Censorship on Huckleberry Finn, Argument and Counterargument Essay

Time and time again art has been criticized for being too vulgar and expressive, Mark Twain was one of these individuals who participated in art, he was raised in the generation where slavery was common and racial slurs were frequently used. So to criticized and censor his work for writing what he grew up knowing would be like punishing Huck Finn for stealing things from others when he was told it was borrowing all his life by his pa â€Å"Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it† (Chp. 12 Pg, 49). I strongly disagree with the fact that people want to ‘update and improve’ the classic â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† because it uses a term that is found offensive frequently in todays generation. My problem with this posse that wants to change the wording of the book is that, their bigge st concern to why they want to change the word â€Å"nigger† to â€Å"slave† is that they’re doing for the children, trying to make it more comfortable for them to read and protecting the youth from frowned upon terms. If this is their concern then why are they singling out books and classics from decades ago, why not focus on the books being published now with the terms â€Å"whore† â€Å"slut† or â€Å"trailer trash† in it? To me those are equally offensive terms. John Foley once said that he thinks â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† Harper Lee’s classic about racial inequality in the Deep South, and John Steinbeck’s â€Å"Of Mice and Men†(Source A) should be removed from the curriculum for similar reasons† all because they show the reader the time gap between the setting of the writing and the present of today even though in the beginning of all books they tell you what time frame the story is held in â€Å"SC ENE: The Mississippi Valley; TIME: Forty to Fifty Years Ago† (Page 0). Now I can see why some might want these books (Huck Finn, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird) removed from curriculum, yes I do believe that Twain used the term â€Å"nigger† a few times to many, â€Å"the N-word appears 219 times in Huck Finn† (Source C). Children or even young adults should not be exposed to the vulgar terms and racial slurs that were used in the past. Isn’t the whole point of evolution is to change over time? What good comes from exposing our youth to the past that we all know America is not fond of? Don’t we want our youth to know that these terms are not acceptable in today’s society or the future? When these books make it sound like it was just a little friendly nickname. This is why I feel like students and parents should be given the choice as to whether they want them to read books such as these. We do it for movies at the beginning of every school year, why not do it with books also?

Plate tectonic press release

For many years people always called southern California Americas Promised Land because of Its beautiful weather, beaches and Its film industry. Now with 13 million habitants it's been looked at as hazard city. â€Å"Not only does the San Andrea Fault, marking the conservative margin between the Pacific and North American plates, cross Southern California, but LA was built across a myriad of transform faults† (â€Å"Case Study For Multiple Hazards; Los Angel's, California, Usa. , 1999). These Include the Santa Monica fault, the San Fernando fault, and the Northerner/Santa Barbara fault. Although the most violent earthquakes are predicted to occur along the San Andrea Fault, earth movements frequently occur along most of the lesser known faults. â€Å"The most recent of 11 earthquakes to affect LA since 1970 occurred in January 1994, focusing in the Northerner area It registered 6. On the Richter scale, lasted for 30 seconds, and was followed by aftershocks lasting several day s, The quake killed 60 people, injured several thousand, caused buildings and sections of freeway to collapse, Ignited fires following a gas leak and explosion In the Granddad Hills area, and left 500,000 homes without power and 200,000 homes thou water supplies† (â€Å"Case study For Multiple Hazards: Los Angel's, California, Usa. â€Å", 1999). There'd many reasons as too what causes the earthquakes and how they started.The earthquakes in California are caused by movements of huge blocks of the earth's crust known as the Pacific and North American plates. â€Å"The Pacific Plate is moving in the North West direction and is scraping pass North America at a rate of two Inches a year. About two-thirds of this movement occurs on the San Andrea Fault and some parallel faults- the San Action, Elisions, and Imperial faults† (â€Å"Southern California Earthquakes And Faults†, n. . ). Over time, these faults minor earthquakes.Let's talk about plate tectonics. There si x major plates and they are named after the continents that they are embedded in, such as North America, Africa, and Antarctic. The plates make out the outer shell of the earth called the lithosphere. â€Å"One way a mountain is formed is through convergent boundaries which is when plates serving land masses collide, the crust crumbles and buckles into mountain ranges† (â€Å"Plate Tectonics†, 1996-2014). Mountain ranges are also formed through divergent boundaries in the ocean. Magma from deep inside the earth's antler rises towards the surface and pushes apart two plates and mountains and volcanoes rise along the seam† (â€Å"Plate Tectonics†, 1996-2014). On January 17 1994 an earthquake rocks Los Angel's, California, ‘killing 54 people and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Northerner quake (named after the San Fernando Valley community near the epicenter) was one of the most damaging in U. S. History' (â€Å"Earthquake Rocks Los Angel's †, 2014). â€Å"According scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes, California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6. r larger earthquake within the next 30 years† (â€Å"Earthquake Rocks Los Angel's†, 2014). How prepared are you for an earthquake? People with mobile homes and homes not attached to a foundation are at a much greater risk for damage. Buildings resting on unstable soil such as landfills are also at a much greater risk of damage. The Red Cross suggest that you: Become aware of fire evacuation and earthquake safety plans for all of the buildings you occupy regularly. Pick safe places in each room of your home, workplace and/or school.A safe place could be under a piece of furniture or against an interior wall way from windows, bookcases or tall furniture that could fall on you. Practice â€Å"drop, cover and hold on† in each safe place. If you do not have sturdy furniture to hold on to, sit on the fl oor next to an interior wall and cover your head and neck with your arms. Keep a flashlight and sturdy shoes by each person's bed in case the earthquake strikes in the middle of the night. Make sure your home is securely anchored to its foundation. Bolt and brace water heaters and gas appliances to wall studs. Bolt bookcases, china cabinets and other tall furniture to wall studs. Hang eave items, such as pictures and mirrors, away from beds, couches and anywhere people sleep or sit. Brace overhead light fixtures. Install strong latches or bolts on cabinets. Large or heavy items should be closest to the floor. Learn how to shut off the gas valves in your home and keep a wrench handy for that purpose. â€Å"(† Prepare For An Earthquake†, 2014) Now that you know all there is to know about earthquakes and how to protect yourself in them, you will better keep yourself protected from the dangers of them.

