Biometrics

Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice. Biometric data are separate and distinct from personal information. Biometric templates cannot be reverse- engineered to recreate personal information and they cannot be stolen and used to access personal information. Using a unique, physical attribute of your body, such as your fingerprint or iris, to effortlessly identify and verify that you are who you claim to e, is the best and easiest solution in the market today.That is the simple truth and power of Biometrics Technology today. Although biometric technology has been around for many years, modern advances in this emerging technology, coupled with big reductions in cost, now make biometrics readily available and affordable to consumers, small business owner, larger corporations and public sector agencies alik e. How Does a Fingerprint Optical Scanner Work? A fingerprint scanner system has two basic Jobs it needs to get an image of your inger, and it needs to determine whether the pattern of ridges and valleys in this image matches the pattern of ridges and valleys in pre-scanned images.Only specific characteristics, which are unique to every fingerprint, are filtered and saved as an encrypted biometric key or mathematical representation. No image of a fingerprint is ever saved, only a series of numbers (a binary code), which is used for verification. The algorithm cannot be reconverted to an image, so no one can duplicate your fingerprints. Employees Privacy and Cleanliness Concerns? It is important to note that Easy Clockings biometric time clocks do not actually collect and store fingerprints.Instead, it saves a mathematical representation of the employee's biometric data. When the biometric time clock scans a hand or finger during a supervised enrollment process, only an encrypted mat hematical representation of the fingerprint is stored. As a result, it's virtually impossible to duplicate the original image from that mathematical representation. Additionally, if employees question cleanliness, this concern should not be dismissed. Instead, you should assure employees that the time clocks finger zone is not a hot zone for germs.In fact, it will be touched far less frequently than restroom door handles, water cooler spigots, or chairs in the break room. Top Advantages of Fingerprint Authentication There are several ways an electronic time clock system can verity that somebody is who they say they are. Most systems are looking for one or more of the following: What you have What you know Who you are To get past a â€Å"what you have† system, you need some sort of â€Å"token,† such as an dentity card with a magnetic strip.A â€Å"what you know† system requires you to enter a password or PIN number. A â€Å"who you are† system is actually looking for physical evidence that you are who you say you are a specific fingerprint pattern. â€Å"Who you are† systems like Easy Clocking Fingerprint Time Clocks have a number of advantages over other systems. To name few: Fingerprints are much harder to fake than identity cards. You cant guess a fingerprint pattern like you can guess a password. You can't misplace your fingerprint, like you can misplace an access card. You can't forget your fingerprints like you can forget a password. Conclusion on Biometric & Workforce Management Biometrics has been used effectively for more than a decade for time and attendance and workforce management. Despite widespread use, confusion and misconceptions about the technology and its capabilities persist.These concerns are easily dispelled when the facts about biometrics are established. Biometrics offers unparalleled ability to quickly and accurately capture real-time, labor data and provide a nonrepudiated audit trail. Biometrics has undergone intense scrutiny and the results are in – when properly deployed, biometrics work well and are safe, secure, and accurate. Biometrics offers organizations a broader range of direct and indirect time, cost, and operational benefits than alternative time and attendance methods. Today over one hundred thousand thriving organizations rely on Easy Clockings time & attendance systems to automate their employee attendance and as a result they are seeing a significant reduction in direct and indirect labor costs. Biometrics Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice. Biometric data are separate and distinct from personal information. Biometric templates cannot be reverse- engineered to recreate personal information and they cannot be stolen and used to access personal information. Using a unique, physical attribute of your body, such as your fingerprint or iris, to effortlessly identify and verify that you are who you claim to e, is the best and easiest solution in the market today.That is the simple truth and power of Biometrics Technology today. Although biometric technology has been around for many years, modern advances in this emerging technology, coupled with big reductions in cost, now make biometrics readily available and affordable to consumers, small business owner, larger corporations and public sector agencies alik e. How Does a Fingerprint Optical Scanner Work? A fingerprint scanner system has two basic Jobs it needs to get an image of your inger, and it needs to determine whether the pattern of ridges and valleys in this image matches the pattern of ridges and valleys in pre-scanned images.Only specific characteristics, which are unique to every fingerprint, are filtered and saved as an encrypted biometric key or mathematical representation. No image of a fingerprint is ever saved, only a series of numbers (a binary code), which is used for verification. The algorithm cannot be reconverted to an image, so no one can duplicate your fingerprints. Employees Privacy and Cleanliness Concerns? It is important to note that Easy Clockings biometric time clocks do not actually collect and store fingerprints.Instead, it saves a mathematical representation of the employee's biometric data. When the biometric time clock scans a hand or finger during a supervised enrollment process, only an encrypted mat hematical representation of the fingerprint is stored. As a result, it's virtually impossible to duplicate the original image from that mathematical representation. Additionally, if employees question cleanliness, this concern should not be dismissed. Instead, you should assure employees that the time clocks finger zone is not a hot zone for germs.In fact, it will be touched far less frequently than restroom door handles, water cooler spigots, or chairs in the break room. Top Advantages of Fingerprint Authentication There are several ways an electronic time clock system can verity that somebody is who they say they are. Most systems are looking for one or more of the following: What you have What you know Who you are To get past a â€Å"what you have† system, you need some sort of â€Å"token,† such as an dentity card with a magnetic strip.A â€Å"what you know† system requires you to enter a password or PIN number. A â€Å"who you are† system is actually looking for physical evidence that you are who you say you are a specific fingerprint pattern. â€Å"Who you are† systems like Easy Clocking Fingerprint Time Clocks have a number of advantages over other systems. To name few: Fingerprints are much harder to fake than identity cards. You cant guess a fingerprint pattern like you can guess a password. You can't misplace your fingerprint, like you can misplace an access card. You can't forget your fingerprints like you can forget a password. Conclusion on Biometric & Workforce Management Biometrics has been used effectively for more than a decade for time and attendance and workforce management. Despite widespread use, confusion and misconceptions about the technology and its capabilities persist.These concerns are easily dispelled when the facts about biometrics are established. Biometrics offers unparalleled ability to quickly and accurately capture real-time, labor data and provide a nonrepudiated audit trail. Biometrics has undergone intense scrutiny and the results are in – when properly deployed, biometrics work well and are safe, secure, and accurate. Biometrics offers organizations a broader range of direct and indirect time, cost, and operational benefits than alternative time and attendance methods. Today over one hundred thousand thriving organizations rely on Easy Clockings time & attendance systems to automate their employee attendance and as a result they are seeing a significant reduction in direct and indirect labor costs.

