to those who decide whether or not an action is moral with regard to the consequences it manufactures. Kant is firmly in the former camp, making him a deontologist rather than a consequentialist when it comes to ethics. (Deontology stems from the Greek for duty, deon and logos i.e. science.)  [27]  Kant would argue that we are subject to moral judgment because we are able to consider and give reasons for our actions, and hence moral judgment should be directed at our reasons for acting. As has already been established, an extremely important figure in the field of utilitarianism is John Stuart Mill, whose essay we considered earlier. Born in 1806 in London, one of the most important philosophers and writers of the Victorian period, John Stuart Mill was a political activist, and was involved in efforts for social reform throughout his life. Mills father, James Mill, was also a famous philosopher and historian. In order to be properly trained and educated, Mill Senior believed that a childs mind was like a blank slate and must be subject to a strict regimen. Consequently, he isolated his son from children his own age and kept him under a rigorous schedule. He saw to it that by the age of three, Mill was learning Greek, and by the age of eight had become skilled in Latin. Mills day consisted of academic work, and he was granted only one hour of leisure each day. By the age of fourteen, he had studied profoundly in history, logic, mathematics, and economics. Mill began studying Jeremy Bentham at the age of fifteen, the fundamentalist English theorist and more importantly the founder of utilitarianism. The premise of utilitarianism initiated a lifelong quest for social reform.  [28]   In 1822, Mill began publishing and a year later he had helped form the Utilitarian Society, which convened at Benthams house. He recovered from a severe bout of depression in 1826, attributed his emotionally restricted childhood. After this Mill resumed an active academic life, but with an altered point of view. He now allowed for a human dimension in his thought that counterbalanced the futility of utilitarianism, emphasising an intellectual attitude to life at the expense of emotions. Even though Mill was influenced by utilitarianism, a theory that addresses individuals to work for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, he nonetheless worked to protect peoples rights, and in particular women. Mills concern for social reform had roots in his belief that the majority often denies liberty to the people, be it through moral judgments, social judgments, or indeed law.  [29]  The concept of individual autonomy reappears right the way through Mills work. He held th e belief that a person may do anything they wish, as long as that persons actions do not harm others. He upheld that governments have no right to interfere with an individuals affairs, even when they use laws that are intended to be beneficial to the individual in question. In effect, the only feasible grounds for any government to exist in the first place is to protect the individual so that he or she experiences defence in times of war, security in peacetime, and safety from deception.  [30]   With regards to the War on Iraq then, you can compare the war to the points raised by Mill. He held that a person could do what they liked, as long as it didnt harm others. Obviously the war in Iraq has harmed countless people in one way or another so this is a violation of liberty. Mill proposed that governments have no right to interfere with an individuals affairs, even when the law is intended to be helpful. Arguably, when you look at the contradictory evidence now at our disposal, Iraq was posing no threat to America or the UK. Hence if we look at Iraq as an individual, then the US government and their allies were interfering with their affairs, even though it was meant to be beneficial, i.e. disposing of Saddam Hussein. Things got so bad in Iraq that people started saying they were better off under Saddam, so for some Iraqi civilians, the interference was completely unnecessary. This is not to say that they had a good life under the dictator, just that it was the better of two evils.  [31]  Furthermore, Mill went on to stress that the only grounds for government to exist is so that the individual, in this case America, would experience safety from deception, security in times of war and also in times of peace. You could argue that all three of these criterions havent been met and hence the Iraq war violates individuals rights as well as being an unjust war. Daniel Pipes raises some great points in his book, Militant Islam Reaches America with the chapter Who is the enemy? The first section of the chapter is entitled, Vagueness and Euphemism. He speaks of the first few weeks after the 9/11 attacks, when Bush would not explicitly name his enemies. He insisted they were neither Afghans nor even Muslims but rather people, as I have noted earlier, whom he called evildoers or the evil ones.  [32]  The chapter is based on the original invasion of Afghanistan, but everything that Pipes says rings true for the war on Iraq also. When Bush announced that military action was being initiated, he defined the goal as the disruption and defeat of the global terror network. Pipes again questions what this means, global terror network is applicable assuming that the global network is not exclusively Al-Qaeda to militant Islamic groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas, the IRA and the Tamil Tigers. Most interestingly however, the last group that Pipes ca tegorises in the potential global terror network is States like Iraq?  [33]  The book was published before the actual invasion of Iraq yet Pipes predicted it, all down to Bushs (arguably clever) vagueness when thinking of a tag for the enemies of the United States. Still no one really knows the real reason Iraq was invaded, and hence for critics of the war such the oil sceptics Pipes argument shows a very interesting argument. Bushs deliberate vagueness meant that in effect, he could do whatever he liked to an enemy state, because the threat of evildoers continuing to try and harm America and Americans  [34]  didnt limit his options to a specific adversary and as long as he could claim some sort of threat, i.e. weapons of mass destruction, then in his mind he could justify America going on the offensive. In conclusion there are many topics in history that we can look at with regard to utilitarianism and war, which show surprising similarities with the Iraq war this essay was

Architecting Digital-to-Analog Converters Using Game-Theoretic Configur

Architecting Digital-to-Analog Converters Using Game-Theoretic Configurations Interactive archetypes and redundancy have garnered profound interest from both theorists and systems engineers in the last several years. In fact, few security experts would disagree with the construction of journaling file systems. We concentrate our efforts on proving that Scheme can be made adaptive, ubiquitous, and reliable. Table of Contents 1) Introduction 2) Framework 3) Implementation 4) Experimental Evaluation and Analysis †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.1) Hardware and Software Configuration †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.2) Experiments and Results 5) Related Work 6) Conclusion 1 Introduction The exploration of massive multiplayer online role-playing games has emulated 802.11b, and current trends suggest that the evaluation of fiber-optic cables will soon emerge. The notion that scholars cooperate with ambimorphic symmetries is largely adamantly opposed. Along these same lines, The notion that mathematicians collaborate with Boolean logic is entirely well-received. To what extent can reinforcement learning be analyzed to address this quagmire? Motivated by these observations, simulated annealing and digital-to-analog converters have been extensively enabled by theorists [6]. The drawback of this type of solution, however, is that the seminal real-time algorithm for the evaluation of Moore's Law by W. Brown et al. [6] runs in (logn) time. Contrarily, amphibious communication might not be the panacea that information theorists expected. Such a claim is largely an unproven purpose but fell in line with our expectations. Existing ubiquitous and signed algorithms use the development of the Ethernet to request the study of telephony [10]. It should be noted that Typo deploys virtual methodologies. Obviously, we present an analysis of checksums (Typo), which we use to validate that 802.11b can be made encrypted, virtual, and real-time. We prove not only that Smalltalk and online algorithms [9] are always incompatible, but that the same is true for scatter/gather I/O. Continuing with this rationale, the disadvantage of this type of approach, however, is that Moore's Law and gigabit switches are generally incompatible. Typo is derived from the synthesis of congestion control. Furthermore, indeed, SCSI disks and evolutionary programmin... ...ory 17 (Mar. 2001), 50-65. [22] Ritchie, D., and Leiserson, C. Controlling e-business using constant-time modalities. In Proceedings of the USENIX Security Conference (Mar. 1995). [23] Rivest, R., and Gupta, R. Homogeneous, permutable, replicated archetypes for robots. In Proceedings of SIGMETRICS (Aug. 2004). [24] Schroedinger, E. Simulation of multicast frameworks. In Proceedings of ASPLOS (Jan. 2004). [25] Simon, H., and Martin, K. Decoupling 802.11b from reinforcement learning in congestion control. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (Mar. 2004). [26] Stallman, R. Comparing scatter/gather I/O and I/O automata using Fantast. Journal of Bayesian Epistemologies 19 (May 1991), 85-107. [27] Suzuki, B., and Papadimitriou, C. Mobile, introspective, secure communication for wide-area networks. Journal of Interposable, Game-Theoretic Information 13 (Jan. 2003), 46-57. [28] Watanabe, M., and Wilson, V. Replicated, Bayesian configurations for I/O automata. In Proceedings of IPTPS (Nov. 2005). [29] Zheng, W. A case for linked lists. In Proceedings of the Conference on Metamorphic, Optimal Algorithms (Oct. 1990).