Al Gore - Saving the Constitution Speech at Constitution hall

Al Gore Saving the Constitution Speech at Constitution Hall delivered 16 January 2006, Washington, D.C.Thank you very much. Id like to thank Michael Ostrolenk for that on-the-spot introduction, and Id like to thank Michael and the other leaders of the Liberty Coalition for the wonderful work that they are doing to try to help Americans bridge many gaps that have sometimes unnecessarily divided us. I want to thank them for co-sponsoring this event. I want to thank Lisa Brown for her friendship to me and for her outstanding leadership of the American Constitution Society. Tipper and I have long admired her work, and its a pleasure to work with her. To all of the distinguished guests who are here, Senator Dianne Feinsteinothers who are present [inaudible]. And I want to commiserate with Congressman Bob Barr, who was connected live when we walked out on the stage, but having had similar occurrences with live video feeds before, I know what can happen and what he must be feeling right now. And I want to thank all of you for coming. Id like to start by saying that Congressman Bob Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years. But we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens, Democrats and Republicans alike, to express our shared concern that Americas Constitution is in grave danger. In spite of our differences over ideology and politics, we are in strong agreement that the American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power. As we begin this new year, the executive branch of our government has been caught eavesdropping on huge numbers of American citizens and has brazenly declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress precisely to prevent such abuses. It is imperative that respect for the rule of law be restored in our country. And that is why many of us have come here to Constitution Hall to sound an alarm and call upon our fellow citizens to put aside partisan differences insofar as it is possible to do so and join with us in demanding that our Constitution be defended and preserved. It is appropriate that we make this appeal on the day our nation has set aside to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who challenged America to breathe new life into our oldest values by extending its promise to all of our people. And on this particular Martin Luther King Day it is especially important to recall for that for the last several years of his life Dr. King was illegally wiretapped, one of hundreds of thousands of Americans whose private communications were intercepted by the U.S. government during that period. The FBI privately labeled King the and I quote the most dangerous and effective negro leader in the country and vowed to again, I quote take him off his pedestal. The government even attempted to destroy his marriage and tried to blackmail him into committing suicide. This campaign continued until Dr. Kings murder. The discovery that the FBI conducted this long-running and extensive campaign of secret electronic surveillance designed to infiltrate the inner workings of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and to learn the most intimate details of Dr. Kings life was instrumental in helping to convince Congress to enact restrictions on wiretapping. And one result was the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act, often called FISA, which was enacted expressly to ensure that foreign intelligence surveillance would be presented to an impartial judge to verify that there was indeed a sufficient cause for the surveillance. It included ample flexibility and an ability for the executive to move with as much speed as desired. I voted for that law during my first term in Congress. And, for almost 30 years, the system has proven a valuable and workable means of affording a level of protection for American citizens while permitting foreign surveillance to continue whenever it is necessary. And yet, just one month ago, Americans awoke to the shocking news that, in spite of this long-settled law, the executive branch has been secretly spying on large numbers of Americans for the last four years and eavesdropping on and I quote the report large volumes of telephone calls, e-mail messages and other Internet traffic inside the United States. The New York Times reported that the president decided to launch this massive eavesdropping program without search warrants or any new laws that would permit domestic intelligence collection. During the period when this eavesdropping was still secret, the president seemed to go out of his way to reassure the American people on more than one occasion that, of course, judicial permission is required for any government spying on American citizens and that, of course, these constitutional safeguards were still in place. But, surprisingly, the presidents soothing statements turned out to be false. Moreover, as soon as this massive domestic spying program was uncovered by the press, the president confirmed the story was true but in the next breath declared that he has no intention of stopping or bringing these wholesale invasions of privacy to an end. At present, we still have much to learn about the NSAs domestic surveillance. What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law, repeatedly and insistently. A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government. Our founding fathers were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. They recognized that the structure of government they had enshrined in our Constitution, our system of checks and balances, was designed with a central purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law. As John Adams said, The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers or either of them to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men. An executive who arrogates to himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the Congress or to act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the founders sought to nullify in the Constitution, an all-powerful executive; too reminiscent of the king from whom they had broken free. In the words of James Madison, the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed or elected, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet on Common Sense ignited the American Revolution, succinctly described Americas alternative. Here, he said, we intended to make certain that, in his phrase, the law is king. Vigilant adherence to the rule of law actually strengthens our democracy, of course, and strengthens America. It ensures that those who govern us operate within our constitutional structure, which means that our democratic institutions play their indispensable role in shaping policy and determining the direction of our nation. It means that the people of this nation ultimately determine its course and not executive officials operating in secret without constraint under the rule of law. And make no mistake: The rule of law makes us stronger by ensuring that decisions will be tested, studied, reviewed and examined through the normal processes of government that are designed to improve policy and avoid error. And the knowledge that they will be reviewed prevents overreaching and checks the accretion to power. A commitment to openness, truthfulness and accountability helps our country avoid many serious mistakes that we would otherwise make. Recently, for example, we learned from just-declassified documents after almost 40 years that the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which authorized the tragic Vietnam War was actually based on false information. And we now know that the decision by Congress to authorize the Iraq war 38 years later was also based on false information. Now, the point is that America would have been better off knowing the truth and avoiding both of these colossal mistakes in our history. And that is the reason why following the rule of law makes us safer, not more vulnerable. The president and I agree on one thing: The threat from terrorism is all too real. There is simply no question that we continue to face new challenges in the wake of the attacks on September 11th and we must be ever vigilant in protecting our citizens from harm. Where we disagree is on the proposition that we have to break the law or sacrifice our system of government in order to protect Americans from terrorism when, in fact, doing so would make us weaker and more vulnerable. And remember that, once violated, the rule of law is itself in danger. Unless stopped, lawlessness grows, the greater the power of the executive grows, the more difficult it becomes for the other branches to perform their constitutional roles. As the executive acts outside its constitutionally prescribed role and is able to control access to information that would expose its mistakes and reveal errors, it becomes increasingly difficult for the other branches to police its activities. And once that ability is lost, democracy itself is threatened and we do become a government of men and not laws. The presidents men have minced words about Americas laws. The attorney general, for example, openly conceded that the kind of surveillance, in his phrase, that we know they have been conducting, does require a court order unless authorized by statue. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act self-evidently does not authorize what the NSA has been doing and no one inside or outside the administration claims that it does. Incredibly, the administration claims instead that the surveillance was implicitly authorized when Congress voted to use force against those who attacked us on September 11. But this argument simply does not hold any water. Without getting into the legal intricacies, it faces a number of embarrassing facts. First, another admission by the attorney general: He concedes that the administration knew that the NSA project was prohibited by existing law and that that is why they consulted with some members of Congress about the possibility of changing the statute. Attorney General Gonzales says that they were told by the members of Congress consulted that this would probably not be possible. And so they decided not to make the request. So how can they now argue that the authorization for the use of military force somehow implicitly authorized it all along? Indeed, when the authorization was being debated, the administration did in fact seek to have language inserted in it that would have authorized them to use military force domestically and the Congress refused to agree. Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Jim McGovern, among others, made clear statements during the debate on the floor of the House and Senate, respectively, clearly stating that that authorization did not operate domestically and there is no assertion to the contrary. When President Bush failed to convince Congress to give him the power he wanted when this measure was passed, he secretly assumed that power anyway, as if congressional authorization was a useless bother. But as Justice Frankfurter once wrote, To find authority so explicitly withheld is not merely to disregard in a particular instance the clear will of Congress. It is to disrespect the whole legislative process and the constitutional division of authority between the president and the Congress. This is precisely the disrespect for the law that the Supreme Court struck down in the steel seizure case during the Korean War. It is this same disrespect for Americas Constitution which has now brought our republic to the brink of a dangerous breach in the fabric of the Constitution. And the disrespect embodied in these apparent mass violations of the law is part of a larger pattern of seeming indifference to the Constitution that is deeply troubling to millions of Americans in both political parties. For example, as you know, the president has also declared that he has a heretofore unrecognized inherent power to seize and imprison any American citizen that he alone determines to be a threat to our nation, and that notwithstanding his American citizenship that person in prison has no right to talk with a lawyer, even if he wants to argue that the president or his appointees have made a mistake and imprisoned the wrong person. The president claims that he can imprison that American citizen any American citizen he chooses indefinitely, for the rest of his life, without even an arrest warrant, without notifying them of what charges have been filed against them, without even informing their families that they have been imprisoned. No such right exists in the America that you and I know and love. It is foreign to our Constitution. It must be rejected. At the same time, the executive branch has also claimed a previously unrecognized authority to mistreat prisoners in its custody in ways that plainly constitute torture and have plainly constituted torture in a widespread pattern that has been extensively documented in U.S. facilities located in several countries around the world. Over 100 of these captives have reportedly died while being tortured by executive branch interrogators. Many more have been broken and humiliated. And, in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, investigators who documented the pattern of torture estimated that more than 90 percent of the victims were completely innocent of any criminal charges whatsoever. This is a shameful exercise of power that overturns a set of principles that youre nation has observed since General George Washington first enunciated them during our Revolutionary War. They have been observed by every president since then until now. They violate the Geneva Conventions, the International Convention Against Torture and our own laws against torture. The president has also claimed that he has the authority to kidnap individuals on the streets of foreign cities and deliver them for imprisonment and interrogation on our behalf by autocratic regimes and nations that are infamous for the cruelty of their techniques for torture. Some of our traditional allies have been deeply shocked by these new and uncharacteristic patterns on the part of America. For example, the British ambassador to Uzbekistan one of those nations with the worst reputations for torture in its prisons registered a complaint to his home office about the cruelty and senselessness of the new U.S. practice that he witnessed. This material were getting is useless, he wrote. And then he continued with this: We are selling our souls for dross. It is, in fact, positively harmful. Can it be true that any president really has such powers under our Constitution? If the answer is yes, then under the theory by which these acts are committed, are there any acts that can on their face be prohibited? If the president has the inherent authority to eavesdrop on American citizens without a warrant, imprison American citizens on his own declaration, kidnap and torture, then what cant he do? The dean of Yale Law School, Harold Koh, said after analyzing the executive branchs extravagant claims of these previously unrecognized powers, and I quote Dean Koh, If the president has commander-in-chief power to commit torture, he has the power to commit genocide, to sanction slavery, to promote apartheid, to license summary execution. The fact that our normal American safeguards have thus far failed to contain this unprecedented