Leadership and Management Concepts for Health Professionals Essay

In this essay, leadership will be defined and analysed. A detailed leader profile from my workplace will be developed and described using transformational theory, as this is the most adequate theory to describe the performance, effectiveness and styles used by the leader to achieve the objectives and goals in my workplace. Moreover, the nature of the leader’s role and achievement utilising the theory will be analysed. In addition, transformational theory will be defined and analysed based on different explanations. Leadership is one of the most essential criteria of the nurse manager. It is the process of interaction between the leader and the other staff, influencing them toward workplace goals achievement (Yukl, 1998). Leadership is the ability to provide direction toward preferred future aspirations and aligns the followers toward goals achievement (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2004). Moreover, leadership is viewed as a dynamic interactive process that involves various dimensions, including planning, organising, directing and controlling. The activities of an organised group can be influenced by a process in which the efforts to achieve the goals and tasks are managed by leadership (Roussel, Russell & Swansburg, 2006). Leadership is also defined as inducing individuals or a group to take an action in accordance with the purpose of the leader. Moreover, Roussel, Russell and Swansburg (2006) correctly pointed out that leadership can be explained as a group of individuals who have been inspired by a person to work together toward achieving common goals and missions using appropriate means. A crowd can be transformed into a functioning and useful organisation, and this is a vital component of leadership. Leadership can be formal or informal. As Sullivan and Decker (2004) explain, it can be formal when a nurse manager demonstrates power and authority within a framework of legal approval by the organisation. Leadership can be informal when utilised by a staff member who does not have effective leadership skills, ideas and roles to promote the performance of the work outcomes. Leader’s Profile Mrs. Zahra is a nursing officer who has been working since 1996 in charge of a department in the Armed Forces Hospital, Sultanate of Oman. She is known to everybody in the department and all around the hospital as a friendly person who is intelligent, hardworking, and motivational, a good communicator and a person with a strong personality that inspires others to follow her. In addition, Mrs. Zahra has problem solving skills and extensive experience and knowledge in her speciality as well as in leadership and management. Further, she is a member of the Quality Assurance and Staff Development Committees. As she is in charge of the operating theatres department, she manages the planning and coordination of the operating rooms scheduling system. Moreover, she adjusts the staffing assignments of nursing and ancillary personnel to provide adequate room coverage. Motivation, direction, controlling and evaluation of the staff performance are some of the leader’s responsibilities. Transformational Leadership Transformational theory is the most appropriate theory to describe my leader’s role, nature and achievements. Transformational leadership focuses on how the followers can be motivated, guided and directed to achieve the goals of the work by the leaders (Sullivan & Decker, 2005). Sullivan and Decker (2005) emphasise that generating employees’ commitment to the vision is the goal of transformational leadership. According to Kelly-Heidenthal (2004), ‘transformational leadership is based on the idea of empowering others to engage in pursuing a collective purpose by working together to achieve a vision of a preferred future’. The work of Roussel, Russell and Swansburg (2006) reveals that there are four components of effective and dynamic transformational leadership: management of trust, attention, self and meaning. In management of trust and reliability, decisions based on fairness, honesty and equity that have been made by the transformational leaders will be respected, followed and executed by the nurses. A transformational leader’s judgment is usually consistent and sound. Having vision, goals or a sense of outcomes will lead to achieving the management of attention. Any health care organisation will be defined by how it serves the community and where it is headed in order to achieve its vision statement. Vision means the credible, attractive and realistic future stated for the organisation. Knowing the skills of the staff and how to utilise them effectively is defining the meaning of self. Leaders develop their leadership skills through continuing their education in leadership and management skills so that the burnout and stress facing them will be reduced and controlled. In management of meaning, leaders must inspire commitment in staff by communicating their vision and creating a standardised culture among the staff by using group discussions, meetings, agreements and consensus building in which individual innovation and creativity are well supported. The goals and objectives that are consistent with the vision must be related with the rewards and appraisals for the staff. Moreover, Roussel and Russell (2009) have made clear that in transformational leadership, the achievement of goals that benefits the organisation and the personnel themselves is achieved by empowering the personnel to have a vision about the organisation and to trust the leaders. Transformational leadership can be practiced in hospitals and emergency rooms, as they are unstable and rapidly changing environments. Therefore, leaders in this atmosphere will acknowledge uncertainty, be flexible, motivate, and consider the employees’ values and needs (Roussel & Russell, 2009). In transformational leadership, leaders empower and motivate the staff by involving them in decision-making, which inspires them to be a part of the vision and makes them feel that they are part of the team contributing to the success of the organisation. Leaders inspire the staff by rewarding them for the quality and excellence of the work carried out. As a result, leaders will have staff who demonstrate high quality performance, commitment and job satisfaction Roussel & Russell, 2009). Kelly-Heidenthal (2004) has pointed out that the empowerment and inspiration of the staff leads to high performance and commitment to the organisation through a good relationship between the leaders and the staff. In general, there are certain common characteristics that transformational leaders should have. These are the ability to: instil a sense of capability in staff; offer vision; inspire trust; perform all tasks on time; take risks; manage and take action appropriately during times of crises; and communicate effectively. In the context of a transformational leadership framework, Mrs.  Zahra treats all staff in a friendly way, equally and with perfect communication skills acceptable to all of them. This leads to building a trusting relationship between her and the staff. In addition, the leader involves all the staff in the organisation’s vision and treats each staff member as a part of it. As a result, the self-confidence of the staff is gained and restored. The leader is concerned about the values and needs of her staff as she routinely holds individual meetings with each staff member in her office, asking each one of them about their feelings, needs and problems and tries to address them. Further, she shares many responsibilities and power with the staff; therefore, the staff feel responsible to work harder and more effectively. This causes all staff to be more motivated and work hard to accomplish the goals and tasks of the organisation. The leader holds general meetings with all staff frequently sharing with them decision-making, work strategies and any other new ideas from the staff. Consequently, all staff are inspired to be a part of the team, working hard and effectively for the vision of the organisation. The leader inspires the staff by being a model of a hard working, responsible and motivational person. In doing so, she motivates and stimulates staff performance and commitment to achieve the goals of the organisation. As Mrs. Zahra is a trustworthy and reliable leader. All staff follow her decisions with a sense that she is doing the best for the achievement of the organisation’s tasks. She directs, guides and controls all operating theatres scheduling systems. She delegates and allocates staff to fulfil various functions as a motivation process, which increases the trusting relationship between her and the staff. This leads to increased staff commitment, goals’ achievement and job satisfaction. The leader develops staff knowledge and experience in collaboration with the staff development department by involving them in ongoing job training programs in the Armed Forces Hospital or by sending them for short courses in Oman or nearby countries. Thus, staff will be more knowledgeable, educated, and more capable to carry out the work and tasks effectively and on time. As an example of the leader’s motivation of the staff, she has assigned a monthly reward for one of the staff members who works hard and effectively with high performance. This creates competition amongst the staff to work harder with a high level of performance and commitment to achieve the goals of the organisation. Moreover, this process demonstrates the meaning of inspiration skills and how to motivate the staff positively within the organisation. After all, the organisation’s performance and productivity in general will be increased and delivered with high quality standards. Conclusion Leadership is one of the most important skills in nurse managers. It is a process of interaction between the leader and the staff, influencing them positively toward achieving the goals and tasks of the organisation. Transformational leadership is very effective and is commonly used in hospitals. It is based on ideas of empowering, inspiring and motivating the staff toward working together to achieve the organisation’s goals and vision. A transformational leader who acts as a role model can influence the staff and make them accountable for their own practice, work achievement and staff development (McNaron, 2009, pp. 89-560). Moreover, high levels of competency can be gained by using transformational leadership skills and the quality of patient care outcomes will be improved as a result. Staff development, commitment and job satisfaction can be improved by using transformational leadership skills. These are motivation, inspiration, empowerment, building a trusting relationship between the leader and the staff, sharing power and decision-making and rewarding staff for quality and excellence of job achievement. My leader’s profile has been discussed in detail. As well as her nature, goals and achievements, using transformational leadership theory has been recognised with many similarities between them. She applied transformational leadership skills very effectively and utilised them toward the improvement of staff and the organisation’s productivity in general. I enjoyed working in the operating theatres department with Mrs. Zahra’s leadership and I hope that I will continue working with her for many years to come. I wish the best for my leader and for her to continue in her current leadership style.

Audiovisual critical theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Audiovisual critical theory - Essay Example He has developed the modern society and in it he has replaced the authentic social life with his interpretation of representation. He has thus, written about the traced of this modern society. He also argued through his book that the social life history should be understood by the â€Å"decline of being into having, and having into appearing†. This is the history where the commodity is finally recognized as colonization of the modern social life. This is the overall idea of the degrading of the human life. Debord has used the term spectacle in his title which is also closely related to the confluence in the society of advance capitalism. The word has been specifically used in the sense to describe the mass media and the kinds of governments who have favored the phenomenon. In his book that followed Comments on the Society of the Spectacle, Debord mentioned the spectacle as the period coming to the existence in the 1920s. He introduced this period as the coming to the existence in which the modern techniques of advertising were introduced, more innovative techniques and ideas were initiated to being used in which the campaign of Edward Bernays for the industry of tobacco was keenly highlighted (Debord,  1998, p. 87). The spectacle is thus described as the image of the modern society where the relations between the commodities have taken place by the relations of the people amongst themselves. This society is the one in which the genuine activity is seen and identified with the spectacles. But the spectacle is not merely taken to be the collection of images; it is rather the relation of the people amongst each other which is reflected by the images. Throughout his analysis of the spectacle society, the writer has regarded that the quality of life is getting poorer. He highlights some of the major points that can be influenced in these aspects such as the lacking in authenticity, the effects on the human perceptions,

Where the Wild Things Are Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Where the Wild Things Are - Essay Example The book was not widely received at first. In fact, some libraries have banned it. Two years after its publication, though, the teachers noticed that the children love it, and decided to relax their views about the book. What makes the book controversial, or at least not well-received, is the subject of the book itself. The plot of the story centers on a little boy named Max. The first line (sentence) of the story goes, â€Å"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another†. Because of this, Max’s mother got mad at Max and sent him to his room without supper. Max got mad and made his tent, chases his pet dog with a fork, etc. Anyway, he stays in his room and his room starts to change into a different world, a forest. Then a boat comes and he sailed (for more than a year) and to foreign places where it was inhabited by â€Å"wild things†. He tamed them by staring at their yellow eyes without blinking and they made him king. They enjoyed themselves, danced the wild rumpus and did what wild things do. This continued for a long time. The Max told the Wild Things to stop and they did. Max then realized that he was lonely and â€Å"wanted to be with someone who loved him best of all† and â€Å"smelled good things to eat†. Then the wild things persuade him to stay and be their king but Max said â€Å"No†. ... The child is quite angry at being told off by his mother so he makes up a world where he can be king and express his anger. Then these monsters are tamed. Then the child indulges with the monsters and then when he gets tired of the novelty, he quits them and goes back to the room. This time, the room is much bigger. The Freudian thing here is actually rooted on anger management where it was actually therapeutic for him to lash out his anger on his own and then returns to normalcy when it’s over. Anger here is represented by monsters. He tamed them by directly looking at them; it’s as if you can master your problems/emotions by dealing with them directly. It is actually an adult thing to do and realize. Max’s world at the start is small. The illustration is literally small too. As he gains control on his world and the monsters’ world, the illustrations get bigger as well. It even takes two pages in the middle of the book! This means that the world of Maxâ⠂¬â„¢s, his imagination, is boundless. It is bigger, less bounded (it does not have margins!), prettier and more wonderful. However, back in his bedroom, after he leaves the monsters’ land, the world becomes small again, but it is not as small as his room before, but it has no borders now. This means that he grew, or at least his mind grew, as in he matured. This also reflects that his perspective grew, and his view of the world is bigger. He is a naughty child. He chases his pet dog with a fork and does mischievous things. He is what kids may relate too, as his mother also scolds him and grounds him. He knows that he can’t be mad at his mother because she is his mother. This is his source of frustration, and the readers (the children) can relate with this. This is what makes

Marketing Plan- Marketing metrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Plan- Marketing metrics - Essay Example This will involve advertising campaigns. There has been significant improvement in database technologies which has made it possible for companies to gain access of customer specific information as well as competitor specific information. GGI should use such information while devising their strategies. They should identify innovative drivers to determine customer value. They need to work on enhancing their brand image since they are a relatively new entrant in the retail market. They have to build a favorable image for their brand in the customer’s mind and find out ways to attract greater number of customers and retain their existing customers. Identified Key Marketing Metrics GGI is planning to open 10 new retail stores in addition to the one it already has. This will involve substantial expenditures which have necessitated the identification of certain key marketing metrics that will enable GGI to justify their marketing expenditure. These marketing metrics will facilitate t hem to formulate strategies to enhance the performance of the company. The company can use a wide range of marketing metrics namely brand value metrics, word of mouth and referral value metrics, acquisition and retention metrics, customer value metrics, multichannel shopping metrics, product return metrics and cross buying and up buying metrics (Peterson & Et. Al., 2009). Other metrics include direct mail response rates and advertising, market share, wallet share, return on investment and customer relationship management (CRM). Recommendation on How GGI Can Improve on the Key Marketing Metrics The brand image is an extremely important intangible asset of a company. The brand image determines the future purchases made by customers, helps in developing customer loyalty and ensures customer retention. Thus, the brand value metrics is very important for GGI since it is a new entrant in the retail industry. The brand value metrics can be improved by creating an ethical and responsible im age for the company and stressing on quality of products. A company can experience considerably high purchases based on word of mouth publicity generated for the company. The predicted referral value score of each customer determines which customers should be targeted during the next period by providing them referral incentives. The word of mouth and referral value metrics and acquisition and retention metrics can be improved by enhancing the experience of the existing customers by providing superior quality products and excellent services. Multichannel shopping metrics can be improved by introducing innovative methods of purchase. The company can introduce online purchases. Improvements in cross buying and up buying metrics depend on special efforts on the part of the sales personnel. The enhanced efforts of the sales personnel makes customer buy products that they may not have planned to purchase earlier. The direct mails should be increased. The advertising should be done through multiple advertising vehicles. Wallet share refers to the amount of business generated from specific customers. Reaching out to wider range of customers by providing a wider range of products helps in increasing wallet share. This will also help in improving the ROI metrics. The CRM should be made more interactive. A closer watch on the competitors’