Obesity Outline

Outline I. Introduction a. â€Å"Fictional person’s name†, age, weight, location†¦ b. Job, hobbies, background intro information c. Family history/background info II. Obesity a. Definition- â€Å"a condition that is characterized by excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body and that in an adult is typically indicated by a body mass index of 30 or greater (Merriam-Webster’s medical dictionary) http://www2. merriam-webster. com/cgi-bin/mwmedsamp b. BMI- Body mass Index(abbreviation) i.Definition- Merriam-Webster’s medical dictionary defines Body mass index as â€Å"a measure of body fat that is the ratio of the weight of the body in kilograms to the square of its height in meters (Merriam-Webster’s medical dictionary). http://www2. merriam-webster. com/cgi-bin/mwmedsamp c. Causes of obesity i. Taking in more calories than burning- â€Å"A lack of energy balance most often causes overweight and obesity. Energy balance means that you r energy IN equals your energy OUT† (National heart lung and blood institute). http://www. hlbi. nih. gov/health/dci/Diseases/obe/obe_causes. html ii. Lack of physical activity iii. Bad eating habits iv. Eating for comfort, binge eating III. Environmental factors a. Access or lack of access to sidewalks and pathways for walking in neighborhood. b. Busy work schedule c. Convenience of fast food d. Restaurant food size portions e. Access to stores that offer fruits and vegetables f. TV commercials that advertise fast food, snacks that are high in fat IV. Family/inherited genes a. Genes b. Adopting habits of parents i.Parents are overweight; child tends to adopt eating and physical activity habits. V. Health factors a. Hormone problems may cause obesity i. Hypothyroidism 1. Define: â€Å"Hypothyroidism is a condition characterized by abnormally low thyroid hormone production. There are many disorders that result in hypothyroidism. These disorders may directly or indirectly invol ve the thyroid gland. Because thyroid hormone affects growth, development, and many cellular processes, inadequate thyroid hormone has widespread consequences for the body (Medicine. et). http://www. medicinenet. com/hypothyroidism/article. htm 2. â€Å"Cushing's syndrome is a condition in which the body's adrenal glands make too much of the hormone cortisol. Cushing's syndrome also can develop if a person takes high doses of certain medicines, such as prednisone, for long periods IV. Other factors†¦ a. Age- muscle loss can slow the rate of calorie burning b. Medications c. Emotional eating d. Smoking- when people quiet food tastes and smells better VI.Health problems a. Coronary heart disease i. Definition b. High blood pressure c. Stroke d. Sleep apnea e. Gallstones VII. Solutions a. Exercise b. Healthy eating choices c. Portion control d. Support groups- A support group is formed by people who are dealing with common issues and â€Å"meet on an ongoing basis to cope with s tress, give each other suggestions, provide encouragement, convey information, and furnish emotional support(Barker, 2003) (Kirst-Ashman, K. , 2011, p 116). â€Å"

Love at the Cornhusk

Love at the Cornhusk – Aida Rivera Ford Tinang stopped before the Senora’s gate and adjusted the baby’s cap. The dogs that came to bark at the gate were strange dogs, big-mouthed animals with a sense of superiority. They stuck their heads through the hogfence, lolling their tongues and straining. Suddenly, from the gumamela row, a little black mongrel emerged and slithered through the fence with ease. It came to her, head down and body quivering. â€Å"Bantay. Ay, Bantay! † she exclaimed as the little dog laid its paws upon her shirt to sniff the baby on her arm. The baby was afraid and cried. The big animals barked with displeasure. Tito, the young master, had seen her and was calling to his mother. â€Å"Ma, it’s Tinang. Ma, Ma, it’s Tinang. † He came running down to open the gate. â€Å"Aba, you are so tall now, Tito. † He smiled his girl’s smile as he stood by, warding the dogs off. Tinang passed quickly up the veranda stairs lined with ferns and many-colored bougainville. On landing, she paused to wipe her shoes carefully. About her, the Senora’s white and lavender butterfly orchids fluttered delicately in the sunshine. She noticed though that the purple waling-waling that had once been her task to shade from the hot sun with banana leaves and to water with mixture of charcoal and eggs and water was not in bloom. â€Å"Is no one covering the waling-waling now? † Tinang asked. â€Å"It will die. † â€Å"Oh, the maid will come to cover the orchids later. † The Senora called from inside. â€Å"Tinang, let me see