expansion of executive power is itself deeply troubling. This failure is due in part to the fact that the executive branch has followed a determined strategy of obfuscating, delaying, withholding information, appearing to yield but then refusing to do so, and dissembling in order to frustrate the efforts of the legislative and judicial branches to restore a healthy constitutional balance. For example, after appearing to support legislation sponsored by Senator John McCain to stop the continuation of torture, the president declared in the act of signing the bill that he reserved the right not to comply with it. Similarly, the executive branch claimed this it could unilaterally imprison American citizens without giving them access to review by any tribunal. And when the Supreme Court disagreed, the president then engaged in legal maneuvers designed to prevent the court from providing any meaningful content to the rights of the citizens affected. A conservative jurist on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the executive branchs handling of one such case seemed to involve the sudden abandonment of principle and, I quote him, at substantial cost to the governments credibility before the courts. As a result of this unprecedented claim of new unilateral power, the executive branch has now put our constitutional design at grave risk. The stakes for Americas democracy are far higher than has been generally recognized. These claims must be rejected and a healthy balance of power must restored to our republic. Otherwise, the fundamental nature of our democracy may well undergo a radical transformation. For more than two centuries, Americas freedoms have been preserved in large part by our founders wise decision to separate the aggregate power of our government into three co-equal branches, each of which, as you know, serves to check and balance the power of the other two. On more than a few occasions in our history, the dynamic interaction among all three branches has resulted in collisions and temporary impasses that create what are invariably labeled constitutional crises. These crises have often been dangerous and uncertain times for our republic. But in each such case so far, we have found a resolution of the crisis by renewing our common agreement to live together under the rule of law. The principal alternative to democracy throughout history has, of course, been the consolidation of virtually all state power in the hands of a single strong man or small group who exercised that power without the informed consent of the governed. It was in revolt against just such a regime, after all, that America was founded. When Lincoln declared at the time of our greatest crisis that the ultimate question being decided in the Civil War was, in his memorable phrase, whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure, he was not only saving our union. He was recognizing the fact that democracies are rare in history. And when they fall, as did Athens and the Roman republic upon whose designs our founders drew heavily, what emerges in their place is another strong- man regime. There have, of course, been other periods in American history when the executive branch claimed new powers later seen as excessive and mistaken. Our second president, John Adams, passed the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts and sought to silence and imprison critics and political opponents. And when his successor, President Thomas Jefferson, eliminated the abuses, in his first inaugural, he said, The essential principles of our government form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. Should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and regain that road which alone leads to peace, liberty and safety. President Lincoln, of course, suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War, and some of the worst abuses prior to those of the current administration were committed by President Wilson during and after World War I, with the notorious red scare and Palmer Raids. The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II marked a shameful low point for the respect of individual rights at the hands of the executive. And, of course, during the Vietnam War, the notorious COINTEL program was part and parcel of those abuses experienced by Dr. King and so many thousands of others. But in each of these cases throughout American history, when the conflict and turmoil subsided, our nation recovered its equilibrium and absorbed the lessons learned in a recurring cycle of excess and regret. But there are reasons for concern this time around that conditions may be changing so that this cycle may not repeat itself. For one thing, we have for decades been witnessing the slow and steady accumulation of presidential power. In a globe where there are nuclear weapons and Cold War tensions, Congress and the American people accepted ever-enlarging spheres of presidential initiative to conduct intelligence and counterintelligence activities and allocate our military forces on the global stage. When military force has been used as an instrument of foreign policy or in response to humanitarian demands, it has almost always been as the result of presidential initiative and leadership. But as Justice Frankfurter wrote in that famous steel seizure case, The accretion of dangerous power does not come in a day. It does come, however slowly, from the generative force of unchecked disregard of the restrictions that fence in even the most disinterested assertion of authority. A second reason to believe that we may be experiencing something new, outside that historical cycle, is that we are, after all, told by this administration that the war footing upon which he has tried to place the country is going to last, in their phrase, for the rest of our lives. And so we are told that the conditions of national threat that have been used by other presidents to justify arrogations of power will in this case persist in near perpetuity. Third, we need to be keenly aware of the startling advances in the sophistication of eavesdropping and surveillance technologies with their capacity to easily sweep up and analyze enormous quantities of information and then mine it for intelligence. And this adds significant vulnerability to the privacy and freedom of enormous numbers of innocent people at the same time as the potential power of those technologies grows. Those technologies do have the potential for shifting the balance of power between the apparatus of the state and the freedom of the individual in ways that are both subtle and profound. Dont misunderstand me. The threat of additional terror strikes is real and the concerted efforts by terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction does indeed create a real imperative to exercise the powers of the executive branch with swiftness and agility. Moreover, there is an in fact an inherent power conferred by the Constitution to any president to take unilateral action when necessary to protect the nation from a sudden and immediate threat. And it is simply not possible to precisely define in legalistic terms exactly when that power is appropriate and when it is not. But the existence of that inherent power cannot be used to justify a gross and excessive power grab lasting for many years and producing a serious imbalance in the relationship between the executive and the other two branches of government. And there is a final reason to worry that we may be experiencing something more than just another cycle. This administration has come to power in the thrall of a legal theory that aims to convince us that this excessive concentration of presidential power is exactly what our Constitution intended. This legal theory, which its proponents call the theory of the unitary executive but which ought to be more accurately described as the unilateral executive, threatens to expand the presidents powers until the contours of the Constitution that the framers actually gave us become obliterated beyond all recognition. Under this theory, the presidents authority when acting as commander in chief or when making foreign policy cannot be reviewed by the judiciary, cannot be checked by Congress. And President Bush has pushed the implications of this idea to its maximum by continually stressing his role as commander in chief, invoking it as frequently as he can, conflating it with his other roles, both domestic and foreign. And when added to the idea that we have entered a perpetual state of war, the implications of this theory stretch quite literally as far into the future as we can imagine. This effort to rework Americas carefully balanced constitutional design into a lopsided structure dominated by an all-powerful executive branch, with a subservient Congress and subservient judiciary, is ironically accompanied by an effort by the same administration to rework Americas foreign policy from one that is based primarily on U.S. moral authority into one that is based on a misguided and self-defeating effort to establish a form of dominance in the world. And the common denominator The common denominator seems to be based on an instinct to intimidate and control. The same pattern has characterized the effort to silence dissenting views within the executive branch, to censor information that may be inconsistent with its stated ideological goals and to demand conformity from all executive branch employees. For example, CIA analysts who strongly disagreed with the White House assertion that Osama bin Laden was linked to Saddam Hussein found themselves under pressure at work and became fearful of losing promotions and salary increases. Ironically, that is exactly what happened to the FBI officials in the 1960s who disagreed with J. Edgar Hoovers assertion that Martin Luther King was closely connected to communists. The head of the FBIs domestic intelligence division testified that his effort to tell the truth about Dr. Kings innocence of the charge resulted in he and his colleagues becoming isolated within the FBI and pressured. And I quote: It was evident, he said, that we had to change our ways or we would all be out on the street. The men and I, he continued, discussed how to get out of trouble. To be in trouble with Mr. Hoover was a serious matter. These men, he continued, were trying to buy homes, mortgages on homes. They had children in school. They lived in fear of getting transferred, losing money on their homes, as they usually did. So they wanted another memorandum written to get us out of the trouble that we were in. The Constitutions framers, who studied human nature so closely, understood this dilemma quite well. As Alexander Hamilton put it, A power over a mans support is a power over his will. In any case, quite soon there was no more difference of opinion about Dr. King within the FBI, and the false accusation became the unanimous view. And in exactly the same way, George Tenets CIA eventually joined in endorsing a manifestly false view that there was a linkage between Al Qaida and the government of Iraq. In the words of George Orwell, We are all capable, he said, of believing things which we know to be untrue and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time. The only check on it is that, sooner or later, a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield. Two thousand two hundred American soldiers have lost their lives as this false belief bumped into a solid reality. And indeed, whenever power is unchecked and unaccountable, it almost inevitably leads to gross mistakes and abuses. That is part of human nature. In the absence of rigorous accountability, incompetence flourishes, dishonesty is encouraged and rewarded. It is human nature, whether for Republicans or Democrats or people of any set of views. Last week, for example, Vice President Cheney attempted to defend the administrations eavesdropping on American citizens by saying that, if it had conducted this program prior to 9/11, they would have found out the names of some of the hijackers. Tragically, he apparently still does not know that the administration did, in fact, have the names of at least two of the hijackers well before 9/11 and had available to them information that could have led to the identification of most of the others. One of them was in the phone book. And yet, because of incompetence, unaccountable incompetence in the handling of the information, it was never used to protect the American people. It is often the case, again, regardless of which party might be in power, that an executive branch beguiled by the pursuit of unchecked power responds to its own mistakes by reflexively proposing that it be given still more power. Often the request itself is used to mask accountability for mistakes in the use of power it already has. Moreover, if the pattern of practice begun by this administration is not challenged, it may well become a permanent part of the American system. That is why many conservatives have pointed out that granting unchecked power to this president means that the next will have unchecked power as well. And the next may be someone whose values and beliefs you do not trust. And that is why Republicans as well as Democrats should be concerned with what this president has done. If his attempt to dramatically expand executive power goes unquestioned, then our constitutional design of checks and balances will be lost. And the next president or some future president will be able in the name of national security to restrict our liberties in a way the framers would never have imagined possible. This same instinct to expand power and establish dominance has characterized the relationship between this administration and the courts and the Congress. In a properly functioning system, the judicial branch would serve as the constitutional umpire to ensure that the branches of government observe their proper spheres of authority, observed civil liberties, adhere to the rule of law. Unfortunately, the unilateral executive has tried hard to thwart the ability of the judiciary to call balls and strikes by keeping controversies out of its hands, notably those challenging its ability to detain individuals without legal process by appointing judges who will be deferential to its exercise of power and by its support of assaults on the independence of the third branch. The presidents decision, for example, to ignore the FISA law was a direct assault on the power of the judges who sit on that court. Congress established the FISA Court precisely to be a check on executive power to wiretap. And yet, to ensure that the court could not function as a check on executive power, the president simply did not take matters to it. And did not even let the court know that it was being bypassed. The presidents judicial appointments are clearly designed to ensure the courts will not will not serve as an effective check on executive power. As we have all learned, Judge Alito is a long-time supporter of a powerful executive, a supporter of that so-called unitary executive. Whether you support his confirmation or not and I respect the fact that some of the co-sponsors of this event do; I do not but whatever your view, we must all agreethat he will not vote as an effective check on the expansion of executive power. Likewise, Chief Justice Roberts has made plain his deference to the expansion of executive power through his support of judicial deference to executive