Gun Control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Gun Control - Research Paper Example Thesis statement: The research work on gun control proves that the possession of semi automatics by average people must be prohibited because military firearms must not be used by civilians, and uncontrolled possession of firearms ultimately leads to violence, injuries, and increase in mortality rate. Background information In the modern world, arms industry controls the production and supply of weapons in international level. In addition, civilian ownership and possession of weapons is interconnected with the growth and development of arms industry in global level. At the same time, development of arms industry indirectly influences the illegal trade and possession of weapons. During the Civil War era, the African American slaves were not allowed to own weapons, especially guns. So, one can see that gun control in America is deeply rooted in the socio-political scenario. Kristin A. Goss states that, â€Å"The image of America as a gun culture is also at odds with attitudes toward g un ownership† (6). But the freedom from slavery was not helpful for the African Americans to gain the freedom to possess weapons for self-defense. In 18th century, the arms industry began to influence the national politics and most states in America began to provide importance to the revenue from arms industry. So, the civilians began to consider the possession of arms as their right. Besides, legal sanction to purchase and possess of weapons was equally important to the states and the arms industry. Now, the ownership of weapons is a burning issue in the society because the same leads to a number of legal and moral problems. So, one can easily identify the fact that lobbying is an important factor that prevents the government from taking apt decision on gun control. Gun control Acts/laws in U.S. The most important gun control Acts/laws in the U.S. include: the National Firearms Act (1934), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Gun Control Act of 1968, th e Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993) and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005). The National Firearms Act (1934) deals with the taxation on the production and supply of firearms in the U.S. Geraldine Woods states that, â€Å"Buyers, who also paid a high tax, were to be fingerprinted and investigated before the purchase could be completed† (33). One can see that this Act aims to control the illegal production and supply of firearms. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, deals with the supply and possession of weapons in the U.S. Besides, this Act aimed to control the production and possession of weapons in the U.S. The Gun Control Act of 1968 deals with the control on firearms industry and those who possess weapons. One can see that this Act aims to control illegal transportation of weapons in the U.S. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993) aims to control the uncontrolled purchasing of weapons by the civilians in U.S. Larry J. Siegel states that, â€Å"The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, amending the Gun Control Act of 1968, imposed a waiting period of five days before a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer may sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual† (145). To be specific, this Act authorizes the authorities to collect information on those who decide to own weapons and to take apt decisions on the same. The

Religious and the Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Religious and the Public Schools - Essay Example Just like in chemistry class where experiment is part of learning, students will have a first-hand experience about religious practices by trying them out. There is an aspect about learning which is experiential which means that some things are better learned by experiencing them. Trying religious practices to better understand them better is one of them. The danger in this practice is that the teacher may be partial to a certain religion that he or she may require the students to practice and adopt a particular religion. It can however be prevented if academic objectivity is maintain during the try out. What the law is guarding the school from is partisan religion where students will be required to practice and adopt a particular religion. Schools are secular institutions which prohibits the dominance of a particular religion in its class. It can allow however, trying out or experimenting various religious practices to satisfy an academic

Article summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Summary - Article Example ing solar power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PVs) – and notes that while these types seek at the maximization of solar energy, they have different approaches (Hamer 1). The considered questions in the article are related to the primary types of solar energy, the suitability of solar energy in heating water and the benefits that zero net energy constructions give to consumers. In this line, Hamer states that the world’s global energy needs will be largely dependent on the use of solar devices to harness light and heat from the sun for the generation of electricity via photovoltaic cells, owing to the declining prices of solar collectors. This reason is also largely supported by the sunny forecasts put on solar energy and a resemblance of the electricity system to the internet, having no particular center of activity, except for the photovoltaics integrated into roofs and windows. Consequently, Hamer states that there is an increase in the production, but, a subsequent decline in purchasing costs of PVs; hence, likely to have a significant impact on the installation of PVs and access to electricity. This would then classify solar energy for the many uses that electricity can be put to such as heating of water. PVs are also environmentally friendly as they produce no greenhouse gases or atmospheric emissions as a technology. Therefore, it presents itself as the most likely choice of renewable energy technology for embracing by the public (Hamer 1). Finally, a proposal for zero net energy buildings is given in which the Department of Energy is considering producing houses that consume no energy on net rate, but, incorporate numerous technologies for future homes, including the solar thermal and photovoltaics. In this article, the core theme as presented by Haugen is that of the effective production of electricity through solar energy. First, the energy is described as clean and reliable by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), as a counter for myths over

Epistemology and Skepticism Essay Example for Free

Epistemology and Skepticism Essay * Epistemology and Skepticism: How does The Matrix illustrate the challenge of skepticism about the external world? Explain, discuss, and critically evaluate the hallucination argument for complete epistemological skepticism. Be sure your essay includes a discussion of either Hospers or Crumley IIs criticism of complete epistemological skepticism. Is complete epistemological skepticism a logically coherent theory? Support your answer with a well-reasoned argument free of any major errors of fact, fallacy or logical contradiction. I. Introduction * The matrix questions the nature of reality. * How can we know for certain that the world is how we perceive it and not just a veil over our eyes? * Explain movie- trapped in virtual world believing they are in 21st century * Explanation proposes question, what is real? II. Main Points. * Main Character Morpheus: â€Å"What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? If real is simply what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. † * Consequently, â€Å"How can we be sure our brain isn’t being tricked by some simulation to believe things are real, when they aren’t? This is how matrix proposes the challenge of epistemological skepticism. * Hallucination argument: Modus Tollens, question soundness (valid) 1. If we posses knowledge (K) we must be able to rule out the possibility of systematic hallucination (S). K S 2. ~S (the matrix hypothesis. ) (MT 1) 3. ~ K ( MT 1 2) * One arguer against skepticism: John Hospers * Merely verbal * Skeptics take strong sense of the word knowledge, must have proof at all times * Others use weak sense, meaning we only need proof or evidence only when someone is proving otherwise. * Doubt is an empty word. * Basic point: once a test has been done to remove doubt we have a good reason to believe it is true, thus we have knowledge. III. Conclusion * Skeptics believe knowledge is unobtainable, in this case the hallucination argument proves the premises are true through Modus Tollens. Although the argument is sound, it is self-defeating because skeptics believe they know that they don’t really â€Å"know† anything. Moreover, complete epistemological skepticism is not a logically coherent view because the argument being claimed would require the person to have knowledge to conduct such argument.