your baby. Is it a boy? † â€Å"Yes, Ma,† Tito shouted from downstairs. â€Å"And the ears are huge! † â€Å"What do you expect,† replied his mother; â€Å"the father is a Bagobo. Even Tinang looks like a Bagobo now. † Tinang laughed and felt warmness for her former mistress and the boy Tito. She sat self-consciously on the black narra sofa, for the first time a visitor. Her eyes clouded. The sight of the Senora’s flaccidly plump figure, swathed in a loose waist-less housedress that came down to her ankles, and the faint scent of agua de colonia blended with kitchen spice, seemed to her the essence of the comfortable world, and she sighed thinking of the long walk home through the mud, the baby’s legs straddled to her waist, and Inggo, her husband, waiting for her, his body stinking of tuba and sweat, squatting on the floor, clad only in his foul undergarments. â€Å"Ano, Tinang, is it not a good thing to be married? the Senora asked, pitying Tinang because her dress gave way at the placket and pressed at her swollen breasts. It was, as a matter of fact, a dress she had given Tinang a long time ago. â€Å"It is hard, Senora, very hard. Better that I were working here again. † â€Å"There! † the Senora said. â€Å"Didn’t I tell you what it would be like, huh? . . . that you would be a slave to your husband and that you would work a baby eternally strapped to you. Are you not pregnant again? † Tinang squirmed at the Senora’s directness but admitted she was. â€Å"Hala! You will have a dozen before long. † The Senora got up. Come, I will give you some dresses and an old blanket that you can cut into things for the baby. † They went into a cluttered room which looked like a huge closet and as the Senora sorted out some clothes, Tinang asked, â€Å"How is Senor? † â€Å"Ay, he is always losing his temper over the tractor drivers. It is not the way it was when Amado was here. You remember what a good driver he was. The tractors were always kept in working condition. But now . . . I wonder why he left all of a sudden. He said he would be gone for only two days . . . .† â€Å"I don’t know,† Tinang said. The baby began to cry. Tinang shushed him with irritation. â€Å"Oy, Tinang, come to the kitchen; your Bagobito is hungry. † For the next hour, Tinang sat in the kitchen with an odd feeling; she watched the girl who was now in possession of the kitchen work around with a handkerchief clutched I one hand. She had lipstick on too, Tinang noted. the girl looked at her briefly but did not smile. She set down a can of evaporated milk for the baby and served her coffee and cake. The Senora drank coffee with her and lectured about keeping the baby’s stomach bound and training it to stay by itself so she could work. Finally, Tinang brought up, haltingly, with phrases like â€Å"if it will not offend you† and â€Å"if you are not too busy† the purpose of her visit–which was to ask Senora to be a madrina in baptism. The Senora readily assented and said she would provide the baptismal clothes and the fee for the priest. It was time to go. â€Å"When are you coming again, Tinang? † the Senore asked as Tinang got the baby ready. â€Å"Don’t forget the bundle of clothes and . . . oh, Tinang, you better stop by the drugstore. They asked me once whether you were still with us. You have a letter there nd I was going to open it to see if there was bad news but I thought you would be coming. † A letter! Tinang’s heart beat violently. Somebody is dead; I know somebody is dead, she thought. She crossed herself and after thanking the Senora profusely, she hurried down. The dogs came forward and Tito had to restrain them. â€Å"Bring me some young corn next tim e, Tinang,† he called after her. Tinang waited a while at the drugstore which was also the post office of the barrio. Finally, the man turned to her: â€Å"Mrs. , do you want medicine for your baby or for yourself? † â€Å"No, I came for my letter. I was told I have a letter. † â€Å"And what is your name, Mrs.? † He drawled. â€Å"Constantina Tirol. † The man pulled a box and slowly went through the pile of envelopes most of which were scribbled in pencil, â€Å"Tirol, Tirol, Tirol. . . .