agency rulemaking. And the administration has also supported the assault on judicial independence that has been conducted largely in Congress. That assault includes a threat by the majority in the Senate to permanently change the rules to eliminate the right of the minority to engage in extended debate of the presidents nominees. The assault has extended to legislative efforts to curtail the jurisdiction of the courts in matters ranging from habeas corpus to the pledge of allegiance. In short, the administration has demonstrated a contempt for the judicial role and sought to evade judicial review of its actions at every turn. But the most serious damage in our constitutional framework has been to the legislative branch. The sharp decline of Congressional power and autonomy in recent years has been almost as shocking as the efforts by the executive to attain this massive expansion of its power. I was elected to the Congress in 1976. Served eight years in the House, eight in the Senate, presided over the Senate for eight as vice president. Before that, as a young man, I saw the Congress firsthand as the son of a senator. My father was elected to Congress in 1938 10 years before I was born and left the Senate after I had graduated from college. The Congress we have today is structurally unrecognizable compared to the one in which my father served. There are many distinguished and outstanding senators and congressmen serving today. I am honored to know them and to have worked with them. But the legislative branch of government as a whole, under its current leadership, now operates as if it were entirely subservient to the executive branch. It is astonishing to me and so foreign to what the Congress is supposed to be. Moreover, too many members of the House and Senate now feel compelled to spend a majority of their time not in thoughtful debate on the issues but, instead, raising money to purchase 30-second television commercials. Moreover, there have now been two or three generations of congressmen who dont really know what an oversight hearing is. In the 70s and 80s, the oversight hearings in which my colleagues and I participated held the feet of the executive branch to the fire no matter which party was in power. And, yet, oversight is almost unknown in the Congress today. The role of the authorization committees has declined into insignificance. The 13 annual appropriations bills are hardly ever actually passed as bills anymore. Often, everything is lumped into a familiar single giant measure that sometimes is not even available for members of Congress to even read before they vote on it. Members of the minority party are now routinely excluded from conference committees, and amendments are routinely disallowed during floor consideration of legislation. In the United States Senate, which used to pride itself on being the greatest deliberative body in the world, meaningful debate is now a rarity. Even on the eve of the fateful vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq, Senator Robert Byrd famously asked, Why is this chamber empty? In the House of Representatives, the number who face a genuinely competitive election contest every two years is typically less than a dozen out of 435. And too many incumbents have come to believe that the key to continued access to the money for re-election is to stay on the good side of those who have the money to give. And, in the case of the majority party, the whole process is largely controlled by the incumbent president and his political organization. So the willingness of Congress to challenge the executive branch is further limited when the same party controls both Congress and the administration. The executive branch time and again has co-opted Congress role. And too often Congress has been a willing accomplice in the surrender of its own power. Look, for example, at the congressional role in overseeing this massive, four-year eavesdropping campaign that, on its face, seemed so clearly to violate the Bill of Rights. The president says he informed Congress. What he really means is that he talked with the chairman and ranking member of the House and Senate intelligence committees and, sometimes, the leaders of the House and Senate. This small group, in turn, claims they were not given the full facts, though at least one of the committee leaders handwrote a letter of concern to the vice president. And, though I sympathize with the awkward position, the difficult position in which these men and women were placed, I cannot disagree with the Liberty Coalition when it says that Democrats as well as Republicans in the Congress must share the blame for not taking sufficient action to protest and seek to prevent what they consider a grossly unconstitutional program. Many did. Moreover, in the Congress as a whole, both House and Senate, the enhanced role of money in the re-election process, coupled with the sharply diminished role for reasoned deliberation and debate, has produced an atmosphere conducive to pervasive institutionalized corruption that some have fallen vulnerable to. The Abramoff scandal is but the tip of a giant iceberg threatening the integrity of our legislative branch of government. And it is the pitiful state of our legislative state which primarily explains the failure of our vaunted checks and balances to prevent the dangerous overreach by the executive branch now threatening a radical transformation of the American system. I call upon members of Congress in both parties to uphold your oath of office and defend the Constitution. Stop going along to get along. Start acting like the independent and co-equal branch of American government that you are supposed to be under the Constitution of our country. But there is yet another player. There is yet another constitutional player whose faults must also be taken and whose role must be examined in order to understand the dangerous imbalance that has accompanied these efforts by the executive branch to dominate our constitutional system. We the people, collectively, are still the key to the survival of Americas democracy. We must examine ourselves. We, as Lincoln put it, even we here must examine our own role as citizens in allowing and not preventing the shocking decay and hollowing out and degradation of American democracy. Its time to stand up for the American system that we know and love. It is time to breathe new life back into Americas democracy. Thomas Jefferson said, An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will. America is based on the belief that we can govern ourselves and exercise the power of self-government. The American idea proceeded from the bedrock principle that all just power is derived from the consent of the governed. The intricate and finally balanced system, now in such danger, was created with the full and widespread participation of the population as a whole. The Federalist Papers were, back in the day, widely read newspaper essays. And they represented only one of 24 series of essays that crowded the vibrant marketplace of ideas in which farmers and shopkeepers recapitulated the debates that played out so fruitfully in Philadelphia. And when the convention had done its best, it was the people in their various states that refused to confirm the result until, at their insistence, the Bill of Rights was made integral to the documents sent forward for ratification. And it is we the people who must now find once again the ability we once had to play an integral role in saving our Constitution. And here there is cause for both concern and for great hope. The age of printed pamphlets and political essays has long since been replaced by television, a distracting and absorbing medium which seems determined to entertain itself more than it informs and educates. Lincolns memorable call during the Civil War is now applicable in a new way to our present dilemma: We must disenthrall ourselves, he said, and then we shall save our country. Forty years has passed since the majority of Americans adopted television as their principal source of information. And its dominance has now become so extensive that virtually all significant political communication now takes place within the confines of flickering 30-second advertisements, and theyre not The Federalist Papers. The political economy, supported by these short but expensive television ads, is as different from the vibrant politics of Americas first century as those politics were different from the feudalism which thrived on the ignorance of the masses of people in the Dark Ages. The constricted role of ideas in the American political system today has encouraged efforts by the executive branch to believe it can and should control the flow of information as a means of controlling the outcome of important decisions that still lie in the hands of the people. The administration vigorously asserts its power to maintain secrecy in its operations. After all, if the other branches dont know whats happening, they cant be a check or a balance. For example, when the administration was attempting to persuade Congress to enact the Medicare prescription drug benefit, many in the House and Senate raised concerns about the cost and design of the program. But rather than engaging in open debate on the basis of factual data, the administration withheld facts and actively prevented the Congress from hearing testimony that it had sought from the principal administration expert who had the information showing in advance of the vote that indeed the true cost estimates were far beyond the numbers given to Congress by the president. And the workings of the program would play out very differently than Congress had been told. Deprived of that information, and believing the false numbers given to it, instead the Congress approved the program and, tragically, the entire initiative is now collapsing all over the country, with the administration making an appeal just this weekend asking major insurance companies to volunteer to bail it out. But the American people, who have a right to believe that its elected representatives will learn the truth and act on the basis of knowledge and utilize the rule of reason, have been let down. To take another example, scientific warnings about the catastrophic consequences of unchecked global warming were censored by a political appointee in the White House with no scientific training whatsoever. Today one of the most distinguished scientific experts in the world on global warming, who works in NASA, has been ordered not to talk to members of the press; ordered to keep a careful log of everyone he meets with so that the executive branch can monitor and control what he shares of his knowledge about global warming. This is a planetary crisis. We owe ourselves a truthful and reasoned discussion. One of the other ways the administration has tried to control the flow of information has been by consistently resorting to the language and politics of fear in order to short-circuit the debate and drive its agenda forward without regard to the evidence or the public interest. President Eisenhower said this: Any who act as if freedoms defenses are to be found in suppression and suspicion and fear confess a doctrine that is alien to America. Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote, Men feared witches and burnt women. The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk. Yet in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the full Bill of Rights. Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of nuclear missiles ready to be launched on a moments notice to completely annihilate the country? Is America really in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march, when the last generation had to fight and win two world wars simultaneously? It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they did. And yet they faithfully protected our freedom and now its up to us to do the very same thing. We have a duty as Americans to defend out citizens rights not only to life but also to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is therefore vital in our current circumstances that immediate steps be taken to safeguard our Constitution against the present danger posed by the intrusive overreaching on the part of the executive branch and the presidents apparent belief that he need not live under the rule of law. I endorse the words of Bob Barr when he said, and I quote, The president has dared the American people to do something about it. For the sake of the Constitution, I hope they will. A special counsel should be immediately appointed by the attorney general to remedy these obvious conflicts of interest that prevents them from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the president. Weve had a fresh demonstration of how an independent investigation by a special council with integrity can rebuild confidence in our system of justice. Patrick Fitzgerald has, by all accounts, has shown neither fear nor favor in pursuing allegations that the executive branch has violated other laws. Republican as well as Democratic members of Congress should support the bipartisan call of the Liberty Coalition for the appointment of this special counsel to pursue the criminal issues raised by the warrantless wiretapping of Americans by the president. And it should be a political issue in any race, regardless of party, section of the country, house of Congress, or anyone who opposes the appointment of a special counsel under these dangerous circumstances when our Constitution is at risk. Secondly, new whistleblower protection should immediately be established for members of the executive branch who report evidence of wrongdoing, especially where it involves abuse of authority in the sensitive areas of national security. Third, both houses of Congress should, of course, hold comprehensive and not just superficial hearings into these serious allegations of criminal behavior on the part of the president. And they should follow the evidence wherever it leads. Fourth, the extensive new powers requested by the executive branch in its proposal to extend and enlarge the Patriot Act should under no circumstances be granted unless and until there are adequate and enforceable safeguards to protect the Constitution and the rights of the American people against the kinds of abuses that have so recently been revealed. Fifth, any telecommunications company that has provided the government with access to private information concerning the communications of Americans without a proper warrant should immediately cease and desist the their complicity in this apparently illegal invasion in the privacy of American citizens. Freedom of communication is an essential prerequisite for the restoration of the health of our democracy. It is particularly important that the freedom of the Internet be protected against either the encroachment of government or efforts at control by large media conglomerates. The future of our democracy depends on it. In closing, I mention that, along with cause for concern, there is reason for hope. As I stand here today, I am filled with optimism that America is on the eve of a golden age in which the vitality of our democracy will be re-established by the people and will flourish more vibrantly than ever. Indeed, I can feel it in this hall. As Dr. King once said, perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us. Thank you very much.