Academy Award for Best Actor and Legal Issues Essay Example for Free

Academy Award for Best Actor and Legal Issues Essay

International Trade during Holiday Seasons

International Trade during Holiday Seasons The Holiday Seasons is a time when many businesses try to beat out there competition by having the most sales. Starting around Thanksgiving and ending on New Years day most businesses have the most sales and make the most profit during the Holiday Seasons, for an example Wal-Mart makes a huge percentage of its profit during Thanksgiving and Christmas. International trade during the Holiday Seasons is key to success in businesses that uses imports to get there products from overseas. Once the Holiday Season starts the United States will be ordering more products and requiring more shipments from China, Asia, North and South Korea, and Europe. China is the leading import and export company that the United States does business with year round, when the Holiday Season starts many American Businesses double if not triple there shipment import from China. Out of all the Holidays during the year Christmas is the biggest of them all, mostly every Business has a Christmas sale, from clothes t o toys there is a sale on just about everything. Revenues of a companys business most likely are to go up during this time because most consumers will spent their last dollar on food and products such as Christmas trees, presents for kids, traveling arrangements and Big Ticket Items (Products that average consumers dont buy all the time). Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and New Years are the days that business wait for all year long because they know that consumers are looking for the best deals and will spend more money on these days than any other out of the year. In the ancient days the notion of international trade was not familiar. In its place, international trade was referred to as trading activities conducted overseas or over long distances. The history of international trade shows us how trade use to take place among a variety of nations in the olden days. The history of international trade is a long one. The term has diverse connotations across history, for example in the era when The United States was not there the term international trade meant long distance. It was pretty comparable to modern day international trade, which is a kind of movement in merchandise. International trade stared long ago, According to Periplus Maris Erythraei, which is a Greek travel manuscript, written in the 1st century there used to be broad trade among Romans and Indians. Also the Egyptians carried out wide-ranging trading actions in the Red Sea. They imported spices from Arabia. Arabian nomads carried out extended distance trading activities with the assists of camels. Sometimes this type of thing would take weeks to transport. They traded silk and cooking spices to the East. ÂÂ  This type of trading took place all the time, way before international trade was International Trade. The history of international trade is exactly that, history. Even though international trade it lives on, it is now more advanced, and it is one of the tools we need to keep our economy and counties afloat. International trade is now the exchange of capital goods and services across global borders or territories. In nearly all countries, it represents a major share of gross domestic product. While at the same time international trade has been in attendance throughout a great deal of history. Before the September 11 attacks, the U.S. trade deficit was contracting by July, 2001, shrinking demand for foreign materials and foreign finished goods. American steel companies have ridden a wave of patriotism and used Washington, D.C contacts to convince Bush administration to protect American steel with tariffs of up to 40 percent. According to several trade analysts, these tariffs are sure to anger European and Asian steel producers and lead to a dramatic drop in exports of steel and other raw materials to the United States. U.S. companies have been forced to rethink their inventory methods because they may no longer work if global shipping continues to be slowed by tight security regulations. The recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s were the days when foreign companies bought Rockefeller Center, Hollywood was making movies about scary Japanese bosses and some Americans worried that trade was destroying their jobs. In that recession period American imports stagnated, rebounding only when the mid-1990s economic boom kicked in. Trade experts expect imports to remain weak for a while, a development that may damage many foreign nations economic health. Growth in trade has undergone one of the most severe decelerations in modern times. Some and analysts predict weak demand for imported retail goods through the middle of 2002. Businesses that offer alternatives to higher priced goods will do well. If you work for a company that sells merchandise or services at prices lower than competitors, youre going to be in better shape than the high end stores. When the economy starts to slow, people start looking around for ways to cut back on expenses, and they give up the frivolous items in favor of the basics. Some examples would include food, health care, personal care, funeral homes and things in that nature People always need these needs to make it and survive in the world. In a recession theres a shortage of capital but an abundance of labor. You dont want to be in a competition with most minimum capital needed by other businesses, nor do you want to be looking for employment in a field where there are many employers. International trade is a major source of economic revenue for any nation that is considered to be a world power. International trade is the reason countries like the United States is the most-powered countries in the world due to the reason that we specialize in imports and are very good in exports, also. In the present outlook of time in international trade, the U.S dollar and the Euro are the most sought-after currency in the world. With international trade, there can be some backlash in the form called an embargo which is a blockade of all trade by one country on another. With that said, the United States has had an embargo on Cuba for the past 40 years. In recent news, President Obama has reached out to the Indian prime minister expressing interest in trading with India due to their civilian nuclear energy and technology. President Obama figures that this can be a good move for the United States that so it might create more jobs for the future. President Obama is also trying to g et the U.S in to interact with East and Southeast Asia so it can possibly form an Asia-pacific free trade zone. In a negative aspect, Obama slapped tariffs on all car and light truck tires to China back in September which in turn could mess up our relationship with a quickly-growing economy. Recent studies show that the recession is coming to an end making the consumers start to trust the economy. In Conclusion, International Trade during the Holiday Seasons is an important part to a lot of businesses. In the graph it shows these past years brought a big surge of traffic into retail stores, but not enough to make up for the lack of sales throughout the holiday season, this recession that we are in has taking its toll on the Holiday Seasons profit Retailers are having a difficult time during the Holiday Season over the past couple of years although online sales seems to be increasing in revenue, recent studies shows online retail spending has grown more than $22 billion between Nov. 1 and Dec. 14, which marks an 18% climb showing that sales during this time of the year online sales has increased since the September 11 attack. Although there was a decline in the year-over-year number from January 2006 to mid-2007, the number has been increasing of late. Some of that is probably due to lower year on year comparisons and price inflation, consumer are becoming pessimistic about the market which could explain why the Holiday sales has decreased over the years. Some of the reasons why the market is like this is because The housing market is a mess, the economy has plenty of bumps in it, energy and food prices are high which causes consumers to cut back on expenses, however expects predict holiday sales to increase only 1.8% this year, the lowest forecast in over 10 years, Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group says. Bibliography The Studies in the Theory of International Trade, book byÂÂ   Jacob Viner (1892-1970) A Brief History of International Trade Policy, Article BY Irwin A. Douglas Notes from class power point Source- The government industry website and bnet.com http://www.usatoday.com/news/usaedition/2009-11-24-obama-india_N.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-11-14-obama-saturday_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/china-condemns-tariffs-tires-protectionism/ http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/bonddad/Big%2520Econ%2520Numbers/retailsales-1.gifimgrefurl=http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2007_12_16_archive.htmlusg=__-sc_FJ3db1kgl67vwddEfGkvbs4=h=296w=434sz=9hl=enstart=10um=1itbs=1tbnid=duPbQ_BolfjJMM:tbnh=86tbnw=126prev=/images%3Fq%3Dinternational%2Btrade%2Bretail%2Bsales%2Bduring%2Bholiday%2Bseasons%2Bgraph%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26um%3D1

Poverty on the Rise Essay -- Poverty Essays

Poverty on the Rise There is a very wide range of income for individuals and families. This is why we have people that are very wealthy which are referred to as the upper class and there is the middle class that makes an average income, and the bottom of the income bracket lies the people in poverty. Poverty is a condition in which a person or family does not have the means to satisfy basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Your race does not matter, every race has people that are in poverty. But as it is statistically shown, different races have a different number of people in poverty. In 1996, the federal government established a minimum income level below which a person or family is declared in "poverty." If a single person makes less than $7,995 then they are living in poverty, and a family has to exceed $16,036 or are also in poverty. From 1996 to 1997 the poverty rate has decreased by .4% In 1996, there was 36.5 million people at the poverty level and in 1997 the number of people in poverty decreased to 35.6 million people. Since a decade ago the poverty level has increased from 32.4 million people to as high as 39.3 million in 1993, but since 1993 the number of people living in poverty has decreased to 35.6 million people. The percent of the population a decade ago below the poverty was 13.1%, which has increases up to 15.1% but here recently the poverty rate is back down to 13.3% Gen...

Destined to Fail :: Free Essays Onlinevv

Destined to Fail Imagine having to wake up every morning and going to a broken down old building for seven hours a day. In the building you complete the same tasks which are easier in other buildings five minutes away, but since yours is poor it is difficult to, if at all, complete these tasks. The outlook is so bleak that it almost seems as if you are destined to fail. For children in Camden, New Jersey this is school. Students in Camden are faced with an obvious, appalling educational disadvantage when viewed against suburban schools, such as in Cherry Hill which are only five minutes away. The crux of the problem with the Camden public schools is the impoverished state in which it is forced to educate its children. The main cause for the destitution in the Camden public schools is the serious lack of funds for educational materials including those for school facilities. The schools are in such dire straits that most do not have the necessary materials with which to teach. Students at times do not even have their own textbooks and science labs lack the necessary equipment to teach lessons properly. If a student is lucky enough to receive a textbook it is either outdated, falling apart, or at the incorrect level of learning. In one Camden school, eleventh grade history class is taught from an eighth grade history text, (Kozol 152). This unfortunate condition applies not only to school supplies but also to the school itself. School facilities are in a state of trouble, many are falling apart or have serious problems which inhibit learning. In one of the Camden high schools, the malfunctioning heating system not only makes the building extremely hot all year round, but also melted approximately forty of the fifty computers in a lab, (Kozol 149). Is this the proper environment for education? Would you want to go to a school like this? Disadvantages such as these do not provide a proper atmosphere or environment conducive to learning. They also add a number of components to the problem of the lack of funds and increase the students' feeling that they are destined to fail. The lack of proper educational materials prevents students from learning. Since it prevents students from passing state mandated tests which control funding, they have to spend approximately eight months of the school year, usually in high school, preparing for these exams.