† He finally pulled out a letter and handed it to her. She stared at the unfamiliar scrawl. It was not from her sister and she could think of no one else who could write to her. Santa Maria, she thought; maybe something has happened to my sister. â€Å"Do you want me to read it for you? † â€Å"No, no. † She hurried from the drugstore, crushed that he should think her illiterate. With the baby on one arm and the bundle of clothes on the other and the letter clutched in her hand she found herself walking toward home. The rains had made a deep slough of the clay road and Tinang followed the prints left by the men and the carabaos that had gone before her to keep from sinking mud up to her knees. She was deep in the road before she became conscious of her shoes. In horror, she saw that they were coated with thick, black clay. Gingerly, she pulled off one shoe after the other with the hand still clutching to the letter. When she had tied the shoes together with the laces and had slung them on an arm, the baby, the bundle, and the letter were all smeared with mud. There must be a place to put the baby down, she thought, desperate now about the letter. She walked on until she spotted a corner of a field where cornhusks were scattered under a kamansi tree. She shoved together a pile of husks with her foot and laid the baby down upon it. With a sigh, she drew the letter from the envelope. She stared at the letter which was written in English. My dearest Tinay, Hello, how is life getting along? Are you still in good condition? As for myself, the same as usual. But you’re far from my side. It is not easy to be far from our lover. Tinay, do you still love me? I hope your kind and generous heart will never fade. Someday or somehow I’ll be there again to fulfill our promise. Many weeks and months have elapsed. Still I remember our bygone days. Especially when I was suffering with the heat of the tractor under the heat of the sun. I was always in despair until I imagine your personal appearance coming forward bearing the sweetest smile that enabled me to view the distant horizon. Tinay, I could not return because I found that my mother was very ill. That is why I was not able to take you as a partner of life. Please respond to my missive at once so that I know whether you still love me or not. I hope you did not love anybody except myself. I think I am going beyond the limit of your leisure hours, so I close with best wishes to you, my friends Gonding, Sefarin, Bondio, etc. Yours forever, Amado P. S. My mother died last month. Address your letter: Mr. Amado Galauran Binalunan, Cotabato It was Tinang’s first love letter. A flush spread over her face and crept into her body. She read the letter again. â€Å"It is not easy to be far from our lover. . . I imagine your personal appearance coming forward. . . . Someday, somehow I’ll be there to fulfill our promise. . . .† Tinang was intoxicated. She pressed herself against the kamansi tree. My lover is true to me. He never meant to desert me. Amado, she thought. Amado. And she cried, remembering the young girl she was less than two years ago when she would take fo od to Senor in the field and the laborers would eye her furtively. She thought herself above them for she was always neat and clean in her hometown, before she went away to work, she had gone to school and had reached sixth grade. Her skin, too, was not as dark as those of the girls who worked in the fields weeding around the clumps of abaca. Her lower lip jutted out disdainfully when the farm hands spoke to her with many flattering words. She laughed when a Bagobo with two hectares of land asked her to marry him. It was only Amado, the tractor driver, who could look at her and make her lower her eyes. He was very dark and wore filthy and torn clothes on the farm but on Saturdays when he came up to the house for his week’s salary, his hair was slicked down and he would be dressed as well as Mr. Jacinto, the schoolteacher. Once he told her he would study in the city night-schools and take up mechanical engineering someday. He had not said much more to her but one afternoon when she was bidden to take some bolts and tools to him in the field, a great excitement came over her. The shadows moved fitfully in the bamboo groves she passed and the cool November air edged into her nostrils sharply. He stood unmoving beside the tractor with tools and parts scattered on the ground around him. His eyes were a black glow as he watched her draw near. When she held out the bolts, he seized her wrist and said: â€Å"Come,† pulling her to the screen of trees beyond. She resisted but his arms were strong. He embraced her roughly and awkwardly, and she trembled and gasped and clung to him. . . . A little green snake slithered languidly into the tall grass a few yards from the kamansi tree. Tinang started violently and remembered her child. It lay motionless on the mat of husk. With a shriek she grabbed it wildly and hugged it close. The baby awoke from its sleep and cries lustily. Ave Maria Santisima. Do not punish me, she prayed, searching the baby’s skin for marks. Among the cornhusks, the letter fell unnoticed.