Why Detaining terrorist in Guantanamo Bay was against American Essay

Why Detaining terrorist in Guantanamo Bay was against American Philosophy - Essay Example Hamdan, a diminutive Yemeni who had been detained in Guantanamo Bay for more than five years, was kept in a tiny room kept cold with air conditioning, while he had nothing proper to cover himself, not even a pair of socks. Swift shared his thoughts with his partner law professor, Neal Katyal, who had been preparing legal briefs on the matter of President Bushs military tribunals. Katyal made his own efforts in writing drafts for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals trying to figure out what the Department of Defense was going to include in the new guidelines for the Guantanamo Bay detainees. Although the Supreme Court declared the military tribunals as illegal, still Congress protested and passed its own ruling regarding the secluded Guantanamo. This was a defeat of American philosophy. So, the lawyers, Swift and Katyal, decided to challenge Congress. Why detaining terrorists in Guantanamo Bay is against the American philosophy has many fair reasons. It is not legal in any case, according to human rights, to deprive a prisoner of war of his legal right of either being tried or released if proved innocent. The detainees at Guantanamo Bay are neither tried nor released, and they do not even know why they have been brought there and kept in brutal torture. Detainees have been held in Guantanamo Bay without charge for more than five years many of whom have been subjected to severe abuses. This has significantly torn apart American reputation of war. Guantanamo has become an epitome of lawlessness in the eyes of the whole world. American philosophy has enabled the United States to stand among one of the strongest democracies which support human rights and which make other nations comply with the international standards of human rights and humanitarian laws. But now, even the allies of the Bush’s administration are looking at Gu antanamo policy as a failure and violation of American philosophy of war and human rights. Carafano and Rona state that: That the

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

International marketing - Essay Example This article aims at addressing the various styles used by organisations in building relationships as well as providing a comparison between Britain and India with some recommendations concerning the best practice for dealing with cultural differences for an international marketer. The various reasons for entering in B2B relationships influence the style used by the organisation in building the relationship. These styles may take the form of partnerships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, interlocking directorates, trade associations as well as the establishment of trade networks (Bagdoniene & Zilione 2009). Currently, because of the process of globalisation of world trade, most companies tend to diversify their operations and operate in more than one country and hence the establishment of networks continues to gain more popularity over the other methods. However, the organizations that intend to establish networks require the skills required for building and maintaining such networks. This means that the ability and the capability of establishing networks depend largely on the knowledge and experience of the management team. An organization deeply rooted in a country like Britain where the labour is more skillful is thus likely to develop networks more eas ily than an organisation deeply rooted in India where labour is less developed. This means that the necessity to acquire more skills in Britain is less than in a country like India. This means that in Britain, the move to acquire more managerial skills is lower and hence less likely going to engage in partnerships with the aim of gaining knowledge and skills. While organizations operating in India are most likely going to collaborate with a substantial organisation to acquire skills to deal with the managerial problems, it faces in the current globalised economy in which intense competition is the most describing feature (Ghemawat &

Hacking for Dummies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hacking for Dummies - Assignment Example Other alternatives include 1password, LastPass, KeePass, Roboform, Password Keeper and Norton Identity Safe (Beaver 108). Â  It is vital to note that the use of a password safe or the other alternative tools offers immense pros to an organization or individual. Firstly, this tool plays a huge role in ensuring that all user passwords are encrypted in a safe area free from any third party access. It also provides a backup area for one to recover a forgotten password, along with ensuring that it encourages users to create strong passwords that are always very hard to crack. Lastly but certainly not the least, a password safe provides a convenient way for one to organize the passwords (Beaver 2). Â  In contrast to the pros, is a significant set of cons that are brought about by the use of a software password safe. This includes loss of all passwords particularly when a computer is unused. Additionally, a software password safe is always an obvious target by most hackers thus, when one accidentally breaks (gets the master password) into the software, then all-vital information about a user can get lost.

Korea Federation of Small & Medium Business Essay

Korea Federation of Small & Medium Business - Essay Example The federation continued to grow and in 1994, the Workface Service Corps for following workers was established. In 1997, small and medium business training centre was established. There was marked growth on the federation in the 1990s which continued in the 2000s. In 2004, the federation establish outlet in Daegu and in 2004, it opened an agency office in Wonju, Gangwon-do which brought to seven the number of agency offices national wide. In 2006, the federation changed its name to Korea federation of small and medium business (Kbiz). This is an outline of a brief history of how the federation has evolved since the 1960s to play it's currently role in the economy and in the business world. During its establishment the federation had set vision which was defined by a set of objectives. Kbiz had the vision of becoming a reliable partner of small and medium enterprises in order to realize dreams and goals in their operation. Therefore it was aimed at standing at the centre of the creation of new opportunity and future value offering the necessary support to the SMEs to help them continue with their innovation, and take them through their challenges. In order to achieve this it had a hope model that outlined what the federal is aim at achieving. As revised during changing of its name, the federation was aimed at offering high service to the clients as give valuable services that will help SMes save time and money, development of a open network of fibers value creation network to be achieved through management which upholds the spirit of entrepreneurial spirit and efforts of the SMEs, and offering excellent effort to the SMEs by linking and connecting different people and different businesses. Activities The federation has been involved in a number of activities which are all aimed at helping the working of the SMEs. The federation is involved in SMEs policy development and research. In this regard, the federation host discussions with experts in order to identify problems that are faced by SMEs and therefore come up with recommended policies that can be adopted by the government and other related authorities and also helping the SMEs to pursue other means of achieving these recommendations. The federation carries out researches and provides all statistics and information as regards the operations of SMEs in the country. The federation also has been able to establish and operate innovative SMEs regulation centre which ensure that there is a favorable environment for formation of companies. In this regard it has been able to identify incentives and other areas of alleviation that are necessary for the operation and formation of these businesses. (Kbiz, 2008) The federation has also been active in organizing and development of the SMEs by supporting a collective initiative. Kbiz has been proving support to help the SMEs to corporate and purse growth together. This has helped tem to advance and increase their financial viability which makes them an attractive investment destination for many investors. Kbiz also support necessary collective activity which is based on the spirit of mutual assistance aimed at enabling such activities like the development of technology, collective brand development, and several other activities which many businesses cannot conduct alone. The federation al

STUDENT FREEDOMS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

STUDENT FREEDOMS - Research Paper Example The first amendment of the constitution provided that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances† (The Pocket Constitution: U. S. Constitution – Amendment 1, 1995). It gives the citizen their rights to express themselves and gives them the right of speech. This freedom has been envied by many people all over the world as only a handful of countries allow their citizens such rights. However, one of the main concerns in today’s world is the misuse of the rights given to them. In schools students use this rights to break the school rules stating that it is indeed their constitutional rights to express themselves as they want. The constitution did provide us with the freedom of speech and press, but it is not right to take this freedom and say anything we want anywhere, at anytime. Freedom should be used but in no way should it be mis-used. The freedom of speech should be limited in public school as students need to adhere to the school rules and to maintain social stability, racial harmony and to protect the students from dangerous influences which can hamper their academic growth. Many people who are against banning freedom of expressions in school argues that censorship should not be done as the banning of ideas, thoughts and information in any stream is unconstitutional as the first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the press. History has shown us time and again that man is an animal if not regulated by rules and regulations. If students are given the freedom to do what they want regardless of the school norms and regulations, the society as we know it will be chaotic. Freedom should not be taken for granted and should not be misused. Freedom of expressions should be limited in schools to maintain law and order. It should also be kept in mind that too much freedom for students can be a dangerous thing. Limiting the freedom of expressions in school makes sure that dangerous ideas, ideologies, philosophies and outlook does not disrupt the students. School rules and regulations are also solely motivated by morality and also the belief that exposure to too much negativity in any streams causes students to behave in a destructive ways. Schools have the right to discipline their students if the students behave in a vulgar way which can disrupt the harmony or influence the students in a negative way. One of the famous cases regarding schools right is Frederick v Morse.  Joseph Frederick, who was a senior at Alaska Douglas High school, sued his school for suspending him for 10 days. Joseph Frederick, put up a 14 long chart at an Olympic torch relay in 2002. His banner read â€Å"Bongs hits 4 Jesus† He was suspended by the then high school Principal Deborah Morse for violating t he school policy. The principal stand point was that Joseph Frederick violated the school policy by â€Å"promoting illegal substances at an event sanctioned by the school†Ã‚  (Free Speech Rights of Students: The Issue: When May Administrators in Public Secondary Schools and Colleges Restrict the Speech of Students?, n.d.). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Frederick based on the First Amendment rights. However, Kenneth Starr filed a petition for cert at the Supreme Court. In June 2007, a verdict was announced on the

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) We have now had ten years of the Essay