Cultural Comparison

I have chosen three stories of women growing up in relationship to thtime period in which they lived, their ethnicity,the customs of their countries and how they attempted to handle their life situations. Child f the Americas by Aurora Morales, gives us a view of a woman who is happy with herself and adjusts well to her life. The second is What It’s Like to be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith, a story of transition from childhood to adulthood for a young black girl having problems with both growing up and her place as a black woman in society. The third Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer is the story of growing up in South Africa as a repressed young black woman. Child of the Americas by Aurora Morales, is tribute to her multiple identity. The word diasposa is the perfect description of her heritage. It means the scattering of a people from their ancestral home . She is a descendent of Latin American, Jewish, Aftican and North American heritage and she describes herself as saying she is none of these things outwardly, they are within her (Clugston).. This collage of nationalities forms the theme of this poem. The tone of She clearly knows who she is and is proud of the fact that she is confident. The tone of this poem is upbeat and is developed in this upbeat manner. She is different and likes being different. She realizes her inherited background has a dark side, ghettoes I have never seen citation . Even her use of symbolism,† I speak English with passion: it's the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of cristal, my tool, my craft. Shows pride in who she is. The setting of this story is important. She is a U. S. American who could have been born in any of the other countries of their heritage. This is a story of self discovery and it is obvious she likes what she sees. †¢What it is like to be a black girl in in fact the opposite of Child of the Americas. She is a young black girl, who discovers she is growing up. She talks about being nine and feeling like she al right and too add to this she had the problem of a racially prejudice society. She hopes for something better to come in her life She wishes to be whilte, putting food coloring in her eyes to try to change them and a white mophead on her head over her hair. She wanted to grow into a more accepted form. She used other ways to tell how she wanted to grow into something different, She was having trouble grownng up with issusess that did not include the racial issue.. It is an insiers view into a young black girl’s transition into black woman-hood at a time where both being a black girl and a black woman was not as welcomed It discusses the conflict she has between being a little girl â€Å"jumping double Dutch until your legs pop† and â€Å"growing tall it talks about when she marries and becomes submissive to a ma as women did in her era. In comparison to Child of the Americas, the feeling or tone of the story is in complete opposition to the bouncy, girl, proud of her heritage l I have n ow covered two different heritages, one who is proud of her heritage and it is apparent that she looks forward to her future. The second is of the transition of a woman who is not sure of her future in relationship to her heritage. The third story begins as a mellow story of two young people who grow up together discover each other, but apparently the girl has no future, other than the one in which she is destined to live the rest of her life. The tone of this story becomes dark and hard as the young woman realizes she has no future and no control of her future. The characters and their background are important in each of these three stories. In all three stories, the character and their reaction to their ethnicity in relationship to how they feel about themselves is the key point of each story. Their reactions range from feeling good about themselves, vibrant and alive to feeling that they had a set pattern in life and had to learn to grow up and live it, to feeling as if they are of no importance to anyone at all. The theme of these three stories appears to be intertwined. The reasoning for these themes are not the same, but they are related. They all include learning to live with yourself and your conditions in relationship to your cultural background, your area in which you live , your own internal feelings and the feelings of others toward you. In each story, the situations were handled differently The character in Child of the Americas is adjusted to the fact that she is unique and is proud of herself. The character in Country Lovers has made mistakes in her life, adjusted to limitations in life and is simply trying to live life in the only way she knows how to survive. The theme is What its like to grow up black, has a less apparent theme than the other two. It appears to consider how hard it is to grow up at all, much less during the time period a transition in the place of the people of her heritage in the world. The main theme of these three stories is that we need to be honest with ourselves and live life in the best way we can The tone of each story differs but each added to the individual reading of these tories. The Child of the Americas was an upbeat reading to begin with and was reflected in the tone. It made me think of my own heritage and how it contributed to the person I am today. The tone of What is like to grow up black had a tone that suggested a little sadness and confusion. The tone made me reflect onmy own childhood. I could empathize with the confusion of chil dhood. I was growing up in the 1960’s and though my ethnic backround is different, each of us in that era we were both women and had decisions to make about our future. Our character seemed to think her future was marriage. The third character was growing up in South /Africa during a time of race oppression compared to the United States slavery times, so the theme appeared to be quite different from the theme of the first two stories. It used childhood innocence and exploration and added the forbidden dimension of separation of races to form her childhood and rise into adulthood, In conclusion, the tone of each story differed but all three ended with the characters knowing where they belonged in the world. The historical aspect of each story played an important part of each story. Looking at each author’s background their other writings helps us to understand the reasoning behind each story. Our textbook tells us that Nadine Gordimer was born and raised in South Africa and has lived there all her life except for a year spent at college. Her writing reflects her strong opposition to apartheid which oppressed the black population of South Africa for almost fifty years,, ending in 1994, Apartheid was a socioeconomic system that managed to oppress the black population though they were in the majority of South African people. Many of her works talked about patricia smith is a modern poet known for slam poetry. It is said she speaks for the foices of thoe who have not been heard. Her poetry includes stories of mothers of murdered black youths, the undertakers who try to patch up the bodies, the skinheads whose hate twists America in a knotl Born raised and beginning work as a columinist for Chicago Tribune, she transplanted to New England where she became a columnist for the Boston Globe. She told the same stories using the same techniques and gave birth to slam poetry, using real issues and slamming the point home. In this capacity she lost her credibility when it was discovered that many of her stories written in newspapers as facts, were in fact not true stories. It cost her her career, her marriage and the Pulitzer prize. She has recovered from these downfalls and continues to write and perform slam poetry. http://www. english. illinois. edu/maps/poets/s_z/p_smith/p_smith. htm Aurora Morales, author of Child of the Americas was born in Puerto Rico, the child of a Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father. She moved to the United States in 1967 and has proven herself to be a social activist, concerened with issues of third world people, especially women. She uses her Puerto Rican heritage to identify on a global perspective. Her work discusses sesual abuse racial discrimination and such far ranging topicsa as ecology and social justice. She along with many other women of color who are writers in the U. S, stry to stress the importance of female ethnic heritage in relationship to the development of a feminine voice. She authored her first book, her most important and acclaimed one with her mother. It was a common project in which both of them fouond peace and refuge against discrimination and oppression in writing about themes using their Puerto Rican identity, expressing opinions of third world feminism, , womens relationships and self discovery through a past heritage. It was through this writing that Child of the Americas was born. She and her mother feel that diversity is a source of pawe and home is everywhere. At present she and her mother are attempting to tell the history of peurto Rio through womens ancestor’s who have been silenced. It is unusual work, mixing history of oppressed women with medicinal herb remedies. The two women feel tht reliving and opening up old painful wounds of wimen’s mistreatment is a way of cleansing and healing the past. http://www. uhu. es/antonia. dominguez/pricans/aurora_levins_morales. htm The varied backgrounds of these three women come together to make them writers who write about oppressed and downtrodden peoples. Each in their real lives has worked to correct these problems/ The time line of the history of these three authors has also influenced the historical aspecof each piece of work. They were acve in the 1960’s in which lay the most influencial racial issues of modern day. Apathaid oin south Africa was inforced and Apartheid was begun as a result of greed for the diamonds of South Africa. To insure that the smallest amount of people would have the rights, certain laws were enabled. In 1948 laws that were enacted that pertained to every aspect of social life. From the ability for interracial marriage to the instillation of white only jobs. This discrimination included naming people by their color, their parents color. The black, white, or other nationality were the only ones accepted. If one was considered black. He had to carry a pass at all times, that even included his fingerprints. These were the conditions that were in affect during the writing of Country Lovers. http://www. hoover. org/publications/hoover-digest/by-topic/1076 The civil rights movement occurred between 1955 and 1968, /the movement mainly wanted to abolish discrimination toward African Americans. It began in the south where whites were segregated from blacks. These people were treated ruely because of their color and everything from transportation to the use of public drinking fountains was affected. Now famous black Americans such as rosa parks and martin luthor king took up the causedelivering speeches, making people aware of the unjustice There were deaths including Martin Luthor King but eventually the Civil Rights Act was signed by President Johnson in 1964. All of these discrimination acts occurred during the time all three authors were writing, so it is quite logical that their work would be filled with reference to the unjustice off treatment of the black race in their writings. I feel the similarities of these three stories comes within the plot. I feel these stories were written to make people aware of the pastplight of black women and as Aurora Morales has done publicly, keep a record of their heritage of this injustice. The p lot is as simple as helping a woman rise above injustice. To bring these three stories together. Their similarities far outweigh their difference. They were historically written in a time of injustice for the black race. The tone of each story reflects the attitude of each woman in relationship to her race.References Anonymous (2011) http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/by-topic/1076 morales (2010) http://www.uhu.es/antonia.dominguez/pricans/aurora_levins_morales.htm Smith P. (2007)http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/p_smith/p_smith.htm Anonymous (2009) http://learningzoneclass.com/aoat11/cayco/history.html Anonymous (2001) http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/urbanRiots.php

Islamization Under Zia Ul Haq Essay

When General Zia-ul-Haq took over as the Chief Martial Law Administrator on July 5, 1997, Islamization was given a new boost. General Zia-ul-Haq was a practicing Muslim who raised the slogan of Islam. The Islamic sentiment has always been fully alive in Pakistan. Various governments have used this to their benefit. There are people who doubt Zia’s reasons for raising the Islamic Slogan; whether it was for political purposes to counter balance Bhutto’s appeal or was it to enforce Islam in its true sense. In his first address to the nation, he declared that Islamic laws would be enforced and that earnest attention would be devoted towards establishing the Islamic society for which Pakistan has been created. General Zia wanted to bring the legal, social, economic and political institutions of the country in conformity with the Islamic principles, values and traditions in the light of Quran and Sunnah, to enable the people of Pakistan to lead their lives in accordance to Is lam. On December 2, 1978, General Zia-ul-Haq delivered a nationwide address on the occasion of the first day of theHijra calendar. He did this in order to usher in an Islamic system to Pakistan. In the speech, he accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam, saying that â€Å"many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam.† After assuming power and arresting former leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on charges of murder, the task that the government was facing was how to gain legitimacy. Since the Islamist parties were already against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, they had the most influence on Zia-ul-Haq’s government. It was announced the government would enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic System), a 180 degree turn from Pakistan’s predominantly parliamentary law, as a preliminary measure to counter what he saw as a lack of true Islam in Pakistan. Sharing the ideology of the Wahabi sect, Zia advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations. He wanted to create a hard line Sunni Islamist state. His reforms were popular with Hanafi and Shia sects who faced widespread discrimination and human rights abuses during his rule. Significant and systematic changes aimed at Islamizing the legal system were initiated in 1979 and carried out under General Zia-ul-Haq. This process not only introduced religious and gender biases in Pakistan’s laws but also brought about far-reaching institutional changes in the country’s judicial system. Zia’s Islamization drive was ardently supported by religious parties,  particularly the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which emerged as one of his regimes key coalition partners. JI’s founder, Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, endorsed Zia’s Islamization efforts and described them â€Å"as the renewal of the covenant between the government of Pakistan and Islam† (Haqqani, 2005, p.139). In turn, Zia’s support and patronage of the JI allowed the party to gain a foothold in the government so much so that crucial ministries, such as the Ministry of Information, were allocated to JI nominees. However, state sponsored Islamization intensified sectarian divisions between the Sunnis and the Shias 1 who opposed the application of the Hanafi fiqh in areas such as Zakat (Islamic tax) rather than Ja’fari fiqh, which they follow. The Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqh-e- Jafari (INJF-Movement for the Establishment of the Shia Fiqh) was formed in 1979 and led Shia opposition to some of the measures instituted by Zia (Talbot, 2005). The Islamic conservatism and the Islamic state became Zia’s primary policy of his military government. Intensified Islamic Policies to radicalize the country had the West worried. The secular socialist orientation and socialist economics process was an attempt to upset to Pakistan’s order of operation on a routine life, as Zia maintained. General Zia rejected Bhutto’s philosophy and was reported to highly hostile of Bhutto’s philosophical rationale, â€Å"Food, Clothing, and Shelter.† General Zia defended his policies in an interview in 1979 given to British journalist Ian Stephens, as he puts it. â€Å"The basis of Pakistan was Islam. The basis of Pakistan was Muslims in the subcontinent are a separate culture. It was the Two-Nation Theory that carved out of the subcontinent as Pakistan. Mr. Bhutto’s way of flourishing way of this Society was by eroding its moral fiber. Mr. Bhutto eroded the moral fiber of the society by pitching students against teachers, children against their parents, landlord against tenants, workers against mill owners. Pakistanis not incapable of economic productions. It is because Pakistanis have been made to believe that one can earn without working. We are going back to Islam not by choice but by the force of circumstances. It is not I or my government that is imposing Islam. It was the 99 percent of people wanted; the street violence against Bhutto reflected the people’s desire of wanting just as the campaign for Pakistan Movement. I am just giving the people what they want.† In 1983, Nusrat Bhutto reasoned General Zia’s policies as she puts it: â€Å"The (scream) and the horrors of 1971 war†¦.  are (still) alive and vivid in the hearts and the minds of people of [Pakistan]†¦. Therefore, General Zia insanely†¦. used the â€Å"Islam [card]†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. to ensure the survival of his own regime†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Government of Zia-ul-Haq took a number of steps to eradicate non-Islamic practices from the country. He introduced the Zakat, Usher, Islamic Hadood and Penal code in the country. Prohibition Order Drinking of wine (i.e. all alcoholic drinks) was not a crime at all under the Pakistan Penal Code. In 1977, however, the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims was banned in Pakistan and a sentence of imprisonment of six months or a fine of Rs. 5000/-, or both, was provided in that law. Under the Prohibition Order, these provisions of law were replaced by the punishment of eighty stripes, for which an ijma of the companions of Muhammad ever since the period of the Second Caliph Omar was cited. However, the law does not apply to non-Muslims, who can possess a license to drink and/or manufacture alcoholic beverages from the government. Prayer timings Instructions were issued for regular observance of prayers and arrangements were made for performing noon prayer (Salat Al Zuhur) in government and quasi-government offices and educational institutions, during office hours, and official functions, and at airports, railway stations and bus stops Reverence for fasting Ordinance An â€Å"Ehtram-e-Ramazan† (reverence for fasting) Ordinance was issued providing that complete sanctity be observed during the Islamic month of Ramazan, including the closure of cinema houses three hours after the Maghreb (post-sunset) prayers. Definition of Muslim By amending the constitution, General Zia also provided the following definition of a Muslim and a non-Muslim * (a) â€Å"Muslim† means a person who believes in the unity and oneness of Almighty Allah, in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophet hood of Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and does not believe in, or recognize as a prophet or religious reformer, any person who claimed to be a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description, whatsoever, after Muhammad. * (b) â€Å"Non-Muslim† means  a person who is not a Muslim and includes a person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, or Parsi community, a person of the Qadiani Group or the Lahori Group [i.e. Ahmadis] or a person belonging to any of the scheduled castes. A Federal Shariah Court was established to decide cases according to the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. Appeals against the Lower and High Courts were to be presented before the Shariah Court for hearing. Blasp hemy of the Holy Prophet (S. A. W.) would now be punishable by death instead of life imprisonment. Zia-ul-Haq selected his Majlis-i-Shoora in 1980. It was to be the Islamic Parliament and act as the Parliament of Pakistan in place of the National Assembly. Most of the members of the Shoora were intellectuals, scholars, ulema, journalists, economists and professionals belonging to different fields of life. The Shoora was to act as a board of advisors for the President. A number of other Islamization programs were carried out including the teaching of Islamic Studies and Arabic, which were made compulsory. Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies were made compulsorily for B. A., B. Sc., Engineering, M. B. B. S., Commerce, Law and Nursing students. For professional studies, extra marks were given to people who were Hafiz-e-Quran. General Zia-ul-Haq wanted to make Pakistan the citadel of Islam so that it could play an honorable and prominent role for the Islamic world. The steps taken by General Zia were in this direction and had a long-term impact; the Zakat tax introduced by General Zia still holds and so does many of his the other laws. On the other hand Islamization was sometimes used as a political process. Zia’s interpretation of Islam may have contributed to the rise of fundamentalism, obscurantism and retrogression. Since the death of General Zia in 1988, inconsistency and instability has prevailed in Pakistani laws. Instability means that the law is frequently changing or is under threat of change because of differences of opinion among the ruling factions. Three of the most obvious inconsistencies in Zia’s Islamic law are: * Those between legal norms and socially observed norms; * Those between statutory legal norms and the norms applied in practice in the courts (e.g. Hadd is difficult to implement as confession, retraction of confession and strict standards of proof make it difficult to execute); *  Those between different formal legal norms (e.g. non-compliance with the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance is compromised by the courts but is strictly punished under the Zina Ordinance). Another example of this contradiction is that the constitution assures women equal status on the one hand but, on the other hand, they are greatly discriminated in criminal law. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008316story_16-3-2008_pg3_3 http://ijazulhaq.com/zia/biogrophy1.html http://www.rationalistinternational.net/Shaikh/blasphemy_laws_in_pakistan.htm