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) We have now had ten years of the Woolf reforms and experience proves that - Essay Example The exchange of documents must take place beforehand and no evidence can be allowed to be produced at the end of the trial to cause embarrassment to the opponent and leave him bewildered with no instant answer. Apart from this, the new requirement literally results in the trial being conducted twice. Any deficiencies on the part of the disputing parties are liable to be penalized by extra cost for having wasted court’s time and the other party’s time. This development has driven the litigants to seek redress out of court or suffer without their dispute being resolved. For example, as against 350,000 new cases filed in 1990 and 1991 before the Queen’s bench, cases filed after the reforms were 150,000 each year especially after the expansion of jurisdiction for country courts. And now since the year 2002, new claims have dropped to less than 20,000 per year. He says that this is a reflection of litigation being settled by other than legal means. The new CPR has led to judges’ over-involvement in the case management which increases only the litigation cost with ninety percent unsure whether a case would be tried at all.1 Immediate reaction from Judge Charles Harris QC on April 16, 2009 notes that Lawrence’s comments are exaggerated. He points out that the interim report of June 1995 on Access to Justice was concerned with three evils obstructing the way to justice. They were â€Å"delay, complexity and cost†. According to him Woolf reforms have reduced delays by virtue of case management by the judiciary which prevents litigators from prolonging their cases. As for complexity, unlike old Sale of Act 1979, modern day legislations like Consumer Credit Act 2006 are not fully comprehensible to both the lawyers as well the litigants. This complexity had crept in into criminal law and civil procedure as well. Hence, Lord Woolf aimed at simplicity for the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) so that they are easily comprehended by both th e lawyers and litigants. He therefore introduced shorter expressions like â€Å"claimant† â€Å"statement of the case† and â€Å"part 20 defendant†. The rules empower a judge to do what is fair and appropriate. As for its complexity, it has become more complex going by the fact that the CPR prior to 1997 which ran into 3,933 pages is now 5,827 pages which included a supplement and further 287 pages of guidance. As against Lord Woolf’s objective of reducing the multiplicity of practice directions, the opposite has happened. While the fast track rules for straight forward cases run into seven pages, practice directions consist of nine pages. He says that well drafted rules do not require practice directions and they do not make sense to the litigants either. As for access to justice, Judge Charles Harris says that it depends on how quickly and easily proceedings could be commenced. Prior to CPR, it was very simple with a mere letter to the opponent for whic h if there was no reply, straight away case could be filed with a

Using Affirmative Action to Promote Womens Essay Example for Free

Using Affirmative Action to Promote Womens Essay The empowerment of persons who are vulnerable and excluded, promotion of social justice and equity are the main concerns of social policies, and this should transcend all aspects of society, including participation in governance and decision making. Inspite of the pivotal role women in Ghana play within the family, they are invisibly represented in governance and decision making sector of the economy. This is because there is no concrete policy measures in place to ensure that the structural inequality between men and women are taken into account in promoting participation in policy decision. Efforts are being made at various levels to address the marginalization of women in Ghana’s politics and other spheres of life, but this still remains an area of concern. In a country where women constitute about 51 percent, their involvement in development issues and political leadership should be of grave concern, and given due consideration. Affirmative action Policy is therefore viewed as the appropriate instrument to enhance women’s participation in governance and decision making in Ghana. This paper will therefore review women’s participation/empowerment in Ghana; outline various commitments seeking to enhance women’s participation in Ghana; the Affirmative Action Policy and finally look at expected outcomes of the Affirmative Action Policy and how it will enhance women’s participation in Ghana. WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN GHANA Although there is no law in Ghana that prevents women from participating in politics or in areas of Ghana’s economic or social life, women are generally under-represented in politics and in public life. There seems to be no long term strategic framework put in place to address this failure. This has been attributed to a lack of political will and a deficient commitment to gender equality among political parties. Gender advocates have asked that government and its agencies, political parties and relevant public and private institutions should take actions that ensure and assure their active commitment to improving the current situation of women’s low representation in politics and public appointive positions at all levels.

Effects Of Noise In A Data Communication

Effects Of Noise In A Data Communication This report will look into different types of noise that are associated with Unshielded Twisted Pair and Radio Waves. The noise that affects these transmission mediums such as thermal noise, crosstalk, multipath interference, intermodulation noise and impulse noise will be explored and the damages that it can cause to data being transmitted will be explained. I will also discuss the different modulation techniques and technologies that can be used to try and reduce the effect of the noise and reduce the risk of data loss through transmission. Introduction In 1962 Computer Scientist Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider developed ARPANET, which connected 4 computers across America; these computers were located in University of California Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbra and the University of Utah. This network was designed for the purpose of sharing sensitive military data between different locations securely. However the first attempt at sending data over the network was not successful, as the UCLA computer crashed as they attempted to log into the computer at Stanford [1]. The result of these connection problems was the creation of TCP/IP and since then networks have grown in size and data rates and transmission mediums have evolved and new technology has been introduced, Noise has also started to play a part in how networks are built, as specific techniques can be put in place to try and reduce noise. Guided Media In a communication system using guided media, the signal is sent in the form of electromagnetic waves along a physical path. This physical path is what guides the signal, and can come in the form of 4 main media types, Unshielded Twisted Pair; Shielded twisted Pair, Coaxial or Fibre-Optic cables. However each of these mediums has several different standards of cables associated with them. This report will cover Unshielded Twisted Pair and the noise that can affect it. UTP UTP first originated in the 1970s, it consists of 8 insulated copper wires, each of these copper wires has a diameter of 0.4mm to 0.8mm, and these copper wires are twisted together into pairs, so there ends up being 4 pairs of 2 wires, then all 4 pairs are wrapped in a protective plastic sheath. However UTP is susceptible to several different types of noise that can lead to signal impairment and even cause the loss of data. UTP uses Manchester Encoding UTP Noise When a data transmission is received, the received signal is often modified from the original signal that was transmitted; this modification is caused by noise. Noise is defined as additional unwanted signals that are inserted somewhere between transmission and reception [2]. There are 4 different types of noise that will be researched; these are Thermal Noise, Cross talk, and Intermodulation Noise. These sources of noise can be placed into one of two categories, internal noise or external noise. Internal Noise is caused by the used of electrical components found in all communication systems. This internal noise could be produced by changes in current or imperfections on conducting materials. External Noise can be caused by different factors, such as lighting storms, or the use of large electrical machinery. [3] Thermal Noise Thermal Noise also known as Johnston or white noise was first observed in 1926 by John B. Johnston in Bell Labs. Thermal Noise is caused by electrons that become agitated at any temperature above 0, at this stage they begin to move in random patterns and bounce off other electrons, however in theory it could be stopped completely if all the components were kept at a temperature of absolute zero which is 0 Kelvin or -273.15 °C as this would mean that all the electrons would move at their slowest meaning thermal noise would be as good as eliminated, however to try and achieve absolute zero and maintain it would be extremely difficult . [4] Thermal noise is found across all the bandwidths typically used in a communication system and currently there is no practical way to completely eliminate it, however you can use different types of modulation to lower the frequency of the signal which in turn will lower the thermal noise, so for example if you had an Ethernet system and used PAM-5 modulation which has a frequency of 125MHz and this would give you a thermal noise value of 4.801510-13 WHz-1 at room temperature, where as if MLT-3 was used, you would end up with a thermal value of 1.20037510-13WHz-1 under the same temperature conditions. [5] To work this out the equation Pn= k . T. Δ f was used, where k is Boltzmans constant, T is the temperature plus 273, in this case 18 degrees plus 273 which ends up as 291 for T, and Δ f is the frequency of 125106 Hz for PAM-5 and 31.25106 Hz for MLT-3. Cross Talk Cross talk is caused by the coupling of the copper cables magnetic and electric fields, which causes some of the signal to become lost or distorted. There are two main types of cross talk, NeXT (Near End Cross Talk) and FeXT (Far End Cross Talk), NeXT is when the coupling of magnetic and electric fields occurs near the source of the signal and FeXT is when it occurs near the receiver end. To try and prevent cross talk in UTP cables, the copper cables are twisted into pairs, the number of twists per foot/meter is defined as the twist ratio, so a cable with a higher twist ratio will be more efficient eliminating cross talk, as the twisting of the copper wires makes it harder for the coupling of cables as the loop area between the wires is reduced. However if you have a cable with a high twist ratio that means that you will be using more copper cable and the signal will have to travel a further distance to the receiver, meaning attenuation could become a factor. [6] Intermodulation Noise Intermodulation noise may be present in any communications system that sends signals at different frequencies across the same medium. Intermodulation noise produces signals that are the difference, sum or multiple of the two original frequencies. Intermodulation noise is caused by the transmission medium, transmitter and receiver not being linear systems, meaning that instead of the output matching the input, the output is different from the input. It can be caused by signal strength being too excessive for the device to handle or a problem with one of the components. An example of intermodulation Noise would be if there were two signals, 10Hz and 15Hz sharing the same transmission medium and there was intermodulation noise present, these two signals could become one signal at 35Hz. This would mean that not only have the two original signals been disrupted it could potentially disrupt a third signal if there was another 35Hz signal sent out on the medium. To overcome intermodulation noise, you can use Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing, which is explained more in the multipath interference section under unguided media. [2] Unguided Media When using Unguided Media in a communications system, the signal is sent through the air via an antenna in the form of electromagnetic waves, these waves have no specific path to follow. Unguided media used for several different communications systems like wireless, Bluetooth, infrared and satellite. Each of these systems use different types of unguided media for example satellite uses microwaves, but this report will focus on wireless and the noise that can affect the radio waves wireless uses. Wireless The first radio waves were sent by Guglielmo Marconi in Italy in 1895 and in 1899 he sent the first wireless radio signal across the English Channel [7]. Wireless works by an Omni directional antenna sending out a broadcast of radio waves, these radio waves are sent at a specific frequency depending on which standard they comply to, for example if the standard being used is 802.11n then they will be sent at 2.4GHz or 5GHz. Wireless Noise Wireless can be affected by many different things. This is because radio waves travel through air meaning it can be affected by different types of weather, like rain or snow causing scattering, or obstacles such as trees or buildings causing reflections. However it can also be affected by other devices transmitting at the same frequency causing signal loss. Multi Path Interference Multi Path interference is where a receiver receives multiple copies of the same signal, at delayed times, this mainly affects radio, as satellite or microwaves generally are line of sight so there would be no obstacles present for reflection to take place. However with radio waves it is caused by the antenna sending out broadcast signals, and these signals are then reflected between obstacles, and if these reflections arrive at the receiver it means that it will end up with several different copies of the same signal arriving at varying times, and depending on the different path lengths of the original direct signal and the reflected signals it could create a larger or smaller signal that is eventually received. Multipath Interference can cause a number of problems like data corruption, which occurs if there receiver picks up multiple different reflected signals and is unable to determine the transmission information, it can also cause signal nulling, where the reflected signals are received exactly out of phase with the original signal causing the original signal to be cancelled out. Not only can it cause data loss it can change the amplitude of the signal up or down, so if the reflected signals arrive out of phase with the original signal it will cause a drop in the signal amplitude but if they arrive in phase with the main signal the amplitude will increase. To try and reduce multipath interference a diversity solution can be used. This works by using two antennas with the same gain, that are separated from one another but within the range of the same transmitter, this means that one of the antenna receive most of the multipath interference allowing the other antenna to receive a normal signal. [8] Another way to reduce Multi Path Interference is to modulate the signal with Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing, OFDM works by splitting the signal up into 48 subcarrier signals. These 48 channels each carry a different portion of the data being sent and transmit them in parallel channels. [9] These subcarrier signals are modulated with BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM or 64 QAM, and they have a convolution code rate of  ½, 2/3 or  ¾. The data rate of the signals is determined by the modulation used and the convolution code rate. Also there is 0.3125MHz frequency spacing between each of the subcarriers. [10] [11] OFDM also has a guard interval which means that any data arriving at the receiver will only be sampled once the signal has become stable and no more reflected signals are picked up that would cause changes to the phase or timing of the signal. Also because each subcarrier is on a different frequency any interference caused by reflected signals only affects a small percentage of the subcarriers meaning that the rest are received correctly. [9] Impulse Noise Impulse Noise is an unpredictable problem. It consists of short spikes of high amplitude or short irregular pulses, these spikes and pulses are generated from a variety of different unpredictable causes usually however they relate to some sort of electromagnetic instability for example a lighting storm or any faults present in the communications devices. Impulse noise generally affects digital signals worse than it does analogue signals, for example if voice data was sent as an analogue signal and there was occurrences of impulse noise, the voice data would still be understandable as the impulse noise would create short crackles in the data, however with a digital signal the result of impulse noise could mean that all the bits sent through the duration of the impulse noise could be lost, it can however be recovered by sampling the received digital waveform once per bit time, but it can still result in a few bits being in error. As impulse noise is unpredictable, there is no way to el iminate it, however to reduce the effects of it, Coded OFDM can be used, this is very similar to OFDM, in the way that it splits the signal into multiple subcarriers, however Coded OFDM also has forward error correction that is included with the data. Because this error correction is included with the data it means that any data lost by impulse noise can be corrected at the receiver. [12] Conclusion After researching different types of noise and how it effects data communications, it became clear that it is a factor present in all systems and cannot be completely eradicated, as it can be caused by several different external sources made my man and internal sources caused by the data communication equipment. However, different strategies, techniques and error correction systems have enabled us to limit the effect that noise can have on a system and this has enabled technology to advance, meaning the chance of losing any crucial data due to the effects of noise is sufficiently lower now that what it was years ago. Reflection Throughout this report I have gained a better grasp of different aspects of data communications, for example, noise is present in all systems as any electronic device creates noise through the movement of electrons, imperfections in conductive surfaces and fluctuations of current. I also increased my knowledge of different types of modulation, and how they work regarding changing the frequencies or sending additional data to help with error correction. I have also gained knowledge on how noise can be caused by different types of weather and how they can affect the electromagnetic field and cause detrimental effects on data communication systems. Not only did this report help me gain more knowledge on data communications, it also increased my knowledge on different aspects of physics, and how closely the two subjects are connected. I feel I completed this report to a reasonably high standard and found plenty of information available on the subject, however understanding this information was more difficult than expected as maths features highly in several of the sources I found, however this did not put me off, it simply lead me to try and comprehend the more complex maths side of the topic. Once I had completed the report I had to try and remove some parts as I had overshot the word count, this proved difficult as I felt I would be missing parts out if I removed some. Overall I would say I learned a great deal more about the complexity of noise and data communication systems.