A Summary of the Manager Interview Questions

With the growth of worldwide globalization systems, it could not be denied that many people are transferring from one country to another. Some for business reasons, some for educational reasons and others just transfer for tourism purposes.Whatever it is that the different races transfer places, it could not be denied that in many ways, the said progressive movement of the human society towards the future raises several points of consideration in the human identity belonging to a certain ethnic group.Along with the global development comes the exchange of culture and other aspects of racial contributions such as language has been exchanged through immigration activities. This is the reason why it is very important for people to see to it that even though there is so much diversity in the world, language is still one of the keys by which a certain race’s ethnicity could be identified amidst diversity.With regards this fact, an interview was held by the author with an assistance manager named Andy Grady. He is a personnel manager in a high end clothing store named Kenneth Cole. The said business company is known for hiring people of different ethnicity and culture.This then drives the interviewer to have an interest with regards the capability of the manager in handling conflicts that may be considered in connection with hi ability in relating to the communication and personal development needs of the people. To be able to summarize the answers of the manager with regards the issue brought up herein shall be presented in the paragraphs that follow.Summary of interviewAccording to the interviewee, cultural diversity has usually been pointed as one reason why many companies around the world fall down. The fact that the differences include diverse preferences as well as individual personalities, the companies involved in such situations are naturally subjected to challenges of keeping the peace and unity within the community existent.The said five spheres of culture are mainly referred to as the region, industry, Company, Function and Profession. These five major factors making up the cultural diverse effects of having people from around the world work within a single company, usually identifies the importance of intercultural connection existing within the organization.These spheres are the ones pointed by many organizations as core reasons of dispute between members. With the use of the said spheres, the said company had been able to learn how to deal with many people of different cultures around the world. The barriers which were preempted to ruin the organization became the key for everyone’s united understanding of society not only within the business but also with the external communities that the members need to deal with everyday (Whitehead 2002).

Exploring How State of Matter Affects the Rate of Diffusion Essay

Introduction Diffusion is the random process by which particles distribute themselves within a container or medium. There are two factors that distinguish how substances move passively through membranes. The first factor is hydrophobic , a nonpolar molecule that can dissolve in a lipid bilayer and freely move through the membrane. However a hydrophillic molecule consisting of ions and polar molecules inhibit in their movement through the membrane making it a slower diffusion process. Selectively permeable, moreover, are charged atoms and molecules that are mostly blocked from traveling through the membrane due to the hydrophobic center. The purpose of this experiment was to test how the state of matter affects the rate of diffusion in a semi-solid vs. a liquid state. If the Potassium Permanganate crystals are placed in Petri dishes filled with water and 2% agar, then the crystals will diffuse at a faster rate in water than in the agar. The addition of the Potassium Permanganate crystals to the water and agar, there will be a result of more diffusion and more obvious color change in water compared to agar which will result in a slower less obvious diffusion. Materials The materials needed for this experiment are: One Petri dish with 2% agar and one Petri dish of water filled half way up to test the rate of diffusion. Also, two small crystals of potassium permanganate and one pair of forceps will be needed to place in the Petri dishes. One metric ruler will be need as well to measure the change of color in diameter and one 8 x 11 piece of white paper will also be used for safety precautions. Methods First, a member of the group will gather all the materials including the Petri dishes filled with tap water and 2% agar, forceps, ruler, 8X11 piece of white paper and the jar that contains the potassium permanganate crystals, and bring the materials back to the designated area. Then the experimenter will start to conduct the experiment. Then the experiment will consist of placing the empty Petri dish and the agar Petri dish on top of the white paper side by side. Second, Tap water will be added to a half way point in the empty Petri dish until it is approximately the same level as agar in the other Petri dish. Before continuing, wait for the water to stop moving to get an accurate measure of the diffusion. After that, have lab partner assist with placing potassium permanganate crystals into the agar Petri dish, while at the same time, the primary experimenter places the other two potassium permanganate crystals into the tap water. Be sure not to splash water in the aqueous dish. The moment that each crystal has been lowered is Time Zero. A purple color will be obvious immediately. Next have the experiment observe the diffusion rate for every 3 minutes for the next 15 minutes. For every 3 minutes, measure the diameter of the diffusion circle in millimeters (mm) and write down the measurement on the chart given. Be careful not to disturb the aqueous Petri dish. Discussion The results show that there a major difference in the rate of diffusion between 2% agar and tap water. Immediately, when the potassium permanganate crystals were dropped at 0, there was already an instant diffusion of 2 mm, compared to agar which was 1mm. Because water is a polar molecule, diffusion across membranes travel quicker compared to a nonpolar substance like agar that diffuse though the lipid part of a membrane. At the first 3 minute mark, it shows that the crystals have diffused relatively fast at 15 mm, compared to the diameter in agar which has slowly diffused to 5 mm. for the next 12 minutes, results have show that the diameter in water has increase about 8 – 10 mm every 3 minutes and agar has stayed the same throughout. Due to passive transport, the movement of molecules from the potassium permanganate have a higher concentration, and are then added to water which diffuses from that high concentration to a lower concentration. This was the expected result. Since water is polar, the crystals can easily diffuse through the gradient. Furthermore, with agar being a nonpolar molecule, it maintained a state of dynamic equilibrium because it diffused slower but was diffused evenly. However since other factors do play a role in the rate of diffusion, maybe temperature could have changed the rate of diffusion for the two Petri dishes. Also had the allotted time been different there may have also been a change in the results. There were no negative results or errors made during this experiment. Based on the results it can be concluded that dropping potassium permanganate crystals into water, diffuses across the gradient faster compared to 2% agar. This does support the initial hypothesis and the predictions were accurate.

Blowing the Truth out

I would like to first explain what whistle blowing is and detail some the following important moral issues that go along with whistle blowing. I will try to show how this could affect any one by going over a classic case of an Eastern Airlines pilot . As well as considering how an individual can protect him or herself from becoming the victim when trying to blow the whistle. Under what circumstances, if any, is whistle blowing morally justified? Some people have argued that whistle blowing is never justified because employees have absolute obligations of confidentiality and loyalty to the organization for which they work. People who argue this way see no difference between employees who reveal trade secrets by selling information to competitors, and whistle – blowers who disclose activities harmful to others. This position is similar to another held by some business people that the sole obligation of corporate executives is to make a profit for the stockholders. If this were true, corporate executives would have no obligations to the public. However, no matter what one’s special obligation, one is never exempt from the general obligations we have to our fellow human beings. One of the most fundamental of these obligations is not to cause harm to others. Corporate executives are no more exempt from this obligation than other people. Corporations in democratic societies are run with the expectations that they will function in ways that are compatible with the public interest. Corporations in democratic societies are also run with the expectations that they will not only obey the law governing their activities, but will not do anything that undermines basic democratic processes, such as bribing public officials. In addition to having the obligation to make money for stockholders, corporate executives have the obligation to see that these obligations are complied within an organization. They also have obligations to the company’s employees, for example to maintain a safe working place. It is the failure of corporate executives to fulfill obligations of the types mentioned that create the need for whistle blowing. Just as the special obligations of corporate executives to stockholders cannot override their more fundamental obligations to others, the special obligations of employees to employer cannot override their more fundamental obligations. Such as obligations of confidentiality and loyalty cannot take precedence over the fundamental duty to act in ways that prevent unnecessary harm to others. Agreements to keep something secret have no moral standing unless the secret is itself morally justifiable. For example a no person can have an obligation to keep a secret of a plot to murder someone, because murder is an immoral act. It is for this reason also that employees have a legal obligation to report an employer who has committed or is about to commit a felony. Although there are obvious differences between the situation of employees who work for government agencies and those who work for private firms, if we leave apart the special case in which national security was involved, then the same principles apply to both. The Codes of Ethics of Government Service to which all government employees are expected to conform requires that employees put loyalty to moral principles and the national interest above loyalty to the public parties or the agency for which they work. Neither can one justify participation in an illegal or immoral activity by arguing that one was merely following orders. It has also been argued that whistle blowing is always justified because it is an exercise of the right to free speech. But, the right to free speech is not perfect. An example to shout â€Å"Fire† in a crowded theater because that is likely to cause a panic in which people may be injured. Similarly, one may have a right to speak out on a particular subject, in the sense that there are no contractual agreements which prohibit him/her from doing so, but it may be the case that it would be morally wrong for one to do so because it would harm innocent people, such as one’s fellow workers and stockholders who are not responsible for the wrongdoing being disclosed. The fact that one has the right to speak out does not mean that one should do so in every case. But this kind of consideration cannot create an complete prohibition against whistle-blowing because one must weigh the harm to fellow workers and stockholders caused by disclosure against the harm to others caused by allowing the organizational wrong to continue. Further more, the moral principles that you must consider all people’s interests equally prohibits giving preference to one’s own group. So there most be considered justification for not giving as much weight to the interest of the stockholders investing in corporate firms because they do so with the knowledge that they take on financial risk if management acts illegally or immorally. Same as if the employees of a company know that it is engaged in illegal or immoral activities and do not take action, including whistle blowing, to end the activities, then they must bear some of the guilt for the actions. These in turn cancel the principles that one should refrain from blowing the whistle because speaking out would cause harm to the organization. Unless it can be shown that the harm to the employees and stockholders would be significantly greater than the harm caused by the organizational wrong doing, the obligation to avoid unnecessary harm to the public must come first. This must be true even when there is specific agreements not to speak out. Because ones obligation to the public overrides one’s obligation to maintain secrecy. If the arguments which I have just made are valid then the position of whistle blowing is never justified because it involves a violation of loyalty and confidentiality, or that whistle blowing is always right because it is an exercise of the right to free speech and is morally justified. Then the obligation a person has to prevent avoidable harm to others overrides any obligations of confidentiality and loyalty, making it an obligation to blow the whistle on illegal or unethical acts. Now that I have set down some moral ground rules that help determine if your responsible or justified in blowing the whistle on big business, I would like to share with you an example of what happened to a company and a employee of a company that has had the whistle blown on them. In this first case a pilot of eastern whistle comes clean on what he suspects to be serious design problem with the new Lockheed 1011, wide body aircraft. At the time Dan blew the whistle, he was flying regularly scheduled flights for Eastern airlines as well as being involved in flight training and engineering safety, for Eastern airlines. Mr. Gellert was also a graduate of Air Force Safety School, the Army Crash Survival Investigators coarse, and the aerospace Systems Safety, all highly regarded safety courses. The problem, which Mr. Gellert suspected, was of unexplainable crashes in a flight simulator while using the auto pilot system . The L-1011 defect involved the complex interaction between the crew and the autopilot and related instruments, which they relied upon to conduct a safe approach to a runway when landing the aircraft. Mr. Gellert became aware of the problem on a routine flight while using the L-1011. While flying the aircraft with the autopilot engaged and cruising at 10,000 feet with 230 passengers, Gellert dropped his flight plan. As he went to pick it up, his elbow hit the control stick in front of him causing the plane to go in a steep dive something that should not happen. Fortunately, he was able to grab the stick and ease the plane back on course. What had happened was that that while bumping the stick, he had tripped off the autopilot. Instead of holding the plane at 10,000 feet, it had switched from its â€Å"command mode† to â€Å"control steering†. As a result, when the stick moved forward, causing the plane to dive, the autopilot, rather than holding the aircraft on course held it in a dive. There was no warning to the pilot, such as alarms or light and the autopilot’s altimeter indicated that the plane was flying at 10,000 feet, a dangerously wrong reading. After this incident Gellert told an Eastern management official what had happened and the official replied â€Å"we’ll look into it. But three months later from the time he reported the incident an Eastern airlines flight approaching Miami International Airport crashed. The crew had used the autopilot to land the plane and it had malfunctioned crashing into the everglades. The first step that Mr. Gellert took in blowing the whistle on Eastern airlines and Lockheed was to write a two page evaluation of the auto pilots problems and send them to, Frank Borman, then vice-president of operations; Floyd Hall, chairman of the board , and Samuel Higgenbottom, president of operations. The only response was from Borman that said, it was â€Å"pure folly† that the autopilot caused the accident. He also sent two copies to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board. ) which agreed with Gellert and asked him to testify against Eastern and Lockheed. Even with his testimony on his experiences with the auto pilot system NTSB found that a defect in the autopilot caused the crash, but attributed the tragedy to â€Å"pilot error† because the crew did not react fast enough. At this point eastern has done nothing to keep Gellert from doing his job . Until he had the same situation happened to him on two separate occasions, which prompted him to write a twelve-page petition to the NTSB as well as to top management. Gellert was immediately demoted to co-pilot. â€Å"Twice a year pilots bid on a base, a position, or a particular aircraft. † The first indication that he was being penalized by the company for his written petitions. At the same time the NTSB began to put pressure on eastern to make alterations to it’s aircraft’s. The pressure that went along with confronting eastern management forced Gillert to take a three- year leave of absence. And when Gillert decided to return to work, eastern denied him, questioning his ability to fly an aircraft concerned with his mental state. Eastern grounded Gillert indefinitely. A civil suit was filed and won by Gellert . The jury found Eastern guilty and awarded him 1. 5 million in damages, which were never paid, due to appeals. Gellert also filed a grievance to get reinstated as a pilot , which he won but Eastern refused to instate him as a full time pilot . The bottom line is that eastern was making life hard on Gillard because he wanted to do the right thing , he was aware of a problem which he tried to bring to the attention of the executives in charge . He was a dedicated employee and was only concerned about the safety of the people Eastern was flying and in turn Eastern continues to punish him and make his life extremely hard. I believe what has happened in the above summary of the Eastern airline case is that which is common among whistle blowers. Employees that decide to blow the whistle on big business for the greater good of the people are often subject to countless acts of discrimination. Employees are often demoted, pushed aside, put down ,alienated from the industry, and made their lives extremely uncomfortable for the mere fact that they tried to do the right thing. Gellert felt that the autopilot was defective yet management refused to listen, and then when it was to late and an accident occurred management didn’t want to know , because they didn’t want to except responsibility for not addressing the problem in the first place. If anything Gellert should have been rewarded for trying to prevent a disaster but instead, as is common for many whistle blowers he was punished. Employees who discover apparent wrong-doing have several options, they can turn a blind eye and continue as normal, raise the matter internally and hope for the best, blow the whistle outside while trying to remain anonymous, blow the whistle and take the full force of employer disapproval, resign and remain silent, or resign and blow the whistle. The key is minimizing the risk to you as an employee. As I have shown to blow the whistle requires a great deal of care and patience. Yet sometimes employees do not always make good judgements in the heat of the moment. Allowing himself or herself to be more vulnerable then someone who takes the time to plan and receive advice to do it right. Some simple questions will help to minimize your risk and determine if blowing the whistle is really necessary. First, make sure the situation is one that warrants whistle blowing. Secondly, you should carefully examine your motives. Third, verify and document your information. Fourth, determine the type of wrongdoing involved and to whom it should be reported. Fifth, state your allegations in appropriate ways. Sixth, decide whether the whistle blowing should be internal or external and if it should be open or anonymous. Seventh, make sure you follow proper guidelines in reporting the wrongdoing. And last you should consult a lawyer and anticipate as well as document retaliation. With all this said there is really no sure way to go about making the right choice on weather to blow the whistle or not. Employees that are forced to blow the whistle are often forced to do so because their concerns are not given fair hearings by their employers. This results in damage to both the whistleblower and the organization. Yet if wrong doing with in an organization go undetected, they can result in even in greater damage to the workforce, and the public at large. Whistle blowing is an effective way to regulate business internally and should not be discriminated against. In researching this paper it has come to my attention that whistle blowers may never have it easy. The possibility of causing career suicide should be maintained at the lowest level possible. A good indication of the how genuinely ethical our society is how organizations treats its whistleblowers. I can only hope that we will improve in the next coming century than continue on the course we have set for ourselves in the past. I strongly believe that society owes an immense gratitude to its whistle blowers and that they will soon be praised for coming forward instead of