Esthers Liberation in Sylvia Plaths Bell Jar :: Plath Bell Jar Essays

Esther's Liberation in The Bell Jar      Ã‚   On the surface The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a loosely based autobiographical account of a young woman's search for identity that is eventually found through mental breakdown. Because Esther Greenwood's aspirations are smothered by traditional female roles, she must find herself through purging her mind of these restraints.    Upon closer inspection, Esther plight is representative of her contemporaries and even of many women today who "over and over...(have) heard in voices of tradition and of Freudian sophistication that they could desire no greater destiny than to glory in their own femininity" (Friedan, 461). It is with this notion that Esther and others like her wrestled with: "if a woman had a problem in the 1950's and 1960's she knew that something must be wrong with her marriage, or with herself" (464). This was coined the "housewife's syndrome" by a Cleveland doctor who first noticed this trend among young housewives. But for those like Esther- young, single, and educated- the problem is that society does not readily give them any more career options other than wife/mother or secretary. Because of this, the Women's Liberation movement begins, but only after Esther and her peers become Liberated Women.    The road to liberation is bumpy and sparked with electroshock treatments for Esther and others like her. Therapy is prevalent, whether it is weekly trips to a psychologist or lengthy stays in a mental institution. The end result of the treatment for many is a feeling of independence. As one woman states,    "It helped me develop a sense of self-worth and come to the understanding that I wasn't a bad person or worthless. My experience in therapy helped me have a better image of myself and I even started to look better and dress in a more attractive way. In short, I had more confidence in myself" (Susan, 489).    For Esther, leaving therapy is like being born again (199). She is now truly a free woman, after all.    Before Esther is liberated, however, she denounces her oppressors, Buddy Willard and her mother. Both are representatives of the male controlled society: Mrs. Greenwood of stifling women's aspirations and keeping women in their traditional roles, and Buddy of sexual purity.

African American Response to Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe :: Uncle Toms Cabin Essays

African American Response to Uncle Tom's Cabin       Many African American 19th Century critics saw Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as a ray of hope and a means out of oppression. Critics praised the dialogue, the interjected sentimental stories, as well as the characterization. In fact, many considered the novel to be a gift from God. Uncle Tom's Cabin was the only popularized writing at the time that touched upon slavery as negative. The novel was popular in general but more importantly to African Americans. However, the response to the book was limited considering the scarcity of African American newspapers and writers. Much of the African American population at the time was held down by slavery, illiteracy, and/or a lack of places to publish.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the few venues for African American reaction was Frederick Douglass' Paper. William G. Allen, a free black teacher, comments on a particular scene of dialogue in Uncle Tom's Cabin in his letter to this publication: "The religious conversation between the slave-tenders . . . is a capital thing . . . . How it tells upon the miserable spittle-licking religionists of the present day, who, as Tom Stoker has it, are running up a bill all their lives with the devil, calculating to sneak out when pay time comes" (Allen). This discussion between Tom Stoker, Mr. Marks, and Mr. Haley is about whether the slave trade is a Christian business. Mr Haley says, "I b'lieve in religion, and one of these days, when I've got matters tight and snug, I calculates to tend to my soul and them ar matters; and so what's the use of doin' any more wickedness than 's re'lly necessary?--it don't seem to me it's 't all prudent" (Stowe 57). Tom Stoker replies that Mr. Haley is just trying to do evil things all his life with slavery, only to sneak out in the end and go to heaven. William G. Allen, in reference to this scene, commends Stowe's comparison and the relationship between Christianity and slavery.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Allen also praises the touching story of the Quadroon girl in Volume II, Chapter XXXIV. He writes, "The story of the Quadroon girl . . . exceeds anything that I have ever read, in all that is soul-searching and thrilling" (Allen). In the story of Cassy, the Quadroon girl, she helps nurse Uncle Tom back to health after having been beaten and tells him that there is no God. African American Response to Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe :: Uncle Tom's Cabin Essays African American Response to Uncle Tom's Cabin       Many African American 19th Century critics saw Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as a ray of hope and a means out of oppression. Critics praised the dialogue, the interjected sentimental stories, as well as the characterization. In fact, many considered the novel to be a gift from God. Uncle Tom's Cabin was the only popularized writing at the time that touched upon slavery as negative. The novel was popular in general but more importantly to African Americans. However, the response to the book was limited considering the scarcity of African American newspapers and writers. Much of the African American population at the time was held down by slavery, illiteracy, and/or a lack of places to publish.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the few venues for African American reaction was Frederick Douglass' Paper. William G. Allen, a free black teacher, comments on a particular scene of dialogue in Uncle Tom's Cabin in his letter to this publication: "The religious conversation between the slave-tenders . . . is a capital thing . . . . How it tells upon the miserable spittle-licking religionists of the present day, who, as Tom Stoker has it, are running up a bill all their lives with the devil, calculating to sneak out when pay time comes" (Allen). This discussion between Tom Stoker, Mr. Marks, and Mr. Haley is about whether the slave trade is a Christian business. Mr Haley says, "I b'lieve in religion, and one of these days, when I've got matters tight and snug, I calculates to tend to my soul and them ar matters; and so what's the use of doin' any more wickedness than 's re'lly necessary?--it don't seem to me it's 't all prudent" (Stowe 57). Tom Stoker replies that Mr. Haley is just trying to do evil things all his life with slavery, only to sneak out in the end and go to heaven. William G. Allen, in reference to this scene, commends Stowe's comparison and the relationship between Christianity and slavery.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Allen also praises the touching story of the Quadroon girl in Volume II, Chapter XXXIV. He writes, "The story of the Quadroon girl . . . exceeds anything that I have ever read, in all that is soul-searching and thrilling" (Allen). In the story of Cassy, the Quadroon girl, she helps nurse Uncle Tom back to health after having been beaten and tells him that there is no God.

The Fourth Amendment Essay -- essays research papers

Article VI The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.† –U.S. Constitutional Amendments Preface I choose the fourth amendment for two reasons: - It recognizes a right that, inevitably, cannot be taken away from a person. - It was not written out of spite, but out of experience. I personally feel like this is an issue that, had there not been a provision in the Constitution, would have created some serious issues with the colonists. The Fourth Amendment also almost gives the idea that there should be no problem with a person leaving his/her door unlocked, for the fellow citizens should honor the space of one another. History The Fourth Amendment came almost directly from experience of the colonials. But it wasn’t introduced only as a fundamental right, but also as a major part of the English ideals as well. In England, ''Everyman's house is his castle'' was an honored phrase, enforcing the idea that it is not only is it a law, but a right that cannot be delegated by any government idea. There are two major cases where this idea was tried. Semayne’s Case and Entick v. Carrington. Semayne's Case Accused of denying access to officials, Semayne exercised the right of a homeowner to defend his ...

Ece 201

0Behavioral Support Plans Behavioral Support Plans ECE 201 Debra Lawrence Jan. 14, 2013 Behavior management plays an important role in early childhood education. Behavior management is important in early childhood education setting in order to develop and/or maintain some sort of order in the classroom. However, the most important reason to have behavior management and/or rules in the early childhood education setting is the safety of the students and yourself as well.A child’s behavior not only frustrates their teacher but their parents as well. That’s when behavior management steps in because the teacher or parent has to find a way to manage the child’s behavior. Communication between home and school keeps the focus on what the child needs in order to be successful in life. When dealing with behavior management with a troubled child you have to be consistent.In this paper I will describe the purpose of behavior management in early childhood education setting, d iscuss three strategies teachers may use to determine the function of challenging behaviors and design an individual support plan for each of the challenging behaviors, and summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan. The purpose of the behavior management system is to provide teachers with a plan to keep order in their classrooms.Discipline, communication skills, and social skills are basis of an effective management system. An effective behavior management system provides an organized learning environment for students and reduces stress and burnout among teachers. Working with kids you have to keep a positive mind at all times. You can never take your mind off your students and teaching at no times. Behavior management provides children with assistance and tools they need in order to learn how to appropriately behave at home and in a classroom setting.Behavior management is there for the purpose of assisting children display proper beh aviors that is needed in learning environment. Teachers do this by teaching children appropriate behaviors and social behaviors that are expected and acceptable, children will learn these behaviors and exercise them at home and school. Behavior management include all of the actions and conscious inactions to enhance the probability people, individually and in groups, choose behaviors which are personally fulfilling, productive, and socially acceptable (Wikipedia. org).The overall purpose of behavior management is to assist young children in displaying behaviors that are conducive to learning and to teach social behaviors that are appropriate for home and school settings. Positive behavior training starts at home. If you began to train your kids at home from right and wrong then it affectively takes place at school. Sometimes it doesn’t always happen like that but if you let your children know that there will be repercussion then it will not be as bad. Developing strong behavi or management skills in classroom skills is very important to bring forth to prevent burnout in the classroom.Most of the time student misconduct and teacher frustration with behavior issues often lead to work stress, job dissatisfaction, and loss of teachers as well as behavior problems with the students. Having behavior management in a classroom can keep teachers and their students on the same page. Behavior management has a huge impact on students along with their achievements and their will to learn. When a student has challenging behavior, it is the teacher’s role to help execute strategies to change and improve that behavior.Teachers should conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA) as a first step in trying to understand why a student may be engaging in challenging behaviors. A FBA enables you to figure out the functions or purposes of the challenging behavior and to identify events in the environment that trigger and maintain it (Kaiser & Raminsky, 2012). Three st rategies that teachers may use to determine the functions of challenging by is providing. A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors.Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior. Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: The A-B-C paradigm of behavior analysis can be very useful in determining behaviors that need to be modified in young children. A- Is the conditions of stimulus before the behavior occurs, also known as the antecedent. B- is the behavior or response to the stimulus. C- is the result for the behavior.Together A-B-C forms an approach to behavior management called A-B-A which stands for applied behavior analysis. A-B-A focuses on changing/modifying behaviors that are operationally defined and observable. Behaviors are form ed through manipulation of the environmental factors. They can be changed by altering the environment. They can also be changed by altering the response to the behavior. The antecedent sets the stage for a specific response to occur, while the consequence changes the probablility that the behavior will increase and/or decrease in the future. Alberto and Troutman, 1999). A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors. Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior (Walker,1995). Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and define it in observable terms.It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describ ing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific 1. Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and 2. define it in observable terms. It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific. 3. Select and describe settings for observation. You should observe the behavior(s) in two or 4. three settings.The first setting is where the behavior first became a problem, one that is similar, and one that is quite different. Followed by where the behavior starts back up. Doing this will determine what is causing the problem behavior(s). You should always consider the environmental demands and/or the teacher’s expectations in each setting. This information could help provide an intervention plan for the child. (http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 3) Select the observation type, two types of observation are qualitative and quantitative.Qualitative, is descriptive in nature. The observer begins with ideas about what will be observed and describes the behavior(s) that appears important. Quantitative, can be done only when the observer is watching what is happening. 4) Develop data collection procedures, can be collected using several different techniques. Documenting the frequency of the behavior(s) is important, the duration of the behavior(s), and the intensity of the behavior(s). If the behavior is not frequent a good solution might be event recording. Using a tally sheet helps to observe the child’s behavior continuously.Time interval is useful if the behavior(s) is done during a specific observation period. 5) Analyze the learning environment as it impacts child behavior(s), careful analysis of the physical environment can unveil information that is necessary to understand the underlying cause of a child’s behavior(s). 6) Interview o thers, a detailed interview allows individuals who have contact with the child the opportunity to review information about the child in more detail. These individuals can include nurses, other teachers, parents, siblings, and/or friends. ) Hypothesis of the behavior(s) function, the information gathered through child observation and/or interviewing others will be examined in this step to determine possible functions for the identified problem behavior(s). The function of the behavior(s) could be to obtain a desired outcome or to allow the child to avoid an undesirable outcome. http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 8) Develop a behavioral intervention plan, from the data gathered through observation, a clear description of the problem behavior(s) and perhaps patterns of the behavior(s) will form the basis for a plan. ttp://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 Positive behavioral support (PBS) help s understand and resolves a behavioral problem that a child might be having that is based on values and research. It offers an approach to develop an understanding of why the child engages in problem behavior and strategies to prevent the occurrence of problem behavior while teaching the child new skills. Positive behavior support offers a holistic approach that considers all factors that have an impact on a child and the child’s behavior.It can be used to address problem behaviors that range from aggression, tantrums, and property destruction to social withdrawal (challengingbehavior. org). To successfully implement positive behavior supports {PBS), it is essential that each of the of the following six steps is followed in the designated order: Building a Behavior Support Team; Person-Centered Planning; Functional Behavioral Assessment; Hypothesis Development; Behavior Support Plan Development; and Monitoring Outcomes.Building a Behavior Support Team is getting the parents, teachers and others together to that mostly is involved with the child the most. Person-Centered Planning is responsible for bring everyone together for the best interest of the child. Functional Behavioral Assessment is involving collecting data and observing the behavior. Hypothesis Development is what is known that triggers the said behavior. Behavior Support Plan Development is to summarize the data gathered from the functional assessment process and come up with a plan.Monitoring Outcomes are monitoring the effectiveness of the behavior support plan. Monitoring includes measurement the changes of the problem behavior and the achievements and outcome. Summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan (challengingbehavior. org). Teachers have big responsibilities in taking part in making the Behavior Plan successful. The teacher is the one who has to follow through and implement the plan and make it consistently every day. It is the teacher who has to push forward even when it appears things isn’t going as planned. The