punished. Blowing the Truth out I would like to first explain what whistle blowing is and detail some the following important moral issues that go along with whistle blowing. I will try to show how this could affect any one by going over a classic case of an Eastern Airlines pilot . As well as considering how an individual can protect him or herself from becoming the victim when trying to blow the whistle. Under what circumstances, if any, is whistle blowing morally justified? Some people have argued that whistle blowing is never justified because employees have absolute obligations of confidentiality and loyalty to the organization for which they work. People who argue this way see no difference between employees who reveal trade secrets by selling information to competitors, and whistle – blowers who disclose activities harmful to others. This position is similar to another held by some business people that the sole obligation of corporate executives is to make a profit for the stockholders. If this were true, corporate executives would have no obligations to the public. However, no matter what one’s special obligation, one is never exempt from the general obligations we have to our fellow human beings. One of the most fundamental of these obligations is not to cause harm to others. Corporate executives are no more exempt from this obligation than other people. Corporations in democratic societies are run with the expectations that they will function in ways that are compatible with the public interest. Corporations in democratic societies are also run with the expectations that they will not only obey the law governing their activities, but will not do anything that undermines basic democratic processes, such as bribing public officials. In addition to having the obligation to make money for stockholders, corporate executives have the obligation to see that these obligations are complied within an organization. They also have obligations to the company’s employees, for example to maintain a safe working place. It is the failure of corporate executives to fulfill obligations of the types mentioned that create the need for whistle blowing. Just as the special obligations of corporate executives to stockholders cannot override their more fundamental obligations to others, the special obligations of employees to employer cannot override their more fundamental obligations. Such as obligations of confidentiality and loyalty cannot take precedence over the fundamental duty to act in ways that prevent unnecessary harm to others. Agreements to keep something secret have no moral standing unless the secret is itself morally justifiable. For example a no person can have an obligation to keep a secret of a plot to murder someone, because murder is an immoral act. It is for this reason also that employees have a legal obligation to report an employer who has committed or is about to commit a felony. Although there are obvious differences between the situation of employees who work for government agencies and those who work for private firms, if we leave apart the special case in which national security was involved, then the same principles apply to both. The Codes of Ethics of Government Service to which all government employees are expected to conform requires that employees put loyalty to moral principles and the national interest above loyalty to the public parties or the agency for which they work. Neither can one justify participation in an illegal or immoral activity by arguing that one was merely following orders. It has also been argued that whistle blowing is always justified because it is an exercise of the right to free speech. But, the right to free speech is not perfect. An example to shout â€Å"Fire† in a crowded theater because that is likely to cause a panic in which people may be injured. Similarly, one may have a right to speak out on a particular subject, in the sense that there are no contractual agreements which prohibit him/her from doing so, but it may be the case that it would be morally wrong for one to do so because it would harm innocent people, such as one’s fellow workers and stockholders who are not responsible for the wrongdoing being disclosed. The fact that one has the right to speak out does not mean that one should do so in every case. But this kind of consideration cannot create an complete prohibition against whistle-blowing because one must weigh the harm to fellow workers and stockholders caused by disclosure against the harm to others caused by allowing the organizational wrong to continue. Further more, the moral principles that you must consider all people’s interests equally prohibits giving preference to one’s own group. So there most be considered justification for not giving as much weight to the interest of the stockholders investing in corporate firms because they do so with the knowledge that they take on financial risk if management acts illegally or immorally. Same as if the employees of a company know that it is engaged in illegal or immoral activities and do not take action, including whistle blowing, to end the activities, then they must bear some of the guilt for the actions. These in turn cancel the principles that one should refrain from blowing the whistle because speaking out would cause harm to the organization. Unless it can be shown that the harm to the employees and stockholders would be significantly greater than the harm caused by the organizational wrong doing, the obligation to avoid unnecessary harm to the public must come first. This must be true even when there is specific agreements not to speak out. Because ones obligation to the public overrides one’s obligation to maintain secrecy. If the arguments which I have just made are valid then the position of whistle blowing is never justified because it involves a violation of loyalty and confidentiality, or that whistle blowing is always right because it is an exercise of the right to free speech and is morally justified. Then the obligation a person has to prevent avoidable harm to others overrides any obligations of confidentiality and loyalty, making it an obligation to blow the whistle on illegal or unethical acts. Now that I have set down some moral ground rules that help determine if your responsible or justified in blowing the whistle on big business, I would like to share with you an example of what happened to a company and a employee of a company that has had the whistle blown on them. In this first case a pilot of eastern whistle comes clean on what he suspects to be serious design problem with the new Lockheed 1011, wide body aircraft. At the time Dan blew the whistle, he was flying regularly scheduled flights for Eastern airlines as well as being involved in flight training and engineering safety, for Eastern airlines. Mr. Gellert was also a graduate of Air Force Safety School, the Army Crash Survival Investigators coarse, and the aerospace Systems Safety, all highly regarded safety courses. The problem, which Mr. Gellert suspected, was of unexplainable crashes in a flight simulator while using the auto pilot system . The L-1011 defect involved the complex interaction between the crew and the autopilot and related instruments, which they relied upon to conduct a safe approach to a runway when landing the aircraft. Mr. Gellert became aware of the problem on a routine flight while using the L-1011. While flying the aircraft with the autopilot engaged and cruising at 10,000 feet with 230 passengers, Gellert dropped his flight plan. As he went to pick it up, his elbow hit the control stick in front of him causing the plane to go in a steep dive something that should not happen. Fortunately, he was able to grab the stick and ease the plane back on course. What had happened was that that while bumping the stick, he had tripped off the autopilot. Instead of holding the plane at 10,000 feet, it had switched from its â€Å"command mode† to â€Å"control steering†. As a result, when the stick moved forward, causing the plane to dive, the autopilot, rather than holding the aircraft on course held it in a dive. There was no warning to the pilot, such as alarms or light and the autopilot’s altimeter indicated that the plane was flying at 10,000 feet, a dangerously wrong reading. After this incident Gellert told an Eastern management official what had happened and the official replied â€Å"we’ll look into it. But three months later from the time he reported the incident an Eastern airlines flight approaching Miami International Airport crashed. The crew had used the autopilot to land the plane and it had malfunctioned crashing into the everglades. The first step that Mr. Gellert took in blowing the whistle on Eastern airlines and Lockheed was to write a two page evaluation of the auto pilots problems and send them to, Frank Borman, then vice-president of operations; Floyd Hall, chairman of the board , and Samuel Higgenbottom, president of operations. The only response was from Borman that said, it was â€Å"pure folly† that the autopilot caused the accident. He also sent two copies to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board. ) which agreed with Gellert and asked him to testify against Eastern and Lockheed. Even with his testimony on his experiences with the auto pilot system NTSB found that a defect in the autopilot caused the crash, but attributed the tragedy to â€Å"pilot error† because the crew did not react fast enough. At this point eastern has done nothing to keep Gellert from doing his job . Until he had the same situation happened to him on two separate occasions, which prompted him to write a twelve-page petition to the NTSB as well as to top management. Gellert was immediately demoted to co-pilot. â€Å"Twice a year pilots bid on a base, a position, or a particular aircraft. † The first indication that he was being penalized by the company for his written petitions. At the same time the NTSB began to put pressure on eastern to make alterations to it’s aircraft’s. The pressure that went along with confronting eastern management forced Gillert to take a three- year leave of absence. And when Gillert decided to return to work, eastern denied him, questioning his ability to fly an aircraft concerned with his mental state. Eastern grounded Gillert indefinitely. A civil suit was filed and won by Gellert . The jury found Eastern guilty and awarded him 1. 5 million in damages, which were never paid, due to appeals. Gellert also filed a grievance to get reinstated as a pilot , which he won but Eastern refused to instate him as a full time pilot . The bottom line is that eastern was making life hard on Gillard because he wanted to do the right thing , he was aware of a problem which he tried to bring to the attention of the executives in charge . He was a dedicated employee and was only concerned about the safety of the people Eastern was flying and in turn Eastern continues to punish him and make his life extremely hard. I believe what has happened in the above summary of the Eastern airline case is that which is common among whistle blowers. Employees that decide to blow the whistle on big business for the greater good of the people are often subject to countless acts of discrimination. Employees are often demoted, pushed aside, put down ,alienated from the industry, and made their lives extremely uncomfortable for the mere fact that they tried to do the right thing. Gellert felt that the autopilot was defective yet management refused to listen, and then when it was to late and an accident occurred management didn’t want to know , because they didn’t want to except responsibility for not addressing the problem in the first place. If anything Gellert should have been rewarded for trying to prevent a disaster but instead, as is common for many whistle blowers he was punished. Employees who discover apparent wrong-doing have several options, they can turn a blind eye and continue as normal, raise the matter internally and hope for the best, blow the whistle outside while trying to remain anonymous, blow the whistle and take the full force of employer disapproval, resign and remain silent, or resign and blow the whistle. The key is minimizing the risk to you as an employee. As I have shown to blow the whistle requires a great deal of care and patience. Yet sometimes employees do not always make good judgements in the heat of the moment. Allowing himself or herself to be more vulnerable then someone who takes the time to plan and receive advice to do it right. Some simple questions will help to minimize your risk and determine if blowing the whistle is really necessary. First, make sure the situation is one that warrants whistle blowing. Secondly, you should carefully examine your motives. Third, verify and document your information. Fourth, determine the type of wrongdoing involved and to whom it should be reported. Fifth, state your allegations in appropriate ways. Sixth, decide whether the whistle blowing should be internal or external and if it should be open or anonymous. Seventh, make sure you follow proper guidelines in reporting the wrongdoing. And last you should consult a lawyer and anticipate as well as document retaliation. With all this said there is really no sure way to go about making the right choice on weather to blow the whistle or not. Employees that are forced to blow the whistle are often forced to do so because their concerns are not given fair hearings by their employers. This results in damage to both the whistleblower and the organization. Yet if wrong doing with in an organization go undetected, they can result in even in greater damage to the workforce, and the public at large. Whistle blowing is an effective way to regulate business internally and should not be discriminated against. In researching this paper it has come to my attention that whistle blowers may never have it easy. The possibility of causing career suicide should be maintained at the lowest level possible. A good indication of the how genuinely ethical our society is how organizations treats its whistleblowers. I can only hope that we will improve in the next coming century than continue on the course we have set for ourselves in the past. I strongly believe that society owes an immense gratitude to its whistle blowers and that they will soon be praised for coming forward instead of punished.